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Posts Tagged Shoujo Beat

ANN Review: Stepping on Roses (Vol. 02)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, June 20, 2010

This weekend my review for Stepping on Roses (Vol. 02) was posted over on ANN – a shallow, slightly offensive series that has really pretty art and enough silly entertaining moments to make me keep reading it. It definitely joins the ranks of Viz Media’s other guilty-pleasure-for-those-who-enjoy-them sort of books, such as Black Bird, Hot Gimmick and Flower in a Storm.

Must say I’m starting to really like the super summed up pros and cons at the end of ANN reviews; the grades aren’t my proverbial cup of tea but the short blurbs really give review skimmers some reasoning past a couple letters. Has been a great experience thus far!

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Manga, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

ANN Review: Library Wars – Love and War (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, June 11, 2010

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New review written by yours truly over at AnimeNewsNetwork, this time for one of Viz Media’s new series – Library Wars – Love and War (Vol. 01).

I didn’t have many expectations going into this one, short that a lot of fellow bloggers were really eager for its release. Had to admit though, the idea of librarians being hardcore gun-toting organized vigilantes-of-sorts charged with protecting books from censorship agents did sound pretty neat. While the characters aren’t exactly hardcore, the story still really drew me in – very likeable characters and smooth pacing. Most of this first volume follows the lead going through physical training to be an agent and I’m really forward to seeing their skills in action in later volumes.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Manga, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

Review: Otomen (Vol. 06)

By Shannon Fay on Saturday, May 15, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Aya Kanno
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: May 2010

Synopsis: “Having Girly Hobbies Doesn’t Make You Less Manly! Asuka’s protégé Yamato has fallen in love with a girl and needs help winning her over. He pleads with Asuka to go on a practice date with him–and play the role of the girl! Practice makes perfect, but will that be the case for Yamato?”

I like it when a series has a consistent theme. I don’t like it when they run those themes into the ground. At its core, Otomen’s message is a good one: don’t let gender stereotypes get you down. But some of the characters just seem a little extreme, weakening the manga’s moral with their outlandishness. For example, it’s easy to believe that a guy like Asuka could exist in real life: a seemingly manly man who actually adores cute things. But it’s harder to believe that there’s a guy like Kitora who loves flowers to an obsessive level. Unfortunately this volume spends much of its time with those out-there side characters rather than with the more down-to-earth (but also more interesting) leads.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Otomen, Shoujo, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

PR: Viz Media Debuts Flower In A Storm

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, April 21, 2010

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FLOWER IN A STORM BRINGS ON A FRENZIED ROMANTIC CHASE IN FUN NEW SHOJO SERIES FROM VIZ MEDIA

When A Boy Just Won’t Take No For An Answer Sometimes All A Girl Has Left Are Her Superpowers

San Francisco, CA, April 20, 2010 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, offers FLOWER IN A STORM, an imaginative romantic comedy from a fresh new talent of the shojo manga world, Shigeyoshi Takagi. Set to be published under the Shojo Beat imprint and released on May 4th, FLOWER IN A STORM is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

Riko Kunimi is trying to lead a normal high school life when Ran Tachibana bursts into her classroom carrying a gun and tells her that her life is now his. Ran, who is the richest and most powerful 17-year-old in Japan, wants her as his wife, and he’s not taking no for an answer!

If Ran can’t capture her by five o’clock the next day, he’ll give up, but he has all that money can buy at his disposal. However, Riko has one trick up her sleeve—she has superpowers!

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Shoujo Beat, Vampire Knight, Viz Media

Review: The Magic Touch (Vol. 07)

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, March 17, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Izumi Tsubaki
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: April 2010

Synopsis: “Yosuke returns to his childhood home to search for clues to a vague but traumatic memory. But will the past be too much for him to relive? This volume also includes a special story about Tanaka and Sanae, members of the Sazanka Massage Club, and the tender moment of Chiaki and Yosuke’s first kiss!”

This volume of The Magic Touch works on the grounds that it finally backs off from following Chiaki for a while and instead gives Yosuke a volume nearly all to himself. Chiaki isn’t a real flaw to the story but it’s nice to have the plot step back from the often-silly aspect of her massage addiction and delve into territory a little darker, not to mention an area of Yosuke’s life that’s been long in the coming and reveals to readers the cause of his fear of being touched by women.

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

Review: Skip Beat! (Vol. 20)

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, March 15, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

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

Synopsis: “It’s the season of giving in Tokyo, but Lory’s granddaughter Maria is in no mood to celebrate. Kyoko, never one to sit out a challenge, finally gets Maria to admit what has her so soured on the holidays. It turns out December 24 is Maria’s birthday–and the anniversary of her mother’s death! Can Kyoko work a Christmas miracle and give this little girl a happy birthday?”

Does it seem to anyone else that Kyoko has lost most of what made her interesting originally? It’s easy not to notice when spread out over twenty progressing volumes, but a volume like this really hits it home when having recently reread the earlier books. Where’s the chaos? The bull-headed-ness? The unadulterated spite? Well, at least we have love, friendship and smiles trying to fill that void – for better or worse.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Shoujo Beat, Skip Beat, Viz Media

Review: Otomen (Vol. 05)

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, February 9, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Aya Kanno
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: February 2010

Synopsis: “Ryo is chosen to participate in a contest where flower arrangement and tea ceremony skills are tested – but she sucks at those things! To top things off, the previous champion wants Asuka for herself! Does Ryo have a fighting chance?”

The way the characters act in Otomen is always good for a laugh, in the good well intended way mind you. They all feel like they intentionally overact at times, as if they know they’re being watched and are acting just that slightest bit over the top to entertain. Their personalities are just exaggerated enough to be distinct and memorable while not enough to suffocate their ability to grow.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Otomen, Shoujo, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

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: Otomen (Vol. 03)

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, November 25, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Osamu Tezuka
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “Asuka takes Ryo to an amusement park where he plans to confess his feelings to her. Too bad all the rides Ryo wants to go on frighten Asuka! Can he overcome his fear for the sake of love?”

Asuka and Ryo continue their budding romance, a seemingly one-way affair that while now having feelings in the open still remains informally unpronounced. Asuka wants nothing more than to muster his courage to ask Ryo out while Juta continues to egg them on for fear that the inspiration for his secret-career as a manga artist will run dry.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Otomen, Shoujo, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

Review: Butterflies, Flowers (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, November 22, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

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

Synopsis: “Choko Kuze is the sensible daughter of a venerable family who went bankrupt. She joins a real estate company as an entry-level office worker, but her eccentric boss is harder on her than anyone else in the company! After hearing him inadvertently call her “milady,” she realizes he was the young servant boy she knew as a child. At work he’s a tyrant, but after hours he insists on treating her like a lady of the nobility. Is romance even possible for a couple locked in such a crazy role reversal?”

The cover of Butterflies, Flowers is quick to invoke the thoughts of a deep love between two individuals, one adorned in a suit with his protective disposition and the other a lovely woman in a kimono laying in his embrace – is this a sweet tale of adult romance? You may be inclined to think so but flip the book over and you’ll quickly realize something quite amiss with your initial impressions.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Butterflies Flowers, Manga, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media