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Archive for January, 2011

Review: Crown of Love (Vol. 04)

By Shannon Fay on Wednesday, January 5, 2011

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Yun Kouga
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2010

Synopsis: “Rima begins to question her feelings for Ikeshiba after the night he kissed her. Finding herself shocked that it wasn’t what she imagined it would be like, her thoughts turn to Hisayoshi. But Hisayoshi, frustrated with Rima’s constant rejection, has gone missing. Will his absence finally make Rima realize how much he means to her?!”

Crown of Love is a shojo manga about an ordinary teenager who decides to become a superstar in order to impress a certain someone. In this past month alone I’ve read two manga with the very same plot (Honey Hunt & Skip Beat) but while those series manage do something new and different with the idea, Crown of Love plays it straight, delivering a clichéd story with very few surprises.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

Super Savings: RightStuf Offers Fierce Savings on Seven Seas

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, January 4, 2011

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RightStuf’s first big sale of the year (excluding their starting-in-2010-New-Years-sale) is 33%+ off of Seven Seas books! I know I don’t often see many sales on their books so this is a great opportunity to pick up some old titles or, for even more savings, pre-order some of their upcoming omnibus editions. The sale ends January 6, 2011.

My top recommendations from Seven Seas would be the first volume of Aoi House (the second volume and I aren’t on good terms) and Aoi House in Love! – a fun OEL series that plays around with fandom tropes; Hayate x Blade Omnibus – a silly but charming story of sword battles in all girls’ school that appeals to fans of Yuri; and the Strawberry Panic Manga Omnibus – a semi-serious tale of Yuri love also in an all girls’ school. I’d also love to recommend The Last Uniform as a super adorable Yuri story but alas it’s no longer listed on RightStuf’s website.

As for me, I’m looking forward to buying the first omnibus book of Kashimashi, the complete-series omnibus of Hollow Fields and the one-shot Voiceful.

You can check out their index for the full list of RightStuf’s Seven Seas’ offerings.

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Categories: Features, Super Savings
Tags: Manga, Seven Seas, Yuri

Viz Media Launches New Website and Leaves Much to Be Desired

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, January 3, 2011

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Viz Media is starting the new year with a brand new website! And that is sadly where my enthusiasm ends.

I’d stated a short while back that I’d be continuing with my publisher website reviews, a longer than intended hiatus previously taken after several companies requested I wait. Viz Media’s website, or their old one at least, was my newest completed review, a rather frustrating irony in that so soon after I finished did this new site go up. But I digress, this is about the new site and naturally after finishing a review of their old site, and thoroughly going through my likes and dislikes of it to myself, I had presumptuously high hopes that I may see some of my complaints already addressed in this version when I saw it was live.

Alas… Viz Media, what were you thinking?

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Categories: Editorials, Misc, News
Tags: Viz Media

Review: Only the Ring Finger Knows (Vol. 01)

By Jaime Samms on Sunday, January 2, 2011

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Reviewer: Jaime Samms

Author: Satoru Kannagi
Manga-ka: Hotaru Odagiri
Publisher: June
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: March 2006

Synopsis: “It’s the ultimate expression of love to wear matching rings with your significant other, showing the world that you are a couple. High school student, Wataru Fujii, also wears one even though he is single. When he accidentally switches rings with a popular and handsome senior, Yuichi Kazuki, they discover that their rings pair up! Since that moment, Kazuki – who is known for being kind to all – becomes strangely harsh to Wataru. They alternate between hot and cold, as in between clashes they begin to sort their feelings for one another. Are Wataru and Kazuki the worst of enemies or are they actually soulmates?”

This is most assuredly your typical boys’ love high school romance, with the harsh seme protecting his feelings by trying hard to hide them and the confused uke denying he even has them. What isn’t typical about Only the Ring Finger Knows is the way in which Kazuki secretly falls for Wataru and all out stalks him long before they ever even meet.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, June, Light Novels

Year in Brief Review – Manga Favourites of 2010

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, January 1, 2011

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It’s New Years Day! And that means the end of 2010 has come and gone – the end of the first decade of the 2000s’, the end of another year of fantastic comics (upon other many wonderful things).

Just for a little living in the past on this first day of 2011, what better time to look back at 2010 with some favourites, surprises, disappointments and neat website tidbits. Sure it would’ve made more sense to have posted yesterday but who has time with all those celebrations going on… right?

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