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Review Archive

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

Review: Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Vol. 06)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, October 5, 2008

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Author: Eiji Otsuka
Manga-ka: Housui Yamazaki
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: Febuary 2008

Synopsis: “There’s rivalry all around when Kurosagi finds its rather loose business model challenged by a postman who guarantees the next world on time! But it’s not only the clean-cut trying to compete – the oddball duo calling itself the Shirosagi Corpse Cleaning Service aren’t just out to eat Kurosagi’s wormy lunch, they’re going to start revealing trade secrets – namely, the hideous history of the ghost which haunts Karatsu!”

In volume six of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, the crew remains in financial trouble as corpse delivery rarely proves are profitable as they’d like. Just when they think they have the perfect idea to bring in the business, a postman and his assistance beat them to the goal. On top of that, another corpse service appears on the scene calling themselves the Shirosagi Corpse Cleaning Service. But for Karatsu and his corpse finding friends, this new group may prove to be more than a little competition.

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Review: Love Is Like A Hurricane (Vol. 04)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, October 3, 2008

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Manga-ka: Tokiya Shimazaki
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: March 2008

Synopsis: “Mizuki really wasn’t expecting the cool and reserved class representative, Azuma, to suddenly declare his love for him, yet now they’re an official couple. But Mizuki and Azuma aren’t the only happy couple. Izumi & Akira sneak off to the student council room for a quickie every chance they get! Stormy winds are coming for ours two loveable ukes. With the school festival quickly approaching, their respective semes aren’t getting the tender, loving care that they require…”

It’s more of what readers’ve come to expect from Tokiya Shimazaki as the semes of the story just cannot get enough loving from their respective bottoms. An old friend of Mizuki returns for a visit while fellow classmates prepare for the upcoming student festival. It’s haunted houses, late night bush tumbling and more Izumi & Akira page-time in this fourth volume of Love Is Like A Hurricane.

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

Review: Sundome (Vol. 03)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, October 1, 2008

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Manga-ka: Kazuto Okada
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: September 2008

Synopsis: “Torture, teasing, and humiliation from Kurumi ensues, but Hideo’s crush on her only worsens! When nasty rumors start flying about Kurumi’s promiscuity, Hideo finds the source and sets things straight. But even he can’t explain the mysterious pair of men’s shoes in her apartment. Meanwhile, the Roman Club accepts a bet from the sneaky class president which involves wandering through a haunted graveyard and playing a creepy game of hide-and-seek in the school after dark.”

In this third volume of Sundome, Kurumi is accused of selling herself for money, which to some doesn’t seem as far a stretch as they’d like to think. On top of that, a pair of men’s shoes in her apartment only fuels Hideo’s paranoia. Between ghost hunting and getting in out of the rain, Hideo’s sexual slavery to Kurumi continues to know no bounds… unless Kurumi sets them.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Yen Press

Review: Manic Love

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, September 30, 2008

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Manga-ka: Satomi Yamaguchi
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: September 2007

Synopsis: “During the summer of his second year in high school, Maki Sonoda found love for the first time in the arms of his cram school teacher, Haruji Shirai. Blinded by the illusions of his first love, Maki can think only of getting to know Haruji more. But, things become complicated when Maki realizes that Haruji is really in love with high school teacher Mr. Mizuguchi. Three men find themselves intertwined in this tantalizing love triangle full of emotion.”

Manic Love is a prequel, of sorts, to Satomi Yamagata’s Fake Fur (also released by DMP). The stories follow Maki, introduced to readers in Fake Fur as the young boy living in a stranger’s apartment. Here in Manic Love, we follow Maki into his blossoming world of sex and love as he deals with both for the first time.

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

Review: Forest of Gray City (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, September 29, 2008

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

Synopsis: “The arrival of Bum-Moo’s step-sister gives Yun-Ook the chance to learn more about her young roommate – the tragedy that dream him closer to his sister, the reason he dropped out of school, and the jealousy that forced him out on his own. As she finds out more about Bum-Moo’s story, a face from her own past takes Yun-Ook by surprise. Forced to confront her losses in love and life, Yun-Ook must decide once and for all how to move forward in response to Bum-Moo’s affections.”

In this second volume of Forest of Gray City, Bum-Moo’s past is revealed in a sombre retelling of old wounds that left and him step-sister to grow ever closer. His roommate, Yun-Ook, is happy to learn a little more about the young man but remains unsure of how to react to his professed feelings.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Wanted

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, September 28, 2008

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Manga-ka: Matsuri Hino
Publisher: Viz
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: July 2008

Synopsis: “In the Mediterranean at end of the 17th century, former songstress Armeia disguises herself as a boy and boards the ship of the pirate Skulls, the man who kidnapped Luce, her first love. Captain Skulls is arrogant, violent, and a skirt chaser! And unfortunately for Armeria, he discovers she’s a woman…”

As a child, Armeia sang for Aristocrats with her beautiful voice. But one night she watched as pirates kidnapped her first love, Luce, and took him out to see. For years she was determined to find that ship and the Captain responsible for Luce’s abduction. She finally finds the ship and, disguised as a boy, makes her way on-board. She’s determined to save the kind-hearted Luce she remembers, only to find out he may no longer exist, if he ever had at all.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

Review: Tea For Two (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, September 25, 2008

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Manga-ka: Yaya Sakuragi
Publisher: BLU
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: August 2008

Synopsis: “Clumsy Takamaru and graceful Hasune have started dating, but are the challenges facing them nothing that can’t be settled over a hot cup of tea? First, Takamaru is focusing on baseball while Hasune is busy practicing the tea ceremony, giving them little time together – and their quickies in the Tea Ceremony Club room just aren’t cutting it! Then, a former upperclassman of Tokumaru’s arrives, and suddenly, the older man is all he seems to see or talk about…”

After some relatively successful lessons in tea and grace, Takamaru and Hasune have started dating. Things between them are going smoothly except for the fact that between baseball and the tea ceremony, they hardly seem to have anytime for one another. If time wasn’t obstacle enough, the future suddenly seems a daunting thing for these teenagers getting ready to graduate from high school, and an old friend from Takamaru’s past returns to put a little doubt in Takamaru’s lacking life-goals.

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

Review: Tenshi Ja Nai!! (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, September 24, 2008

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Manga-ka: Takako Shigematsu
Publisher: Go!Comi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: October 2005

Synopsis: “In the play of life, all Hikaru wanted was to be part of the scenery, but fate had other ideas. When the 15-year-old introvert transfers to an all-girls academy, her new roommate turns out to be the super-popular TV idol Izumi Kido! As if living with a celebrity wasn’t bad enough, Hikaru discovers that there’s more to Izumi —she’s a he! Now Hikaru’s the unwilling star player in a tale of deception, abduction, humiliation and blackmail… you know—the usual romantic stuff.”

After a short modelling job, Hikaru Takabayashi found her childhood plagued by bullies and insults. Because of this, she’s done her best to avoid the spotlight throughout her life and just be an average girl and to avoid having to move to France, she agrees to her Mother’s plan to enrol her in a prestigious all-girls school. Unfortunately for her background-lurking ways, Hikaru finds herself rooming with a famous TV idol. Not only that, but it seems that the lovely Izumi Kido has more than just some weird habits to hide from the fan girls and paparazzi.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: GoComi

Review: World’s End

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, September 23, 2008

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Manga-ka: Eiki Eiki
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: October 2007

Synopsis: “It’s been four years since Hirofumi and Daigo started living together. But because of his psychological scars, Daigo gradually starts imposing frightening restraints on Hirofumi! Caught in a café of love and madness, what will Hirofumi’s ultimate answer be?!”

World’s End is the sequel to Eiki Eiki’s previous work, Dear Myself. After an accident causes Hirofumi to loose his memory, he falls in love with a boy he meets in the hospital, Daigo. But when his old memories return, and his years spent with Daigo disappear, Hirofumi is horrified to be told he’s missing two years of his life and that they were spent being a man’s lover! When a letter he wrote to himself reveals the truth, Hirofumi finds himself falling for Daigo all over again. Now, years later, the two are living together and some dangerous truths about Daigo start manifesting.

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

Review: Bleach (Vol. 24)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, September 22, 2008

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Manga-ka: Kubo Tite
Publisher: Viz
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: September 2008

Synopsis: “Ichigo and the Soul Reapers wage a furious battle against the Arrancars who are attacking Karakura Town. But this enemy is unlike anything they have ever fought before, and these aren’t even the strongest of the Arrancars! If Ichigo and his friends can barely face them, how can they hope to fight off the elite Arrancar warriors, the dreaded Espada?”

The fighting must go on in this twenty-fourth volume of Bleach. A sudden assault from the enemy leaves those protecting the town caught unawares and everyone is pulled in different directions to defend themselves and those around them. It’s kill or be killed as Renji, Matsumoto and Hitsugaya face off against some nasty opponents.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Bleach, Viz Media