Let the manly manga madness begin! This week, Melinda enjoys the character and plot development in volume 26 of Bleach (Viz), Connie finds volume ten of Elemental Gelade (TOKYOPOP) to be bland, Phil thinks volume seven of Junk (DrMaster) is an improvement but lacks resonance, Sam is thoroughly underwhelmed by the third and final volume of Kaze No Hana (Yen Press) but enjoys volume sixteen of Yakitate!! Japan (Viz), and Michelle appreciates the plot advancement in volume two of Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka (Viz) but misses the “robot interest” stories.

Bleach, Vol. 26

By Tito Kubo
Viz Media, 216 pp.
Rating: Teen

At the end of volume 25, after discovering former soul reaper Aizen’s true objective, tenth division captain Hitsugaya was asked to stay behind for someone who was waiting to speak with him. That person turns out to be his childhood friend, Momo Hinamori, and volume 26 begins with a quietly horrifying scene in which she begs Hitsugaya not to kill Aizen, certain that he must have had good reason for his murderous acts. As short and simple as this scene is, it starts things off very effectively, setting a tone of tense anticipation that continues throughout the volume.

Though this volume’s big drama is saved for the end, its middle chapters provide some rich moments, particularly concerning Orihime, who is told very bluntly by Kisuke Urahara that her combat abilities are too weak for her to play a role in the upcoming battle with Aizen, and that she’d do best to stay out of the way. Orihime has long provided the heart of this series and here, poised on the brink of discovering her true worth, she shines, lending a much-needed warmth to the grim battle preparations that make up much of the volume. Rukia, too, plays a very poignant role here, making the series’ primary female characters the real stars of this volume.

Heavy on characterization and plot development, this volume is a welcome respite for the battle-weary, as it anxiously works its way toward its cruel cliffhanger ending. The volume’s humorous moments work well too, especially a scene in which Yumichika and Rangiku argue about their zanpakuto, each unwilling to admit that the qualities they find most frustrating about them are actually the same as their own.

Though this volume offers very little action, its quiet warmth and tense anticipation make for a nicely satisfying read.

Volume 26 of Bleach will be available on March 3, 2009.

–Reviewed by Melinda Beasi

Elemental Gelade, Vol. 10

By Mayumi Azuma
Tokyopop, 177 pp.
Rating: OT (16+)

Elemental Gelade follows Sky Pirate Coud Van Giruet (also known as Cou) as he escorts Ren, a special type of rare humanoid weapon called an Edel Raid, to a place called Edel Garden. The pair is accompanied by two members of Arc Aile, an agency that fights for the preservation of Edel Raids, as well as the Edel Raid they use in battle. Along the way, the five travelers have to fight challenger after challenger who are trying to steal Ren, who is a unique type of legendary Edel Raid.

This entire volume is a long fight scene with Lonble, the agent that challenged Ren and Cou last volume. The first phase of the fight is with Ren and Cou, and the second phase is with Rowen and Kuea. The whole thing has a Pokemon vibe to it since Lonble’s special power is to swap out his girls (12 Edel Raids) depending on the strengths and weaknesses of his opponent. He’s sort of an amusing character since he talks at length about how much he loves his Edel Raids, but the lecture the reader gets while these fights are going on, combined with the continued arguments about a character that died four or so volumes ago, make this more than a little tedious. Another challenger shows up at the end, the type who just tears everyone that goes up against him to shreds until the heroes “level up” in the middle of battle and find the inner strength to beat him. This doesn’t happen in this volume, but I suspect it will be the first order of business next time. I think the only slightly interesting and unexpected thing that happened the entire time was what became of Lonble’s 12 Edel Raids. Their fate was actually a bit dark and out-of-character for this series.

Elemental Gelade is really just a bland, middle-of-the-road action series, and this volume was nothing but a fight scene. Even if it hadn’t been, there’s not much to the plot that would hook even a slightly picky reader.

Volume ten of Elemental Gelade is available now.

–Reviewed by Connie C.

Junk: Record of the Last Hero, Vol. 7

By Kia Asamiya
DrMaster, 192 pp.
Rating: Ages 15+

Now that I’ve read all of Junk, I think I see Asamiya’s series for what it is: a subversive take on the super-hero genre. Back in the first volume, teenager Hiro Yuki acquired super powers and suffered a familial loss on the same fateful night. However, since then he hasn’t done much heroic; rather, he spent six books living out power fantasies and bedding eager women. Actually, those Hiro cared the most about were the ones he was most likely to fail.

This time around, the stakes could not be higher, and as such, we expect Hiro to finally accept his role as a hero and act responsibly. Asamiya, however, has other plans. I won’t give them away, except to say both Hiro’s personal growth and Japan’s whole government hang in the balance, yet the narrative only seems to think one is important. What results is an ending consistent with most super-hero origin tales, but which may be thumbing its nose at them as well.

That probably sounds like praise, and volume seven is definitely an improvement on the convolution of more recent volumes, even if the extraneous sex and explosions still feel like pandering. The less-interesting storylines were wiped out by the end of volume six, setting the table for a final confrontation between Hiro’s Black Junk and the mysterious Blue Junk. Unfortunately, by the time we reach this battle, which is conveyed in a very self-important way, so much stuff we haven’t cared about has happened in the series that it carries little resonance.

Also, the middle-aged guy wearing the Blue Junk endlessly pontificates, and it gets old quick. As readers, we find ourselves siding with Hiro, not because we’ve actually learned to like him, but he’s in a position to make Blue Junk shut up.

Volume seven of Junk: Record of the Last Hero is available now.

–Reviewed by Phil Guie

Kaze No Hana, Vol. 3

By Ushio Mizta and Akiyoshi Ohta
Yen Press, 240 pp.
Rating: Teen, 13+

Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! This book was apparently the end of the series Kaze No Hana, and what a lackluster ending at that. The series follows Momoka, a young girl who lost her memory, who may be the key to helping an organization called the Eight Masters keep a demon locked up. In volume three, Momoka must face her destiny and her supposed-to-be-dead sister, Ouka, the leader of the rival group, in order to keep the world at peace and the demon from breaking out.

Thought it sounds interesting, it didn’t translate very well. The book was very muddled, pacing hastily back and forth from battle to meetings, leaving the reader feeling very rattled. To be honest, it felt like there was a lot more to the story. Volume three really built up the war between the two groups, but in the end, dropped the ball. Also, I was disappointed with the fight scenes. It was easy to tell what was going on, but when spiritual swords are mentioned, I expect to see some magic. All in all, I don’t think I’d recommend this as a series. It was a good attempt at overused shonen ideas and the art never made up for the lack of writing.

Volume three of Kaze No Hana is available now.

–Reviewed by Sam Kusek

Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 2

By Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

Robots and humans continue to die in this second volume of Urasawa’s re-imagining of Osamu Tezuka’s classic Astro Boy story, “The Greatest Robot on Earth.” Gesicht travels to Japan where he meets with Atom, another of the seven strongest robots allegedly being targeted. After accessing Gesicht’s memory chip, Atom is able to assist the Japanese police as they work a similar case and discovers the common factor between the human victims. Meanwhile, Gesicht continues to warn other robots on the list while questioning mysterious gaps in his own memory.

While volume one did a good job of setting up the plot and the world, volume two really gets the ball rolling. There’s action and plot twists aplenty, as well as answers to questions that only serve to beget more questions. I certainly can’t complain when a story proceeds to go somewhere, but I still missed the “robot interest” stories that made the first volume so stellar. There were a few touching moments scattered throughout, but mostly the focus was on plot advancement.

Urasawa’s art is uniformly excellent, as usual. I’m a big fan of the futuristic city scenes, but perhaps my favorite thing in this volume is actually Atom’s hair. No matter which way he turned, Tezuka’s incarnation of Astro Boy always had two triangles of hair poking up. Atom’s case is far subtler, more like tufts really, but it’s definitely there. I love attention to detail like that.

Volume two of Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka will be available on March 17, 2009.

–Reviewed by Michelle Smith

Yakitate!! Japan, Vol. 16

By Takashi Hashiguchi
VIZ, 190 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

I’ve always appreciated cooking manga for its clever recipes more than anything, and Yakitate!! Japan’s creations have always stuck in my mind. Volume sixteen surprised me by taking two of my favorite things and sticking them together, focusing the Othello-like battle on mango curry bread. I found the recipes and techniques to be interesting and very informative (they teach you how to make cornflakes!), as most of them are. I was enjoying it up until the usual gripe occurred: the story was much too formulaic. From the time that team Pantasia got their secret ingredient to when the judging occurred, I knew that they were already going to win. There was no build-up or suspense, leaving the book to feel rather fruitless.

Overall, I would recommend this volume on its own, as it was just filler, but I would recommend reading the series from being to end. Essentially, Yakitate!! Japan is what makes a good cooking manga. The story deals with important aspects (seasonality and locality) and attitudes of Japanese cooking. In addition to its cultural significance, the book focuses on a specific type of cooking (bread baking), giving us both the information we need to make it plausible while pumping the story full of ridiculous jokes and puns, which keep it from being just another cookbook.

Volume sixteen of Yakitate!! Japan will be available on March 10, 2009.

–Reviewed by Sam Kusek