Manga Village

While we here at Manga Village love all the new manga coming out each week, there’s over 20 years of manga releases that we love and want to recommend too! So, in each column, we will look at a genre, or creator, or even publisher to come up with the best titles that we want to recommend to you! This Month: School Manga! September is traditionally the time kids go back to school, so this month we’re looking at titles that take place mainly at school. School is a big part of life and is often used promptly in teen manga titles. So here’s our some of our favorite manga that takes place at school! Alex Hoffman: There are a veritable ton of manga series that are set around a school – more shojo series than shonen, I would think, but there are quite a few of my favorite shojo series set in a school – Monkey High!, Kimi ni Todoke, and Otomen, just to name a few. If you are looking for specialized schools, well, there are plenty of those too! Mixed Vegetables is set in a cooking school, and Twin Spica is set at a school for astronauts….

Irel, Lamia and Clarion fight off assassins, but soon after, Lamia takes off on her own. Irel and Clarion continue to follow the chrism bottle trail, which leads them to the secret society Crossline. Irel’s power grows and it’s enough to get Crossline agents to question their leader, Ian. Lamia goes to an “old friend” and learns the truth of her origins, and it’s relation to Ian, Crossline, and Christianity. Detective Chris and Grace also find Crossline, and, joined by Chris’ partner Aileen, are recruited to try to stop Crossline’s plans. By JinJun Park Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Action/Horror Price: $11.99 There is plenty of confusing “zombie battle action”™, but an actual plot does start to show itself in these 5 volumes of Raiders. Lamia’s past is revealed, as is the reason for Chris’ obsession with conspiracies, and most startlingly, the true origins of Christianity, and how it relates to the secret organization, Crossline. I can’t say that I really enjoyed these volumes, but I was fascinated with the way the history/mythology/beliefs of the Christian church was used in the story as well as its references to the use of science. After three volumes of mostly…

Fumi Yoshinaga is a creator that often has her works recommended as essential reading material  Here at Manga Village we’re not much different! Nearly every reviewer has had something to say about her titles. Some have had a LOT to say.

I’ve been fairly candid in the past about mentioning my love for Bunny Drop, a Yen Press title with a twice-yearly release. The series so far has been an absolute delight to read. I’ve neglected reviewing the first two volumes, so I will try to rectify that issue with a review of the third volume.

With No-Ah’s childhood friend/tormentor added to the mix, all sorts of new adventures are brewing at the green-roofed house. Nanai the dog, Guru the cat, and Rang the mouse have cooked up even more fun this time around: visiting the library, searching for treasure–and tailing Rang on her first date?! But life isn’t always strawberries and cream — it’s all kinds of experiences that make happy times taste even sweeter.

Sachiko’s trials continues in volume 5 as Hikaru moves into his final year in elementary school that comes with changes in both his teacher and classmates, neither of which he takes well, causing problems at home. Things only get harder when school administrators disagree with the family’s choice of junior high. In volume 6, Sachiko must deal with changes in Hikaru’s behavior, getting Kanon ready for elementary school, her mother-in-law who still doesn’t understand Hikaru, and her own mother’s falling ill. It’s a lot of stress for one woman to take.

To put it frankly, and not all that delicately – this shit is horrid.

When it comes to Fumi Yoshinaga, I’m fairly used to excellent manga. You could make a convincing argument that Ooku: the Hidden Chambers is one of the best titles, if not the best title in Viz Media’s Sig IKKI line (I might argue that Children of the Sea is better, but I digress). Likewise All My Darling Daughters and Antique Bakery offer a lot of great stories from one of the best mangaka currently in print in English. By: Fumi Yoshinaga Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Food Price: $10.99 Yoshinaga is also one of the few writers that is licensed by multiple publishers here in the US. Digital Manga Publishing was the first to pick up her work, while Viz followed shortly behind. Now, Yen Press has joined the crowd to bring us a one-shot volume of foodie manga titled Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy. Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy is part autobiography, part restaurant review.The main character, Y-naga (yes, really) is a mangaka who draws BL comics, and spends almost all the time she isn’t sleeping or working out eating food with friends. Her fellow mangaka, foodie friends, assistants, and previous roommates all…

Now that the terror of their first meeting has subsided, Irel begins to wonder if his fear of Lamia is unfounded. Despite her troubling diet, she doesn’t seem to relish the experience of gnawing Irel’s flesh any more than he does. Both share a common goal: to uncover the mysteries surrounding the blood of Christ. If they work together, they might be able to find the answers they seek. But traveling as a pair might only serve to make a bigger target for even greater terrors… By: JinJun Park Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror Price: $10.99 Volume 2 of Raiders tried to introduce more plot and less zombie munching with a government conspiracy, some actual tomb raiding, and an attempt at character development.  Unfortunately, it’s all just too little, too late. This volume picks up right where volume 1 left off, with the massive fight in the middle of London.  The four-way battle is short-lived though, and ends with a realignment of several of the main players.  Lamia and Irel are working together now, with Clarion joining them. Irel has decided he would rather Lamia munch on him than on innocent bystanders. They continue the search…

Irel Clark is a professor’s assistant whose latest find is the “Holy Grail” for members of his profession — literally!  But when it turns out that some decidedly unholy individuals are also after the blood of Christ, Irel must drink from the chrism bottle he’s recovered to save his own life.  Immortality leaves something to be desired, though, when undead cannibals walk the earth in constant need of human flesh, and Irel’s newly immortal body is nothing short of an all-you-can-eat buffet! By: JinJun Park Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror Price: $10.99 Zombies don’t always make a story better.  What starts out looking like a roller coaster action adventure in the vein of Tomb Raider instead becomes an all-you-can-eat buffet, and not in a good way.  A lack of likable characters make the directions the story may be going in less than interesting. This title starts out deceptively cool.  Professor Langhem and his assistant Irel are trying to get past several armed guards around an old church.  They are searching for the Holy Grail, but what Irel finds is a chrism bottle.  The first two chapters of the volume follow the heist and subsequent escape, but…