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Manga Reviews

Oresama Teacher Volume 6

Oresama Teacher Volume 6 by Izumi Tsubaki

Oresama Teacher is rapidly becoming one of my favorite shoujo comedy series. Sometimes pure comedy manga end up getting into repetitive plot lines where the same jokes are recycled over and over again, but Oresama Teacher continues to easily maintain my interest. One of the reasons why I enjoy this manga so much is due to the face-punching tendencies of the heroine Mafuyu. Perhaps it is my own violent tendencies that make me immediately sympathetic to stories about socially clueless juvenile delinquents, but the situations Tsubaki engineers for her heroine are so wacky I am usually surprised and amused whenever I crack open a new volume of Oresama Teacher.

The opening scenario of this volume was pretty hilarious as Shinobu, the evil ninja sidekick to the equally evil student president announces that he’s going to fight Mafuyu despite the fact that she’s a girl, saying “I fight fair and square and I believe in gender equality.” He basically implys that Mafuyu is a bad feminist if she doesn’t accept his challenge. She has no problem with fighting, but since she’s supposed to be leaving her juvenile delinquent ways behind her she says that Shinobu must fight her extremely poorly disguised alter ego Super Bun first. She goes to Takaomi for advice and he asks her why she’s really fighting. She challenges him saying “Aren’t you just like me?” He comments that he used to be. Mafuyu manages to defeat her opponent using a variety of ridiculous yet effective rabbit-like fighting techniques.

The rest of the volume centers around Mafuyu and her friends investigating the mystery behind their school. Mafuyu also has a moment of realization when she attempts to fulfill her dream of being a normal high school girl only to temporarily lose her friendship with Hayasaka in the process. The last part of the novel takes a turn towards the serious, as Takaomi’s mysterious past is filled in a bit and the reader begins to piece together some of the reasons why he decided to turn to teaching after a successful career as a juvenile delinquent. Overall, this was a very satisfying volume of Oresama Teacher, due to the way Tsubaki mixed comedic insanity with more poignant moments.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

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Manga Reviews

Codename: Sailor V Volume 2

Codename: Sailor V Volume 2 by Naoko Takeuchi

The fun part of Sailor V for me continues to center around seeing Takeuchi work out some of the plot lines and characters that are explored more fully in Sailor Moon, with the benefit of a more breezy angst-free heroine. The most hilarious aspect of the book is the sudden appearance of Sailor V’s latest crush, Phantom Ace. I know some people may find Sailor Moon’s boyfriend Tuxedo Mask, what with his tuxedo, mask, and habit of throwing roses everywhere, but Phantom Ace seems to enjoy running around town throwing playing cards while wearing some sort of bizarre girdle over his clothes. It is truly something else. Sailor V fights off evildoers who are trying to make girls pudgy with mysterious candy, deals with her own loss of popularity when she slacks off on her public appearances, foils a plan involving brainwashing kittens, and even assists a hapless mangaka.

Gradually the threats that Mina has to deal with move from being the typical formulaic monster of the week to adventures that involve a little more of the emotions and personalities of the characters. Mina intervenes in the life of one of her classmates who has always been a loner. She tries to pursue Phantom Ace and in the process learns that she’s going to have to choose duty over love, which is about as unshoujo-like an ending as I’ve ever read in shoujo manga. Perhaps because Mina is fated to become a supporting cast member in another character’s manga, she’s not going to get the typical happy ending in her own series. While the storylines in Sailor V were not particularly complex, I do think that reading this series gave me more of an appreciation of Sailor V when she makes her dramatic appearance in Sailor Moon. Mina appears as a character who is already familiar, and it was fun to see how much she’d evolved between the ending of her own series and her new supporting role in Sailor Moon.

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Manga Reviews

Dawn of the Arcana Volume 1

Dawn of the Arcana Volume 1 by Rei Toma

When I first saw that Viz had announced this title I was immediately intrigued because I am a sucker for fantasy shoujo series and I thought the cover art for this volume was very striking. After reading it, I found Dawn of the Arcana to be an intriguing new series that is well worth reading even if it isn’t executed perfectly. This is the first volume of manga from Rei Toma and as a whole it is very well-executed even if there are a few minor deficiencies in the plotting and art.

Two tiny nations that make up both halves of an island have been warring with each other for years. The political bickering is only interrupted occasionally by a political marriage. The latest poor maiden to be sacrificed to preserve the peace is Nakaba, a red-haired princess who is feistier than the reader might expect for someone who is willing to take part in an arranged marriage. Her new husband is Prince Caesar, an arrogant young man who is constantly referring to Nakaba’s red hair as a sign of her non-noble demeanor. Nakaba is accompanied into the hostile country by her servant, a man named Loki who is a member of the Ajin, an underclass of demi-humans. Loki seems more like a protector and partner than a servant to be bossed around, as seen in the first confrontation between the new husband and wife. Loki pulls a knife on the prince after Nakaba comments on his rudeness in manhandling her. Nakaba promptly smacks Loki across the face in order to prevent him from being killed or punished by anyone else, saying that since Caesar is her husband, “That makes him your master as well.” When Caesar stands there gloating Nakaba punches him in the face and comments to Loki “disciplining my husband is my duty.” With all the face-punching happening in the first few pages of the book, it made me immediately inclined to root for Nakaba.

As the volume progresses Toma lays out some plot elements that I can see will drive the manga forward for the next few volumes. Nakaba is haunted by memories and visions, suggesting that she isn’t exactly a normal princess. There’s conflict between Caesar, his father, and the older illegitimate brother who is the heir to the kingdom. Loki’s protectiveness of Nakaba may go way beyond their bodyguard/master relationship, and the political machinations of the nobility ensure that Nakaba’s first few weeks of marriage are going to be a test of survival instead of a honeymoon. I was surprised to see that Dawn of the Arcana appeared in the magazine Cheese! originally, because I always thought that Cheese! was the go-to source for more risque shoujo, but maybe things get more dramatic later on in the series. The art in Dawn of the Arcana is attractive but a bit generic. There isn’t really a distinct style to enjoy here, and occasionally several panels suffer from not having much going on in the background. This seems like a bit of a lost opportunity for some world building, but I’m hoping that the art will get more detailed as the series progresses. For a creator’s first collected volume, Dawn of the Arcana is quite accomplished. Not all of the plot details are conveyed with much subtlety, but I put down this manga very interested to see what would happen next with Nakaba’s story. This manga would also be an excellent choice for anyone missing the shoujo fantasy catalog from CMX, as the combination of quasi-medieval setting and political intrigue reminded me of several CMX series that I enjoyed very much.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

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Manga Reviews

Sailor Moon Volume 2

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 2 by Naoko Takeuchi

A ton happens in this volume! It takes a bit of an adjustment to get into the story pacing of Sailor Moon because everything moves so much more rapidly than most recent shoujo manga I’ve read. Usagi/Sailor Moon and Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask are inexplicably drawn to each other. Usagi knows that she should tell the rest of her team that Tuxedo Mask is aware of her secret identity, but she can’t bring herself to talk about it. The sailor senshi speculate about the crescent-shaped mark on the mysterious Sailor V’s forehead and wonder what her significance is to the lost Moon Kingdom. They fight a typical monster of the week scenario when they go up against an evil video rental shop and Sailor V finally makes an appearance, and Luna introduces her as the heir of the Moon Kingdom, the Princess Serenity. I have to say it was amusing to see Sailor V in her fully awakened state in this series, because it stands in stark contrast to the way she was portrayed in her own series. Here’s she’s calm and cool, immediately assuming the role of mentor to the other sailor senshi.

Usagi has been slowly losing her innate silliness as the series progresses, and with the appearance of Sailor V she willingly assumes the protector role she thinks she should have in her role as Sailor Moon. When she’d act like a wimpy crybaby about going into battle before, she announces “Then it’s our job to protect you!” when Sailor V is determined to investigate a mysterious disturbance on Tokyo Tower. Sailor V’s role as royal decoy doesn’t last long as it is quickly revealed that the real Princess Serenity is Usagi. She and Mamoru are playing out the lives previously lived by a princess of the Moon and a prince of Earth. By the end of this volume the Usagi and the sailor senshi have been to the moon (TO THE MOON!), encountered a hologram of Princess Serinity’s mother in a past life, experienced mystical hair growth, and dealt with the terrible heartbreak that happens when your desired future boyfriend has been turned into a minion of evil (MINION OF EVIL!). It is almost on the verge of being a little exhausting, but I find myself amused by all the little quirky touches in this manga, like the way Sailor Mars is always glaring off into the distance and making pronouncements that she senses evil, right before something evil appears. Sailor Moon continues to be both fun and cute, and the more complex mystical bits about mystical reincarnation and the sadness of decrepit architecture on the moon save it from being too sweet for me to enjoy.

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Manga Reviews

2011 Manga Gift Guide

It is that time again, when the world is awash with consumerism. Surely there are worse things than picking up a few volumes of manga for yourself or loved ones? Here’s what I think should be on your holiday lists depending on the type of person you’re shopping for:

For the old school shoujo fan:

Truly we live in glorious times, when classic and hard to find out of print manga is being released again here in the US. I’m speaking of course of Sailor Moon, because what holiday isn’t made better by magical girls in sailor uniforms taking names and fighting evil while yelling catchphrases like “venus Love-Me Chain!” I’ve reviewed the first volumes of Sailor V and Sailor Moon, and I have the second volumes ready to enjoy over the holiday weekend. Complete at two volumes and never before published in the US, Codename: Sailor V is a must-have for any shoujo fan who hasn’t bought it already, and the nice new editions of Sailor Moon are a treat. Wow, Tuxedo Mask is so dreamy, isn’t he? Great for any manga fan who is in touch with his or her inner 13 year old girl.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and Codename: Sailor V

Princess Knight

I haven’t read Princess Knight yet, but it is on my personal wishlist! Vertical continues to do the world a great service by releasing so many great editions of Tezuka’s manga in English, and this early girls’ manga defined many classic shoujo storylines.

Lovey Hardcover Editions

One nice thing that has happened this year is more manga series are getting the deluxe treatment. I’m not going to turn up my nose at a new paperback manga, but it is nice to see that more publishers are varying the formats we can expect from manga. So I’m going to highlight two very giftworthy series that come in hardback format.

Wandering Son Volume 1

Fantagraphics is one of those companies that does such a stellar job on the book production front that I knew any manga published from them would be a treat. I was happy to see that they brought their best efforts to Wandering Son, a tender and sometimes humorous slice of life story dealing with gender identity issues in modern day Japan.

A Bride’s Story Volumes 1 and 2

The other hardcover series I want to spotlight is A Bride’s Story from Yen Press. Kaoru Mori brings her meticulous attention to detail and through research practices to her story of a young woman married to an even younger boy in Central Asia, cementing ties between two nomadic tribes. I enjoyed the first volume very much, and the second is on my wishlist. Two volumes of this series are out now, and these lavishly illustrated books would make a great gift for any serious manga fan.

Best Manga for Manga Ambassadorship

Drops of God

Drops of God is a bit of an anomaly as it has gotten mainstream press attention due to its effect on wine prices in other countries even before being licensed in the US. This was yet another manga I thought I’d never see translated here, so the fact that I can expect Vertical’s excellent production work makes me even more enthusiastic about this manga. I haven’t read it yet, as it is in a box of comics somewhere between Pennsylvania and Salt Lake City that has yet to be delivered to my house (why is it taking so long, whyyyyyyyyy) but this manga about wine has the best crossover potential of any recent title, and I hope some non-manga readers discover it.

If you are dreaming of an Italian vacation

Gente and Ristorante Paradiso

Natsume Ono’s slice of life stories set around an Italian Cafe allow you to disappear into another world filled with handsome bespectacled older gentlemen and the people who love them. Her manga have a distinct sense of pace and scene, making it easy to vicariously experience the rhythms and foibles of cafe life.

New Collected editions and box sets

Viz always comes out with a crazy box set right before the holidays, and this year we have the Fullmetal Alchemist Box set.

My pain at knowing that X/1999 may never get an actual ending is assuaged by all my memories of the billowing coats and random feathers scattered through every panel of this manga. This was the series that first got me into Clamp, and there’s a new omnibus edition of the first three volumes out.

If you’re curious here’s my manga gift guide from last year.


And here’s the 2011 manga gift guide round-up page.

My personal manga wishlist is Dawn of the Arcana Volume 1, A Bride’s Story Volume 2, and Princess Knight 1 and 2. What’s on your wishlist?