Rocket Bomber - manga

originally written for and posted on Comicsnob.com [Dec ’06 – May ’08]

The weekly columns are fun, and the watch lists are also certainly an important part of our mission here, but I really should be getting back to our bread-and-butter; dare I say, our whole raison d’être: the comic reviews!

Genshiken: the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, vol. 8
Published by: Del Rey Books
Writer & Artist: Kio Shimoku

208 (182) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2005. US edition March 2007.
Translation & Adaptation: David Ury
Lettering: Michaelis/Carpalis Design
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, ages 16+

Rating: 4 out of 5

##

Premise: The geek field guide turns it’s attention to geek love. [*heart*] …but with a side of yaoi dojinshi.

Synopsis:

Oguie isn’t quite ready to admit her feelings for Sasahara. She likes him, he likes her, but both are a bit socially awkward and shy — so much so that even after advanced plotting and a fair amount of prodding from all of their friends, it still looks like the relationship will never go anywhere.

Is it just that she’s shy, or is there something deeper that prevents Oguie from responding to Sasahara’s confession?

(some things from here on in might be considered spoilers)

##

Ah, geek love. The furious blushing, the uncomfortable silences, the unshakable conviction that even when opportunity knocks, she’s coming for your roommate, not for you.

Volume 8 isn’t the best place to just jump in, but this volume almost works as a stand-alone story; most readers will be fine even if they haven’t been following the series thus far. The focus is on one of the newer members, the manga artist Ogiue, and her struggles on the way to love as she comes to terms with all her emotional baggage: a past that haunts her, a future in art that seems to elude her, and a love she can’t bring herself to accept…

Hey, who spilled all this shoujo crap in my perfectly good otaku paean/parody? [*grin*]

Actually, it’s still the Genshiken you might all remember; a touch of “romance”, if we can use that word for this manga, has always been a part of the series. The first couple, Kousaka and Saki, outlined the problems two people have—or, that Saki has—when her love interest is an otaku but she isn’t. The dynamics and comedy potential of that pairing was the hidden engine in the first few volumes, to the point where one might almost have thought Saki was actually the main character. The next time a couple of characters got together it wasn’t as much of a plot point; since the two had complementary interests (cosplay) — it was pretty obvious. A “discovery” B-plot was all that relationship could manage.

This third go-around is a little different, in that we are dealing not just with geek love, but with geek love denied. These two are both so socially inept that it’s no wonder they need all the interference from their friends that they can get. The oddly touching part is that the relationship only seems to work when the two embrace what is geeky, about themselves and about each other, and figure out that they don’t need to be “normal” to be happy.

This is actually my favourite storyline in the series so far: yes, a lot of the humour is in the overall “geek field guide” premise for the series, and for some folks just seeing the culture (perhaps for the first time) is going to be the best part of the manga — but I feel that in this volume we’re moving beyond that, finally seeing at least a couple of these characters as real people with real problems. They happen to be manga and anime related problems, but still. (and the humour is still there; I almost shot beer out my nose when I saw Sasahara reference dating sims, trying to figure out how to handle a real-life encounter — )

Sasahara and Oguie are also a pair of characters with whom the readers could easily identify. Back in volume one, he was a fan but not yet an otaku, and his story arc takes us from an entry point into the odd subculture all the way to gainful employment in the industry. Oguie, when introduced in volume 4, bluntly stated that she hated all otaku, especially other female fans. Her story arc has been one of acceptance, finding both personal confidence and professional competence while coming to terms with her own “inner otaku”. (or should I say, “inner fujoshi“)

The climatic scene between these two works even better if you’ve read volume 7 and recall that recent-graduate Sasahara just landed a job as a manga editor, so it is not just a meeting where a girl shyly shows off her drawings to the guy she likes, but one where an aspiring manga-ka is presenting her work and asking the opinion of a professional editor. There’s a lot of depth to the scene.

Like all good things (or natural disasters) of course Genshiken can’t last forever. I understand that volume 9, currently scheduled to release at the end of November, is the last volume. With the series having survived one “reboot” I can understand that perhaps it is time to let the Genshiken go, but it seems like just now, in the penultimate volume, we were finally getting past the jokes to see something of the characters. I feel hesitant to leave this odd world writer/artist Shimoku has invented.

Volume 8 isn’t perfect, but works very well even on it’s own. 4 marks out of 5.

600+ page manga volumes! 72 titles! Avril Lavigne [sort of]! Something called Boffin Boy! (heck, I have no clue… anyone? Bueller… Bueller…)

And Matt recommends something that isn’t Manga! [*shock!*]
If you just have to know what,

read on:
Manga (& Manga-ish) Releases for 25-31 March 2007

1 World Manga, vol. 6 — Viz — $3.99
50 Things We Love About Japan — Japanime — $9.99
Afterschool Nightmare, vol. 3 — Go Media — $10.99
Akira Club Artbook — Dark Horse — $29.95
Alcohol, Shirt and Kiss — DMP — $12.95

Appleseed ID — Dark Horse — $15.95
Audition, vol. 1 — DramaQueen — $11.99
Avril Lavigne’s Make 5 Wishes, vol. 1 — Del Rey — $12.95
Battle Club, vol. 4 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Boffin Boy and the Ice Caves of Pluto — Ransom — $7.95

Boffin Boy and the Invaders from Space — Ransom — $7.95
Boffin Boy and the Lost City — Ransom — $7.95
Boffin Boy and the Monsters from the Deep — Ransom — $7.95
Boffin Boy and the Red Wolf — Ransom — $7.95
Boffin Boy and the Time Warriors — Ransom — $7.95

Boffin Boy and the Wizard of Edo — Ransom — $7.95
Boogiepop Dual, vol. 1 — Seven Seas — $10.99
Boys of Summer, vol. 2 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Bring It On! vol. 5 — Ice Kunion — $10.95
Castaways — NBM Publishing — $17.95

Chibi Vampire, vol. 4 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Chocolat, vol. 5 — Ice Kunion — $10.95
Crying Freeman, vol. 5 — Dark Horse — $14.95
Cynical Orange, vol. 4 — Ice Kunion — $10.95
Day Which I Became a Butterfly — DMP — $12.95

Dominion, 4th ed. — Dark Horse — $14.95
Fallen Moon–Daten no Tsuki — Tokyopop — $9.99
Gacha Gacha: the Next Revolution, vol. 2 — Del Rey — $12.95
Genju no Seiza, vol. 3 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Genshiken: the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, vol. 8 — Del Rey — $10.95

Ghost Hunt, vol. 7 — Del Rey — $10.95
Gold Digger: Throne of Shadows Pocket Manga — Antarctic Press — $4.95
Goofyfoot Gurl, vol. 2 — Barbour Publishing — $4.97
Grenadier, vol. 3 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Gundam Seed Destiny, vol. 3 — Del Rey — $10.95

Gunsmith Cats Omnibus — Dark Horse — $16.95
How to Draw Manga Costume Encyclopedia: Kimono and Gowns — Graphic-Sha — $29.99
How to Draw Manga: Samurai and Ninja Action Scene Collection — Graphic-Sha — $24.99
Iono-Sama Fanatics, vol. 1 — Infinity Studios — $10.95
Kagetora, vol. 5 — Del Rey — $10.95

Kung Fu Klutz and Karate Cool, vol. 1 — Tokyopop — $4.99
Kurogane, vol. 4 — Del Rey — $10.95
La Esperanca, vol. 6 — DMP — $12.95
Life! Camera! Action! vol. 2 — Barbour Publishing — $4.97
Loveholic, vol. 1 — DMP — $12.95

Midaresomenishi — Be Beautiful — $15.99
Moon Boy, vol. 2 — Ice Kunion — $10.95
My Cat Loki, vol. 2 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Negima, vols. 1-3 — Del Rey/Barnes & Noble Books — $12.95
Night of the Beasts, vol. 3 — Go Media — $10.99

Oh My Goddess! vol. 26 — Dark Horse — $10.95
Oyayubihime Infinity, vol. 4 — CMX — $9.99
Pastel, vol. 6 — Del Rey — $10.95
Q-Ko Chan, vol. 1 (hardcover) — Del Rey/Barnes & Noble Books — $14.95
Reiko the Zombie Shop, vol. 6 — Dark Horse — $12.95

Rose Hip Zero, vol. 2 — Tokyopop — $9.99
School Rumble, vol. 5 — Del Rey — $10.95
Scrapped Princess, vol. 3 — Tokyopop — $7.99
Shugo Chara! vol. 1 — Del Rey — $10.95
Solfege — DMP — $10.95

Someday’s Dreamers: Spellbound, vol. 2 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Soul Rescue, vol. 2 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Time Guardian, vol. 1 — CMX — $9.99
Train + Train, vol. 2 — Go Media — $10.99
Tsubasa, vols. 1-3 — Del Rey/Barnes & Noble Books — $12.95

Wallflower, vol. 11 — Del Rey — $10.95
Witchblade Tankobon, vol. 3 — Bandai — $9.99
World of Disgaea: Character Collection — Broccoli Books — $19.99
xxxHolic, vols. 1-3 — Del Rey/Barnes & Noble Books — $12.95
Yubisaki Milk Tea, vol. 4 — Tokyopop — $9.99

Yuri Monogatari, vol. 4 — ALC Publishing — $15.95
Zapt, vol. 2 — Tokyopop — $5.99

##

Looks like everyone is piling on the last week of the month– CMX, Dark Horse, Del Rey, GO!Comi, Ice Kunion, and Tokyopop. It makes the month-end list a pain in the ass to type up but there’s no way I’m complaining about having lots of manga to choose from.

And, well… though it’s not manga, one of the titles coming out this week that has me drooling like a fanboy is the new Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser trade paperback from Dark Horse. Fritz Leiber X Mike Mignola = damn near guaranteed goodness. If you don’t already know Fritz, Fafhrd, and the Mouser do yourself a favor and find the books at a local library. Dark Horse Press is also doing reprints of the originals, but I think the stories read better out of dusty hardcovers or yellowed, crumbling paperbacks.

##

The first thing that jumps out at me on the manga list are the reprints done by Barnes & Noble Books: three volumes each of Negima, Tsubasa, and xxxHolic in single, value-priced ($12.95) omnibus editions. At 600+ pages per, these are seriously chunky paperbacks — very hard to miss on the shelf. (Looks like someone there cut a deal with Random House.) Also up is a hardcover edition of Q-ko Chan vol. 1 at $14.95, much like the reprints previously done of some Trigun and Hellsing.

This isn’t earth-shattering by any means, and since B&N is going with reprints of older volumes of proven series, I doubt it’ll inspire any changes at those companies licensing and translating manga. Also, I doubt they’ll reprint every last volume; I’m sure the publishing deal is either for books already on the table, or for just these editions, or for a limited time. But as a handy entry point for readers who wanted to give one of those series a try? Looks like a winner. (probably goes without saying, but I doubt you’ll find those at Borders or Amazon)

A few of the series I’m currently following are releasing this week (Train + Train, Genshiken, Someday’s Dreamers, and maybe I’m not quite sick of School Rumble yet) and a couple of titles just beg to be ordered (50 Things We Love About Japan, Yuri Monogatari) and the Witchblade manga is an itch I may have to scratch this week, but considering I’ve got a growing stack of unread and read-but-not-yet-reviewed manga, maybe I should hold off for a week or two before buying more.

The pics (above right) are the aforementioned titles: If you see something in my queue that you were curious about, hell, I’ll take requests this month. Let me know in the comments and I’ll see just how fast I can get a review up for you.

Posted by Matt Blind on March 25th, 2007

originally written for and posted on Comicsnob.com [Dec ’06 – May ’08]

Errant Story, vol. 1
Published by: Keenspot Entertainment
Writer & Artist: Michael Poe

134 (127) pages.
Original Language: English
Orientation: Left to right
Vintage: June 2004

Rating: 4 out of 5

##

Premise: Swords, sorcery, and sarcasm, with healthy doses of ninja-like assassins, gunplay, and humour, a sprinkling of anachronisms and fourth-wall assaults, and a touch more satire and social commentary than you’d expect from what at first blush merely seemed a light-hearted RPG-fantasy-influenced black comedy.

Too wordy? Hm. How about this: Psycho Teen Mage Chick vs the Universe.

Synopsis:

Meet Meji Hinadori. She’s a half elf, a student of magic who is on the verge of graduating from her academy. …at least she would be graduating, if she hadn’t slacked her way through most of the past year and was about to fail miserably. Her only hope is to get an ‘A’ on her senior project. She’s a slacker, not stupid, but her prospects seem pretty dim.

In a flash of inspiration, she recalls an old school rule that states if a student can challenge and defeat the entire school faculty, then they are automatically graduated with honours. Of course, to win out over a whole ivory tower of crotchety old mages, one would need the power of a demigod, at the very least — and with that much power and to spare, the risk of eventually becoming corrupted by it and enslaving the whole world…

Well, Meji is already a tad corrupt, so she decides to make enslaving all reality her senior project. It’s a handy side benefit that she’ll also graduate.

Helping, or at least commenting sarcastically, is Meji’s familiar Ellis, a talking winged cat. Ellis is nigh indestructible, which Meji proves on a fairly regular basis as Ellis’s running commentary usually goads her into blasting the housecat-demon with a handy lightning bolt spell or three.

A quick trip to the school library (and a flashy [*cough*] “divination” spell) provides the lead she needs to actually pull off this mad project, if only it weren’t a continent away and in a country run by mage-hating religious fanatics.

You didn’t think that would stop her, did you? This is just the first chapter.

The rest of volume one follows Meji on her “heroic” quest, and introduces two traveling companions for her. The first, Jon, is a Gewehr Assassin and general bad-ass who becomes a bodyguard of sorts after a rather complicated introduction & re-introduction, and for reasons largely his own; the second is Ian, another mage on a similar (but more noble) quest for knowledge. After a hundred or so pages of action, there is also a little handy exposition toward the end of chapter four, outlining in thumbnail sketch the larger struggles ahead as both the characters and the plot take a necessary breather before volume two.

##

Review:

First off, the writing is excellent. Each character’s voice is pitch perfect, the dialog trips along like this was a Whedon or Sorkin TV show, and the fantasy universe being built up here is both true to the form–with elves, mages, talking cats–while simultaneously poking fun at all of the hallowed precepts that are the supposed unshakable foundations of the genre.

It’s a fantasy, but written with modern sensibility. Amazingly, it’s done with almost no pop-culture references; other comics that take this route (and there are quite a few webcomics trying) usually pick a single property to spoof (RPG World, Order of the Stick) or are dropping names and quotes in every other panel so you know (wink wink nudge nudge) that the author is ‘making funny’.

Poe manages to capture that feeling while making it all work within the context of the book. And he also makes the jokes work while he’s doing it. Not only does this give us chuckle-inducing dialog on every other page, it adds to the unique setting of Errant Story: here is a fantasy world as complex, jaded, and absurd as our modern one. It’s high satire, worthy of literary study… though of course it’s also profane, lewd, coarse, crass, and damn damn funny.

I wouldn’t call Errant Story a comedy, though. Action and [*gasp*] story are in full evidence as well. There is a building plot with numerous forces and factions hinted at; though not a classic struggle of good against evil, since it looks like everyone is really just acting in their own self interest. We’ll have to see where all the foreshadowing is leading us in future volumes.

Poe is both writer and artist, and for the most part I can’t fault his artwork either. (go see for yourself at www.errantstory.com) Two issues we run into with the art aren’t faults, per se, but artefacts of the adaptation from screen-to-page. First, all the gutters are black, sort of like the flashback convention adopted by most manga titles. This isn’t bad but rubs me the wrong way, and distracts in some cases from the art on the page. The other thing is that a 1024×768 or 1600×800 monitor is going to give us a lot of lovely fine detail that doesn’t always make it to the 5×8 page, at least not in this printing. Some of our screentones become smudgetones and whole pages roll by where shading isn’t evident at all, and it looks like it was all done in ink. This isn’t bad either, but having seen the computer image originals, I know the book isn’t supposed to come across as that dark, or stylized.

This one is definitely worth seeking out — and it may take a little searching, unless you buy direct from the author — but it comes with my hearty recommendation, and aside from printing issues would have received my highest rating. As it is, I give volume one 4 marks out of 5.

originally written for and posted on Comicsnob.com [Dec ’06 – May ’08]

It’s a slow week; a breather before the last week of the month, and the corresponding big release dates. Still, we might find a gem or two in this week’s list:

Manga (& Manga-ish) Releases for 18 March to 24 March 2007

Blokhedz, vol. 1 — Simon & Schuster — $12.95
Boy Princess, vol. 6 — Netcomics — $9.99
Buddha, vol. 6 — Vertical — $14.95
Case Closed, vol. 16 — Viz — $9.99
Dokebi Bride, vol. 5 — Netcomics — $9.99

Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 12 — Viz — $9.99
Great Catsby, vol 5. — Netcomics — $19.99
Let Dai, vol. 6 — Netcomics — $9.99
MAR, vol. 12 — Viz — $7.99
Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon — Viz — $7.99

Seimaden, vol. 8 — CMX — $9.99
Tower of the Future, vol. 6 — CMX — $9.99

##

So what am I buying this week? I’m still getting the Buddha trade paperbacks as they come out, but mostly my buys are a few from weeks past (Recast 2, Elemental Galade 3, Yakitate 4) though I am still on the lookout for new titles at one or the other of my local bookstores. The lists are fine, but there is a lot to be said for browsing a shelf.

Posted by Matt Blind on March 19th, 2007

originally written for and posted on Comicsnob.com [Dec ’06 – May ’08]

It looks like my usual complaints about Dark Horse resulted from their using 2 distributors, one for the direct market and another for GNs in bookstores, or some such. With the dissolution of Publishers Group West, that problem’s been fixed. (link’s to an article on ICv2) PGW and Diamond had been using two different solicitation schedules; with everything under one roof things may be marginally less confusing.

Also from the ICv2 article, distribution for Broccoli Books has been picked up by Perseus Book Group along with a number of other former PGW clients.

Also, Public Square Books has quite a few releases this week, noteably Hellboy, but also quite a few manga titles… You won’t see them on my list, though, because they’re in Spanish. But if you had a yen for manga not one language removed, but two (or had an in with a community outreach center for Latino youth and wanted to warp the pequeños to the manga dark side) then Public Square is your source.

Not that any of this is a whole lot of interest to someone who doesn’t work in a bookstore; you’re thinking, “so where are this week’s manga titles, Manga Dork?”

Manga (& Manga-ish) Releases for 11 March to 17 March, 2007

The Art of Hideshi Hino — Last Gasp — $29.95
Black Cat, vol. 7 — Viz — $7.99
Divalicious, vol. 1 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Drawing Action Manga: Easel Does It — Orig. HarperCollins, B&N Bargain Edition $6.98 (isbn 0641799357)
Elemental Gelade, vol. 3 — Tokyopop — $9.99

Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M, vol. 18 — Viz — $9.95
Loveholic, vol. 1 — DMP — $12.95
Please Save My Earth, vol. 21 — Viz — $9.99
ROD: Read or Dream, vol. 3 — Viz — $9.99
Soul to Seoul, vol. 5 — Tokyopop — $9.99

Tokyo Tribes, vol. 6 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Warcraft: the Sunwell Trilogy, vol. 3 — Tokyopop — $9.99
Yakitate! Japan, vol. 4 — Viz — $9.99

##

Seems kind of sparse, right? So where’s all the Tokyopop that was supposed to come out this week?

Well, if you check the watch list from two weeks ago you’ll likely find what you’re looking for.

Also, while a couple of titles were due out from BLU this month, from my sources, anyway, they seem to be delayed: Love Mode vol. 5 and Love Pistols vol. 1 come up with May release dates– though this contradicts info on BLU’s website. Similarly, I saw some Del Rey titles on some other lists, but it looks like we’re not expecting them into the bookstore until the end of the month.

Hopefully this will straighten itself out in a few weeks, and my bookstore-insider-info will begin to match both the publishers and the direct market sources.

Oh yeah: So what am I reading? My picks off of this list include Warcraft (already reviewed), Yakitate, and Elemental Galade. Also, while it’s the first I’ve heard of Daigo of Fire Company M, I may just have to take a look at some early volumes of that firefighting manga. (finding new titles is one of the reasons I compile the list each week)

originally written for and posted on Comicsnob.com [Dec ’06 – May ’08]

In the Starlight, vol. 1
Published by: Netcomics
Writer & Artist: Kyungok Kang

224 (216) pages.
Original Language: English
Orientation: Left to right
Vintage: 1987. US edition February 2007.
Translation: Jennifer Park
Production: Ecomix Media Company
Cover Design: purj
Editors: Nick Aires & Philip Daay
Publisher’s Rating: for ages 13+

Rating: 3 out of 5

##

Premise: High school girl with her head in the stars, figuratively, finds herself with her head in the stars, literally.

Synopsis:

Shinhye Yoo is an ordinary student, maybe a bit more serious than most, maybe just a bit cuter than others, but other than an intense interest in astronomy inherited from her college professor Father, she’s no different than most girls her age.

Donghoon Soo is interested in Shinhye, and asks her out. As he gets to know her better, though, he sees that she and her family are ideal for a program run by his uncle, a bigwig of some sort in the Ministry of Science. (We’ll set aside for the moment how a high school kid is involved with top secret government programs, let alone held in high enough regard that he has influence over policy. Maybe it’s covered in volume two?)

Donghoon convinces Shinhye to host Sarah, a foreign exchange student. Sarah is a little different though… just how different will become very clear to Shinhye before the end of the volume.

##

Review:

Comparisons to To Terra… [previously reviewed] are going to be inevitable, so let me clear that smoke out of the room first. First, the other is manga while In the Starlight is manhwa, and To Terra pre-dates Starlight by a decade. Takemiya’s work is a space opera set in the distant future, while Kang’s comic is a light drama with hints of romance set in a present day (80s, at the time) Korean high school (at least for now).

What the two share is a stylistic sensibility (both have been influenced by the same predecessors, I think) and a general sci-fi overlay on what are essentially human dramas. That and a little ESP. The comparisons are inevitable because the two properties were each pulled from a little deeper in the past archives (20-30 years back) and came out in US editions within a month or so of each other.

I’m not going to say one is better than the other. [*sigh*] Though I suppose I have, since we do rank these on a 5 point scale — but the good points of one should not be immediately taken as faults of the other. So there.

Enough with Terra and the distant future. What do we have here?

“In the Starlight” is a intriguing title, obviously an earlier work but from an artist that shows great potential. (I’m not familiar with Kang’s later work but I invite anyone who is to let us know in the comments.) In fact, in some cases the retro, “cuter”, unpolished style allows the book get away with story points that might otherwise be cringe-worthy: Flying saucer? Well OK, yeah, that fits.

It’s easy to get caught up in the style and story of writer/artist Kang’s book. The characters are all likeable and engaging (even the “villain” in his own bishounen way) and it seems like everyone but Shinhye has some secret hidden in their backstory that portends even more drama for future volumes.

This is a vision of the sci-fi future that was set up by Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T., a more innocent view untainted by the X-Files, Aliens, and other 90s pop-culture. Volume one serves merely as a introduction and launching point; later volumes will no doubt take us deeper into the romantic future-that-was.

originally written for and posted on Comicsnob.com [Dec ’06 – May ’08]

Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 2
Published by: Viz Media
Writer & Artist: Kenjiro Hata

192 (182) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2005. US edition February 2007.
English Adaptation: Mark Giambruno
Translation: Yuki Yoshioka & Cindy H. Yamauchi
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Freeman Wong
Design: Yukiko Whitley
Editor: Kit Fox
Publisher’s Rating: Older teens, ages 16+ (strong language, realistic and fantasy violence, and crude humor)

Previously Reviewed: Vol. 1
Rating: Upgraded, 2 out of 5

##

Premise: Hayate, the Combat Butler. Through a series of misunderstandings, a young man down on his luck gets a break (we won’t call it a lucky break, yet) and goes to work as a Butler-slash-bodyguard.

Synopsis:

Hayate Ayasaki is 16. He works as a butler. His employer is Nagi Sanzenin, one very rich little girl. Though despite the size of the mansion and all of Nagi’s wealth, there are only 2 other staff: Maria the maid and Klaus, the head butler.

Hayate hasn’t been employed long: the first book, you know, 180-some pages, nine chapters, all that? That just covered how he got hired, and then his first day at work.

And the day isn’t over yet: We wade into the second volume with the return of the killer nursing robot, #8, who demands a rematch with Hayate and Tama (the talking 300 lb. tiger). Actually, this serves as a fair re-introduction of the characters while providing a neat little action sequence along with a punchline.

After the appetizer, we get to the meat of the book, a sequence of episodes each of which introduces a new character or two, and explains their relationship to the young Miss Nagi. She has a few friends her own age, all of whom happen to also be filthy rich (makes sense) and it turns out she’s not the only member of the Sanzenin as might be assumed; she has a grandfather (who lives at the “main” house, which looks likes a small principality) and numerous, more distant relatives. As the closest blood relation, Nagi is the currently the only heir, but Grandpa is a bit eccentric. I sense a major plot point coming… which I won’t spoil for you.

Aside from the disposition of the inheritance, which is put to one side for the remainder of the book, episodic hijinks continue in much the same ways as volume one, but with Hayate’s situation more settled (though he still owes 150 million yen) he seems to be in a better position to handle it. The last chapter begins ramping it up again as a lead in for volume 3, with a new character and a reveal on the last page [cue dramatic “dum, dum, DUM”] that isn’t all that much of a surprise but is as close to a cliffhanger as we’ll get.

##

Review:

More combat and more housework for our Hayate, along with slower pacing and an opportunity to explore character as opposed to merely being as zany as possible, makes volume two a vast improvement over volume one.

Still only giving it 2 marks, but really: big improvement, I’m impressed.

Most of my complaints about the first volume have been addressed, so I suspect someone at Shogakukan is exerting a little more editorial pressure. Or who knows? Maybe it just took writer/artist Hata a little longer to find the right groove, or it’s just an illusion caused by how the individual installments were pulled together into the tankoban.

The art is adequate but not exceptional, and works just fine for a light comedy. The story, likewise, is adequate but not exceptional and aside from the so-wacky-it-must-be-manga premise, is much like any other action-comedy. It’s a quick read, nothing substantial but just fine as an afternoon snack.

originally written for and posted on Comicsnob.com [Dec ’06 – May ’08]

Once again I find no one can really agree on exact release dates. Most often I believe my inventory computer at work, because it tells me when the warehouses (and hopefully the bookstores) are getting titles in, as opposed to what publishers said about when their titles should be out back when they first announced them 6 months ago.

I do check publishers web sites in a few instances… though does anyone know why ADV hasn’t bothered to update the manga section of their page since 2005?

Manga (& Manga-ish) Releases for 4 March to 10 March 2007

Beauty Pop, vol. 3 — Viz Media — $8.99
Backstage Prince, vol. 1 — Viz Media — $8.99
Death Note, vol. 10 — Viz Media — $7.99
Emma, vol. 3 — CMX — $9.99
Gentlemen’s Alliance, vol. 1 — Viz Media — $8.99

Go Go Heaven, vol. 1 — CMX — $9.99
Hardy Boys vol. 8: Board to Death — Papercutz — $12.95 Hardcover, $7.95 Paperback
Hunter x Hunter, vol. 13 — Viz Media — $7.99
I”s, vol. 12 — Viz Media — $7.99
Ichigenme… The First Class is Civil Law Volume 1 — 801 Media — $15.95

La Esperança Volume 6 — DMP — $12.95
Maburaho, vol. 2 — ADV — $9.99
MegaMan NT Warrior, vol. 11 — Viz Media — $7.99
Moon Child, vol. 6 — CMX — $9.99
Naruto, vol. 13 — Viz Media — $7.95

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, vol. 4 — ADV — $9.99
Pieces of a Spiral, vol. 7 — CMX — $9.99
Prince of Tennis, vol. 18 — Viz Media — $7.95
Punch! Fighting Love Champ, vol. 3 — Viz Media — $8.99
Skip Beat! vol. 5 — Viz Media — $8.99

The Sky Over My Spectacles — 801 Media — $15.95
Ultimate Muscle, vol. 16 — Viz Media — $7.95
Zombie Powder, vol. 3 — Viz Media — $7.99

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So what’s up off of this week’s list for me?

Angelic Days, even though I can feel my interest in this title slipping. Maybe I need to watch the anime again. (yes, even though this manga adaptation is a different version entirely…)

3 volumes of Zombie Powder are already sitting on my desk, taunting me to read and review them.

Emma looks interesting, though I’ve seen the anime and the ending left me a little sour (though it was historically accurate) so I’m not jumping up and down to go there again. Still…

Questions, concerns, corrections? I open the floor to your comments…

originally written for and posted on Comicsnob.com [Dec ’06 – May ’08]

Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, vol. 1
Published by: Viz Media
Writer & Artist: Yukiya Sakuragi

224 (214) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2005. February 2007
Translation: Hidemi Hachitori, Honyaku Center Inc.
Adaptation: Ian Reid & John Werry, Honyaku Center Inc.
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Kelle Hahn
Cover & Interior Design: Hidemi Sahara
Editor: Ian Robertson
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, ages 16+ (may contain sexual themes)

Rating: 2 out of 5

##

Premise: Girl and her dog move to the big city. Suguri is a bit of a flake, but has amazing empathy with dogs and through an odd chain of events, lands a job working at a pet store.

Synopsis:

Suguri has lived a sheltered life for much of her 18 years, and her overprotective parents worry about her quite a bit (her curfew is 5:30). They’ve even gone to the trouble of finding her a nice, quiet job in town, though she isn’t too keen on staying home and living with her parents forever. Her best friend is Lupin, a mutt who is just a year old. (that’s the two of them on the cover.)

One day while Suguri is out walking Lupin, she gets picked up by a couple of sleazy guys. This isn’t that kind of comic, and the guys figure Suguri and her dog are probably a bit much to bother with anyway, so they ditch her at a rest stop halfway to Tokyo.

This is how she meets Teppei. He’s taking his dog Noa to another breeder so he can raise a litter of purebred puppies, to sell at his pet shop. Since it’s bit of a drive from Tokyo, he pulls into the rest stop to to buy some lunch, and while his back is turned, well, it seems Lupin got away from Suguri for a bit and is now introducing himself to Noa, in a way that only a couple of dogs can shamelessly get away with.

Now Teppei isn’t going to be able to cash in on a purebred litter of black labs, and he’s also out the stud fee (paid in advance) so his first meeting with Suguri has been a bit expensive. He’s a nice guy, though, and since she’s stranded he gives her a lift back to her hometown despite all the trouble she’s caused. On the drive back, Suguri offers to work off her debt at Teppei’s pet store — an offer he seriously considers, since it’s obvious she has a certain way with dogs. While Suguri’s parents take care of the expenses for her and she doesn’t have to work off the debt, it’s just a few days later that she shows up in Tokyo, practically begging for a job at the shop.

She turns on the puppy dog eyes. Teppei can hardly say no to that, now can he?

…and that’s just the first chapter. The rest of the comic is a slice-of-life revolving around dogs, their owners, the pet store, and how Suguri slowly adapts to life in the big city.

##

Review:

I’m sure I’ve mentioned more than once that there is a manga out there for just about any interest. If you like puppies, this sucker averages about 5.8 cute puppies per page. OK, so I exaggerate, but it has to be something close to that. The art is well done, in that each dog breed is recognizable, and the puppies are doing those cute puppy things, like yawning or stretching or giving you that look.

Inubaka shouldn’t be mistaken for a kids comic, however. There are some basic realities to running a pet store, like cleaning up dog crap or puppies with health problems, and those issues are dealt with in frank and no-nonsense fashion. Not that any of the content would be necessarily bad for, say, a 10 or 11 year old, but this isn’t their manga: Suguri is 18, so while the dogs’ dramas might be OK, some aspects of her life might inspire some interesting questions from your tween girls. This (and perhaps content in future volumes we’re unaware of) is probably why Viz has an Older Teen rating on the book, rather than 13+.

Also, there’s more here than just dogs. Our two leads are fleshed out well, with their own motivations and hints at deeper backstory. The plots were also a pleasant surprise, in that this isn’t just a setup for wacky hijinks or shoujo romance or over-the-top comedy, the manga is honestly about a pet shop, and the lives of the folks who work and shop there (and their dogs). It’s not Shakespeare, but there’s quite a bit here to sink your teeth into.

It is a niche comic, though, so right now I’m only going to give it 2 marks out of 5 — if you’ve ever had a pet dog, though, you might consider it to be a 3 or 4.