Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 4

February 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Yona of the Dawn Volume 4 by Mizuho Kusanagi

Yona of the Dawn is firmly in the “get the team together” quest story line that is so common in fantasy manga, but even though the plot is predictable, I’m enjoying it greatly just due ot the character interactions along the way and the interesting world building. It wouldn’t be a team without plenty of bickering, and the first chapter of this volume shows Gija and Hak constantly going at it as they both want the role of Yona’s main protector. Gija’s sheltered upbringing in his remote village doesn’t exactly prepare him for life on the open road, as it turns out he is terrified by bugs. The bickering continues and provides some much needed humor before the rest of the volume settles in with a much more serious story line.

It turns out that not every dragon guardian was raised with as much privelege and love as Gija, and as the Yona and her band go to find the Blue Dragon, they find a mysterious village with masked tribes people, and the Blue Dragon has been treated as a pariah, not celebrated due to his unique powers like Gija. The feeling in the village is unsettling, and provides Yona a real challenge to work through as she attempts to discover the identity of the Blue Dragon. One of the reasons why I like this series so much is that while Yona is obviously blessed by being a princes and having some fabled mystical guardians, she isn’t going to stop trying to improve herself. She still spends hours practicing her archery alone because she wants to be able to help the people who are fighting for her. Getting through to the Blue Dragon is a product of her insight into human nature and her genuine interest in other people as opposed to relying on her title or position in the world.

Kusanagi’s art continues to be clear and easy to read, and she’s great at conveying different moods and emotions like Gija’s over exaggerated reactions to the horrors of nature, Yona’s determination, and the unsettling masks of the Blue Dragon’s tribe.

Demon Prince of Momochi House Vols. 5 and 6

January 25, 2017 by Leave a Comment

As I was trying to get caught up on this series one of the things that struck me about Demon Prince of Momochi House is that Aya Shouoto has developed a unique sensibility for the series. It manages to blend warm heartfelt moments about a found family (even if that family is a house of beautiful spirits) with moments of unsettling menace and a general lingering sense of unease due to the fact that as the human in Momochi house, a wrong decision by Himari might have profound consequences. The tension between these two themes is part of what makes reading this series so rewarding.

Demon Prince of Momochi House Volume 5 by Aya Shouoto

One of the things I appreciate about manga series with an expanded cast of characters is the chance to delve into the motivations and feelings of characters who aren’t as central to the main story. This volume opens with a story centering on Yukari. The house is sweltering, but he seems to be unaffected. Yukari reveals that he used to be human, but this revelation isn’t followed up on very much as the gang decide to travel somewhere to escape the horrible weather. They visit a spring from Yukari’s past where the dragon god Ryujin used to be a guardian. There’s something wrong with the water though, and Yukari wonders if if it might be an indication of trouble for Ryujin. Himari is quick to jump in and offer to help. They call the god Ryujin and he takes Himari away. Aoi in his spiritual form as the Nue goes after her immediately. In the end, Yukari and Ryujin renew their connection and the found family in Momochi House feels as though it has expanded once again.

One thing I was intrigued by was the continuing presence of Aoi’s old childhood friend Hayato. His memories of the supernatural and Aoi were erased, but he continues to be a bit of a melancholy presence at school, and he does represent a possible friend for Yukari who isn’t tied to the supernatural world. He and Yukari get thrown together at school, but she ends up openly talking about her feelings with Aoi, and he denies thinking of her romantically.

Demon Prince of Momochi House Volume 6 by Aya Shouoto

The next volume finds Yukari and Aoi dealing with the aftermath of her confession. She wakes up in the morning to a teenage girl’s worst nightmare as everyone at Momochi house knows that her feelings have been rejected. They start throwing a party to commemorate her rejection. Even school isn’t a refuge, as Hayato guesses what’s wrong and starts patting Yukari on the head in commiseration. There’s some distraction in the form of a new teacher, who looks suspiciously like Aoi, and who happens to have a mysterious mirror that sends Yukari into a dream of a mirror dimension comprised of her own thought projections and feelings.

Back at Momochi house, Aoi is distracted and Ayakashi are starting to pop up from all over. A giant malicious cat spirit who seems to be a bit emotionally fixated on Aoi moves in temporarily and sets up a number of tests designed to torment Yukari, except she sails through them with her usual good cheer and indefatigable work ethic.

While at times this manga seems like a series of short episodes, at the end of each volume the relationships between the characters have shifted, sometimes in a dramatic fashion and sometimes in more subtle ways. The mysterious ties of Aoi to Momochi house continue to make the reader feel uneasy for the young couple and intrigued to see their next adventures.

Sakura Hime Volumes 1-4

January 8, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Sakura Hime Volumes 1-4 by Arina Tanemura

One of my reading goals over winter vacation was to make some headway into some of the series that I’ve been hoarding but not finishing. The main ones I’ve had around the house are 07-Ghost, Magi, and Sakura Hime. Since Sakura Hime is the shortest, I decided to start with that. Also, for someone that genuinely loves Arina Tanemura manga as much as I do, it is just plain weird that I haven’t finished the series before now. I didn’t reach my goal of reading the entire series during winter vacation but I hope to whittle away at it over the next couple months.

Sakura is a 14 year old princess from the moon who is engaged to Prince Oura, the son of the emperor. She is extrmely unhappy about her upcoming marriage. Hanging out in a tree in protest, she falls into the arms of Aoba, a handsome and obnoxious emissary who has come to escort her to her new husband. They immediately start bickering in that “I hate you because I’m secretly attracted to you!” way that so often happens in shoujo romance. And in a not very great surprise, Aoba is actually Oura.

Sakura and Aoba are fighting from the start, as he thinks that she has the potential to turn into an evil demon due to her moon heritage, while Sakura is determined to protect humans. Demons called youko attack Sakura if she looks directly at the moon, and she is able to manifest magical girl powers when she calls on the somewhat cranky sword Chizakura. One interesting aspect of this manga is that each character has a unique soul symbol that defines their lives. Sakura’s is “Destroy” which highlights the tension between her otherworldly nature and her desire to protect humanity. It also feeds into Aoba’s worries that Sakura is dangerous.

A large supporting cast is introduced at a quick pace in the first few volumes, including the tiny mononoke Asagiri, who is a companion to Sakura. Sakura is also joined by a spunky ninja protector named Kohaku, who has a companion frog named Hayate who is actually a handsome ninja boy with an unfortunate curse. The Priestess Byakura serves in the role of mystical advisor. Lord Fujimurasaki shows up to hint at love triangle possibilities, and just be generally fabulous with a tendency to compose random poems as commentary on whatever is happening around him.

One thing I was surprised about as the story unfolded is that the relationship between Aoba and Sakura ends up evolving greatly in the first few volumes, as based on patterns in other Tanemura series, I expected the “I hate you, no I love you” dynamic to continue for at least 6-7 volumes. Sakura grows in capabilities and confidence as she continues to reclaim her heritage as a princess from the moon. It wouldn’t be a Tanemura series if the heroine wasn’t spending a great deal of time stressing out over a man so since the situation with Aoba is quickly resolved, Sakura’s long-lost brother Enju appears and takes her away.

Tanemura does a good job juggling the character relationships with such a large cast, and in the first few volumes she has moments of levity balanced with some serious mystical creepiness. The moon is a creepy, creepy place. Sakura’s good human companions are balanced out by Enju’s followers, and I’m looking forward to the coming conflict in the rest of the series. I had to laugh when I was reading one of the authors’ notes, as Tanemura commented that she was using less screentone, and I have to say I can’t see it. The combination of historical setting, magical girl hijinks, and moon people ensures that all the flowing ribbons and fluttering flower petals that Tanemura fans would expect are present in this series. After reading the first few volumes, I’m enjoying it very much.

Yona of the Dawn Volume 3

December 27, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Given my general tendency of loving fantasy shoujo series, it is no surprise that I’m thoroughly enjoying Yona of the Dawn. In the last volume Yona and her trusty guard Hak have a narrow escape from her pursuers and end up being cared for by a long-lost priest. I think pacing can be so essential for a good fantasy series. A more rushed storyline doesn’t fit in all the world building that is needed to make a series seem believable for the reader. Yona gets to know her rescuers, the priest Ik-Su, and his snarky companion Yun.

I appreciated that there was some time for flashbacks as Yun tells Yona the story of how he became Ik-Su’s helper. The unlikely combination of a street-smart orphan boy and a priest with an inability to focus on worldly concerns like the necessity of shoes is the foundation for a lifelong friendship. As Yun gets to know Yona, he begins to see that she isn’t the pampered princess he was assuming she was. Hak continues to make random flirtatious comments that don’t seem to register with Yona at all, so I’m assuming that any romance will be developing at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Yona has a new direction and quest, as she learns about the descendants of legendary dragon guardians who protected the Crimson Dragon King in the past. She sets out with Hak and Yun to search for these mystical warriors, and along the way she demands lessons in swordsmanship or archery so she can be of more use in a battle. Hak hands her a bow and she dedicates herself to practicing even though she isn’t very good at the start.

There’s something very cozy and reassuring about reading a volume of a shoujo fantasy series like this, being able to settle in and look forward to a long adventure with many volumes ahead to read. This is one of my favorite manga series of the past year.

Heiress and the Chauffeur 2 and Shuriken and Pleats Vol 2

December 26, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Short manga series can be a bit troublesome at times. Sometimes they are short because they obviously weren’t all that popular, or because it seems like the premise for the series isn’t enough to stand up to multiple volumes. Sometimes two volume manga series really deliver on a a good short story, and here we have examples of one good and one not so great two volume series.

Shuriken and Pleats Volume 2 by Matsuri Hino

Matsuri Hino’s art is always gorgeous, and I enjoyed the first volume of this series mostly because I liked the concept of an overly serious ninja girl being forced to be a regular highschooler. The second volume of this series fell apart, although there were a few hints of humor along the way that I appreciated. First, I was totally confused because I remember putting down the first volume thinking that the heroine, Mikage, was an orphan. Imagine my surprise when Mikage’s mother shows up to visit her daughter, stands in the doorway and has a brief conversation with her and then promptly leaves. And it turns out that her mother has no idea that she’s a ninja, while Mikage’s father is actually running the ninja organization that Mikage used to work for.

The confusion continued as random scenes of high school life were interspersed with the conspiracy about seeds that was explored in the first volume, but the main thing that remained constant was Mikage being attracted to much older men with her feelings unreciprocated, while other much older men continue to find her adorable. The only part I found somewhat amusing about this volume was Mikage’s tendency to reach for ninja weapons and when called on her actions, proclaim that she was just holding a pen. The pretty art wasn’t enough to compensate for an incoherent storyline, and it is perplexing because Hino is capable of so much better.

The Heiress and the Chauffeur Volume 2 by Keiko Ishihara

Two volumes is probably just the right amount of length for this story about a Taisho Era heiress who is in love with her childhood companion and chauffeur. Sakaya is unusually forthright and straightforward about facing her problems, and she exhibits a great deal of resilience considering some difficult life circumstances that she’s dealing with. She has a lame foot which sometimes causes her pain, and her father is off overseas working. Her protector is Shinobu, a chauffeur who she persists in seeing as an older brother even though he is clearly in love with her.

A suitor for Sakaya shows up in this volume, and continues to meet with her even while telling her that he has business that is 10 times more important than socializing with her. Sakaya’s father is pushing for the match, so this ends up being a test for Sakaya in standing up to family pressure. This causes Sakaya and Shinobu to become a bit more honest with themselves about their feelings for each other, even going as far as stealing away with each other briefly. Like many short series that get pressured to wrap up quickly, the pacing of the story was a little bit rushed, and the authors’ notes contain some hints at stories she would have incorporated if she had more time. Still, this was a satisfying conclusion to this short series, and I enjoyed both the clarity of the art and the historical setting. I’d definitely be on the lookout for a longer series from Ishihara if Viz finds another one to put out under the Shojo Beat imprint.

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