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On The Shelf: July 10, 2013

On The Shelf: July 10, 2013

Books, book, books. Make sure you don’t miss your second – and possibly last – chance to buy two of my favourite manga series, with Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 (Vol. 05) and Tokyo Babylon Omnibus (Vol. 02). I’m really loving this new(ish) omnibus trend. They’re often worth every penny and then some~

Case Closed (Vol.47) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
The Flowers of Evil (Vol.06) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
RIN-NE (Vol.12) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Tiger & Bunny (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Tokyo Babylon Omnibus (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


On The Shelf: July 3, 2013

On The Shelf: July 3, 2013

The upside to being staff at a con and never having a moment to visit the dealer’s room, is that you don’t end up spending much money. It doesn’t mean I’m rolling in dollar bills, alas, but I am always grateful to have a little budget wiggle room when new release day comes around.

My must-have buy this week is the first volume of Vertical Inc‘s new series, Wolfsmund. This past weekend at Animaritime, Ed Chavez spoke about the artist’s work as assistant to both the creators of Emma and Berserk, as well as showed us some interior artwork. This is a book I definitely need to have.

Little Fluffy Gigolo PELU (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US]
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order (Vol.18) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Blue Exorcist (Vol.10) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
D.Gray-man 3-in-1 (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Gunslinger Girl (Vol.15) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Jiu Jiu (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kanokon Omnibus (Vol.03-04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Mayo Chiki! (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Natsume’s Book of Friends (Vol.14) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Oresama Teacher (Vol.14) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Pokemon Adventures: Ruby & Sapphire (Vol.17) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Pokemon Adventures: Black and White Collected (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Psyren (Vol.11) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Skip Beat! Omnibus (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Strobe Edge (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Vampire Knight (Vol.17) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Wolfsmund (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
World War Blue (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


On The Shelf: June 26, 2013

On The Shelf: June 26, 2013

It’s a busy week for Kuriousity as half our writers, myself included, gear up for the upcoming Animaritime. It’s the final prep-day countdown! But that doesn’t stop us from oogling this week’s new assortment of manga, which includes a whole bunch of new Yen Press books.

I really enjoyed Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories which Yen Press is releasing as a single omnibus. Unfortunately my feelings weren’t as generous for Puella Magi Kazumi Magica. To each their own of course, and this week offers plenty to choose from. Buy and enjoy!

Aron’s Absurd Armada (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Fairy Tail (Vol.27) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Heroman (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Higurashi: When They Cry – Festival Accompanying Arc (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Nabari No Ou (Vol.14) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Negima! Magister Negi Magi Omnibus (Vol.07) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Pandora Hearts (Vol.16) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Spice & Wolf (Vol.08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Triage X (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Oreimo (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


Swag Bag: Girls, Guys and Thermae Romae

Swag Bag

It’s a new Swag Bag post! And as the last was a month ago, we have some catching up to do.

Seven Seas’ omnibus edition of Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink was one of my favourite purchases as of late. Yuri is uncommon enough, but after this release and Girlfriends, I won’t ever pass up an opportunity for more of Milk Morniaga’s work. I found this book tricky to get through. I related to these characters more than most in manga, so the book took considerable more emotional toll on me than I’m accustomed. It only speaks to their quality when in the right hands, however, and while it means I’ll likely never be able to write a full review for them, I have all the hopes in the world they continue to do well so we can get more.

Yen Press continues to make clever power plays for room on my bookshelves with a new set of shiny re-editions. This time it’s Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (Vol. 01-02) and Chain of Memories. Both are adaptations of the video games of the same name, products near and dear to my fangirl heart, and titles that Tokyopop originally published. While I already own the Tokyopop books, Yen Press’s new collected editions look and read great, plus have that new book smell. How could anyone resist? For more thoughts, you can read my review of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix.

A Devil and Her Love Song (Vol. 09) began my Viz Media purchases and was an enjoyable romp of beach time fun and character development. I reviewed another recent shoujo purchase, Dawn of the Arcana (Vol. 10), last weekend. Always the Queen of the crop, Sailor Moon (Vol. 11) was quick to enter the swag bag and carries us into the final, and possibly most emotionally intense, arc of the series.

Completing it’s final arc is Saturn Apartments (Vol. 07), which really surprised me with how dark it got for a while. I honestly didn’t know how it was going to turn out, which is always the best way to read something. All surprises! Much less of a surprise were Attack on Titan (Vol.01) and No. 6 (Vol. 01) from Kodansha Comics, since I’ve already seen the anime versions. But I love them both, Attack on Titan in particular, so I had to buy the manga of each.

Thermae Romae (Vol. 02)It was super shonen time with the newest volume of Toriko (Vol. 16). It’s continuing to be a little disorienting following the series both in the collected form and as new chapters come out via Shonen Jump. The two haven’t overlapped yet, but it is neat seeing what comes, what’s been and wondering what could possibly fill the gap. Less suspenseful is Pokemon Black & White (Vol. 10) but it’s always cute and fun.

Speaking of cute and fun, though in entirely different ways, I was thrilled to finally pick up a copy of Thermae Romae (Vol. 02). This series is amazing, both in the surprise of something with this plot simply existing, but also in how well it’s executed. This series continues to be hilarious and educational, not to mention brilliantly packaged by Yen Press. If you haven’t already, make sure you buy these gems while you can!

And I finished this month’s purchases off with some boys’ love – Bonds of Dreams, Bonds of Love (Vol. 04) and Blue Morning (Vol. 01). Bonds of Dreams, Bonds of Love is now over and went out the same way in came in – funny and full of enjoyably horny hijinks. Blue Morning starts a brand new series and one that’s pretty much the polar opposite in tone. I found Blue Morning a bit dull as it’s dark mood almost suffocated it, but now with the characters set-up, I’m looking forward to seeing more plot progress in volume two.

That does it for this week’s Swag Bag. As always, feel more than free to share what purchases you’ve made recently and if you’d recommend them!


On The Shelf: June 19, 2013

On The Shelf - June 19, 2013

June showers bring summer… manga? I wish, because with all the rain here this summer I’d be drowning in manga instead.

Much more summery is this week’s release of Viz Media‘s Children of the Sea (Vol. 05). It’s also the last volume of the series that exists so far. While I’ll be sad to see it go, I’m really eager to see where the story ends up and hope it has a satisfying finish.

The other must-have book for me this week is Vertical Inc‘s Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin (Vol. 02). I loved the first book; and the hard copy treatment with the high quality paper is a great added bonus.

Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Children of the Sea (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kitchen Princess Omnibus (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – June 12, 2013

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - June 13, 2013

Another week, another list of new manga – another week of lots of manga. Huzzah! This week’s On The Shelf on Otaku USA has been posted, but it will also be my last On The Shelf article for Otaku USA. It’s hard to believe I’d been doing it nearly two years!

For those still looking for the weekly list,  new books will continue to be posted every week here on Kuriousity as normal. On The Shelf mini lives on!

A Devil and Her Love Song (Vol.09) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Arata: The Legend (Vol.14) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Attack on Titan (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Bleach (Vol.57) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Dawn of the Arcana (Vol.10) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Demon Love Spell (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
His Favorite (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossoms Pink [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Knights of Sidonia (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Loveless (Vol.11) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
No.6 (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Vol.15) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
One Piece (Vol.67) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
One Piece Omnibus (Vol.06) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Pokémon Adventures Platinum (Vol.08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (Vol.10) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Sankarea: Undying Love (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Skip Beat! (Vol.31) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Slam Dunk (Vol.28) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Sleeping Moon (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Toriko (Vol.16) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Trigun Maximum Omnibus (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – June 5th, 2013

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - June 5th, 2013

I have a feeling June is going to be one of those months where my manga budget gets stretched… …by a lot. Enjoy the first wave of manga out this month, and check out my thoughts at Otaku USA’s On The Shelf article for books out this week.

Are You Alice? (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Black God (Vol.10) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Blood Lad (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Blood-C (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
BTOOOM! (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Dragonball 3-in-1 (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Durarara!! Saika Arc (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (Vol.09) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Missions of Love (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Omamori Himari (Vol.10) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Pokemon Black & White (Vol.10) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Sacred Blacksmith (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Soul Eater (Vol.14) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Thermae Romae (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Umineko: Turn of the Golden Witch (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – May 29, 2013

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - May 29, 2013

Sailor Moon! And that means a one-track manga mind for me this week… Sailor Moon! Volume eleven is now out from Kodansha Comics. This volume is a real emotional trip as new villains show up with as many new things to learn as they have blows to deal. I may have teared up a bit.

But that’s not all there is, so be sure to check out all the books released this week and visit Otaku USA for more of my thoughts on them in our weekly On The Shelf article.

Cage of Eden (Vol.10) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Limit (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Sailor Moon (Vol.11) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


Swag Bag: Biz With Viz, Passion and Perils

Swag Bag: Biz With Viz, Passion and Perils

It’s been March since the last Swag Bag! Well that won’t do, now will it? While my post about TCAF outlined a bunch of my most recently purchased comics, there’s been lots of manga bought between the last Swag Bag and that post. Because I’m too lazy to go through my bookshelves to find each and every one, let’s take a look at some notables!

Always the must have buy is Sailor Moon (Vol. 10) which I’m loving more and more every volume. This point in the story was broadcast only briefly on television, and these manga volumes were more difficult to find, so while I’m familiar with the story, it all feels more fresh and new and full of surprises since I have less familiarity with it. Eternal Sailor Senshi!

Then it’s my why-do-I-keep-buying-this-series with Dawn of the Arcana (Vol. 09). Loki keeps getting the short end of the stick, and I find the relationship between Nakaba and Cesare so lacking in chemistry. I think it must be some tiny sliver of hope Loki gets a happy ending that keeps me reading. I hope I’m rewarded for my diligence…

Much more satisfying were new volumes of Bleach (Vol.56), Toriko (Vol.15) and A Devil and Her Love Song (Vol.08). Toriko is still one of my favourite manga series running now, though I’m a little sad to see it dissolve to chapter upon chapter of one on one fight scenes in the current issues of Shonen Jump. On the flip side  the current chapters of Bleach have been really great – actually super relevant and interesting flashbacks!

And last up from Viz Media recently was Pokemon Adventures (Vol.16), which continues the adventures of these two new Pokemon trainers who are really, really entertaining. Flip those gender roles! The male trainer is obsessed with making Pokemon beautiful, while the female trainer is a wild girl (like Tarzan wild) who wants her Pokemon to be the strongest.

In other worlds of young people doing interesting things – I picked up Arisa (Vol.10) where we finally know who the King is. There are still some motivations left to be explored, but I’m glad the one secret is finally out in the open. It’s more classic mysteries on-going in Young Miss Holmes (Vol.03-04) where the adorable lead makes it a joy to read, even when plot itself gets a little bogged down in details.

Mobile Suit Gundam the Origin: Activation (Vol. 01)And the biggest buys recently were Mobile Suit Gundam the Origin: Activation (Vol. 01) when it came out back in April, and The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame this past weekend. Both had amazing production values – really nice work done on the design and packaging. I wasn’t sure how I’d like the Gundam manga but actually really, really liked it. As the original Gundam story, it felt simple and streamlined while containing everything that makes the franchise so popular. Very easy to read, and I look forward to more. Passion was also great, but in a very different way. Gengoroh Tagame’s work is always shocking, and I was really curious to see which of his works would be in this book. Picture Box did not hold back!

And lastly during my visit to Toronto, I picked up some out of print books from The Beguiling. Hollow Fields (Vol.01), First Love (Vol.01) and In These Words (Vol.01). Sadly I doubt I’ll ever see second volumes of First Love and In These Words, which is sad because they were both great reads and I’ve been looking for them a while. I also bought two new bara anthologies which star many of the artists we’ll see in Picture Box’s Massive anthology next Spring.

That does it for this week’s Swag Bag. As always, feel more than free to share what purchases you’ve made recently and if you’d recommend them!


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – May 22, 2013

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - May 15, 2013

And now it’s time for this week’s new manga! And last week’s manga!  Last week’s On The Shelf article wasn’t posted, but this week’s is up so you can head over to read my thoughts on the new manga released today.

This week’s quick-list below also includes last’s week releases:

07 Ghost (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Disgaea 3: School of Devils (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
InuYasha VizBIG (Vol.15) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Jormungand (Vol.11) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Negiho [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Neon Genesis Evangelion 3-in-1 (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame  [Amazon CANAmazon US]
Saturn Apartments (Vol.07) [Amazon CANAmazon USRightStuf]
Sunny (Vol.01) [Amazon CANAmazon USRightStuf]


Take me back to the top!