Kuriousity | manga reviews and news

Review Archive

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

Review: Color of Rage

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, December 19, 2008

1 Comment »

Author: Kazuo Koike
Manga-ka: Seisaku Kano
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: May 2008

Synopsis: “Two slaves free themselves from a slave ship, one a Japanese man, the other an African American. After escaping they find themselves on the shore of Edo-era Japan, a society with a strong caste system, isolated from the world. How will the Japanese people perceive this giant black man, how will they survive? But first things first, how will they get these shackles off their feet?”

This was an interesting book to read because the general intent of the manga-ka was so apparent that it felt almost too forced. While attempting to show multiple cultures from a unique perspective, instead it felt like one layer of stereotype over another. While the story being written in the seventies does cause me to give it some more patience, the final result seems a little misinformed, and mostly overzealous in its execution, but still with presumably noble intentions.

Share on Tumblr

Review: Red Angel (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, December 18, 2008

No Comments »

Manga-ka: Makoto Tateno
Publisher: DMP
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: June 2008

Synopsis: “From the streets of New York and the hallways of a Japanese high school, to the confines of a British boys’ school dormitory, Mika and her twin persona, Eru, have stalked and hunted. The two are vampires – creatures driven by their thirst for blood. A fateful encounter with the enigmatic Kinsei reveals a clue to a forgotten past. Mika remembers nothing but Eru knows of a shared past with Kinsei. Though Kinsei seems like a vampire, he also hunts at being something more.”

Red Angel is a two-volume series by Makoto Tateno, a manga-ka better known by English manga fans as a creator of popular boys’ love series, including DMP’s Yellow and the currently published, Hero Heel. Red Angel is a story of a red winged vampire whose body shares two forms, that of a beautiful young woman named Mika, and the other her twin brother, Eru.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: June, Makoto Tateno

Review: Kyo Kara Maoh! (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, December 17, 2008

No Comments »

Author: Tomo Takabayashi
Manga-ka: Temari Matsumoto
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: May 2008

Synopsis: “Yuri Shibuya just can’t catch a break. First, he had his head dunked in a toilet. Then he was transported to another world – where he finds himself king of the Mazoku’s, a new race expects him to lead them to war against all of humanity. And to top it all off, he’s engaged – to a man! From the creator of Shinobu Kokoro comes an outrageous, gender-bending, high-school demon love story!”

Based off a series of light novels, Kyo Kara Maoh! is the story of Yuri, your everyday high school student whose life suddenly takes a bizarre turn via a swirly gone horribly wrong. Now finding himself transported via toilet to a fantasy world, he’s proclaimed King of the Demons and charged with the task of destroying all humans!

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Tokyopop

Review: Black God (Vol. 04)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, December 17, 2008

1 Comment »

Author: Dall-Young Lim
Mahnwa-ga: Sung-Woo Park
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: October 2008

Synopsis: “Following a reunion with his grandfather, Keita and company are led to an island where they meet twin feral Mototsumitamas. Though they’re initially hostile, it seems the twins hold a piece of the puzzle that will bring Keita and his companions closer to the truth about the aims of the ruthless Shishigami. But as they get closer to that truth, Keita comes face to face with his Mother!? Or is she…?”

Keita, Akane and Kuro are off to solve the big mystery of the Shishigami’s true intentions in this fourth volume of the series. They travel to Keita’s childhood home in the hopes of finding out more information about Keita’s mother and her possible involvement with everything that’s been going on now, especially in light of a photograph of the Shishigami that seems to have her in it. But of course things can’t go that smoothly for them and a pair of enthusiastic twins capture Keita, two Mototsumitamas like Kuro who want to take Keita as a partner for themselves.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Very! Very! Sweet (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, December 16, 2008

3 Comments »

Author: JiSang Shin
Manhwa-ga: Geo
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: November 2008

Synopsis: “Be-Rei and Tsuyoshi’s newfound neighborliness raises Mi-Hyuk’s hackles, however, prompting him to make a big for Be-Rei’s affections. And as Tsuyoshi defends her from the oncoming love attack, no one is more surprised than Be-Rei herself. But when a familiar face from Japan shows up on Tsuyoshi’s doorstep, Be-Rei’s not the only one who has to deal with affairs of the heart!”

The characters and plot really start leveling out here in volume two, with the who, what and whys generally taken care of in the first book. A web of love has begun as Be-Rei crushes on her sister’s boyfriend, her classmate Mi-Hyuk wants nothing more than to date her, Tsuyoshi has her questioning her initial thoughts on him and meanwhile an old girlfriend of Tsuyoshi shows up with plans to leave there in Korea with him.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Black Sun

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, December 15, 2008

1 Comment »

Manga-ka: Uki Ogasawara
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: December 2008

Synopsis: “Gerun Fortress – a coastal stronghold along the Mediterranean Sea. Here, two-hundred Monastic Knights make their final stand against a league of 20,000 Middle Eastern soldiers led by General Jamal Jan. Called “beardless” by some, “shameless” by others, Jamal soon seizes the castle and its acting commander, Prince Leonard de Limbourg. The general’s ideas of how to subjugate the enemy do not conform to the typical rules of warfare, however. In quick order, Prince Leonard finds himself stripped naked and forced to perform in front of his own men. Leonard’s humiliation does not end there; now the general’s captive slave, he is brought back to a strange land and presented before His Majesty the Sultan. Will Jamal’s deviant attentions lead to certain punishment for both he and Prince Leonard?”

A battle of thousands versus mere hundreds leaves the commander, Prince Leonard, looking for a way out that won’t leave the castle stained with the blood of his men. In exchange for their safety, he surrenders himself to the enemies General, Jamal Jan. Forced to engage with Jamal in front of the soldiers present there, Leonard is humiliated, then whisked away to Jamal’s home as a prize of war, one that not only spells obvious troubles for him, but possibly for his captor as well.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: 801Media, Boys' Love/Yaoi

Review: Comic (Vol. 04)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, December 13, 2008

1 Comment »

Manhwa-ga: Ha SiHyun
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: November 2008

Synopsis: “Since her daring rescue, Daria’s fallen hard for Patrick. But her fantasies are threatened when she spots Patrick with Alice on a late-night stroll. Is it just a manhwa lesson, or is it love? Or maybe both?! Daria’s not about to take any chances. Armed with the knowledge of Patrick “Saturn” Kang’s true identity, Daria is prepared to do everything in her power to drive him and Alice apart!”

Daria: the beautiful, kind and talented best friend to Alice, has fallen for Patrick and it seems that the attraction is all it takes for her to take a negative turn. Purposely leading both Alice and Patrick on with intentional misunderstandings, she aims to drive the two apart before anything else comes of their current professional relationship as manhwa-ga and assistant, so that she’s free to pursue Patrick herself.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Love Mode (Vol. 11)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, December 12, 2008

1 Comment »

Manhwa-ga: Yuki Shimizu
Publisher: BLU
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: November 2008

Synopsis: “The mysterious figure of Shiki finally appears in this flashback — we find a younger and more naive Aoe escaping his familial responsibilities to the countryside of England, where he shares a simple bed and breakfast home with Takamiya and Shiki. While Aoe can’t deny his feelings for the happy-go-lucky Shiki, he can’t shrug off his duties to his family. The tension and seduction builds to an unexpected event that will rock his world forever!”

Volume eleven marks the end of Love Mode, a character-driven story of men brought together by a bomcintion of their business and pleasures. As testament to her skill, Yuki Shimizu has left pinnacle events in characters’ lives a mystery until this final point, revealing to readers past events in what is easily one of the most dramatic books of the series.

Share on Tumblr

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

Review: Fairy Cube (Vol. 03)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, December 11, 2008

1 Comment »

Manga-ka: Kaori Yuki
Publisher: Viz
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: November 2008

Synopsis: “Ian and Rin used to just see spirits. Now Ian is one. Using the Fairy Cube, Ian must figure out how to stop the lizard-spirit Tokage from taking over his life and destroying any change he has a resurrection. Will Ian save Rin? Can he stop Tokage? Ian only has one change left to get his life back!”

I’m going to be frank with this one: I was totally lost for a good portion of this book. Odd as it is to say, I felt like this last volume suffered from being too much of a Kaori Yuki book. There were just too many characters who weren’t fully explained, many were dropping like flies, several were switching sides, some were actually related, some weren’t, one was a different gender, a few wanted to destroy the world and others wanted to save it, and all of them were coming about these developments at the same time, in the same place, while battling for page time against flashbacks and numerous almost-death scenes.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Viz Media

Review: Sighing Kiss

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, December 9, 2008

No Comments »

Manga-ka: Riyu Yamakami
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: October 2008

Synopsis: “Clumsy Akira is head-over-heels for his best friend, the confident and handsome Takuya. Too bad Tatsuya has a gorgeous girlfriend… and no idea that Akira watches his every move! When the strange and sarcastic Tanabe steps in to distract (and tease) his lovesick pal, Akira’s sure he’s just looking for a little excitement to pass the time. However, it becomes impossible to ignore how well Tanade seems to know his thoughts, wishes and deepest secrets…”

Sighing Kiss was a book that fell victim to first impressions with me. The fluffy though rather dull looking cover had me slipping this book to the lower section of my to-read pile, and even after unwrapping, the interior art left me just as underwhelmed. But always one to enjoy being proven wrong, Sighing Kiss ended up being much more than my initial thoughts gave it credit for and I’m all the happier for it.

Share on Tumblr

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