Kuriousity | manga reviews and news

Posts Tagged Arata

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – March 13, 2013

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

A new Wednesday and a new batch of comics! My knowledge of what day of the week it is often comes from when new books come out, so I’ve really been throwing myself for a loop lately with these late On The Shelf posts. Eep! Not this week though – Wednesday posting, on time!

Without further ado, you can read my thoughts on this week’s new books over at my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

07 Ghost (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
21st Century Boys (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Arata the Legend (Vol.13) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Blade of the Immortal (Vol.26): Blizzard [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
His Favorite (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Neon Genesis Evangelion 3-in-1 (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Paradise Kiss (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Rin-Ne (Vol.11) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Tokyo Babylon (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]

Share on Tumblr

Categories: News, Release Lists
Tags: 07 Ghost, 20th Century Boys, Arata, Arata the Legend, Blade of the Immortal, Boys' Love/Yaoi, CLAMP, Dark Horse, Fullmetal Alchemist, His Favorite, Naoki Urasawa, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Paradise Kiss, Rin-Ne, Shonen Sunday, SuBLime, Tokyo Babylon, Vertical Inc, Viz Media, Viz Signature

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – September 21, 2011

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, September 20, 2011

2 Comments »

It’s Full Metal Alchemist week! Only two volumes left, making tomorrow’s release (Vol. 26) the penultimate installment. With Viz Media‘s trend of stopping series mid-omnibus (which seems rather ridiculous to me!), I’m looking forward to buying the huge boxsetout in November. The whole series, plus some bonuses, all in one go – it’s a beautiful thing.

Back to the here and tomorrow, you can see the list of books released this week over at my Otaku USA: On The Shelf article . My top picks (alongside FMA) are XXXHolic (Vol. 17), Arata the Legend (Vol. 07) and Berserk (Vol.35). Some modern fantasy, overlapping modern/ancient fantasy and then some outright old-fashion, demon-ridden Western-style fantasy – an excellent combination for manga reading this week!

Share on Tumblr

Categories: News, On The Shelf, Release Lists
Tags: Arata, Arata the Legend, CLAMP, Dark Horse, Del Rey, Manga, Natsume Ono, Otaku USA, Seven Seas, Viz Media

Review: Arata (Vol. 06)

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, June 4, 2011

No Comments »

Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (13+)
Release Date: June 2011

Synopsis: “Hinohara discovers to his horror that his tormentor Kadowaki has followed him to Arata’s world. Recalling his suffering, Hinohara flies into a rage that triggers his transformation into a demonic entity!”

My prayers were answered after the Kadowaki-heavy volume five. He’s considerably less present in this sixth book after Hinohara forces a retreat of the group of opposing Sho. It comes with a price however. We learn that as much power as Hinohara’s weapon has for good, in his hands it still has the capability to cause out of control destruction. For the good of the world he aims to save, Hinohara will need to learn to control that temper, but as readers, it’s fantastic to see him get a chance to vent.

Review: Arata (Vol. 05)

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, May 27, 2011

1 Comment »

Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (13+)
Release Date: March 2011

Synopsis: “Hinohara is surprised to learn that Kotoha no longer believes he’s Arata of the Hime clan. Meanwhile, a group within the Twelve Shinsho sets in motion a diabolical plan to eliminate Hinohara!”

After the previous two volumes, I was beginning to lose faith in this series. It hasn’t struck me as Yuu Watase’s strongest work since the get-go but despite that its fine line balance between shonen and shoujo elements and some slick artwork kept me coming back for more. I almost didn’t after the last volume however where it really felt like we were getting nowhere. Despite that it still felt like there was a flurry of activity assaulting us with every page. The result? Pointlessness, or at least what feels like it. Thankfully this fifth volume shifts its gears, and while it trends old ground, it does so in a way that sets in motion some intriguing and suspenseful scenes.

ANN Review: Arata (Vol. 03)

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, October 8, 2010

No Comments »

Another fairly recent Viz release, and one of my most anticipated current titles, I reviewed volume three of Yuu Watase’s Arata for AnimeNewsNetwork in September.

Unfortunately this third volume was a bit of a letdown. It progressed the plot well enough, and had some really well drawn fight scenes, but I kept finding myself confused as to what was going on. It had some scenes that should’ve been really dramatic yet they just fell flat, which was a shame. On the amusing side, this volume had several panels that screamed ‘I was drawn by an assistant!’ so loud that I couldn’t help but have a little chuckle. Poor funny looking background people.

Ah well, hopefully this was just a bump! Speaking of Yuu Watase though, I wonder when the next Genbu Kaiden comes out…

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Arata, Manga, Viz Media, Yuu Watase

Review: Arata (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, April 11, 2010

1 Comment »

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: March 2009

Synopsis: “In a world where humans and gods coexist, Arata is the unfortunate successor to the matriarchal Hime Clan–unfortunate because if he’s not cross-dressing to hide his gender one minute, he’s fleeing for his life the next! When Arata winds up in the modern world and switches places with a boy named Arata Hinohara, it’s a wonder which Arata’s actually better off… Hinohara is the spitting image of Arata, so he suddenly finds himself fighting people after his life! As he navigates through this foreign world filled with power-hungry warriors, who will come to his aid? One thing’s for sure–it’s not easy being Arata!”

Arata opens on a strong note, introducing readers to the story’s first Arata – a confident young man living within a fantasy-world where gods live in swords and a Princess governs over their twelve wielders. Unfortunately Arata finds himself next in line for the royal position, registered as a female at birth to avoid death amidst a clan where females are in low supply but high demand to fulfil tradition. Chaos ensues however when a betrayal leaves the Princess on death’s door and Arata fleeing for his own life as the suspected culprit. His only hope now may rest in the hands of another Arata, one who may share the same face but certainly not the same life.