Rocket Bomber - reviews

Shugo Chara, vol. 1
Published by: Del Rey Books
Story and Art by Peach-Pit (Banri Sendo & Shiguko Ebara)

208 (190) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2006. US edition April 2007.
Translation: June Kato
Adaptation: David Walsh
Lettering: North Market Street Graphics
Publisher’s Rating: Teen, ages 13+

Rating: 3 out of 5

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Premise: A wish from your heart to be more than what you seem on the outside can take the form of a “guardian character” — small, cute guardians who can give you skills, confidence, or even powers you didn’t know you had.

Synopsis:

Amu Hinamori is the coolest kid in the fourth grade at Seiyo Elementary. At least, that’s how it looks on the outside. But inside she’s just a shy kid who still isn’t sure what’s she’s supposed to be or how to act with other people. And then one morning, she wakes up to find three colourfully painted eggs in her bed, and soon discovers that inside each egg is a Guardian Character, an aspect of herself as she would like to be.

With her new-found abilities, Amu should be happy — but she doesn’t like the sudden changes or being pulled pulled in so many new directions, and though she’s told these are all aspects of who she could be, she doesn’t quite believe that yet either.

There are some other important plot points, but let’s break those down in the review:

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Review:

The rating (please flip your copy of the book over to look at the back cover) is 13+. Let me start with the most obvious disconnect: the main character is 11. She’s about to enter fifth grade, so she’s going to be 12, but there’s no way she’s older than that. The story does have certain appeal no matter what your age, but I personally would peg the target demographic as the kids who are buying the Hannah Montana albums. (That’s 10 or 11, or younger… for those of you who just said “who?”)

My guess would be that Del Rey maybe doesn’t have a lower age rating? (Or didn’t want to use one.) I just feel that this title may have a little trouble finding an audience. Some fans of Peach-Pit will buy the first one, but this is different enough from DearS and Rozen Maiden that I’m not sure of the overlap there.

The story is about a young girl, who feels phony in how she dresses and the act she puts on for others, but who manages to find new aspects of herself with the help of übercute chibi Guardian Characters (the Shugo Chara of the manga title). But sometimes change is hard, and we can’t always be sure what we want. This is even more true in Amu’s case, as the effects of not one but three meddling guardians often lead to more complications, rather than happily ever after. Sure, suddenly it seems she can do anything but when she comes back to normal she can be embarrassed by what she did or said when a guardian was helping her to be “more herself”.

By itself, that premise would work pretty well, and we could follow Amu as she grows as a person and discovers things about her character and “characters” through the modest challenges of various school activities. It would have been a nice (if saccharine) slice-of-life comic.

What we have grafted on to that baseline is first, a shoujo drama about the student council (perhaps confusingly referred to as the School Guardians). Amu is selected to be a member of the School Guardians, and there she meets a new friend Nadeshiko Fujisaki, the VP. The President is the cute Tadese Hotori, whom Amu has a huge crush on. The gimmick for the council is that they are named after playing cards: Tadase holds the King’s or “K” Chair, Nadeshiko is the Queen’s or “Q” Chair, and similarly there are positions for Jack and Ace (unlike say, poker, the ranking here appears to be K-Q-J-A). The School Guardians are held in high esteem by other students, which is odd because it doesn’t seem like they do much but have tea parties.

If we were to follow this plot line we’d have a mostly harmless bit about adapting to new roles, & learning how to deal with first loves and crushes while staying best friends forever with the new gal pal, and given the ages of the characters it would all be very cute and chaste, with maybe a first kiss (on the cheek, of course) and some heavy handholding.

Overlayed on top of that however, is the shades-of-Card-Captor-Sakura mystic quest element. The Guardian Characters are born of eggs. Each person’s heart has an egg, though as people get older the egg and it’s character sort of fade away, unused. Some eggs are good, but some (X eggs, in the comic) are bad and could change the character of their owner into something darker.

The School Guardians, like Amu, all have Guardian Characters (though they just have one each) and part of their mission is to hunt down bad eggs and seal them, or destroy them if things really get out of hand. Amu is very special to have three Guardian Characters, so of course the School Guardians want her to join them to help seal the bad eggs, while also searching for the mysterious Embryo (an egg that can grant any wish) before a rival, presumably evil cabal finds it first.

Amu has already had run ins with this other group as one of their agents, the wily catboy Ikuto, had tried to steal Amu’s eggs before they hatched. Though of course Ikuto is also pretty (though dark, where Tadase is blond) and the way he is behaving toward Amu is absolutely scandalous.

It would be hard to imagine how all this could be more complicated. The three plots are tightly wound together, so a single scene or action beat often serves to advance all three at once, but it still took 190 pages to just introduce characters and concepts, and we didn’t even get the main plot device running (bad eggs, gotta catch ‘em all) until 10 pages from the end. Of course the story ends on a cliffhanger.

The art is great, and despite the plot is part of what raises my overall rating, though with a caveat. The character designs, the wardrobes, the fact that each important character is going to have at least one cute pint-sized sidekick… you might guess where this is going. If you were a fan of the cute & sweet side of CLAMP, or of chibi-fests like Snow Fairy Sugar or Di Gi Charat, then you will be able to enjoy this more than a fan of, say, western comics or most other manga.

This isn’t my cup of chai, but I can recognize a well done example even if I don’t particularly like the genre; 3 marks out of 5.

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Check out the art for yourself: Del Rey has an eight page preview.

This review is based on a review copy provided by the publisher.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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]

Stan Lee’s Amazing Marvel Universe
Published by: Sterling
Writer: Roy Thomas, with audio commentary by Stan Lee
Artist: reproductions of covers and panels by Kirby, Ditko, Romita, and the rest of the Marvel bullpen

200 (189) pages, hardcover.
Vintage: 2006

Rating: 3 out of 5

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Premise: Excelsior! via 50 “Marvel Moments” (seminal issues, and a few multi-part series) this book captures Stan “in action” over his many decades at Marvel (’41-’97 are covered in the book), though with an obvious emphasis on his work from the 60s.

Synopsis:

The book features a nifty electronic gadget, affixed to one side of the over-long back cover so it is always there to the right of whichever pages you happen to be reading. The gadget allows the selection and playback of any one of 68 audio clips, where Stan the Man can tell you himself what they were thinking when first writing and drawing the comics in question.

The book isn’t so much a history of Marvel itself, but more a series of Stan’s career highlights: starting with his first writing credit (Captain America #3) to his own early co-creations (with Jack Kirby & Steve Ditko) the Fantastic Four and Spider-man, and covering how both the Marvel cast and Universe continued to grow under Stan’s tenure as editor-in-chief and occasional writer.

Included are descriptions of the origins of FF and Spidey, along with the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the Avengers, Sgt. Fury (later Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D), the X-men (both in ‘63 and the re-launch in ‘75), Dr. Strange, Daredevil, the return of Cap (as he joins the Avengers in ‘64) and even the origin of some villians, noteably Dr. Doom & the Sub-Mariner (a Golden Age character re-introduced as a foil for the Fantastic Four).

Oh, and the last time Captain America died, back in ‘69. What, you thought the recent Civil War was the first time they pulled stuff like this?

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Review:

One of the best features of the book is the audio commentary.

One of the worst features of the book is the audio commentary.

…if you didn’t happen to like Stan Lee as a speaker, or perhaps got a little sick of the Stan-central focus of the book. Also, there isn’t a headphone jack (mercifully, there is volume control) so if you’re listening to Stan talk about why the Avengers line-up continually changes, so is everyone else in the room.

Stan deserves a lot of credit, obviously, but since his commentary reflects the memories and experience of just one of many Silver Age comic creators, (especially if you’ve looked into comics history of this era) it often seems one sided. A complete noob might read this book, and come away thinking that Stan was entirely responsible for anything innovative or dramatic about a whole decade of comics.

He probably was… but no other viewpoint is given. The author, Roy Thomas, does a good job with the text though, so there is a fair amount of background presented (usually 2-3 pages) to go along with one of Stan’s 20-30 second sound bites. Also, the panels and pages included are great. Some are chosen for the dialog bubbles more than the artwork, but seeing classic Marvel 4-color action, even in small snips and bits, is almost worth the cover price by itself.

About that price… Originally, this book listed for $50; and even a full-color 200 page book, with gizmo, was a bit over-valued at that price — at least for me. Quite a few other folks agreed with me, I suspect, because now 6 months after it first appeared on shelves, you can find it here and there for $15 or $20, which seems a bit more reasonable.

One for the fans, or for folks looking to pick up a little history, or perhaps for someone who has enjoyed the recent onslaught of Hollywood adaptations from Marvel’s back catalog, and wanted more insight on where these iconic heroes got their start.

And, thankfully, you don’t have to listen to Stan if you don’t want to — the book holds up pretty well on it’s own without the electronic add-on. 3 marks out of 5.

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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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]

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

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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.

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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.

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

*Matt’s Capsule Manga Reviews, Edition 2:
Angel Cup #3, Tail of the Moon #3, Yakitate!! Japan #3, 0/6 (Zero/Six) #3*

When I posted the first batch of capsule reviews, I thought it might become a regular (even weekly) feature. Since six weeks have passed since the last one, I guess we can all see that I was wrong. Or at least, premature — no doubt, as I continue to review so many first volumes, there are going to be more series for us to check back with.

It’s the attack of Volume 3! Not just Suzuka (yesterday’s review), but 4 caps today and a full review of Air Gear #3 (coming tomorrow).

##

Angel Cup, vol. 3
Published by: Tokyopop
Writer: Dong Wook Kim
Artist: Jae Ho Youn

184 (168) pages.
Vintage: 2001. US edition February 2007
Translation: Jumi V. Yang
English Adaptation: Hope Donovan
Retouch & Lettering: Star Print Brokers
Production Artist: Courtney Geter
Cover Design: Kyle Plummer
Graphic Designer: Fawn Lau
Editor: Katherine Schilling
Publisher’s Rating: Teen, ages 13+

Previously reviewed: Vols. 1 & 2
Rating: still 3 out of 5

What’s up:

After the boys-vs-girls game (which ran 215 pages or so) we take a step back from the pitch for a character-building volume. There are a lot of new girls to introduce, and while the team recruits and trains some of the mysteries introduced in the first two volumes will have to back-seat it for a while.

Obviously, volume three is a transition, with the new team being officially set up and their first game just a few pages away in volume four. So we get the usual sports-manga training montages, and a few hooks to lead us into later volumes.

It’s still good stuff (and there is enough fan-service to make me doubt the 13+ rating) but the real story is going to play out in volume four, with the first match for the Han Shin Blue Angels in the new league. Between the promise of an actual match and the plot building behind our two main characters, So-jin and Shin-be, I’ll give volume three a pass as necessary back-story before we get back to on-field action in future volumes.

##

Tail of the Moon, vol. 3
Published by: Viz Media’s Shojo Beat
Writer & Artist: Rinko Ueda

200 (186) pages.
Vintage: 2002. US edition February 2007
Translation & Adaptation: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
Retouch & Lettering: Mark McMurray
Graphic Design: Izumi Hirayama
Editor: Nancy Thistlethwaite
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, ages 16+ (brief nudity and ninja violence)

Previously reviewed: Vols. 1 & 2
Rating: still 3 out of 5

What’s Up:

Of course poor Usagi is going to experience an emotional roller-coaster; this is shoujo. She may be stuck in the service of Lord Ieyasu, but her skills as an herbalist serve her well. And it would seem that absence makes the heart grow fonder, as Honzo comes to terms with his complicated feelings towards marriage in general, and Usagi in particular. The usual hijinks are in play, as various characters find themselves in or out of beds, and in or out of clothes, in ways that are embarrassing but don’t quite violate the age rating of the comic.

A bit of drama develops as well, mid-volume, centered around Yukimaru (a fellow herbalist, introduced right at the end of volume 2) and his odd aversion to women–which comes into direct opposition to his role as a healer & with a tie-in to his past… It’s a nice plot twist, and keeps the will-they-won’t-they plot line of Usagi and Hanzo simmering in the background, without making this volume feel like filler. Of course, the relationship between Usagi and her love is still the A-plot, and there are some advances on that front as well.

Even if you don’t like so-called “girls” comics, you might give this one a read. I’m enjoying the series, though I wonder how Ueda is going to keep the momentum going for another 9(!) volumes.

##

Yakitate!! Japan, vol. 3
Published by: Viz Media
Writer & Artist: Takashi Hashiguchi

200 (188) pages.
Vintage: 2002. US edition January 2007
English Adaptation: Drew Williams
Translation: Noritaka Minami
Touch-up Art and Lettering: Steve Dutro
Cover Design: Yukiko Whitley
Editor: Kit Fox
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, ages 16+ (alcohol and tobacco use, crude humour, and mature situations)

Previously reviewed: Vols. 1 & 2
Rating: Upgraded, 3 out of 5

What’s Up:

Over-the-top bake offs, internal bakery-chain politics, foodie trivia and honest, likeable characters all pile on to make Yakitate one hell of a fun read.

I thought the gimmick would get old, but this just keeps getting better. Volume three follows up on the cliffhanger from two, the Pantasia Rookie Tournament: all the new hires are eligible, but the preliminary round seems impossible. Not surprisingly, our two heroes out of the the South Tokyo Branch, Kazuma and Kawachi, both qualify — but only after the competition severely tests their friendship.

Can rivalry coexist with friendship? Can the South Tokyo twosome still manage at the next stage of the Rookie Tournament? Can Bread continue to be this damn exciting for at least 19 more volumes?

When I can read a manga and just about taste the damn butter rolls, I’d have to say the answer is yes. It’s still a niche comic, but I’m going to recommend it to y’all anyway.

##

0/6 (Zero/Six), vol. 3
Published by: Netcomics
Writer & Artist: Youjung Lee

192 (176) pages.
Vintage: 1998. US edition June 2006
Translation: Jeanne
Graphic Design: Soohyun Park & Yeongsook Yi
Editor: Philip Daay
Publisher’s Rating: Ages 13+

Previously reviewed: Vols. 1 & 2
Rating: Still 3 out of 5

What’s Up:

Well, I’m running a little behind on this manhwa, since the 5th (and final) volume hit the streets a month ago, but I’m picking these up as I find them on the shelves at the local bookstores.

The end of volume two seemed like a shift for this comic, and the payoff (what there is of it) is here in volume three. Just two action sequences, often playing out in slow motion and with numerous character asides and flashbacks, make up a whole 160-some-odd pages here. It’s deep; a hell of a lot deeper than we’ve been led to believe, and almost completely out of sorts with the premise set up in volume one.

Perhaps I should have waited to review this series until I had read the whole thing. I’m even more confused now than I was at the end of #2, though Lee manages to tie up a couple of plot points before the end of the book. Actually, the way forward seems a lot clearer now, but the title is still fairly FUBAR at this point.

The action-and-conspiracy bit have completely overshadowed the clichéd high-school story, for which I guess I should be grateful but it leaves us without a frame of reference for all the weird events. It’s one thing to play with conventions, another entirely to take the usual and twist it to the point where you almost leave your readers behind.

Full marks to Lee for the effort, but I’m still not sure if all the story-sleight-of-hand is worth it, at least until I get another volume under my belt. Zero/Six is more of a thinking-man’s comic than I would have ever given it credit for, but is the confusion deliberate, or just a result of sloppy story telling?

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

Suzuka, Vol. 3
Published by: Del Rey Books
Writer & Artist: Kouji Seo

208 (190) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2004. US edition February 2007.
Translation & Adaptation: David Ury
Lettering: Janice Chiang
Publisher’s Rating: M, ages 18+

Previously Reviewed: Vols. 1 & 2
Rating: 3 out of 5

##

Premise: Yamato, an average schlub of a high school student, finds himself falling for Suzuka (she of the title, though not the one on this particular cover), a beautiful school track star.

[minor spoilers for vols. 1 & 2 follow]
Synopsis:

Let’s review: Yamato Akitsuki lives with his Aunt Ayano in Tokyo to be closer to the elite school he attends. His aunt owns a boarding-house-slash-day-spa, and it was girls-only until he shows up. In lieu of rent, he’s the facility’s general handyman. His next door neighbour is Suzuka Asahina, a fellow high school student, and he’s in luv! ♥ [*wink*]

At least he would be, if Suzuka hadn’t shot him down as recently as the end of volume two. And things had been going so well…

After a pep talk (of sorts) from his alcoholic college student neighbour, Yuuka Saotome, Yamato decides he’s not quite finished yet. In an attempt to be as close to Suzuka as he can, he decides to join the track team. Fortunately for him, it seems he may have some skill in this area, though of course compared to the regulars on the team he is grossly out of condition.

(The fact that this is stalker-ish behaviour is actually brought up and discussed by characters in the book)

Yamato isn’t giving up yet, though, and his steady improvement just seems to piss off Suzuka more. Add in Honoka Sakurai, the new team manager who signed up because she has a crush on Yamato, a few new teammates, a mystery trip to Yokohama on one of the team’s few days off, and things are slowly but steadily starting to build in this comic.

##

Review:

Everything I said about the art last time still applies: love the covers, like the artwork & character designs, still satisfied with the panel layout and pacing. Nothing stands out in this third volume (the quiet, intimate scenes between characters like those in volume two are missing), but with our leads experiencing doubt and growing a bit further apart, page by page, this shift is understandable.

As the story progresses, we see Suzuka the comic transition into something more like sports manga, though the focus is still on character and crushes as opposed to getting into the regionals or finals, while Suzuka the character becomes more of an enigma. Of course, since her feelings seem to be the hinge on which much of the plot depends, we should expect a little mystery.

Yamato, for his part, seems torn between doing well for his own sake, or doing well to impress Suzuka. My thought is as the current plot progresses, he may find something inside himself that transcends the crush he has for Suzuka, and that track (and personal goals) will eventually drive him as much as it has the object of his affections.

Of course, all our assumptions will change, as the reveal at the end of volume three casts all prior actions and motivations into a new light, and ends the volume with a minor cliffhanger much like the one at the end of volume two. (Full marks to Seo as a storyteller, the bastard, because I want to immediately pick up and read #4.)

This volume builds on the premise, backs off of the fan service a bit, and with this installment the series threatens to become really damn good on us if Seo isn’t careful. I’m giving this volume a 3 out of 5, and bumping up my rating of the series as a whole to match.