In an instant, a host of the recently deceased discover that they’ve been given another shot at happiness…as adorable cats! Will they make the most of their seven-day opportunity? Or will the fur fly as they struggle to figure out what life’s all about? Start with a Happy Ending follows finicky felines and curious kittens as they take a crash course in the ups and downs of existence! Can reincarnation give a legion of lost souls the wake-up call they truly need? By Risa Motoyama Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing Age Rating: 10+ Genre: Drama, Shojo, Slice of Life ISBN: 9781569702871 Price: $12.95 Start with a Happy Ending might seem kind of odd by combining death with cute kitties, unless you believe your cat is trying to kill you. But it’s not really about death, but what happens after, when people are given a second chance to re-examine their lives, and help their loved ones or themselves find peace and happiness. Start with a Happy Ending is a series of short vignettes that tell the story of someone how has just died. Sometimes it is while saving a cat, or it might be because of overwork, or old age. Whatever the…
In the fourth volume of Flowers of Evil, Takao makes his decision… He will try to win the affection of one his muses. This will be no simple task, as the teens in this manga drama are all now damaged and warped. Growing up without a mother has twisted their hearts. Helping people like that open up may be impossible, but Takao has thrown away his own humanity as well. Furthermore, Takao is now in search now a utopia. One that can only be shared with his best and only friend, that will sit, even if briefly, among the rice paddies and in the mountains of his rural hometown. And most importantly, it will be a place that pokes fun and undermines every little thin ideal that holds this town together. There is no way this new society will be accepted, but that is exactly what these two wanted in the first place. By Shuzo Oshimi Publisher: Vertical Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Psychological Price: $10.95 Shuzo Oshimi’s latest volume of Flowers of Evil takes place a few weeks after where the third volume left off. Takao is left to view his two muses back in their school setting but from…
Reviews are subjective things. A reviewer is drawing on many things when they write their review. Besides technical things such as story structure, character development and art, a reviewers personal preferences and experiences can affect their feeling about a book. And sometimes, even their gender can make a difference as to whether a book gets a good score or bad. In the following discussions, reviewers Alex Hoffman and Lori Henderson will look at different books and examine the similarities and differences they have over each of them. Shonen Jump Alpha/Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Action/Food/Supernatural/Historical/Game Price: .99/week; 26.99/yr Lori: It’s been quite a year for Shonen Jump Magazine. The digital edition started running weekly at the end of January 2012, with chapters 2 weeks behind it’s Japanese counterpart. The print magazine officially ended in April. And now, in 2013, the magazine has gone same day with the chapters as the Japanese print edition. I’ve been a subscriber to Shonen Jump since it debuted back in 2003. How long have you been reading Alex? Alex: I’ve been with Shonen Jump since it went digital – although I read a few of the paper versions while…
Message to Adolf is a title I have heard a lot about, but never had a chance to read since it was first released in English by Viz back in the mid nineties, and volumes are difficult to come by. But Vertical has solved that problem by re-releasing the series in a 2 volume omnibus set in hardback. Finally being given the chance to read this, I had to take it and see what everyone was talking about. Like so many of Tezuka’s other thrillers, Message to Adolf is a provocative and compelling read, but like the subject matter, not for the faint of heart. By Osamu Tezuka Publisher: Vertical, Inc. Age Rating: Teen Genre: Thriller Price: $26.95 Message to Adolf is about three men named Adolf; Kamil, a Jew who lives in Kobe, Japan, Kaufman, the son of a German Consulate father and Japanese mother who also lives in Kobe, and of course, Hitler. At the heart of the story is some secret information about Hitler, that if is got out, could bring down Hitler and the Nazi party. Both of the boys as well as a Japanese reporter named Sohei Toge become involved in the search for the…
In the third volume of The Flowers of Evil, Takao must make a decision. He now has an opportunity to break free from the social shackles that Nakamura has placed on him, as he has a chance to be loved by someone he has affections for. This could also be an opportunity to be accepted by the masses in his small community. But with this choice comes fear and self-reflection. After having a chance trip to Nakamura’s place, where he got to experience the world his only “friend” has grown up in, he realizes that for both teens, there is very little future to look forward to as they are raised in the boonies. Their lives are mapped out before them. For most adolescents these days, life will continue to be blasé at best, miserable at worst. Can they change things together? Do they want to even bother? By Shuzo Oshimi Publisher: Vertical Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Psychological Price: $10.95 Takao becomes the center of Shuzo Oshimi’s third volume of The Flowers of Evil. Pushed against a proverbial brick wall, Takao decides to run from the masses instead of becoming one of them. Though he doesn’t break free according to…
Reira Bandou is an ordinary, average college student, until a group of strangers tell her she is the reincarnation of Ashura, the Buddhist god of war and a member of the Hachi Bushu. Demons are invading the world, so the other members must be found, while Reira must learn to control her powers and regain her past life memories. As her memories return, the truth about the past comes to light, which could tear the Hachi Bushu apart just as the final battle with the demons is about to begin. By Yuriko Matsukawa Publisher: Digital Manga Guild Localization: Translated by Todd Gunn; Edited by Angela Eastman; Lettered by Phileas J Fogg Age Rating: Teen Genre: Supernatural/Romance Price: $6.95 eManga/$7.95 Kindle/Nook/Wowio Having recently read the CLAMP manga RG Veda, Late Advent, which also features Ashura, the Buddhist god of war, interested me. The first volume started out with a lot of potential, but the rushed ending took a lot of wind out of its sails, leading to a less than satisfying story. Late Advent started out fairly strong. Reira is introduced as she is in Art History class, learning about the Hachi Bushu, lower gods who came to earth to protect…
Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. The routine of class and endless stupidity in a provincial town is taking a toll on middle schooler Takao Kasuga. Though he gets along well enough with his peers, they’ll never begin to dig any of that reading business that’s his only true escape. What can he expect when he’s in love with foreign stuff like the poems of Charles Baudelaire? Yet, his life threatens to take a turn for the worse when he finds and takes home, in a moment of weakness, the gym clothes of pretty, sweet, and smart Nanako Saeki on whom he has a major crush. Witness to the theft is the oddest girl in class, who seems to consider the whole world a pile of excrement and to nurse a terribly sadistic streak… Rising star Shuzo Oshimi, the author of the hit apocalyptic series “Drifting Net Cafe“, finds his groove in an ever-so-slightly autobiographical work that grows more soulful with each volume. Nominated for the 2012 Manga Taisho (Cartoon Grand Prize). By Shuzo Oshimi Publisher: Vertical Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Psychological Price: $10.95 Shuzo Oshimi’s Flowers of Evil begins innocently in a school setting where the seemingly normal Takao…
As Kobato starts to fall for the dour Fujimoto who works at Yomogi Kindergarten, she puts her mission of helping the broken-hearted and filling her magic bottle in danger. Helping to heal him becomes her sole mission, as she puts herself and Iorogi and his allies in danger. As the deadline looms, will Kobato be able to make her wish come true? By CLAMP Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Teen Genre: Fantasy Price: $11.99 I haven’t had a lot of luck with CLAMP titles. Even though I hear a lot about how great they are, I haven’t felt any interest in reading any of them. I tried xxxHolic, but the first volume didn’t do enough for me to want to keep reading. But I don’t think it’s right to write them off based on one volume of one series, so with this Movable Manga Feast, I wanted to give a few more titles a try, I just happened to have these two volumes lying around. I was pleasantly surprised by Kobato, and may have found my first CLAMP series I like. It took a chapter or two to catch on to what was going on, but once I had a…
While we here at Manga Village do enjoy Takehiko Inoue, it seems his shonen title Slam Dunk has been our favorite. Starting with volume 1, Katherine Farmar had reservations at first, but had this to say about it: Slam Dunk pokes fun at Hanamichi relentlessly, but it is at its core a solid and very well-done example of the genre rather than a subversion of it. Hanamichi’s error is not in reaching for the top but in expecting to get there without working for it Justin Colussy-Estes read volume 4, and though he thought he didn’t like it at first, another reading and some thought brought him to this conclusion: But in Slam Dunk, Inoue turns that on its head: he puts manga in a basketball context. Understand this, Inoue isn’t interested in telling the same stories found in every shonen manga for the last thirty years. No, he’s interested in basketball Matthew Rozier is in agreement with Justin after reading volume 5, when he says it’s basketball that really sells the series, and the art really helps it: Despite being still images, they exude such a sense of vivacity that it almost feels like being at an actual game….
Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor, one of the few people with the ability to see the magical creatures who share our world. During one of her rare trips to London to visit her father, Lydia’s quiet life is suddenly transformed when she is rescued from kidnappers by a mysterious young man! Edgar Ashenbert claims to be descended from the human ruler of the fairy kingdom, and he urgently needs Lydia’s help to find and claim his birthright, the legendary sword of the Blue Knight Earl. Things will never be the same for Lydia as she is pulled into a dangerous quest against dark forces! By Ayuko; Original Concept by Mizue Tani Publisher: Viz Media – Shojo Beat Age Rating: Teen Genre: Fantasy/Romance Price: $9.99 I first heard of The Earl and the Fairy when the anime was announced in 2008, but didn’t give it much mind until Viz announced the license last year. The way the premise for the anime was presented didn’t sound too interesting to me, I decided to give the manga a try. I’m glad I did. It’s a story filled with plenty of action, but what really makes this volume shine is the characters. The…