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Posts Tagged Yen Press

Review: Sumomomo Momomo (Vol. 02)

By Andre Paploo on Thursday, June 3, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Shinobu Ohtaka
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: October 2009

Synopsis: “As if being the target of Momoko’s affections isn’t bad enough, now Koushi is a target for assassination! Iroha Miyamoto is the next to make a move, determined to regain the honour of her fallen clan. But there’s more than one way to break up the union of Kuzuryuu and Inuzuka. Why kill Koushi off? Why not marry him instead?!”

The bizarre misadventures of Koushi and his wannabe bride continue as Shinobu Ohtaka brings us more of this surreal series. Like its energetic heroine, Sumomomo Momomo’s pretty low on brain cells and focuses on merrily skipping along, allowing you to witness as it smacks your mind around lest you think you’re reading a normal manga. Engaging in yet more offensive territory, Sumomomo Momomo is a not something for everyone, but it certainly is something.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Yen Press

ANN Review: Kobato (Vol. 01 – 02)

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, June 1, 2010

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My review of the first two volumes of CLAMP’s Kobato. series has been posted over at AnimeNewsNetwork. Good grades all around for a very fun series so far.

I’m a big CLAMP fan and was eager to read Kobato.. I’d read some chapters in NewType when it ran but didn’t get too much of an idea about it, short that the art style was really pleasantly nostalgic. The tone and art of the series in general reminds me a lot of Cardcaptor Sakura, my favourite of CLAMP’s work. I really recommend reading both the first two volumes of Kobato. together (Yen Press chose to release the two volumes at once) because it really sets the story much more than the first which is more short story in style.

A thanks again to my local comic store Strange Adventures for always stocking the best and newest books on shelf for me to purchase each Wednesday!

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, CLAMP, Manga, Yen Press

ANN Review: My Girlfriend’s A Geek (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, May 20, 2010

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Yesterday my review of Yen Press’s My Girlfriend’s a Geek (Vol. 01) was posted over at AnimeNewsNetwork. I’m glad to see readers curious about checking out the series in the comments and some already-fans.

This was a series I’d been really eager to read since Yen Press announced it. A series about a guy dealing with his girlfriend’s obsession with yaoi sounded like it could be ripe with great humour potential if handled correctly. Well the series definitely isn’t disappointing – I adored the first volume. I laughed out loud a couple times and found the romantic element of the series really endearing, at least from the angle of the male lead. There isn’t much in the way of romance coming from the girl unless you count her endless fantasies about boys loving other boys.

A shout-out thanks to my local comic store Strange Adventures for again providing me with all the best goodies to purchase each Wednesday :)

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Boys' Love/Yaoi, Manga, Yen Press

ANN Review: Spice & Wolf (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, May 14, 2010

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My first manga review for AnimeNewsNetwork was posted last night – Spice & Wolf (Vol. 01).

I hadn’t read the light novels or anime before reading the manga (though neither is required as it’s a retelling of the same story), though while I didn’t go in expecting much, I was still disappointed. It was a unique sounding premise being overshadowed by the unnecessary sexuality of the lead character (who looks really young in a lot of panels also). I remain sort of curious about where the plot goes from here but volume one didn’t instill much hope in me. Alas?

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Manga, Yen Press

Review: Sarasah (Vol. 03)

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, May 10, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manhwa-ga: Ryu Ryang
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: February 2010

Synopsis: “Ji-Hae remains at Ja-Yun’s side as he recovers from the riding accident. She can hardly believe he would risk his life just to save her, but when the flower in her chest flushes with color, it seems to confirm her hopes—Ja-Yun likes her?! Unfortunately, the blooming flower’s scent has aroused the interest of some of the other Nang-Do, and she must tread carefully or risk exposure. Outside the walls of Nang-Meun, dissenters have begun to plot against the queen. With her father and Bub-Min spearheading the investigation, it’s only a matter of time before Ji-Hae is drawn into the political turmoil…”

The character of Ji-Hae is becoming a consistently more tolerable character come this third volume of Sarasah. She hasn’t reached a point of being actually all that likeable yet but she’s already come a long way from the selfish obsessive-stalker that volume one had her so eloquently painted as. Political intrigue and a healthy dose of budding character drama goes a long way in distracting both her and readers from the shallow plot that originally fuelled this out-of-time manhwa series.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Sugarholic (Vol. 03)

By Andre Paploo on Thursday, May 6, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: GooGoo Gong
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: February 2010

Synopsis: “Jae-Gyu and Whie-Hwan’s romantic charade is put to the test at President Ko’s engagement party. Jae-Gyu slips away while Whie-Hwan falters before his former girlfriend, Hae-Mee, who seems eager to reignite the flame despite her engagement. But what does Whie-Hwan want? If it’s Jae-Gyu, he’d better hurry. Accosted by Sung-Jun from the slave auction, Jae-Gyu’s put in a frantic call to Hee-Do, and the rock star is already on his way to snatch her out of danger…and out of Whie-Hwan’s life as well!”

After the previous volumes’ shenanigans of pretend relationships, unwanted drunken encounters and mandatory love triangles, it seems volume three brings us more of the same, including a return of the previously introduced scuzzy antagonist. A fluffy, light read with occasionally surprising silliness and some mild dark moments, Sugarholic is a manwha that floats between shojo and josei with it’s older yet naïve 20 year old lead, Jae-Gyu. For a book that could be an outright mess given it’s subject matter, Sugarholic somehow finds a way to entertain its readers and rise above its cliché subject matter. That said, this volume doesn’t fare as well as it could.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Bamboo Blade (Vol. 04)

By Andre Paploo on Friday, April 30, 2010

2 Comments »

Reviewer: Andre

Author: Masashiro Totsuka
Manga-ka: Aguri Igarashi
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: March 2010

Synopsis: “When word of Kojiro’s angry outburst at the supermarket gets around to the chairman of the school board, Kojiro’s future at Muroe High is in jeopardy! But there’s really nothing the kendo club can do to help…or is there? Surely the principal wouldn’t dismiss the coach of the kendo team that won the National Tournament?!”

Our technical protagonist Kojiro runs into trouble, while the team begins the search for the next member of the Kendo club. Totsuka and Igarashi continue to deliver the goods as we encounter even more nostalgic school days bliss, the horrors of being a newly employed recent college graduate, and the horrors hidden in a teenage girls’ relatively short past.

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

Content or Packaging – Yen Plus Goes Digital

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, April 29, 2010

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Last week Yen Press announced on their website the future of their monthly manga anthology , Yen Plus – their upcoming July 2010 release will be the last issue that Yen Plus sees in print. The magazine, which has seen serialized chapters of some of Yen Press’s most popular titles including Soul Eater and Maximum Ride, has been in print for two years.

Yen Press does plan to continue the magazine online however, the details of which still pending. It’s too little surprise, however, that this comes at the displeasure of many readers of the magazine.

Looking at the upsides of this decision, the magazine going digital allows it to be available to a broader audience many of whom may not have been able to receive it in print. It also makes getting the magazine both on-time and simultaneously with other readers a controllable possibility. There’s also the possibility, one could hope, that this will allow some new content that they weren’t able to include when also dealing with the costs of printing.

But the question many have been wondering – will these now-magazine readers pay for this future-online edition? The overwhelming response from fans after even the quickest look at forums, blogs and even Yen Press’s own website seems to be no. (Read more for whats, whys and what-ifs under the cut)

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Categories: Editorials, News
Tags: Manga, Yen Press

Review: Oninagi (Vol. 02)

By Andre Paploo on Wednesday, April 28, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Akira Ishida
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: January 2010

Synopsis: “Average schoolgirl Nanami’s life is now anything but average! Having learned she’s the descendent of a powerful demon princess and gained herself three demonic minions – Tsurugi, Kusabi, and Mori – the poor girl has no time to let it all sink in… because she still has to go to class! And as if that’s not bad enough, Tomotaka, the demon slayer who wanted Nanami’s head on a silver platter when they first met, no longer sees Nanami as a demon to slay; now she’s the bait to lure in other demons!”

Leaping into the second volume for my first exposure to the franchise, I encountered a fairly standard manga representative of current trends in Japan, though not one without its charms. OniNagi stands solidly in the realm of myth-based manga, playing with the concept of the Oni to give us yet another demon slaying manga, but mixing things up slightly by making the protagonist a demon of sorts herself.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Yen Press

Review: Yotsuba&! (Vol. 08)

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, April 20, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kiyohiko Azuma
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: All Ages
Release Date: April 2010

Synopsis: “The ranch wasn’t fun, huh? But maybe festivals will be less funner?! (Yotsuba’s playing opposites, ha-ha!) Yotsuba got uninvited to Fuuka’s school for a culr…a clart…a cultural festival! And she didn’t promise Yotsuba there wouldn’t be CAKE! Yotsuba doesn’t want a cake as biiiiiig as Jumbo, nope!! You wouldn’t either, now would you?! Ohhh! And then, and then! There ISN’T gonna be a great big festival for the whole town to go to! And Yotsuba isn’t gonna work hard and help out there with Ena and Fuuka, nuh-uh! Not even for candy, nooooo way!”

For whatever reason this eighth volume of Yotsuba&! didn’t quite hit the same chord as those recently before it – and believe it that in a series as consistently entertaining as this it’s difficult to find specific flaws. Volume seven though was easily one of the strongest to date so volume eight does come on the heels of some tough-to-beat material. Nevertheless, this is Yotsuba&! so the jokes are still funny and the antics still loveably quirky, even if they didn’t seem to hit those consistent laugh-out-loud levels.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Kiyohiko Azuma, Manga, Yen Press