Archive for the English Manga Category


Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 1 Guest Review by Luce

November 15th, 2023

A wolf-woman in a butler's suit leans over a sheep-woman in a colorful dress, with flowers floating around them.In the Land of Sheep with ‘Wolfa’ – people with wolf ears and tails, and ‘Sheepa’, those with sheep ears, Aki Rukijo, a Wolfa butler, is the private tutor to Momo Shiudafaris, a Sheepa princess. Princess Momo is known as the ‘frigid’ princess, and rarely leaves her rooms. After an incident with a wild wolf on a full moon which Aki saves her from, Momo has Aki appointed her private tutor, although that’s not really her true aim. On a night of a full moon, when wolves find their instincts harder to ignore, Momo sneaks into Aki’s bedroom and declares that she loves her, and she’ll ‘gobble her up’!

Despite what sounds like a racy beginning for Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 1, by Mito, nothing much actually happens in that scene beyond kissing and them getting naked. And it doesn’t happen again in this volume, although Momo is definitely thinking about it. Bluebell, Momo’s Sheepa maid, is fully on board with the princess’s courting of Aki. Aki is more reserved about the whole thing, mostly since she is a commoner, and Momo is, well, a princess. Thus, Momo continuing to try and court her. It’s all rather cute, really.

Momo, being a princess and possibly having some previous bad experience, is somewhat limited in her experience of the outside world – the two of them go on a castle date, which is cute, but Momo wants more. Egged on by Bluebell and aided by Sakaki and Kiku, fellow Wolfa friends of Aki’s, the two of them disguise themselves and go into town, which is suitably adorable, and actually shows them getting on as people, bonding over the play they went to see, and over books.

I wondered if there might be some class difference between the Wolfa and Sheepa, but if there is, it isn’t touched upon much in this first volume. The royal family is Sheepa, although we only see two here, third princess Momo and her mother, the queen, but other than that, no mentions are made. I think there might be other animal hybrids, but they aren’t mentioned by name. It feels very much more of an aesthetic choice than a story-driven one, which is honestly fine. A work doesn’t always need to have something to say in particular, and the mangaka likely just wanted to draw cute girls with wolf and sheep ears; not to mention the role-reversal of the more confident sheep courting a flustered wolf. I can understand that.

Ratings:

Story: 6 – more about cuteness than plot
Art: 8 – lots of blushing, but the art is nice throughout, the colour pages are very pretty
Yuri: 10 – definite courting between the main couple, possible background yuri couples
Service: 3 – Momo in her underwear, and Aki in butler wear. It suits her.
Animal ear rating: 10 – they even flap when the characters get excited

Overall: 9

If you like animal hybrids and a cute story, or always kind of wanted the princess to get with their maid/another woman close to them, this seems like a pretty good bet. Volume 2 is headed our way next spring –  I’ll certainly continue reading. Final aside, Aki reminds me a little of Zakuro of Tokyo Mew Mew, albeit only by looks, and Momo is a bit like a more assertive Elianna from Bibliophile Princess.

Thank you very much to Seven Seas for the review copy! The translation was by Jan Cash, with lettering by Rina Mapa – I didn’t notice any issues with either, which usually means a job well done!





The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 2

November 13th, 2023

Pictured: Two girls, one in a beige sailor-collar blouse and blue skirt Japanese school uniform and one in a sweat jacket, white blouse and jean shorts, hold hands as they walk in a moody night setting. In Volume 1, we met Saki, a high school student who meets and befriends Kanon, a student who is hard of hearing. Kept at a distance by Kanon, who appears aloof, in part because trying to read lips can be exhausting, and the background noise of people is difficult for her to parse…and because something happened in middle school to make her withdraw from people, Saki does her best to gently cross barriers between her and the other girl.

In The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 2 Saki and Kanon both take steps to become closer, and to assist Kanon in participating in society on her own terms. Kanon finds an ally in her teacher Miura-sensei, who turns out to have a fairly balanced perspective on life with disability. He finds a physical space where Kanon can relax, and introduces her to a club that suits her. The Literature Club welcomes her to their group.

All is not smooth sailing, though, as Kanon’s over-protective little sister, Rinne, makes Saki feel unwelcome. That she’s not wrong about Saki, makes it harder for her to fight. But a crisis ends up convincing Rinne that Saki is, perhaps, not a bad person. A trip to the movies opens up more cans of worms and Saki struggles with her feelings for Kanon. Kanon tells Saki her side of the issue that came up in middle school. The conversation that follows takes away one more barrier between Kanon and Saki – something that will become very important in future volumes, trust me.

Once again, I beg you all to read this manga. Yes, Saki is a young queer person, but that is only one piece of an incredible multi-layered story about friends, family, disability, and society. It’s some of Kuzuhiro’s best work to date, and really opens up pathways for abled folks to address the needs of disabled folks without being weird about it. What really makes this book work is that every main character so far is dealing with more than one issue. No one is an “XYZ character,” even someone like Miura-sensei comes across a fully-featured person who is dealing with issues in his life and work and searching for balance, as we all are. 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 8
Service – On principle only
Yuri – 3 Creeping up slowly

Overall – 9

I’m so thankful Kodansha licensed this. Terrific translation by Kevin Steinbach, lettering by Jamil Stewart in the caption style is eay to read, ( but you know I’m gonna say give the letterer time and money to do retouch!) Phil Basman’s iteration of the cover is very moody and solid. A fine job by the team from Kodansha.

This is an outstanding manga that almost assuredly will be overlooked by the Eisners because it’s not a Shonen Jump title, but for my money, it’s among the best series of the year. Read it for yourself and let me know what you think in the comments!





If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan I Would Die, Volume 3

November 9th, 2023

Seven girls in red pop idol costumes pose on the cover of If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, Volume 3 by Auri Hirao.Phew. Now that Christian took us over the hump of Volume 2, in which neither Maina nor Eri act in any way approaching the way normal humans might, We arrive at Volume 3 of If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan I Would Die, where they are marginally less not human. 

The first-ever ranking contest results are in and through an amazingly tortured and unreal set of circumstances, Eri comes too late to make a difference in the rankings. Main is, yet again, disappointed for the wrong reasons, until she learns that Eri bought her CDs anyway and runs after her Number 1 fan, but missing her because of an amazingly tortured and unreal set of circumstances. But the Christmas concert comes and although Reo is still center, the girls make their best efforts at giving their fans the kind of service they want – callouts, special gestures, handshakes – and, for the holiday a fraught gift a three shot! Why an idol group would sow dissension among their otaku by requiring them to pick a second fave is beyond me, but perhaps management forgot that otaku live and die by single-minded, creepily possessive obsession?

Importantly, Eri and Maina make each other very happy by saying something mostly-incoherent, but this time at least positive to one another! Yay! Maybe we past their inability to communicate? Hahahah, no, obviously not. This is a Hirao Auri manga and no one important will ever have a meaningful conversation.

The manga ends with the Cham Jam girls and their fans accidentally being at the local shrine at the same time for New Year’s…and the news that Cham Jam will be participating in this year’s Okayama Idol Fest…and so will with the girls who were in Reo’s old group. shock!

I said we’re “over the hump,” and in one sense we are. There will be less torturing of Eri from Volume 4 onward, but this volume is still firmly rooted in the idea that hurting Eri, and Eri and Maina not managing to talk is super hilarious, and not massively stressful. On the other hand, the members of Cham Jam are actually lovely when they are together. You can really see how much they like one another and really believe in themselves, which is incredibly charming. The shrine scene is a reminder that whoever they are up on stage, idols are people, too.  Cham Jam seems like a group you could really get behind.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story –  Still frustrating but I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if I can’t see it yet.
Character – 8
Service – Pleasantly, 0
Yuri – 4 Hovering at “I think I feel something for you, but can’t put a finger on it,” to “I can’t look you in the eyes, but don’t know why” with potential

Overall – 8

Tokyopop does a very good job of making this series as fun as possible which, at least for a few more volumes, is not very much. But IF you love idol culture and love insights into both sides of the struggle – what idols and their fans go through – this is probably one of the most realistic manga out there. Idol culture is a niche of it’s own and has it’s own language and rituals. Thanks very much to Tokyopop for today’s review copy and for the excellent work by the entire team for bringing this title over.

 





Monthly In The Garden With My Landlord, Volume 1

November 8th, 2023

Two women laze around on the woman veranda of their home. One has medium dark hair and a green dress, the other has long blonde hair and wears blue denim shirt and shorts.Manga editor Suga Asako comes home to find herself broken up with. She decides to find herself a new place to live – one where she can be by herself as she puts her life back together. When she finds a sweet little house with a garden, she quickly signs the lease. After she moves in, she finds the lease said, “monthly rent, includes garden and landlord,” which means that the solitude she sought is not part of the bargain. Instead, she now has a live-in landlord.

The landlord also seems to be not entirely coping with life on her own. Kitano Miyako turn out to have an unusual backstory – she’s a former pop idol group leader who has recently left her group!  Together Asako and Miyako start to rebuild their lives, figure out how to co-exist and how to just exist in the first place.  Monthly In The Garden With My Landlord, Volume 1 is a sweet, awkward, story of people who are not themselves irredeemably broken, but are patching themselves up from broken situations. 

I wanna touch on the idea of “Yuri” in this manga. We do learn that Asako had a girlfriend, and that she’s got a weakness for pretty faces. For me this clearly sets this in a “Yuri” setting, rather than a “lesbian” setting. But also, it’s not like people who meet immediately tell other people everything about themselves. I also know what is to come, so I have a different expectation than people reading this for the first time. Based on this volume only – do you think you’d call this a Yuri manga?

I adore this story, honestly. It rides the lines between healing slice-of-life, realistic romance and wacky situation comedy with a very sophisticated style. Every volume has been better than the last. In fact, Volume 3 was an apex of adults having meaningful conversations. Yodokawa’s art is stylish and fun at the same time. There’s shockingly little tension in this story…even when the situation could have been used to make us worry, we’re given the punchline early, so we know it’s not much of a threat.  This makes for a very relaxed and easy read.

The team at Yen Press has done a clean job of localization. I very much like Stephen Paul’s translation in all things, except the title. I assume they chose “Monthly In The Garden With My Landlord” because it reads smoothly, but…does it? No one says anything like that, ever and  it misses the joke. Yes, I know it is not at all productive to whine about translation. I’ve just been finding Yen’s titles a little reductive recently. I think they could do a bit better.  In this case, it kind of shifts the tone of the story to begin with, eliding the humor. That’s only problematic in the sense that this is a comedy, first, and everything else second. Elena Pizarro Lanzas’s lettering is as good as the Yen house style allows. I’ll always ask for letterers to be given time and money to retouch where feasible. Fine technical reproduction and editing as always. ^_^

A cute, slightly wacky, slight realistic and ultimately, healthy, story that I highly recommend.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – 0.5 but hang on tightly….

Overall – 8

The short extra chapter gives us our first hint that this story might include romance. But first, Volume 2 will delve into the mystery of Miyako’s history and…it will be great. ^_^ We’ll be getting that next spring – which isn’t as far away as it seems. ^_^

Thanks very much to Yen for offering me a review copy of this, I had picked it up anyway for myself, but I appreciate the kindness! Keep up the great work.





Superwomen In Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit, Volume 5 Guest Review By Maru Malandra

November 1st, 2023

Two smiling women holds hands and lay back on a bed of lilies, with their giant mecha hovering behind them.Welcome today to our newest guest reviewer here on Okazu. ^_^ Maru Malandra is a VTuber affiliated with GATTAI!! The Live. She loves Yuri, mecha, idols and Tokusatsu! Find her streaming Gunpla and all sorts on Twitch, JRPGs on YouTube, and yelling about how gay she is on what’s left of Twitter.

(Shorthand Note: “kaijin” refers to person-sized humanoid monsters, while “kaiju” refers to giant ones.)

After finally confessing their feelings for one another at the end of  Volume 4, our heroines are enjoying their blossoming romance and a brief respite from Antinoid attacks. Has X given up? Can peace finally reign? I think we know the answer.

The final volume of  Tokusatsu/Yuri adventure, Superwomen In Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit, Volume 5 is simply a joy. Sometime-sensei shares her passion for both genres, and it all just works. The Tokusatsu references come in hard and fast, but rather than distract from the storytelling, they elevate it. Antinoid boss X is confronted by one of her generals in a philosophical battle meant to draw out X’s real feelings. This is one of the emotional and artistic highlights of the book, an all-out fight where Sometime-sensei showcases her talent for action that feels kinetic, laden with raw emotion, and evoke the page-turning momentum of the biggest names in Shonen manga or live-action Tokusatsu.

Our heroines’ rest is short-lived thanks to X’s transformation into a giant Kaiju, a process that revives all the defeated monsters… because of course it does! It’s a Tokusatsu endgame, and as the stakes ramp up, old enemies and allies alike come together to fight for a hopeful tomorrow. Moe, the kaijin-human hybrid, finds herself drawn to help, as her loving mamas (and former evil generals) Kyoka and Melt support her. The Hina sisters return and also join the fray with new hero suits.

Melt Out provides an upgrade to our ragtag group to battle X’s titanic form. In a dual tribute to the transformation poses of the Ultraman series and the combining robots of Super Sentai, our heroines grow into giant vehicles! Together, they form White Lily Queen, a church wedding-themed robotic behemoth piloted from enormous lily-shaped cockpits. Battle ensues, and it is not long before catastrophic urban destruction gives way to the battlefield of the soul.

It is here that Hayate and Honey face X one final time. The villain brings out all of her anger, her jealousy towards Hayate, and her unrequited love for Honey as she battles our heroines. But X cannot win against the power of kindness, compassion, and the sheer sentient need to love. As understanding is finally given to X’s wounded heart, a gigantic lily is seen erupting on Earth from orbit… and that’s as much of the story as I want to spoil!

While this may sound facile, the story lands its final story beats with aplomb. Superwomen in Love!’s central theme is a Tokusatsu staple: what defines a person? Is it their species, or what is in their heart? In 1971, Shotaro Ishinomori gave us Kamen Rider, the tale of a man who struggled with the meaning of his humanity after being turned into a cyborg against his will. The recent, adult-oriented series Kamen Rider Black Sun showed us a world where kaijin are second-class citizens. And yet, despite a ruling class that attempts to divide them, humans and kaijin are just regular people existing in an oppressive world. And when it comes to romance, hero-monster love stories are quite common. A week before this review was written, the current season of Super Sentai King-Ohger, showed the engagement of a Ranger hero to a former kaijin villain, as they looked after children in the post-apocalypse.

At the end of the day, Superwomen in Love! follows in the footsteps of its Tokusatsu forebears. It is our capacity for both hatred and kindness that defines our personhood. This very kindness lets former enemies become lovers—lets them embrace their former enemy and confront her messed-up feelings.

This manga exceeded all of my expectations. It’s an exciting Yuri romance as well as an entire Kamen Rider season’s worth of stories, all in a tight 5-volume narrative. Despite its frequent references, I feel this is a perfect starting point for Yuri fans wanting to dip their toes into Tokusatsu, and vice versa!

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Service – 0 Salaciousness, 10 in terms of Tokusatsu fan service!
Yuri – 10 (There’s giant lilies everywhere while the volume studies what love actually is)
Suit and Monster Design – 10 (I want figures of every hero and monster! Especially with all those cool transformation diagrams from Sometime-sensei!!)

Overall – 9 (Give me an anime!)

If you enjoyed this journey and would like to check out some Tokusatsu, I strongly recommend Kamen Rider W (“Double”) for live-action streaming on Youtube, or SSSS.Gridman, streaming on Crunchyroll for anime.

Thank you for reading! This is Maru signing off, and as always…

Fight Forever, Heroes of Hope!