Even though the four titles reviewed today are all presumably geared for a male demographic, there’s quite a bit of variety among them. First, Ken starts us off with a look at volumes three and four of Black God, a supernatural-themed manhwa from Yen Press. Next, Grant weighs in with a look at volume 29 of Case Closed (Viz), a mystery series featuring a pint-sized sleuth. Melinda follows with a review of the fourteenth volume of Claymore (Viz), known for its cast of warrior women. Lastly, Connie takes a look at volume thirteen of Pastel (Del Rey), a shonen romance with a tendency to prominently feature…well, bosoms.
A young man named Keita ends up bound to Kuro, a Mototsumitama or supernatural guardian who’s supposed to maintain an equilibrium between the human world and the supernatural world, and struggles to uncover the mysteries surrounding the death of his mother and the conspiracy that threatens the balance between the supernatural world and the normal one. The story is a bit complicated at times; there are a lot of balls to be kept in the air and various threads woven throughout. After being bound to Kuro, Keita finds himself increasingly drawn into a tangled web of mysteries all centered around the idea of upsetting the balance between the human world and the supernatural world. Over these two volumes he delves into these mysteries and discovers that his deceased mother may not be dead after all and may actually be involved with the mysterious group who is seeking to upset the balance to their own ends. The various plots can be a lot to take in and at times all the jargon can be a bit confusing and overwhelming, but once the terminology is sorted out, the story and the various plots unfold like a good, layered mystery. On the other hand, the characters themselves feel like your stock shonen characters, which is odd since this is apparently a seinen series. Of particular note is Kuro, the Mototsumitama that’s contracted to Keita. She’s sickeningly cute and sweet, constantly eating and often times refers to herself in the third person. There are very few people in fiction who can refer to themselves in the third person and not come across as annoying; Kuro’s not one of them. The artwork is apparently all digitally done, which explains the incredibly slick and clean look to it. I’m not complaining, though; frankly, I think it’s lovely. There’s a slightly heavier use of tones than I normally like, but they’re used in an intelligent and precise manner and do a good job at conveying texture, depth and ambiance throughout. The panel-to-panel flow of the story is fantastic, particularly during the action sequences, which are clean and easy to follow while being flashy and dynamic at the same time. All in all Black God was a pleasant surprise and not something I would have picked up my own. It’s got an involving and interesting mystery and some slick, highly polished artwork. Volumes three and four of Black God are available now. –Reviewed by Ken Haley
Black God, Vols. 3-4
Story by Dall-Young Lim, Art by Sung-Woo Park
Published by Yen Press
Rating: OT (Older Teens)
Case Closed, Vol. 29
By Gosho Aoyama
Viz Media, 184 pp.
Rating: Teen
The Case Closed formula is fairly straightforward: something bad happens, the authorities fail to do anything right, Conan notices some obscure details that give away the crook’s identity, and the villain is caught. While it makes each story highly predictable, this volume still provides one thrilling arc.
The highlight of this volume comes in the second story, when Conan and (fellow shrunken adult) Anita find themselves being held hostage on a bus. Matters are complicated when Conan realizes that one of the “hostages” on board is sending signals to the two masked men. Even worse, Anita senses the presence of a dangerous Syndicate member on board, which causes her to seize up, leaving Conan on his own to defuse the situation.
Conan also looks into a series of killings involving ganguro girls, a dog-napping, and the murder of a journalist at a restaurant opening. None of these, however, contribute to the greater plot, and (in this reviewer’s eyes) do nothing more than take up a lot of space.
As a final note, I have to give major points to the translator for using the word “floozy” in the restaurant murder arc.
Volume 29 of Case Closed will be available on May 19, 2009.
By Norihiro Yagi
Viz, 191 pp.
Rating: T+ (Older Teen)
Volume thirteen sent Clarice and Miata on a mission to execute Galatea and as volume fourteen begins they finally find her hidden away in the holy city of Rabona. As it turns out, the Organization’s discovery of her was not an accident but actually planned by Galatea in hopes that she, along with the Claymores sent to kill her, would be powerful enough to destroy an Awakened One (former number 2, “Bloody Agatha”) who has been menacing the city. The rest of the volume centers on the battle with Agatha, which does not proceed quite as Galatea hoped, followed up by a couple of thick extra chapters which provide more backstory on Priscilla, Isley, and Clare.
The most interesting aspect of this volume is the relationship between Clarice and Miata, which becomes quite touching during the main battle and leads to an emotional breakdown for Clarice, who is intensely frustrated by her own weaknesses. It’s not clear yet just what role she plays in this story overall but her character is intriguing and certainly destined for something special. This volume’s greatest weakness is the drawn-out battle with Agatha which goes on just a bit too long, though by the end it is clear that there is much excitement ahead and the last few pages of the main story are seriously kick-ass.
In any long series, it is inevitable that some volumes will move the story along more substantially than others, and though volume fourteen falls into the latter category, it is obvious that everything playing out here is necessary setup for what’s to come. For fans who love a battle this volume delivers nicely, and there are enough fantastic gems of information in the extra stories (particularly concerning how trainees become warriors) to satisfy the rest.
Volume fourteen of Claymore is available now.
–Reviewed by Melinda Beasi
By Toshihiko Kobayashi
Del Rey, 200 pp.
Rating: OT Ages 16+
Pastel is the story of Mugi Tadano, who is in love with his roommate, Yuu. Yuu has no idea how Mugi feels about her, and since she has no place else to go, Mugi hesitates to confess to her since a rejection would make their living situation very uncomfortable. Friends and relatives interpret this as cowardice on Mugi’s part and are constantly trying to push the two together, but every failure to confess seems to bring Mugi and Yuu closer together.
The group’s summer jobs are wrapping up and Mugi gets one last chance to tell Yuu how he feels about her when they attend a haunted house geared for couples. Later, back at home, Mugi’s former girlfriend, Hinako, turns up. It turns out that she came back from Tokyo to find out whether she still had feelings for Mugi. She and Yuu have a confrontation at the end of the volume that may finally reveal how Yuu feels about Mugi.
The past couple volumes of Pastel have been very disappointing. Volume eleven in particular was just page after page of Mako’s (a very buxom character) breasts, and volume twelve repeated the “Will Mugi confess his feelings this time?” scenario over and over again. This volume, however, reminds me of what it is this series does right, which is tell a very nice slice-of-life story about the close and sometimes touching relationship between Mugi and Yuu. A nice scene in which Mugi finds Yuu when she runs off after the haunted house, for example, made me forgive the sins of the past couple volumes.
For all the good things in this volume, though, there are plenty of rotten shonen romance stereotypes mixed in. Mugi is still stuck on confessing his feelings to Yuu and gets several more “last chances” in this volume. And just like last volume, a female character from earlier in the story comes back and hangs out with Mugi, prompting Yuu to get mad at him for no apparent reason. Also, I really wish the jokes about Mako’s breasts would just stop. There are two really embarrassing instances here that are just terrible and out-of-place when they appear.
Volume thirteen of Pastel is available now.
–Reviewed by Connie C.
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