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Manga Review: Akame ga Kill!

Sat, 04 May 2013 23:57:42 -0400

“One thousand years ago, after the Great Empire was created, the Emperor began to worry,” he wished to protect his country forever, but he was not immortal. Thus he used his massive empire’s resources to create forty-eight weapons called the Teigu. These weapons were created using the created scientific minds, rare metals, and materials gathered from legendary creatures. However, the Great Empire, which was once a peaceful and prosperous nation, has since fallen into depravity due to the efforts of the current Prime Minister. Fighting the Prime Minister are a small group of assassins which use the Teigu to end the corruption of the empire.

In the previous war for succession he brought the youngest child of the previous emperor, who is a young boy, to the throne which effectively put him into control of the empire. He is, however, exceedingly corrupt and enjoys nothing more than seeing others suffer while he prospers. Fighting against the empire is the Revolutionary Army and its subsidiary, Night Raid. As the Revolutionary Army has grown dramatically in size and influence a need for assassination and information gathering was needed, to fill that need Night Raid was created. Night Raid is a group of assassinations who utilize the Teigu to kill their targets.

There are many manga that have a similar premise to this; having a group of vigilantes who gather legendary weapons to wage battle for justice isn’t unique. But what is unique about this manga is the exploration of the duality of heroism and justice. You may be a hero to your people but to your enemies you are a villain. This manga explores this by having the main character, Tatsumi, interact with the soldiers from the empire and Night Raid. The empire’s soldiers are also fighting for justice and peace and Night Raid stands in their way. The story reveals that although some people in the empire are corrupt most people are good-heated humans. But isn’t Night Raid the good guys?

The line between good and evil is a fine line and that is represented in this story. Perhaps the best example of this is Seryuu: her father died protecting the empire and so she decided to follow in his footsteps and join the Capital Guard Forces. However, her friends and mentors are killed by Night Raid who sees them as corrupt and evil. Perhaps they are corrupt and perhaps they are evil but to Seryuu they were her friends and teachers. She vows revenge and to follow her sense of justice. Seryuu is an example of the effects of Night Raid’s justice as we watch her become a killing machine who slaughters for the sake of her justice.

As morose as this sounds, another positive is that members of the Night Raid die. No one is safe from death, not even the characters you like! I wouldn’t be surprised if every one of the original members dies by the end of the story. On a completely different note, we have the humor. This manga features a rather quirky type of humor. I can’t really explain but I can give an example: in the middle of a battle against the tree beasts Braht made advances on Tatsumi and the tree beasts they were fighting paused to blush, as seen above.

As much as I praise the unique aspects of this manga, it is still fairly mainstream and generic. There are a lot of staples of the shounen genre. Many elements of the manga is cliche, everyone has a crazy hair style and the monologues are usually something about protecting the world from devastation, uniting all peoples within the nation, denouncing the evils of truth and love, and extending their reach to the stars above. Additionally, there is nothing unique about the art style. The mangaka does little with the space between panels which is a major setback artistically nor is there any experimentation is drawing tools or panel layouts.

I enjoyed this manga as it takes a tried and true premise and adds a dark depth to the plot. However, this manga is still fairly generic and little is accomplished artistically. I should correct myself, nothing is done artistically except for the colored pages which all look vibrant through amazing use of the color black.

Source(s): Batoto.net

Light Novel Review: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:58:05 -0400

[via]

Since the conclusion of World War Three in 2064 and the outlaw of nuclear weaponry magicians, now known as a Magic Technicians, have become the focus of the current arms race. ”Supernatural Power”, which were once unique to an individual, become the focus of study from both Western and Eastern powers. Now, in the form of “Magic”, “Supernatural Power” is accessible for the masses. However, like the arts and the sciences, talent is required to attain the mastery of magic necessary for use professionally. It is now 2095, fifty years after World War Three started, this year marks the start of four turmoilous years for Japan and the world during which Magic Technicians replace nuclear weaponry as weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps not so coincidentally, this is the same year that Miyuki Shiba and Tatsuya Shiba enter the most prominent magic high school institution of Japan.

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei centers around two siblings, Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba. The two enter First High School, one of nine numbered national high schools who teach magic in their curriculum. Due to a shortage of skilled Magic Technicians that can serve as instructors the student body is split into two groups, course one and course two students. Course one students, affectionately referred to as “Blooms”, are given individual attention by teachers while course two students, who are dismissively labeled as “Weeds”, are given a curriculum without teacher supervision instead relying on a virtual classroom, with instructions for each class given by recordings. A large amount of tension and discrimination between these two groups. To add to the chaos, Tatsuya is a course two student while Miyuki is a course one student and the freshman representative. However, Tatsuya may just be hiding his true abilities which may send shock waves throughout the school and, perhaps, the world.

Putting writing style aside for now the author of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, Satou Tsutomu-sensei, does more than simply write a fantasy novel with a compelling story and mark it off as such. No, he takes fantasy and grounds it in a semblance of reality. How does he accomplish such a great feat? By taking magic, a very loosely defined idea, and making it technical, a little complicated, and spiced with some basic physics and a little history.

Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba [via]

First and foremost, Tsutomu-sensei coins a new process of casting spell, which he calls modern magic. Under the umbrella of modern magic the modern magician uses a CAD, a Casting Assistant Device, to convert psion signals, the particle embodiment of intention and thought, into the activation sequence, the blueprint of magic which replaced incantations, symbols, and mudras, which is then sent to the brain for the necessary parameters, and the result is output to form the resulting magic ritual. Due to the advances in magic engineering a CAD cuts down casting time, the aforementioned process, to mere seconds. The magic ritual, once projected, interferes with the information body of an object and temporarily overwrites it. The information body of an object is known as Eidos which, at any given moment, attempts to return to its natural state. To this effect magic is limited to temporary events and cannot create something from nothing.

In contract to modern magic, ancient magic also plays a prominent role in the story. The two most mentioned ancient magics are ninjustsu, used by Tatsuya, and spirit magic, specifically Divine Earth Magic of the Shinto system, used by a classmate of Tatsuya’s. In contrast to modern magic which owes its speed to the use of a CAD ancient magic does not use a CAD but a different medium such as talismans and chants. Ancient magic can be identified by their longer invocation time and its specialized usage and results. By referencing, and including, Japanese legends and religion Tsutomu-sensei yet again grounds his fantasy.

Tatsuya in his battle suit [via]

Interestingly, Tsutomu-sensei creates a web of references and explanations that provide depth to the story. For instance, WWIII was indirectly started by the radical global temperature drop. The temperature drop led to decreased food supply which eventually led to a war between Russia and China, one thing led to another and WWIII started. Sensei then referenced this global temperature drop and explained how it effected the culture of Japan, and I assume other countries. The most prominent change in culture is the dress code. The new dress code calls for not exposing bare skin. This is a remnant of the deep impression left by the temperature drop on the world. Temperatures have since increased from the drastic lows but with the improvements and discoveries made in clothing leaving no exposed skin does not equate to dressing warmly; now even thick fabrics can keep you cool.

Referring back to my explanation of modern magic, was my explanation confusing? Although I hope my explanation was clear Tsutomu-sensei’s explanations are not. Perhaps it is just the translation but I found almost every explanation to be confusing. I point the issue due to the fact that during the explanations of each new concept new words are introduced and defined. However, the new words are introduced and elaborated upon in the middle of the explanations of concepts; think of it as an explanation within an explanation. Even with the confusing explanations I was able to get the gist of every concept and sensei added summaries to the end of his explanations after the first few volumes to help negate confusion.

The Shiba siblings dancing [via]

Japanese is a very expressive language. Even in English Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei retains its descriptive and colorful language. Unlike the explanations, this I can positively correlate to the skill of the translators. I am starting to realize that one of the joys of reading light novels online is the ability to easily look up unfamiliar words. Unlike manga, the text of light novels is not overlain on an image. This allows me to get the definitions of words by simply double clicking on them*. I should note, that I had a considerably hard time remembering characters by their names. To my defense some of the names had only one letter differences. I found the novel’s wikia page to be very useful for looking up names. This novel, along with many other light novels, is very much dialogue driven. The apt word choice only enhances not only the dialogue but everything else as well.

No light novel would be complete without lively characters. This novel is no exception. Much to our enjoyment, this novel sports a gripping plot complete with action and drizzled with forbidden romance. I am confident that Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei has a little for everyone. Romance, action, science fiction, this light novel has something for every taste.

*Browser and extensions permitting.

Available here

Tatsuya and his classmates [via]

The Manga Hobbyist: Downloading Manga

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 22:58:35 -0400

populationgo:

DomDomSoft Manga Downloader

Let’s face it, you like manga. You wouldn’t be reading this otherwise. Since you like manga, chances are that you have read many different series; not only have you lost track of some series but you also have seen numerous series being taken off of hosting sites. The question is: how do you keep track of the manga you read while having the ability to read licensed manga? Simple, download manga.

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What I forgot to mention in this post was that I recommend using this as a method for reading manga faster than online, as their are no loading times, rather than downloading for possession.

Manga Review: Sasameki Koto

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:55:00 -0500

I am sure you will get this from the vibe of my review, but just so that there is no confusion, I absolutely love this manga. The following is an extremely biased review (even more so than usual) of Sasameki Koto. Sasameki Koto is about the pain of love. Those in this manga are all hurt by there love in some way. Some of them love boys, some love girls, but none of them are free from prying eyes and hurtful stares. “My love is a lonely flower, it blooms and scatters without anyone noticing it.”

Best friends, the two main characters are Murasame Sumika and Kazama Ushio. Sasameki Koto focuses around their relationship and their friends’ relationships. Kazama love girls, however, she is very picky; she only likes “cute girls” everyone else is not her type. This is a huge issue for Murasame because she loves Kazama. The quote in the first paragraph are Murasame’s words. It starts off as an unrequited love, but things change. They make friends who have the same preferences as them, they deal with their challenges at home, and they mature. Their road is bumpy, rough, and full of glares and stares, but their loves’ are true and make it all worth it.

1) The uncluttered white space helps convey Kazama’s slight frustration.

This manga has changed my opinion of an entire sub-genre. It was only after reading this that I take shoujo-ai* seriously. Previously I had the misconception that the sub-genre was lacking in emotion educing romance and was more simply for exploring the novelty of a less common type of relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I found oneshots that I greatly enjoyed, but I hadn’t found a serialized work that had what I was looking for. This work had what I was looking for and more.

I mentioned before the general premise of the story, it is about the atypical relationships, usually but not limited to relationships between girls, of Murasame, Kazama, and their friends. As a shoujo-ai falls under the romance genre the story is very much character driven. Besides our two protagonists we have a cast colorful cast of supporting characters. Each character brings their own love to the table, some of them are unrequited loves, others in full bloom. We have a rich oujo-sama whose lover is a servant’s daughter, we have a boy who cross-dresses in hopes to catch the eyes of the girl he loves, and among others we have a kouhai who loves her sempai. Each character has flaws, issues, and fears. They each act very human through how they express themselves. The entire cast of characters are all easily relatable and empathetic.

2) Aoi’s loneliness is conveyed through her relationship with the large amount of white space and accented by the light and chaotic shading.

Early on, not being considered cute was a huge part of Murasame’s character. Since Kazama, her love, loves cute girls Murasame did all she could to try to make her self cute. She even went to the extent of quitting the martial arts which she loved so much. Watching Kazama chase after girls and crying as each of her crushes proves fruitless hurt Murasame beyond words. And (without revealing too much) she eventually cracks. The whole experience up to that point and after is written and expressed wonderfully.

The mangaka, Ikeda Takashi, does an amazing job of expressing emotion through the artwork. His most used technique is by dedicating a quarter or more of the page to a simple key object, usually a person’s face expressing a strong emotion (picture 1). This technique does a wonderful job of allowing the art to speak for itself. Any emotion in the character’s face is wonderfully conveyed to the reader. He also does an amazing job of using shadows and light shading to convey emotions (picture 2). His surprisingly effective technique of using soft gray tones to express a sheer overflow of emotions (picture 3) not only works but leaves a lasting impression on the reading. To use this technique to its fullest it is important to use it sparingly, Takashi-sensei does just that.

3) This panel is drawn only using relatively light and washed out grays which highlights Murasame’s emotions and differentiates this panel from the rest of the page.

Although I have highlighted all the sad and pain in the manga, do not get me wrong. There are wonderfully joyful sections as well. However, I love the sadness as it easily conveys the most emotion, which is why I read manga, for the emotion. The manga’s characters are lively, relatable, and human which is key for any character driven story. This work easily made it to my list of favorite manga and is what maybe my favorite romance manga. I have never wanted to see two characters get together as much as I have in this manga. Sasameki Koto started out as a oneshot, in fact the first chapter has a oneshot feel once you notice that it is framed with quotes from Murasame. Words cannot express how happy I am that the work become serialized. I also hear that it has an anime, I will be sure to check it out.

* ”Literally ‘Girl - Love’, Shoujo-ai refers to stories that feature romantic ties between female characters. Not to be confused with Yuri, which refers to lesbian pornography. The differences are that Shoujo-ai focuses on the relationship and often does not contain any explicit material (the romantic relations may even exclude sex)” - Anime News Network.

[Mangafox.com]

The Manga Hobbyist: Fullmetal Alchemist Box Set Review

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:17:51 -0500

populationgo:

The manga, Fullmetal Alchemist, won the 49th Shogakukan Manga Award for shounen and the Seiun Award in 2011 for best science fiction comic. Additionally, it is a best seller in both Japan and America. It is a given that either you or someone you know wants it. But it is a whopping 27 volumes long; buying each volume will take a hefty chunk out of your wallet.

So what do you do? Buy the box set, of course. But don’t get too excited: the box set is far from perfect.

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The review of the Fullmetal Alchemist box set I recently wrote.

Manga Review: D-Frag!

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 21:13:04 -0500

Kazama Kenji and his two friends are a normal group of delinquents, for them life is dandy if not a bit boring. Their lives change drastically when Kazama runs into the Game Production Club. In a school full of freaks and weirdos he entered the den of the freakiest and the weirdest. The club consists of Karasuyama Chitose, the student council president, Shibasaki Roka, the secret boss of the school whom everyone knows about, Mizukami Sakura, a mysterious girl who likes water, and their adviser, Oosawa Minami. Together with Kazama and his childhood friends, the two delinquents and the masochistic student council vice president, the group goes through various antics and adventures with the rest of the unusual student body and the surrounding area.

(Above: How Shibasaki Roka proved that she was the Strongest Darkness, the secret boss of the school)

The issue with many comedy manga is that the humor, especially the puns, are often lost in translation. This is even more glaring in this manga as the sheer number of jokes is outrageous it is quite easy to notice what is a joke and that it isn’t funny in English. Although, there are huge number of comedic elements besides jokes like reactions and events this is a glaring downfall. The most common type of joke is called manzai, a type of stand up comedy that involves two performers, the straight man and the funny man, who rapidly exchange jokes. As most of jokes in a manzai are verbal gags most is lost in translation but are still enteraining. On the flip side because of the quantity of the comedic material there is bound to be something that will make you laugh or that you will at least find amusing.

(Above: An example of a manzai routine)

The plot is also on the same level as the humor with similar flaws. As a comedy, the plot is simply a tool to get the humor across. Considering only that, this plot does its job very well. But this plot is more than a tool, it is interesting enough to read without all the humor added to it. However, I noticed dropped plot points which doesn’t subtract from the enjoyment but is a flaw which needs pointing out*. The most notable is mysterious unnamed tournament where you need to enter with a four man group**. Additionally, we have forgotten characters. When the members of the real Game Production Club were introduced I thought that all four would play a large roll, but only there captain, Takao, plays a significant part in the story. The rest of the club is barely used if not forgotten. On the bright side the character development is quite good for a comedy. Almost every character, except for Mizukami, is developed into a perfectly formed character with the right amount of depth for jokes to springboard off of.

The amazing part of the slice of life genre is that it meshes well with many other genres. Characters and relationships are the key elements of not only slice of life but also comedy and romance. The relationships between characters, basically how they react to one another, can be, as in this case, both comedic and romantic. D-Frag! borderlines the harem genre, multiple girls fall for Kazama. What separates this from being a harem manga is that the girls don’t constantly vie for Kazama’s attention, rather most of the time they are too busy being put in funny situations to get anywhere in their relationship.

Despite all of its downfalls, I still highly recommend D-Frag! because even with all of issues I have it still made me laugh, smile, and chuckle while keeping me interested with elements besides humor such as the plot, romantic undertone, and the character development. I can only imagine how amazing this manga would be if I could read it in Japanese.

*The main reason for me pointing it out is because I am proud that I actually noticed it.

**See chapter 12 page 10.

[Mangafox.com]

Manga Review: Yamada and the Seven Witches

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:58:00 -0500

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this series when I first started. I thought I was about to read a generic gender swap manga, but I was wrong. What I got was a charming story of magic with the complications of high school relationships. This is the story of Yamada, a generic delinquent, and the seven witches of his high school. On day, while on the way to class Yamada falls down the stairs with Shiraishi, the smartest girl in the grade, and they switch bodies. Turns out they kissed upon landing and that a kiss is the key for witches use their abilities. Witches? Yeah, there are perpetually seven witches in Yamada’s high school, although the people change their powers transfer upon their graduation. With little else to do Yamada, Shiraishi, and their slowly growing group of friends start a club to research the witches’ abilities and their holders.

(Above: Yamada and Shiraishi when their bodies have switched for the first time)

While I was reading the first couple of chapters I thought that this was simply going to be a simple gender swap. What kept me reading, after the first chapter, was the humor. Yamada and the Seven Witches does with shoujo what Ouran Highschool Host Club did with shoujo, it parodies it. The difference being that Ouran Highschool Host Club was targeted for girls while Yamada and the Seven Witches is targeted for boys. I found myself laughing when Yamada kissed another guy to test if he also had the power to switch bodies. And I laughed even harder when, many body swaps later, they both ended up in girl’s bodies and had to kiss each other, as girls, to return to normal.

(Above: Yamada and Shiraishi body swapped again)

Later, as more witches and characters are introduced the subjects of the manga widens. As like with many similar manga, every arc adds introduces new characters. In fact, it seems like that the sole point of an arc is to introduce new characters. As both a School Life* and a Romance manga there is a large emphasis on characters and their relationships. Characters consists of both the witches and those their powers inevitably effects. There is an interesting relationship between witches, their friends, and their powers. For instance, one witch shares her powers of telekinesis between her friends. While another witch uses her powers to control the students and make them do their bidding. While the witch of telekinesis’ friends are grateful for her help those under the control of the other witch have a very different opinion about their witch. While this manga explores their relationship it has yet to delve into the Yamada’s romantic life, leaving me to question if this is even a romance manga at all.

Romance manga or not, I enjoy the humor and the unique premise of the story. The story starts off generic but quickly develops an attention grabbing plot with characters worthy of such a story. As much as I want to find something negative to add to this review I am having a hard time doing so. Perhaps that is a testament of how much I enjoy this manga.

*School life is simply a subgenre of Slice of Life and thus has the same emphases as it

[Batoto.net]

Manga Review: Baby Steps

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:37:00 -0500

I don’t like sports manga. Most of them are unrealistic and they don’t accurately represent the sport. Often times they are simply an action manga with good looking guys/girls battling through the use of a sport with unrealistic powers and abilities or use the sport as an excuse for pantyshots. But occasionally I run into sports manga that aren’t like that. They accurately represent the sport and not only provide the reader with meaningful dialogue but also offer insight into the sport itself. Baby Steps is one of these manga.

Baby Steps follows the story of Marou Eiichirou. Eiichirou, often referred to as Ei-chan, is an honors student and a first year high school student. He is known for his detailed, neat, and accurate notes and his willingness to let people borrow them. However, he isn’t particularly happy. He studies constantly not because he enjoys it but simply because he feels that studying is something he needs to work constantly at to do well. One day, the school’s idol, Takasaki Natsu borrows his notes. He then runs into her again while checking out a tennis facility as a way to exercise. Turns out that she is aiming to become a professional tennis player. Ei-chan joins the tennis facility and, needless to say, falls in love with more than just the sport.

(Above: The first of E-chan’s tennis notes)

What I like about this manga is that Ei-chan’s personality is represented in that way he plays. Rather than playing solely with intuition he instead relies on his extensive notes on himself, his opponent, and past experiences. I also enjoy learning about tennis, I knew nothing before reading this series, but what I absolutely adore is that Ei-chan has problems that and actual teenager and tennis player would have. He has to fight against his parents who want for him to go to college. He contends against slumps, challenging adversaries, and his own limits but he never had to face the unrealistic challenges such as sabotage or the like. I don’t think I can stress this enough, I hate it when mangaka don’t think that a sport is interesting enough for their manga that they have to make it unrealistic. This is a realistic manga that is just as much about the sport as the protagonist and that is what I want in a sports manga.

Tennis matches are a long affair, and can take hours. The mangaka, Hikaru Kachiki-sensei, takes great care not to let an individual match become too drawn out. Even the some parts of a final match in a tournament was summarized/skipped, with no lose in change of pace or excitement. In addition to having to take care not to draw out matches Kachiki-sensei also has put great care into not having the romance subplot subtract from the sports theme. The romance provides refreshing entertainment separate from the hustle of the tennis world. Multiple girls are introduced that like Ei-chan. And, of course, Ei-chan is oblivious to most of them and has been pursuing the same girl up to 150 chapters*. The question is why were more girls introduced if Ei-chan only like one girl and is oblivious to the rest? Will there be some rough waters ahead of Ei-chan’s relationships? I don’t know but I know it will be interesting.

(Above: E-chan serving)

Kachiki-sensei is just as good of an artist as she is a writer. Her panels are never cluttered and she is an expert on controlling the flow of action in the panels. A good example is the picture included above in which Ei-chan is serving the ball. If you notice the left most panel has a vertical rather than horizontal orientation. The vertical force in the picture is reflected in the panel’s orientation. Additionally, Kachiki-sensei probably has the least cluttered and simplest drawing style I have seen yet. Although having a simple drying style helps in sports manga where there is a lot going on but I would have liked more two page spreads, at the very least.

I thoroughly enjoyed Baby Steps and I intend to continue enjoying it. Even though I don’t enjoy most sports, and sports manga, I honestly enjoyed this manga more than I expected. Baby Steps appeals to a large audience as it doesn’t fall into the trap of catering to only males or females. If this review caught your interest in the least bit I recommend this manga to you.

*And probably beyond but those have yet to be translated.

[Batoto.net]

The Manga Hobbyist: Ouran High School Host Club Box Set Review

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 23:36:53 -0500

populationgo:

The iconic shojo manga, Ouran High School Host Club — a popular series and a worthwhile read — was released as a box set earlier last month (November 2012). I will not review the series here; instead, I will talk about why you should or shouldn’t buy the box set rather than simply buying each volume separately.

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This is a review I just wrote on the group blog I contribute to.

Manga Review: Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 00:06:44 -0500

In 800 B.C. King Solomon gathered an army of demons with the power of his blessed ring. Thousands of years later in near-modern times his descendant, and bearer of his soul, is plunged into the power struggle of the same demons from the ancient army. Lucifer, like every powerful demon, must sleep for a hundred years in order to keep his longevity. In his absence a ruler is elected to control hell. This time, the one choosing Lucifer’s replacement is Solomon’s descendant, William Twining, who is a seemingly normal human who is a stubborn realist refuses to believe in the existence of God, demons, angels, and the like.

The plot is fairly straightforward, both demons and angels want William Twining’s soul. Some demons want his soul to act as a key in order to re-enter heaven, however, most demons simply want William to pick a successor, hopefully the successor belonging to their fraction. In this light, demons are represented as (mostly) good, they protect William from danger and befriend him. Angels, on the other hand, are pictured as evil. They want to simply brainwash William and turn him into a mindless puppet. Having the generic evil and good switch provides a refreshing plot. It should be noted that this isn’t like two little children fighting over a doll, when they both grab and arm and pull in a tug-of-war. William has power over all the demons Solomon made pacts with. He also probably has some power over angels. Using Solomon’s ring William obtains powers besides that of simply controlling demons.

As a supernatural manga, the powers and creatures present play a pivotal role as the driving force of the work. Powers play a minimal role for William, as he is human. Besides from the ability to summon demons, which any human with the knowledge can do, normal humans do not have any power. Exorcists do have some power, but it seems that they are weak and only serve as tools for plot development.

Demons and Angels, on the other hand are what make this work truly supernatural. The story draws influence from the biblical story of Solomon. In this work only a portion of Solomon’s seventy-two pillars are represented. Besides from biblical demons and the hierarchy connected to them, some Greek and European superstition is present. These influences, most notably, come in the form of the Lamia and a Killmoulis, a fairy of Scottish origin. Demons are split in two categories: fallen angels and humans who have turned into demons, referred to as Nefilim. Angels are also split into two categories, those with two wings and those with one. An angel starts off with both wings but when they fail in a mission or commit a crime they lose a wing. It is possible to lose both wings but that has yet to be explored by the work. Thus far, the work has only shown angels present in Christianity with the same hierarchy. Angels do have a reservoir of pawns which they use to enact their will on Earth, a key pawn is Joan de Arc. The dichotomy between the two sides provides for an interesting dynamic as some demons want to enter heaven and some angels are in danger of falling into hell.

Humor plays a minor role in the work. Almost all humor is derived from William refusing the existence of demons, trying to rationalize what he is seeing, and accepting the benefits of the demons when convenient, such as eating, and bringing home, food made by a demon because it is better than what he usually eats. Honestly, William isn’t very funny and his constant denial to accept what is in front of him gets tiring quickly. The extras such as the omakes and the 4-komas are funnier than the actual chapter.

The various demons with their own unique background, relationship with Solomon, and personality make their interactions with William interesting and memorable. Additionally, there is enough action to break up the dialogue and the plot flows fast and evenly so that there are no slow spots. All in all, I enjoyed the work thus far and I look forward to more. However, the comedy area leaves much to be desired.

[Eatmanga.com]

Manga Review: Tripeace

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 23:19:41 -0400

Abiding by their three laws, Tripeace’s only goal is to eradicate war from the world. Those in the organization each have three laws which they follow, the first two are Love and Peace, and the third law changes on an individual basis. Nana has joined Tripeace in the hope of ending all war. He (despite the feminine name Nana is male) has forgot his past. The first friends he made in his new life were killed in front of him during an invasion by the war hungry country, Xyece, since then he decided to stop at nothing to stop war not even… crossdressing?

The squad Nana joins upon entering Tripeace lives under the banner of violence, that being their third law. However, although Nana gains strength he doesn’t utilize it as much he does his feminine charm through crossdressing. This gives you a good idea of the manga, although it is an action story it has a humorous undertone. Tripeace is not your run of the mill action manga, it features a characters with deep backgrounds and plenty of crossdressing (the majority done by Nana).

It is an interesting paradox, having a character who can’t remember his past and trying to portray a detailed background for that character. Nana is this character and Tripeace does a good job of providing a background for a character can’t remember his past. The method used is very interesting; the plot quickly established a temporary background for Nana in which his friends were killed in a war and as the plot progressed more of Nana’s actual past was revealed. Other characters such as Belial and Shiro have a more traditional background but the mangaka, Maru Tomoyuki-sensei, foreshadowed various aspects of their backgrounds throughout the present plot which ties in characters’ pasts better to the plot. Deep characters are important for action manga because of empathy. If the reader is empathic to a character then he or she will be invested in the fighting and the outcome. Ultimately, what drive an action manga but the action?

Action scenes in Tripeace are clear and easy to interpret. This can be chalked up to Tomoyuki-sensei’s use of blurring to show movement. Blurs range from minimal blurring of edges to complete blurring of limbs/objects. These signals are easily interpreted by the reader. I don’t have much else to say about the battles, besides from what I just mentioned nothing else particularly stands out.

Following the premise, each arc is divided by Nana’s assignments within Tripeace. These assignments, usually involving war, can vary from simple incognito missions or battles between armies. Each arc has very different circumstances and will keep you interested. Additionally, some nice touches that I noticed are the varying word bubble border thickness which show emotion. However, I must say that the occasional over expressive and unnatural “Cool Guy” pose really distracts from the situation.

Although, the manga has many unique elements it still is a very mainstream action story. It is a very enjoyable read but if you are looking for something really unique don’t let the crossdressing fool you.

Source: Batoto.net

Manga Review: Saint Oniisan

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:53:56 -0400

Saint Oniisan received the 2009 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for Short Work Manga and was nominated for the 2nd Manga Taisho Award (2009).

Jesus and Buddha descend to the mortal world for vacation after working hard for the turn of the century. They decide to rent a room together in Japan. Yes, you heard me right. This manga is about Jesus and Buddha’s daily life in modern Japan. This manga reflects the importance of Christianity and Buddhism for the Japanese. Through slapstick jokes and the references to both stories from Buddhism and Christianity the reader gains insight into both religions, their similarities and differences, while reading the humorous interactions between Jesus and Buddha. Ultimately, who doesn’t want to read a manga about Jesus and Buddha being roommates?

Slice of life manga rely on two elements: characters and relationships. For the most part, each chapter in Saint Oniisan is episodic. No chapter builds off another and no chapter refers to another. Because of this all characters are static, they do not change. The importance of interesting characters is extremely important in this situation. Jesus and Buddha rise the the challenge. Not surprisingly, they both make very interesting and unique characters with quarks and personalities based on the stories of their respective religions. Footnotes provide explanations about every reference to religion and otherwise. If you are a fish out of water for either or both religions, like me, you won’t be lost. Similarly, the importance of characters’ relationships is paramount as it is the driving force of the manga. Luckily, the sheer novelty of the premise of having Jesus and Buddha be roommates in modern Japan keeps the relationships between the two interesting. You have no idea how either will react or what situation they will get themselves into.

(Above: Jesus tried to make a hot spring but made a geyser of fanta instead. He usually turns water into wine [wine representing Jesus’ blood] but this time he made fanta, hence the joke.)

Along with being a slice of life this work is also a comedy, God knows how many jokes are in each chapter*. Besides the occasional reference to Japanese popular culture we have numerous references to, and puns concerning, Buddhism and Christianity (as seen below). Unfortunately, many of the jokes are lost in translation. I get the jokes, they are humorous, but they do not make me laugh or chuckle when they are meant to. The dichotomy between Jesus and Buddha provides humor, but again I am not laughing. If I view the work as a laugh out loud comedy then it fails, if I view it as a witty and humorous comedy then it excels. Again, the problem is that it might have been the former in Japanese when it is the latter in English.

(Above: An example of a joke with references to Christianity)

My biggest issue with the work is fairly minor, it is that while Buddha and Jesus try to keep their sainthood** secret it is revealed quicker as the work goes on. It comes to the point where random characters simply know that they are saints without any hints or slips from the two. Not only that, but regular humans simply accept the fact they are saints and move on, they don’t get on their knees and pray or act according to what would be the proper reaction. I mean, Jesus Christ*, the manga is based on reality. But, all in all I highly recommend this manga. Although the drawing style might be a little rough the mangaka does a great job of appealing to the general audience not just those knowledgeable in both Christianity and Buddhism. But hey if you don’t like it, that’s fine. It is, as they say, whatever rubs your buddha*.

*Get it?

**The manga refers to Jesus and Buddha as saints.

(Above: It seems Buddha and I share a similar taste in manga)

Source(s): Eatmanga.com, Mangaupdates.com

Manga Review: Tokyo ESP

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 01:48:04 -0400

Following the sucess of Ga-rei, Hajime Segawa-sensei launched his next series Tokyo ESP. While Ga-rei was a story of the supernatural Tokyo ESP is based on ESP*, Extra Sensory Perseption. Both stories are based in modern Tokyo with their respective twists. If you like one, you will like the other. Although both works are simular there are distincty differences.

Clearly an action manga, Tokyo ESP provides a mix of different types of action. Two different types of action is provided, the first is the more generic fighting, the second is the simply a large amount of things are happening at once. Often type the latter action is training, saving people, and escaping danger. Action scenes in this work benifit from Segawa-sensei’s crisp and clean artwork which helps make the scenes less confunsing as each element is distinct. The plot isn’t as straight forward as the usual mainstream manga. Although there is a distinct enemy the fact that besides the evil organization the protagonists must be wary of innocent general population makes the line between good and evil blurred. The various superpowers of the characters adds a new level of intrest to the story. However, the types of superpowers, so far, have not been unique in anyway and have repeated in characters.

Thus far in the story sub themes such as romance, comedy, and drama have surfaced. The fact that one of the protagonist, and key elements to the plot, is a penguin must add humor to the plot at some level. This one character is what makes the powers over the top. Jokes are sparse, it’s elements like this penguin that add the subtle humor to the work. Romance, it seems plays a hand in the other two sub themes. The fact that Kokui Kobushi, a proffesional theif and High School girl is in love with the protagonist’s ex-policeoffice father is not funny but is just plain silly. Segawa-sensei has a tendency to pair up every main character for romance. For an action manga it might be a little much. Rinka Urushiba, the main character, is clearly in love with Azuma Kyoutaro. Drama will clearly unfold with his sad/hard past and the possible romantic tention he has with his step-sister, who is an enemy.

All in all, I recommend reading Tokyo ESP. Although it may not be far from being mainstream it has enough unique elements to keep you interested week after week. I especially recommend it if you enjoyed reading Ga-rei.

*If you couldn’t already tell from the title.

Manga Review: Arago

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 01:55:00 -0400

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Arago and Ewan Hunt witness their parents death at the at hands of a mysterious being known as the “Patchman”. Fifteen years later the brothers live drastically different lives until their paths cross again following the trail of the Patchman’s latest victims. Their latest encounter with the being left both at the edge of death. But the Patchman wouldn’t have that, he needs one of them to be his new body. Using parts of Ewan, he revives Arago only to have his powers stolen by him. With his brother’s death weighing on his heart Arago dedicates his life to saving others with his new powers. By day, a detective, by night fighting demons and spirits until the line between his double life blurs.

As a supernatural action manga what we have here isn’t the usual specimen but it is fairly close. The supernatural elements of the manga are unique. Demons and spirits from various European cultures and religions are utilized, many of which I haven’t heard of before. This, along with the main elements of power referred to as Erinn’s Treasures, give the manga various unique elements the only problem is that they are used in a very generic manner.

The action part of the manga is very mainstream. The main character gains some mysterious powers, which acts as a deus ex machina* and becomes stronger after each near death experience. The biggest problem with this model is that almost all manga won’t let the main character die, once you realize this all the tension of these near death scenes is lost. The best manga will give you the feeling that the main character could actually die at any moment and the manga will still go on. However, this manga redeems itself with its battle scenes. The action is short, quick paced and not drawn out. A battle shouldn’t take up more than a chapter if no new element is added. Many manga fall into the trap of long drawn out battles but this work avoids such traps which helps make the manga quicker paced.

Characters in the Arago tend to all be static, they don’t change much from beginning to the end. The biggest exception to this is Joe, but other than that the personality of every other character stays fairly constant from the beginning to the end. Is this bad? No, not necessarily. This is a relatively short work of only 85 chapters. The characters don’t need to change, in fact, if the characters changed too much much in such a short time then more harm is done than good.

Arago’s plot is fairly straight forward, there is one “final boss” type enemy. Everything is simply a build up to the final confrontation. Who the final boss is, I will leave to your imagination. Although you are given hints his identity is a decent twist. The premise to the battle is also fairly generic, to gather all of Erinn’s Treasures and to either use them for evil (the boss) or to prevent their use (Arago). The occasional twist along the way adds spice to plot however you don’t read this kind of manga for the plot.

What you read this manga for is the thrill of seeing the main character acting cool and succeeding through his/her hardships. This work provided that thrill. But if you are looking for deep emotional turmoil or a unique/complicated plot look elsewhere. Ultimately, this manga does its job well as a fairly mainstream supernatural action manga. I enjoyed reading the work, I especially enjoyed the ending. I thought that the ending was the best part as it probably had the best action, suspense, and thrill of the entire work.

*Latin for “God from the machine” which is a plot device in which a problem or situation is solved abruptly. In this case when a character is saved at the last minute.

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Manga Review: Silver Spoon

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 17:59:16 -0400

From Hiromu Arakawa, the mangaka of Full Metal Alchemist, comes a story of a boy who runs away from his family by attending Oezo Agricultural High School. Everyone, except for the protagonist, Yugo Hachiken, has grown up on a farm and has plans for the future. As Hachiken adapts to his new environment he must learn about what it means to live on a farm, sort out his despondent relationship with his family, and decide on what he wants to do with his life. That’s quite a lot of work for a character who can’t say, “No”. Of course, that will might change once he gets a voice actor. (Get it? Because anime has sound but manga doesn’t.)

Don’t click the break until you get my joke.

Silver Spoon shares little with Full Metal Alchemist. Only two things are held in common with both works they are: the mangaka’s style, both in writing and in drawing, and the fully explored relationships between characters. The latter is what, arguably, attracted the female population to Full Metal Alchemist. Comparing Silver Spoon to Full Metal Alchemist is like comparing a fig tree with an apple tree. They are both trees and they have the same roots but they are two completely different plants. You can love both figs and apples or you could hate one or the other but just because you like one doesn’t mean you will like, or dislike, the other. Coming into Silver Spoon from Full Metal Alchemist many fellow fans where expecting something like Full Metal Alchemist, what they got was something completely different and the disappointment prevented them from enjoying Silver Spoon.

Silver Spoon is an educational manga in addition to its slice of life genre. As you should know by now, I have a weakness for educational manga*. After doing some ~~Wikipedia~~ intensive research I learned that Arakawa-sensei grew up on a dairy farm. Is Silver Spoon about her life growing up? No, but if the work draws upon what she learned growing up then I would put more value on Silver Spoon than if she got the information second-hand.

Manga in the slice of life genre rely on two elements: characters and relationships. Since slice of life works are about the daily life of characters complicated plots are not necessary, instead, what grabs and keeps the audience coming back are both well thought out characters and their fully fleshed out relationships with each other. Arakawa-sensei successfully uses both elements in Silver Spoon. The characters are all life-like in that they all have flaws, pet peeves, quirks, make mistakes, and think irrationally at times (like actual humans). The driving element of slice of life manga are the relationships. These don’t mean romantic relationships but refer to how characters act with each other. Characters, in Silver Spoon, are provide quality entertainment in there interactions with both other characters and the setting. Which brings me to my next point, undertones.

Silver Spoon has two notable sub-genres in the form of humor and romance. Sometimes the jokes and gags were only mildly amusing but occasionally I found them genuinely hilarious. The expressive and unique expressions and reactions from Full Metal Alchemist make a return here, making humor constantly prevalent. Romance, on the other hand, is not as prevalent as humor but is a driving force in Hachiken’s, the protagonist, actions especially when concerned with his love interest, Mikage. At this point in the manga (chapter 51) relatively little has changed from their original relationship in the early chapters. This is a slice of life manga not a romance manga.

Overall, I enjoy reading Silver Spoon and I will continue doing so until something changes and it no longer appeals to me. I do not, however, have the excitement that I felt when a new chapter of Full Metal Alchemist was released with Silver Spoon. Sure, I enjoyed Full metal Alchemist more than I am currently enjoying Silver Spoon but Silver Spoon is still a great manga and I recommend it to both male and female manga readers.

*Manga used Education. It’s Super Effective!

[Source(s): Eatmanga.com, Wikipedia.org]

Manhwa Review: Girl's Wild High

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:46:00 -0400

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Song Jae Gu is living a hard life, his father died of an unknown disease and his mother abandoned him and his two younger siblings. Being the only one left, Jae Gu quickly matured in order to take care of his brother and sister. When the time came to choose a high school to attend he decided to go to the near by school that gave him a full scholarship, Wild’s High. Wild’s High isn’t your ordinary school, which Jae Gu quickly found out, the school recently became co-ed making Jae Gu the only male student. You would think that this is a good thing. But you have to realize that the school is filled with martial arts loving high school girls who can destroy Jae Gu without batting an eyelash. Welcome to high school, Jae Gu.

I have some gripes with this manhwa, but overall I consider it a completely original work that both a joy to read and a joy to experience. The great part of being a web comic is the possibilities of spaces. Since, unlike conventional manhwa, [manhwa] web comics are created in one long strip, although some hosting sites may display them in pieces, the time it takes to scroll down or for your eyes to move down are a factor in the storytelling. A key pause right before action adds to the suspense and the lack of pause quickens up the flow of action. The artist, Kim Hye-Jin, utilizes all that the medium offers visually, making this more than a read but an experience.

The author, who goes by Hun, turns what may sound like a generic plot into a unique story complimenting Hye-Jin’s skill in drawing. Having a boy enter an all girl’s school sounds like a harem waiting to happen. But this story isn’t just about romance, it is about action and comedy, and it is about over coming one’s past and moving forward. Song Jae Gu lives a hard life, he struggles to raise his siblings and was bullied in middle school. But upon entering Wild’s High he gains inner strength and courage through the support of the friends he made, the fact that they are all female is almost irrelevant… almost. Romance does play a role in the story, and it could probably be considered a driving force, but it is challenging to say whether or not Jae Gu’s relationship with his classmates is that of romance or friendship. But that is what makes this plot so interesting. It is obvious that Jae Gu views them as friends but these girls clearly have a thing for him. Will any one of them become Jae Gu’s girl friend? And will Jae Gu ever be half as strong as any of them? These questions keep me coming back for more every chapter.

As much as all I want to do is shower this series with praise I have developed some gripes with the work. First and foremost is that some characters, most notably Yoon In Gyi aka The Queen, act inconstantly from chapter to chapter, as though their personalities change to and fro. The second issue I have is that Jae Gu is predictably becoming stronger which is very generic. I truly wish that Jae Gu will never be as strong as any of the girls interested in him. A strong female and a weak male is a dynamic rarely explored and this manhwa started exploring it but is slowly changing directions. Granted, these gripes of mine are fairly minor and do not subtract much from an overall amazing experience. I highly recommend reading this manhwa.

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[Source(s): Mangaupdates.com]

Manga Review: Ranma 1/2

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 15:21:40 -0400

In a time when martial arts manga were becoming popular, Rumiko Takahashi-sensei (future creator of Inuyasha) enters the fry with a martial arts manga of her own, with a twist. After falling into a cursed spring while training in China, Ranma is cursed with a body that when exposed to cold water becomes female and when exposed to hot water reverts back to male. Now in Japan, he is told marry Akane to ensure the passing of their father’s martial arts and dojo. But is Ranma male or female? As the plot progresses many more quirky characters, many also cursed by springs while training in China.

I read this manga for two reasons, the first being that I am a big fan of Takahashi-sensei’s newer work, Inuyasha, and the second is because this was many of my friend’s first manga, I wanted to see what all the excitement was about. What I got was a comedic action manga that strayed away from stereotypical gender blenders. Ranma never questioned what his sex was, he knew he was male and that was that. This is a huge difference between other manga in the genre, often the main character questions his/her identify or they fall in love with someone of the same sex they are acting as. Although Ranma does fall in love, and is chased by men and women alike, the manga focuses more on the action and the comedy.

The plot is fairly formulaic, but what drive the manga are the characters. Each character has a past and has different relationships with each other character. Character’s behaviors are often complex but never change. For the most part characters are static, this is good and bad. With such a large cast of already complex characters making changes to the characters might have made the manga confusing or overwhelming. On the other hand, static characters are static character. Dynamic characters grab the reader’s attention and don’t let go, with static characters they might seem interesting at first but they quickly grow boring as they don’t change.

Ultimately, although I enjoyed reading Ranma ½ I didn’t enjoy it enough to read the whole series but on the bus ride to Baltimore for Otakon this series provided some much needed entertainment. This manga is famous and is often alluded to. My advice is to read the series even if it is only so you can understand other manga’s references and jokes.

Source(s): [Wikipedia.org, Mangareader.net]

Manga Review: Reimei no Arcana

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 01:39:00 -0400

In a fantasy world, a princess, scorned by the royal family, is married off to the prince of a neighboring kingdom in order to form peace, albeit a shaky one. What sets apart this story from similar ones with the same premise is what the two accomplish in their union. They don’t fall madly in love, the end. No, they set off in separate ways to prevent war between their two nations. They try to save Ajin, otherwise known as “sub-people” as they are part human-part animal, from slavery and persecution. They fight against fate, one as the traitorous prince the other as a princess who can see the future.

Princess Nakaba, the princess I previously mentioned, has what is called the Arcana of time. With it she can see the past, present, and the future. These arcana provide a mystical element to an otherwise borderline realistic setting. My gripes with this element is that they seemingly randomly pop-up in characters as a throw away device. Sure, this was only the case with one character but that one time was enough to irk me. However, the idea of having this element really helps differentiate the story world from reality, which is needed.

The question is: why are arcana needed to push the story away from reality? It is because of the Ajin. I, personally, love the Ajin. My love for them probably stems from my love of the Laguz, otherwise known as “sub-humans”, in the Fire Emblem franchise. The trouble is that cat ears (or in this case dog ears) and the like no longer separate reality from fantasy as it once did. Although there is nothing wrong about it, various works contain characters that have cat ears and tails which contain no significance at all to the setting. Characters simply have various physical animal characteristics in an otherwise normal reality. In this way having part human-part animal beings have less of an impact on readers. But the part-animal race of this work has another purpose, to draw empathy from the readers. A key tactic to draw in an audience, and hey, it works.

I love strong female leads, as this story stands (as of volume 8) Princess Nakaba is not the ideal female lead to my taste. Toma Rei-sensei, the mangaka of the work, tried to make Nakaba strong, I can tell so from what other characters say and think of her. But Nakaba does not come off as the strong female lead that both I and Rei-sensei would like. She is powerless and always requires to be saved by male characters. Fortunately, there is plenty of room to make Nakaba into the character she is meant to be. Currently, she is being tortured by her ability to see the future, but should she master her powers, and acts the part, then I can easily see her as a strong female lead. She won’t be a Princess Nausicaä, from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but maybe more of a Misaki Ayuzawa, from Kaichō wa Maid-sama!.

Yes, I have my share of misgivings with the manga. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the manga enough that when I finished reading all of the chapters translated I yearned for the next chapter. I felt disheartened at having no more chapters to read and that is why I recommend this series. This is a fledgling work with plenty of room to improve and I look forward to following it as it blooms.

Available here

Source(s): Batoto.net, Mangaupdates.com

Manga Review: Trinity Blood

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 03:09:00 -0400

In the post-apocalyptic world there are three species of beings. The first, humans, populate the earth in various cities and hide behind the Vatican for protection. Protection against who? The second, Methuselah, commonly known as vampires. Vampires can be sporadically found nestled in human populations or in their capital. Just as Methuselah feed upon the blood of humans the third feeds on the blood of vampires. The third, Crusniks, are immortal and all powerful beings. Trinity Blood follows the one of the few Crusniks on his path of redemption for sins from 900 years in the past.

Although a shojo manga, this manga will entertain both sexes. This manga can be best described as exploring well thought out relationships in the midst of bloody battles which is depicted through mature and (often) attractive depictions of the characters. That sentence was an understatement, let us explore each aspect individually.

As I said previously, this manga explores well thought out relationships. This is a defining characteristic of shojo manga. However, there is more to this manga than who loves who. There is the politics of the three world powers, which is less prominent in the manga as is in the light novel, and the depth of character’s pasts to consider. Included in this category are painful deaths of characters and the betrayal of others, which leads us to our next subject, the battles.

Just as a shonen manga follows a plot that strings together action scenes so does Trinity Blood. Expect battles to be depicted clearly and with energy. With fighting occurring at every chapter the clarity of the action panels are crucial as they take up a sizable portion of the manga. Complimenting the drawing of the action is its complimentary, the drawing and depiction of characters.

The relationships tend to draw in the female crowd while the action draws in the male crowd. The way the characters are depicted, on the other hand, I believe can attract both crowds. Characters, both male and female, are depicted as attractive perhaps to woe readers of opposite sexes to the characters. Males can find many mature female characters while females will have no trouble finding attractive older and younger male characters (girls like both, right?).

With all that the manga does right there are but a few things I can find fault with. First, and most notably, are the way the eyes are drawn. They are stereotypical shojo, being too big for the face and reflecting too much light. My second complain is with how easily nuns will pick up guns and use the firearms well. I don’t have a problem with the priests using weapons because they are all depicted as priests in name and dress only. They don’t talk or look like priests. The nuns, Esther especially, give me the impression of being well versed in war. Within the first few chapters Esther willingly takes up arms and can use them effectively without any training. Doesn’t this go against everything that nuns are for? My third and final gripe is with bringing religion into manga. Sometimes I understand that it is necessary but it isolates readers who are not of the faith which is depicted. Even if it were small changes, like not saying prayers every time a gun is shot would make the world of difference.

All in all, this manga is full of surprises. I did not expect such darkness from a shojo manga (as seen below). With manga offers plenty for both sexes. Interestingly enough, the light novel was made for a made demographic while the manga is being for a female demographic. If the series was directed to one demographic over the other I doubt that I would have thought as highly of it. Since it accomplishes the difficult task of being both a viable shojo and shonen manga I believe this manga deserves praise.

Source(s): Wikipedia.org, Goodmanga.net

Manga Review: To Terra

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 02:47:19 -0400

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Winner of both the first Seiun Award, a prestigious award for science fiction, and the Shogakukan Manga Award for shonen/shojo manga.

To Terra, directly translated as Toward the Terra, is a three volume series about the future of the Earth, known as Terra, and the future of humans. In this future Terra has fallen into ruin because of human neglect. Becoming uninhabitable, humans left to colonize other planets. Some left the galaxy and were never heard from again, others settled nearby.

The humans that settled earn Terra wanted to bring Terra back into a livable and vibrant world. They figured that humans were what caused Terra’s ruin and so created machines to rule over and control the humans. The lead machine called, Grand-Mother, brain washes humans and breeds them in vitro. Although Grand-Mother control the genes that create humans a certain gene always pops up. This gene lead to a new species called Mu. The Mu have weak bodies but are blessed with physic abilities and are hunted down by Grand-Mother. This is the story of their quest to return to Terra told from both the Mu and the Human sides.

I immediately connected Mu, from this manga, to Newtypes from the Gundam franchise. Both species contain striking similarities. With To Terra having been published before Newtypes were introduced to Gundam I can’t help but think that the Mu were the inspiration for Newtypes.

Being an old work, To Terra’s art work has an old feel to it. Especially in the beginning, the art style is very reminiscent of Tezuka Osamu-sensei’s style. People are drawn with very round faces and hair that wasn’t detailed this style changed slightly every volume, a classic case. In the opening chapter I found this style rather disenchanting. The style did grow on me as I delved into the plot.

I found the plot to be confusing at some points. However, I chalk this up to the translation rather than the story itself. The only way to read this manga is by buying a copy as there is no online translation. Thus you will be reading the same translation as I am, be prepared to have some character’s names subtly change from volume to volume.

Besides for the translation errors I find that this is a manga worthy of its decorations. This is a classic manga that helped define the science fiction manga genre. Not only is the plot interesting and the characters believable but the ideas behind the story are timeless. As long as technology progresses as it is and the Earth’s environment is neglected this manga will be relevant.

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Source(s): Wikipedia.org