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Review Archive

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

Review: Tokyo Mew Mew (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, December 1, 2011

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Author: Reiko Yoshida
Manga-ka: Mia Ikumi
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: October 2011

Synopsis: “On her first date with the cutest boy in school, Ichigo is exposed to a mysterious ray that meshes her DNA with that of the endangered Iriomote wildcat. She soon discovers that she has developed super-human abilities and enhanced agility. Her new powers are put to the rest when she leads a team with four other girls, each endowed with special abilities of their own. Together, they must now protect the Earth from an alien menace known as Deep Blue.”

Tokyo Mew Mew comes on the coat tails of Kodansha’s release of Sailor Moon, offering another magical girl story for those eager for another fix. The premises between the series are similar – five girls are all granted special powers that transform them into warriors sporting cute little short-skirt outfits and oddly worded attack names. They’re charged with the duty of protecting the Earth from evil, which in Tokyo Mew Mew‘s case is a group of aliens out to destroy the Earth’s environment by possessing animals.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Kodansha Comics, Manga

Review: Gunslinger Girl – Omnibus (Vol. 03)

Posted by Victoria K Martin on Tuesday, November 29, 2011

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Manga-ka: Yu Aida
Publisher: Seven Seas
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: October 2011

Synopsis: “There is a secret counter-terrorism unit for the Italian government known only as the “Social Welfare Agency.” Its mission: to rescue troubled girls and turn them into heartless cyborg assassins using the latest advances in cyber-technology. The newest inductee into the Agency is a second generation cyborg called Petrushka, who may be the Agency’s most powerful operative yet. Petrushka is given a formidable trial-by-fire mission, together with her handler Allesandro, to foil an assassination attempt. Can she prove she’s got what it takes in an impossible mission she may not even survive?”

Gunslinger Girl fans, myself included, have waited a very long time for the arrival of this book. The series license was once held by ADV, who started publishing the book, stopped, started again, and then had the whole manga section fold, placing the series in indefinite limbo. Thankfully, Seven Seas stepped in to pick the title up; however, getting to new material took quite some time as the first six volumes were re-published in two omnibus additions. But finally volumes seven and eight are here, together in the third omnibus, and the question about what happens next can finally be answered.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Omnibus, Seven Seas

Review: Butterflies, Flowers (Vol. 08)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, November 27, 2011

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Manga-ka: Yuki Yoshiara
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: November 2011

Synopsis: “Choko Kuze is in a relationship with Masayuki Domoto, her current boss and former servant. Their relationship has withstood interference from the Senior Director as well as Masayuki’s ex-girlfriend. But now Choko is facing an arranged marriage by her father, and Masayuki is doing nothing to stop it…?!”

I can see how this ending is supposed to signify some big turn of the table, a testament to how far the couple has come. That Choko is the one who spends page after page chasing after Masayuki with marriage papers was definitely something, showcasing that their relationship, after seven volumes of ‘growing’, is still decided by one side’s incessant demands. Could it be they haven’t really come very far at all..!?

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Butterflies Flowers, Manga, Shoujo Beat, Viz Media

Review: Afterschool Charisma (Vol. 04)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, November 24, 2011

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Manga-ka: Kumiko Suekane
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: October 2011

Synopsis: “St. Kleio Academy is a very exclusive school. To enroll, a student must be the clone of a historical figure. Wolfgang Mozart, Queen Elizabeth, Sigmund Freud, Marie Curie, Adolf Hitler – with such a combustible student body, it’s only a matter of time before the campus explodes! – Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) – British nurse who made tremendous contributions to the modern nursing system.”

The violence and dark drama of volume three really surprised me, and to my surprise yet again, volume four has taken things a step even further. More characters lose their lives in the attack against St. Kleio Academy and more come face to face with other clones. As the previous generation of clones goes up against their newest incarnations, their individual motivations are a mystery. Some feel they’re doing them a favour, others seek their salvation. The big questions remain – who brought all these clones together and what is their true goal? And what does that mean for the survivors?

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Afterschool Charisma, Manga, Viz Media

Review: Pokemon Black & White (Vol. 04)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, November 21, 2011

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Author: Hidenori Kusaka
Manga-ka: Satoshi Yamamoto
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: All Ages
Release Date: November 2011

Synopsis: “Pokemon trainer Black is exploring the mysterious Unova Regision with his brand-new Pokedex. Pokemon Trainer White runs a thriving talent agency for performing Pokemon. Traveling together, their paths cross with Team Plasma, a group that advocates releasing your Pokemon into the wild! Black’s Munna disappears! Was it Pokemon-napped? Then. Black is attacked by… a Pokemon?!”

Black’s insanely goal-oriented nature is a fun quirk, one that’s all the more interesting since he’s fully aware of it. He’s so focused on winning the Pokemon League that he doesn’t have the brain capacity to think of anything else. To work around it, his Munna leaps upon his head and literally gobbles up his dream, just long enough for him to focus on other things. It’s effective but also sort of creepy. It screams permanent brain damage, at the very least.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Pokemon Adventures, Viz Media

Review: Rin-Ne (Vol. 07)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, November 19, 2011

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Manga-ka: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: November 2011

Synopsis: “When ghosts appear in Sakura’s house she commissions Rinne to find out what’s going on. Rinne’s on cloud nine at the thought of going to Sakura’s house, but when Jumonji and Ageha barge in on them, will the investigation grind to a halt? Ghostly cats, curses and haunted festivals… with all this trouble, Rinne’s definitely got his hands full!”

Rin-Ne has had me on the fence since the beginning. Do I like it or not? At seven volumes, I can finally say that I do. That’s quite a few books into a series to finally be able to say you’re enjoying it. Fortunately having numerous series under her belt offering years of entertainment, means I was willing to give Rumiko Takahashi the benefit of the doubt. Rin-Ne has been a lot like watching someone get a game set-up. First they have to put all the pieces out, make sure everyone knows the rules, let the audience get seated and now they’re finally ready to play the game. And since then, our patience rewarded, it’s been quite a bit of fun.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Media

Review: Arisa (Vol. 05)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, November 17, 2011

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Manga-ka: Natsumi Ando
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: November 2011

Synopsis: “Twin sisters, Arisa and Tsubasa, are separated by their parent’s divorce. But, after her sister’s suicide attempt, Tsubasa is determined to go undercover and unravel the conspiracy behind the elusive King. But, right now, the King’s wish granting abilities may have fallen into the wrong hands…. and the results may prove to be deadly to Tsubasa and Class 2B!”

I’d never found DelRey’s cover synopsis writing useful for determining what to expect in a particular volume. It’s one of the more frustrating attributes carried over to Kodansha Comics. Take this volume’s description, for example, which could be stuck on the back of almost any of the series’ books. Sure it keeps things vague for those who may not have read volumes one to four, but I think each subsequent book should really be for the readers reading them – don’t you? Class trips, stolen phones, a paralysed student, and Manabe’s past all await us in volume five of Arisa.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Arisa, Kodansha Comics, Manga, Shoujo

Review: No Longer Human (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, October 27, 2011

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Author: Osamu Dazai
Manga-ka: Usamaru Furuya
Publisher: Vertical Inc.
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: October 2011

Synopsis: “In honor of the 100th birthday of Osamu Dazai, Usamaru Furuya retells Dazai’s most important work, No Longer Human, in modern-day Tokyo, where modern vices can bring ruin to the self-loathing. Yozo Oba is a young man originally from a well-off family from Japan’s far north and a troubled soul incapable of revealing his true self to others. A weak constitution and the lingering trauma from some abuse administered by a relative has forced him to uphold a facade of hollow jocularity since high school.”

No Longer Human was a breath of fresh air after my recent completion of Drops of God (Vol.01). While the latter wasn’t bad, it definitely lacked the oomph that I’ve come to expect and anticipate of Vertical titles. There was no shortage of that here. As far as Usamaru Furuya’s work goes, No Longer Human nestles nicely between Genkaku Picasso and Lychee Light Club. It’s a compelling look into the most private and hidden elements of a person’s psyche, all told through symbolism, cynicism and unapologetic depictions of sex and despair.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Usamaru Furuya, Vertical Inc

Review: Gate 7 (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, October 20, 2011

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Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: October 2011

Synopsis: “An innocent sightseeing trip to Kyoto opens up a magical realm to shy high schooler Chikahito Takamoto! Visiting a legendary shrine, Chikahito finds himself in the mystical world of Hana and her comrades–and his immunity to their powers leads them to believe that he’s no ordinary, awkward teenager! Protecting our world from violent elemental beasts, Hana and her team welcomes the confused Chikahito–who isn’t quite sure that he wants to be caught in the middle of their war! One’s thing’s certain, though, since he’s smitten with aloof, childlike warrior Hana, he’s along for the ride, for better or worse!”

Buying the first volume of a new CLAMP series is a treat and I’ve been so excited to get a hold of this book for quite some time. I know next to nothing about Gate 7 (I made sure it was so!), excluding my constant following of Dark Horse’s bumpy release attempts. But now it’s finally here and at last I can share my thoughts extending past a disappointed sigh. Gate 7‘s opening volume takes off fast while simultaneously trudging along slowly. None the less, CLAMP’s skill at gripping your eyes with their great artwork and tugging at your heart with their likeable characters still makes Gate 7 an effective opening instalment to their newest series.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: CLAMP, Dark Horse, Gate 7, Manga

Review: My Girlfriend’s a Geek (Vol. 04)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, October 1, 2011

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Author: Pentabu
Manga-ka: Rize Shinba
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: September 2011

Synopsis: “…lately, with Taiga putting some distance between himself and his girlfriend as he tries to buckle down and study hard to get into the academic department of his choice, Yuiko starts getting suspicious that Taiga might have found a little piece of his own on the side! To make matters worse, his attempts at keeping the part-time schoolboy-tutoring gig a secret form Yuiko have only served to stoke the fires of her doubt!! After all is said and done, will Taiga even have a girlfriend to spend his hard-earned money on?!”

Immediate quip about this volume – are Taiga and Kouji long-lost brothers or something? I kid, of course, but the cover artwork makes me very grateful the two have ‘black’ and ‘white’ hair during the actual story. Seeing them both with light brown hair and coloured eyes makes them almost indistinguishable from one another at first glance. Enjoyable as I find the two interacting in the series, Kouji’s appearances in this fourth volume are minimal however as Taiga and Yuiko have some much needed honesty time. … and it’s about time too!

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