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Review Archive

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

Review: RalΩGrad (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, February 21, 2008

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Author: Tsuneo Takano
Manga-ka: Takeshi Obata
Publisher: Viz
Rating: Older Teen(16+)
Released: January 2008

Synopsis: “During a bloody war, a child is born at cost of his mother’s life. From this baby comes forth a huge and powerful dragon born of shadow that lays waste to the landscape. A quick-thinking knight locks the baby in a cage of darkness, where he grows to be a young man, knowing only the kindness of his female tutor. Until the day the Shadows attack…”

After a powerful dragon is found born inside the body of an infant, the child is locked away in a dark cell for fifteen years. When the demonic beings known as Shadows finally overtake the castle, the boy is released in order to defend them all. Of course, like any good shonen story, the now teenage boy, Ral, does indeed save them all… in exchange for some boob groping and women lessons. What? Thus the book has been essentially summed up.

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Review: Poison Cherry Drive

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, February 18, 2008

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Manga-ka: Motoni Modoru
Publisher: Kitty Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released:

Synopsis: “The rumors are flying all over the net, there exists an unknown group of jack-of-all-trades heroes who will do anything and anyone to grant the wishes of hot hot guys. But there’s always a price for the service – what could they possibly want in exchange?”

Cherry Drive is a group of guys who have put together a jack-of-all-trades service offering themselves up to do whatever their clients ask (of course preferring their clients to be young, virgin gay men). The president, Ai Iida is a sex-crazed individual who created Cherry Drive so he could deflower virgins, or ‘cherries’, while vice president Mamezo Takano believes himself to be a 94 year old man who replenishes himself on the essence of young men. It’s not that difficult to get a kind grasp on what kind of book readers have found themselves with.

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Review: Mail (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, February 17, 2008

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Manga-ka: Housui Yamazaki
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: December 2006

Synopsis: “Private detective Reiji Akiba has a theory about those weird coincidences we all encounter in life. There are actually encounters with the dead – their way of sending us a message. But you may not want to open such strange mail from beyond – not unless you can see the ghostly attachment, like Akiba can. And not unless you carry a tool that can kill what isn’t alive, like Akiba’s sanctified gun Kagutsuchi… digging a divine grave to lay to rest the evil dead!”

From the artist of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery, comes Mail, a horror manga showcasing several short stories of people’s encounters with the deceased and the mysterious detective, Akiba, who comes to their aid.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Dark Horse

Review: Kat & Mouse (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, February 7, 2008

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Writer: Alex de Campi
Artist: Federica Manfredi
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: All Ages
Released: January 2007

Synopsis: “Since her arrival at Dover Academy, the one person Kat has been able to depend on is her best friend Mee-Seen, better known as Mouse. But when Mouse gets a crush on the new art teacher, a misunderstanding comes between the two friends – and a class trip to the art museum only makes it worse! When a famous painting is stolen right under their noses, will Kat and Mouse be able to smooth things out in time to catch the thief?”

School life continues and Kat seems to be fitting in better and better as time goes on but she still can’t get her mind off the ‘Artful Dodger’. With a string of thefts occuring at the school, it’s no wonder people are thinking the thief is back to their old tricks. But there’s other issues needing to be dealt with, such as Mouse’s crush on the new art teacher and thus the insuing drama between best friends.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Tokyopop

Review: Ohikkoshi

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, February 6, 2008

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Manga-ka: Hiroaki Samura
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: October 2006

Synopsis: “Hiroaki Samura’s modern-era romantic comedies are finally available in English! These stories are told with the same bold, kinetic art style and brilliantly paced storytelling that Samura’s Blade of the Immortal epic is famous for – but with a decidedly different attitude. The main offering, Ohikkoshi, follows the turbulent paths of several university students as they fall in lust, form rock bands, ride motorbikes, and try to avoid making life decisions while drunk.”

Ohikkoshi is a small collection of stories set in modern day, following the lives and trials of various people. The first few chapters focus on a group of friends, their changing lives and romantic trials that they juggle amidst rock concerts and alcohol binges. The second story is a more out there tale of a manga creator’s “quest for love” and the often unbelievable, but thus amusing, life struggles she finds herself in.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Dark Horse, Hiroaki Samura

Review: Virtuoso di Amore

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, February 4, 2008

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Manga-ka: Uki Ogasawara
Publisher: DramaQueen
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: December 2006

Synopsis: “Kenzo Shinozuka is a talented but under-appreciated pianist, so when wealthy noblemen Lorenzo Carlucci offers to be his patron, he leaps at the chance. However, being patronized by Carlucci exacts a price that the pianist may not want to pay. For Carlucci is an eccentric and demanding patron, whose temperant often clashes with Kenzo’s own stubbornness. The friction between patron and artist threatens to drive them both to the brink of madness, or that of desire.”

Kenzo Shinozuka finds himself employed by the mysterious and rich Lorenzo Carlucci, a man who asks nothing else of the young talented pianist but to live in his home and play the piano for him. Kenzo is a bit unsure about Lorenzo’s intentions but realizes that the men seems very familiar to him, a figure from his past. With Lorenzo breathing down his neck to be a better pianist, and the two of them soon embracing to do more than play piano together, Kenzo finds himself swept up in the man’s troubled present and both their turmoil pasts.

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

Review: Can’t Win With You! (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, February 3, 2008

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Author: Satosumi Takaguchi
Manga-ka: Yukine Honami
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Young Adults (16+)
Released: January 2008

Synopsis: “When class president Sango Tsutsui and the other student administrators end up sequestered away at a director’s meeting, Yuuhi-kun is left back at the school, alone and defenseless. Will Yuuhi’s naive, country ways make him fair game for the Ezaki trio? Or will Tsutsui-san return in the nick of time to save him? Could it be that absence truly makes the heart grow fonder – are Yuuhi and Sango ready to take their strange relationship to (gasp!)… the next level?!”

The escapades and exploits of the Shuuki Academy continue in volume two of Can’t Win With You! Yuuhi continues to struggle against the law-ignoring Ezaki trio, who are bent are living how they see fit in the school despite what their new resident advisor has to say about it. Meanwhile Miki and Houjou seem to be struggling through one lover’s spat after another and it’s making things even harder to deal with around the already drama-drenched school!

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

Review: Kat & Mouse (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, January 30, 2008

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Writer: Alex de Campi
Artist: Federica Manfredi
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: 8+
Released: July 2006

Synopsis: “When Kat’s dad gets a job as a science teacher, things seem perfect – that is, until Kat’s rich, popular classmates shove her to the bottom of the social heap for being smart. And bad turns to worse when an anonymous student blackmails Kat’s dad to give the class better grades! Can Kat and her new friend, the rebellious computer nerd Mouse, find the real culprits before Kat’s dad loses his job?”

From page one, Kat & Mouse is a story that stepped straight out of after-school television. Starring a small, but all stereotype-inclusive cast, it’s perfectly aimed at its 8-12 market with the tackling of everyday issues following the life of the new kid. Of course, Kat isn’t just any new kid and seems ready with her brains and charisma to take whatever the new school throws at her, from snobbish rich kids to an embarrassing first meet with the impending crush.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Tokyopop

Review: Enslaved by the Dragon

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, January 29, 2008

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Author: Laila Reimoz
Artist: Studio Kosaru
Publisher: YaoiPress
Rating: 18+
Released: September 2005

Synopsis: “The street punk Noah made the mistake of pick-pocketing a crime lord right before he had a meeting with an embassy official. When crime lord Tokihiko can’t produce his identification he misses the important meeting. Tokihiko has Noah captured with the intention of torturing him to death. When he sees how beautiful Noah is, he decides to make him his slave instead.”

There isn’t really much that can be said for Enslaved by the Dragon that wouldn’t turn into an unnecessary, but unavoidable, drag through the mud. While having a full compiled book one can assume effort was put into it but unfortunately the finished project just really doesn’t show it.

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

Review: Level C (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, January 28, 2008

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Manga-ka: Aoi Futaba/Kurenai Mistuba
Publisher: Kitty Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: March 2005

Synopsis: “Mizuki is a popular male fashion model with a promising future. When the mysterious Haruno sees him, she wants to make him the centrepiece for her company’s latest promotion. To lure Mizuki in, she calls on the talents of her twin brother, Kazuomi. He is quick to seduce the young super-model, but things soon escalate beyond business as usual. As Kazuomi’s feelings run away with him, it looks like true love for him and Mizuki.”

Level C is one of those yaoi titles that any long time fan of the genre has heard of. It’s considered one of the classics and the staples, both the manga and its short OVA. Level C is a generally well-loved series but in different ways for different people; you either love it for being good or you love it for being bad, and probably for all the same reasons.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi