22 Feb, 2010
Manga Minis, 2/22/10
By: Michelle Smith, Ken Haley, Melinda Beasi, Grant Goodman and Connie C.
Welcome to this week’s Manga Minis column! Connie starts us off this time with a look at the second volume of Four-Eyed Prince (Del Rey). Michelle’s up next with volume eighteen of Hikaru no Go (VIZ), followed by Grant with the second volume of Ichiroh! from Yen Press. Melinda checks out the seventh and final volume of Kamichama Karin Chu (Del Rey), Ken is at least partially won over by the second volume of Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (VIZ), and Grant returns to finish things off with a glowing review of the seventh installment of Yotsuba&! (Yen Press).
By Wataru Mizukami
Del Rey, 181 pp.
Rating: T (13+)
The tragicomedy of Sachiko’s glasses fetish continues in this volume. Her crush and new stepbrother Akihiko continues to pull his Dr. Jekyll act, but he always manages to save himself from being a complete jerk at the last minute. See his charming ways in the face of a traitorous club of glasses-loving girls, a young guy from his past, and a mandatory date with Sachiko on Christmas Eve. There’s also an unrelated short story at the end of the volume about a girl being coached on how to approach the boy she has a crush on.
This series is pretty vanilla. The plot, characters, and individual episodic stories aren’t bad, but leave almost no impression on me whatsoever outside the fact that I may have just read a girls’ comic. Everything is very by-the-book, from Sachiko’s crush to Akihiko’s calculated cold side/stepping in at the last minute to help Sachiko. Nothing has developed plot-wise as of volume two, and the stories, while at the very least not school plays and trips to hot springs, still aren’t interesting enough to hold my attention. Akihiko’s also a little too cold for my taste, and the small kindnesses he pulls out at the end of the day leave me puzzled sometimes as to how they make up for all the cruelty he’s shown Sachiko.
The theme of Sachiko having a glasses fetish is amusing, and I imagine that readers that love glasses will get more from the series than I did, but not even that comes up often enough to make it a real draw. I did like the short story at the end, much to my surprise. There’s wasn’t anything terribly original about it, but it was quite charming, and it was a breath of fresh air after the mean-spirited main story.
Volume two of Four-Eyed Prince is available now.
–Reviewed by Connie C.
By Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata
VIZ, 216 pp.
Rating: All Ages
After the drama of the past few volumes, “the main storyline takes a holiday” (to quote the back cover) in volume eighteen and instead we get six short stories of varying quality.
A couple of stories, like those focusing on Akira Toya and Yuki Mitani, fill in some background for scenes from earlier in the series, and one revisits what’s left of Hikaru’s old middle school go club. Two others—about Asumi Nase, an insei, and Atsushi Kurata, a relatively young pro—serve to flesh out supporting characters and are the best of the bunch.
The sixth purports to be about Sai, and it was this story I’d looked forward to the most. Alas, it’s nearly the least interesting (Mitani’s claims top honors in that category), as it boils down to another case of “corrupt merchant trying to sell antique merchandise that Sai knows is fake.” I had hoped for a story from Sai’s life or perhaps from his time with his previous host, but instead we get a rehash of something we’ve seen as recently as volume twelve.
I’d be lying if I said these stories aren’t disappointing, coming on the heels of some very important plot developments, but I gather they’re meant to function as a palliative bridge between a dramatic story arc and whatever lies ahead, so I can’t fault them too much.
Volume eighteen of Hikaru no Go is available now.
–Reviewed by Michelle Smith
By Mikage
Yen Press, 112 pp.
Rating: Teen
There isn’t much I can say about the second volume of Ichiroh! that I didn’t mention in my first review. It’s a sub-par four-panel gag manga that is far more annoying than entertaining.
Topics covered in this volume include Akane’s study habits, Nanako being coerced into working at a maid cafe, and Shino getting Nanako to buy a cell phone. There is a section about Japanese shrines and donation boxes (saisen) that I actually liked because it taught me a little more about the way Japanese shrines operate.
The punchlines rely heavily on overreaction. Whether the girls are screaming at each other, completely embarrassed, or just plain frustrated, the “humor” is supposed to be contained in their heavily exaggerated facial expressions.
I still find it impossible to care about most of the characters or the trivial events that make up their everyday lives. The only truly good bit of characterization is the revelation that Anko, one of the shrine workers, doesn’t believe in any gods. The rest of the girls are completely forgettable.
At $10.99 for 112 pages of disposable comedy, Ichiroh! is a title worth skipping.
Volume two of Ichiroh! is available now.
–Reviewed by Grant Goodman
By Koge-Donbo
Del Rey, 176 pp.
Rating: T (13+)
Karin and Michiru traveled to the future in volume six to try to stop Kirihiko Karasuma (in Jin Kuga’s body) from creating the future they’ve worked so hard to avoid. As they arrive in volume seven, they discover that Kazune has come along as well, despite the loss of his Apollo ring. Together, the three of them face Kirihiko in a final battle to save their futures and bring everyone together again, including loved ones who have been fighting against them.
Time travel is a messy thing indeed and though it has been a major element in the story all along, things begin to unravel here with Karin meeting up with her future self and the Chronos Clocks suddenly taking on new power that seems a bit too conveniently manipulated to make things turn out just right. Everything about this volume feels strained, from its rushed romantic moments to its anticlimactic final battle, as though mangaka Koge-Donbo was forced to wrap things up just a bit too quickly.
Though this series has declined toward the end, diminishing its adult appeal, it is still a fun, whimsical choice for younger readers with a fairly powerful message about making one’s own fate. “We are all little gods,” reads the final page of the series proper. “Sometimes, we can even change destiny.”
Volume seven of Kamichama Karin Chu is available now.
–Reviewed by Melinda Beasi
Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee, Vol. 2
By Hiroyuki Asada
VIZ, 200 pp.
Rating: Teen
Lag Seeing’s journey to become a Letter Bee continues! Now that things are apparently smoothed out between himself and Niche, the two make their way to the Kyrie, the last stop before the bridge to Yuusari. Unfortunately, things never go as smoothly as you want them to, and the duo quickly discovers that some folks in Amberground are desperate to flee to the brighter lands and that they’ll do just about anything to get there.
I have to admit that Lag’s growing on me. I wasn’t keen on him in the first volume, but he’s a bit more likable here. I’m not really sure what changed—maybe it’s simply because there’s so much action in this volume that it distracted me from the things I didn’t really like about Lag originally, or maybe his earnestness is winning me over. At any rate, Lag’s a bit more tolerable but Niche continues to be kind of creepy. Her shtick with the underwear comes into play once again, and then there’s her bizarre desire that Lag actually refer to her as his Dingo. Her hair is still the best thing about her.
Asada’s artwork in the book is still lovely and very atmospheric with beautiful backgrounds and interesting character and monster designs throughout. The sequences where Lag’s Heart manifests in an odd and surprising manner feel a bit too infodumpish, but visually it plays out wonderfully.
Overall, the book is definitely growing on me, I think a lot of that is due to the world that Asada’s building. It’s just fascinating to see and explore and the brief glimpses we’re given of how the classism of the society affects others are tantalizing and intriguing. Tegami Bachi continues to be a fun series, despite the small hiccups and odd bits.
Volume two of Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee will be available on March 2, 2010.
–Reviewed by Ken Haley
By Kiyohiko Azuma
Yen Press, 208 pp.
Rating: All Ages
The seventh volume of Yotsuba&! continues to provide consistent, laugh-out-loud comedy. Azuma gives his readers several more entertaining glimpses into the world of Yotsuba and her friends. Her new adventures range from building a “phone” from two cups and some string to learning the value of money.
The biggest event of this volume (which is the closest Azuma has come to providing a continuous story arc) is Yotsuba’s visit to a ranch to see the animals. It all stems from a conversation about milk, in which Yotsuba exclaims that in order to get milk, you take entire cows and “you squeeze them.” Her dad decides to teach her the truth and plans a trip with Jumbo and Yanda. Once there, Yotsuba is sharply reminded not to punch the animals, proves her bravery by standing up to a cow, and learns what ice cream is really made from.
The ranch “arc” is definitely the funniest (although the cake-baking chapter with Fuuka is phenomenal). Best of all, however, is that it actually teaches you how to milk a cow.
All of the familiar ingredients reappear in volume seven: quick and witty dialogue, a varied cast of characters with distinct personalities, and Yotsuba’s dynamic facial expressions. This is another winning entry in an already stellar series.
Volume seven of Yotsuba&! is available now.
–Reviewed by Grant Goodman
Review copies provided by the publishers.
Recent Comments