I think I’m forming a love-hate relationship with this series. I didn’t care for the first volume. I thought the characters and story were too stereotypical for a supernatural romance to ever really get interesting. And some of the scenes of Misao and Kyo bordered on obscene. But one volume later, things seem to have really changed. I found the characters and story getting a lot more interesting, and even some of the “healing scenes aren’t so bad, though neither are they so much innuendo. By Kanoko Sakurakoji Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen+ Genre: Supernatural/Romance Price: $9.99 Starting in volume 3, I noticed a distinct improvement in the lead characters Misao and Kyo. Misao has finally accepted her feeling for Kyo, so she isn’t so conflicted about enjoying his “healing”, which she still needs. Why? Because she’s still just as gullible as in the first volume. She’s easily lured into the Kuzunoha clan’s compound and allows the talisman that Kyo gave her be thrown away. She knows what Shohei is after, and continues to believe him when he says he’s given up on her. But her trusting nature seems to be a double-edged sword, as her…
It’s been a bitter few weeks in the manga industry here in the USA. CMX and GoComi! were closed up, and Viz laid off 40% of its workforce. It’s a tough economy, and while some of this is definitely expected, it hits sort of hard. Likewise, Itazura na Kiss is something of a bittersweet story. DMP managed to get the rights to it and start publishing it after news of the author’s death was delivered to American fans. The series, at 23 volumes, is currently unfinished. Kaoru Tada had an unfortunate accident while moving in 1999, and died shortly after of cerebral hemorrhage. I use the phrase bittersweet because, while the series is unfinished and the author died at a young age, DMP is giving us the rare opportunity to experience this classic manga. I’m ready for my clouds to have some silver linings. By Kaoru Tada Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Comdey Price: $16.95 Kotoko, the sweet, kinda dumb, and klutzy lead girl of Itazura na Kiss, starts out our series by confessing her feelings to the brilliant and icy Naoki, and after being roundly rejected by him in the first few pages, and I’m…
I have to blame my current shojo addiction on David Welsh, of the Manga Curmudgeon, and my own blogger’s nagging insecurity that I’ve been missing out on something. When I first started up the manwha Pig Bride from Yen Press and Viz Media‘s Aishiteruze Baby, I found out that this girly, sparkly, cutesy manga was… actually, a lot of fun. A guilty pleasure, if you will. By Shouko Akira Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: High School/Romance Price: $8.99 Like shonen manga, shojo tends to fall into categories, and the high-school love story is pretty popular. There are others, like the reverse harem for example, but some of the more interesting series (in my opinion) on the market right now are high-school love stories – Kimi ni Todoke, We Were There, and Itazura Na Kiss are fantastic. Monkey High! is another high-school romance, but does things a bit differently. In Monkey High!, female lead Haruna Aizawa is an uncharacteristically cold girl who, probably due to a recent scandal her politician father has been in, tends to think that everyone in high-school is just playing on a monkey mountain. She’s seen her “friends” from K Academy leave her, and it…
With Ryo’s birthday around the corner, Asuka’s all aflutter making preparations for the festivities. Even the best-laid plans tend to go awry, however…especially when Ryo already has plans with another man!
I bet no one would believe this story if I told them. A ninja fell from the sky in a sudden downpour of rain and saved me, a girl who wanted to die to spite her arrogant father. Pretty much anyone would say I’m crazy, huh? By Shoko Conami Publisher: Tokyopop Genre: shoujo/action/fantasy/romance Age rating: T/Teen/13+ Price: $9.99 In the grand internet battle between ninjas and pirates, I’ve always favoured ninjas. But although I prefer Naruto to One Piece, I don’t always find the frantic action and profound angst of the world’s most popular ninja manga to be suited to my mood. Sometimes I want something a bit less high-powered, a bit less epic, a bit softer, a bit more… well… girly. Still with the shurikens and ass-kicking, of course, but played in a different key. Enter Shinobi Life, in which teenage romance and ninja action intersect to delightful effect. Kagetora is a ninja charged with protecting the princess Beni; while escorting her from a battle, he falls through a vortex in time and finds himself in the 21st century. By chance or by fate, he happens to have fallen on the roof of a building where a girl who…
Welcome to the Happy Café, where romance and happiness are the specials of the day! Meet Uru: She’s a little short, a bit disorganized, often is mistaken for an elementary school kid, and lives by herself after her mother gets remarried. When she decides to pay the bills by working part-time at the Happy Café, she meets Ichiro and Shindo, two of the most unsociable guys she’s ever met! And to make matters worse, it turns out that Uru is not exactly meant for the waitress world, as she’s a HUGE klutz. But as this hilarious shojo tale unfolds, 1 happiness–and even true love–might be lurking just around the corner… By Kou Matsuzuki Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 Kou Matsuzuki’s Happy Cafe takes place in Café Bonheur where little, height wise, sixteen year old Uru decides to seek employment after witnessing customers the day before leaving the cafe in such lifted spirits. Little does she realize the two men that work there, Ichiro and Shindo, are not the rays of sunshine she thought the customers sought after. Given the premise I was half expecting it to be loaded with slap stick humor of a ditzy girl…
Ann’s junior high school reunion is coming up, and she hasn’t seen Daigo in two years. How will their reunion go? Then finally the story behind Ann’s engagement. Who is her fiance…? By Hinako Ashihara Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Romance/Drama Price: $9.99 This volume picks up where the series left off in Shojo Beat. It covers just two time periods in Ann’s life; at age 20, and 26. At her junior high school reunion, she and Daigo have a heart to heart that leaves her as cold as the winter weather. And then when she is proposed to, she finds out she more like her mother than she ever thought. At age 20, Ann and Daigo meet at their junior high school reunion. Ann is nervous about seeing Daigo again, but he doesn’t seem any different. They meet after the reunion, and Ann confesses she wrong to break up with him, but Daigo thinks it was right. Even though it probably wasn’t what he meant, but Daigo’s words live Ann cold and more alone than before. She makes a promise to herself that sets her on a dark path, though that isn’t apparent yet. The next…
I will grant you any wish. But its outcome depends on you. Tokyo Mew Mew creator Mia Ikumi takes a break from that title to bring a one shot that may be worth a look, especially for newcomers to manga or those wanting to get a decent read without feeling forced to buy into a whole new series. By Mia Ikumi Publisher: Del Rey Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Shoujo Price: 10.99 USD As I began reading Only One Wish I didn’t realize it wasn’t only a one-shot, but was a collection of short stories. By the end of the first story I wasn’t wild about the characters, but finding out their story ended there made me warm up a little more to this title. If you know the special way to get a hold of her, the “Dark Angel” well grant any individual a single wish. But if it was just that simple, what would be the fun? The clear underlying theme is “Be careful what you wish for.” We are also reminded that no one lives in this world alone, and a wish that affects another might be countered. Only One Wish feels a little like “The Monkey’s Claw”…
Ayu still can’t give up on her love for Mayama, even though his relationship with Rika seems to be deepening. Nomiya’s growing interest in Ayu might be a balm to her broken heart, but he’s moving to Tottori for six months! Is Ayu cursed to suffer hopeless love affairs forever? By Chica Umino Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 This volume is all about the love polygon of Mayama, Ayu, Rika and Nomiya. Ayu seems to be deliberately torturing herself by working with Mayama and Rika, and seeing their relationship grow. Rika is preparing for the Valencia Art Museum Annex, a project she and her late husband submitted for and won, and seems prepared to also make it her last, something Mayama’s not prepared to let Rika do. And Nomiya, the player, finds himself doing something he never thought he would, falling for Ayu. There’s a lot of drama going on in this volume, especially with Rika. She still haven’t been able to get over her husband’s death, no matter what kind of face she puts on. A flashback from Hanamoto shows what a difficult time she had after the accident, and how she became…
After my rave (possibly raving) review of Kimi ni Todoke, I was excited to pick up the second volume in the growing series. We venture on our way with our extremely shy heroine Sawako (who constantly gets teased and mistreated because she looks like the girl Sadako from The Ring) as she continues to clumsily maneuver through social situations she doesn’t fully comprehend. Her awkwardness causes more than a few problems for her in this volume, which focuses on two of the background characters from last edition – Yano and Yoshida, girls in Sawako’s class that become friends with her. Due to a misunderstanding, rumors start flying around the school about the pair of brash, confident friends, and Sawako is at the center of it all.She of course, in her simple way, has to make things right, which provides most of the drama of the volume. By Karuho Shiina Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Romance Price: $9.99 In a wonderful way, Sawako’s appeal as a manga heroine stems partially from her social anxiety and awkwardness, which I feel is something that many people can relate to. I wasn’t necessarily socially inept in my formative years, but I do…