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Review Archive

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

Review: St. Dragon Girl (Vol. 08)

Posted by Andre Paploo on Sunday, September 19, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Natsumi Matsumoto
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: September 2010

Synopsis: “Mio has severed the red string of fate between Ryuga and Momoka that destines them to be soul mates. Momoka wants to tell Ryuga she loves him, but he has fallen victim to Mio’s magic spell. Will Momoka be able to repair her and Ryuga’s destiny?”

St.Dragon Girl’s charming mixture of fantasy, martial arts and flowery shojo visuals comes to a sugary end as Natsumi Matsumoto closes the chapter on Momoka and Ryuga’s youth. The gleeful combination of Chinese and Japanese mythology and adorable details common to Ribon magazine manga leaves a warm impression on its readers, leading one hopeful that VIZ will see fit to import the sequel series promised in the concluding notes.

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

Review: Romeo x Juliet (Omnibus)

Posted by Shannon Fay on Friday, September 17, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Author: William Shakespeare/GONZOxSPWT
Manga-ka: COM
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: July 2010

Synopsis: “For fourteen years, Neo Verona has lived in terror of Lord Montague’s iron rule. But in their despair, a light shines forth! Donning the guise of the Crimson Whirlwind, Juliet Capulet has chosen the path of the mercenary, opposing Montague on behalf of the people. When she falls for a noble who seems sympathetic to her cause, Juliet is devastated to learn he is a Montague!”

It’s always tricky reviewing manga that was based on an anime. It’s tempting to give flaws a pass, as in the back of your mind there’s a voice whispering “Well, maybe they handled it better in the anime.” But eventually, like anything and not just manga, you have to look at it on its own terms and not in relation to something else. With that in mind, Romeo and Juliet is a fun manga. There are certain rushed plot points, but maybe they were handled better in the – oops, sorry, won’t happen again.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Yen Press

Review: Bleach (Vol. 32)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, September 16, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Tite Kubo
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: September 2010

Synopsis: “After healing Ichigo’s terrible wounds so that he can face the diabolic Grimmjow at full strength, Orihime must watch from the sidelines as the two battle. Orihime tries to convince herself that Ichigo will be all right, but she can’t help but be worried about him. And when Grimmjow taunts Ichigo into releasing his Hollow self, her confidence in her friend begins to waver.”

Bleach’s bulk cast members are set aside in this thirty-second volume as the stage is set upon by lead hero Ichigo and biggest-personality bad guy, Grimmjow. Alas to fans of Uryuu, Chad, Renji or the other Shinigami but there’s still some reason to feel some excitement as the injuries start tallying and the blood starts to boil. Not to mention it’s about darn time they got to it.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Bleach, Manga, Shonen Jump, Viz Media

ANN Review: Toriko (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, September 14, 2010

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With volume two of this series coming out shortly, seems like a good time to direct any curious-readers to my review of Toriko (Vol. 01) over at AnimeNewsNetwork.

What to say about this book… well, I definitely liked it. It’s weird, that’s for sure and I’ll admit I didn’t see myself so immediately warming up to a story about a huge musclely food-disposer beating up giant beasts with his own bare hands for the sake of a tasty meal. Who would’ve thought? Toriko is sort of gross but also sort of endearing in his own beefy shonen-hero sort of way. His little sidekick chef also kept reminding me of Kuririn (from Dragonball) which I swear had no effect on my affection for him. I don’t think.

I’m looking forward to volume two, to see how these culinary-quests play out.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Manga, Toriko, Viz Media

Review: Seiho Boys High School (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, September 12, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kaneyoshi Izumi
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: October 2010

Synopsis: “Make may be the nice guy on campus, but he’s hiding a painful past. He’ll ned the help of his friends to get over it and find love. And when a local girl stops by the school to ask the boys to play the role of her boyfriend, will some take things too far?”

While the first volume of Seiho Boys High School quickly fell victim to a girl-of-the-day formula, this second book takes a distinctly different direction of storytelling and it’s all for the best. Choosing to follow a single relationship predominantly through the book, and one that could have lasting effects on the story to come, makes this a volume both important to the plot and a jump in storytelling quality overall.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

ANN Review: The Tyrant Who Falls In Love (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, September 11, 2010

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One of the most long-anticipated releases on my wishlist in the past five years has finally been released this month – The Tyrant Who Falls in Love! I own the series it was spun-off from – Hinako Takanaga’s Challengers – so I’ve been really excited to read a series about its more memorable character.

Over at Anime News Network I reviewed the first volume so you can read my thoughts in mostly-full over there. In summary though, I loved it. It’s definitely not for everyone – some homophobia and non-con scenes – but I had so much fun reading it that it was worth the wait. Extra eager for volume two!

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Boys' Love/Yaoi, Hinako Takanaga, June, Manga

Review: Brilliant Blue (Vol. 01)

Posted by Shannon Fay on Wednesday, September 8, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Saemi Yorita
Publisher: DokiDoki
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: May 2009

Synopsis: “When Shouzo Mita left home, he thought it would be for good. Although he followed his father’s career path as a construction manager, Shouzo never wanted to enter the family business – that is, until dad got laid-up with an injury. Forced to return home and oversee his father’s company, Shouzo finds that a lot of things haven’t changed, but some things have. Nanami, a childhood acquaintance, has gone from being an awkward fatty to a sparkling pretty-boy straight out of a shojo manga. As an electrician contracted to work for Mita, Nanami’s simple, naive charm and healthy appetite manage to flip Shouzo’s switch. With the choice between remaining independent and accepting responsibility for his family even more complicated, what will Shouzo do?”

Brilliant Blue is an interesting yaoi. While the focus is the relationship between Shouzo and Nanami, it’s barely even romantic at this point. The two spend time together and grow closer over the course of the volume but things like work, family and the dynamics of living in a small town make theirs a far from straight forward romance. The drama in Brilliant Blue is refreshing in that it’s the kind of drama that arises naturally out of life.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Doki Doki, Manga

ANN Review: Seiho Boys’ High School (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, September 7, 2010

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Another new shoujo-series from Viz Media was recently released, Seiho Boys’ High School and I reviewed the first volume over at AnimeNewsNetwork.

The majority of reviews I’ve read since completing my own have been pretty different from my own; it makes me a bit hopeful that the series may get better in volume two. Personally I found this first volume on the dull side and rarely as funny as it intended – though it did have some especially memorable lines, I’ll certainly give it that.

It has a potentially fun premise – an all boys’ school on a secluded island and the group of boys who live there dealing with their hormonal selves in the face of limited interaction with women. Take out any notion of guy-on-guy action, since this sounds ripe for boys’ love, and you have the general gist (not that I’m complaining about this not being a boys’ love story, we have plenty already, but the premise seems to demand some clarification).

But the story falls victim to a girl-each-chapter formula as scenarios pop up to allow the boys to interact short-term with a new girl and I started feeling bored of it pretty quickly. Will this repeat for the rest of the series? I never like to judge on the first volume though so I’ll definitely be picking up volume two, though with a bit of admitted hesitance.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Manga, Viz Media

Review: Dorodedoro (Vol. 02)

Posted by Andre Paploo on Monday, September 6, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Q Hayashida
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2010
Synopsis: “Once a year, hordes of the dead rise and roam the streets of the Hole, hungry for live flesh. And every year, Caiman and Nikaido sign up for the local zombie-killing contest! Whoever sends the most zombies back into the ground will win some fantastic prizes. But the fun ends quickly when En’s cleaners finally track down Caiman and Nikaido. Somebody’s going to lose their head. Literally.”

Continuing on the violence and food focused buffet of the previous instalment, Dorohedoro volume two offers us more helpings of this charming ultra-violent manga. While continuing with its constant food references and cheerful, chummy cast of vigilantes and villains, it amps up its stark visuals and draws us further along the plot and the origins of Caiman’s unusual, lizard-headed appearance while also shedding more light onto Nikaido’s mysterious past.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Viz Media

Review: Magic Touch (Vol. 09)

Posted by Andre Paploo on Thursday, September 2, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Izumi Tsubaki
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2010

Synopsis: “For a brief moment, Chiaki fears that another girl is giving Yosuke a massage on the sly. As graduation day approaches, she must untangle her feelings for Yosuke and tell him how she really feels. Love, romance and massage…the exciting conclusion to The Magic Touch!”

Having heard both good and bad things about this series, I decided to undertake a review of the final volume for team Kuriousity. Catching up on the series with a previous volume beforehand, reading this last instalment left me pleasantly surprised. Magic Touch takes a fairly odd concept and delivers an entertaining, offbeat shojo series.

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