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Review: Shinobi Life (Vol. 02)

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, January 18, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Shoko Conami
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: March 2009

Synopsis: “Beni convinces Kagetora to go back with her to the future – as a student! Everything is going fine until they meet a strange and mysterious classmate, Iwatsuru. As Kagetora and Beni’s interest in one another blossoms, Beni’s Father reminds Kagetora that he is only a mere body guard and nothing more! What’s worse, he reveals that he has already arranged Beni to get married – to Iwatsuru!”

Whether it’s a comedic exchange of misunderstandings or one look at Beni and Kagetora’s pained expressions when fate intervenes, volume two of Shinobi Life continues to ensure your heart will laugh and ache right along with theirs. Thankfully the same can be said for their times of romantic bliss as well and as the two come to care deeply for one another, the smallest of moments can provide these gifts. But with an emotionally detached Father pulling the strings and an old foe making a surprise reappearance, there’s still much more to this story than just a remarkably compelling romance.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Review: GoGo Monster

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, January 15, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Taiyo Matsumoto
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: December 2009

Synopsis: “Third grader Yuki Tachibana lives in two worlds. In one world, he is a loner ridiculed by his classmates and reprimanded by his teachers for telling stories of supernatural beings that only he can see. In the other world, the supernatural beings vie for power with malevolent spirits who bring chaos into the school, the students’ lives, and nature itself.”

Taiyo Matsumoto isn’t the easiest manga-ka to get into. His style is a strange blend of Japanese and European, of cartoony and realistic. Even his stories, set in mundane places like elementary or high school, have a surrealistic quality to them, making it seem like they take place in a dream world rather than the real world. Gogo Monster manages to bring out all of Matsumoto’s best qualities – his unique art and strange plots – while still being more coherent than some of his earlier works. It is also very, very good.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

Review: Shinobi Life (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, January 14, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Shoko Conami
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: November 2008

Synopsis: “Energetic and strong-willed, Beni doesn’t care if she lives or dies as long as her death will result in embarrassing her arrogant father! But one day, she suddenly encounters Kagetora, a ninja who’s fallen from the sky and swears complete loyalty to her – as her bodyguard. Kagetora has time traveled from a long, long time ago, and has devoted his life to protecting Princess Beni. Little does Kagetora know that this Beni is not the real princess…”

A rich girl with daddy-issues and a time-traveling ninja – what may not scream instant classic still achieves its own irrefutable charm. Shinobi Life is a satisfying story about a proverbial fish out of water proving to be exactly what one woman needs to find happiness. But in true romantic fashion, nothing comes quite that easily and they’ll have more than their share of speed bumps on the road to a happily ever after.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Purchase and Win – eManga Draw for Electric Hands

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, January 14, 2010

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Digital Manga announced on their blog yesterday their first giveaway of the new year. From today (Wednesday, January 13) to Tuesday, January 19 – anyone who rents or purchases-to-keep any title on eManga will be entered into a draw to win a copy of Taishi Zaou’s one-shot boys’ love story, Electric Hands.

“In most ways, Fujino is a typical high school student; his mind wanders during class, and he often finds himself lost in a daydream. But the odd thing about Fujino is that his daydreams are starting to revolve around a peculiar fetish for hands – specifically, the sleek, beautiful hands of his classmate and tutor, Takie. Hours spent admiring an attractive set of appendages is one thing, but Fujino is in for the shock of his life when a brush with Takie’s hands gives him a literal jolt. What makes a current pass from Takie through every part of Fujino’s body? How will Fujino’s fellow students react when each accidental contact sends him skittering across the room?!”

Along with the book, the winner will also receive a shikishi/shitajiki pencilboard signed by Taishi Zaou herself! The winner of the draw will be announced the following day.

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Categories: Contests
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, DMP, Doki Doki, Manga

Vertical Licenses Osamu Tezuka’s Ayako

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, January 13, 2010

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Vertical Inc is adding another Osamu Tezuka title to their growing catalog, this time with their license of, Ayako.

Originally published in 1972, ANN has the following synopsis:

“Jiro Tenge, the second son of what used to be an influential Japanese family, returns home after being a POW in an American camp during the Second World War. He finds his family corrupted by the terrible social aftereffects of the war. His elder brother, determined to keep what remains of the family patrimony after the Government’s forced land reallocation, has prostituted his wife to his father to secure his blessing, while other members of Jiro’s family have been drawn into similar corruption, and he himself is being forced to spy for the Americans after being broken as a POW. Now the family’s youngest daughter Ayako will have to bear the brunt of the family’s sins.”

In the past week Vertical has posted several hints on Twitter to eager eyes including “It’s gonna be a whopper! 704 pages. Great female lead. Cover design by P Mendelsund!!”. Though the license was repeatedly said to have an embargo on it, the book never-the-less appeared on Amazon late-Tuesday afternoon with the ~~newly designed cover~~ (the cover is actually for a previously released book, not Ayako – thanks for the correction, calaggie!).

(Editor note: Out of respect for the initial intended-surprise, I personally made the choice to withhold this information until Vertical confirmed it at their recent event Wednesday evening. Vertical representatives have yet to publicly speak about this title online.)

At 704 pages, this release of Ayako is likely a single omnibus collection of the original three books. Ayako is scheduled for tentative release in October 2010.

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Categories: Licensing
Tags: Manga, Vertical Inc

Review: Cat Paradise (Vol. 01)

By Andre Paploo on Monday, January 11, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Yuji Iwahara
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “Nine lives might not be enough to survive this catfight! At Matabi Academy, students are allowed to bring their pet cats to the dorms. For Yumi Hayakawa, whose favorite hobby is making clothes for her kitty Kansuke, Matabi seems like a sure bet. After all, nothing can possibly go wrong with her best friend at her side! But on the first day of school, the two find themselves face-to-face with a murderous demonic minion on campus! Will Yumi and Kansuke be able to defend themselves and their school against an ancient cat demon’s thirst for vengeance?”

Cat Paradise seemingly brings us yet another high school manga. As a fan of Iwahara’s King of Thorn, however, I was looking forward to a similar, mildly eccentric action-oriented work full of distinctive and illustrative artwork. Could he give us all that within the confines of yet another teen manga? Iwahara delivers, managing to make what might otherwise be a generic series into an engrossing, unconventional read. While not as tense or dramatic as King of Thorn, this story nevertheless gives us the goods, adding some fun moments and concepts while foreshadowing potential for even more intriguing future chapters.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Yen Press

Review: Yu-Gi-Oh! R (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, January 7, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Akira Ito
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: October 2009

Synopsis: “It’s been many duels since Yugi defeated Maxmilion Pegasus, the super-rich designer of the collectible card game “Duel Monsters.” But Yako Tenma, Pegasus’ protégé, has never forgiven Yugi for his master’s horrible fate. To draw Yugi out, Yako kidnaps Anzu Mazaki and takes her to the heart of the Kaibacorp building, guarded by dozens of the world’s most dangerous gamers! But Yako’s true plan for Anzu is much worse than mere revenge…”

There’s a very classic overtone to this entire story, emphasized by the constant character reinforcement. Friendship, loyalty, honesty and hard work are all pushed hard. The repetitive nature leaves the characters feeling a little flat but the innocence of the message and the straightforward nature of its delivery makes it pretty empowering. It’s classic shonen strength at its best – promoting all that good moral stuff as the good guys fight the bad guys in a predominantly black and white structure.

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

Review: Ichiroh! (Vol. 02)

By Marsha Reid on Wednesday, January 6, 2010

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Reviewer: Marsha Reid

Manga-ka: Mikage
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2009

Synopsis: “Nanako has been pouring all her effort into her exam prep class, however she still isn’t meeting her high expectations. But never say die! With the help of her friends, Nanako struggles through procrastination and distraction, determined to reach her goal. Unfortunately, that goal comes with a hefty price tag, and as the cost of study guides, enrollment, and dorm fees climbs, the penny-pinching Nanako jumps on the chance to make some extra cash with a part-time job… at a maid café?! Now with even more work on her plate, will Nanako ever be able to pull up her grades and make it into the college of her dreams?”

The penny pinching Nanako is still at it, out to get the best deal on everything without realizing she’s shorting herself on life’s little pleasures. Best friend and roommate, Akane is still on hand but the madly in love (with Nanako) Shino is too busy with college life to hang around as much as she used to. Like in all cute, fluffy and girly manga, crazy hijinks ensue on this adventure through life as the all discover more about themselves and each other.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Yen Press

BLUManga.com Confirms Price Increase

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, January 5, 2010

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Updates made this afternoon to BLU’s website have made official what online retail sites have been warning boys’ love fans since mid-November – starting in 2010, BLU (the boys’ love imprint of Tokyopop) will be releasing their books at a cover price of $14.99/US.

Scarier yet for some of us, $18.99/CAN – thank goodness for the strong Canadian dollar keeping those terrifying prices relatively obselete on bookstore shelves!

Original volumes of BLU manga, published first in 2005, were priced at $9.99/US. This includes the first volume of the popular now-completed series Love Mode and the on-going Junjo Romantica. This means boys’ love fans have seen a five dollar increase over five years – averaging out the costs, we’re looking at an increase of one dollar for each year BLU has been publishing. BLU’s last price increase was in early 2008, raising from their debut $9.99/US to $12.99/US.

The first book listed to be released at the $14.99/US price is Hinako Takanaga’s Croquis, due out February 2010.

Editors on the BLU forums have cited different reasons for the price increases and variances since their debut, including related-decisions to keep or remove colour pages from books because of shrink-wrapping issues. All Tokyopop books have seen price increases over the years, garnering some negativity from consumers when accompanied by lower quality paper and fewer-to-no colour pages. Tokyopop has since returned to a higher quality paper while their pages range around $10.99/US.

BLUManga.com’s recent updates included a new info page and banner for Croquis, as well as its addition to the release calendar. BLU’s recent press release outlined releases through to Spring 2010.

Edit: BLU Manga has since stated that their future releases will all have 2-4 colour pages to go along with the price increase. (via TheYaoiReview)

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Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: BLU, Boys' Love/Yaoi, Hinako Takanaga, Manga

CLAMP Responds to Fan Appreciation Book

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, January 4, 2010

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Nearly a year ago today, I posted about an online CLAMP fan-community’s project in celebration of CLAMP’s 20th year anniversary. The project was titled the CLAMP Appreciation Fanbook and over the past twelves months fans from around the world offered their art, stories, time and donations to create the 348 page hardcover-bound book.

Yesterday, the clamp_now community shared a response from CLAMP that one of the team’s four members, Tsubaki Nekoi, posted on the manga-team’s community boards over at their website, CLAMP-Net:

Best of all is the large number of countries that participated! We really are happy to hear that our works are read, and furthermore liked, in so many different places.

I don’t know whether words of thanks will reach you, everyone, but thank you very much indeed. I think new works will be born after this as well. We’ll do our best so that you read them too!

You can read CLAMP’s full translated response on the clamp_now posting. As for the book itself, print-on-demand copies can now be purchased from Blurb.com. A short preview of the book can be seen there as well and images of the completed product have also been posted on the clamp_now community.

A congratulations to everyone involved in this project. The final product looks gorgeous! It’s great to know that CLAMP now holds the product of your hard work in their hands and it’s a wonderful gift.

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Categories: Misc
Tags: CLAMP, Manga