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Review Archive

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

Review: Hero Heel (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, March 18, 2009

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Manga-ka: Makoto Tateno
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: July 2008

Synopsis: “After resorting to out-and-out blackmail to satisfy his desire, Minami realizes his failure to live up to the hero he portrays on television – but the damage may already be done. In real life, he and his co-star Sawada now resemble the arch-enemies they play on “Trans-Dimensional Warriors Airguard.” Despite the show’s success, the icy air between Sawada and Minami is starting to become noticeable. Enter Takagi, an ex-boyfriend and former co-star of Sawada’s, who joins the cast to play a special guest role. Will Sawada and Takagi’s complicated history create even more tension on the set?”

The trials of volume one have left Minami torn, struggling to move on from his desires for co-star, Sawada. After a one-night stand, Sawada tells Minami that he has no interest in him and only slept with the co-star because it’s sex and Minami had been so persistent (resorting to blackmail). In attempts to distract himself, Minami becomes involved with another actor on the television production. Cue the arrival of Takagi, a kind and talented actor who was also Sawada’s previous co-star and lover.

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

Mini Review: Black Cat (Vol. 19)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, March 17, 2009

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Black Cat (Vol. 19) – Kentaro Yabuki
Published by Viz

In true shonen style, the final confrontation the second half of this series has been leading up to, continues on for yet another volume. Good or bad thing?

While my fondness for the lead characters is often enough to easily cancel out annoyance at repetitiveness, in this particular volume the majority of page time went to the fight between the Chrono Numbers’ leader, Sephiria Arks, and the series’ top-honcho bad guy, Creed. Yes, you both look cool and have some neat attacks, and are doing the usual bad and forth banter with expected snark, but I was still never attached or invested enough in either of the characters to make this showdown all that interesting.

In a book that really played itself on this fight, I was still more interested in the, albeit short, scenes that take us back to the title three: Train, Sven and adorably kick-butt little Eve. The remaining bad guys pull out some more surprises to hold them up but they’re determined to make sure Train has the final confrontation with Creed so they can settle old scores. It’s too bad though that old fears of mine have come true and all secondary characters have suddenly become completely obsolete (and absent).

But don’t get me wrong, sure I didn’t really care a whole lot about the big fight scene in this, but said fight scene was still pretty cool and finally seeing Train face to face against Creed once again was more exciting than I thought it’d be. Kentaro Yabuki’s fantastic artwork can be most credited for this (as well as having a really awesome cover image). At the end of the book is a short story showing how Train and Sven met, a fun little bonus for sure, and also helped ease the bit of disappointment I held for lacking character time in the rest of the volume.

The end of Black Cat is in sight and as much as some of these recent volumes have sagged a bit on my interests, I’ll still be heartbroken when it’s all over.

Review written March 16, 2009 by Lissa Pattillo
Book purchased in-store from Chapters

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Black Cat, Manga, Shonen Jump, Viz Media

Mini Review: Bleach (Vol. 26)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, March 16, 2009

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Bleach (Vol. 26) – Tite Kubo
Published by Viz

Bleach is a shonen series that always manages to impress me the most when things take the time to step back from the fighting for a bit. This twenty-sixth volume is no exception and I really loved the balance of character drama and action sequences.

This volume continues along as the previous volume had to showcase different characters as they train, plan and prepare for the inevitable attacks from the powerful Arrancar and their Shinigami-traitor, Aizen, who now possesses one of the most powerful items in the world.

There’re lots of little moments of focus on individual characters and they’re setting up some pretty sweet foreshadowing, though for what we of course don’t yet know. Orihime’s mysterious powers and their origins are hinted at by the strange crew training Ichigo, and the shopkeeper Uruhara, who is currently overseeing Chad’s training, has some implying comments about Chad’s abilities as well.

To my fan-girlish delight, Ishida returns to the spotlight for a moment as he fights his sadistic Father in the hopes of regaining his lost Quincy powers. It’s an intense, though short page-count battle, that certainly screams of anything but Father-Son love between the two. Scary man, his Father is! Makes it easy to see where Ishida gets some of his occasionally lacking social skills.

Always one to keep things entertaining, Kubo Tite also continued to sprinkle some great chuckle-worthy humour all the way through, and then surprised everyone with a shock visit from some Arrcanar that brings everyone out of training a lot sooner than expected. Toss in a suspenseful cliffhanger, and you have a great well-rounded volume that’ll leave you eagerly awaiting the next one.

Review written March 16, 2009 by Lissa Pattillo
Book purchased in-store from Chapters

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Bleach, Manga, Viz Media

Review: With the Light (Vol. 04)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, March 15, 2009

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Manga-ka: Keiko Tobe
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: All Ages
Released: March 2009

Synopsis: “When staffing changes at Masato’s company get him transferred to a dead-end job in the middle of nowhere, more suffering and despair seem imminent for the Azuma family. However, Masato approaches the situation with aplomb and comes up with new ways to pave the way for Hikaru and those like him to become “cheerful working adults” . . . with surprising results. Hikaru himself seems to be getting closer, bit by bit, to achieving this goal as the Azumas decide to foster their son’s independence in a variety of ways, including getting to and from school on his own. But when Hikaru encounters an old acquaintance on the way home and leads Sachiko to a horrific discovery, will the Azumas be able to return a favor and help out a friend in need?”

With the Light is an on-going manga series that follows a family as they cope with the eldest child’s autism. The book acts as both education and entertainment, offering detailed looks at the trials and rewards of raising an autistic child and the dedication of parents who want their child to live a fulfilling life in a society that isn’t always accommodating.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Yen Press

Review: The Reformed

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, March 13, 2009

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Author: Christopher Hart
Artist: ANZU
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: May 2008

Synopsis: “Handsome, wealthy, respected, Giancarlo has lived for hundreds of years, surrounded in splendour, shrouded in darkness, and enslaved by the insatiable hunger lurking inside him. In the glittering ballrooms where the privileged gather, he moves with cool elegance. But in the desolate alleys where the undead feed, he preys with murderous intent. Immortality is his, but love never will be – only an eternity of loneliness, filled with the blood of innocent victims. But Jenny won’t be one of them. Something about this beautiful young woman stirs feelings in Giancarlo that he hasn’t known in centuries.”

The Reformed is a one-shot story of Giancarlo, a vampire of high social class who finds his prey on the night streets. One evening he saves a woman named Jenny from an attacker, only to find himself, an immortal bloodthirsty monster, in love with her.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Del Rey, Global Manga

Review: Otomen (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Manga-ka: Aya Kanno
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: February 2009

Synopsis: “Asuka Masamune is a guy who loves girly things – sewing, knitting, making cute stuffed animals and reading shojo comics. But in a world where boys are expected to act manly, Asuka must hide his beloved hobbies and play the part of a masculine jock instead. Ryo Miyakozuka, on the other handm is a girl who can’t sew or bake a cake to save her life. Asuka finds himself drawn to Ryo, but she likes only the manliest of men! Can Asuka ever show his true self to anyone, much less to the girl he’s falling for?”

Otomen is a book that I had to pick up after reading so many good things about it. It feels like forever since I’ve sat down for a true, honest-to-goodness shoujo manga and I was really starting to miss it. Until reading it, all I knew was that it was about a manly man who was actually a girly man, and it comes with high recommendations. With some favourable memories of Aya Kanno’s Blank Slate, and an uncertainty of how this more comedic sounding plot would be handled, I jumped into Otomen curious and finished this first volume in love.

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

Review: Your and My Secret (Vol. 04)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, March 11, 2009

1 Comment »

Manga-ka: Ai Morinaga
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: March 2009

Synopsis: “Senbongi is acting cold while Akira seems to be getting along with Shiina with no intentions of switching back. Akira gives Momoi the OK to go out with a guy, rubbing in the fact that she has no feelings toward him. Fed up with it all, Momoi agrees to go out with Senbongi and discovers that, to his surprise, he actually kind of likes it!”

I still love this series to death. It’s funny, the characters are all endearing (even scary Grandpa), the artwork is great and did I mention it was funny? But, unfortunately, this volume was a bit of a let down for me.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Tokyopop

Review: Dash

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, March 10, 2009

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Manga-ka: Isaku Natsume
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: December 2007

Synopsis: “Akimoto has just started his high school career at Miya High and is burning with enthusiasm; he is overjoyed to finally be able to meet his long time Judo idol Saitou! Akimoto has watched Saitou ever since his middle school days, but the real Saitou isn’t matching up to the Saitou of Akimoto’s dreams. Foul mouthed, with a bad attitude and superiority complex, Saitou has decided to use Akimoto’s admiration against him and turn him into his slave. Saitou also hides a dark secret, and when it’s revealed, what will Akimoto think of him then?”

In Dash, we’re introduced to Akimoto, a high school freshmen with a love of Judo. Attending his school as a senior is Saitou, Akimoto’s idol after watching him flawlessly win a Judo competition a few years ago. Eager to get closer to him and see him in action again, Akimoto tries to befriend Saitou, and it works to a point, but there barely seems enough room for Akimoto next to Saitou’s ego.

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

Review: Mr Flower Bride

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, March 8, 2009

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Manga-ka: Lily Hoshino
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: March 2008

Synopsis: “The powerful Souda family is big on tradition… and to Shinji Souda’s dismay, the tradition they’re keenest on involves him marrying a boy! And not just any boy, but his classmate Aoi Uno, who doesn’t seem to be at fazed by the news of their engagement. With their attitudes at odds, are Shinji and Aoi headed for a lifetime of unhappily ever after?”

Family customs step up to create some seemingly unlikely couples here in Mr. Flower Bride when the unexpected announcement of a male birth leads to a kick-in tradition that demands every young son in the family be married off to another man.

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

Review: Selfish Mr. Mermaid (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, March 7, 2009

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Nabako Kamo
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: April 2008

Synopsis: “Kanan is a passive sort, whose timidity has a way of irritating anyone around him with half an ounce of self-respect. When investigating an upstairs apartment leak, he discovers the source is something beyond his wildest fantasy-a mermaid?! That’s Mr.Mermaid, thank you very much. Kaioh is aquatic royalty, with tears of pearl and a selfish, bullying attitude bigger than the ocean. One look at submissive Kanan, and Mr.Mermaid knows he’s found someone to wait on him hand and foot!”

Kanan is passive, submissive and generally walked over by everyone. One day he heads home only to discover his apartment is soaking wet after an upstairs tenant leaves the water running. Much to his surprise, said upstairs tenant is actually a mermaid (or merman as the case would be), and after being kicked out of his apartment, the mermaid moves into Kanan’s bathtub. Not only does the mermaid, Kaoih, start ordering Kanan around for food and service, but it also turns out he’s literally a ‘royal’ pain in the butt.

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