Kuriousity | manga reviews and news

Posts Tagged Viz Media

Review: Pluto (Vol. 04)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, August 20, 2009

1 Comment »

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Naoki Urasawa & Osamu Tezuka
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: July 2009

Synopsis: “The seven great robots of the world are being destroyed one after the other, and the former members of the politically charged Bora Survey Group are also being targeted. Could Professor Tenma, the man who created the Japanese boy robot Atom, hold the key to finding the killer and his motive? The latest developments in the investigation send shock waves throughout the world in this masterful work of science fiction and suspense.”

Urasawa has begun shaping the story more and more away from the linearity of the original Astro Boy, but these are all welcome changes in exchange for the exuberant amounts of depth and potency brought to each and every scene of Pluto.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Naoki Urasawa, Osamu Tezuka, Viz Media

Review: Skip Beat! (Vol. 18)

By Shannon Fay on Tuesday, August 18, 2009

3 Comments »

Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Yoshiki Nakamura
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: May 2009

Synopsis: “Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he’s casting her out now that he’s famous! Kyoko won’t suffer in silence–she’s going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz! Kyoko hasn’t had a Love Me Section job in a while, and this newest assignment is pushing her limits. She’s now the personal assistant to Koo Hizuri, a Japanese actor turned Hollywood star, and everyone knows how assistants are treated in Hollywood! Can Kyoko see past Koo’s meanness, or will his nastiness just make her demons worse?!”

A character in the TV show ‘Slings and Arrows’ once argued that only smart people can be great actors. I’m willing to bet that the manga-ka of Skip Beat would agree with her. The cast of Skip Beat might not be mensa members, but they are smart enough to take a good hard look at themselves before trying to be someone else.

Share on Tumblr

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

Review: I”s (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, August 15, 2009

2 Comments »

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Masakazu Katsura
Publisher: Viz
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: March 2005

Synopsis: “Shy Ichitaka has a crush on his high school classmate Iori, but ever since she posed for semi-provocative swimsuit photos in a magazine, she’s had a lot of sleazy guys hitting on her. Ichitaka’s afraid to make his feelings known for fear Iori will think he’s just another creep.”

High school’s never easy and certainly not bound to get any easier when you’re bikini-clad self becomes the talk of the class after a magazine spread. But the real focus of I”s are the trials of Ichitaka, perhaps those not different from any other young man his age but still ones no less frustrating.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

Review: Real (Vol. 05)

By Shannon Fay on Thursday, August 13, 2009

1 Comment »

Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Takehiko Inoue
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “Tomomi Nomiya is a young tough whose life goes horribly awry after he gets in an accident and causes a young woman to lose the use of her legs. After months of tormented soul searching, he sets his mind to face the two greatest fears of his life, getting back on the road to get his driver’s license and visiting the girl whose life he has irreparably damaged. Drama, tragedy and fast breaks…on wheels.”

I read volume one of Real when it was first released. I enjoyed it a lot, but didn’t buy the following volumes. Like I said, I really did like it, but if I bought every series that I enjoyed I would never make another student loan payment. After reading volume five of the series, I now regret not keeping up with Real as it reminded me what a fun and moving manga it is.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

SDCC’09 Samplers: Part Two

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, August 10, 2009

1 Comment »

Today it’s part two of my look at the manga samplers handed out at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Last week I went through some of Viz Media’s offerings and today I take a look at another of their sampler books, plus a really pleasantly plump CMX sampler and a look at some recent Del Rey books properties. One thing’s for sure, my to-buy list keeps getting progressively longer with each one.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: CMX, Del Rey, Manga, Negima, Viz Media

Review: Nightmare Inspector (Vol. 09)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, August 9, 2009

1 Comment »

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Shin Mashiba
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “Dreams on the menu in this volume: a different perspective on Chitose’s past, Azusa’s return as a Baku, a dream so horrible it corrupts all other dreams, and the final dream where only one Baku can survive the truth.”

Nightmare Inspector, volume nine, brings to close Shin Mashiba’s gothic-horror series. Eight volumes of episodic tales of nightmare exploration and fantastical escapes are concluded here as the story takes its largest step forward into the limelight of its own recurrent plot elements and sees the characters through to their dark, and albeit a tad unsatisfying, resolutions.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

PR: VIZ Media announces upcoming release of OOKU

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, August 7, 2009

No Comments »

VIZ MEDIA PRESENTS
THE HISTORICAL AND ROYAL INTRIGUE OF
ŌOKU: THE INNER CHAMBERS MANGA SERIES

Award-Winning Historical Science Fiction Drama Set In An Alternate Version Of Edo Japan Where Gender Roles Are Reversed

San Francisco, CA, August 6, 2009 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the release of ŌOKU: THE INNER CHAMBERS, Fumi Yoshinaga’s historical manga epic set in an alternate version of Edo-era Japan. ŌOKU which will be released under the company’s VIZ Signature imprint on August 8th, is rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences and will carry an MSRP of $12.95 U.S. / $15.00 CAN.

In Edo period Japan (1603 to 1868), a strange new disease called the Redface Pox has begun to prey on the country’s men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen to a quarter of the total female population. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected and the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun’s Inner Chambers.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Fumi Yoshinaga, Viz Media

Review: 20th Century Boys (Vol. 04)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, August 6, 2009

No Comments »

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Naoki Urusawa
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “Kenji wrote “The Book of Prophecy” in his boyhood. Now this childish fantasy has become the scenario for the Friend’s fiendish plot to destroy mankind. Kenji goes underground and waits for a chance to fight back. Meanwhile, the evil organization is closing in on a man called Shogun in the ganglands of Bangkok. The mystery grows deeper, the fear more intense, as we near the final battle at the turn of the century… Is there really any way to save the world from annihilation?”

The story takes a flying leap forward in this fourth volume of 20th Century Boys, a flying leap in both plot advancement and timeline as two years pass from where we last watched Kenji forced to embark on a mission to stop the ‘Friends’ and save the world.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: 20th Century Boys, Manga, Naoki Urasawa, Viz Media, Viz Signature

PR: VIZ Media Debuts Shojo Manga From Me To You

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, August 4, 2009

No Comments »

VIZ MEDIA DEBUTS CELEBRATED ROMANTIC MANGA SERIES KIMI NI TODOKE: FROM ME TO YOU
Releasing Today!

San Francisco, CA, August 4, 2009 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, will debut Karuho Shiina’s celebrated romantic shojo manga (graphic novels for girls) series KIMI NI TODOKE: FROM ME TO YOU today. The new series, published under VIZ Media’s SHOJO BEAT imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens and carries an MSRP of $8.99 U.S. / $10.50 CAN. Bonus stickers are also included in limited quantities of Volume 1.

Sawako Kuronuma is the perfect heroine – for a horror movie! With her jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor, she’s often mistaken for the haunting movie character Sadako. But behind her scary façade is a very misunderstood teenager. Too shy to fit in, all she wants to do is make some friends. But when the most popular boy in class befriends her, she’s sure to make more than just that – and she’s about to make some enemies too!

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Viz Media

PR: VIZ Media Debuts BLACK BIRD Manga

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, August 4, 2009

No Comments »

NEW BLACK BIRD MANGA SERIES TAKES FLIGHT FROM VIZ MEDIA

New Romantic Supernatural Adventure Series About A Teenage Girl Who Sees Ghosts Was The Winner Of The Prestigious
2009 Shogakukan Manga Award

San Francisco, CA, August 3, 2009 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the launch on August 4th of BLACK BIRD, a brand new shojo manga (graphic novels for girls) series by Kanoko Sakurakoji. BLACK BIRD is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and will carry an MSRP of $8.99 U.S. / $10.50 CAN.

There is a world of myth and magic that intersects ours, and only a special few can see it. Misao Harada is one such person, but she wants nothing to do with magical realms and just wants to have a normal high school life and maybe get a boyfriend. But all that changes one day when Misao is attacked by a demon. Her childhood friend Kyo suddenly returns to save her and tends to her cuts – with his tongue! It turns out Misao is the bride of prophecy, whose blood gives power to the demon clan who claims her. But most demons want to keep her power for themselves – by eating her! Now Misao is just trying to stay alive and trying to decide if she likes it when Kyo licks her wounds.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Viz Media