Couldn’t come up with anything cleverly Easter-related so have a silly joke instead. Proverbial cookies to whoever knows where the idea came from :)
Archive for April, 2009
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After School Nightmare (Vol. 09) – Setona Mizushiro
Published by GoComi
Yet again Setona Mizushiro manages to pull a fast one on readers with some big surprises that contradict the few supposed facts of the series up until now. Admittedly I found it was the very assuredness certain characters had for certain situations that gave me cause to rethink people’s true identities long before now. This unfortunately meant for me that the big ‘surprise!’ moment in this volume didn’t have as much impact as it may’ve otherwise. That said, while one of the revelations may not have held much shock-factor, the following exposition and clearing up just whose-who in the alternate reality dream world was nothing short of ‘whoa!’.
The bulk of the story focuses on Sou and his sister so those who’ve been waiting for the present-day confrontations and past histories explored will be thrilled to finally have this volume in their hands. I found Sou to be the most interesting character in this series which has several uniquely layered characters to choose from. This volume only solidified my reasoning with some deep-rooted psychosis that made for an engaging read. Readers will get a chance to see the world through Sou’s eyes and it’s both eerie and compelling to realize where for him reality ends and fantasy begins.
As a lead character, Mashiro continues to do little for me on any remaining levels of interest for their gender issues. Still, I’m happy to see that they’ve come to accept themselves well enough that by now they’re finally ready to put the whining aside and really give a good look at the people around them. Panel flashbacks to previous volumes made for neat visual comparisons to how Mashiro’s design has changed over these past nine volumes, going from a distinctly male to more feminine in appearance.
Some powerful decisive moments in this ninth volume really kept up this series’ history of being a real page-turner. There’s now only one volume left until the story’s conclusion I can’t wait to read volume ten to see where After School Nightmare ends up after such a winding road.
Review written April 11, 2009 by Lissa Pattillo
Book purchased online from Amazon.ca
Over at the Yen Press blog, Kurt Hassler confirms that Yen Press has acquired the license for Jun Mochizuki’s Pandora Hearts and Crimson Shell series. While the first graphic novel of Pandora Hearts is slated for release in December 2009, it’ll first be joining the other serialized series in Yen Press’s Yen Plus magazine as of their June edition. Good news for eager fans! Pandora Hearts will be replacing the currently running Bamboo Blade series.
Listings for both Pandora Hearts and Crimson Shell first popped up on Amazon.ca earlier this month.
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Manga-ka: Shin Mashiba
Publisher: Viz
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: February 2009
Synopsis: “Dreams on the menu in this volume: a woman tied to a burden she can’t escape and another being watched from afar, a fantastic ordeal for Hiruko’s briefcase, a girl who no longer feels like herself, a rival Baku who makes nightmares worse, the truth of Hiruko’s past, Mizuki’s childhood memories, and Hifumi’s terrible blunder.”
From laugh out loud moments that’ll leave you shaking your head in disbelief, to dramatic pivots to plots much more sinister, this sixth volume of Nightmare Inspector manages to pack a lot into its pages and will undoubtedly have something to offer all its readers with more short stories, surprise visits and a lot of chilling exposition.
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Author: Yuuki Kousaka
Manga-ka: Midori Shena
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: March 2008
Synopsis: “Though Katsuya only spent one summer with brothers Kazuki and Shio, the impression that the beautiful Shio left was one that would last a lifetime. Truth be told, even after 12 years, Katsuya still can’t get Shio out of his head. So quite impulsively, Katsuya goes off to Tokyo and applies to the company that Shio helped found. The reunion he had hoped for comes unexpectedly, when he is forced to share a dorm with Shio himself! Acting cold and aloof, however, the Shio of Katsuya’s dreams is not the same as the real Shio. Can Katsuya pick up the pieces of his shattered dreams and start over?”
Sweet Admiration is the story of Katsuya, a country boy who moves to Tokyo for work. The first thing Katsuya does is plan to meet with a childhood friend, Kazuki, in hopes of finding a place to stay while he awaits his company’s housing development. However, things don’t work out as planned; that is, until things suddenly take a turn in his favour when his new boss places him with a roommate in the “company dorms”, with someone Katsuya has had on his mind since childhood: Kazuki’s older brother, Shio.
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Author: Yuki Amemiya
Manga-ka: Yukino Ichihara
Publisher: GoComi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: December 2008
Synopsis: “Teased unmercifully for his past as an orphan and a slave, Teito has only his best friend Mikage to ease his days at the elite Barsburg Academy – and his mastery of the magical art of Zaiphon! But even that will not be enough to save him when he discovers a horrifying secret behind the ruling Empire. Trapped in an ancient battle between a wicked God and seven ghosts, guided by three mysterious priests, Teito discovers a power that could save the world… and shed light on his own mysterious past.”
07-Ghost, named for the seven ghosts within it, is a fantasy story that follows Teito: a young man soon to reach graduation at a prestigious military academy, before the appearance of his childhood guardian’s killer appears to wrench up painful memories from the past and sends Teito fleeing to a nearby church of ancient magic, hidden secrets and a bishop prone to bouts of perversity.
A couple new finds on Amazon.ca today:
Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon (Del Rey)
“The first novel based on the worldwide sensation! Rendered immortal by an infusion of mystical worms that can repair any wound, the masterless samurai Manji wanders the hillsides of feudal Japan, his quest to slay one hundred evil people to atone for his past sins. By his side is the young woman Rin, an orphan who seeks vengeance for the murders of her parents. Driven in a quest for absolution, the two have faced many deadly challenges, both natural and supernatural. But can they survive their greatest battle against the all-powerful Inugami?”
If this was previously announced, then I missed it which mades me sad because I think it sounds really fun. As a fan and follower of Blade of the Immortal since the manga single-issue ‘floppies’ first hit comic store shelves, I think it’d be great enjoying the series in a different media (anime doesn’t count). I wonder how Manji will translate to prose?
Tokyopop has a listing for something simply titled Saving Life, which may or may not be the manga of the same-name by Girls Bravo creator, Mario Kaneda.
And lastly, GoComi has a listing up for the previously revealed sequel-of-sorts to Aimee Major-Steinberger’s wonderfully charming Japan Ai, titled Cosplay Ai (cover at right). While never having cosplayed myself, I have no doubt that this book will be worth a read and I really look forward it!
Edit: While I appreciate the e-mails from people with a heads-up that I “missed” the Haru Hana manga listing that is also on Amazon.ca, I already posted about that title back in February :)
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Manhwa-ga: Kim Dong Hwa
Publisher: First Second
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: March 2009
Synopsis: “First love is never easy. Ehwa grows up helping her widowed mother run the local tavern, watching as their customers – both neighbors and strangers – look down on her mother for her single lifestyle. Their social status isolates Ehwa and her mother from the rest of the people in their quiet country village. But as she gets older and sees her mother fall in love again, Ehwa slowly begins to open up to the possibility of love in her life.”
The Color of Earth is in essence a coming of age story. This first of a three-part book series follows the youth of Ehwa, a young Korean girl learning what it is to be female both physically and emotionally as she grows from young child to young woman.
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Manga-ka: Akira Himekawa
Publisher: VizKids
Rating: All Ages
Released: March 2009
Synopsis: “After completing his training Link begins his journey to find the remaining Sages. Meanwhile, Ganondorf continues looking for Princess Zelda and plotting to capture Link with the aid of the witches known as Twinrova. At the urging of the mysterious Sheik, Link enters the Haunted Wasteland to find Zelda. The journey will be dangerous, but Link is determined to overcome Twinrova’s traps and survive to face Ganondorf in an epic final battle!”
This second volume of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time brings an end to this arc of the story, based on the popular Nintendo 64 game of the same name. This two part adaptation follows through from the game’s beginning to end, taking readers on a journey with the Hero of Time in his quest to save the world and rid it of the evil Ganondorf.
