We’ve got five reviews on tap this week. Sam starts us off with a look at volume three of B. Ichi (Yen Press) and also checks out volume five of The Record of a Fallen Vampire (Viz), which clears up a lot of his confusion about the series; Connie is singularly unimpressed with Chocolate Surprise (Aurora/Deux); and Michelle reviews the terrific oneshot CUT (DMP) and the fifth volume of a personal favorite, Goong: The Royal Palace (Yen Press).
By Atsushi Ohkubo
Yen Press, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen
I am beginning to realize that most of my statements about B. Ichi were incorrect. While it certainly has appeal for a younger audience, the later volumes are beginning to prove that B. Ichi may have more of an appeal to an older audience. Volume three is really the driving force behind these changing opinions. The book opens with Shotaro, Mana, and Tool working together to help Yohei finish what he started years ago and end Nofix’s reign of terror. Yohei is stricken with fear and nightmares, unable to cope with his mistake of not killing Nofix. This plot point allows for some conveniently placed and rather bloody flashback/nightmares.
The art has matured in this volume more than the writing. Mana is looking more and more womanly, as opposed to her tomboyish demeanor at the beginning. Yohei is moving from his big brother status up the ladder to a bishonen big brother, complete with rippling muscles. Shotaro especially, is looking more and more like a serious seinen manga star with each panel. The fights are more graphic and you can feel that Atsushi Ohkubo draws in elements of street culture. I feel as though I could be reading the entire adventure on a back alley wall in Chinatown. Overall, I think the direction B. Ichi is going in is great. It allows for a deeper, richer story and exciting visuals that wrap up nicely in a complete package.
Volume three of B. Ichi is available now.
–Reviewed by Sam Kusek
By Lily Hoshino
Aurora/Deux, 207 pp.
Rating: M 18+
Chocolate Surprise contains nine explicit short stories about boys falling in love with each other. Topics include a chocolate sex game, an old love confession from junior high, a surprise confession that leads to other things, a pair of old childhood friends, and other such light stories.
There’s not a lot to say about the stories themselves. Most were around 10-15 pages long and ended with a sex scene that might take up around 6 of those pages. The sex is explicit in a way that I was uncomfortable with, i.e. everything was drawn in, which I don’t even really care for in adult couplings. The plot was not the point of these stories, so I suppose one could consider this yaoi in its purest form (the whole “no plot, no point, no meaning” thing). The first two stories were the only ones that connected, and they featured a couple playing a sex game with a group of girls that involved pulling a chocolate aphrodisiac out of a bag. I actually would have liked these two stories a lot if they hadn’t had the sexual themes, but I am a prude.
The summary for the book makes it pretty clear what’s in store, but admittedly, I went into it more or less blind. I had previously read the collection My Only King by the same author, which had a few cute non-explicit short stories in it, and I thought these might be along the same lines. They kind of are, just with much less plot and lots of sex.
Chocolate Surprise is available now.
–Reviewed by Connie C.
By Toko Kawai
Digital Manga Publishing, 200 pp.
Rating: Mature
“Life is kind of a pain,” thinks Chiaki Sakaguchi at the outset of this exceptional oneshot. Chiaki is bored with school; it seems so trivial compared to the painful secret guilt he carries over his father’s death. In an attempt to dull that pain, Chiaki seeks out new pain, getting involved in an abusive incestuous relationship with his stepfather and resorting to cutting himself as a way to relieve his anxiety. When he meets Eiji Yukimura, a young man with his own dark secret, he finally has found someone who might understand.
CUT is a moving story of two very broken people connecting and finding, through each other, the strength to move forward. There are some disturbing elements involving incest and masochism, but such scenes are not played for titillation, since it’s clear Chiaki is merely doing these things in an attempt to forget his unbearable pain. Later on, when Chiaki turns his stepfather away and tells him, “You made me forget something horrible by doing something worse,” it’s truly a moment of triumph.
The relationship between Chiaki and Eiji is both sweet and sad and made me teary a few times (I never knew a knee nudge could be so poignant!). By the end, neither is completely healed, but they’ve both come to a place where they’re able to live with their wounds and trust that, with time and love, they will fade.
You don’t have to be a boys’ love fan to appreciate CUT. Like the works of est em, I think what it has to offer could appeal to anyone.
CUT is available now.
–Reviewed by Michelle Smith
Goong: The Royal Palace, Vol. 5
By Park SoHee
Yen Press, 192 pp.
Rating: Teen
With Shin off on an extended visit to England, Chae-Kyung is left alone in the palace with no allies except Prince Yul, whose interactions with her are half manipulative, half sincere. Her maids are concerned because she’s losing weight and refusing their herbal remedies; Chae-Kyung is more concerned about Shin’s coldness than her health, since he hasn’t returned any of her phone calls or e-mails. When Shin returns from England with scandal at his heels, their relationship is in for another rocky patch.
The strength of Goong continues to be the relationship between Shin and Chae-Kyung; their scenes together are riveting and Shin’s tentative steps toward more gentle treatment of Chae-Kyung are wonderful to see. Unfortunately, this means that the scenes in which they are separated are not as interesting in comparison, especially the more comedic parts, like some strange pages detailing the visiting Prince William’s friendship with the wizened palace eunuch. One notable exception is the wonderful moment in which we see Chae-Kyung’s parents, whose visit with their daughter has been cancelled by Yul’s mother, watching her on television and marveling at her new composure and confidence while simultaneously finding it somehow sad.
Goong really is a terrific series. Each time I finish a volume I wish I had the next.
Volume five of Goong: The Royal Palace will be available on June 9, 2009.
–Reviewed by Michelle Smith
The Record of a Fallen Vampire, Vol. 5
By Yuri Kimura
VIZ, 190 pp.
Rating: Teen
Vampires might not be as annoying as you’d think once someone sits you down and explains their problems to you. At least that’s how I felt after reading the fifth volume of The Record of a Fallen Vampire, which is basically an enthralling backstory. Told from Bridget’s point of view (she was Strauss’s right hand woman), we learn how Strauss was driven mad by rage, giving justification to his desire to kill his former queen. Not only that but it gives the reader a better understanding of how the vampires and dhampires operate.
Though this was useful information now, I wish it had come earlier. It really cleared up a lot of my confusion about the series. The art remained the same and the writing was much better, carefully paced to elicit the right feelings. I also enjoyed the introduction of a new character, Saverhagen, the Infinite Cross. More or less a caricature of a white mage, Saverhagen was recruited to seal the queen, lest she destroy the earth. She was an interesting look into what role the church and religion might play in this series as well as the whole vampire mix. Hopefully Yuri Kimura chooses to explore that further.
Volume five of The Record of a Fallen Vampire is available now.
–Reviewed by Sam Kusek
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