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Review Archive

To see a list of reviews in alphabetical order, please see our review index.

Review: Air Gear (Vol. 13)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, August 14, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Oh! Great
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: July 2009

Synopsis: “Ikki is close to realizing his dream of becoming the Wind Keeper, and his achievements have won him a mysterious admirer: the beautiful Kururu, who claims that fate decrees she must serve the Wind Keeper. Who is this gorgeous girl–and could she be Ikki’s destiny?”

The first portion of the book slogs along like the volumes before it, too bogged down in its own ego to really establish half as much drama as it intends. While initially I lamented the loss of the series’ most slickly executed style, by the end I was finally granted a glimpse at the Air Gear I originally fell in love with.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Air Gear, Del Rey, Manga

Review: Real (Vol. 05)

Posted by Shannon Fay on Thursday, August 13, 2009

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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.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

Review: Zone-00 (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kiyo QJO
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “In a world where humans a demons coexist under a fragile peace, change is coming… A mysterious drug, known only as Zone-OO, seems to be causing demons all over Tokyo to lose control and revert to their old, violent ways. Enter two young students who stand on opposite sides of an ageless conflict. One a demon, the other an exorcist, they must now join forces to uncover the secret before it’s too late!”

An energetic, bright-eyed demon and a down-to-business sharp-eyed exorcist; the two are classmates and good friends, an unlikely enough mix even before you throw the deadly events that have started happening around their town. With a drug circulating that turns normally controlled individuals into flesh-hungry beings, an assortment of bizarre characters come together to investigate the occurrences, and in this first volume, lay some initial presumptions to rest… when they’re not busy exploring each other’s individual oddities that is.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Review: Clan of the Nakagamis (Vol. 02) – The Devil Cometh

Posted by Shevaun Morrison on Tuesday, August 11, 2009

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Reviewer: Shevaun Morrison

Manga-ka: Homerun Ken
Publisher: June
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: May 2009

Synopsis: “You’ve already met Keiichi Maebara and his mischievous friends in the Abducted by Demons Arc. But Oyashiro-sama’s curse is poised to strike anew in Hinamizawa village. When Keiichi spots tomboy Mion working at a maid café, he can hardly believe his eyes! But it’s not Mion after all — it’s her identical twin sister, Shion. Keiichi’s never heard of this “twin sister” before and suspects it’s just another one of Mion’s pranks. But through Shion, Keiichi is able to see a quieter, more feminine side of his best friend, even if it is all an act. As Keiichi spends more time with Shion, however, Rena grows more accusatory…”

I’m going to start this one out by saying I’m not really a huge fan of yaoi. I don’t mean that I don’t like it; I just don’t have a tendency to actively seek the stuff out. That aside, I couldn’t put Clan of the Nakagamis: The Devil Cometh down. Though I can’t personally say how clichéd the characters might be, I can honestly say that for all I know they struck me as charmingly unique in all the right ways.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, June, Manga

Review: The Antique Gift Shop (Vol. 08)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, August 10, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manhwa-ga: Lee Eun
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: July 2009

Synopsis: “When a Nepalese goddess appears at the Antique Gift Shop, Bun-Nyuh is taken in by the beautiful woman and her knack for sales. Sensing that her freedom from the antiques is near as the money rolls in, Bun-Nyuh leaves the goddess in charge and begins planning for her life away from the shop, despite Mr. Yang’s protests. But the goddess’s sales come with strings attached, and those strings will pull Bun-Nyuh back to the heart of the shop where a new darkness awaits…”

Continuing as a manhwa-source for the supernatural, and artistically home to characters who’re too distractingly gorgeous to this reader for their own good, The Antique Gift Shop takes a pleasantly linear turn here in the eighth volume as the shop sees an unfortunate shift in staff and Bun-Nyuh finds herself faced with an uncertain new perspective of her life.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

SDCC’09 Samplers: Part Two

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, August 10, 2009

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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.

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

Review: Nightmare Inspector (Vol. 09)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, August 9, 2009

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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.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

Review: Emma (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, August 8, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kaoru Mori
Publisher: CMX
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: December 2006

Synopsis: “William Jones regards Emma as a beautiful, charming young woman, not merely a servant. After their first real date, things seem to be going in a positive direction for them. But the leisurely pace of the growing relationship between Emma and William ends when tragedy strikes at home, forcing Emma to leave the house she shared with Mrs. Stownar. Meanwhile, when the rest of William’s brothers and sisters show up, they discover their brother’s budding relationship and try to bring it to a screeching halt.”

In this second volume the dynamics of Emma’s world are shifted when she loses the woman who helped her begin the life she’s come to be so content with. Now left tending to the affairs of her estate, and preparing herself for her seemingly empty future, Emma struggles with her own profound loneliness. Despite the fact that I still find myself unable to connect much with Emma because of her overtly docile personality, it’s impossible not to feel sympathy for her during such an emotionally trying time, even if the impact is quickly lost after the fact.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: CMX, Manga

Review: Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo (Vol. 05)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, August 7, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Matsuri Akino
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: July 2009

Synopsis: “The mysterious underworld takes on a whole new dimension in this volume of Pet Shop of Horrors! When all the pastries in Shinjuku disappear, it’s just the beginning of a mystery involving a couple desperate for a child and a chef desperate to create the perfect dessert. Then there’s the case of the lovely lady who saves Taizuu from an assassin’s bullet, only to reveal her own deadly ulterior motives. And when a young runaway finds the perfect home, questions arise as to whether it’s a non-traditional school for girls – or a sinister cult.”

This fifth volume offers up some of the funniest moments of the series’ history and I had more than a few good laughs, albeit at the character’s expense. Taizuu steps up on his attempts to flesh out the truth behind Count D and his mysterious pet shop, going so far as to buying every sweet and cake in the entire city district! It’s one thing after another as Taizuu continues to fill the role of the absent Leon, except for a key-difference: Taizuu comes with a plethora of resources at his disposal.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Review: 20th Century Boys (Vol. 04)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, August 6, 2009

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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.

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