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Review Archive

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

Review: Heavenly Executioner Chiwoo (Vol. 04)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, June 16, 2008

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Author: HaNa Lee
Manhwa-ga: KangHo Park
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: May 2008

Synopsis: “Chiwoo trains with Ju-Ah to become a better mangnani. Ju-Ah promises Seol-Ha that despite Chiwoo’s struggles, he will become a great warrior in the end. Later, while Seol-Ha continues his search for Bi-Hyun, Chiwoo and his friends confront Yi-Yun to rescue Uncle Wol-Bek. Will both missions succeed? Or is there more trouble in store for these heroes?”

Most of volume four of Heavenly Executioner Chiwoo is a long fight scene and in that way, following what was happening was pretty easy. Dialogue from lead and background characters filled in a lot of gaps readers would have about the who, what, where and why of the story, in preparation for the action sequence that takes up ¾ of the book.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Bring It On! (Vol. 05)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, June 15, 2008

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Manga-ka: Baek HyeKyung
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: June 2008Synopsis: “As Mi-Ha and company get ready to celebrate Seung-Suh’s birthday, the birthday boy is confronted by a face from the past! Eun-Yang, with his celebrity good looks, is one sly fox, and he vows to break up Seung-Suh’s fledgling relationship with Mi-Ha in a week! But why is Eun-Yang out to get Seung-Suh?! The past takes a front seat and shocking secrets are revealed in the intense and exciting conclusion to Bring It On!”

The past returns when Eun-Yang appears in town, Sueng-Suh’s best friend from junior high and an important part of prior events. Mi-Ha is annoyed that’s never heard of Eun-Yang before and when Seung-Suh doesn’t elaborate, she tries to find out from the newcomer herself… only to start falling victim to Eun-Yang’s charm. Some risky emotional games are played in volume five of Bring It On.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Absolute Boyfriend (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, June 14, 2008

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Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: February 2006

Synopsis: “Rejected way too many times by guys, shy Riiko Izawa goes online and signs up for a free trial of a mysterious Night Lover “figure.” The very next day, a cute naked guy is delivered to her door, and he wants to be her boyfriend! Has Riiko died and gone to heaven? The cute guy turns out to be sweet, smart, a great cook, and lots more. And he looks like a million bucks, which is what he’s going to cost Riiko if she doesn’t return him in time…”

Continuing on with android week, I’m looking back at a book that comes from the same mind and talent who gave readers, Fushigi Yuugi and Ayashi no Ceres: Absolute Boyfriend! It’s a more light hearted and fun manga about a girl who gets everything she wants and has no idea what to do with it. Having no luck with boys, Riiko fills in an online application form for the perfect lover, not taking it seriously of course. Then one day a package appears for her containing Night, an android who’s more than ready to be her ideal boyfriend… much to her dismay.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Absolute Boyfriend, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media, Yuu Watase

The whats-up

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, June 14, 2008

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Just a quick update today to apologize for the lapse in reviews the last few days and thus the stall in my android week. The remaining two reviews (June 15th edit: Only one review it seems, sorry!) will be posted over the weekend, and next week will focus on some more reviews for recent books. A bunch of double shifts at work (I shall not miss you, shift work), art commissions and some comic collaboration work has kept me super busy the last few days but it should wrap itself up shortly! All patience appreciated.

In the meantime, I recommend checking out my last post about global manga, in particular the comments. A lot of great points were made as a bunch of people graciously shared their thoughts; very interesting read!

And also on the note of global mangas, a few new appearances on Amazon.com in recent days: Hollow Fields (Vol. 03), Invisible, Wolverine: Prodigal Son (Vol. 01) and X-Men: Misfits (Vol. 01) (see above image).

And finally on a more disappointing note, Rivkah says that she was told by her Tokyopop editor that Steady Beat, volume 3, will not be seeing print. It’s a series I’ve really enjoyed and was looking forward to the third and final volume. Rivkah is currently seeing if she can get the print rights back from Tokyopop and atleast things are looking surprising good in that regard so far!

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Categories: Misc, Reviews, Site Updates

Review: Angelic Layer (Complete Series)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, June 10, 2008

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Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: April 2002 – October 2003
Volumes: 5

Synopsis: “Upon arriving in the city 12-year-old Misaki spots a competition being broadcast called Angelic Layer – the latest high tech battle game fought by using dolls (Angels). Enchanted with one of the Angels she sees fighting, Misaki is inspired to create her own Angel and it leads her on an adventure that she never in her wildest dreams would have thought possible!”

Angelic Layer is CLAMP’s take at the shonen genre, putting aside the serious dramatics and cute magical pretty girls for a more light-hearted action series. The tale begins with Misaki, a young girl new to Tokyo who discovers the popular game of Angelic Layer. Players buy a fully customizable ‘Angel’, a doll that can be controlled by a player’s thoughts (through use of the proper terminal equipment) and use them in competition. The players battle their Angels against each other, putting their skill, will and power to the test. Entranced by the battles, Misaki purchases her very own Angel and her rise to fame begins!

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: CLAMP, Tokyopop

Review: Chobits (Complete Series)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, June 9, 2008

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Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: April 2002 – October 2003
Volumes: 8Synopsis: “Chi isn’t your average humanoid computer. She can’t do word processing, she can’t connect to the net, and she’s incapable of interfacing with other persocoms… but when the hapless, technophobic Hideki rescues her from the scrap heap and takes her home, he finds that she may be more advanced than her childlike behavior lets on…”

Chobits begins with introducing readers to Hideki, a country boy who finds life in the city isn’t as easy as he’d hoped as he battles rent and schoolwork in attempts to get into college. Struggling to make ends meet and doomed in the ways of women (despite his kind landlady and cute co-worker), it’s no wonder he’s down in the dumps. One night he finds a Persocom, a personalized computer in the shape of a human, lying abandoned in the trash. Believing it’s his lucky day, as Persocoms are very expensive, he takes the female computer home with him only to be confronted with some unexpected results.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: CLAMP, Tokyopop

Review Theme: Android Week

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, June 8, 2008

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an·droid

An automaton that is created from biological materials and resembles a human

Back to summer business this week with the beginning of a new theme! This week it’s androids! Robots that have human appearances are the name of the game this week so expect five reviews for some older releases revolving around them. There’ll be some full series, a volume one and two one-shots. Anyone want to try a guess at some of the possibilities?

Previous android-related reviews:

Twin Signal (Vol. 01)
Absolute Boyfriend (Vol. 06)

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Categories: Reviews

Review: Heat Guy J

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, June 8, 2008

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Manga-ka: Chiaki Ogishima
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: July 2005

Synopsis: “Daisuke Aurora works with the special division of peace-keepers in the city of Jewde, one of the largest cities on the planet. He and his android partner, Heat Guy J, team up to make sure that anything illegal stays off the streets and out of circulation. However, their presence doesn’t sit too well with the local mob leader – the ruthless and unbalanced son of the late Don, who is out to prove that he is not too young to take over the family business.”

Heat Guy J, based off the anime of the same name (released in English by Pioneer with an amazing dub, btw), follows Daisuke Aurora, one of only two human members of Jewde’s Special Division of Peace-keepers. Along with his android partner, (Heat Guy) J, it’s Daisuke’s job to investigate illegal activity in the super city and stop it before it escalates to committed crime. With a limited budget and a new young mob leader with an insane streak to deal with, their job isn’t easy but Daisuke and J step up to the challenge each and every time.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Tokyopop

Review: Legend (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, June 6, 2008

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Author: Kara Woo
Manhwa-ga: Kara Woo
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: June 2008

Synopsis: “With the help of Eun-Gyo and No-Ah, the “princess” Nak-Rang escapes her captors. But just when they think they’re out of the woods, the high priest Ho-Dong stops them at the edge of the dried-up Mother Lake. There, a battle ensues… and a miracle occurs!”

Eun-Gyo, a schoolgirl travelled to this world from present day, and No-Ah, help the “princess” Nak-Rang escape from her captors. Free from the small town, whose inhabitants are under a spell that leaves them bound in children form, Nak-Rang has hopes of finally being able to grow into an adult. Suddenly under attack, the group must survive while at the same time discover the mystery of the Seven Blade sword.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Legend, Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Sundome (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, June 5, 2008

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Manga-ka: Kazuto Okada
Publisher: YenPress
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: June 2008

Synopsis: “Kurumi makes Hideo quit her cold turkey for two weeks! Whatever is poor, horny Hideo to do? Well, for one thing, his club is visited by a masked OB for some hardcore “physical training.” Then, there’s a UFO-sighting field trip up to a mountain. But Hideo’s never quite over his obsession with the transfer student and he thinks he’s gotten just a little closer to the object of his affection when he helps her catch a panty-thief. His reward? A trip to the movies… in handcuffs!”

Kurumi’s sexual hold on Hideo continues here in volume two of Sundome. Not for the young in age or the faint of heart, Sundome follows the sadistic relationship of these two students, one which goes past friendship, but stops before lovers, and settles on slave and master. Warning: Review contains some content not suitable for minors!

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Yen Press