Weekly Recon, 5/21/08

Manhwa maniacs, rejoice—the newest volumes of two long-suspended ICE Kunion titles—11th Cat and Heavenly Executioner Chiwoo—have finally arrived in stores, courtesy of a new publisher: Yen Press. UDON Entertainment also hops the Korean comic bandwagon with the first installment of The Daring Students Association, a supernatural comedy about a high school club that resorts to ghostbusting to raise a little cash. (Did they try selling M&Ms first? That seems a lot easier to me.) Other new arrivals this week include Haridama: Magic Cram School (Del Rey), a comedy about two inept sorcerers-in-training, and Two Flowers for the Dragon (CMX), a shojo adventure about a spunky young princess who must choose between two suitors… with assistance from magical tattoos. (Is that what folks did before eHarmony? Sounds… painful.)

My top picks for this week:

The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry-Chan, Vol. 1 (Media Blasters): The Strawberry-Chan of the title is a much-abused talking frog whose owner attends an all-boys boarding school. Could this be a “Frog Prince” parody with a yaoi twist? One can only hope. But even if Ai Morinaga plays it straight (so to speak), readers will be treated to a healthy dose of slapstick and gender-bending weirdness that should keep the story fizzy and fun.

Kekkaishi, Vol. 13 (Viz): From the Viz website: “The fate of the dreaded Kokuboro ayakashi lies in Yoshimori’s hands as he and his allies fight to get out of Kokuboro Castle alive! By comparison, his formerly hair-raising nightly patrols of the Karasumori Site seem like a walk in the park. But if he survives and returns home as the conquering hero, does an even greater evil lie in wait…?” Translation: NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME! READ THIS MANGA NOW!

Swan, Vol. 13 (CMX): Our Senior Ninja Consultant Erin Finnegan has promised to write a lengthy review explaining why everyone should read this seventies shojo classic. Until she does, however, I’m happy to beat the drum for Swan, possibly the best tournament series ever written. Yes, the story focuses on an aspiring ballerina, and yes, the artwork practically sparkles with estrogen, but don’t be fooled: its dreamy heroine Masumi is just a tutu-clad variation on Hanamichi Sakuragi (Slam Dunk), Kazuma Azuma (Yakitate!! Japan), and Naruse Tohru (Harlem Beat), athletes who entertain similarly grandiose ambitions to be The Best. Kyoko Ariyoshi’s character designs may look dated to twenty-first century audiences, but her draftsmanship is superb; you can practically hum along to the Firebird’s Grand pas as you watch it unfurl across the page. And for Slavophiles like me, the cameo appearances by Bolshoi principles and frequent references to Tchaikovsky make Swan just that much more heavenly.

By the way, if you’ve been curious about Manga Sutra Futari H but were too embarrassed to flip through a copy at Barnes and Noble, visit the Tokyopop website, where you’ll find a new chapter every day from now until June 12th. Not eighteen? Tokyopop is also posting volumes one through six of The Tarot Café online; click here to view the schedule. (Each volume will be available for a few days only.)

SHIPPING THIS WEEK
11th Cat, Vol. 5 (Yen Press)
Case Closed, Vol. 23 (Viz)
Daring Students Association, Vol. 1 (UDON Entertainment)
Dokkoida!, Vol. 2 (CMX)
Eiken, Vol. 10 (Bandai)
The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry-Chan, Vol. 1 (MediaBlasters)
Haridama Magic Cram School (Del Rey)
Heavenly Executioner Chiwoo, Vol. 4 (Yen Press)
Kekkaishi, Vol. 13 (Viz)
Mamotte Lollipop, Vol. 6 (Del Rey)
Moe USA, Vol. 2 (Japanime)
Psycho Busters, Vol. 3 (Del Rey)
Shugo Chara, Vol. 4 (Del Rey)
Skim (Groundwood Books)
Sundome, Vol. 2 (Yen Press)
Swan, Vol. 13 (CMX)
Two Flowers for the Dragon, Vol. 1 (CMX)
Venus in Love, Vol. 3 (CMX)
Yozakura Quartet, Vol. 2 (Del Rey)