Archive for the English Manga Category


Alice on Deadlines Manga: Volume 2 (English)

June 11th, 2009

Lapan is the worst Shinigami ever. He’s a slacker, a layabout and a perv. Alice was the most beautiful and popular girl in her elite girls’ school, but since Lapan arrived, poor Alice is forced to watch as day after day Lapan abuses her own body after accidentally being incarnated in it, leaving her stuck as an animated skeleton. To make things worse, another Shinigami, Ume, is spending his days trying to seduce Lapan, while trying to get rid of Alice behind Lappan’s back.

And that is not all that Alice has to deal with in Volume 2 of Alice on Deadlines. She learns a bit about Lapan’s and Ume’s past, takes on an underwear-stealing Shibito and is captured by Mad-sama, the crazy lord of Shibito, who takes a liking to her new skeletal form. On top of all that, she may be falling for Lapan…which is to say that she’s kind of falling for herself.

Yuri in Volume 2 is Ume’s attempts to gain access to Lapan’s body, Lapan cultivating Alice’s hordes of admirers for more “personal: relationships and, I guess, Alice falling for Lapan/herself. So, if a boy pretending to be a girl and a girl vying for the attention of a guy in a girl’s body = Yuri to you, go to town.

There’s lots of wackiness and screaming and scythe-slinging and internal politics among the Shinigami, since the Japanese tend to think of the gods of death as working for a beauracratic organization.

And, uh…that’s about all there is to say about this volume.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 3
Characters – 4
Yuri – 4
Service – 7

Overall – 4

Okazu Superhero Daniel P superheroically sponsored today’s review! Thanks from all of us. ^_^





My-HiME Manga, Volume 5 (English)

June 10th, 2009

My absolute favorite panel of My-HiME Volume 5 is the first page. We see TWO gaudily dressed women, arrogantly posed, smiling condescendingly and clearly labeled “Three Cosmic Beauties.”

Eventually we learn why the third of the three Cosmic Beauties is not present in this panel, and I agree that a label stating “Two of the Three Cosmic Beauties” would not have been as dramatic, but…still. Totally typical of the whole My-HiME experience. ^_^

In case there hasn’t been enough screaming in the previous four volumes, the decibels are upped a few extra notches for this one. Pretty much everything is said in REALLY BIG LETTERS!!! so we know they really mean it. Nagi returns from the dead only to be killed again, which is pretty darn satisfying and, since there’s only one person in the whole world Mai loves more than anything, of course she has to fight that person. Tate gets both girls, sort of, and they beat the bad guy and save the world. Yay us.

Haruka and Yukino have a shiny hero moment which ends with Haruka’s apparent death, but that is of course reversed in a totally Haruka moment at the end of the volume. Second best line of this volume – Shizuru, at Haruka’s reappearance, “Waste of a good funeral.” Youko and Midori get a snuggly moment which pleased me, since they always seemed a more likely pairing to me than Midori and some random old guy.

In conclusion, ShizNat fans should avoid this series like the plague, as should anyone with a shred of dignity. Haruka x Yukino fans will find some sparkly bits hidden among the muck.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 5
Characters – 5
Yuri – 1
Service – 5

Overall – 5

I shout out, well mumble anyway, thanks to Okazu Superhero Bruce McF for sponsoring today’s review!

Oh, best line of the volume? In the author’s note at the very end, Kimura-sensei recalls, “Ken-etsu-sensei kept saying disheartening things like ‘Let’s try not to get cancelled!’ when we rode on the train together.” Says everything you need to know about this series, IMHO. ^_^;





Yuri Manga: Hayate x Blade, Volume 3 (English)

June 2nd, 2009

I told you, didn’t I? I’ve been telling you for years now and you *finally* realize that I haven’t been lying. Hayate x Blade, Volume 3 is…awesome.

In this volume, two major things happen – we start to learn that the characters we thought were all idiots are in, fact, amazingly, stupendously cool. And we also learn that as amazingly, stupendously cool as they are…they are still all idiots. ^_^

You are not alone when you decide that Jun is the most amazingly, stupendously cool character, by the way. As you will see in the next volume. You may also be amused, but not at all surprised, to learn that Jun is voiced on the Drama CDs by Toyoguchi Megumi. Yes, she *is* the Sei of this series – it wasn’t just your imagination.

So, in Volume 3, we realize that Ayana is deeper than just being a grumpy old grump and Hayate has a lot to learn and Jun has a very important person in her life and that person, Yuho, is quite amusingly broken. We also learn that Hitsugi and Shizuku are awesome. We actually learn that *every* volume, so just get used to me saying that, if you aren’t already. ^_^

I can’t speak for anyone other than myself when I say this but, I thought the fight between Jun and Ayana was genius the first time and I love it no less this time. Just wait ’til we get to Volume 4! (Which I just finished editing a few weeks ago. So, it’s a-coming.)

As with the last few volumes, I did in fact copy edit this one, and for the first time I’m actually credited. I have to say that I think Adrienne and Ed are a top-notch team at the translation and adaptation and it’s a genuine pleasure to work on this book – not just because I love the series, but because they do a fabulous job. I feel like the characters all retain their specific voices, no matter what accent or speech patterns they have in the original, without it ever sounding forced. As a person for whom “voice” is critical in writing, this may be the best ever example that a good translator and a good adaptor can really make a tremendous difference.

So, seriously, if you haven’t been sure if you want to get Hayate x Blade, do. Not because I love it, or because I worked on it, but because Volume 3 is pure awesome.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 4
Service – 2

Overall – 9

Tor still does not send me copies of books I work on (can you believe it? When I ask, I’m told they have no extras to send…seriously.) So my heartfelt, sincere gratitude to a new Okazu hero, Jason H for stepping in and sponsoring today’s review! Jason, thank you for being my hero! Drop me an email at anilesbocon at hotmail dot com and I’ll send you a copy of your Okazu Hero badge to proudly display on website or blog!





Click Manhwa, Volume 2 (English)

May 26th, 2009

After the fiasco of Click, Volume 1, I was not very much looking forward to sandpapering my psyche with Volume 2.

Although this volume was not my number one bestest read of the year, by the end I began to actually enjoy it.

The volume begins with a light Yuri appetizer, as rich, powerful, popular, cute girl Yoomi falls for now-female Joonha. In the meantime, Heewon has finally tracked Joonha down. However, she’s not *quite* gotten the whole story and thinks that Joonha is a boy passing as a girl. She will eventually be told a fake story that is quite intelligent and plausible – my favorite thing so far in the story, since it actually made some sense.

Heewon and Yoomi spend the rest of the book catfighting over Joonha who isn’t even remotely interested in either. Joonha is busy as her life becomes embroiled in the life of Yoomi’s ex, the playboy Taehyun, who turns out to be way more than he seems.

However, it is clear to all of us, except perhaps Joonha, that the true object of her love and devotion is her childhood friend Jinhoo, who has just returned to Korea after a musical tour abroad. It is quite obvious that they are meant to be together, so there is no doubt that the rest of the story will be devoted to keeping them apart.

The remainder of the book is a variation on one of the above themes. The plot, which spent the first volume wallowing in outmoded gender roles, has now moved on to the eternally fascinating concept of love, as seen through the eyes of every TV soap opera ever, and a cultural lens which is not my own.

Working against the book for me is the art. The faces are so horsey and the bodies those weirdly elongated, featureless things so common in the Korean manhwa I’ve read. Not insurmountable, just not my cup of tea.

There still is an earful of gender and sex role obsession. If gender issues are of interest to you, I think the wallowing might be entertaining for you. Gender issues are not particularly my interest, nor will I ever love a story that throws around words like homo, lesbo and pervert so casually, as if they are not full of hate.

But setting those two things aside, this volume is very much not the same level of suck as the first volume. The main reason for this is that Joonha actually shows some significant signs of not-assholish behavior. I wouldn’t go so far as to invite her over for lunch, but I might at least give her the time of day if she asked. If the story improves this much again for the next volume, I’ll actually start to like it. Here’s hoping! ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 5
Characters – 6
Yuri – 2
Service – 1

Overall – 6

Our royal nod of sincere gratitude today goes out to Okazu Superhero Dan P! Thank you, thank you, for sponsoring today’s review and supporting our bad habit!





Yuri Manga: Gakuen Alice, Volume 5 (English)

May 22nd, 2009

Gakuen Alice is a warped tale of children with immense, silly powers and what happens when stupid adults imprison them in the cage of a “school for gifted children.”

The heroine of this story, like so many shoujo manga heroines is cheerful, energetic, likable and not particularly intelligent – a lesson any child would immediately recognize as a warning against being the cheerful, energetic and likable person in their class. It’s only going to get you into hot water. Just keep your head down and you won’t get hurt.

Mikan, like Bink of the Xanth series, has the really troublesome talent of nullifying other people’s talents. But only when people’s lives are threatened, and she can’t do it on command. So of course, her life is a living hell, as students and teachers torture her for her lack of ability, both mental and magical.

Again in typical shoujo fashion, Mikan converts her many enemies to friends by mostly bearing up under tremendous odds until people realize that she’s actually fun and a nice girl, to boot. By Volume 5, she’s converted a huge chunk of her class to her side, has gained some peers with unusual abilities and, at last, attained some small amount of status within the school. Just in time for the school festival.

Yuri shows up in this volume in the form of a girl named…Yuri, whose “Alice” is to have other girls fall in love with her. Much to her chagrin. That she’s tall, attractive, butchy cool and has been slated to take the role of Prince in the class pla. doesn’t help. Because of wackiness, Mikan ends up with the role, but it doesn’t stop the girls from clinging to Yuri.

If you have seen or read Gakuen Alice, you will know that Mikan’s best friend is Hotaru, a cynical genius who pushes Mikan away as often as she is there for her. It seems that Mikan’s feelings are deeper for Hotaru than the other way around and, in earlier volumes, we see Mikan fantasizing about Hotaru while dreaming, as well as her overtly expressed desire to hug and kiss Hotaru.

In Volume 5, we are allowed a moment to wallow in this not-really-a-relationship. For it is the dance after the school festival. The boys are dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy and the girls are bedecked with angel wings. The tradition is that whomever you dance with for the final dance and you will be together forever. Rumor and conjecture fly about who Mikan will dance with. Hotaru is called up to the stage as the winner of the “Overall Excellence” award for the festival and is therefore allowed to announce her choice for partner. She chooses Mikan. In front of the whole school, and say what you will, you cannot tell me that Hotaru does not know what she’s just done. :-)

I know some of you nay-sayers will feel absolutely obliged to write in and educate us that Mikan is “really” paired with Natsume but, frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn. For the night after the school festival, at least, it’s all about Mikan and Hotaru.

This was another of those books that was being worked on during the great Tokyopop meltdown of 2008, so there are a few inconsistencies and technical issues, but nothing that detracts significantly from enjoyment of this pinnacle of the series for those of us who think Natsume is an utter bore.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 5
Service – 2

Overall – 7

Thanks to Okazu Superhero Daniel P. for sponsoring today’s review and allowing me to revisit a series I much enjoyed the first time around!