Rocket Bomber - reviews

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

O-Parts Hunter, Vols. 1 & 2
Published by: Viz Media
Writer & Artist: Seishi Kishimoto

Page counts: 192 each (364 net)
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2002. US editions December 2006 & February 2007.
Translation & Adaptation: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Gia Cam Luc
Design: Amy Martin
Editor: Kit Fox
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, Ages 16+ (realistic and fantasy violence, and adult situations)

Rating: 2 out of 5

##

Premise: Cute teen archaeologist and her tag-along wildboy bodyguard scour the ruins across a continent in search of the dragonballs O-parts, relics of a lost civilization.

Synopsis:

O-parts utilize the spiritual energy of compatible humans (O-parts Technicians, or OPTs) to produce sometimes spectacular effects. Some are as small as rings or bracelets, others as big as tanks or battleships. Most are weapons of one flavour or another.

Ruby Crescent, daughter of the noted archaeologist Professor Crescent, is carrying on her father’s life work: finding O-parts. Her dream is to find an O-part with legendary powers and unbelievable effects.

During a recent quest (and it seems to be one of her very first outings on her own) she runs into trouble but is saved by the timely intervention of Jio, a young lone-wolf type who, when he isn’t being an ass, alternates with being a jerk. Occasionally he’ll change out and just be a goof. He’s also handy to have in fight, and he has this cloth-yard boomerang that can slice through stuff if he throws it hard enough.

After a rocky start the two become friends, though to shelter his fragile male ego, Jio insists on the fiction that he’s just hanging around with Ruby because he’s employed as her bodyguard.

After we settle into concept, character, and a fair piece of exposition, the first book launches us into adventure, as our duo stumbles into the Thorn Ruin, and where they have an adventure that takes a twist or two but wraps up in 100 pages.

At the start of the second volume, we’re treated to a chapter showing us the opposing side, as the forces of the Seta Government take down a couple of OPTs who have commandeered a tank-like O-part. Immediately after, we’re treated to more of Jio’s origin story, showing the boy meeting his master Zero, and (after the whole training thing) the circumstances under which he left. Then it’s back to the original narrative line, with Ruby and Jio making there way to Entotsu City to rest and re-supply… though things at Entotsu will be nothing like they expect.

##

Review:

If you were skimming the credits and not paying attention, you might see the name Kishimoto and think, “Oh, Cool! Is this the manga he drew before Naruto or something?” And of course, the answer is no.

Big brother Mashashi Kishimoto draws Naruto, his slightly younger twin Seishi is also a manga artist, and O-parts is his first long-running manga. There are some similarities in style, which is only to be expected since the two grew up drawing manga together.

Twin manga artists. It’s almost like a manga plot, except they would have to fall in love with the same girl, and while one goes on to fame and fortune the other marries the girl and has a kid and a boring-normal-happy life, and each feels resentment and jealousy for the “good luck” of the other, which simmers for years until the child, now a plucky 15 year old aspiring manga artist herself, is faced with the sudden death of her parents and…

And I need to stop giving away plots for free. That or get back to the review…

…O-Parts Hunter, or as the original Japanese title would have it “666 Satan”. For you see, something evil lives inside the young lad, and when it comes out, all hell breaks loose. It’s this little wrinkle that earns the book it’s 16+ rating, because things can get a little raw and bloody. This darker subplot stands in contrast to the main story, in that the search for artefacts and the cartoon-like duels and fights with giant monsters might make this seem like a kid-favourite boy’s comic. (Kid-favourite, not kid-friendly; Mom probably wouldn’t like even the “fantasy” violence.)

The art is fine for what it is, though it lacks a little polish and care. Screen tones are used sparingly, and often just for large overlays of grey across an entire panel. Kishimoto uses a lot of black-and-white, without much in the way of hand-drawn shading either. The inkwork is good, and Kishimoto isn’t afraid of black, but it’s all high-contrast stuff. I have no way of knowing for sure, but it seems like the art style is used as a matter of speed & convenience: once he’s inked over his pencils and done a couple of large fills, he’s done. Or it could be a conscious artistic choice. It works for the book and story presented, so no complaints.

Volume 3 releases in April. If you were looking for a series to read while waiting for that other Ninja comic to come out, then O-Parts Hunter might be the manga you were looking for.

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

To Terra, vol. 1
Published by: Vertical
Writer & Artist: Keiko Takemiya

344 (338) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: Original series 1977-80. US edition February 2007.
Translation: Dawn T. Laabs
Production: Hiroko Mizuno & Shinobu Sato
Cover Design: Chip Kidd
Publisher’s Rating: None given. Like many publishers, I’ll err on the side of caution and say 13+

Rating: 4 out of 5

##

Premise: A bit of Logan’s Run, a bit of The Tomorrow People, and a whole heaping helping of space opera played out 3000 years in our future.

Synopsis:

The first ‘book’ tracks 14 year old Jomy Marcus Shin on the verge of adulthood — maybe a bit before or a bit after, but around the time of their 14th birthday, all teens will be summoned by Universal Control for their Awakening, when they leave their foster parents and the life they knew to become adults — or at least to start their final training.

Not all teens get approved. There are mental stability tests, and tests for ESP powers.

Well, maybe you can guess the next twist: Jomy is one of the “Mu”, a mutant strain of humanity with psychic abilities. Not that Jomy seems to have a power he can control, but he has the potential…

After Jomy’s saga, we change tracks, gears, and venue and the story follows Keith Anyan, a young human who has been Awakened and is now undergoing training on a space station to become one of Terra’s Elite. (as the name implies, they’re the folks who run things.) Keith has a rival, Shiroe, a new student with remarkable skills but a bit of an axe to grind. Shiroe’s constant questioning begins to chip away at Keith’s perfect façade , but it is only after these two character’s stories—Jomy’s and Keith’s—start to collide that the real plot begins to thicken.

##

Review:

If you’re the sort of person who follows these things, there was a bit of an internet controversy (translation: argument over nothing) regarding how To Terra was being classified and marketed. There was some early buzz that this was a sci-fi “girls” comic, and of course any number of online pundits decided to weigh in with their “learned, considered” opinion that the manga was nothing of the sort, while others would defend the categorisation, and it devolved as things on the net usually do to the point where the issue being argued is no longer applicable to the original circumstances. It’s immaterial, but here, have some.

However we’d care to class the manga, it’s rather decidedly scifi, and also worth reading.

The vintage is 1977. (That’s the same year Star Wars came out, which is just a bit of a coincidence, because there’s nothing Star Wars-ish to be found here, but I mention it to put To Terra into historical context.) So the art is definitely Old School, and reminds me of Leiji Matsumoto [wiki] in the character designs and the space setting. (You know, if one has to be derivative, there aren’t all that many better role models to pick.)

This isn’t a bang-pow space opera with corruscating lasers, noble-savage aliens from a warrior culture, and handy damsels to be in distress as the story needs them. This is going to be a bit more work for your average reader.

It’s a dystopian future (in keeping with other 70s scifi) with an earth that is a polluted, burnt-out mess and a number of space colonies that are just barely hanging on. Life (human life) isn’t making much of a go of it, and only careful management is keeping Terra alive — though so far my take on it (we haven’t actually seen Terra yet, and with the way this series is set up, we may never) is that Earth is a giant park, set up for conservation purposes but not actually a part of society as a whole.

It’s a bleak future, but that makes the light of our characters burn that much brighter in the surrounding dark. It’s rare that I find a scifi comic worth recommending as a comic, let alone as scifi, but here in To Terra it seems we have both. 4 marks out of 5, with a lot of potential for future releases — A series to watch, and to read.

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

Roadsong, Vols. 1 & 2
Published by: Tokyopop
Writer: Allan Gross
Artist: Joanna Estep

Page Counts: 200 & 192 (354 net)
Original Language: English
Orientation: Left to right
Vintage: January 2006 & January 2007.
Retouch & Lettering: Fawn Lau (1) and Kimie Kim (2)
Production Artist: Bowen Park (1)
Cover Artist: Joanna Estep
Cover Design (1) and Graphic Design (2): Al-Insan Lashley
Copy Editor: Stephanie Duchin (2)
Editor: Lillian Diaz-Przybyl
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, ages 16+

Rating: 3 out of 5

##

Premise: It’s a buddy movie. cue 80s TV Voice-over Framed for a crime they didn’t commit, two young musical geniuses take it on the lam to evade both the cops and the real criminals, trying to clear the names of themselves and their family, while writing and playing some kicking tunes, yo.

[some minor spoilers follow]
Synopsis:

Monty McBride plays guitar and baseball. He’s a fair hand at either, and has a real knack for writing a song hook.

Simon Smallwood is a virtuoso violin player, at home playing just about any genre of music — though he’s a bit inexperienced and uncomfortable with anything else.

Simon’s sister is marrying Monty’s brother. She asks Simon and Monty to play a little something for the wedding, since they’re both fair musicians. And they do– despite the tension between the two, and the fact that they hardly know each other, the pair not only write an original song overnight, they end up as a hit at the wedding reception. Not the biggest bang of the night, however…

Someone put a bomb on the yacht where the wedding and reception were held. The only survivor is Monty’s dad, currently hospitalized, and the two boys. The cops consider all three to be suspects.

Not having any options, and having overheard something they really shouldn’t have, the boys hastily decide to take the act on the road. Neither was planning on an extended trip on such short notice, however, so now they have to sing for their supper. They take whatever gigs they can find: a college party, a strip club, a country-western bar…

Actually, in volume two, the Nashville angle is the major plot point. That and a love triangle involving Simon, Monty, and Penny Blue — the cutest little front woman for a bar band you could ask for, even if she does sing a bit flat. There’s a record contract in play, and dreams of fame and enough fortune to hire a really good attorney, but it’s all a wash in the end. By the end of volume two, the kids are still on the run, still making music on the road, but are now actively looking for clues to solve the mystery themselves before they get arrested or killed.

##

Review:

Writer Gross could recycle the plot for volume two a few times over before we get sick of it, actually. The two leads show up at a town, have a regionally-themed adventure that involves a temporary falling out, a bit of a romantic interest for one or both, a little musical side plot, and a reset (back on the run, headed for the next town and next adventure) by the end of the book. I’m not saying he could do it forever, but there is some potential with these two main characters; if they’re playing, I’ll have a seat and listen for a spell.

The “music” in these two volumes is lyrics only (obviously) but if you have a bit of an ear for it and know the genres they allude to, it’s pretty hard not to hear the songs in your head. Gross made a good choice with Country music as his first major outing (after the initial volume sets up the story) because a song about a heartbreak or a cheatin’ woman plays really well even without the music.

The setup is just an excuse to throw these two guys together, though. Neither one is the “good” guy or the lead. They each have their strong points and weaknesses, and they play to each other well. I’m not saying it’s Shakespeare, but the resemblance to a 40s era Hope-and-Crosby Road movie or an 80s era buddy-mystery-drama-comedy is worth noting.

So enough about the writing and that Gross guy: Artist Estep is certainly taking a few cues from manga, but her style is her own. I’m reminded of another American a Canadian artist, Svetlana Chmakova, in that each is influenced by manga, but still drawing her own path. (and one might note that they share a publisher and an editor)

It’s not Nodame Cantabile, by any stretch; it’s an American version of the same sort of artistic struggle, only with guns and exploding yachts and interstate fugitives. I think fans of one might find something to enjoy in the other, however. 3 out of 5.

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

Because I’m the Goddess, Vols. 1 & 2
Published by: Tokyopop
Writer & Artist: Shamneko

Page Counts: 176 each (326 net)
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2003-2004. US edition August & December 2006.
Translation: Mike Kiefl (1) & Jihae Hong (2)
Adaptation: Jamie S. Rich
Copy Editor: Hope Donovan (1)
Retouch & Lettering: Erika “Skooter” Terriquez (1) & Michael Paolilli (2)
Graphic Design (1) & Cover Design (2): Jose Macasocol, Jr.
Editor: Rob Valois (1) & Louis Reyes (2)
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, Ages 16+

Rating: 1 out of 5

##

Premise: She’s the Goddess. Pandora is sent to down to Earth to reclaim various Gifts, which when they encounter a compatible human soul warp and twist those poor girls into something just a shade evil.

Synopsis:

Pandora can’t do it on her own, because when she uses her Godly powers, it drains her from a busty double-D vixen down to a cute grade schooler. This might be seen as a disadvantage, but honestly, she barely has enough brain power for a grade schooler anyway. If you’ll forgive me for the reference: Phenomenal cosmic power, itty bitty thinking space.

Her way to recharge is to kiss her put-upon companion & default lackey, Aoi. Here’s the thing: as a full grown Goddess, it seems all men are in thrall to Pandora’s beauty. Except Aoi. But when she’s power-drained and all cute looking, Aoi has an instinctive reaction to protect the little girl.

Their relationship is all kinds of weird, even for manga. Throw in a odd S&M vibe and this is almost too much to take.

Oh, didn’t I mention? The girls possessed by Gifts have near god-like powers, but they are only expressed through the poor men they hold in thrall. The book actually uses the term “slave”. And the spirit of the slaves are drawn out so their Gift-possessed-girlfriends can transform them into weapons to fight Pandora. Of course, poor Aoi is subject to the same deal, as Pandora makes use of his spirit to defeat and collect the Gifts.

The plot, such as it is, deals with the aftermath of Pandora using her powers carelessly (like, say, calling a tsunami down just to prove she has power) while slowly building up a “family” of sorts as our protagonists: So far there is Pandora, Aoi, Maya (a effeminate young monk who is often mistaken for a girl), “Auntie” (who runs a Sweets shop and gives the wanderers a place to live), and Suzu (”Auntie”’s “niece”, a girl from the neighbourhood with a bit of a faces-of-Eve thing going on) — not to mention Matsuyki, AKA Mattsun, the creepy talking cat-like thing.

The individual chapters either: 1) show the growing bond between Aoi and Pandora, 2) relate a duel where Pandora severs the bond and collects a Gift from one of the human hosts, or 3) build on the larger plot of how the Ibara family is somehow related to the Gifts, and is working to get Aoi back from Pandora. Or all three at once.

##

Review:

This title deals with so many stereotypes of manga it’s hard to know where to begin. Main character with a childlike naïveté but also an impressive bustline and a skimpy wardrobe? Check. Main character who is a young girl, wearing cute outfits and playing up the whole little-sister-complex that makes my skin crawl a little? check. The twist here (and I bet Shamneko and his editor are still patting themselves on the back for thinking of it) is that those are two aspects of the same girl. Or goddess, in this case.

Main character who likes our dumpy generic manga hero for no specific reason? Check. Villains who do the same? Check.

So much here is recycled and overdone, it’s no wonder the best character is the creepy-looking, chain-smoking drag queen cat. (actually, the cat-thing is genderless, however since the author mentions that Mattsun was written using the speech patterns of a drag queen…)

Available evidence is pointing to this being just a 3 volume series, so I’m guessing in volume three (which should release from Tokyopop this April) the plot, such as it is, will wrap up into some sort of happy ending. If it really is just one more volume, maybe I’ll try to read it on a lunch break, but I’m not sure that I’ll buy it. 1 mark out of 5.

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

Read or Die, Vols. 2-4 (of 4)
Published by: Viz Media
Writer: Hideyuki Kurata
Artist: Shutaro Yamada

Page Counts: 224, 216, & 216 pages (632 net)
Vintage: 2000. US editions May, July, and September 2006.
English Translation & Adaptation: Steve Ballati
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Mark McMurray
Cover & Graphic Design: Janet Piercy (vol. 2), Izumi Hirayama (vols. 3 & 4)
Editors: Urian Brown (vols. 2 & 3 ), Shaenon K. Garrity (vols. 3 & 4)
Publishers Rating: Older Teen

Rating: 4 out of 5

##

Premise: World’s most bookish superhero-slash-secret-agent saves the world from her enemies, her allies, and shadows from her past.

Synopsis:

Yomiko loves books. She really loves books. She is a Paper Master, one of those with the ability to manipulate paper into tools, shields, & weapons.

Yomiko Readman, aka “the Paper”, is a sometimes substitute teacher who also works as an agent of the British Library– which is not only a collection of rare and wonderful books, but also a top tier covert special ops organization. (who knew?)

Volume one was written as a stand-alone, but must have been successful; with the go-ahead from publisher and editors, Kurata and Yamada embark on a 3-volume storyline that will tear their heroine all the way down to a weepy dispirited mess before she finds the will to fight again, in a conflict that pits good against evil against books.

In Volume 2, Yomiko is preparing for her next mission (blowing the advance on more books) when she receives a mysterious letter from Donnie Nakajima, her old mentor and boyfriend. Her dead boyfriend. The letter has some mysterious, foreboding, and vague warnings about her next assignment for the Library of England. Yomiko is sent undercover as a teacher to the Manchu Academy, an ultra elite school for the kids of political and corporate power brokers. Already there is agent-in-training Wendy, who has been doing some preliminary investigations, and their handler Joker, who is camped outside the campus grounds ready to provide backup or additional direction, as the situation merits.

Things are little weird at this school. Well, not weird by manga standards — The students are split into two levels: the A-level students get the best facilities and special training, and the B-level students get beat up. The A-levels also seem to be acquiring special powers, at least on par with those of Yomiko. By the end of the volume we also see the return of Nenene, who has transferred to Manshu to be with her favourite teacher, and fresh from the OVA and a sightseeing tour of Japan, everyone’s favourite dryly-sarcastic mercenary, Drake Anderson.

Volume 3 picks up with the A-levels bringing even more pain to the B’s. I mean, last volume the B-level school building was destroyed in some pretty freaky circumstances, and they had to relocate to the soon-to-be-condemned old school, but now things are getting even more personal. Yomiko, who had been championing the cause of the B-level students is starting to crack as her past life catches up to her, and Yomiko and Wendy’s mission seems to have stalled to the point where it’s irrecoverable.

But we have to wait for a resolution there, because right as we hit a dramatic plot point, bam, time for 100 pages of flashbacks and filler back-story. It’s good stuff, so I won’t complain too much.

When we get back to the present-day time line, Yomiko has been tossed aside like a used Kleenex, the evil guy is winning, and an eldrich book-themed horror is rising up out of the depths. And it’s hungry. Drake, Wendy, and Nenene are left to rally the students for a last stand while Yomiko is busy being catatonic.

…and into the final volume! Numerous power duels take place as all around them, hell is packed neatly into a picnic-sized handbasket and the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. Ultimate Power with a side of Immortality is just to hand (in the form of a book, natch) and it seems that everyone who isn’t merely trying to survive the carnage is making a play for the prize. Allegiances get called into question (again) and long simmering motives come to light. The ending is not unexpected, but the twists and reveals before the final showdown keep things moving, and a few characters will almost certainly surprise you.

##

Review:

Whoosh. Trying to boil 600 pages into 600 words doesn’t quite do the work justice, and the synopsis reminds me of just what a wild ride it was.

Here we have a mix of action, emotion, and the bonds between characters that is done well. If we wanted to nitpick, yes, a lot of it is over-the-top, but I think every now and then a little action-spiked melodrama is a nice change of pace. If this series were to be continued, Kurata would have to dial way back on the apocalypt-o-meter, and try to find a conflict that didn’t necessitate an end of the world ending. Or he could change gears entirely and do something like Read or Dream, which he did.

However, as a stand alone miniseries this is pretty damn good. (and at just 4 bucks the price is right: I’ll echo Bob’s sentiments and ask all creators to at least consider doing one project that is scheduled to end within a single calendar year, and not always an epic saga that will cost me $295 bucks to finish.)

If you want an idea of the art, pick up a copy and flip through it. Panel layouts are dynamic, with a lot of cinematic flair, good use of close-ups, changing perspective, speed lines, and paper trails to illustrate the action.

Not a perfect series, but a very good one. 4 out of 5.

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

Onegai [Please] Twins (single volume manga)
Published by: DrMaster Publications
Original Story: Please!
Writer & Artist: Akikan

228 (216) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2005. US edition July 2006.
Translation: Gretchen Kern
Adaptation: Alien Lujo
Production Artists: Primary Graphics, Bryce Gunkel, & Stephanie Zhu
Cover Artist: Bryce Gunkel
Editor: Matthew Scrivner
Publisher’s Rating: Ages 15+

Rating: 1 out of 5

##

Premise: …save yourself the trouble and rent the DVDs.

Synopsis:

Mike is an orphan; thanks to an aptitude for programming and a fair amount of hard work, he is able to leave the orphanage and live on his own, just barely making the rent on a broken down old house somewhere out in the Japanese exurbs.

Why’d he move out to the sticks? Well, as a programmer, he can pretty much work wherever he’d like — but he has a particular attachment to his current digs. His only link to his past is an old photograph, showing himself and a girl (relative?) as toddlers, in front of the house where he now lives.

There’s only one girl in the photograph. Imagine Mike’s surprise when two girls show up on his doorstep, each with a copy of the photograph, and each claiming to be his “sister”. Or something; all three are half-japanese, and all three have the same shade of blue eyes.

It’s safe to say one is a relative. The other… well, hell, this is where the premise meets the plot, now isn’t it?

##

Review:

This is a single volume adaptation of a 13-ep anime. So yeah, with (roughly speaking) 10 times the room to tell the same story, the DVDs are going to be better. This manga is merely an exercise to soak the fanbase for an extra ¥1200 apeice. And to be fair: yeah, they got my 10 bucks too.

The art is good, both faithful to the character designs and perfectly acceptable in it’s own right. The story skips a bit; a familiarity with the TV show is taken as a given, so someone brand new to the story and premise will be OK, but will miss a lot of the nuance. In an attempt to bring something new to the table, the manga introduces a new character and has a “twist” ending—and the attempt is appreciated—but in the end the story points still resolve themselves in more or less the same way.

I’ve encountered this script before, in both an English dub and reading the subtitles on the anime, and there are a few translation flubs that detract from the story; I’m not saying that the translation and adaptation are wrong, just that there is some room for interpretation (obviously) and that in other versions, it was done better than this. I may have to take this as an object lesson when approaching other manga: translation is more art than science, and even the published version may not be the best one.

I won’t say the book is completely without merit, but there isn’t enough here to recommend to folks who haven’t already seen the show, and once you’ve seen the anime the manga is superfluous. 1 out of 5.

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

Rose Hip Zero, Vol. 1
Published by: Tokyopop
Writer & Artist: Tohru Fujisawa

200 (194) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2005. US edition November 2006.
Translation: Takae Brewer
Adaptation: Kara Stambach
Copy Editor: Stephanie Duchin & Sara Morgan
Retouch & Lettering: Michael Paolilli
Graphic Design: Al-Insan Lashley
Editor: Luis Reyes
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, Ages 16+

Rating: 2 out of 5

##

Premise: He’s a burnt-out former terrorist expert who voluntarily took a job with the juvy crimes unit. She’s a burnt-out former terrorist, sick of the work she was assigned and now willing to turn state’s evidence… and, she’s fourteen. Looks like Kyoji Kido’s two jobs are about to collide violently, with a side of gunplay.

Synopsis:

Desert Eagle .50. Think Dirty Harry and we’ll raise you a caliber or two. Kyoji Kido is a cop who doesn’t like to play by the rules, and he has a five-oh-vulture riding shotgun in his holster. The casual street trash he is currently running across in his daily police duties are getting the raw end of his anger, and I bet they wished they’d bothered to get bigger guns.

Kido used to work counter-terrorism, at least until his job bled over into his personal life, and his kid sister bit it.

Oh yeah, he’s all kinds of smoldering anger and pissed off at the world.

He’s found a way to sublimate that rage, though, and he’s trying to be just another beat cop — He took the job on the juvy patrol because he figured that way he’d never have to use deadly force again. He would have been right, if it weren’t for two things: A terrorist group called “Alice” started to target high-ranking cops… and a defector from Alice, Kasumi Asakura, has just been assigned to Kido as his new partner.

Dust off that Eagle, Kyoji, things are about to get messy.

##

Review:

The rating is 16+, so even if I didn’t notice it in this volume, all sorts of violence is no doubt coming. Volume one gives us a fairly standard cop drama, with a twist named Kasumi: one holds out hope that future volumes will make the most of the pairing of the two main characters, but at least for the length of this volume, it’s all just cliched interplay between the crochety “old” (20s) guy and the teen heroine.

We don’t even get into a lot of cop drama to date. Volume one exists to set up the premise and not much else. (The enemy are a bunch of teens. This is a spoiler, by the way, but heck — it’s just the first volume and I think most of us could have guessed that plot twist anyway.) Rose Hip Zero looks like a great title, but it may need a bit longer to stew before we see any real dramatic developments.

2 marks out of 5 — though keep your eye on this series; better things are coming.

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

Read or Dream, vols 1 & 2
Published by: Viz Media
Writer: Hideyuki Kurata
Artist: Ran Ayanaga

200 (188) & 208 (198) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2002. US editions November 2006 & January 2007
Translation: JN Productions
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Mark McMurray
Design: Amy Martin
Editor: Shaenon K. Garrity
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen

Rating: 2 out of 5

##

Premise: Those who really love books can become Paper Masters with the ability to manipulate paper into tools, shields, & weapons. Who knew there would be three together in one place? Meet the Paper Sisters Detective Agency of Hong Kong.

Synopsis:

Michelle is the oldest: she is an avid collector of books, a passionate reader, and the de facto leader of the agency.

Maggie is next, a quiet, bookish young woman who is shy (perhaps due to her height) and easily engrossed in any book, to the point where she ignores the rest of the world.

Anita is the youngest, a little firecracker and the only realist of the group, in that she doesn’t see the need to spend every last yuan on more books, when they already have so many. She claims to hate books, but she shares her sisters’ power.

All three can manipulate paper, of course, and they use their powers to solve small cases around town involving books — well, they’ll also track down the occasional lost pet if that’s the only work they can get. Business has been slow recently.

##

Review:

Call this one Read or Die Lite. The focus shifts from intrigue and action to comedy and dialog.

Different yes, but not by any means bad. Some familiarity with the previous manga, the Read or Die OVA or the R.O.D TV Series is handy, but not necessary. If you want to fault this manga for lacking a strong story arc, definitely check out the two seasons of ROD the TV. The show and book were developed together, and I think one was meant to compliment the other.

These manga are a little different in style, compared to the rest. In these first two volumes, most chapters are self-contained stories (with one 3 chapter arc), so you can take as much or as little of the adventures of Michelle, Maggie, and Anita as you’d like. Each small episode deals with the smaller things in the lives of the detectives: books, cases and clients, the usual friction between sisters, and spending the grocery money on more books (I know that pain). Gone are the multipage duels with hardcore paper-cutting action, but instead we get some characterisation and exploration into what exactly books are and their meaning to the people who love them.

The art is also “softer” in style, in keeping with the other changes. Part of that is of course the change in artists, since the original series was drawn by Shutaro Yamamda. With three all-new main characters and no crossover between Die and Dream, direct comparisons would be unfair — Ayanaga is a fairly talented artist in her own right; her art (particularly character design) is a lot closer to what you see in many anime, not falling strictly into any one manga genre.

A few liberties are taken with some of the storylines, with aliens and magical libraries and a run in with “Lily the Reader, the Book Pirate” (a literary thief with a taste for rare books). Since the story resets to normal after each plot line wraps up, I guess Kurata can get away with these oddball elements. There are a couple of hints that some clients may be coming back as recurring characters, which would bring some much needed continuity and depth to this series, but since Read or Dream caps out at 4 volumes, I doubt it’ll be growing much of a plot between the halfway point and the end.

Recommended for fans of the series; a skip-able but enjoyable light entertainment for others — 2 out of 5.

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

E’s, Vol. 1
Published by: Broccoli Books
Writer & Artist: Satol Yuiga

224 (186) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 1997. US edition January 2007.
Translation: Stasuki Yamashita
Adaptation: Elizabeth Hannel
Cover, Touch-up, & Lettering: Keiran O’Leary
Graphic Supervision: Cristopher McDougall
Graphic Assistant: Krystal Sae Uea
Editor: Dietrich Seto
Publisher’s Rating: Ages 16 and over

Rating: 3 out of 5

##

Premise: After the collapse of most nations following the last great global war, the world is a patchwork of independent cities and quasi-governmental corporations. Into this bleak future are born psychics, called E’s, who are subject to discrimination and outright hatred from other “normal” people. A psychic’s life is a very tough one, unless they get taken in by one of the ruling organizations…

Synopsis:

(note: this title should not be confused with ES: Eternal Sabbath by Fuyumi Soryo, published by Del Rey Books)

In this first volume, we get introduced to a dozen or so characters, two factions, a blighted urban landscape and of course, psychic powers. On one side is Ashurum, a shadowy group with mysterious motives, whose current objective is “peacekeeping” in Gald City. On the other side is Gald, a city partially rebuilt from the ruins but still a tangled mess both physically and in terms of civic organization.

Ashurum employs a small group of E’s as a sort of psychic SWAT team, to be used when conventional forces fail, or to counter other psychics. The members of this team are all teens, including one of the newer recruits, Kai Kudou. Kai has lived a sheltered life within Ashurum, and while he’s been told E’s are hated by most people on the outside, it is completely outside his experience. He is opposed to violence and killing, and is being brought into the team slowly by his commander Eiji Sagamiya, who shields Kai from some of the grittier parts of the job while still making use of his power.

Our story proper begins when the teen agents are sent into Gald, supposedly to find and capture other psychics who are being used by the guerillas. The kids can fly, teleport short distances, and employ some pretty sophisticated telekinetics — even up against other psychics, they should be OK. Eiji might have some other objective, though, because conditions on the ground are nothing like Kai and the others were told: the area isn’t mostly abandoned, innocent civilians are put in the crossfire, and the whole mission quickly devolves into a struggle for survival.

By the end of the book at least two agents are down, and Kai has had a major blow-up with one of his comrades, and his doubts about working for Ashurum will be fulfilled in violent and spectacular fashion.

##

Review:

Kai also has a younger sister, stuck in hospital. He has a rival, Shen-Long, who has a twin sister, Shen-lu, who has kind of a crush on Kai. There are also a handful of characters in Gald (with their own motivations and interactions) who each get quite a few pages… in fact, there are so many players that you can’t quite keep them straight without a program.

Broccoli Books has thoughtfully provided some help: two pages of quick character intros in the front of the book, and other character descriptions within the voluminous extras in the back. There are a lot of extra features: 20 pages after the story in fact, with the usual vol. 2 preview and translation notes, but a lot of good stuff about character and background, and a mini-comic where Yuiga writes & draws about her creative process up to that point.

I guess that’s why Broccoli calls this a ‘deluxe’ edition. That and it certainly feels like a better grade of paper in there; the paperback is noticeably heavier than other manga, even though it’s a half inch shorter in this trim size.

Between the excellent inkwork and toning, the blood-splattering fast-moving action, and the brooding night-time urban ruins in which much of this volume is set, there are a lot of pretty pictures to look at here. Yuiga is obviously very skilled, and if the credit page is to be believed, did all of the artwork herself. Broccoli retains the original Japanese sound effects (with small English subtitles) which they probably had to do given the way the f/x overlap in the dynamic panel layouts.

This is a fast paced, action-packed manga that still finds a little time to lay groundwork for future plots and character arcs. If anything, there is too much going on, and the reader is left feeling a bit lost, trying to figure out just who the “good guys” are and which characters will be Kai’s enemies, his allies, or his friends. It is a flashy introduction to the series.

This volume ends on a cliffhanger so of course I want to pick up the next one. While I’m giving this 3 marks, since I like a little more characterisation to balance out my action, I think the series as a whole has a lot of promise and will edge my rating upwards if future releases continue to build on this solid opening.