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Review Archive

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

Review: Physical Attraction

Posted by Shannon Fay on Wednesday, April 21, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Manga-ka: Tatsumi Kaiya
Publisher: June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: January 2010

Synopsis: “I first met the cool and handsome Narusawa in college. Interested, I approached and said to him half-jokingly,”Let me do you next time.” …that very same day, he was the one who ended up doing me! Then, just when I thought I’d talked myself into believing ours was a purely physical relationship, I came to a sudden realization-I was in love with Narusawa! But I’m always the one calling to see him, and never the other way around. The booty-call has been our only connection-so how can I tell him,”I love you,” now…?! –Kurata”

Physical Attraction is a series of short yaoi stories, ranging from college love to work place drama to a bit of political intrigue. Most of the stories use some kind of boys love cliché as a starting point, but even when the stories are unoriginal they are still solidly told.

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

Review: Yotsuba&! (Vol. 08)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, April 20, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Kiyohiko Azuma
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: All Ages
Release Date: April 2010

Synopsis: “The ranch wasn’t fun, huh? But maybe festivals will be less funner?! (Yotsuba’s playing opposites, ha-ha!) Yotsuba got uninvited to Fuuka’s school for a culr…a clart…a cultural festival! And she didn’t promise Yotsuba there wouldn’t be CAKE! Yotsuba doesn’t want a cake as biiiiiig as Jumbo, nope!! You wouldn’t either, now would you?! Ohhh! And then, and then! There ISN’T gonna be a great big festival for the whole town to go to! And Yotsuba isn’t gonna work hard and help out there with Ena and Fuuka, nuh-uh! Not even for candy, nooooo way!”

For whatever reason this eighth volume of Yotsuba&! didn’t quite hit the same chord as those recently before it – and believe it that in a series as consistently entertaining as this it’s difficult to find specific flaws. Volume seven though was easily one of the strongest to date so volume eight does come on the heels of some tough-to-beat material. Nevertheless, this is Yotsuba&! so the jokes are still funny and the antics still loveably quirky, even if they didn’t seem to hit those consistent laugh-out-loud levels.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Kiyohiko Azuma, Manga, Yen Press

Review: Hero Tales (Vol. 02)

Posted by Andre Paploo on Sunday, April 18, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: Hiromu Arakawa
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: February 2010

Synopsis: “With the Imperial Army in hot pursuit, Housei leads Taitou and the others on a little detour to the home of his master. But the “mean old devil woman” he had described turns out to be nothing of the sort. Master Kouei is a veritable font of wisdom; in addition to knowing a more covert route into the capital, she is well versed in the legends of the Hokushin-Tenkun. There is much she can teach Taitou as he struggles to control the overwhelming power of his star, but will she have enough time to impart her wisdom before tragedy strikes?”

Hiromu Arakawa brings us yet more of her delightful side project, Hero Tales. She moves the story along at a brisk pace as Taitou meets more of the other destined stars, and we get to take in more of the lush surroundings of this mystical version of ancient China, along with its harsh realities of poverty and corruption. Arakawa excels at creating a fun cast and playing with readers emotions, similar to her work in Full Metal Alchemist, while also creating a compelling view of the lives and scenery of ancient China.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Manga, Yen Press

Review: Vampire Hunter D (Vol. 04)

Posted by Andre Paploo on Friday, April 16, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Manga-ka: Saiko Takaki
Publisher: Digital Manga
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: December 2009

Synopsis: “The City, a tiny metropolis of a few hundred sheltered citizens floating serenely on a seemingly random course a few feet above the ground, has long been thought safe from the predation of marauding monsters. It seems like a paradise – a paradise shattered when an invasion of an apparent vampire threatens the small haven! While the Vampire Hunter known only as “D” struggles to exterminate the scourge, a former denizen of the city, the attractive Lori Knight, and the brash John M. Brasselli Pluto VIII seize control of the city, lurching it onto a new and deadly course. D’s travails are just the beginning…”

In this fourth volume of Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D, D finds himself under the employ of the mayor of a floating city, with a mystery to solve amidst the usual doomed atmosphere of his post-apocalyptic realm. Taking an approach similar to OEL projects, this is a work Digital Manga commissioned themselves, and it presents a complete adaptation of the fourth Vampire Hunter D novel without the usual chapter breaks and cliff hangers of serialized manga. Allowing for a natural yet efficient pace, the story reveals it secrets while also creating questions like a good mystery should. Takaki continues to provide a stunning interpretation of Kikuchi’s work that comes close to the ethereal nature of Yoshitaka Amano’s illustrations, while also providing her own touches to the comic.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: DMP, Manga

Review: Raiders (Vol. 02)

Posted by Andre Paploo on Tuesday, April 13, 2010

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Reviewer: Andre

Manga-ka: JinJun Park
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: March 2010

Synopsis: “Now that the terror of their first meeting has subsided, Irel begins to wonder if his fear of Lamia is unfounded. Despite her troubling diet, she doesn’t seem to relish gnawing Irel’s flesh any more than he does. Both share a common goal: to uncover the mysteries surrounding the blood of Christ. If they work together, they might be able to find the answers they seek. But traveling as a pair might only serve to make them a bigger target for even greater terrors…”

Having found some enjoyment in the mildly controversial first volume, I quickly downed the second instalment of Park’s religious zombie action manwha. It continues to be a fairly light, fast-paced comic, but continues to insert visually striking tidbits that help it stand out from other similar fare. Slick and occasionally startling, the excellent art and mild amounts of gore bring Raiders above what you might expect.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: JinJun Park, Manhwa, Raiders, Yen Press

Review: Arata (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, April 11, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: March 2009

Synopsis: “In a world where humans and gods coexist, Arata is the unfortunate successor to the matriarchal Hime Clan–unfortunate because if he’s not cross-dressing to hide his gender one minute, he’s fleeing for his life the next! When Arata winds up in the modern world and switches places with a boy named Arata Hinohara, it’s a wonder which Arata’s actually better off… Hinohara is the spitting image of Arata, so he suddenly finds himself fighting people after his life! As he navigates through this foreign world filled with power-hungry warriors, who will come to his aid? One thing’s for sure–it’s not easy being Arata!”

Arata opens on a strong note, introducing readers to the story’s first Arata – a confident young man living within a fantasy-world where gods live in swords and a Princess governs over their twelve wielders. Unfortunately Arata finds himself next in line for the royal position, registered as a female at birth to avoid death amidst a clan where females are in low supply but high demand to fulfil tradition. Chaos ensues however when a betrayal leaves the Princess on death’s door and Arata fleeing for his own life as the suspected culprit. His only hope now may rest in the hands of another Arata, one who may share the same face but certainly not the same life.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Arata, Manga, Viz Media, Yuu Watase

Review: Bamboo Blade (Vol. 03)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, April 7, 2010

1 Comment »

Reviewer: Andre

Author: Masashiro Totsuka
Manga-ka: Aguri Igarashi
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: December 2009

Synopsis: “The girls’ kendo meet continues with one victory on the board for Muroe High. Despite her inexperience, Miya’s ferocious shinai is a force to be reckoned with, and Captain Kirino is no pushover either. It’s a tight race until Tamaki reemerges as the bespectacled “Bureiba” to battle in the fifth and final match. But is Tamaki’s weak disguise enough to mask her superior abilities?”

Completing the previous volume’s dramatic tournament while moving on to some fun slice of life moments, Bamboo Blade continues to be an enthralling mix of sports manga and school life comedy. Totsuka and Igarashi provide a pleasant serving of it all again with this volume, nudging along the cast gently while taking some downtime after an intense tournament.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Bamboo Blade, Manga, Yen Press

Review: Ze (Vol. 03)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Monday, April 5, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: Yuki Shimizu
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: August 2009

Synopsis: “When a kotodama-sama dies, his or her kami-sama – a healer made of living paper – typically chooses to die as well, returning to a blank state as “hakushi.” But when Himi’s master passes away, a deep sense of obligation forces him to choose another path. Instead, Himi becomes kami-sama for his master’s estranged son, Genma. Genma is everything Himi’s former kotodama-sama was not – rough, arrogant, brutish – and furthermore, Genma enjoys using Himi for his own selfish pleasure. Is this more torment than Himi can endure? Or will he come to realize that different people show their true feelings in different ways?”

Volume three of Ze is not the kind of book that will leave most readers rooting for the romance – quite the opposite. This is a rough, painful and often downright depressing look into the abused life that a kami-sama (“a healer made of living paper”) lives with his new master for the sake of retaining the wishes of another. But, while the subject of the book is bad, the read itself certainly isn’t.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: 801Media, Boys' Love/Yaoi, Manga

Review: Keeping Luke’s Secret

Posted by Shannon Fay on Saturday, April 3, 2010

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Reviewer: Shannon Fay

Author: Carole Mortimer
Manga-ka: Hinoto Mori
Publisher: Harlequin K.K./SOFTBANK Creative Corp.
Rating: Older Teen (16+)

Synopsis: “Out of the blue, Leonie is asked by Rachel, a renowned actress, to write her biography. Although she has published a biography once before, she has no idea why Rachel chose her as the author. Her doubts about the job deepen with Rachel’s son, Luke, who for some reason relentlessly intimidates her. As Rachel was unmarried when giving birth to Luke, it was one of the biggest scandals at the time. While being aware of his hostile attitude, Leonie is drawn to his cold green eyes, and she decides to accept the job…”

I’ve read a few Harlequin romance manga before and wasn’t that impressed, so I admit I went into Keeping Luke’s Secret with a bit of a bias against it. To the manga’s credit, it managed to hook me from page one and keep me reading until the end. While there are several gaping holes in the plot, I was more concerned with what would happen next when I was reading rather than the inconsistency in each reveal.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: DMP, Manga

Review: Kuriousity (Vol. 01)

Posted by Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, April 1, 2010

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Reviewer: Lissa Pattillo

Manga-ka: MTCopyright
Publisher: Radially Spoof
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: April 2010

Synopsis: “Always up to her nose in manga and eager to share her opinion, it was no surprise to her friends when Kuri decided to tackle the word of reviewing. But with too many books and not enough hours in the day, she soon realized she’d need some major help to tackle them all. It doesn’t take long for her to gather together an amazing assortment of individuals and each with their own unique charms- but now Kuri’s suddenly got more than books on her desk! Anime conventions, forum trolls, scanlation scourges and more – but with deadlines looming, book stacks towering and a million distractions out to thwart them, can the manga crew keep up with their workload or will they need more than luck to help them fulfil their kuriousity?”

A book about manga reviewing, convention planning, manga fans just hanging out and talking about what they love… what madness is this? Brilliant madness – or at least a highly entertaining kind.

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Categories: Misc, Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Global Manga