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Review Archive

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

Review: The Moon and the Sandals (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, May 1, 2008

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Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: Feburary 2007

Synopsis: “As a newly appointed high school instructor, Ida has yet to gain confidence in his teaching. His lack of assurance is made worse when Ida feels someone’s eyes on him during class – a fierce-looking student, Koichi Kobayashi’s. Is it discontent that makes Kobayashi stare, or could it be something else?”

The Moon and the Sandals follows the relationship trials and successes of a group of men as they learn about themselves and others in these sweet, coming-of-love stories. It puts a down-to-earth spin on the teacher-student love story and gives readers an honest feeling look at these characters’ love lives.

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

Review: The Other Side of the Mirror (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, April 30, 2008

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Author/Artist: Jo Chen
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: April 2008

Synopsis: “After escaping the confines of New York City, Lou and Sunny start a new life in a small town. But just as things are looking up, with the trauma of their pasts wiped clean, fate strikes again… and Lou my lose more than he thought possible. From celebrated illustrator Jo Chen comes the conclusion to this poignant tale about two lost souls finding themselves – and each other.”

Volume two of The Other Side of the Mirror brings this bittersweet, but compellingly sweet romance story of two unlikely souls finding each other, to a close. The love story of Sunny and Lou is concluded half way through the book, leaving the rest of the 200-page book filled up with two unrelated short stories.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Tokyopop

Review: Nightmare Inspector (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, April 28, 2008

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Manga-ka: Shin Mashiba
Publisher: Viz
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: April 2008Synopsis: “For those who suffer nightmares, help awaits at the Silver Star Tea House. Hiruko is a special kind of private investigator. He’s a dream eater. And he’ll rid you of your darkest visions… for a price. Dreams on the menu in this volume: a restless soul, a murderous beauty, a woman afraid of falling apart, a grieving lover, an unforgiving son, a suicidal actress and a mysterious voice on the other end of a lovely young man’s phone.”

Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun is another take on the episodic mysterious shop genre, similar to series such as Petshop of Horrors and Nightmares for Sale. Hiruko, an androgynous in appearance dream-eater, runs the Silver Star Tea House. He solves people’s problems by entering their nightmares in exchange for being able to eat the dreams when he’s done. Throughout the book, different people seek out his shop and his services, often with unseen circumstances.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Viz Media

Review: Ichigenme (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, April 27, 2008

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Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: July 2007

Synopsis: “An (apparently) frivolous Tohdou and an (overly) serious Tamiya. They continue to collide and have finally become lovers around graduation. This is their life afterwards. The long awaited second volume is here with never before release material. And Tohdou’s younger brother (seme) makes a guest appearance.”

Taking place seven years after the end of the first book, volume two continues to follow the ever-evolving relationship of Tohdou and Tamiya. Both continue their work diligently which often means they don’t get to see eachother as much as they’d like… or as much as Tohdou would like anyway. Tamiya continues to act a bit cold and reserved. Combined with his growing independence through things such as cooking and cleaning, and apparent little interest in sex, Tohdou begins to fear that he’ll have nothing left to offer his lover.

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

Review: Innocent Bird (Vol. 03)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, April 25, 2008

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Manga-ka: Hirotaka Kisaragi
Publisher: Blu
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: October 2007

Synopsis: “Koumori leads Karasu and Shirasagi through the wastes of Puragatory, while high above, the Seraphim argue over how best to prevent the Distortion from spreading any further. When the war between Heaven and Hell begins once again, Dominions and Karasu restart their own fight, but soon the Archduke gets involved… and what happens in the end will take everyone by surprise! Faith, passion, and betrayal collide as the universe spirals downward towards chaos…”

Continuing the events of volume two, the Distortion threatening Heaven, Hell and all those in-between continues to grow as the battle between angels and demons begins again. It’s a character cast call as nearly all previously seen characters return for their final stands, sometimes with some explanatory back-story tossed in for good measure.

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

Review: RE:play (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, April 24, 2008

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Author/Artist: Christy Lijewski
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: March 2008

Synopsis: “After unexpectedly leaving Cree and his passion as Faust’s bassist, Izsak once again finds himself on the streets that he knows all too well. But a conversation with a mysterious stranger convinces him that his future may not be as solitary as he thinks. Meanwhile, the heartbroken Cree wants Izsak back – but Rail still thinks he’s dangerous. Emotions run rampant and mysteries begin to unravel as RE:play continues!”

Volume two of RE:play picks up where volume one left off. Rail continues his questioning about Izsak’s condition and related habits while Cree remains concerned over their friend’s disappearance. Meanwhile Izsak wanders the streets until thoughtful words from a ‘stranger’ bring him back to Rail and Cree’s doorstep.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Tokyopop

Review: Nightmares for Sale (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, April 23, 2008

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Manga-ka: Kaoru Ohashi
Publisher: Aurora Publishing
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: March 2008

Synopsis: “Welcome once again to Shadow’s Pawnshop, where love and reams are sold in the form of mysterious magical items. Containing 7 all-new tales of horror that delve into the deepest, darkest realms of human nature, Nightmares for Sale volume 2 shows that you just may have to give up something unexpected when you bargain with the Devil. Visitors beware! Nothing comes without a price!”

Nightmares for Sale, volume two, continues the formula that volume one began: short stories involving different people’s ‘life lessons’ at the hands of the devil, Shadow and his witch acquaintance, Maria. Running out of a small pawnshop most of the time, Shadow offers what seem like normal items to visitors, often with a lesson to teach and the harshest of prices to pay. This book contains seven such stories.

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Categories: Reviews

Review: Psychic Power Nanaki (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, April 22, 2008

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Manga-ka: Ryo Saenagi
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: March 2008Synopsis: “Our hero, Nanaki, is training to be a psychic investigator for the Lock Agency. His cocky attitude gets him into trouble often enough, but now it’s his psychic abilities that giving him a headache. First he has a female stalker trying to prove he is psychic, and then his partner, Aoi, is kidnapped by a crystal gazer! Will Nanaki be able to dodge the stalker and save his partner in time?”

The contrasting duo of Nanaki and Ao return in this second volume of Psychic Power Nanaki. Recap: After getting hit by a car, Nanaki awoke to discover he has numerous psychic abilities, ranging from telepathy to teleportation. Recruited by the mysterious organization known as the LOCK Agency, Nanaki is partnered with the youthful-appearance, but dry in personality, Ao. Random adventures insue.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Tokyopop

Review: Boys Be (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, April 21, 2008

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Author: Itabashi Masahiro
Manga-ka: Tamakoshi Hiroyuki
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: November 2004

Synopsis: “A benched jock finds his game in the nightclubs of Shinjuku; an otaku gets more cosplay action than he can handle; two best friends eye the same hot girl. These guys aren’t exceptionally strong, brilliant or infused with mutant powers – they’re ordinary guys discovering love for the first time. Whether you’re a guy looking for tips, or you’re a girl trying to understand what makes guys tick, you’ll find all the answers inside.”

Following the romantic entanglements of the average Joe, Boys Be is a collection of short stories spanning from Judo players to otaku to happy reindeer.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Tokyopop

Review: After School Nightmare (Vol. 05)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, April 20, 2008

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Manga-ka: Setona Mizushiro
Publisher: Go!Comi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: October 2007

Synopsis: “This dream draws blood… Things are heating up in both worlds! Determined to prove himself as a guy, Mashiro goes the distance to win Kureha. But will the new power of their bond survive the most shocking revelation so far – the true identity of the malevolent knight?”

In this volume, Mashiro continues his internal struggle over his physical body, one both male and female. Tormented by his own indecisiveness, fuelled in part by the mysterious after school dream classes he attends, Mashiro decides it’s time for his relationship with Kureha to reach the next level, seeking self-acceptance for his decision to live as a man. Sou continues his advances on Mashiro, while he himself is tormented by an even more sinister shadow in the form of his sister, and Kureha begins realizing that she wants more from Mashiro than he’s aware he’s giving her. Characters take some big steps in volume five of this psychological series. Some minor spoilers in remaining review.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: GoComi