Things are looking pretty fantastical in this week’s column! First, Sam starts things off with a look at volumes six and seven of the very fun Fairy Tail from Del Rey; Connie is up next with a review of volume twelve of that comfortable classic, Oh My Goddess! (Dark Horse); and Michelle finishes things off with her takes on volume two of A Strange and Mystifying Story (DMP) and volume two of Tsubasa: Those With Wings (TOKYOPOP).
By Hiro Mashima
Published by Del Rey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Hiro Mashima’s infinitely brilliant series continues on with volumes six and seven, still holding a strong place in my heart. Volume six wraps up the battle between Gray and his old friend/rival Leon, as they still individually struggle with the death of their teacher. It’s nice that Mashima is giving each of the four main characters a pretty deep history. At first sight, Gray seemed like the kind of character who would simply be around to help out but he’s evolved past that. Volume six also introduces the Phantom Lord Guild, the antithesis to Fairy Tail’s good-natured and fun-loving philosophy.
Phantom Lord is out for one thing and that’s Lucy, who turns out to be a trust fund kid. This, of course, pisses off the members of Fairy Tail, who don’t care about money but friendship instead. Volume seven offers a great tale about Elfman, Fairy Tail’s resident “big, strong” guy, showing off more impressive writing and creative character design on Mashima’s part. I am really into Elfman’s Overtake ability (taking in monsters and using their powers) as well as the Elemental Four. If you like it, you definitely are going to want to keep reading!
Volumes six and seven of Fairy Tail are available now.
–Reviewed by Sam Kusek
By Kosuke Fujishima
Dark Horse, 198 pp.
Rating: 12+
Peorth continues to dwell on Earth, unable to leave until Keiichi decides what wish he would like her to grant. Of course, Keiichi has Belldandy and is completely satisfied with life, so much of what Peorth does is a misguided effort to make advances on Keiichi and separate the pair so that she can take him for herself. Along the way, we learn that Peorth holds a grudge against Belldandy for an incident in their past, and we also get to see Peorth seducing… Tamiya.
Seeing Tamiya, the burly cofounder of the NIT MCC, is a little bit of a shock since he hasn’t appeared in either the current volumes (32 right now) or these rereleases for a long time. Other than that, this volume is exactly what you would expect from this series. As I’ve said before, it’s a sort of proto-harem series, which you can best see here with Peorth inexplicably molesting Keiichi relentlessly, and more specifically in the chapter where she slips Keiichi a pill that makes all the goddesses in the house fall in love with him. You can see the jokes coming a mile away, but at the same time, they’re still funny because the sense of humor is spot-on. I like that Peorth reads shojo manga to get an idea of what her cliché-riddled date will be like, I like the silly challenges that Peorth and Belldandy put each other through, and I like what Peorth’s grudge turns out to be. Most of all, I like the characters and the comfortable situations. While it’s not anything remarkable, there’s no series that makes me feel quite as satisfied and happy as Oh My Goddess!. It’s a perfect sitcom manga, and that never changes from volume to volume. I’ll keep tuning in to see whether or not Keiichi and Belldandy kiss for a long time to come.
Volume twelve of Oh My Goddess! is available now.
–Reviewed by Connie C.
A Strange and Mystifying Story, Vol. 2
By Tsuta Suzuki
Digital Manga Publishing, 210 pp.
Rating: 18+ Mature
Akio’s family is cursed with illness, but they also have a protective guardian beast who will appear if summoned and grant a wish. Akio summons the beast—an amorous, wolfish sort whom he names Setsu—and wishes to be cured. After Setsu accomplishes this with his own brand of sexual healing, Akio finds he doesn’t want Setsu to disappear, so wishes for him to stick around. Now Akio is feeling a bit insecure, since he isn’t sure how Setsu feels about that request. Apparently, he can’t just come out and ask.
In this volume, we learn more about Setsu’s past. Once upon a time, he was a human named Shinra who encountered a magical creature called Bansho and merged with him (this is a bit of a pun, since shinrabanshou is a Japanese idiom meaning “all things in nature”). Initially, he had some control over Bansho, but relinquished this to save one of Akio’s ancestors, of whom he was very fond. Setsu is far more likable in these chapters than he ever is in the main story, where he can be very crude. The juxtaposition of his interesting backstory with a flashback chapter of some icky* more-or-less nonconsensual sex is particularly jarring.
Akio’s reluctance to simply ask Setsu questions is frustrating, as well, and one wonders on what basis he can possibly claim to love a creature he hardly knows. Still, I can’t help kind of liking this series, since it at least tries to have a plot and features an art style that doesn’t look like every other BL title in existence.
* Believe me, you’re glad I spared you the details.
Volume two of A Strange and Mystifying Story will be available on August 19, 2009.
–Reviewed by Michelle Smith
Tsubasa: Those with Wings, Vol. 2
By Natsuki Takaya
TOKYOPOP, 400 pp.
Rating: Older Teen
Oh, if only Tsubasa: Those with Wings were as good as its gorgeous cover suggests!
Former thief Kotobuki and her companion/love interest, erstwhile Army officer Raimon, are still searching for Tsubasa, a legend rumored to grant wishes. But first, they must slog through an excruciatingly dull plot about the Army enlisting the help of Raimon’s gun-smuggling foster father to destroy orphanages as part of a nefarious and nebulous plan. The most ridiculous moment occurs when Kotobuki spews a little bit of Shojo Heroine Optimism™ at one of the officers in charge, causing the woman to finally realize, “Hey, killing orphans is murder!”
The rest of the volume is somewhat better, despite the introduction of far too many new characters, as Kotobuki and Raimon team up with some others to pursue Tsubasa clues in a ruined 21st century city known as “the cursed forest.” First, they must infiltrate a fancy party (given by a guy who evidently stole Yuki Sohma’s body) to learn how to deactivate an electric barrier preventing entry to the forest. Once they’ve made it inside, they encounter the Akito of the piece, a colonel who is obsessed with Raimon and has implanted a bomb in his brain to prevent him from leaving the country. He’s pretty crazy, which certainly livens things up.
While there are some moments that are actually good, they are overrun by messy plotting, cryptic hinting, lame gags, and angsty backstories for everyone (even robots). I’m left with the itch to go at the thing with a cleaver, hacking off all the excess bits in search of a better story that might lurk within.
Volume two of Tsubasa: Those with Wings will be available on August 4, 2009.
–Reviewed by Michelle Smith
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