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Review Archive

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ANN Review: Maoh Juvenile Remix (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, July 21, 2010

New review posted at AnimeNewsNetwork over this past convention-busy weekend for the first volume of Maoh: Juvenile Remix. You can read this series online over at ShonenSunday.com

I’m really interested to read the second volume of Maoh because I’m pretty stumped on where I think the plot is going to go. The apparent antagonist is interesting too. He reminded me a lot of Griffith from Berserk, as I mentioned in my review. I’ll admit I did chuckle a bit at how dramatically the story emphasized the lead’s ability to make others say his own thoughts out loud though. Yes it’s a pretty crazy power to have but compared to so many other shonen-leads before him, it seemed a little initially silly. Could mean lots for future events though, I’m eager to see how he continues to use them.

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Review: Age Called Blue

Posted by Shannon Fay on Tuesday, July 20, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Est Em
Publisher: Netcomics
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: October 2009

Synopsis: “Forbidden love has a way of intertwining itself with destiny. Nick and Billy share a dream to become rock stars, but the dream comes crashing down the night Nick steals Billy’s guitar and life savings to pay off a debt. The crime breaks down the barrier of friendship between the two boys, revealing a far deeper level of connection than either was willing to admit. However, other members of the band grow tired of Nick’s free-thinking and careless ways. They want the “hippie” out of the band, leaving Billy faced with a heart-wrenching decision. He can either sacrifice his music, a career into which he’s invested countless hours of sweat and blood. Or he can sacrifice the boy who stole his heart long ago…”

Age Called Blue doesn’t feel like a yaoi manga. Instead it feels like a comic that happens to have gay leads. While the focus is on the main characters’ relationship, it’s more complicated than them just being boyfriends. For Nick, Billy is all he has in the world, while for Billy, Nick is the only thing holding him back. The way the characters act is sadly realistic, making this a believable and interesting drama.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, est em, Manga, Netcomics

Review: Yakitate!! Japan (Vol. 23)

Posted by Andre Paploo on Monday, July 19, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Takashi Hashiguchi
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: July 2010

Synopsis: “Young Yamatoya, a spoiled brat with a thing for bread, is back – and this time he’s trying to buy a job as a bread judge. But when master taster Kuro-san decides to teach him a lesson about hard work, Yamatoya realizes he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Later, Azuma’s team Pantasia is in a bind when their next opponent in the “Yakitate!! Japan” baking competition turns out to be an old rival who’s caught in the grip of a powerful mind-controlling substance: miso bread!”

Yakitate Japan offers some signature Shonen Sunday-brand humour, adding a dash of whimsical absurdity to the realm of cooking manga, with its strange yet involving tale of youths struggling to be the best bread-makers in all of Japan. This volume is well into the series, yet is quite accessible to new readers, piquing my curiosity to check out more of this offbeat bakery comic.

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

ANN Review: Chi’s Sweet Home (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, July 12, 2010

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New review posted over at AnimeNewsNetwork – the first volume of Vertical’s new series, Chi’s Sweet Home (Vol. 01).

I already noted in my short Swag Bag post how I’m not a big cat fan and it’s no surprise that’s nothing really changed after reading this book. It was cute, it was colourful, it is a pretty charming book – but it’s not really for me. I just don’t find the cat cute – a little dumb and silly but not over the top adorable as some had insisted I would. Sorry Chi, you tried! Vertical did a great job on the book visually though and I love the paper it’s printed on. The baby talk of the kitten though? Ehhhh… a swing and a miss.

Still, you like cats and comics then you should definitely check out Chi’s Sweet Home.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Manga, Vertical Inc

ANN Review: Flower In A Storm (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, July 10, 2010

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A new review of mine’s been posted over on AnimeNewsNetwork – this time for one of Viz Media’s new shoujo series, Flower In A Storm.

Overall I was really underwhelmed by this manga, falls on the dull side of things. It definitely lacks the hook-factor that many other shoujos have, though I suppose it helps to have one less addictive series growing on my shelf, right? It’s too bad though, a girl with superheroes versus a crazy guy with a gun sounded like it had a lot of promise. Upside though, the flower/gun design on the back of the book is beautiful – very nice work there.

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

Review: One Piece (Vol. 50)

Posted by Shannon Fay on Thursday, July 8, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Eiichiro Oda
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: June 2010

Synopsis: “The Straw Hats are in a desperate battle against time and Gecko Moria to get their shadows back before dawn. Gecko Moria unleashes his devasting power of a thousand shadows, but Luffy counters back with his “Gear” powers. To save his crew, will Luffy have to make the ultimate sacrifice?”

Part of One Piece’s charm is its madcap, anything-goes mix of adventure and comedy. The plot sounds like something an eight-year-old might come up with between swigs of Red Bull: our cast of heroic pirates run into one of the seven warlords of the sea, Gecko Moria, a bad guy who steals the crews’ shadows in order to become more powerful. If they don’t get their shadows back before the sun comes up, they’ll die. With the sun starting to peek over the horizon, Luffy engages Moria in a no-holds brawl in order to save his friends – and that’s just the first couple of chapters! The rest of the book packs in a fight between swordsman Zolo and warlord Kuma, the tragic back-story of a musical skeleton named Brook, and the introduction of a new storyline involving a mermaid and an undersea island. All that and the crazy comedy and action One Piece is known for.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, One Piece, Shonen Jump, Viz Media

Review: Stolen Hearts (Vol. 02)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, July 5, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Miku Sakamoto
Publisher: CMX Manga
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: July 2010

Synopsis: “It’s the holidays and Koguma and Shinobu plan to spend all of their time together. Unfortunately, both have to work on Christmas, but they have special New Year’s plans to look forward to. However, all of the romance and fun might come to a startling halt when Koguma’s older brother Miki takes an interest in Shinobu. Even though Shinobu’s heart belongs to Koguma, she keeps getting caught in compromising situations that quickly raise Koguma’s jealously flag.”

The height-odd couple return for another, and sadly last, volume of Miku Sakamoto’s Stolen Hearts. The tall and kind Kogamu and the short and sweet Shinobu continue their spend their days together happily, helping out of the kimono shop and slipping in some time for just the two of them. Things are moving pretty slowly – will the two ever have their first kiss? – but it’s all so fluffy we’re more than content to let them wade in the romantic shallow end to their heart’s content. But, still what’s a shoujo without some love triangle drama?

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: CMX, Manga

ANN Review: Afterschool Charisma (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, July 4, 2010

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I’ve got a review for the first volume of Afterschool Charisma (Vol. 01) up over at AnimeNewsNetwork so check it out if you’re interested in what I thought of this high school of clones.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. It’s sad knowing the next volume won’t be released until January 2011 but at least if I’m suddenly overcome with the need to read, chapters are still posted on a regular basis over at Viz Media’s Sig IKKI website. I still much more prefer my manga in print but the ability to jump into future chapters with their free-to-read website is pretty snazzy – plus makes previewing titles before I buy them a great bonus. On the note of print, I love the design work on this book, looks really great!

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

Review: Fevered Kiss

Posted by Jaime Samms on Tuesday, June 29, 2010

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Reviewer: Jaime Samms

Author: Arika Kuga
Manga-ka: Taishi Zaou
Publisher: DokiDoki
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2009

Synopsis: “On the night of the year-end party, in high spirits and under the influence of the party’s free-flowing alcohol, Satori ends up sleeping with Asou. Since then, every day that Asou comes over, he does nothing beyond kiss Satori over and over, and as much as it perplexes him, Satori is unable to resist his advances. But one day Satori hears a nasty rumor that Asou has a girlfriend!”

This is the first boys’ love novel I’ve read that isn’t a June publication, though it is published by another Digital Manga imprint, Doki Doki. I enjoyed it – for some reason, it had a different feel to the prose. It maybe sounded a little less like it had been translated from Japanese than the June novels tend to do, and a little more like the English you might expect from a native speaker. I don’t know that either style is necessary better, or even that I like one or the other better. They’re just different.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, DMP, Doki Doki, Light Novels

Review: Domu

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, June 27, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Katsuhiro Otomo
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2001

Synopsis: “A twisted old man, gifted with extrasensory powers, holds silent sway over an entire block of apartments, its occupants puppets for him to control. Life is hits to give… and to take. But suddenly there is a new voice in his head, and before he knows it, a young girl with her own battery of psychic abilities arrives to challenge him. Soon, the sprawling complex becomes a battleground between two minds possessing incredible, unimaginable power.”

A public housing complex is Japan has been inexplicably struck with a rash of suicides, murders and unidentified deaths. With over twenty deaths in two years, local police officers are nearing their wits ends trying to piece together what little information they have in the hopes of discovering the cause of these occurrences and to put a stop to them. While a number of unique individuals catch their eye in this seemingly ordinary facility, the true nature of the case reveals itself too late in scope while still maintaining the secrecy of its origins.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Dark Horse, Manga