Category: REVIEWS

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Manga Reviews REVIEWS

Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden Vol. 11

I am looking forward to the end of this series in an odd sort of way. The next volume will be the last and I’m looking forward to being able to reread the entire series in a couple sittings. There was quite the gap in publication between volumes, so I’m curious to see how the story plays out when I’m not waiting around for four years or so between volumes 9 and 10. Yuu Watase says in her author notes that her series tend to pick up towards the conclusion, and this is definitely true for this volume as Uruki confronts his family legacy, Teg and Urumiya deal with their celestial warrior destiny and the heroine Takiko continues to cough up blood while working bravely to save the country of Bei-Ja. There’s a good balance in the story as it presents plenty of emotional character arcs and action with a general feeling of impending tragedy.

Overall after reading this volume I was struck by how much self-sacrifice is a theme and how this contrasts with the somewhat lighter tone of the original series. Takiko’s devotion to her role as Priestess of Genbu is absolute, but her romance with Uruki does get a bittersweet type of resolution at the close of this volume. One of the things I’m going to miss about this series is the art. Watase’s distinct character designs never leave me confused about what’s going on, even with an extended cast and many subplots happening towards the end of the series. The action scenes are dynamic, and the costumes and setting are detailed enough to make me invested in the World of the Four Gods. I’m looking forward to the last volume, but I’m going to have a box of kleenex ready when I read it!

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Manga Reviews REVIEWS

Harelequin Manga Quick Takes: Maddie’s Love Child, Expecting the Boss’ Baby, The Royal Marriage, and Word of a Gentleman

I went on a .99 cent shopping spree in the Harlequin manga section of the Kindle store recently, so here are some quick takes on bargain romance manga.

Maddie’s Love Child

The Maddie in question in this title is an Australian headstrong leather-garbed interior designer, who enjoys making rich and remote men fall in love with her and then stomps on their hearts. She’s also longing for a baby but not a husband, so she is determined to track down the perfect sperm donor. Miles McMillan, remote and rich British businessman comes back into her life. Maddie and Miles met previously but he rejected her advances because he was engaged. Now that he’s broken things off with his fiancee, he decides to return to Australia for business…and something else. Maddie and Miles start to date, but will her baby making schemes and romantic foibles, combined with his emotional reticence and uptight British ways result in a romance or just a whole bunch of emotional trauma? Maddie’s internal dialogues sizing up Miles’ fatherhood prospects (“My child would never learn his arrogance or cold pride. And I could give it all of my love!”) were pretty hilarious. The art in this title was a little stilted, but generally attractive. Maddie’s personality and forthright nature was refreshing compared to other Harlequin heroines, so if reading about emotionally distant British businessmen falling in love is one of the romance novel tropes that you enjoy, this title was worth the .99 cents.


Expecting the Boss’ Baby

In Harlequin world billionaire bachelors with attractive secretaries end up accidentally impregnating them FAR TOO OFTEN! Michael is a rich emotionally distant man who accidentally celebrates a business deal with his capable secretary Kate a bit too much. She’s now secretly pregnant and harbors feelings of affection towards Michael the millionaire robot, but he is oblivious and doesn’t want any sort of emotional connection with Kate. When he makes his feelings known to her, she promptly quits. Michael is emotional remote because he grew up in an orphanage, his only friends are a couple of other millionaires who dispense warped advice about women and relationships. When Michael realizes that Kate is pregnant, he’s determined to ensure that his child won’t grow up without a father. This was very much a middle of the road title for me. Both the story and art were about average in terms of what one would expect from a Harlequin manga adaptation. This is part of a trilogy, as I’m sure Michael’s millionaire bachelor friends also find themselves promptly married off in later installments.

The Royal Marriage

This title had the vaguely retro art that I tend to enjoy most when reading Harlequin manga. There are plenty of big eyes and flowing hair abounds as Gabriella, the Brazilian heiress finds herself trapped in a marriage with Prince Ricardo. Ricardo has the reputation of a playboy, but when Gabriella’s father dies, leaving her with no family and a will with some very odd provisions, she decides to go through with the marriage. Gabriella settles into her new rule as princess, while trying to figure out her feelings towards her new husband. There’s a bit of palace intrigue, and Gabriella is a bit sassier than the usual Harlequin heroine. Along with Maddie’s Love Child, this was the title I enjoyed the most out of this batch of four manga.

Word of a Gentleman

I tend to take notice when I find a Harlequin title with decent art, because mostly I tend to expect somewhat lackluster art. Of the batch, this had the worst artistic adaptation, with stilted, out of proportion characters. The sub-par quality of the lettering was also distracting. This was a bit of a shame, because aspects of the story were a bit interesting. Clarissa decides that she’s going to hire herself a poor husband in order to get away from the machinations of her evil guardian Uncle and the loutish pawing of her cousin. She fixates on Hugh Richfield, who actually decides to take her up on her offer to pay him to elope with her. Hugh and Clarissa take off for Gretna Green and have some adventures along the way. Unfortunately the happy ending where everybody suddenly becomes rich strains even my willing suspension of disbelief.

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Manga Reviews REVIEWS

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 12

It seems like most volumes of Kamisama Kiss involve human kami Nanami traveling to a new land or meeting some strange yokai. Fortunately this is a plotline that Julietta Suzuki executes so well with both art and story, I don’t mind a bit. I would happily look at a Suzuki art book because I find her character designs so entertaining. I’ve noticed that her underwater characters are often particularly inspired, so there is a lot to like about this volume, which features some major romantic happenings not for Nanami but for her yokai acquaintance Himemiko of the Tatara swamp and her human boyfriend Kotaro.

Himemiko has only appeared to Kotaro in human form, but her secret is going to be tested when her childhood fiance arrives to cause problems. Nishiki is a prince of a neighboring swamp who has grown up arrogant and cut off from contact from most creatures. His solution to his upcoming wedding is to kidnap both Nanami and her shrine, leaving her cut off from Tomoe. Nishiki has a formal way of dressing, accessorized by a scaly headband and fins at the side of his head. When he finds Himemiko in human form she pretends to not know what he’s talking about because she still doesn’t want to reveal her non-human nature to Kotaro. Kotaro gets injured during a confrontation and the god of the sea Ryu-Oh appears again, with his toothy grin, eye patch, and attitude problem.

Nanami struggles with her shrine being trapped at the bottom of a swamp and attempts to get through to Nishiki. Her utter disregard for high court yokai etiquette starts to wear the arrogant Nishiki down towards the end of the volume. His royal mannerism have even cut himself off from his own people, who boggle when they are shown the slightest amount of regard from their ruler. Himemiko and Kotaro start dealing with the true nature of their relationship, even as Nishiki starts to thaw a little bit and begin to understand that he doesn’t know much about the nature of love. Nishiki’s character evolves throughout the volume, and it is always good to see Nanami cause change just simply by being herself.

Even if Nanami and Tomoe’s relationship isn’t resolved yet, it is nice to see things moving forward for the other human/yokai couple in the book. I’m going to look forward to see what happens next at the conclusion of this arc, and if there’s a happy ending for the swamp Princess and her human it will be very interesting to see how Tomoe and Nanami react to that development.

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Manga Reviews REVIEWS

Slam Dunk, Vol. 26

With each new volume of Slam Dunk I’m simultaneously happy and a bit disappointed – happy because I can read another volume of a great sports manga, and disappointed because we are slowly inching towards the final 31st volume. I continue to find Slam Dunk fascinating even when a basketball game gets spread out over several volumes. Shohoku is still playing tournament favorite Sannoh, but things finally start to click for the loveable underdogs. My favorite aspect of this volume was that the breakout star of the game wasn’t the cool Rukawa or the sometimes doltish basketball savant Sakuragi, but their sometimes overlooked and quiet teammate Mitsui who starts out the volume by hitting three 3-pointers in a row. He’s able to take advantage of the fact that Sannoh’s focus is on Shohoku’s star players and score with simple precision. Everybody is mystified by Mitsui’s sudden confidence, including his own teammates. The Shohoku fans remember that Mitsui used to be a junior high MVP, but his play has suffered because he felt like he had to live up to some past glories. Shohoku’s enigmatic coach concludes that Mitsui is starting to believe in himself again at just the right time, and there’s a great wordless interchange between coach and player as they make eye contact and pump their fists. Simple moments like this where Inoue just uses a few simple panels to underscore a moment do so much more to drive the story forward than pages filled with expository dialogue.

Once the opposing team realizes that Mitsui needs more coverage, Shohoku needs to change up their strategy yet again. Rukawa and Sakuragi both have some moments, but Sakuragi is tested when the opposing team puts a huge substitute player in and his coach tells him that the monster is his assignment. It is a measure of just how far Sakuragi has come that while he does give in to his first impulse of trying to fight strength with strength, he eventually hits on a way to deal with the new player using strategy and observation. Each volume of Slam Dunk always feels very satisfying. To describe the plot, it might seam as if the story is moving forward at a glacial pace, with three volumes or so spent on one basketball game. But the evolution of characters and personalities brought on by the conflict of basketball is layered and dense, and that makes this title such a special sports manga.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

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Manga Reviews REVIEWS

Dawn of the Arcana, Vol 8

Dawn of the Arcana continues to be an entertaining fantasy series in a subtle and well-executed way. This volume has our adventurers in the desert kingdom of Lithuanel. Nakaba is caught up with a struggle between the princes Akhil and Azhal. They encounter a new type of ajin in the form of a group of terroristically inclined snake-people. Caesar has to prepare to return to his own country, and he attempts to push Nakaba away in an attempt to protect her from getting hurt. Nakaba has grown into a much more confident woman, and she’s not afraid to invoke her power when she needs to in order to help her friends.

One of the things I’m always wanting from this series is more Loki. Nakaba’s devoted dog-like ajin protector has always seemed to have hidden depths and motivations and Nakaba’s power shows her a series of visions that demonstrate just how far Loki is willing to go to to protect her. Nakaba gains a new appreciation for how much information he shielded her from when she was younger and more innocent. Eight volumes in, and I’m still appreciating the clarity of Toma’s art. The paneling had really developed well to showcase both action sequences and the inner feelings of the characters. Seeing a younger Nakaba in flashbacks makes the reader appreciate the bond between her and Loki, and appreciate how far she’s come since she became Caesar’s princess.