Manga A Day: Othello Vol 7

Amazon.com: Othello 7 (Othello (Del Rey)): Books: Satomi Ikezawa ISBN: 0345484398 ISBN-13: 9780345484390

 Well, that's over. The basic plot of Othello is that wimpy Yaya becomes headstrong  bringer of justice Nana when under stress. The only thing that is the same about Yaya and Nana (besides that they share the same body) is that they both want to be singers. Satomi Ikezawa does comedy well, so in the beginning of the series when the personality change was played up for laughs the series was pretty good. But as the series wound to a close and Ikezawa tried to insert drama and pathos the unrealistic nature of the story made the series fall flat.

Haven't they ever thought of consulting a health professional?"

In the last volume of Othello Yaya finally found out about the existence of Nana. She was so shocked that she retreated completely giving up control of her body to the Nana personality. Love interest Moriyama for some reason wants the whiny and helpless Yaya back instead of sassy and strong Nana. Also, they decide to keep it to themselves instead of, you know, talking to a doctor.

In this volume Shohei, former lead singer of Yaya's favorite band Juliet, turns up again with an offer to produce Nana. He wants to record an album with her and have her perform in the "Rock Japan" concert. Nana jumps at the opportunity, but has trouble writing her own lyrics for the song Shohei wrote. She finds the lyrics Yaya wrote for the song and tries to pass them off for her own. But since she doesn't understand the feelings behind them can't perform it properly.

Moriyama immediately recognizes the song as Yaya's and helps Nana bring out Yaya to perform it. Through the power of music Yaya and Nana start to reconcile their two personalities and decide to work together to perform. But now that Yaya is stronger Nana can't just take over like she did before, she has to wait until Nana is asleep. Things come to a head when Shohei's ex-bandmate sabotages Nana/Yaya's chance to perform in the concert.

Nana goes on rampage, but Yaya interferes when she tries to administer justice. Together they manage to get the chance to perform and even get the ability to switch back and forth at will. They go on to perform kick ass despite a bout of nervousness on Yaya's part.

The story is okay, if you don't take it to seriously. There are plot holes by the megaton, and I feel like they shouldn't have tried to make it a serious story at all. Ikezawa's art is sketchy and undefined. Besides the typical manga standard of "no background is a good background," the characters themselves are rarely drawn in detail. They have next to no shading and the inking has no difference in line weight. This makes the characters look very flat. Ikezawa is fond of drawing the mouths exaggerated to express the characters emotions. It's kind of ham-handed but it gets the point across. It works better in the comedy portions.

 

Technorati Tags: manga, manga reviews, othello

Manga A Day: Skip Beat Vol 8

Amazon.com: Skip Beat! Vol. 8 (Skip Beat (Graphic Novels)): Books: Yoshiko Nakamura ISBN: 1421510251 ISBN-13: 9781421510255

Yoshiki Nakamura, oh how I love thee. Skip Beat is one of those books where I finish the volume, run to Amazon to check when the next one is out (not until November!! ;o;) and then consider reading the series so far over again. The story is that engaging. I'm going to read this book again when I'm finished writing this review.

Yoshiiki Nakamura's artwork has improved a lot since her previous work Tokyo Crazy Paradise, and it wasn't that bad then. She still only has about four different faces that she uses for all her characters, two female and two male. But attitudes and body language of the characters (and hairstyles) are distinctive enough to keep you from getting confused. I did have a little trouble in this volume when Kyoko and Mimori were in their angel garb since they had the same hair and clothes. The fact that Kyoko's eyes and chin are just a bit sharper then Mimori's wasn't really enough to distinguish them.

I really love how she uses a character's whole body to express their emotion. You might not be able to figure out who's who from their face, but you can't mistake them from the way they carry themselves in a panel. She also doesn't fall into the manga style trap of having only one "happy" (or sad, or angry) face for her characters. Kyoko especially is as readable as a book. You can plainly see from her expression and carriage when she gets her hopes up, when she's feeling sad, when she's angry. And I love Kyoko's grudge spirits.  They're so evil and cute at the same time. 

 Nakamura is also of the school that you should never draw a background when a screentone will do instead.

In this volume Kyoko continues to act in Sho's Promo clip as an Angel character who has to kill his Devil character. In the last volume she completely overwhelmed Mimori and shocked Sho with  the level of her acting. After promising to crush Sho with her acting she's quickly knocked down a peg when she flops during the pivotal murder scene. The problem being, as an angel, she's supposed to be conflicted about killing the devil. But Kyoko is obviously enjoying choking the life out of Sho too much to make that work.

She calls her acting friend and fellow "Love-Me" section member Moko for advice. When she gets Moko's voice mail, she calls Ren for advice but leaves a weird message on his phone. Moko calls back and helps Kyoko get into her character's head. Kyoko again performs and overwhelming performance.

Everyone is curious about her relationship with Sho. Their bickering, taunting and Sho's unusual interest in her make everyone wonder if they are or were dating, despite their denials. Sho doesn't seem to really know what's going on himself. He keeps saying he doesn't care about her but everyone sees that he treats her differently.   

It doesn't sound like much to take up the bulk of the book, but I was eagerly turning each page. I also really love the care even side characters get in Nakamura's book. Mr. Yashiro, Ren's manager, is great. Nakamura helps express what the stoic Ren is feeling by having Yashiro react for him or about his actions without making it seem obvious or forced. The bits with Ren's cellphone, both Ren's reaction to getting Kyoko's call and the threat at the end by Yashiro, were a treat to watch. More please!

Technorati Tags: manga, manga reviews, skip beat

Manga A Day: Hands Off! Volume 8

Amazon.com: Hands Off! Volume 8 (Hands Off!): Books: Katsumoto Kasane ISBN: 1595321608 ISBN-13: 9781595321602

Three teenage boys, three flavors of ESP. Yuuto can read auras, Tatsuki can see the past by touching objects, Kotarou is an empath and healer. Both Tatsuki and Yuuto can boost their powers by touching Kotarou.

No, it's not yaoi.

Honest! It's not. It's not even boy's love. Yes there are really touchy feelie guys, but Kotarou has a girlfriend. They kiss and everything! Yuuto is a total ladies man for most of the series before settling down to chase after one particular girl. And I'm not sure if Tatsuki realizes that people come in two flavors. That being said, the chapter image for chapter 47 (an angelic Kotarou holding an injured Tatsuki in his arms) is the gayest thing I've ever seen.

Besides that the story comes to a more or less satisfactory end in this final volume of the series. At the end of volume seven Tatsuki had been kidnapped out of his hospital bed. Kotarou and Yuuto search for him, thinking he'd run out on his own. Tatsuki nearly escapes and overhears someone saying that it would be better to wait "until the two were together." Then they dump him on his front doorstep.

Guessing that they want to kidnap him and Kotarou together he enlists Yuuto's help in keeping Kotarou away while he tries to hunt down the people who kidnapped him. The "secret psychic organization" that popped up around book 5 or 6, reappears and you can't tell the good guys from the bad guys. Of course, trying to keep Kotarou out of the mess just makes him more eager to dive right back into it.

The ending feels rushed, you never get to really find out who or what makes up the secret organization that is so interested in Kotarou and Tatsuki (or why they're ignoring the pretty powerful Yuuto completely.) They never explain if there are two organizations or if Udou and Kiba are just renegades. Or why, exactly, Tatsuki's head explodes.

TATSUKI'S HEAD EXPLODES

Ehem, anyway... there are loose ends. But overall most of the main questions are answered, like why Tatsuki developed powers and how it's connected to Kotarou.

The artwork in Hand's Off is very unusual. The faces and eyes are all very sharp featured. Everyone's head kind of looks like upside down triangles. The eyes stretch wide across the face, foxlike. (Look at the cover above to see what I mean) It's a style that you usually see in beginning artists. But unlike an inexperienced artists the proportions are consistent and the panels uncluttered. It's very distinctive, and very suited to the brooding she has her guys do. It looks a bit strange on the girls, but there are only three of those so it's not a problem. I'd be interested to see other works by this artist, just to see how she draws other characters.

Technorati Tags: manga reviews, manga

Manga a Day: Recent Manga Purchases

In response to seangaffney on livejournal's question "What manga YOU have gotten recently?"

According to my book management software, BookCollector, I have bought 64 volumes of manga since August 8th. They are (in alphabetical order):

Banana Fish Vol 10 -18 by Akimi Yoshida published by VIZ, Gang wars in NY in the 80's, plus global drug conspiracies that have their roots in the Vietnam war. Good stuff. Plus, some boy's love...only not. Eighteen is the final volume, it will be interesting to see if they can really tie up all the plotlines.

Black Knight Vol 02 by Tsurugi Kai published by Blu. Yaoi, with way more story then sex. I have one and three. Needed this one to close up the gap. Set in a fantasy world.

Chrono Crusade Vol 08 by Daisuke Moriyama published by ADV Manga. Finally going to finish this up. And I think it's a miracle, ADV actually published a complete series. It's got Nuns with Guns. What more could you ask for?

The Devil Does Exist: Vol 04-11 by Mitsuba Takanashi, published by CMX. If their parents marry they'll be brother and sister, but why should that stop their relationship? By the same manga artist as Crimson Hero. Volume eleven finishes up this series.

Dokebi Bride Vol 03 -05 by Marley published by NETCOMICS, see my manga a day posts. Weird Korean mythology.

Flower Of Life Vol 02 & 03 by Fumi Yoshinaga published by DMP. Slice of life high school comedy. Posted in the Manga A Day

Fruits Basket Vol 17 by Natsuki Takaya published by Tokyopop. Because, duh, Furuba.

Gerard & Jacques Vol 01& 02 by Fumi Yoshinaga published by Blu. Yaoi. Bought because I'm on a Fumi Yoshinaga kick and sadly she does way more Yaoi then non-yaoi. Her story telling is good either way.

Guru Guru Pon-Chan vol 04-09 by Satomi Ikezawa published by Del Rey. If a dog becomes a human girl and you fall in love with it, is it still bestiality? Cute comedy that completely ignores that question. Volume 9 is the final volume. By the same author as Othello.

Hands Off! Vol 08 by Katsumoto Kasane published Tokyopop. This title wants to be yaoi when it grows up. (It's not, it just hints at it now and then.) There are 5 flavors of psycic in this book and they don't get along. Last volume in the series.

Happy Hustle High Vol 05 by Rie Takada published by VIZ. Last volume of this high school comedy romance. Thank god that's over.

JUNJO ROMANTICA Vol 02 & 03 published by Blu, Yaoi with lots of "surprise sex." I started the series, now I have to keep reading it. I'm obsessive that way.

Kare Kano/His and Her Circumstances Vol 18-21 by Masami Tsuda,Tokyopop. I read these in scanlation along time ago. Dutifully buying my volumes in english for happy re-reading.

La Esperanca Vol 05-07 by Chigusa Kawai published by DMP. More Yaoi, this time in an all boy's boarding school. I'm surprised this isn't a more common setting. I think this finishes up this series. Pretty art for a fairly standard story.

Land of the Blindfolded  Vol 08 & 09 by Sakura Tsukuba published by CMX. Psycics collide and find romance. Volume nine finishes up this series.

The Moon And Sandals Vol 02 by Fumi Yoshinaga published by DMP. Yaoi, more of my Fumi Yoshinaga kick. Its one of the few Yaoi books I've read where people actually think about real life things like having to come out to your parents and/or trying to explain to co-workers that just because you're not dating a woman, you're not single.

Othello Vol 07 by Satomi Ikezawa published by Del Rey, Spilt personalities, they fun way to date two girls at the same time! Final book in the series.

Oyayubihime Infinity Vol 06 by Toru Fujieda published CMX. Final book in the series. Past lives collide with present day in this story. I'm sad it's over.

Peach Girl: Change of Heart Vol 05 by Miwa Ueda published Tokyopop. Girl who looks ganguro seeks love. Trouble ensues. I have the rest of this series, but was missing this book.

A Perfect Day for Love Letters Vol 02 by George Asakura published by Del Rey. Second and last collection of short stories about love.

Pretty Maniacs Vol 02 & 03 by Shinsuke Kurihashi published Dr. Master Productions Inc. Before there was Train Main, Comic Party or Genshinken, there was Maniac Road. then there was Pretty Maniacs, the sequel. Geeky girls geek it up in a family run Akibara store. Final volumes.

The Queen's Knight Vol 05 by Kim Kang Won published by Tokyopop. I bought 6 without buying five, closing up the gap. Girl is whisked to another world to become Queen.

Shout Out Loud! Vol 03-05 by Satosumi Takaguchi published by Blu. Cute boy's love series about a baby-faced actor (who plays Uke roles in yaoi dramas), who simultaneously has to deal with his 17 year old son showing up on his doorstep and the advances of his drama co-stars. Read it in scanlations, buying the series now for my collection.

Skip Beat! Vol 08 by Yoshiki Nakamura, published by VIZ. Comedy, love and revenge in the Japanese idol market. Anyone who isn't reading this should be. Good fun all around.

The Tarot Cafe Vol 05 by Sang-Sun Park published by Tokyopop. Mysterious fortuneteller is involved with supernatural creatures. Not done yet, but who knows when more will be out.

Tramps Like Us Vol 11 & 12 by Yayoi Ogawa published by Tokyopop. Woman keeps boy as pet. Getting close to the end now!

Yubisaki Milk Tea Vol 04 & 06 by Tomochika Miyano published Tokyopop. Boy dresses up as girl for fun, gets into romantic entanglements with multiple girls. Fanservice-y but still manages to remain sweet.

I went on a big "let's finish up these dangling series" kick on Amazon. I wanted to finish out a few more, but Amazon's cart doesn't like when you put over a 100 books in their cart.

My manga-a-day posts will resume tomorrow, and I'll probably be doing most of the titles on this list (the ones I haven't done already.) I'll try an avoid posting a weeks worth of Banana Fish all at once though. 

So many manga, so little room...

I spent yesterday cleaning up my apartment a bit, which for my consists of mostly trying to get all books up off the floor/and or any other available flat-ish surface. I've managed to get all my manga up on their bookshelves. I would celebrate more about that except that my bookshelves are not completely full to the brim. That means if the 50 or 60 books I have currently lent out to people come back any time soon, I will have no where to put them. I'll be back to stacking books on the floor next to the bookcases. I don't like to do that,  since I live in a basement apartment that could and does spring leaks occasionally.

My 'regular' books are even worse off as there is absolutely no more room on those shelves. Usually I keep one shelf (or rather one layer of one shelf, because I stack in two layers) free to keep all my unread books together. Then when I want something to read I just cruise over and pluck one off. But now my unread books are stacked up on my end table, because I had to use that space for read books that had no home. There were more of those then unread, so goodbye unread shelf.

Must renew house hunt so I can have more space to store books. Plus, it's probably not a bad idea to go through my regular books again for a purge. I hate doing that though, because as soon as I get rid of something I want to read it again. 

Manga a Day: Oyayubihime Infinity Series Review

Amazon.com: Oyayubihime Infinity: Volume 6 (Oyayubihime Infinity): Books: Toru Fujieda ISBN: 1401213073 ISBN-13: 9781401213077

Has anyone else read Oyayubihime Infinity? Why not?! Go read it! The final volume, volume six, has just come out so you can get the whole series and read it in one go. CMX has been putting out a lot of great, unusual titles that I feel are being lost among the sea of Tokyopop and Viz titles. Besides Oyayubihime Infinity, I'm enjoying their release of Emma, Cipher, and Recipe For Gertrude. It's getting to the point that when I see it's put out by CMX I'm more willing to give it a chance. I'm sad that Oyayubihime Infinity is over, and I hope it was popular enough to bring some of Fujieda's other titles over.

A friend told me that  Oyayubihime means "Thumb Princess," meaning the title translates to "Thumb Princess Infinity." The premise is pretty simple. There are people in this world who are connected by destiny. In previous lives they were unable to fulfill their destiny to be together and are reborn in this life to meet again. To mark these people they have an unusual butterfly birthmark on their thumbs.

In the beginning the main character, Kanoko, is unaware of the significance of her birthmark. She and her sister, Mayu, were both born with it and they use it to make promises on to be together forever. They are daughters of a famous actress, though their fathers are different. Mayu is being raised by her mother to be an actress even though she's shy. Kanoko spends her life coaching and "producing" Mayu, helping her awkward sister live up to her good looks and star power heritage. Kanoko doesn't speak to anyone in class, living in her own little world and txt-ing her sister all day on her phone.

That is until her classmate Tsubame, her class idol, notices her birthmark. He's been  having memories of his past life ever since he was little. When he grabs Kanoko's hand and put their marks Kanoko has a vision of her past life. In a past life Tsubame was Sukeroku and he's searching for the reincarnation of Agemaki, the woman he committed a lover's suicide with in the past in the hopes of meeting again the next life. Now that he's found Kanoko, he believes they should immediately start dating and announces it to the whole school.

But it's not that simple. Kanoko doesn't remember her full life, so she's not sure if she is Agemaki. It could be her sister, who also has the butterfly birthmark. Or it could be Mike, Tsubame's middle school ex-boyfriend who also has a birthmark. (They dated until Tsubame realized their memories of the past life didn't match up.) It turns out that there were several people who were born with the birthmark, each with their own baggage from a past life.

The thing I love about Oyayubihime Infinity is there is actually two stories going on at the same time. One is in the present where Kanoko gets increasingly snarled in the search for people marked with the butterflies. Another is the past with Agemaki and Sukeroku and the people who's lives they touched. They reveal the past lives in pieces like a puzzle.

But even if Agemaki and Sukeroku find each other again, are those two people obligated to fulfill their promise to be together? Is it true love if you're loving out of obligation? Can you believe that your lover loves you for who you are now, and not the past you? Is that even love at all?

It's a wonderfully complex story, and plus it's got cute art! Fujieda's character work is really appealing. Sometimes she goes a bit heavy on the screentones and her panels can be a bit crowded. But overall, there is a sweetness to her artwork that really shines through. The characters are all round and soft without looking super deformed. I don't know she manages to make them look high school age when they've all got pudgy cheeks. I especially like her drawings of the past lives of Agemaki and others. Agemaki was a Geisha, and much of her story centers around geisha life. I love Fujieda's Geisha pictures. I wish she would draw a true period drama.

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