Zone-00

Welcome to Kuriousity

News, reviews and features with a focus on manga, self-published works and a Canadian perspective. Enjoy fulfilling your Kuriousity!

SITE RETIRED - Thank you for the years of support and readership!

Posts Tagged Black Bird

PR: Viz Media’s Black Bird Manga Series Takes Flight in a New Box Set Edition

VIZ MEDIA’S BLACK BIRD MANGA SERIES TAKES FLIGHT IN A NEW BOX SET EDITION

Catch The Entire Romantic Supernatural Adventure In This Complete Box Set; Release Also Features Exclusive Bonus Hardcover Art Book

San Francisco, CA, September 25, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, ignites the passions of readers with the release on October 21st of the manga (graphic novel) box set for creator Kanoko Sakurakoji’s hit supernatural fantasy series, BLACK BIRD.

The BLACK BIRD Complete Box Set features the entire series run of 18 volumes and will be released under the Shojo Beat imprint. The set is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and will carry an MSRP of $149.99 U.S. / CAN. With an exclusive bonus premium art book and substantial savings over buying the individual volumes, the BLACK BIRD box set will make a notable addition to any fan’s manga collection.

In BLACK BIRD, there is a world of myth and magic that intersects ours, and only a special few can see it. Misao Harada is one such person, and she wants nothing to do with magical realms. She just wants to have a normal high school life and maybe get a boyfriend. But she is the bride of demon prophecy, and her blood grants incredible powers, her flesh immortality. Now the demon realm is fighting over the right to her hand…or her life!

Read more…


PR: More From Shojo Beat This Fall Incl Time Drama YUKARISM and New Vampire Knight

VIZ MEDIA ADDS MORE TITLES TO SHOJO BEAT
FALL 2014 PUBLISHING SCHEDULE WITH NEW MANGA RELEASES

North America’s Leading Shojo Manga Imprint Adds BLACK BIRD COMPLETE BOX SET, Multiple Releases For International Bestseller VAMPIRE KNIGHT And The Premiere Of Time Travel Drama YUKARISM

San Francisco, CA, March 7, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, presents magical realms, time travel and gorgeous gothic vampires as it announces the acquisition by its Shojo Beat imprint of new releases for BLACK BIRD, VAMPIRE KNIGHT and a brand new series, YUKARISM, that are scheduled to debut during the Fall of 2014.

Fans can look forward to the time-traveling historical drama of YUKARISM, by esteemed creator Chika Shiomi, and can collect the entirety of the award-winning supernatural adventure BLACK BIRD in a deluxe box set. The final volume of Matsuri Hino’s gothic melodrama, VAMPIRE KNIGHT, will receive a Limited Edition treatment this Fall, and the second half of the series will be collected in a “Night Class” box set. Also of special interest will be VAMPIRE KNIGHT: FLEETING DREAMS, a volume of short stories featuring special illustrations by Matsuri Hino!

YUKARISM and VAMPIRE KNIGHT Volume 19 will debut in print and also digitally on VIZManga.com and the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch, Android-powered smart phones. They will also be avaialble on the NOOK, Kindle Fire, and Kobo ereaders, as well as in the iBooks and Google Play Stores.

BLACK BIRD COMPLETE MANGA BOX SET• Rated ‘T+’ For Older Teens •
MSRP: $149.99 U.S. / $149.99 CAN • Available October 2014

There is a world of myth and magic that intersects ours, and only a special few can see it. Misao Harada is one such person, and she wants nothing to do with magical realms. She just wants to have a normal high school life and maybe get a boyfriend. But she is the bride of demon prophecy, and her blood grants incredible powers, her flesh immortality. Now the demon realm is fighting over the right to her hand…or her life! Creator Kanoko Sakurakouji won the 54th annual Shogakukan Manga Award for BLACK BIRD. This box set includes volumes 1-18, comprising the entire series, and a mini art book premium.

VAMPIRE KNIGHT LIMITED EDITION VOLUME 19 (SERIES FINALE)
• Rated ‘T+’ For Older Teens • MSRP: $15.99 U.S. / $18.99 CAN •
Available October 2014

Catch the final volume of VAMPIRE KNIGHT in a special limited edition featuring an alternate cover and mini art book. In the acclaimed series created by Matsuri Hino, Cross Academy is attended by two groups of students: the Day Class and the Night Class. At twilight, when the students of the Day Class return to their dorm, they cross paths with the Night Class on their way to school. Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the Guardians of the school, protecting the Day Class from the Academy’s dark secret: the Night Class is full of vampires! The Volume 19 regular edition will also be available to readers.

VAMPIRE KNIGHT: FLEETING DREAMS • MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN •
Available December 2014

A collection of short stories by Ayuna Fujisaki, based on the VAMPIRE KNIGHT manga series, featuring special illustrations and a full-color fold out by Matsuri Hino! In “Deranged Love,” a dying Rido reflects on his obsessive love for Juri. Kaname wants to reward Yuki for doing well on her studies with tutor Aido in “Gifts for Yuki.” The story of Sara’s first love is revealed in “Hidden Love.” In “Queen of the Abyss,” after Zero parts ways with Yuki and returns to being a vampire hunter, he encounters a vampire named Shien. “The Melancholy of White Lily” features a tale of the bond between Zero and Cross Academy’s wild horse, and finally the students at Cross Academy find a time capsule on campus in “In a Thousand Years.”

VAMPIRE KNIGHT MANGA BOX SET 2 • Rated ‘T+’ For Older Teens • MSRP: $89.99 U.S. / $99.99 CAN • Available November 2014
The second box set completes the acclaimed series, and includes vols. 11-19 along with a premium mini art book.

YUKARISM • Rated ‘T+’ For Older Teens • MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN • Available in Print & Digital December 2014
Yukari Kobayakawa, an accomplished author at the age of 17, writes with amazingly accurate details about historical Japan. It turns out he has the ability to travel back in time – to his past life as a renowned courtesan in the Edo period! As he goes back and forth between the past and present, he also unravels the karmic relationship he has with his beautiful classmate Mahoro Tachibana… Catch the gorgeously illustrated historical romance from Chika Shiomi, the creator of YURARA and RASETSU (also available from VIZ Media).

Read more…


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – May 8, 2013

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - May 8, 2013

Oops on my belated posting of last week’s On The Shelf! But I was at TCAF, so can you blame me? I’ll have some write-ups on my recent trip there later this week. You can read my thoughts on last week’s new manga by checking out On The Shelf  for May 8, 2013 with this week’s new manga coming soon!

Bakuman (Vol.19) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Black Bird (Vol.16) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Bleach 3-in-1 (Vol.05) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Claymore (Vol.22) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Dance in the Vampire Bund (Vol.14) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Dengeki Daisy (Vol.12) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Heroman (Vol.04) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Hunter x Hunter (Vol.30) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
La Corda Doro (Vol.17) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Naruto 3-in-1 (Vol.05) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Naruto (Vol.61) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Otomen (Vol.15) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Pokémon Adventures (Vol.16) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Psyren (Vol.10) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Strobe Edge (Vol.04) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Tegami Bachi (Vol.13) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Wandering Son (Vol.04) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
We Were There (Vol.16) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]
Zero’s Familiar Omnibus (Vol.01) [Amazon CANAmazon US, RightStuf]


Review: Black Bird (Vol. 08)

Black Bird (Vol. 08)
Buy From Amazon.ca!Buy From Amazon.com!

Manga-ka: Kanoko Sakurakoji
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: May 2011

Synopsis: “Raiko, the demon hunter who has been staying at Misao’s house, is determined to save her–even if that’s the last thing she wants! Kyo won’t allow a threat to Misao to go unchecked and plans to take care of the problem in his own special way. Misao, however, hopes that she can broker a peace between Raiko and Kyo before things get out of hand. But when Raiko’s attempts to “free” Misao fail, he hatches a devious new plan that will use Misao’s bond with Kyo to destroy him!”

Raiko has become one of the biggest obstacles in Black Bird as the demons remain rightfully wary of him. Meanwhile Misao struggles to live calmly under the same roof as someone who wants to kill her boyfriend. At this point in the story we’re just waiting for the obvious and this volume feels like one of the most cliched and predictable of the batch. It still manages to wring out some drama but you need to suspend a lot of belief and try to enjoy the show despite easily guessing much of what’s going to happen next.

Read more…


ANN Review: Black Bird (Vol. 07)

ANN Review: Black Bird (Vol. 07)

It’s more trashy shoujo time (which is not always a bad thing!) as I review volume seven of Black Bird over at AnimeNewsNetwork.

Oh, Black Bird. Seven volumes in and I still keep buying and reading. Rarely reviewing though since I don’t find I have anything new to say past creepy. Sometimes it manages to be endearing, and there’s always that ‘what’s going to happen next?’ vibe to keep you reading, but the voice in my head telling me to give up on it just keeps screaming louder and louder. I can fully admit I can gloss over some non-con in manga (The Tyrant Who Falls In Love was my pick of the month for January after all), but in Black Bird there’s so much emotional and mental manipulation. It actually bothered me more rereading the series again before this review. Watching the lead character get slowly molded into this weepy docile dependent on her demon-‘lover’ is so… geh.

On another note, one of the comments on the Black Bird review also got me thinking how people perceive the way reviewers post things on ANN. While I can’t speak for everyone as,well, I’m obviously not them, I can say that I choose what I want to buy, read and review for ANN so there’s no ‘choosing the right critic’. I read Black Bird, had something to say, and said it – so… yeah? Just thought it was worth clearing up that I’m not assigned books or anything. The more you know!


Review: Black Bird (Vol. 02)

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kanoko Sakurakoji
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2009

Synopsis: “Kyo, the head of the Tengu demon clan, is Misao’s only chance for survival. But even though she has sweet memories of him as a childhood friend, she has trouble reconciling them with the man he has become. Despite the strange attraction she feels for Kyo, can she trust her life, let alone her heart, to a man who only cares about the promise of her blood?”

Black Bird left a sour taste in many a mind of readers with the abusive relationship forming in its first volume. But in volume two the author steps back from the violent encounters and deviant objectives of those now plaguing Misao’s life to give the series something a proclaimed-romance really needs – some honest affection.

Read more…


Review: Black Bird (Vol. 01)

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kanoko Sakurakoji
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “Everything changes one day when Misao is attacked by a demon. Her childhood friend Kyo suddenly returns to save her and tend to her cuts–with his tongue! It turns out Misao is the bride of prophecy, whose blood gives power to the demon clan who claims her. But most demons want to keep her power for themselves–by eating her! Now Misao is just trying to stay alive…and decide if she likes it when Kyo licks her wounds.”

Waiting for the day when her childhood Prince Charming will return, high school student’s Misao’s life is flipped upside down when a demon attack leads her to learn that she is a ‘bride of prophecy’. Now demons of every shape and size are after her, seeking her special blood which will imbue them with great power, and though she thankfully finds herself rescued by a familiar face from her past, Misao unfortunately realizes his intentions don’t seem entirely pure either.

Read more…


Take me back to the top!