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Posts Tagged Yuu Watase

Review: Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (Vol. 11)

Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (Vol. 11)

Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: March 2013

Synopsis: “While Takiko learns the terrible truth behind the prophecy that set Uruki against his father, King Temdan, the country of Bêi-jîa faces both civil war and foreign invasion. Takiko’s final hope lies in reuniting the last two Celestial Warriors, the twins Urumiya and Teg. Can she mend the rifts between brother and brother, father and son?”

In this second-to-last volume of Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden, the plot is clearly getting ready for the conclusion as major plots begin to wind down and loose ends begin to be tied up. Focused on here are the conflict between Uruki and Temdan, and the reunion of Urumiya and Teg. Both plots reach their conclusion in this volume, to mixed success.

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Victoria’s Favourites: Top 20 Manga (Part 04)

Victoria’s Favourites: Top 20 Manga (Part 04)

The hardest part about making this list was assigning the order and I replayed with the rankings over and over again. Nailing it down was the most difficult for the top ten titles or so, because all of them are ones I absolutely adore and it was very challenging to say I liked one more than the other. In fact, I only came up with the final order when I asked myself a question concerning the top five, which I am about to finally share.

That question was this: if there were only five manga series I could read for the rest of my life, which ones would I choose?

Without further ado, here are my choices.

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Victoria’s Favourites: Top 20 Manga (Part 03)

Victoria’s Favourites: Top 20 Manga (Part 03)

Time for the third part of my Top 20 Favourite Manga list. If you missed the earlier parts, you can find them here and here.

(Just a reminder, this is a ranking based on personal preference, rather than just perceived level of quality; however, with each choice, my ranking of the series over at Anime News Network is noted in parentheses.)

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Review: Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (Vol. 10)

Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (Vol. 10)

Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: September 2012

Synopsis: “Takiko has returned to the Universe of the Four Gods! As the Celestial Warriors search for the scroll of the Four Gods, Takiko uncovers the truth about the prophecy that turned Uruki and his father into bitter enemies. But while they begin a new chapter in their adventures, Takiko struggles to conceal a terrible secret about herself from the Celestial Warriors…”

It has been almost three years since the Genbu Kaiden drought began but finally it looks as though it’s over. Volume eleven even has a release date for next March, which hopefully won’t turn out to be a placeholder. If it is indeed real, then Fushigi Yuugi fans everyone have lots to rejoice about.

Naturally, after said rejoicing is done, the question to ask is was this volume worth the wait. The answer to that is … maybe.

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Otaku USA: On The Shelf – September 5, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - September 5, 2012

It’s been a weird couple weeks, and part of that has lead to there being several weeks between my trips to my local comic store (Strange Adventures) to buy new manga. So bizarre! This week will be the tipping point though. A new Tezuka title, Message to Adolf, from Vertical Inc., new Viz Media volumes of Bleach, Bakuman and… a new volume of Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden after three years?!

Sold. You can check out the full list of titles that shipped this week over at my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.


Year in Review: Victoria’s Top 5 Best Manga of 2011

Victoria's Top 5 Manga of 2011

So it’s that time of year again. Yes, the “everyone makes lists about the best/worst things of the year.” And you know what? I love it. Yes, love it. And so, I decided to put together my own list of my top five best manga of 2011.

To be eligible for this list, all a series had to do was have one book this year that I have read. Some (most actually) began in earlier years but they were the titles I looked forward to reading the most in these last twelve months. And so, without further ado, here are my top picks of the year.

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Swag Bag: Sailor Moon! And Other Awesome Things

Swag Bag:

Every week when I hit the local comic store for new books, I’m excited. I love buying new books and generally enjoy just about everything I buy. Some weeks though just have an extra-high ratio of awesome. This was one of those weeks!

Kodansha Comics‘ editions of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Vol. 01) and Codename: Sailor V (Vol. 01) – I have them. Turns out I somehow wanted them even more than I thought because the emotional reaction I had to holding them in my hand was a surprise even to myself. Much relief and happiness. They’re adorable books on the outside and were lots and lots of fun on the inside. It hurt to finish the first Sailor Moon and not have a second volume to leap into.

Thankfully I had other volumes of manga I was jumping up and down in anticipation for (not literally of course but you get the idea) – XXXHolic (Vol. 17) and Arisa (Vol. 04). XXXHolic is one of my favourite manga series and I’m thrilled there’re still new volumes to look forward to. I get caught off-guard every time I see a new volume or listing for it with DelRey‘s name still attached though – it and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles were the only manga series the company held onto and it’s easy to forget that with Kodansha Comics releasing so many of their previous titles.

Speaking of series that do a good job blending shoujo and shonen elements together in one book (… of which I meant Tsubasa, if you haven’t read it), I bought the new volume of Yuu Watase’s Arata (Vol. 07). I have a love/like relationship with the series – some books really good, some volumes really meh. Flipping through I see more ‘our world’ stuff so I’m looking forward to that. I think there’s a lot of potential for interesting material in that part of the story but it keeps being sidelined.

Bakuman (Vol. 06)Viz Media padded this week’s purchases further with House of Five Leaves (Vol. 04)Grand Guignol Orchestra (Vol. 04) and Bakuman (Vol. 06). I’m not sure how I missed this volume of Bakuman for so long but the upside is that if I really like it, I have only a week to wait for the new book. I’ve been liking it more and more with every volume too so the outlook seems good that I’ll really enjoy this one.

Lastly – for manga – I bought Yen Press‘s My Girlfriend’s A Geek (Vol. 04). I like this series for its very in-the-know humour about the genre and fandom but after three volumes, it’s wearing thin. What I really want to see is some evolution in the leads’ relationship where the guy actually confronts how insanely selfish, self-absorbed and demanding his girlfriend is. Fingers crossed?

To end this week’s Swag Bag, while I don’t usually write about the non-manga comics I buy, I have to take a paragraph to point people to the gorgeously released, highly entertaining, absolutely hilarious and completely worth every penny release of Kate Beaton’s Hark! A Vagrant. Instead of going on about what’s so great about it, I’ll simply direct you to her website where you can read the strips and see first hand why everyone should buy this book.


Viz Media with BL, Birthdays and a Baked-Good Puppy

Viz Media - BL, Birthdays and a Baked-Good Puppy

Some Viz Media news of note today including, well, just as the title suggests – some BL, birthdays and a baked-good puppy!

Viz Media is celebrating its 25th birthday this year (proving that awesome people and things were indeed born in 1986 – completely irrelevant it’s my birth year also). They have a mini-hub set up that’s updated with news relevant to the milestone – Viz Media: 25 Years! News so far on the site includes, among other things, their 2011 summer convention schedule:

April 22-24 Sakura-Con Seattle, WA
May 27-30 Fanimecon San Jose, CA
June 10–12 A-kon Dallas, TXA
July 1-4 Anime Expo Los Angeles, CA
July 21-24 San Diego Comic Con San Diego, CA
July 29-31 Otakon Baltimore, MD

Congrats on the birthday, Viz Media! May you have many more – and any chance we’ll see you on the East Coast at NYAF for well-wishes in person?

Noted by Viz Media staffer, Alexis Kirsch, on their Twitter page (and caught by eagle-eyed, Andre!) – Viz Media has licensed the manga series Cinnamoroll starring the character of the same name. Cinnamoroll is a Sanrio (company responsible for iconic characters such as Hello Kitty) character: a white puppy with long ears (that he uses to fly) and a little cinnamon bun shaped tail. No doubt the manga will be adorable and as sugary sweet as the baked goods that apparently drew Cinnamoroll from… wherever he came from.

Viz Media’s Job page has updated with four new job listings, but one in particular immediately caught the eyes of many – Editor (Yaoi/BL).

“The Editor (Yaoi/BL) is responsible for property acquisitions, executing print and digital publication production, and managing relationships with licensors and business partners in order to establish and grow VIZ Media’s line of mature content titles. …Knowledge of yaoi/BL genre and market, and ability to work on adult-oriented materials A MUST”

With Viz Media seeking an editor for the genre, it seems fairly safe to assume  the manga-mecha company will be delving into some BL publishing. It’s exciting news and bears a lot of promise for boys’ love fans. It could do well filling the little gap that BLU’s demise has left by adding back some more BL titles on the shelves. Plus Viz Media’s wide distribution, which TP was always very similar to,  means they may be easier to find than similar  niche titles often are.

What boys’love titles would you like to see Viz Media license? The first that came to my mind was Sakuragari – a dark, boys’ love story by Yuu Watase (since they’re released almost everything else of hers). Ideas anyone? And don’t hesitate to let Viz Media know through Twitter – they’re always listening!


Review: Arata (Vol. 06)

Arata (Vol. 06)

Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (13+)
Release Date: June 2011

Synopsis: “Hinohara discovers to his horror that his tormentor Kadowaki has followed him to Arata’s world. Recalling his suffering, Hinohara flies into a rage that triggers his transformation into a demonic entity!”

My prayers were answered after the Kadowaki-heavy volume five. He’s considerably less present in this sixth book after Hinohara forces a retreat of the group of opposing Sho. It comes with a price however. We learn that as much power as Hinohara’s weapon has for good, in his hands it still has the capability to cause out of control destruction. For the good of the world he aims to save, Hinohara will need to learn to control that temper, but as readers, it’s fantastic to see him get a chance to vent.

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Review: Arata (Vol. 05)

Arata (Vol. 05)

Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (13+)
Release Date: March 2011

Synopsis: “Hinohara is surprised to learn that Kotoha no longer believes he’s Arata of the Hime clan. Meanwhile, a group within the Twelve Shinsho sets in motion a diabolical plan to eliminate Hinohara!”

After the previous two volumes, I was beginning to lose faith in this series. It hasn’t struck me as Yuu Watase’s strongest work since the get-go but despite that its fine line balance between shonen and shoujo elements and some slick artwork kept me coming back for more. I almost didn’t after the last volume however where it really felt like we were getting nowhere. Despite that it still felt like there was a flurry of activity assaulting us with every page. The result? Pointlessness, or at least what feels like it. Thankfully this fifth volume shifts its gears, and while it trends old ground, it does so in a way that sets in motion some intriguing and suspenseful scenes.

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Take me back to the top!