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Author Archive for Lissa Pattillo

Review: Gate 7 (Vol. 03)

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

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Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2012

Synopsis: “A battle for supernatural supremacy rages in Kyoto! When a strange dimension overlaps with our reality, Hana and the members of her Inou Squad use their mystical dominion over the elements to protect humanity against a torrent of invading creatures. Thrust in the middle of this war, Chikahito is a seemingly ordinary boy who’s been accepted into Hana’s group–but it’s possible that he has latent powers of his own!”

Gate 7 is such a conflicting series for me. I’m forced to admit, against all my love for CLAMP, that this is a bit of a mess. At the very least it’s one of their weaker stories. CLAMP has taken many of the ingredients people love from their work – detailed characters, winding mysteries, subtle relationships and stunning artwork – and yet mixes them together in a way that makes for an overall unpleasant dish. But, in true CLAMP fashion, the good is always just good enough to keep you wanting to come back for more and this third volume is no exception to the trend.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: CLAMP, Dark Horse, Gate 7, Manga

Review: Toriko (Vol. 11)

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, August 24, 2012

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Manga-ka: Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2012

Synopsis: “Toriko’s fight with Gourmet Corp has left him without an arm. While Komatsu continues the quest for Century Soup, Toriko journeys to Life, the country of healing, where getting some R&R turns into a bigger battle than anyone imagined. He’ll have to eat his way to full health!”

The ice-cave chapters of Toriko come to an end in this eleventh volume but not before another cascade of crazy monsters gnashing, drooling and smashing through their way through our heroes (and our new weren’t-hereoes-before-but-now-are-pretty-close too). The massive spire containing the Millennium Soup is collapsing and everyone is pretty messed up, but at least before all is momentarily said and done we get to see one particularly nasty baddy get his just desserts. Then it’s onward to helpings and healing!

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

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – August 22, 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, August 22, 2012

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It’s the week of threes! I have three top picks out of the manga this week and all are the third volumes of their respective series – Countdown 7 Days (Vol.03), Replica (Vol.03) and Gate 7 (Vol.03). All three are also some of the best manga eye-candy out there to my tastes right now so I expect lots of oogling will happen tonight. So, so pretty.

For the full list of titles available in stores and retail sites this week, check out my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

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Categories: Features, News, On The Shelf, Release Lists
Tags: Bunny Drop, CLAMP, Dark Horse, DMP, Gate 7, June, Manga, Otaku USA, Viz Media, Yen Press

Review: Soul Eater Not! (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, August 20, 2012

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Manga-ka: Atsushi Ohkubo
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: July 2012

Synopsis: “Ding-dong! DEAD-dong! Class is about to begin, and you don’t want to be late on your first day of school! Join Tsugumi Harudori in the NOT class at Death Weapon Meister Academy, a school dedicated to training transforming Weapons like Tsugumi and the Meisters who will wield them. Many NOT (Normally Overcome Target) students aspire to join the elite EAT (Especially Advantaged Talent) class, but it may take Tsugumi some time to find her confidence—and a partner—at this crazy school!”

Soul Eater Not! is a spin-off of Atsushi Ohkubo’s Soul Eater. It introduces a new cast of characters who attend the same school as those in Soul Eater, but focuses more on their friendship, schooling and quirky personalities than the monsters and battles those traits are used for by the previous leads. As someone who couldn’t really get into the first series, and who doesn’t usually find shonen slice-of-girl-life stories interesting, I went into this book with low expectations. To my pleasant surprise, however, I closed this book upon completion with a smile on my face and an eagerness for volume two.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Yen Press

Review: Bunny Drop (Vol. 06)

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, August 18, 2012

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Manga-ka: Yami Unita
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2012

Synopsis: “As Daikichi continues to juggle work with raising a teenager, Rin struggles with the relationship between her and Kouki, her childhood friend. The last ten years have brought about a variety of changes to their friendship—some subtle, some not so. Kouki may always have been head over heels for Rin, but the choices he’s made in the past seem to have put a wedge between them. And when a scorned ex sets her sights anew on Rin as the object of her rage, the tricks up this girl’s sleeve threaten to nip Kouki’s potential romance with Rin in the bud for good. As Rin’s sixteenth birthday approaches, will there be cause for celebration? Or will Daikichi have a crisis of the heart on his hands?!”

The previous volume of Bunny Drop really disappointed me. Here we had an utterly charming series about a single, middle-age man adopting a little girl and learning how to care for her. In volume five, we had a time jump that took us forward to the child, Rin, now being a teenager. Volume six doesn’t do anything like take us back to those more charming and educational days (save for a few flashbacks) but at least now that we’re over the shock of the transition, we can appreciate the story more for what it’s become. Still, teenage school drama, haven’t we seen it all?

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Bunny Drop, Manga, Yen Press

Review: Bakuman (Vol. 13)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, August 16, 2012

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Author: Tsugumi Ohba
Manga-ka: Takeshi Obata
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2012

Synopsis: “After being told their current series Perfect Crime Party will not be turned into an anime, Moritaka and Akito start planning on ways to create a second series. Their best chance might be to do well in a new contest where they will compete with their rivals over who can create the best romance story!”

The irony of this volume’s showdown of the romances results won’t be lost on the many who love Bakuman for its passionate telling of manga making but begrudge it’s weak coupling subplots. While the romantics have never been the series’ strong point (granted I do at least favour the Kaya and Akito couple quite a bit), other relationships between characters still continue to be one of the most compelling aspects, whether it’s between partners, rivals, editors or audience.

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

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – August 15, 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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New books! My commentary here on Kuriousity is limited to “buy them!” but it might have something to do with the giant stack of books I bought from the last couple weeks that begs to be read right now. The full list is available as per yay-manga-comes-out-weekly usual over at my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

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Categories: Features, News, On The Shelf, Release Lists
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, GEN Manga, Kodansha Comics, Netcomics, Otaku USA, Viz Media

PR: SuBLime Continues The Summer Yaoi Sizzle With New Manga Releases

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, August 14, 2012

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GLOBAL YAOI MANGA PUBLISHER SuBLime CONTINUES THE SUMMER SIZZLE WITH THE DEBUT OF BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE AND STARTING WITH A KISS

Bold English-Language Yaoi Publisher Will Delight Fans With Both Debuts Available Now In Print And STARTING WITH A KISS Also Available Digitally From SuBLimeManga.com

San Francisco, CA, August 14, 2012 – SuBLime, the global yaoi manga (graphic novel) publisher, delivers more hot summer romance with the debut of Yaya Sakuragi’s BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE, and Youka Nitta’s STARTING WITH A KISS. Both new series launch today, are rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers, and carry a print-version MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN.

STARTING WITH A KISS is also available as a digital edition worldwide from www.SuBLimeManga.com for $5.99 (USD), and is downloadable as a PDF for viewing on any enabled eReader device or computer, as well as accessible via the online manga viewer found on the SuBLime web site.

BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE Vol. 1, by Yaya Sakuragi 
Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN
High school student Ao has been dreaming about his longtime neighbor Ryomei, a priest at the local Shinto shrine. A little freaked out—and a lot excited—at the prospect of having a relationship with Ryomei, Ao gathers up his courage, confesses his feelings…and gets turned down flat. Luckily, Ao’s not the kind to give up easily. Thanks to some creative persistence (and Ryomei’s weakening resolve), he finally gets a kiss. But one single kiss won’t satisfy him for long!

Yaya Sakuragi’s previous English-language releases include Tea For Two, Hey, Sensei? and Stay Close to Me. She is also a prolific novel illustrator.

STARTING WITH A KISS Vol. 1, by Youka Nitta  Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN  $5.99 Digital From SuBLimeManga.com
Tohru, the son of a yakuza boss, is sent into exile on a deserted island for his own protection during a gang feud. Fiery and impetuous, he isn’t thrilled to be sidelined when he’d rather be in the fight, and is even less thrilled that Mutsumi, son of the gang’s second in command, is going with him. The serious, studious Mutsumi is Tohru’s opposite in every way, and it doesn’t take long before the sparks between them begin to fly!

Youka Nitta made her publishing debut with GROUPIE in 1995, and since then has become one of the most prolific and popular yaoi creators worldwide. Her most well-known series, Embracing Love, has been adapted into both a drama CD as well as an anime series. More information about Youka Nitta is available on her English-language website at: http://nittayouka.com.

“Hot yaoi romances continue to sizzle this month for fans worldwide with the print release of BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE and the print and digital release of Starting with a kiss,” says Jennifer LeBlanc, Editor, SuBLime. “Yaya Sakuragi shows how a not-so-innocent kiss, mixed with plenty of determination, can lead to so much more, while Youka Nitta demonstrates her prowess as one of the genre’s greatest creators with a sultry tropical gangster love story. We also invite readers to visit SuBLimeManga.com and heat up the rest of their summer season with a variety of other sexy yaoi titles available now!”

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Bond of Dreams Bond of Love, Boys' Love/Yaoi, SuBLime

Review: Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 20)

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, August 14, 2012

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Manga-ka: Taeko Watanabe
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2012

Synopsis: “Hijikata decides to make use of Kamiya’s feminine features and sends “him” out dressed as a woman on a spy mission. Her assignment: to ascertain the whereabouts of the notorious enemy leader Sakamoto Ryoma. Soji, left in the dark about the secret mission, sets off to find Kamiya. The two get more than they bargained for when they come face-to-face with the enemy himself!”

Be still my beating heart and gleeful cheers; after a long year of waiting we finally have a new volume of Kaze Hikaru. The decisions in the previous volume set in motion potentially dire events for Kamiya as a photographer arrives to deliver the finished product of her day out with Soji. What it results in is a volume full of humour and heart, most notably both from Soji, who is being forced to confront his own feelings a lot sooner than he’s likely ready for. We’re quite ready for it though!

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Kaze Hikaru, Manga, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

Review: Black Butler (Vol. 10)

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, August 13, 2012

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Manga-ka: Yana Toboso
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: July 2012

Synopsis: “With his royally sanctioned dinner party a shambles and a murderer on the loose, Earl Ciel Phantomhive is a veritable prisoner in his own home, alongside those of his guests who still live. And in the most shocking of turns, the young earl now finds himself without his indispensible manservant, Sebastian. But as the mystery deepens, there arrives upon the young earl’s doorstep an odd vicar, wearing an insolent smile and an Inverness cape that flaps and splashes behind him… Is this mysterious thirteenth guest the perpetrator of the crimes that have bloodied the halls of Phantomhive Manor?”

The murder mystery resumes, taking us into the third volume of Black Butler‘s Phantomhive Manor who-dun-it. I was a little surprised to see this story arc lasted even this long, going right up to the final page of this tenth volume of Black Butler and beyond. None the less it gives secondary characters time to shine, and introduces a new character with some secrets of his own that bring about a conclusion that really couldn’t have been put off any longer.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Black Butler, Manga, Yen Press