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Posts Tagged Manga

Finders-Keepers for Digital Manga

Ayano Yamane's Finder Series

On the one night in who-knows-how-long that I decide to go to bed a few hours early, Digital Manga goes and finally drops the F-word! You know the one, boys’ love fans. But I can’t complain about having good news to wake up to. Fans rejoice – Ayano Yamane’s popular Finders series is no longer in English-license limbo!

Digital Manga has announced that they will be releasing the Finders Series under their June boys’ love imprint. It looks like it’ll be printed at their 801Media cut-size. Digital Manga has  set up a website specific for the release at FinderSeries.com. Along with the press release, the site has short character bios and the series’ synopsis.

“While our on assignment trying to document the illegal activities of the Japanese underworld, the photographer Takaba crosses paths with the dark and mysterious leader Asami. Asami  takes Takaba captive, in an attempt to subjugate and possess him. But when the son of the Chinese mafia enters demanding evidence that Takaba may have, will Takaba be able to survive being caught in the crosshairs of a deadly underworld feud?”

The first volume of June’s edition of Finders will be in summer 2010 – which isn’t that far off from right now. It’s almost as if they were conveniently timing it for some event with overlapping interest

Though the excitement over this news is already apparent, it’s been long-anticipated along with the concern from fans that by being published under the June imprint could mean that the Finder Series will face minor edits and censoring of the original work. Many assumed that because of the graphic nature of Finder Series it would be published under their 801Media imprint to avoid this (myself included admittedly), as they have with other of Ayano Yamane’s series. While Digital Manga has censored some of its June imprint work in the past, these edits were very minimal and this does not mean that the Finder Series will have changes.

Those interested in the news can check out Digital Manga’s complete press release which also includes word directly from Libre Shuppan, Japanese license-holders of the series.

As a short history lesson, the Finder Series was previously licensed by the now-defunct BeBeautiful which released three volumes of the 5-book series, all of which have spent years selling for inordinate amounts of money after they went out of print. Those who couldn’t afford $200 a book need weep no longer.


Review: 9th Sleep

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Makoto Tateno
Publisher: June
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: December 2009

Synopsis: “The planet had died once before… On the day of Despaira, a god appeared in the sky and saved the world. His name was King Shishioh. But now with the throne of the king empty, a vicious battle between two brothers is unfolding. Who will ascend the throne?”

The story follows Luke, a young man who finds himself hunted by a man claiming to be his brother. When the truth of his existence is revealed the two brothers set into motion a series of events doomed to repeat themselves in a battle for the world’s throne that transcends a life time – and perhaps a readers’ level of patience despite its whimsical platter of eye-candy.

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Review: Otodama – Voice From The Dead (Vol. 01)

Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Youka Nitta
Publisher: DokiDoki
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: February 2010

Synopsis: “Kaname Otonashi is gifted with a super-hearing ability, so much so that he can even hear voices from the “other side”. Having once worked as a top notch detective specializing in Sound Engineering Investigation, Otonashi resigned to work as a private investigator. His partner, Yasuhide, aka Hide, collaborates with the police department to take on unsolved and mysterious cases. Surrounded by a string of mysterious deaths, the police turn to Kaname’s findings to identify suspects…but can Kaname handle the non-stop screaming of the dead?”

Youka Nitta is famous for creating landmark yaoi manga like the popular Embracing Love and The Prime Minister’s Secret Diplomacy. Not knowing anything about Otodama except for the manga-ka when I started reading it, I was expecting more of the same. I couldn’t have been more surprised. Otodama isn’t a yaoi series (or even shounen-ai), but instead a smart police-thriller with supernatural elements. What it does have in common with Nitta’s other work is fantastic art and a gripping story.

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Review: Ristorante Paradiso

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Natsume Ono
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: March 2010

Synopsis: “At the age of 21, Nicoletta travels to Rome to find her mother, Olga, who abandoned her long ago. Nicoletta finds her at Casetta dell’Orso, a charming little restaurant owned by Olga’s husband. The staff of bespectacled gentlemen welcomes Nicoletta warmly, but Olga’s reception is not so pleasant. Olga has never told her husband that she ever had children–and he must never know.”

Seeking to reveal her existence to her Mother’s new husband, Nicoletta has travelled to Rome for an impromptu visit with her wayward parent. Soon finding her spiteful plans on hiatus, Nicoletta finds herself welcomed into the fold of the Casetta dell’Orso, a popular restaurant where older men serve as the eye-candy for their patrons.

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Review: Dog x Cat

Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Yoshimi Amasaki
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: December 2009

Synopsis: “All Atsu has ever wanted is a dog of his own… and all Junya has ever wanted is Atsu! After being friends since childhood, dog-like Junya and cat-like Atsu now attend college together. One day, Junya finally drops a bomb: he’s in love with Atsu and wants to have a sexual relationship with him! Even though Atsu agrees, he doesn’t tell Junya if his feelings are returned. Aren’t they both supposed to be in love? What’s more, aren’t dogs and cats supposed to be natural enemies? With lots of training, perhaps Atsu will come to learn that having Junya is even better than having his own pet!”

Dog x Cat is a strange animal. On one hand, it’s extremely cute and funny. One the other hand, it has some of the dirtiest sex scenes I’ve seen in awhile. For some people, this would be a great case of getting to have your cake and eat it too. For me, I found the two extremes a little disconcerting. Still, once I got used to the mix, I started to enjoy it.

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Review: Stepping On Roses (Vol. 01)

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Rinko Ueda
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: April 2010

Synopsis: “Poor Sumi Kitamura… Her irresponsible older brother Eisuke keeps bringing home orphans for her to take care of even though they can barely afford their own basic needs! Just when Sumi’s financial problems become dire, wealthy Soichiro Aside enters her life wih a bizarre proposition: he’ll provide her with the money she so desperately needs if she agrees to marry him. But can Sumi fool high society into thinking she’s a proper lady? Moreover, is it worth giving up everything for this sham of a marriage?”

Life isn’t easy for Sumi Kitamura. Poor and left to care for a group of enfants, she struggles each day just to find food to feed them and another excuse for their landlady. To make matters worse, the number of children keeps growing when her gambling-addicted older brother keeps bringing home stray children with debt-collectors close on his heels. Not to be taken half as seriously as the plot would suggest however, Stepping on Roses is a frolicsome shoujo story that mixes societal clashing with unbelievable scenarios in this opening volume of a “rags-to-riches romance”.

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Review: Bleach (Vol. 30)

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kubo Tite
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: March 2010

Synopsis: “Ichigo and his friends are moving ever closer to the center of Hueco Mundo and rescuing Orihime. But their battles against the Arrancars are testing them in ways they never thought possible. Can they keep their honor in a world where it doesn’t exist, or will Hueco Mundo leave an indelible mark on their souls?!”

With a split-off cast and an unknown amount of bad-guys around every corner, it’s apparent that things are well in place for a string of confrontational battles. This shonen-standard does spell potential disaster in terms of being repetitive but thus far Bleach is keeping this Heuco Mundo arc engaging with fast-paced, overlapping battles that play off the traits of each character.

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Review: Pandora Hearts (Vol. 01)

Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Jun Mochizuki
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: December 2009

Synopsis: “The air of celebration surrounding fifteen-year-old Oz Vessalius’s coming-of-age ceremony quickly turns to horror when he is condemned for a sin about which he knows nothing. He is thrown into an eternal, inescapable prison known as the Abyss from which there is no escape. There, he meets a young girl named Alice, who is not what she seems. Now that the relentless cogs of fate have begun to turn, do they lead only to crushing despair for Oz, or is there some shred of hope for him to grasp on to?”

After taking in Mochizuki’s Crimson Shell in a previous review, this ongoing series offers similar flavors with it’s gothic British setting, endless mansions and frilly outfits. However, it manages to avoid being a retread of the previous series, just another tale offered in complimentary window dressing. Mochizuki presents us with yet more pseudo-Victorian gothic wonderment, and ups the ante a bit with some cleverly chosen ties to a literary classic, and a fairly involving plot centering on intentions most sinister for all concerned.

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Tokyopop Officially Orders Up New Series – Neko Ramen

Neko Ramen

During their webinar this evening, Tokyopop officially announced their acquisition of Kenji Sonishi’s Neko Ramen. The first volume of the English edition, Neko Ramen: Order Up!, was initially spotted on Amazon this past November.

Coming on the heels of a lengthy bout of pre-announcement hints and related media via their newsletters, Tokyopop is launching Neko Ramen with a hefty campaign including its own website, contests and Facebook page complete with the series’ trailer. Tokyopop has also already posted several preview strips on its website with future comics strips accessible to those who subscribe to their weekly newsletter.

The first of the currently-three Neko Ramen books (the series is still on-going) is scheduled for June 2010 and will be priced at $10.99/US. The books are rated for youth so readers young and old can enjoy some hairballs in this 4-koma style series about a cat who runs a ramen shop.

Along with news about Neko Ramen, Tokyopop staffers confirmed they’ll be speeding up Gakuen Alice to bi-monthly starting in June of this year. They also responded with a “no comment” to questions regarding their recent Twitter-teases about the license for the Hetalia 4-koma series.


Review: Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Vol. 10)

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Author: Eiji Otsuka
Manga-ka: Housui Yamazaki
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: February 2010

Synopsis: “The dead don’t walk in Kurosagi — that is, not without a little help . . . and it’s a shock to the system when the delivery service finds out what’s making their clients rise up! Then, for Numata to take off his sunglasses for anyone, it must be a grave matter . . . or, more likely, a matter of someone not yet in their grave…”

A new face arrives on scene and strange old myths resurface in this tenth volume of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Spiritual powers may been the KCDS’s bread-and-butter (on the rare occasion it actually pays) but with technology springing up to both challenge and compliment their work, it’s becoming a whole new ballgame in the corpse finding business.

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