Tag: viz media

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Manga Reviews

Tesoro by Natsume Ono

For the Manga Moveable Feast, the one title I had sitting on my to-read stack from the Signature line was Natsume Ono’s Tesoro. I enjoyed this volume of short stories and doujinshi, but it might be mainly for Natsume Ono completists. I enjoyed this volume very much, but I tend to be an Ono fan. I think that the only work of hers translated in English that I haven’t read is Not Simple, and the art style in these stories seems to echo the cover of that volume. The facial expressions and thin linework are recognizably Ono’s work, but instead of the more elongated character designs seen in House of Five Leaves and Gente, the proportions of the people in this manga are much more short and childlike. This cartoony style suits the slice of life nature of the stories, as Ono quickly dashes off observations about family relationships and food. This volume will appeal more to fans of Gente and Ristorante Paradiso than House of Five Leaves.

I tended to enjoy the stories in the first half of the volume more than the ones in the back. Standouts to me were the story “Moyashi Couple,” about an aging husband and wife that worry how they are perceived by their neighbors and “Three Short Stories About Bento” in which the traditional Japanese lunch is a main character in the lives of different people. Ono is at her best when capturing quick illuminating moments that portray the relationships between people and their surroundings. Fans of Gente will enjoy the middle part of this volume, with many stories set in Italy. The story I couldn’t really get into was Senza Titolo #4, about a man getting out of prison who needs to deal with the expectations of all the people who are waiting for him. For some reason that story seemed like it was cobbled together from sources instead of having the more authentic feel of the other works in this manga, which feel very observational and true to life. Tesoro is essentially a collection of Natsume Ono B-sides, and if you’re already a fan of her work you will most likely enjoy it in order to get a glimpse of her earlier art and storytelling style.

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Manga News

PR: New Shojo Titles from Viz Strobe Edge and Demon Love Spell

It was fun seeing @shojobeat on twitter this afternoon announcing these titles, and here’s the official press release from Viz.

Here’s the cover of Strobe Edge, which has some appealing looking art.
The cover of Demon Love Spell features a hero in the classic Mayu Shinjo mold. I’ve been happy with the recent titles coming out from Shojo Beat. Dawn of the Arcana and A Devil and Her Love Song have been entertaining and quirky enough to seem fresh. I was excited to see another Shinjo series announced. I enjoyed Sensual Phrase, and while I haven’t been getting into Ai Ore as much, I suspect that I’ll like Demon Love Spell quite a lot, if only because the hero looks like Sakuya. I’m shallow that way!

Read on for all the details.

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN PUBLISHING LICENSES FOR NEW SHOJO MANGA SERIES STROBE EDGE AND DEMON LOVE SPELL

VIZ Media announces its latest manga (graphic novel) licenses with the acquisition of the domestic publishing rights to two new shojo series – STROBE EDGE, by Io Sakisaka, and DEMON LOVE SPELL, by Mayu Shinjo. Both titles are scheduled to begin publication later this year under the company’s Shojo Beat imprint.

Creator Io Sakisaka’s STROBE EDGE (rated ‘T’ for Teens) asks the timeless question, “What is love?” Ninako Kinoshita’s friends tell her it’s one thing, but Ninako wants to discover this mysterious emotion herself. When she meets Ren Ichinose, a handsome, enigmatic guy worshipped by all the girls at her school, she finds her heartbeat quickening with excitement! Is Ninako about to experience the many facets of love?

Celebrated manga creator Mayu Shinjo (AI ORE!, SENSUAL PHRASE) also returns with her new supernatural romance, DEMON LOVE SPELL (rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens). In the series, Miko is a shrine maiden who has never had much success at seeing or banishing spirits. Then she meets Kagura, a sexy demon who feeds off of women’s feelings of passion and love. Kagura’s insatiable appetite has left many girls brokenhearted at school, so Miko casts a spell to seal his powers. Surprisingly the spell works – sort of – but now Kagura is after her!

“STROBE EDGE has been one of the most requested titles that our readers have asked to be licensed, and the romantic coming-of-age story will be a perfect series for young teen readers in particular,” says Leyla Aker, Vice President, Publishing. “Mayu Shinjo’s new series, DEMON LOVE SPELL, will intrigue older teen readers and young adults with its fun mix of comedic supernatural romance and gorgeous artwork. We look forward to launching both series later this year and will be announcing more information on the forthcoming debuts soon!”

For more information on Shojo Beat manga titles, please visit: www.ShojoBeat.com

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Manga Reviews Reread Reviews

Basara Volumes 11 and 12 by Yumi Tamura

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!

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Manga Reviews

Dengeki Daisy Volume 9

Dengeki Daisy Volume 9 by Kyousuke Motomi

This volume marks a turning point in this series. Orphaned high school student Teru and hacker/janitor Kurosaki have been defining their relationship by dancing around the truth. At first, he hid the fact that he was Daisy, Teru’s confident and protector that was reachable by cell phone. Then, Teru found out Daisy’s identity and proceeded to pretend that she was still ignorant. Then Kurosaki knew that Teru knew who he was, but he wasn’t going to tell her that he knew she knew. Teru found out the details of Kuosaki’s past and the burden of his guilt, and he promptly took off, thinking that he was protecting her by avoiding her. In this volume, they finally have a conversation with each other with no secrets or pretense designed to protect each other from the emotions they are both feeling, and the payoff is big for the readers. Of course, they don’t get to this confrontation without some drama and slightly twisted antics.

Teru is determined to track Kurosaki down. She hears all about his past from his colleagues and comes up with a devious plan. She’s going to tell Kurosaki that she’s going to meet the evil hacker Akira in order to discover his location. She knows that if Kurosaki thinks she’s threatened, he will come to save her. Kurosaki meets her at a beach and when he realizes that she’s tricked him he turns around to walk away. Teru keeps him around by making him angry. She starts reading Daisy’s most mushy messages, goading Kurosaki into a confrontation. They finally hash things out and talk, without all the secrets that have been serving as emotional armor. Teru shows herself to be much wiser than her years in the way she deals with Kurosaki. She knows that his guilt is so overwhelming that he wouldn’t be comforted if she tells him that she forgives him, so instead she tells him “thank you.”

So many shoujo series end up spinning out a central conflict between a romantic couple for many volumes, where not much really happens in terms of character growth until the very end. At nine volumes Dengeki Daisy isn’t a short series any more, but it feels like the characters are genuinely changing and moving forward in a way that makes this series seem fresh. Not only does the relationship between Teru and Kurosaki change slightly after their conversation on the beach, they are shown dealing with the aftermath in various ways. Teru doesn’t want to give up her texting relationship with Daisy, but Kurosaki can’t keep playing the role anymore. They have to carve out new ways of communicating with each other, but it seems like they are moving forward with a stronger foundation. Of course, there’s plenty of evil corporate spy antics going on in the background to keep things exciting. This was a very satisfying volume of Dengeki Daisy, and this series continues to be one of my current favorites.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Categories
Manga Reviews

Stepping on Roses Volume 7

Well, seven volumes in and I think that now I’m finally willing to forgive Stepping on Roses for not being quite as effortlessly cuddly and charming as Rinko Ueda’s series Tail of the Moon. Stepping on Roses still manages to be entertaining due to its historical setting and the romantic foibles of its characters. One of the reasons why I never warmed up to the series before is because the hero Soichiro is so much of a jerk to Sumi. While there was a similar relationship dynamic at play in Tail of the Moon, overall I found the ninja protagonists much more sympathetic than the Meiji era couple in this series. But circumstances change in this volume, showing Soichiro to be much more supportive of Sumi and flexible in his way of thinking than before. Shoichiro’s enemies have executed a series of successful maneuvers that end up ousting from the presidency of his family’s company. Faced with the choice of giving up his bride of convenience to maintain his lifestyle or sticking with Sumi and living in poverty, he chooses Sumi. They move back into the shack with Sumi’s brother and her adopted siblings, and Soichiro has to adjust to living in an entirely different way. He tries to find work and fails while Sumi is holding things together at home. Eventually he realizes that one thing he can do is teach all the children in the neighborhood who can’t afford school fees.

There are plenty of funny scenes with Sumi’s family as everybody tries to adjust to their changed circumstances. Unfortunately there is absolutely no way for Soichiro and Sumi to come to terms with their feelings for each other when they’re surrounded by all of her relatives. As a villain, Nozumu has turned absolutely psychotic, maneuvering himself to take over Soichiro’s company, adopting a slicked-back hairstyle of evil, and showing up to give Sumi money, flowers, and random proposals of marriage. I’m sure Soichiro and Sumi will find a way to get out of their impoverished circumstances, even with Nozumu acting like he’s gone off his meds. Overall, this was a pleasant and diverting volume to read, mostly because Soichiro was so much more interesting when taken out of his familiar surroundings that I found myself rooting for this couple for the first time.

Review copy provided by the publisher.