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Review Archive

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

Review: Love Recipe (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, November 7, 2008

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Manga-ka: Kirico Higashizato
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: July 2007

Synopsis: “Tomonori has just landed his dream job at a large publishing firm. The only catch is, he is the new editor of a Boys’ Love magazine! With that, comes the responsibility of managing Sakurako Kakyoin, a male yaoi artist who is notorious for missing his deadlines. To become a full-fledged editor, Tomonori-kun has to start from the bottom – checking drafts, editing scripts and lettering. Now if only Kakyoin-sensei would stop sexually harassing him, he could actually get some work done!”

Love Recipe volume one introduces us to Tomonori Ozawa, an enthusiastic youth who gets hired at his dream location, a large publishing firm. Much to his surprise, he gets placed in the boys’ love department! Everything is pretty strange, and a tad disturbing, to him at first with the swooning desk workers and fans eager for more boys loving boys. One day he’s sent by his boss to the home of famous yaoi artist, Sakurako Kakyoin, to pick up their manga. What he doesn’t expect is that Kakyoin is actually a man, and not only a man who draws yaoi, but also a man who falls for Tomonori at first sight.

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

Review: The Judged

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, November 6, 2008

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Manga-ka: Akira Honma
Publisher: DramaQueen
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: July 2006

Synopsis: “A leak to a legal office makes a case for government corruption. It is now the job of public prosecutor Kyou Sugiura to investigate Tatsuki Toudou, an arrogant politician riding on the coattails of his daddy’s success. But Toudou may be more clever than his sexually abusive, adoptive father was. He uses manipulation after manipulation to exact revenge against Kyou for that time, long ago, when the two boys shared an intimate bond… which Kyou betrayed.”

For those who follow the reviews on my site, it’s safe to say that I tend to give books positive reviews over negative ones. A simple reason for this is that I buy what I really want thus more often than not tend to like what I buy. In the instance of The Judged, I purchased it based on the manga-ka, Akira Honma, whose work I enjoyed in their other book published by DramaQueen: Last Portrait. Well, despite my purchase under inspired pretences, the series fell very short of expectation.

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

Review: Kaze no Hana (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, November 5, 2008

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Author: Ushio Mizta
Manga-ka: Akiyoshi Ohta
Publisher: YenPress
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: August 2008

Synopsis: “Struggling with her feelings of helplessness, Momoka finds unexpected support from two fellow spirit sword wielders. Vowing to help her untangle the truth from the web of lies spun by the Mitsurugis, they don’t realize that an investigatory trip to the Futami family grave site will lead not only to the unsheathing of Suzukaze, but also to the dark side of Momoka’s heart.”

Orphaned after the death of her family, Momoka struggles now to come to complete terms with her newfound place in a world of spiritual swords and battling factions. Unable to draw her sword as others like her can, Momoka faces her own feelings of frustration before a visit to her family’s grave site ends up providing a lot more than she’d bargained for.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Yen Press

Review: +Anima (Vol. 09)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, November 4, 2008

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Mukai Natsumi
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: September 2008

Synopsis: “Cooro and the others find themselves in a town that has just been graced with the presence of an angel, who Cooro realizes right away is a +Anima. But the “angel” doesn’t like being discovered and turns the town against Cooro, telling them he’s a messenger of death. When researchers arrive to investigate, will Cooro and friends the other cheek for their fellow +Anima?”

With Husky’s back-story arc now at a close, what undoubtedly sucked me in the most about this ninth volume was the beginning of Cooro’s. He’s been somewhat of an enigma since the beginning: happy go lucky, innocent and seemingly with complete acceptance of his Anima abilities. Even the characters make note of these oddities, foreshadowing for some revelations to come. With Cooro being as happy and spirited as he usually is, subtle changes in his personality are very noticeable. Some returning characters set to trigger the final climatic events are +Anima researchers, the head of which is known to Cooro from his past.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Tokyopop

Review: You’re So Cool (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, November 3, 2008

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Manhwa-ga: YoungHee Lee
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: September 2008

Synopsis: “Nan-woo’s in deep trouble… Seung-Ha’s got his sights set on making his ‘girlfriend’ dance in the palm of his hand solely for his own amusement. But if that’s all it is, why does he bare his (perfectly straight, white and brilliant) teeth at Chan-Gyu, who still has feelings for Nan-Woo and wants her for himself?!”

Nan-woo continues to deal with Seung-Ha, whose tight grip on her at school still remains. Be it denying her food or ordering her around, there seems to be no break from his orders. But when another classmate returns to try and confess his feelings to Nan-Woo, suddenly Seung-Ha seems extra possessive.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Cross x Break (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, November 2, 2008

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Duo Brand
Publisher: Go!Comi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: August 2008

Synopsis: “Akito has always been in her older brother’s shadow, but all that changes when Shinkai sends him to study abroad…though it’s not any “abroad” he’s ever heard ot! Suddenly trapped in a world full of warlocks, poisonous bugs and more than a few secrets, Akito and his friend Yaya have nothing to rely on but their wits and the help of a mysterious benefactor named Neon…who seems to know a little too much about Akito’s brother!”

When Akito makes the mistake of telling his older brother that he wished to see the world, he unexpectedly set himself up for a sudden trip to another dimension. Trapped there with his childhood friend, a timid and odd young girl named Yaya, Akito must try to find his way home and kick his brother’s ass when he does!

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: GoComi

Review: Hana Kimi (Complete Series)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, November 1, 2008

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Hisaya Nakajo
Publisher: Viz
Volumes: 23
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: September 2004 – April 2008

Synopsis: “Mizuki has transferred to a high school in Japan, but not just any school! To be close to her idol, high jumper Izumi Sano, she’s going to an all-guys’ high school and disguising herself as a boy! But as fate would have it, they’re more than classmates…they’re roommates! Now, Mizuki must keep her secret in the classroom, the locker room, and her own bedroom. And her classmates must cope with a new transfer student who may make them question their own orientation…”

Coming to its conclusion on English shores, Hana Kimi has run 23 volumes in total, spanning from September 2004 to April 2008. A charming shoujo story that’s spawned two live action television dramas and numerous drama CDs, fans around the world continue to show their love and support for the cross-dressing heroine and her friends.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Viz Media

Review: MPD Psycho (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, October 31, 2008

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Author: Eiji Otsuka
Manga-ka: Sho-U Tajima
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: July 2008

Synopsis: “In MPD-Psycho, volume 1, Yousuke Kobayashi – a seemingly innocent police detective – is pushed into a complex tempest of interconnected deviants and evil forces. With its absurd twists, sci-fi touches, and inventive torture scenes, you’ll be mesmerized by the plethora of odd conspiracies and case files found in Eiji Otsuka and Sho-U Tajima’s uncontrollable, urban horror show.”

MPD Psycho, (aka Multiple Personality Detective Psycho) follows in this first volume a key number of characters. Central to them is Yousuke Kobayashi, a detective who possesses several different personalities within himself. They are independent of each other and some more dangerous than others. When a serial killer murders his girlfriend, Kobayashi’s resulting vengeance (though committed by another of his personalities) has him thrown in jail. Years later, he’s out on parole and invited to join a private firm to make use of his uncanny criminal profiling abilities.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Dark Horse

Review: Ghost Hunt (Vol. 07)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, October 30, 2008

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Author: Fuyumi Ono
Manga-ka: Shiho Inada
Publisher: DelRey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: November 2007

Synopsis: “After a series of disappearances in an old mansion, the intrepid Ghost Hunters of the SPR try to unearth the gruesome secret of this scary maze of rooms and passageways. The discovery that the house has a history of murders leaves the team fearing for their safety. What mystery is this dark manor hiding? And will SPR crack the case in time to save one of their own from a terrible fate?”

After reading volume six, volume seven became one of those must-have-now volumes. Continuing with the escalating danger of the previous story, Mai has survived a traumatizing dream life of the last living moments of a girl gruesomely murdered. The investigative team continues to struggle with the strange layout of the house in order to find where the disappearing guests have gone.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Del Rey

Review: Kieli (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, October 29, 2008

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Author: Yukako Kabei
Manga-ka: Shiori Teshirogi
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: October 2008

Synopsis: “Their fates irrevocably intertwined by a bloody war waged eighty years ago, Harvey has promised to help the Corporal pass on by returning him to his final resting place. But when saying their last good-byes to the Corporal goes awry, Harvey is convinced that it would be best for Kieli to go home. But is it really Kieli that needs saving or is Harvey sacrificing his last hope for salvation?”

Kieli and Harvey’s journey continues along with their ghost-in-a-radio, the Corporal. The three find themselves at a place very familiar to Harvey, a place he once called home with a smile upon his face. The trio aren’t far from their destination, a gravesite of soldiers from a war long since past, that holds potent meaning for both Harvey and the Commander, leaving Kieli to wonder what will become of their travels together once they reach it.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Yen Press