This week we look at three Shonen Jump Advanced titles as well as two offerings in the boys’ love vein. Grant starts us off with reviews of volume fourteen of D. Gray-Man and volume thirteen of Gin Tama, both from Viz; Connie looks at volume two of Love Control (DMP); Melinda checks out volume six of Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom, also from Viz; and Michelle wraps things up with a review of On Bended Knee, a collection of short stories from DMP’s 801 Media imprint.
By Katsura Hoshino
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: Older Teen
Katsura Hoshino’s artwork is the most striking and refreshing I have found in a weekly Jump series. Her characters can all be easily distinguished from one another, as each one has a unique design, ranging from outfit styles to tattoos to scars. This painstaking attention to detail is what helps D. Gray-Man shine, even if the plot occasionally falters.
Following the showdown between General Cross and Tyki Mikk, the Millennium Earl arrives to rescue his minion and trap the exorcists in the failing ark. With no alternatives, Cross sends Allen into the Ark’s control room, where he discovers a piano and a strange reflection in the mirrored walls. Allen’s mirror counterpart (presumably the fourteenth descendant of Noah) is a wispy silhouette with a devilish grin. He surfaces on several occasions, offering very few words but overflowing with presence. His hidden agenda is one of the best sources of suspense in this volume, lingering in the reader’s mind long after the last chapter ends.
Volume fourteen also features the appearance of Inspector Rouvelier, who has a tendency to get a crazy, evil look on his face. He also sports a Hitler moustache, which hasn’t been the sign of a trustworthy character in a very long time.
Just as the characters are recovering from their battle wounds, headquarters is breached from the inside, and the volume closes with a massive cliffhanger, leaving readers to wait until November to discover what happens next.
Intense, emotional, and dripping with style, volume fourteen of D. Gray-Man does not disappoint.
Volume fourteen of D. Gray-Man will be available on August 4, 2009.
–Reviewed by Grant Goodman
By Hideaki Sorachi
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: Older Teen
Gin Tama continues to deliver short stories that rely on its creator’s bizarre sense of humor. The first arc covers the search for a son by an ugly, ugly woman. Someone suggests that he might have had plastic surgery and adds a giant afro to his picture. Seconds later, the group is stunned when a man who actually looks like that walks past them. Perhaps this is funny. I’m not sure.
Gin spends the next mission bedridden with a cold. Kagura and Shinpachi fill in for him, searching for evidence that a husband is cheating on his wife. Treatment of the client is strange, as Gin’s crew reprimands her for speaking ill of her husband in front of their children. The high point in humor comes from Kagura crashing a motorcycle through various storefronts.
A chapter featuring Katsura stands out from the rest: granting an interview to a television reporter, Katsura completely blows his disguise (a simple pair of Groucho Marx glasses), leads the Shinsengumi directly to his alien-exclusionist comrades, and fails to make his cause sympathetic in any way.
If you are a fan of anachronistic references to recent Japanese pop culture, samurai sword battles in a world where live steel was supposed to have been banned by alien invaders, and defecation (no joke—it’s awful), you’ll find all three in this volume.
Volume thirteen of Gin Tama will be available on July 7, 2009.
–Reviewed by Grant Goodman
By Ai Hasukawa
DMP/June, 192 pp.
Rating: 18+
This book looks at two different couples in a related storyline. The first half is about Kei Yamashiro, an architect, and Takashi Okumura, the owner of an upscale bar. Their story was set up in the earlier volume of the series, but this volume investigates a lover’s spat involving a third man, bartender Nagi Sasatani, who is vying for Yamashiro’s affections. The second half looks at Sasatani and a man looking to start a relationship with him named Kei Ichinose.
I tend to like stories that are the yaoi equivalent of a bodice ripper, where very little story outside the development of the romance occurs, drama runs rampant at least once, and there’s a little action at the end. The key to these is the convincing romance. Character development doesn’t matter too much as long as it’s clear that the two guys are really feeling it. I think it helps that a lot of the guys in these types of stories aren’t the shy, bashful types their younger BL counterparts tend to be, and they often don’t have a reason for being together—they just are.
There’s nothing particularly spectacular or out of the ordinary about this book, but I enjoyed it quite a bit because it delivered exactly what I like to see, which is an older couple in a steady, healthy, and passionate relationship. The romance was convincing, and everything I wanted to happen transpired. The second half was weaker than the first since Ichinose is one of those “suddenly gay” characters, but it was still easy enough to get into the dynamics of his and Sasatani’s relationship.
Volume two of Love Control will be available on July 8th, 2009.
–Reviewed by Connie C.
Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom, Vol. 6
By Kazunari Kakei
Viz, 195 pp
Rating: T + (Older Teens)
This volume takes a dramatic turn as Nora and Kazuma are given a window into the past where they learn the truth about themselves, their destined roles, and the history of Fall, leader of the Resistance. Not that either of them are given much time to process this new information as immediately upon their return to the present, Resistance forces invade headquarters, covering the entire area in a force field and trapping the Dark Liege inside to face Fall alone. As the Dark Liege’s army fights their way through the barrier in order to save her (and maintain balance in the demon and human worlds), Nora also learns an important lesson about the value of friendship, though it comes at a terrible cost.
With Nora’s discovery of his true purpose and the real nature of his bond with Kazuma, this series takes a much-needed foray into darkness, providing exactly the kind of compelling, painful drama it has lacked up to this point. Though the series’ art is still unremarkable, the characterization has grown immensely in just a single volume. Though the primary villain, Fall, remains flat and uninspiring, both Nora and Kazuma have benefited measurably thanks to their greatly heightened stakes. Whether this new depth can be maintained remains to be seen, but it is a big step in the right direction.
Packed with new revelations and emotional drama, this volume may finally earn Nora its place in Viz’s Shonen Jump Advanced line.
Volume six of Nora: The Last Choronicle of Devildom will be available on August 4, 2009.
–Reviewed by Melinda Beasi
Ruri Fujikawa
Digital Manga Publishing, 200 pp.
Rating: 18+
On Bended Knee is a collection of short stories featuring professional adults (pediatricians, chefs, professors, et cetera) linked together by, as the back cover points out, the common theme of learning to accept one’s true feelings for another. Although too brief to achieve greatness, each story is a pleasant enough read and all are free from the nonconsensual scenes that plague other boys’ love titles.
The drawback of having a common theme is that the stories can get repetitive after a while. There are five tales in On Bended Knee and three of them follow pretty much the same pattern:
1.One member of a couple is a bit too demonstrative.
2.The more reserved member sets some boundaries like “don’t touch me at work” or “don’t try to ravish me in my sleep.”
3.The other party respects said boundaries and keeps his distance.
4.The reserved fellow begins to miss the other guy.
5.Reconciliation and a tacked-on sex scene (featuring many amusing sound effects) ensue.
Despite its flaws, On Bended Knee is pretty good. It’s not the most amazing thing around, to be sure, but you could definitely do worse.
On Bended Knee is available now.
–Reviewed by Michelle Smith
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