Kuriousity | manga reviews and news » 2008

Archive for February, 2008

Review: Ohikkoshi

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Manga-ka: Hiroaki Samura
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: October 2006

Synopsis: “Hiroaki Samura’s modern-era romantic comedies are finally available in English! These stories are told with the same bold, kinetic art style and brilliantly paced storytelling that Samura’s Blade of the Immortal epic is famous for – but with a decidedly different attitude. The main offering, Ohikkoshi, follows the turbulent paths of several university students as they fall in lust, form rock bands, ride motorbikes, and try to avoid making life decisions while drunk.”

Ohikkoshi is a small collection of stories set in modern day, following the lives and trials of various people. The first few chapters focus on a group of friends, their changing lives and romantic trials that they juggle amidst rock concerts and alcohol binges. The second story is a more out there tale of a manga creator’s “quest for love” and the often unbelievable, but thus amusing, life struggles she finds herself in.

Review: Virtuoso di Amore

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, February 4, 2008

1 Comment »

Manga-ka: Uki Ogasawara
Publisher: DramaQueen
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: December 2006

Synopsis: “Kenzo Shinozuka is a talented but under-appreciated pianist, so when wealthy noblemen Lorenzo Carlucci offers to be his patron, he leaps at the chance. However, being patronized by Carlucci exacts a price that the pianist may not want to pay. For Carlucci is an eccentric and demanding patron, whose temperant often clashes with Kenzo’s own stubbornness. The friction between patron and artist threatens to drive them both to the brink of madness, or that of desire.”

Kenzo Shinozuka finds himself employed by the mysterious and rich Lorenzo Carlucci, a man who asks nothing else of the young talented pianist but to live in his home and play the piano for him. Kenzo is a bit unsure about Lorenzo’s intentions but realizes that the men seems very familiar to him, a figure from his past. With Lorenzo breathing down his neck to be a better pianist, and the two of them soon embracing to do more than play piano together, Kenzo finds himself swept up in the man’s troubled present and both their turmoil pasts.

Yaoi Suki Content Ends, Name Revealed

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, February 4, 2008

No Comments »

Looks like it didn’t take long for yaoi fans to make their guesses over at Yaoi Suki’s Guess the Name contest for Yaoi Press’s upcoming line of books. Created to replace Yaoi Press’s Yaoi Hentai line of books, the new line is being called Happy Yaoi Yum Yum. No comment. YaoiSuki however offers an explanation via YP’s Yamila Abraham.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Contests

Review: Can’t Win With You! (Vol. 02)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, February 3, 2008

No Comments »

Author: Satosumi Takaguchi
Manga-ka: Yukine Honami
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Young Adults (16+)
Released: January 2008

Synopsis: “When class president Sango Tsutsui and the other student administrators end up sequestered away at a director’s meeting, Yuuhi-kun is left back at the school, alone and defenseless. Will Yuuhi’s naive, country ways make him fair game for the Ezaki trio? Or will Tsutsui-san return in the nick of time to save him? Could it be that absence truly makes the heart grow fonder – are Yuuhi and Sango ready to take their strange relationship to (gasp!)… the next level?!”

The escapades and exploits of the Shuuki Academy continue in volume two of Can’t Win With You! Yuuhi continues to struggle against the law-ignoring Ezaki trio, who are bent are living how they see fit in the school despite what their new resident advisor has to say about it. Meanwhile Miki and Houjou seem to be struggling through one lover’s spat after another and it’s making things even harder to deal with around the already drama-drenched school!