Kuriousity | manga reviews and news

Posts Tagged GoComi

Review: Angel’s Coffin

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, May 10, 2009

Manga-ka: You Higuri
Publisher: GoComi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: October 2008

Synopsis: “Seto is a former god imprisoned by a demon, bound to bring misery and misfortune to whomever releases him from his prison. Marie is the daughter of an aristocrat, hopelessly in love with one far above her station. When she unwittingly breaks the seal binding Seto, he agrees to help her win her prince’s heart… but can love overcome the dark fate that awaits her?”

Young Marie finds herself infatuated with her country’s Prince but feels resigned to only watch him from afar. After accidentally releasing a god sealed within a book, Marie is promised the love of her life by the charming, Seto. Though enthralled with the idea of meeting the Prince, Marie doesn’t realize she’s doomed to meet a dark end by the very hands of her helper. Is there charm in a story that builds itself up with a pre-explained ending?

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: GoComi, Manga

Review: Black Sun Silver Moon (Vol. 07)

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, April 29, 2009

2 Comments »

Manga-ka: Tomo Maeda
Publisher: GoComi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2008

Synopsis: “Shikimi remains trapped within his body, tormented by the memories of those he’s killed. His own memories of Taki lend him the strength to survive… but is it enough to overcome the demons when Taki finally fulfills his promises?”

Everything comes full circle here in the seventh, and final, volume of Black Sun Silver Moon as readers are pulled back to the bloody confrontation of the previous book, all in preparation for a page-heavy instalment that manages to leave few questions unanswered.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: GoComi, Manga

Mini Review: After School Nightmare (Vol. 09)

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, April 11, 2009

2 Comments »

After School Nightmare (Vol. 09) – Setona Mizushiro
Published by GoComi

Yet again Setona Mizushiro manages to pull a fast one on readers with some big surprises that contradict the few supposed facts of the series up until now. Admittedly I found it was the very assuredness certain characters had for certain situations that gave me cause to rethink people’s true identities long before now. This unfortunately meant for me that the big ‘surprise!’ moment in this volume didn’t have as much impact as it may’ve otherwise. That said, while one of the revelations may not have held much shock-factor, the following exposition and clearing up just whose-who in the alternate reality dream world was nothing short of ‘whoa!’.

The bulk of the story focuses on Sou and his sister so those who’ve been waiting for the present-day confrontations and past histories explored will be thrilled to finally have this volume in their hands. I found Sou to be the most interesting character in this series which has several uniquely layered characters to choose from. This volume only solidified my reasoning with some deep-rooted psychosis that made for an engaging read. Readers will get a chance to see the world through Sou’s eyes and it’s both eerie and compelling to realize where for him reality ends and fantasy begins.

As a lead character, Mashiro continues to do little for me on any remaining levels of interest for their gender issues. Still, I’m happy to see that they’ve come to accept themselves well enough that by now they’re finally ready to put the whining aside and really give a good look at the people around them. Panel flashbacks to previous volumes made for neat visual comparisons to how Mashiro’s design has changed over these past nine volumes, going from a distinctly male to more feminine in appearance.

Some powerful decisive moments in this ninth volume really kept up this series’ history of being a real page-turner. There’s now only one volume left until the story’s conclusion I can’t wait to read volume ten to see where After School Nightmare ends up after such a winding road.

Review written April 11, 2009 by Lissa Pattillo
Book purchased online from Amazon.ca

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: GoComi, Manga

Review: 07 Ghost (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, April 7, 2009

No Comments »

Author: Yuki Amemiya
Manga-ka: Yukino Ichihara
Publisher: GoComi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: December 2008

Synopsis: “Teased unmercifully for his past as an orphan and a slave, Teito has only his best friend Mikage to ease his days at the elite Barsburg Academy – and his mastery of the magical art of Zaiphon! But even that will not be enough to save him when he discovers a horrifying secret behind the ruling Empire. Trapped in an ancient battle between a wicked God and seven ghosts, guided by three mysterious priests, Teito discovers a power that could save the world… and shed light on his own mysterious past.”

07-Ghost, named for the seven ghosts within it, is a fantasy story that follows Teito: a young man soon to reach graduation at a prestigious military academy, before the appearance of his childhood guardian’s killer appears to wrench up painful memories from the past and sends Teito fleeing to a nearby church of ancient magic, hidden secrets and a bishop prone to bouts of perversity.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: 07 Ghost, GoComi, Manga

Cosplay Ai, Blade of the Immortal Novel on Amazon.ca

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, April 7, 2009

3 Comments »

A couple new finds on Amazon.ca today:

Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon (Del Rey)

“The first novel based on the worldwide sensation! Rendered immortal by an infusion of mystical worms that can repair any wound, the masterless samurai Manji wanders the hillsides of feudal Japan, his quest to slay one hundred evil people to atone for his past sins. By his side is the young woman Rin, an orphan who seeks vengeance for the murders of her parents. Driven in a quest for absolution, the two have faced many deadly challenges, both natural and supernatural. But can they survive their greatest battle against the all-powerful Inugami?”

If this was previously announced, then I missed it which mades me sad because I think it sounds really fun. As a fan and follower of Blade of the Immortal since the manga single-issue ‘floppies’ first hit comic store shelves, I think it’d be great enjoying the series in a different media (anime doesn’t count). I wonder how Manji will translate to prose?

Tokyopop has a listing for something simply titled Saving Life, which may or may not be the manga of the same-name by Girls Bravo creator, Mario Kaneda.

And lastly, GoComi has a listing up for the previously revealed sequel-of-sorts to Aimee Major-Steinberger’s wonderfully charming Japan Ai, titled Cosplay Ai (cover at right). While never having cosplayed myself, I have no doubt that this book will be worth a read and I really look forward it!

Edit: While I appreciate the e-mails from people with a heads-up that I “missed” the Haru Hana manga listing that is also on Amazon.ca, I already posted about that title back in February :)

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing
Tags: Blade of the Immortal, Dark Horse, GoComi, Manga, Tokyopop

New Manga Titles and YouTube Advertising

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, March 9, 2009

4 Comments »

As I work on a round-up post of Animaritime 2009, I’ve been making the manga blogosphere rounds to see what goodies I missed over the weekend.

On the manga licensing front, there were a few new titles I came home to read about:

Brigid has information about five new yaoi titles from NetComics and Ed over at MangaCast posts about new listings in Diamond previews: Peach! by U-Jin, put out Aurora Publishing, and Fujita Maki’s Trill on Eden being put out by GoComi. Trill of Eden is a title first spotted on Amazon in December.

Lys-chan found some new CMX titles on Amazon which she posts about on her LiveJournal: A Tale of an Unknown Country by Natsuna Kawase and Oh! My Brother by Ken Saito. I also came across a listing for Deka Kyoushi by Tamio Baba (pictured at left).

And though I didn’t have time to post about it before heading out for convention-y goodness, Digital Manga has a post about YouTube manga previews they’ve put together as promotion and preview for several of their recent and upcoming boys’ love releases. These titles include the previously released Black Sun and the long-awaited sixth volume of Our Kingdom.

Taking a brief moment to catch up on the anime-world in Canada, those who watched the premiere of Pretty Cure on YTV over the weekend have good things to say about it, including a pleasant dub job and, from what they can tell, no edits or censoring. I can’t wait to catch an episode but the 7:30am and 4:30pm on Fridays showtimes are likely going to make this a difficult thing to manage. Darn you work and school!

On the less positive anime front in Canada, Bandai Entertainment’s free YouTube streaming of Gundam 00’s first couple of episodes isn’t available in Canada. Phooey. Then again, Code Geass did become available to us eventually…

And to finish this round-up post with something else anime-related (crazy, no?), I have to post a link to ANN’s news that Takako Shimura’s Aoi Hana is getting an anime. I love the manga so I’ll definitely be adding it to my short of list of animes I look forward to previewing when they become available.

Keep your eyes peeled in the near future for a post about this past weekend’s Animaritime including a quick peek at my newly acquired swag, which will be a very good indication of the reviews you can expect to see here at Kuriousity over the next month or so :)

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Licensing
Tags: Anime, Boys' Love/Yaoi, Canada, GoComi, Manga

Review: Cross x Break (Vol. 02)

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, December 30, 2008

No Comments »

Manga-ka: Duo Brand
Publisher: Go!Comi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: December 2008

Synopsis: “Akito and Neon set out with the mysterious skipper Haran in search of medicine to save Yaya’s life. Their search leads them straight to Neon’s home town, where Neon has been branded a criminal. Can Akira help eon restore his people’s faith in him before it’s too late? And will Haran’s demand that Akito play for him in dangeros circumstances lead to their capture at the hands of the deadly warlocks?”

I keep being surprised while I’m reading Cross x Break that’s it a Duo Brand book. I’ve read several of their boys’ love series, and though this series does have its teasing moments, it still has a dramatically different tone. There’s a lot more focus on humour and a sense of pacing that’s both exciting but erratic. Is it a shonen-like shoujo or a shoujo-like shonen? I can’t say for sure, but it’s neat reading a series by a team who are, to my knowledge, best known for one genre but whom are still capable of doing a notable job on another.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: GoComi

Review: Cross x Break (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, November 2, 2008

1 Comment »

Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Duo Brand
Publisher: Go!Comi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: August 2008

Synopsis: “Akito has always been in her older brother’s shadow, but all that changes when Shinkai sends him to study abroad…though it’s not any “abroad” he’s ever heard ot! Suddenly trapped in a world full of warlocks, poisonous bugs and more than a few secrets, Akito and his friend Yaya have nothing to rely on but their wits and the help of a mysterious benefactor named Neon…who seems to know a little too much about Akito’s brother!”

When Akito makes the mistake of telling his older brother that he wished to see the world, he unexpectedly set himself up for a sudden trip to another dimension. Trapped there with his childhood friend, a timid and odd young girl named Yaya, Akito must try to find his way home and kick his brother’s ass when he does!

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: GoComi

Review: Tenshi Ja Nai!! (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, September 24, 2008

No Comments »

Manga-ka: Takako Shigematsu
Publisher: Go!Comi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: October 2005

Synopsis: “In the play of life, all Hikaru wanted was to be part of the scenery, but fate had other ideas. When the 15-year-old introvert transfers to an all-girls academy, her new roommate turns out to be the super-popular TV idol Izumi Kido! As if living with a celebrity wasn’t bad enough, Hikaru discovers that there’s more to Izumi —she’s a he! Now Hikaru’s the unwilling star player in a tale of deception, abduction, humiliation and blackmail… you know—the usual romantic stuff.”

After a short modelling job, Hikaru Takabayashi found her childhood plagued by bullies and insults. Because of this, she’s done her best to avoid the spotlight throughout her life and just be an average girl and to avoid having to move to France, she agrees to her Mother’s plan to enrol her in a prestigious all-girls school. Unfortunately for her background-lurking ways, Hikaru finds herself rooming with a famous TV idol. Not only that, but it seems that the lovely Izumi Kido has more than just some weird habits to hide from the fan girls and paparazzi.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: GoComi

Review: Black Sun Silver Moon (Vol. 06)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, September 18, 2008

No Comments »

Manga-ka: Tomo Maeda
Publisher: Go!Comi
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: August 2008

Synopsis: “They say all good things must come to an end… but will this hold true for Shikimi, as well? The half-demon priest was making such good progress, but a fun-filled day in the falling snow turns deadly as his demon half takes over. Will Grey finally win their bet?”

With strange dreams and memories that never fade, Shikimi is starting to act more oddly than usual and he doesn’t seem keen on telling his friends why. After an early snowfall offers fun and frolic for Laz and Taki, it soon spells trouble for everyone when the darkness in Shikimi finally claws its way to the surface.

Share on Tumblr

Categories: Reviews
Tags: GoComi