01 Mar, 2010
Manga Minis, 3/1/10
By: Michelle Smith, Sam Kusek, Ken Haley, Grant Goodman and Connie C.
This week’s column is positively VIZ-tastic! Not only that, most of them are from the relatively new Shonen Sunday imprint!
Grant starts us off with volume 33 of Case Closed (VIZ), followed by Connie with a review of the eighth volume of Go Go Heaven!! (CMX). Michelle’s up next with the first of two Rumiko Takahashi titles, reviewing volume 45 of InuYasha and also the 20th volume of Skip Beat! (both VIZ). Ken laments the proliferation of speed lines in volume two of Jormungand (VIZ), and Sam wraps things up with volume two of the second Takahashi work featured today, RIN-NE, and volume 21 of Yakitate!! Japan (both VIZ).
By Gosho Aoyama
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: Older Teen
I keep waiting to come across a volume of Case Closed that dives headfirst into the real story—the one where Jimmy Kudo tries to get his life back. Sadly, I’m not sure that will ever happen, but Case Closed’s saving grace is that the murder mysteries are all very well planned.
The weird thing about reading this manga is that the middle sections of the stories aren’t necessary reading, as they’re full of twists and misleading evidence and dead-end accusations. The mysteries are pretty much always solved using a bit of information that Conan has been holding back the entire time. Even so, it makes for fairly entertaining reading.
The big story in this volume is a Valentine’s Day murder that integrates a mountain lodge and chocolate making. There are two other cases (one of which stars Takagi) and the introduction to another which will be concluded in the next volume.
While the unraveling of the murders is consistently good, the best moments continue to be the explorations of the deeper ties that exist between the characters, such as Jimmy/Conan’s rationale for keeping his distance from Rachel, Takagi’s ever-precarious relationship with Sato, and Anita’s realization that Jimmy has a keen sense of justice but is willing to hide information to protect the detectives he works with.
Volume 33 of Case Closed is available now.
–Reviewed by Grant Goodman
By Keiko Yamada
CMX, 181 pp.
Rating: T
Once again, Shirayuki, her dark side, and Prince face off in a battle where the fate of the world literally hangs in the balance. Later, Shirayuki has a bout of cold feet when it comes time to marry Prince and train to become the new Queen of Hell. Will an unexpected rival change her mind about the situation?
There are very few series that I would call genuinely, incurably terrible, but Go Go Heaven!! numbers among them. The story goes round and round, the slapstick-style jokes are dated and unfunny, and the artwork is cluttered with all sorts of visual gags that make it extremely difficult to tell what’s going on. And even after eight volumes, Shirayuki and Prince are little more than shallow, one-dimensional characters. But there’s just something about the cute romance between Shirayuki and Prince, Prince’s torrid reign over Hell, and the way Shirayuki shies away from Prince’s unrelenting affection that makes me continue to come back for more. There are probably very few that would agree with me, and I read it knowing it’s terrible, but I just can’t put it down.
Volume eight sees an actual, no takebacks conclusion to the “Dark Half” storyline and starts a new story about Shirayuki’s Queen training. I can’t say that “Queen Training” is all that exciting or original, but at least it’s something different, and the hyperactive gags and busy art have calmed down quite a bit in this volume. That doesn’t mean there’s more development than usual, but the story has graduated from genuinely terrible to just mediocre. There are very few readers who are going to genuinely enjoy Go Go Heaven!!, but in case you do pick it up, just know it does get better as it goes along.
Volume eight of Go Go Heaven!! is available now.
–Reviewed by Connie C.
By Rumiko Takahashi
VIZ, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen
A running plot in InuYasha involves the fact that the villain, Naraku, can never be wholly vanquished because he has secreted his heart away and as long as it exists elsewhere, he can’t die. It’s been dozens of volumes, so my memories of his methods are hazy, but his heart has resided for some time in the body of an infant that has constructed itself a living fortress in the form of an armored demon called Moryomaru.
The evil baby has been plotting a takeover (what fun that phrase is to write!) for a while, and volume 45 features the climactic confrontation between Moryomaru and Naraku. It’s pretty riveting, I admit, although I am unclear on exactly why Naraku does a certain thing other than that it will be convenient for our heroes down the line.
The worst part about their battle is that it reduces the main cast to spectator status for a time, watching a ball of commingled demon flesh going “sqwch sqwch” and “slthr slthr.” They do get in on the action eventually, though, and the volume ends with a portent of future doom for one of them.
In the end, a bunch of stuff happens but true resolution continues to be evasive. Par for the course for InuYasha.
Volume 45 of InuYasha is available now.
–Reviewed by Michelle Smith
By Keitaro Takahashi
Viz, 192 pp.
Rating: M (Mature Readers)
The second volume of Jormungand gives us the volume-length side story of Hekmatyar and company facing off against the remnants of a legendary hit squad known as the Orchestra. This tale is oddly timely given recent events in Dubai, but the showdown between the two groups is hardly the slick operation that’s currently making international headlines and is more reminiscent of your typical summer action blockbuster. It’s full of people getting kicked, things exploding and speed lines. Lots and lots of speed lines.
Admittedly, this volume is a bit of a step up from the first, but that’s really not saying much. The artwork has improved in places and is not quite as sketchy, but the action sequences are still poorly done with a heavy reliance on speed lines and toning to cover up weak storytelling. In some instances this works, but for the most part it just ends up looking sloppy and further obscures what’s going on in the panels.
The Orchestra hit squad is a vaguely interesting idea, but the characters are so incredibly stupid that it’s hard to buy them as a threat to anyone but themselves. Their everything and the kitchen sink tactics remind me of the Tremor brothers from Smokin’ Aces, only less competent and less amusing to watch.
I’m still not crazy about this series. The whole book just feels like someone desperately attempting to create a cool, hip, and quirky action series, but sadly they miss the mark by a fairly wide margin. At this point, Jormungand is a barely mediocre action series and not something I’d really suggest to anyone. If you’re looking for an action fix then you’d probably be better off buying Dogs or Black Lagoon instead.
Volume two of Jormungand is available now.
–Reviewed by Ken Haley
By Rumiko Takahashi
VIZ, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
I was initially concerned about where RIN-NE, Rumiko Takahashi’s newest work, was going to go. While it seemed like the story might turn into a larger story arc (similar to Takahashi’s InuYasha), RIN-NE didn’t really seem to fit that mold. It just never felt like epic material (for example, the characters don’t feel like they have the room for internal growth), at least not in the shadow of other spiritual/action series. On a whole, though, I’m pleased with the direction that the story is going in, with a humorous tone that fits its episodic story and Takahashi’s slow but steady storytelling style.
Volume two has found its ground in the lighthearted humor that Takahashi brought forth in her earlier works! This volume focuses on clearing up what could be a romance that spans time and several reincarnations, as well as the first major introduction of a rival for Rokudo. It is a fun way for the reader to really get a sense of the “world” in the underworld, which I think is something Takahashi teases at but never fully fleshes out.
While this volume is action-packed, I felt myself really catching onto the jokes more so, though I appreciated her sense of detail in all the tools that Rokudo uses. So check this series out if you haven’t already, in book form or online at VIZ’s wonderful Shonen Sunday website!
Volume two of RIN-NE is available now.
–Reviewed by Sam Kusek
By Yoshiki Nakamura
VIZ, 192 pp.
Rating: Teen
Kyoko takes a break from acting jobs in this volume to focus on throwing a fabulous non-birthday birthday party for the boss’s granddaughter, Maria, who refuses to celebrate the occasion since it’s also the date of her mother’s death, for which she feels responsible. What follows is possibly the most shojotastic volume of manga ever, filled with warm expressions, bright smiles, avalanches of flowers, swarms of shimmering butterflies, an emotional reunion between Maria and her absentee father, and a surprise celebration for Kyoko’s 17th birthday.
While I don’t like Maria enough to find the easing of her family troubles particularly moving, it’s still nice to see Kyoko at her best, giving her all for the benefit of someone else and wishing hard for their happiness. We also get a really sweet, if unfortunately curtailed, moment between Ren and Kyoko when he gives her a rose for her birthday and she goes all sparkly over it, which I suppose could be counted as progress.
In the end, this is a rather non-essential volume in Kyoko’s journey toward stardom, but it’s worth it to see how she unknowingly wins hearts just by being herself.
Volume 20 of Skip Beat! will be available on March 2, 2010.
–Reviewed by Michelle Smith
By Takashi Hashiguchi
VIZ, 200 pp.
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
As I dug into volume 21 of this publication of pastries, I began to realize that, while I enjoy the overall premise of Yakitate!! Japan, the dough just isn’t rising for me anymore the farther along that I get into the series. This volume doesn’t deviate from the normal formulaic storytelling that I had problems with earlier on and, overall, this makes the reading experience much less enjoyable. What saves face, though, as always with Yakitate!!, is the originality of the challenges and ridiculous reactions that Hashiguchi continues to deliver in a very amusing and informative manner.
This volume focuses on Pantasia’s great pancake battle, filled with odd euphemisms to waste products, man-made lakes and shojo manga. The humor works well, but it feels like the story is really reaching for jokes, like Hashiguchi is trying to make the reader laugh instead of focusing on the other key elements/lessons that could be taken away. The next part of the volume turns to another doughy delight: pizza! I don’t normally see pizza in manga so this is a nice change of pace for Azuma and company.
Overall, if you’re a fan, it’s a good volume to add to your collection but if you want to get started on this bread bandwagon, start from volume one.
Volume 21 of Yakitate!! Japan is available now.
–Reviewed by Sam Kusek
Review copies provided by the publishers.
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