Kuriousity | manga reviews and news

Author Archive for Lissa Pattillo

Review: Otomen (Vol. 13)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, September 16, 2012

2 Comments »

Manga-ka: Aya Kanno
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: September 2012

Synopsis: “Ryo ends up coaching a high school judo team, but women aren’t allowed at that school! She finds a way around this obstacle, but the real challenge comes when she finds herself facing off against… Asuka?!”

Otomen is a series I’ve enjoyed since the beginning, but recent volumes have been a little lacklustre. The story’s been moving away from characters I like most and even Asuka was feeling a bit overshadowed by other secondary characters pushing their own agendas onto him. When I read the synopsis for volume thirteen however, I felt excited. Ryo and Asuka facing off against each other in judo? Cool! What I got was both what I expected and not at the same time. This volume has the longest focus on Ryo I recall since the series began. It provides a better look at her as a character and springs forward her relationship with Asuka more than I ever honestly thought would be possible.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Otomen, Shoujo, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

Review: Bleach (Vols. 46-47)

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, September 14, 2012

1 Comment »

Manga-ka: Tite Kubo
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: September 2012

Synopsis: “With Captain General Yamamoto giving him an opening, Ichigo goes in for the finishing strike against Aizen! But Ichigo will need the help of some new reinforcements if he hopes to defeat both Aizen and Ichimaru Gin! Aizen’s new powers are too much for even the combined efforts of Ichigo, Isshin, Urahara, and Yoruichi. But as Aizen and Gin head for the real Karakura Town, Ichigo decides to undergo intense training under his father’s tutelage.”

It’s another exciting two volumes! And I mean that sarcasm free too. I was getting a little bored of Bleach for a while but since the big-bad fights of the Hollow’s world have ended, it’s becoming a series I’ve really started looking forward to again. The fight against Aizen has gone on too long, and frankly I’m getting tired of just seeing his name all the time, but this newest double-dose of Bleach offers up some especially memorable scenes that go as far as almost justifying the length of this confrontation.

Warning: Review contains some minor spoilers

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Bleach, Manga, Shonen Jump, Viz Media

PR: Long-Awaited Masterpiece of Intrigue & Innocence Lost Returns

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, September 14, 2012

No Comments »

HIT MANGA SERIES LOVELESS RETURNS AFTER FOUR YEARS WITH VIZ MEDIA’S RELEASE OF NEW VOLUMES OF THE POETIC SAGA OF SPELL BATTLES AND SECRET NAMES

Intense Psychological Masterpiece Resumes In Volume 9 Release;
VIZ Media Also To Publish Earlier LOVELESS Volumes In New
2-In-1 Manga Omnibus Editions

San Francisco, CA, September 13, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, thrills readers as it reboots the English-language publication of LOVELESS, the hit fantasy manga (graphic novel) series from creator Yun Kouga. Volume 9 is available now and is rated ‘T’ for Teens, with an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN / £6.99 UK.

VIZ Media has also announced plans to publish the earlier volumes of LOVELESS as new 2-in-1 omnibus editions beginning in October. These releases will feature updated translations, new lettering, retouched sound effects, and a fresh cover design. Volume 1 debuts on October 9th and includes 6 full-color pages, as well as 50 pages of bonus comics and insightful artist commentary from Yun Kouga previously not published in North America. MSRP for the 2-in-1 editions will be $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN / £9.99 UK.

In LOVELESS, Ritsuka Aoyagi is alone in the world – never fitting in at school and alienated from his own past by a fragmented memory. When his beloved older brother Seimei is brutally murdered, Ritsuka is heartbroken but determined to find answers. His only lead is Soubi, a mysterious, handsome college student who offers him an intimate link to his brother’s other life: a dark and vibrant world of spell battles and secret names.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Loveless, Viz Media

PR: SuBLime Debuts A Charming Story of Love Transcending Appearances…

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, September 13, 2012

No Comments »

GLOBAL YAOI PUBLISHER SuBLime DEBUTS
HIS FAVORITE IN PRINT AND DIGITAL MANGA EDITIONS

Boy Meets Boy In A Charming Story That Shows How Love Transcends A Person’s Outward Appearance And Blooms Between A Most Unlikely Couple

San Francisco, CA, September 12, 2012 – SuBLime, the global yaoi manga (graphic novel) publisher, invites fans and readers to savor the delightful story and dynamic artwork of Suzuki Tanaka’s latest hit series, HIS FAVORITE. This new title is the latest to join SuBLime’s growing yaoi library and is the first one to be rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens. Volume 1 is available now!

HAS FAVORITE Volume 1, carries a print MSRP of $12.99. The digital version is available simultaneously at an MSRP of USD $5.99 and offers fans digital access to two versions of each manga volume on SuBLimeManga.com – a DRM-free downloadable PDF that is viewable on any enabled eReader device and computer, and via the online manga viewer found on the web site.

HIS FAVORITE Vol. 1, by Suzuki Tanaka  Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens  MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN  Available Now!
Yoshida is short, scrawny and generally unattractive. To make matters worse, all the girls in his class hate him because Sato, the hottest guy in school, always uses hanging out with him as an excuse to turn them down. Is Yoshida just a convenient excuse or is there something more? Could this odd couple even make things work?!

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Digital, His Favorite, SuBLime

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – September 12, 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, September 12, 2012

No Comments »

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - September 12, 2012

Loveless returns! The top-note title for this week’s new releases is the ninth volume of Yun Kouga’s Loveless series, which Tokyopop cancelled after releasing the eighth back in 2009. I think it’s really neat that Viz Media made the decision to release the next volume of the series before starting back at the beginning. I’ll be rereading volumes one to eight this week so I can remember everything that’s happened. It’s been so long!

Other must-have-will-buy titles for me this week include Arata (Vol.11) and His Favourite (Vol.01). You can read the full list of titles out this week over at my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Features, News, On The Shelf, Release Lists
Tags: Kodansha Comics, Loveless, Manga, Otaku USA, Project-H, Seven Seas, SuBLime, Viz Media

Don’t Pet the Bunny – Yen Press Licenses Yoshiki Tonogai’s Doubt

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, September 11, 2012

2 Comments »

It’s new manga license time! AnimeNewsNetwork reported last week that Yen Press has licensed Yoshiki Tonogai’s manga series, Doubt.

Getting past my initial ‘holy-cripes-that’s-a-scary-cover’ reaction, it sounds like an interesting series. Very suspense-heavy potential and I like that it isn’t too long a series. With only two volumes to commit to, it’s more than safe enough to satisfy my curousity with!

“A Japanese cell phone game called Rabbit Doubt has gone viral in Tokyo. In it, players are rabbits who must do everything in their power to uncover the wolf in rabbit’s clothing before it kills them off. The wolf, a randomly selected player, must use his wiles to create mistrust among the rabbits and knock his adversaries off one by one. When five fans of this game decide to meet offline for fun, the last thing they expect is to lose consciousness and wake up trapped in an abandoned building with a corpse strung up in front of them, a mysterious barcode tattooed on each of their bodies. Will the virtual friends be able to pull it together in the real world and figure out what’s going on in time to avoid ending up the wolf’s dinner?”

The series, which was originally four volumes long, will be released in two 2-in-1 omnibus editions for $20.99/CAN ($18.99/US) each. The first book is due out April 2013. A listing for volume one appeared on Amazon.com earlier this month.

This is Yoshiki Tonoga’s second time published in English, with the first being Yen Press’s editions of Higurashi When They Cry: Time Killing Arc for which Yoshiki Tonoga was the artist.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Yen Press

Stocking the Mature Shelves – Project-H Announces 20 New Hentai Titles

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, September 7, 2012

No Comments »

Manga news has been a bit slow lately as con season wraps up, schools re-open and everyone who was away for shiny summer vacations returns to their work desks. Itching for signs of new title life from the manga publishers? Never fear, Project-H is here! …again!

With the imprint having only just passed it’s first year in existence, they’ve just passed a whopping 82 licenses. Say what you will of the individual titles, but 82 books licensed for print in a year is a pretty nice number indeed. This random interesting tidbit of hentai manga news was prompted to you by Project-H’s newest Twitter spree of licenses this past Wednesday:

Boing Boing – Yamatogawa
Dinner At The Shimoedas – Ayumu Miyahara
Fetishisms: Gone Wild – Takumi Adachi
Fetishisms: Gone Wilder – Takumi Adachi
Fetishisms: Virgins – Takumi Adachi
Her and Her Uniform – Hiroshi Itaba
How Good Was I? – Yamatogawa
How to Get Dumped in Style – KUBUKURIN
Makunouchi Deluxe (Vol.01-03) – Joji Manabe
(The) Moon And The Sun – Syatikamaboko
Naughty Boobs – Yumeiro Gurasan
Nurse’s Paradise (Vol.01-02) – Rei Arou
Nurse’s Secrets – Takuma Harazaki
Power Play! – Yamatogawa
Puppy Lust – Toshi
Splash to Love (Vol.01-02) – KUBUKURIN
Teach Me A Lesson – Hiroshi Itaba

Each of the books will be released in print at a cost of $17.95/US, $19.99/CAN. None have release dates announced yet. A rarity in Project-H’s steadily growing library is Puppy Lust, which is also due for a digital release. Suffice to say, as hentai titles, all the aforementioned books will be rated 18+.

For information about when Digital Manga titles will be released, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on their website which lists title information as it becomes available. It’s recently been updated with a number of their summer announced Project-H titles as well. Via their Twitter account, Project-H has also posted current production schedules for 2012 and 2013.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: DMP, Hentai, Manga, Project-H

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – September 5, 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, September 7, 2012

No Comments »

It’s been a weird couple weeks, and part of that has lead to there being several weeks between my trips to my local comic store (Strange Adventures) to buy new manga. So bizarre! This week will be the tipping point though. A new Tezuka title, Message to Adolf, from Vertical Inc., new Viz Media volumes of Bleach, Bakuman and… a new volume of Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden after three years?!

Sold. You can check out the full list of titles that shipped this week over at my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Features, News, On The Shelf, Release Lists
Tags: Bakuman, Bleach, Dark Horse, Fushigi Yugi, Kodansha Comics, Manga, Omnibus, Osamu Tezuka, Otaku USA, Seven Seas, Vertical Inc, Viz Media, Yuu Watase

Review: Durarara!! (Vol. 03)

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, September 1, 2012

1 Comment »

Author: Ryohgo Narita/Suzuhito Yasuda
Manga-ka: Akiyo Satorigi
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2012

Synopsis: “Twisted passion accelerates disaster!! After twenty years of searching, Celty, the headless Black Rider, has at last found her missing head—bobbing through the streets of Ikebukuro on someone else’s neck! Though Celty pursues, the girl escapes on the arm of Mikado Ryuugamine, taking refuge in his apartment. But with both the legendary Rider and Yagiri Pharmaceuticals bearing down on Ryuugamine in their pursuit of the scarred girl, how can he hope to save his own neck?!”

Durarara!! returns for another fun and frantic volume. I always need to re-read the previous volume before I dive into a new one due to the multiple characters and web-like story. A refresher is greatly recommended for a story like this when it’s those little details and run-ins that make the big scenes mean that much more. And boy are there ever some character crescendos here in volume three.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Durarara, Manga, Yen Press

Review: 13th Boy (Vol. 12)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, August 30, 2012

No Comments »

Manhwa-ga: SangEun Lee
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: July 2012

Synopsis: “With the holidays finally upon Hee-So, the season of giving is in full swing! But as she gets ready for her Christmas Eve festivities, Beatrice takes generosity to a whole new level as he prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice to give the present of “destiny” to his beloved friend. But if Hee-So realizes the sacrifice her darling Beatrice plans to make in order to bring Whie-Young back among the living, will she be able to look her first love in the face ever again? Hee-So’s search for love concludes in this final volume of 13th Boy!”

(Final Volume Spoiler Warnings) Against all odds, a small part of me kept hoping that Beatrice would be the one that Hee-So ends up with at the end of 13th Boy. But how often do the kind, self-sacrificing, ever-loyal ones actually get the girl? It’s little surprise that fickle Hee-So needs her man to have a little bad boy attitude to him, and while the inevitability of the series’s result left me feeling a little cold, the execution also caught me off-guard enough to make it ultimately very satisfying.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: 13th Boy, Manhwa, Yen Press