Basara Volumes 11 and 12 by Yumi Tamura

April 17, 2012 by 2 Comments

Getting back into my great reread of Basara, I’m going to tackle Volumes 11 and 12, where Sarasa finds herself in a very unpleasant prison in Hokkaido. When she discovers Hayato’s ship abandoned with curse markings that include splashed blood and voodoo dolls, she’s dismayed that he’s gone missing. Her concern for Hayato is taken over with her excitement when she discovers that the Red King is still alive “So I can kill him…with my own two hands!” Sarasa promptly decides to visit the Kazuno people who kidnapped her friend, hoping to get him back and recruit more allies she can use in her battle against the Red King. The Kazuno have an elaborate set of traps which Sarasa wins through with her usual resilience and personal integrity, but it isn’t enough to prevent her from being thrown into a horrible prison with Ageha and Asagi. One of the prison guards looks suspiciously like Shuri, and it turns out that the self proclaimed “King of the Northern Seas” aka “Wind Owl” is Shuri’s cousin.

When Ageha is away from Sarasa being secretive and snarky it is easy to forget just how much he cares for Sarasa and his role as Tatara. As soon as they wind up in prison he makes protecting Sarasa’s secret his first priority, offering up his body as a distraction so no one will suspect that Tatara is a girl. Sarasa is overcome with emotion at Ageha’s sacrifice and wonders if there’s anything she can do to make things better. Ageha tells her that he knew she was the child of destiny the first time he saw her in the desert, and if she can focus on rebuilding their country he’ll be happy. Even Asagi is now on watch to protect Sarasa in prison, but when she’s used as a canary in a prison mine, she’s taken away by the “King of the Northern Seas.” Seeing Sarasa and Ageha endure a horrible situation together after being parted for so long showed the strength of their relationship, and as horrible as Asagi would like to think he is, he’s gradually being changed just by being exposed to Tatara as well.

It is PRISON BREAK TIME in Volume 12! One of the ways that Tamura is such a pro in the way she presents this sprawling adventure with a large cast is that each character gets a moment that provides some insight into their personality, motivations, or relationships. When Shuri’s cousin discovers that Tatara is a woman, he immediately starts groping her, leading her to reflect that the terror she’s experiencing “reminds me of all the terror that women go through…reminds me that I’m a woman…even while I’m trying to live as a man!” Ageha rescues her, but not before they’re doused with icy water, and Sarasa takes care of him tenderly. Sarasa is beginning to wonder if Shuri is the Red King after her encounter with Wind Owl, but the ever sneaky Asagi assures her that they look nothing alike. Sarasa manages to find Hayato, and he undergoes his own trial as he fights against the drugs he’s been dosed with to warn Sarasa about the dangers that lie ahead in the prison. Asagi spends most of his time in prison commenting about how much he dislikes the events he’s experienced. One of my favorite moments occurred when Sarasa was distracted after learning the histories of the prison guards. She’s distracted and lost in her own thoughts, so Ageha promptly sweeps her off her feet and gives her a dramatic kiss before asking her what she needs as a leader. As always it is a combination of Sarasa’s confidence and insight and the help of her friends that lead her out of the prison. Old Kaku turns out to have been the only successful escapee from the prison, and he, Nakajin, and Asagi’s spy Muratake work to help as well. After the political intrigue and tropical idyll everyone experienced in Okinawa, the prison in the North provides a great contrast to the earlier story arc. This volume ends on a cliffhanger (literally) and I haven’t read these middle volumes of Basara recently at all, so I’m eagerly looking forward to the next volume!

Ultra Mega Super Shoujo Giveaway!

April 15, 2012 by

Update: Winner according to random.org is Furry Saint, comment number 5!

I’m going to give away a box of assorted shoujo goodies, first volumes from Viz, Tokyopop, and Yen Press. Leave a comment on this post with the name of your favorite shoujo heroine! Giveaway will be open until the end of April, U.S. residents only please, as shipping a box of books outside the US can get expensive.

I’m giving away:

Gaba Kawa
Happy Cafe Volumes 1 and 2
Venus Capriccio Volume 1
Million Tears Volume 1
Beast Master Volume 1
Pig Bride Volume 1
Sugarholic Volume 1

Kimi Ni Todoke Volumes 12 and 13

April 13, 2012 by 1 Comment

I’m very fond of this series, but I tend to read it in patches. It is the 12th volume and Sawako and Kazehaya are only just to the stage of awkward hand-holding and meeting each other’s family! No one could accuse Kimi Ni Todoke of moving too fast, but there’s something about the slow development of this awkward romance that is very endearing. School is out for the summer, and Sawako isn’t entirely sure how she’s supposed to get in touch with Kazehaya because as she confesses to her girlfriends Chizu and Ayane “In general, I don’t know what to do in a relationship.” They point out to her that if she’s in a relationship it would be normal for them to spend time with each other, hold hands, and kiss, leaving Sawako instantly overwhelmed. She just cannot process the idea of actually having a boyfriend. Kazehaya and Sawako do homework together for their summer classes. Later, they walk out together and there is an scene showing the shadow of Sawako’s hand reaching out towards Kazehaya, capturing the agony of making the first move. Kazehaya accidentally jostles her and then takes her hand, and as they are walking together as boyfriend and girlfriend, they run into Sawako’s mother. What follows is a simultaneously awkward and adorable round of introductions, as the new couple takes turns giving Sawako’s Mom all the details about Kazehaya and their relationship. They end up going to Sawako’s house for dinner and her father’s reaction to Kazehaya’s presence is a blank rictus of shock, made more comical by the way his glasses go completely white. Kimi Ni Todoke is really great at capturing all these embarrassing moments of teenagerhood while telling a very sweet story. Sawako’s parents welcome Kazekaya because they see how happy she’s become recently. The next story in this volume gives some great background on Ayane and Chizu’s friendship, as it shows how they became unlikely best friends.

As summer vacation progresses, it is Sawako’s turn to meet Kazehaya’s family. It is fun to see how excited she is. Kazehaya and his mom have the type of relationship where they mock apologize for each other as soon as they have an audience. Sawako is excited to see Kazehaya’s little brother and when she meets Kazehaya’s father she is overcome with the thought of seeing “Kazehaya-kun in the future!” Kazehaya’s sporty dad quizzes Sawako on her eating and exercise habits, makes the pronouncement that she needs to eat more and gruffly insists that she eat his favorite ice cream. Other notable episodes in this book include Chizu’s massive arm wrestling competition on the beach, and the beginning of the obligatory in most shoujo manga school trip chapters. Overall dipping back into this series reminded me of the things that Kimi Ni Todoke always seems to do right – sympathetic but quirky characters going thorough first love with plenty of awkwardness and funny moments.

Review copies provided by the publisher

PR: Manly Takao Saito manga from Jmanga

April 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Jmanga is running a promotion for testosterone-filled titles from Takao “Golgo 13″ Saito. I reviewed Saito’s title The Larceny Log of Zampei the Cloud-Snatcher in my first post on Jmanga. Read on for the details!

100 Points Back on all Takao Saito Titles!!
URL: http://www.jmanga.com/list/author/takao-saito
Date: April 5th to 11th 2012
Details:
1. Purchase any title by Takao Saito and get 100 POINTS BACK per volume!!
2. Sign up for a paid subscription and get up to 4500 POINTS!!
About Takao Saito:
Takao Saito is a Japanese manga artist born in 1936. He debuted with his first manga “Baron Air” in 1955. He is best known for creating the internationally acclaimed series “Golgo 13”.

Jmanga Review – Cousin Vols 1-3 by Ryo Ikuemi

April 5, 2012 by 4 Comments

Cousin is available on Jmanga.com

Most of the series on Jmanga have one or two volumes, so it was nice to stumble across this three volume shoujo series that has been completely translated. Cousin is the story of a girl finding her way after high school, and I was intrigued to see that it was published in the magazine Zipper, which also published Paradise Kiss. Tsubomi, nicknamed “Bon” is graduating from high school and planning on working part-time. She’s a friendly chubby girl who has many superficial acquaintances, and one closer friend, the snarky and boy crazy Eiko. Bon is fairly sheltered after attending an all-girl’s school and the first boy she really talks to is Shiro, one of the other workers at the video store. One remarkable thing about Bon is that her cousin Noni is a hot new celebrity.

Noni experiences her first crush when an tall man bumps into her at the video store and casually picks her up to put her back on her feet, commenting “You’re so small, I didn’t see you!” Shiro knows the gentle giant is Nasukawa, a lonely recently divorced man who runs a nearby restaurant. Bon and Shiro manage to strike up a friendship through work. Shiro takes Bon to Nasukawa’s restaurant. Bon starts to get curious about appearing feminine for the first time, getting a new haircut and asking Eiko to help her go shopping. Filled with hopes for her first love, Bon goes on a diet and transforms herself with Shiro acting as her cheerleader the whole time. Shiro’s girlfriend is a former classmate of Bon’s who looks entirely different from the way she looked in high school too. Shiro seems to be a bit of a good-natured, slightly clumsy Svengali.

Cousin has a nice slice-of-life quality to it as Bon goes through her self-improvement regime and find herself becoming friends with Shiro and Nasukawa. She even reconnects with her famous cousin Noni at a wedding and sees that being a celebrity might not really change someone all that much. Bon has a bit of the typical shoujo heroine personality type to her, being clumsy and socially awkward, but she’s still a sympathetic protagonist. The art is simple but attractive, and the characters are as stylish as you would expect from a manga published in a fashion magazine. Cousin has one of those slightly open-ended endings that hints at what is going to happen, but leaves the conclusion up to the reader. I found most of the characters very sympathetic, and one of the chapters employed one of my favorite narrative devices in manga, where all the supporting characters speak directly to the reader as if they are in a documentary. This was a quick way of adding more depth to the story, as the reader can see how Bon is perceived by many different people. It was fun to be able to sit down and read the entire series at once! Recommended if you like shoujo transformation stories.

Electronic access provided by Jmanga.com.

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