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Review: Black Bird (Vol. 02)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, January 3, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kanoko Sakurakoji
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2009

Synopsis: “Kyo, the head of the Tengu demon clan, is Misao’s only chance for survival. But even though she has sweet memories of him as a childhood friend, she has trouble reconciling them with the man he has become. Despite the strange attraction she feels for Kyo, can she trust her life, let alone her heart, to a man who only cares about the promise of her blood?”

Black Bird left a sour taste in many a mind of readers with the abusive relationship forming in its first volume. But in volume two the author steps back from the violent encounters and deviant objectives of those now plaguing Misao’s life to give the series something a proclaimed-romance really needs – some honest affection.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Black Bird, Manga, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

Review: Love Control (Vol. 02)

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, January 1, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Ai Hasukawa
Publisher: June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “Okumura, the director, and Yamashiro, the designer, have finally graduated from flirtation to romance. Only they won’t admit it. The two are too proud to express feelings of love and affection. But when a third wheel – a brash and handsome bartender named Sasatani – shows up and boldly states his intention to court Yamashiro, will Okumura finally admit his love to Yamashiro? And will Yamashiro admit to loving him back?”

Love Control takes place almost entirely at Nebula Sinus-Jiri, a high-class bar run by a handsome man named Takashi Okumura. Yamashiro is a designer hired to re-design part of the establishment. Their relationship goes from a professional one to a personal one pretty quickly, but only in the second volume do the two start being more open about their feelings.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, June, Manga

Review: Pokemon Adventures (Vol. 03)

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, December 30, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Hidenori Kusaka
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: All Ages
Release Date: November 2009

Synopsis: “Red is improving rapidly as a Pokémon trainer–and so is his competition. But now Red must team up with his biggest rival Blue and thief Green to defeat a common enemy! And watch out for Team Rocket, Red… They won’t let you into Saffron City!”

In this third volume suddenly Pokemon Adventures starts feeling much less episodic. From the beginning there has always been a continuing plotline, but though each one is connected to the next, they still felt fairly self-contained. All previously present characters return in this book and it’s one long string of events. It includes a number of the classic Pokemon staples – fighting against Team Rocket, rescuing Pokemon and a showdown between Red and Blue tournament-style – but also hits hard with its share of surprises.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Pokemon Adventures, Viz Media

Review: Night Head Genesis (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, December 28, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Author: George Iida
Manga-ka: You Higuri
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2009

Synopsis: “The world is a lonely place for Naoto and Naoya, brothers with amazing psychic powers that set them apart from humanity. Their parents cast them out–and had them imprisoned in an exploitative research center. But after they make a daring escape from the institution, Naoya has a psychic vision of an even greater threat: a deadly plague that threatens the entire world!”

Reading like that paranormal save-the-world movie you’ve probably seen done a dozen times on VHS, Night Head Genesis is a one-dimensional race against time that pits psychics against scientists and two brothers against the world they’re trying to save. Del Rey and You Higuri ensure the visual packaging makes this book a no-brainer on the pick-up-and-flip-through scale but read at all deeper and you’ll find this modern day mystery is as transparent as the cover’s fan service.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Del Rey, Manga

Review: Detroit Metal City (Vol. 03)

By Andre Paploo on Saturday, December 19, 2009

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Kiminori Wakasugi
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: December 2009

Synopsis: “By all appearances, Soichi Negishi is a sweet, well-mannered boy who likes Swedish pop music, trendy boutiques, and all things fashionable. But at the same time he’s also Krauser II – prepare to have your mortal soul devoured by the demonic front man for Detroit Metal City, the most outrageously hilarious death metal band on the Japanese indie scene! Death metal screams the despair of dying heathens! What the hell kind of song would you sing?!”

Bringing more of the same combination of shock value and endearing characterization as the first volume, the third collection of Wakasugi’s DDetroit Metal City gives us more inappropriate behaviour to ponder. Wakasugi delivers on his early promise, while also finding a way to succumb to traditional manga expectations in a way I hadn’t expected.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

Review: Bleach (Vol. 29)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, December 17, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kubo Tite
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: December 2009

Synopsis: “Ichigo and his friends knew invading Hueco Mundo wouldn’t be easy, but even the lesser Arrancars are pushing to their limits. Can Ichigo, Uryu and Chad find the inner strength to overcome the first line of attack, or will Orihime be stuck in Hueco Mundo forever?!”

Our team of heroes have embarked into the proverbial lion’s den. Out to save Orihime, who remains notably absent throughout the volume, the group splits up to cover more ground. It’s no surprise then though that each character suddenly finds themselves face to face with an adversary all to themselves.

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

Lives of Butterfly Puzzles on Amazon

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, December 15, 2009

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Lives of Butterfly Puzzles on Amazon? … so to speak. Fellow Kuriousity reviewer Andre has spotted some new books on Amazon.ca early this week from Tokyopop:

Lives (Vol. 01) – Masayuki Taguchi [Nov 29 2010]

“The peaceful lives of many are taken away as a freak meteor shower destroys the Kanto area of Japan. However, the lives of the victims aren’t lost, as they start to awaken one by one into a strange pre-historic world…”

Butterfly (Vol. 01) – Yu Aikawa [Jan 3 2011]

Puzzle+ (Vol. 01) – Manami Sugano (unconfirmed) [Jan 3 2011]

Please keep in mind that until titles are officially annouced by the company, all listings found on retail sites remain purely speculative.

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Categories: Licensing
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Aurora Publishing’s Holiday Sale

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, December 14, 2009

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Deux Press Holiday Sale

For those still looking for that perfect gift this holiday season (or a little treat for themselves!), Aurora Publishing joins the publishing ranks of seasonal discounts with their Holiday Sale. And what a sale it is!

They’re selling almost all their books at single-volume prices of $4.00 and most impressively, numerous complete series for $10 and under! Personal recommendation above all else there is Future Lovers (Vol. 01-02) – both volumes at a $5 set price! You can’t top that – I’m tempted to buy a series’ set for every boys’ love fan I know who hasn’t yet purchased one themselves. The entire line of their LuvLuv imprint for $15 isn’t bad either.

International buyers, such as myself, watch the shipping costs though – that’s where the price can really add up, along with an 8% addition to the cost of the books themselves. I recommended asking for a price quote from them before requesting the PayPal invoice, just to be sure you know what you’re getting for how much in the end.

Now excuse me, I must fill up my Paypal after the first round of holiday manga shopping this week.

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Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Deux Press, Manga

Review: Crimson Shell

By Andre Paploo on Sunday, December 13, 2009

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Reviewer: Andre

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

Synopsis: “Rescued from the darkness by Xeno, a mysterious swordsman, Claudia the Rose Witch is the foundation of the Crimson-Shell, a special division of the Red Rose-an organization aiming to capture the results of one mad scientist’s experiments, the deadly Black Roses. But when Xeno’s loyalties are called into question, will Claudia be strong enough to believe in her dearest friend?”

Fans often see manga as primarily never-ending epics, when in fact, much of the material published in Japan is far shorter. Works are more commonly intended to just be short stories or mini-series, often earlier works of creators who later go on to longer series. Crimson-Shell is one such series, from the creator of Pandora Heart, Jun Mochizuki.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Yen Press

Review: Bamboo Blade (Vol. 02)

By Andre Paploo on Friday, December 11, 2009

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Reviewer: Andre

Author: Masashiro Totsuka
Manga-ka: Aguri Igarashi
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: September 2009

Synopsis: “With the expert Tama-chan on the squad, Kojiro feels confident in his team’s chances in the upcoming kendo meet. But the match is rapidly approaching, and he’s still shy one member – not to mention getting newbie Miya and elusive Saya up to speed. With a year of all-you-can-eat sushi on the line, Kojiro’s determined to use every trick he can think of to win, but just how far is he willing to go?!”

When reading the first issue of the Yen Plus anthology, of the Japanese series I was most absorbed by Bamboo Blade. It offered a more down to earth, approachable read that complimented the general audiences vibe of the Korean and domestic series, despite it’s seinen origins. Over the course of the series it became a favourite. The serialization has ended, but Yen delivers more Bamboo Blade direct to trade paperback with this second volume.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Bamboo Blade, Manga, Yen Press