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Posts Tagged Manga

Review: Toriko (Vol. 11)

Toriko (Vol. 11)

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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Otaku USA: On The Shelf – August 22, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - August 22, 2012

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.


Review: Soul Eater Not! (Vol. 01)

Soul Eater Not! (Vol. 01)

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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Review: Bunny Drop (Vol. 06)

Bunny Drop (Vol. 06)

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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Review: Bakuman (Vol. 13)

Bakuman (Vol. 13)

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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Review: Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 20)

Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 20)

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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Review: Black Butler (Vol. 10)

Black Butler (Vol.10)

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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Project-H Continues License Lap-Up with Four New Hentai One-Shots

Project-H Licenses Four New Hentai One-Shots

Another day, another list of Project-H licenses. Great news for hentai fans because 2013 is going to have some hefty release lists for the 18+ genre. This convention season has been pretty weak for manga licenses, excluding Project-H’s – can anyone possibly compete with Digital Manga’s current for-print titles? The clock is ticking!

These new titles were announced on Friday via the Project-H Twitter account:

Late Bloomers – Okano Ahiru
Sex Toys – Sho Aoi
Fetishisms: Sexy Wives – Takumi Adachi
Fetishisms: Immoral – Takumi Adachi

All four books will be released in 2013 and at the new standard Project-H price of $17.95/US, $19.99/CAN.


Mini Manga News: Shoujo 3-in-1s, Digital Updates and Anime Adaptations

Kamisama Kiss (Anime)

A few different tidbits of new today, including some continuing omnibus editions from Viz Media, some continuing evolution in the world of digitally released manga and a quick note about some recently announced or debuting animes based on a few English-licensed manga. Enjoy the randomly connected!

 Viz Media announced via their Shoujo Beat Twitter account that they’ll be continuing to release Skip Beat! in their 3-in-1 omnibus format, and will also be releasing all of Hana Kimi in this format as well. Both Skip Beat! and Hana Kimi have three volumes of these omnibus out so far, which is where Viz Media has always ended their 3-in-1s of this particular type in the past.

Hana Kimi 3-in-1 (Vol.03)This is great news for those who’ve been buying these series like this, especially when a lot of these series’ individual volumes are difficult to come by. It’s been a huge sore spot for me that they’ve done these 3-in-1 re-releases of several series and have always ended them after only 3 books, then making note in that last book for readers to look for the singles. It’s a big slap in the face for collectors since the omnibus editions are cheaper and of course look very different from the singles. I hope this decision for Hana Kimi and Skip Beat! are because they’ve sold well, and I also hope it could inspire Viz Media to continue re-releasing some other series they’ve cut short this way such as Full Metal Alchemist.

 We don’t cover much in the way of digital manga here on Kuriousity, but there are always exceptions and this is one. Viz Media made a great announcement for fans of the medium with their recent press release revealing they’d be releasing future new volumes in digital and print on the same day. This is a fantastic flexibility for readers, one which doesn’t force someone to wait in order to purchase a book in their preferred format.

Each digital Viz Media volume is typically $4.99/US/CAN and can be read via their VizManga website, iPhone/iPad apps, Android app and for Nook. They also have a sale on right now that offers every volume at 20% off via their VizManga site and apps, making most only $3.99.

 Also in the digital manga realm and offering more flexibility is news from Digital Manga that they’ve begun releasing their titles in PDF format. This means you purchase and download the titles instead of reading them via internet connection only and have a choice of where and how you read it (ie: your tablet, phone, computer screen, etc.). I’ve really loved that SuBLime Manga has taken this approach from the get-go and it’s availability like this that actually prompts me to purchase some now and again for reading on my tablet.

 Lastly in anime-news, something covered now and again when we feel it’s extra-relevant, there’s been a number of new series announced or previewed lately based on manga that have been licensed in English. This is exciting news for those who love enjoying the stories in both mediums.

Courtesy of AnimeNewsNetwork:

Kamisama Kiss (Trailer) – Manga licensed by Viz Media
New Dragonball Film (Teaser) – Manga licensed by Viz Media
BTOOM! (Trailer) – Manga licensed by Yen Press
Lychee Light Club (Announcement) – Manga licensed by Vertical Inc.
The Flowers of Evil – Manga licensed by Vertical Inc.

 Of these series, I’m most excited for the new Dragonball movie and the Kamisama Kiss series, not to mention of course the new Sailor Moon anime debuting in 2013!


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – August 8, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - August 8, 2012

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday and there are few things I ever want more than the opportunity for more books. The manga publishing world responded (not intentionally of course, but I’ll think it so!) by having this week be an extra large bulk of titles. Hurray! You can see the full list – which includes over 30 individual releases – at my weekly On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

My top pick of the week has to go to Viz Media‘s Kaze Hikaru (Vol.20). We need to wait a year between volumes and it’s a real shame when this series is so, so charming and well drawn. Kodansha Comics‘ Sailor Moon (Vol.06) is one of those no brainer purchases because it’s wonderful and this particular volume introduces the outer Guardians, Neptune and Uranus, which introduces a whole new layer of intrigue and classiness. For something new, I’ll be looking out for Seven Seas‘ first volume of Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries. I really liked their release of Young Miss Holmes so I hope this one is similar. These and so many others this week to whatever extent my wallet can support!


Take me back to the top!