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Review Archive

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

ANN Review: My Girlfriend’s A Geek (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, May 20, 2010

Yesterday my review of Yen Press’s My Girlfriend’s a Geek (Vol. 01) was posted over at AnimeNewsNetwork. I’m glad to see readers curious about checking out the series in the comments and some already-fans.

This was a series I’d been really eager to read since Yen Press announced it. A series about a guy dealing with his girlfriend’s obsession with yaoi sounded like it could be ripe with great humour potential if handled correctly. Well the series definitely isn’t disappointing – I adored the first volume. I laughed out loud a couple times and found the romantic element of the series really endearing, at least from the angle of the male lead. There isn’t much in the way of romance coming from the girl unless you count her endless fantasies about boys loving other boys.

A shout-out thanks to my local comic store Strange Adventures for again providing me with all the best goodies to purchase each Wednesday :)

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

Review: The World I Create

Posted by Andre Paploo on Wednesday, May 19, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Ayami Kazama
Publisher: CMX Manga
Rating: All Ages
Release Date: January 2010

Synopsis: “Being a “Projectionist” can bring lots of money and fame, but only if you are good at it. If you want to become one, first you need to have the power to cast a four-dimensional image. Then it’s really important to be able to hone and perfect your projecting abilities. The best place to do that, of course, is at a high school filled with other aspiring Projectionists. Step into this multidimensional world with a very special student body!”

A gentle walk into the world of fantasy and romance, The World I Create offers a bit of sweet whimsy that never overstays its welcome. Taking fairly standard school and fantasy manga aspects, its strong focus on character relationships and endearing art style makes for an appealing stand-alone volume of work. Offering a more complete story then most stand-alone manga works as well, it makes a great addition to any collection.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: CMX, Manga

Review: Genghis Khan

Posted by Andre Paploo on Tuesday, May 18, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Nakaba Higurashi
Publisher: CMX Manga
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: May 2009

Synopsis: “Temujin (later to be called Genghis Khan) was born to the leader of a Mongolian clan with all portents of greatness: a glowing face and fire in his eyes. When Temujin is 11 years old, he meets a boy from another tribe–Jamuqa–while hunting down a deer. Before they can decide who will keep the kill, they save each other from stalking wolves. To honour their newly established friendship, the two boys become blood brothers, swearing eternal loyalty to each other as long as they shall live. After some years, however, both Temujin and Jamuqa have the ambition to contend for supremacy of Mongolia, and they become enemies. ”

Adaptations can be a difficult process, and despite some solid artistic skills, Nakaba Higurashi’s presentation of Morimura’s story leaves a bit to be desired. Full of sweeping nomadic images, it’s impact is softened by frequent jumps in narrative, a lack of focus, and a more sedate pace then usual for action manga. Ultimately it emerges as a pleasant yet flawed work, conveying a fragmented tale of tragedy as Khan starts his quest for greatness.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: CMX, Manga

Review: The Battle of Genryu (Vol. 01)

Posted by Andre Paploo on Sunday, May 16, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Shouko Fukaki
Publisher: CMX Manga
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “Jin’s a happy, irresponsible high school kid with extraordinary powers. The problem is, they only show up once a month. He’s got a great group of friends, including the attractive Fusano, who takes her own fighting skills way more seriously than Jin does. But that all changes when some tough guys challenge him on one of the days when he isn’t powered up. Turns out they were hired by his estranged brother Soichiro, who is after something that Jin possesses. And when Soichiro later attacks Fusano, the war between brothers is on.”

With this entry into martial arts manga, CMX’s Flex Comics offers a fairly solid, action-oriented series to its readers. While similar to many “teen randomly has extreme natural talent in beating people up“ plots, an air of mystery and a blend of kinetic, distinctive artwork puts this title slightly ahead of the pack.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: CMX, Manga

Review: Otomen (Vol. 06)

Posted by Shannon Fay on Saturday, May 15, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Aya Kanno
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: May 2010

Synopsis: “Having Girly Hobbies Doesn’t Make You Less Manly! Asuka’s protégé Yamato has fallen in love with a girl and needs help winning her over. He pleads with Asuka to go on a practice date with him–and play the role of the girl! Practice makes perfect, but will that be the case for Yamato?”

I like it when a series has a consistent theme. I don’t like it when they run those themes into the ground. At its core, Otomen’s message is a good one: don’t let gender stereotypes get you down. But some of the characters just seem a little extreme, weakening the manga’s moral with their outlandishness. For example, it’s easy to believe that a guy like Asuka could exist in real life: a seemingly manly man who actually adores cute things. But it’s harder to believe that there’s a guy like Kitora who loves flowers to an obsessive level. Unfortunately this volume spends much of its time with those out-there side characters rather than with the more down-to-earth (but also more interesting) leads.

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

ANN Review: Spice & Wolf (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, May 14, 2010

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My first manga review for AnimeNewsNetwork was posted last night – Spice & Wolf (Vol. 01).

I hadn’t read the light novels or anime before reading the manga (though neither is required as it’s a retelling of the same story), though while I didn’t go in expecting much, I was still disappointed. It was a unique sounding premise being overshadowed by the unnecessary sexuality of the lead character (who looks really young in a lot of panels also). I remain sort of curious about where the plot goes from here but volume one didn’t instill much hope in me. Alas?

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: ANN Reviews, Manga, Yen Press

Review: How To Control A Sidecar

Posted by Shannon Fay on Tuesday, May 11, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Makoto Tateno
Publisher: DokiDoki
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: May 2010

Synopsis: “Naive and easy-going Kousaka is a bartender at a local popular hangout place. One night, a couple–a young mischievous, spirited guy and a rich, handsome and well-groomed man walk in. Kousaka noticed that they seemed a bit odd being together-but little did he know, they weren’t there for happy hour drinks! They were there to approach Kousaka and to be a part of their 3-way relationship. When he finally realizes that he is wanted by the two-Kousaka finds himself embroiled in a messy love triangle! Now what will he do?”

Some boys’ love manga can only be enjoyed by stretching your disbelief. For example, in How to Control a Sidecar, one of the characters goes through a horrible trauma, only to brush it off. In real life no one would react the way this guy reacts, but, this isn’t the real world. It’s still a little disconcerting to see a manga casually wave off something like rape, especially since otherwise How to Control a Sidecar is a fun manga.

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

Review: Sarasah (Vol. 03)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, May 10, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manhwa-ga: Ryu Ryang
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: February 2010

Synopsis: “Ji-Hae remains at Ja-Yun’s side as he recovers from the riding accident. She can hardly believe he would risk his life just to save her, but when the flower in her chest flushes with color, it seems to confirm her hopes—Ja-Yun likes her?! Unfortunately, the blooming flower’s scent has aroused the interest of some of the other Nang-Do, and she must tread carefully or risk exposure. Outside the walls of Nang-Meun, dissenters have begun to plot against the queen. With her father and Bub-Min spearheading the investigation, it’s only a matter of time before Ji-Hae is drawn into the political turmoil…”

The character of Ji-Hae is becoming a consistently more tolerable character come this third volume of Sarasah. She hasn’t reached a point of being actually all that likeable yet but she’s already come a long way from the selfish obsessive-stalker that volume one had her so eloquently painted as. Political intrigue and a healthy dose of budding character drama goes a long way in distracting both her and readers from the shallow plot that originally fuelled this out-of-time manhwa series.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manhwa, Yen Press

Review: Oh! My Brother (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, May 8, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Ken Saito
Publisher: CMX
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: October 2009

Synopsis: “Masago is an average high school student who not only doesn’t stand out in a crowd, but who also has to live in the shadow of her very popular and charismatic older brother. Then one day, tragedy strikes when Shiro sacrifices his own life for Masago and gets hit by an oncoming truck. Not too long after — to her shock and confusion — Masago finds herself sharing her own body with the spirit of her deceased brother. Needless to say, life is about to get very complicated for Masago!”

In Oh! My Brother, a sudden accident leads to the death of Shiro, a well-beloved student at his high school renowned for his talent, intelligence and charisma. Left behind is his younger sister, Masago, who shoulders the guilt of his death. But, she soon realizes she’s shouldering much more than that when the spirit of her deceased brother inhabits her body to fulfill his unfinished business. A series that’s both entertaining and endearing, Oh My Brother! takes what could be a creepy premise and drives it in endearing directions.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: CMX, Manga

Review: Cute Devil

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Friday, May 7, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Hiro Madarame
Publisher: BLU
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: May 2010

Synopsis: “Tohru Akiyoshi is comfortable in life with his top grades and student council responsibilities. Only problem is he’s got a complex about his effeminate looks. And to make matters worse, the prettiest boy in school, Fuuta Naruse, not only comes onto him… he downright jumps him! Behind that mask of innocent beauty, Fuuta’s got a savage streak, and he’ll stop at nothing to make Akiyoshi his!”

For those who have read their share of boys’ love stories, there are a number of things you’ve come to assume they’ll provide: schoolboys, guys prettier than nature generally allows and forceful love justified by genre – to name a few. Cute Devil does what it can to fulfil a number of these expectations – whether or not it succeeds much past that is debatable.

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