Here we are, at our final minis column of 2009! This week’s offerings are primarily from Del Rey and Digital Manga Publishing, though one from Yen Press crept in there as well. Michelle gets things started with a review of Momoko Tenzen’s Ciao Ciao Butterfly (DMP) and also revisits Moon Boy (Yen Press) with a look at its seventh volume; Jennifer shares her opinions on Dog x Cat and Love Skit (both from DMP’s 801 Media imprint); Grant is unimpressed by volume six of Hell Girl (Del Rey); Phil weighs in on volumes 23 and 24 of Negima! (Del Rey); and Melinda proclaims volume four of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (Del Rey) the most accessible volume of that series to date. Enjoy, and see you in 2010!

Ciao Ciao Bambino

By Momoko Tenzen
Digital Manga Publishing, 200 pp.
Rating: Young Adult (16+)

I think I must be a Momoko Tenzen fan, because this is the second time I’ve been impressed by her ability to create compelling characters in a short story format (the first being Unsophisticated and Rude). Not only that, she’s able to write stories about romance between middle schoolers and teachers that aren’t completely icky (only mildly icky).

There are five stories in this volume, though the first four focus on the same set of characters: Kaname, a lecturer at a cram school; Yuuta, Kaname’s student, seven years his junior; and Kei and Mako, friends of Yuuta’s who have feelings for each other. What I liked about these stories is that Kaname and Yuuta take several years to get to a point where love is openly discussed, and although Yuuta is still too young (in my opinion) when they finally sleep together, his character is developed enough that it’s clear he’s not being taken advantage of by an adult in position of authority.

The fifth story, “Brand New Wednesday,” is about a tall kid named Kana—and seriously, both he and Yuuta must attend one of the junior highs from Prince of Tennis, because they’re far bigger than any ninth graders I’ve known—who is in love with his home tutor. I found the tutor’s perspective especially poignant here, as he realizes how fragile a love like this can be when the younger person has so much changing left to do in their life.

I admit to feeling a little guilty that I liked these stories as much as I did, given their subject matter, but Tenzen’s approach is not salacious whatsoever. If you can get past the squick factor, these stories do offer some truly touching moments.

Ciao Ciao Bambino is available now.

–Reviewed by Michelle Smith

Dog x Cat

By Yoshimi Amasaki
Digital Manga Publishing, 200 pp.
Rating: 18+

I seem to be on a roll now, collecting manga that have characters who like to cuddle up to cats. It actually works in two ways for Junya Asou, a boy with a dog-like personality. See, he has it bad for his best friend, Atsu Hasegawa. Atsu is catlike, or so the narrative claims—honestly, I don’t see all that much of either behavior out of these men. Junya is the bookish type of seme, a young man who pined after his friend for years before he actually bothered to confess his feelings. Atsu doesn’t want to lose his best friend, but isn’t so sure about this whole being together with a guy thing. Oh, and as for the other way that kitty cuddling works for Junya? His family has an enormous (19 lbs!) cat named Elizabeth, and we see him cuddle that cat like there’s no tomorrow.

There are a couple of things that actually impressed me about Dog x Cat. First, when Atsu is expressing wariness at the prospect of sex with another man, Junya easily offers to be a switch. Second, one of the full-page illustrations within shows Junya posing sexily with a condom in his hand. Definite points there. Thirdly, there’s a plot at the end where Junya is dosed with some super-potent alcohol that’ll get you drunk with just a couple of drops (yeah, whatever) and has his way with Atsu. Atsu actually calls Junya on this and calls it rape. I was shocked at this. Unfortunately, just as I was dealing with my pleasant surprise, the manga ruins itself a few pages later when Atsu and Junya are talking about it and Junya says that it wasn’t just the booze, that there’s a part of him that wanted test to see if Atsu really loved him. Kids? Rape isn’t a test, it’s a crime. After reading that, it was all I could do to keep from throwing the volume across the room in disgust. It’s sad, too—it had been okay until then.

Dog x Cat is available now.

–Reviewed by Jennifer Dunbar

Hell Girl, Vol. 6

By Miyuki Eto
Del Rey, 176 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

Whether focusing a girl who is being picked on by her classmates, a girl who hates her mother for pushing her to study, or a girl who wants to date her teacher, not a single “regular” chapter manages to create any sort of intrigue. The majority of the characters, since they’re only being used for one chapter, are disposable. Are they sometimes caught in horrible situations? Yes. Do you, the reader, ever care about a character who is going to last for fifteen pages? Not if you’re reading Hell Girl, because you have a fairly good chance of guessing how that girl’s story is going to end.

The real tragedy is that Eto almost never focuses the members of Hell Correspondence, the recurring characters. It comes as a huge surprise (sarcasm!) then, that the only chapter worth reading in this volume is the added “bonus” chapter which focuses on Ichimokuren, Ai’s guardian. The chapter offers a little insight to this one member of Hell Correspondence, who tries to interfere with a girl who would sacrifice her soul for the wrong reason. Unfortunately, the chapter is a one-shot and wraps up as quickly as all the others.

Hell Girl lives up to its name, in that it will make you suffer. The plots are formulaic, the characters are worthless, and the art is mediocre, at best.

Volume six of Hell Girl is available now.

–Reviewed by Grant Goodman

Love Skit

By Rie Honjoh
Digital Manga Publishing, 200 pp.
Rating: 18+

Aoto Miyazawa’s life is one of those that you’d so easily find in manga. His parents died when he was a child, and he eventually ended up in the care of his older sister and her husband, Takashi. Then his sister dies, and his brother-in-law decides to keep the family together. This is when Aoto is a teenager, already nursing a crush on Takashi, and is where the story of Love Skit begins. See, the trouble starts when Takashi’s college pal Masayuki stays in the apartment for a few days while Takashi is out of town. Masayuki’s a silversmith, a free spirit, and finds himself attracted to Aoto. Aoto doesn’t want any of it at first, but things soon start to shift.

I find that I really like the art of Love Skit. It’s expressive without being cluttered, and I really felt like I could take in the emotional impact of the story without having to worry about the artist suddenly perving out on a character drinking a bottle of water. The characters are fairly believable for a BL story—while it plays too easy with the touchy subject of sexual orientation, other aspects of the story ring true. Aoto’s devotion to Takashi, his growing affection for Masayuki, and his friendship with Akira play as three distinct relationships. While it’s not among the best BL stories I’ve ever read, it’s definitely one of the better ones I’ve read this year and would recommend it to anyone who’s interested in the genre.

Love Skit is available now.

–Reviewed by Jennifer Dunbar

Moon Boy, Vol. 7

By Lee YoungYou
Yen Press, 192 pp.
Rating: Teen

Myung-Ee and her childhood friend, Yu-Da, are “earth rabbits,” and must be on guard against the members of the fox tribe who want to eat them. Yu-Da is particularly special—as the rare “black rabbit,” his liver has the potential to restore the foxes’ queen. For that purpose, he was kidnapped by the foxes as a child and magically kept docile while they wait for his liver to mature.

Volume seven picks up just after Yu-Da reveals that he broke the spell placed on him some time ago and has just been playing along. Sa-Eun, the fox assigned to guard Yu-Da, feels betrayed since he genuinely felt friendship for his charge. They have an angsty fight until Myung-Ee intervenes with a powerful blast of energy that sends Yu-Da reeling. The rest of the volume is devoted to Sa-Eun confessing his feelings to Myung-Ee, introducing the sleepy leader of the foxes, and Myung-Ee’s attempts to get Yu-Da to come back to the rabbits’ side.

My problem with Moon Boy has always been that it’s inconsistent. Moments of head-scratching “Huh?!” are present in this seventh volume, like when Yu-Da, who’s been a pretty snarky badass for most of the volume, suddenly breaks into tears at the idea that Myung-Ee might really like him. (Causing Myung-Ee to realize that perhaps someone who’s been kidnapped and mind-wiped and held prisoner for many years might have trouble trusting people.) Later, Ha-Eun, a powerful figure with a mysterious agenda, bursts into tears after randomly taking Yu-Da to see a skeletal guy in a dungeon. I get that the creator wants the characters to be multi-layered, but these moments just come out of nowhere.

Despite my complaints, Moon Boy is a quick read and it has certainly improved over earlier volumes now that the story’s gotten more serious. Plus, there are only two volumes left, so I can’t really stop now!

Volume seven of Moon Boy is available now.

–Reviewed by Michelle Smith

Negima!, Vols. 23-24

By Ken Akamatsu
Published by Del Rey
Rating: Ages 16+

In these volumes, the plotline involving Negi and company being cast into a strange fantasy world rushes to a head. Practically the entire cast is reunited by the close of volume 24; meanwhile, our boy wizard appears poised for a final battle with the villain who sent them away.

This arc seems to fit into a larger storyline: namely, Negi learning to rely on his friends and not just obsess over protecting them. To that end, many of the action scenes feature teamwork, and helpfully, the bad guy has amassed a posse. Overall, I’d say Negima! would likely please audiences looking for an action series with shades of superhero (for a subplot making use of Negi having an alter ego). But it’s not always straight-faced; there’s an odd sense of humor at times, too.

Devoted fans should have no problem keeping the large cast straight, although I was occasionally confused, since some characters only differ by hair length or, say, freckles. Adding to the complexity, everyone has their own respective storyline, but I can picture readers feeling some sense of relief as protagonists like Asuna and Nodoka return to the fold. However, as someone whose exposure to Negima! dates back only about four volumes, I got more enjoyment from newer characters, for whom it’s not assumed you know their backstories.

One such person, who guides Negi through the world of dark magic, is a particular hoot, as his dialogue occasionally sounds like Native American cliché crossed with surfer dude. “Long ago, hundreds of islands of all sizes floated here with the power of natural magic,” he tells Negi at one point. “It was a beautiful old city. The food was good, and there were a lot of babes.”

Volumes 23 and 24 of Negima! are available now.

–Reviewed by Phil Guie

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei: The Power of Negative Thinking, Vol. 4

By Koji Kumeta
Del Rey, 192 pp.
Rating: OT (16+)

Suicidal schoolteacher Nozomu Itoshiki (Zetsubou-sensei) and his students are back, with a satirical take on such topics as Christmas, leftovers, societal hierarchies, cooling-off periods, second opinions, and how to deal with dead space. Even exam students are taken to task in this volume, as Zetsubou-sensei despairs over their ability to get away with nearly anything–a privilege he attempts to recapture for himself by engaging in a series of increasingly ridiculous certification programs. Easily passing tests for certifications in flower arrangement and animal breeding (and scraping by in subjects like “love”), he finds himself ultimately unqualified for either “life” or “death” (a certification that requires numerous sub-licenses, such as “writing a suicide note” and “how to leave your shoes”), leaving him trapped ever further in despair.

Since this series has been dismissed by some as relying too heavily on inside jokes and obscure cultural references to be effective with North American readers, it is important to note that volume four is easily the most accessible in the series so far, requiring very few trips to the translator’s notes provided in the back (and virtually none for readers familiar with Japanese manzai characters—the only cultural reference in this volume absolutely required for the understanding of an entire chapter). Smooth reading facilitates smooth comedy, making this volume more universally hilarious than its predecessors as well. For those who have loved this series from the beginning, volume four is yet another fabulous treat provided by tireless translator/adapter Joyce Aurino and the folks at Del Rey Manga. For those who have yet to warm to the series’ charms, perhaps this is the place to start.

Volume four of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei: The Power of Negative Thinking is available now.

–Reviewed by Melinda Beasi

Review copies provided by the publishers.