From Del Rey:

THE WALLFLOWER VOL.5
Written and Drawn by Tomoko Hayakawa
Adaptted by David Ury

What do you get when you cross Eliza Doolittle with a goth girl? Sunoko Nakahara, the charmingly grim presence at the heart of THE WALLFLOWER. Sunoko lives in her aunt’s mansion with four very, very cute boys, but their relationship has an unusual caveat: the boys are allowed to live there rent free by the aunt on the condition that they work to turn Sunako into a proper young woman. One who, say, doesn’t have a large collection of horror movie memorabilia littering her bedroom? Hayakawa makes an interesting choice in drawing Sunako in a sort of super-deformed fashion throughout most of the book, with the idea of taking the edge off of her intimidating appearance and in enhancing the comedic nature of the stories, and it’s effective for the most part. However, I happen to find goth girls pretty sexy, so I enjoyed those few moments when she drew her to scale. Your mileage may vary. WALLFLOWER is an amusing book, and one I could see myself enjoying more volumes of easily enough.

SUGAR SUGAR RUNE VOL.1
Written and Drawn by Moyoco Anno
Adapted by Nunzio Defilippis and Christa Weir

This is one of the more amusing and charming mangas aimed at kids that I’ve seen in a while. Two young witches, Chocolat Meilleure and Vanilla Ice, are sent to the human world to compete to see who will be the next Queen Of The Magic World. Their task is simple: stir the emotions of boys and capture their “hearts,” which take on a crystalline form. The one who gathers the most wins. Chocolat, who is a bold, assertive, and tough girl, finds that her direct approach frightens and intimidates the boys, so she finds herself in a hole when Vanilla, who is shy and quiet, draws most of the attention and power. So the two young girls must work very hard to keep their friendship together as their rivalry grows.

Anno’s pages are packed with eye-catching detail, and the characters are explored with a great deal of depth and substance. Many all-ages mangas tend to dumb their stories and characters down to the point that they become excruciating for an adult to read, but SUGAR SUGAR RUNE never falls into that trap. It’s smart, entertaining reading for all.

GENSHIKEN VOL.3
Written and Drawn by Kio Shimoku
Adapted by David Ury

GENSHIKEN, which focuses on the exploits of a club for kids who like comics, anime, manga, and toys, is something of Japan’s answer to DORK TOWER, but unfortunately lacks the charm, coherence, and whimsy of that American title. The background story of the book is easy enough to grasp: a hottie girl falls for a cute boy who happens to be a master gamer and falls in with his crowd as she tries to seduce him away from his girlfriend. But past that, the problems begin to multiply.

Problem one is almost so self-referential to the world of comics that I wondered if it was purposeful. The book has a huge cast of characters, and there is no guide provided to whom each of these kids is. You’re stuck trying to figure out names and relationships through the dialogue, and it becomes a headache rather quickly. Plus, the story moves its focus away from the girl and her efforts, which is fine, but it lands that focus on the single most annoying character in the club, a boy who embodies every horrific stereotype about pop culture fanboys. Those sections are torturous to get through. The one saving grace is a funny section towards the end of the volume that tackles fanboy addiction to porn and masturbation head on, including addressing how the girls feel about the boys taking matters in hand, rather than saving their energies for more romantic pursuits. If the rest of the book had been that sharp, I’d have had a much more enjoyable time reading this book.

NODAME CANTABILE VOL.3
Written and Drawn by Tomoko Ninomiya
Adapted by David and Eriko Welsh

NODAME is very much indicative of what manga truly provides to a reader: variety. This story is set around a school for budding classical musicians, with young Noda Meguni working hard to become a world-class pianist. Of course, nothing like that ever comes easy, especially since she’s head over heels in love with budding conductor and prodigy Chiaki, and her grades and the grades of her best friend Mine, are in the tank.

I enjoyed the setting more than anything else about NODAME, as Tomoko takes the reader into a different area than we’d see in a western mainstream comic. Special credit also goes to the guide at the front of the book that explains who the characters are, their relationships, and what they do. GENSHIKEN would have benefited enormously from the same.

Nodame is a sweet heroine, but not one you can totally get behind; she’s kind of a screw-up and can be a bit weak. That weakness comes from the author’s dedication to exploring her obsession with Chiaki, which holds the book back a bit to my mind. Chiaki is a full-blown asshole; arrogant, imperious, mean, and dedicated to his own aggrandizement more than anything else. Which, come to think of it, probably explains what Noda sees in him. Still, it prevents you from sympathizing with her as much as you’d like. The climax of the book, however, plays as rousing as it would on film, marking this book as one to keep watching.

A PERFECT DAY FOR LOVE LETTERS VOL.2
Written and Drawn by George Asakura
Adapted by David and Eriko Welsh

PERFECT DAY is an anthology of shorter tales by Asakura, and as with all anthologies, there is a blend of excellent material and of whiffs. However, the good stuff does carry the day in the end.

Each story is based to some extent on the concept of the love letter, whatever form that may take. Whether it’s a message from the grave or a stray e-mail, or a series of faxes sent back and forth between two possible lovers, he finds a different permutation to get creative with each time, and for that, he gets full marks. It keeps the gag from getting stale. The best story in the book is the one with the faxes I mentioned above; two teenagers who have circled one another for years begin corresponding with one another on a regular basis using their new machines, and using those emotional notes to decorate their walls as sort of a testament to their own emotions. It’s subtle and emotionally riveting how the kids deal with their internal conflicts and doesn’t hit a false note.

The one true stinker in the book deals with a young man who is very pleased by the death of his brother, and the mission to find the prostitute he fell in love with (and stalked) before he died. The lead kid is a one-note jerk, and every twist and turn is telegraphed. Awful stuff. But don’t let that turn you off from what’s really a nice effort; Asakura is a talented guy, and he demonstrates here that he can adjust his artistic style to suit the stories he’s trying to tell. A worthy effort.

NEGIMA! VOL.7
Written and Drawn by Ken Akamatsu
Adapted by T. Ledoux

NEGIMA is the story of a ten-year old boy magician sent to teach at an all-teenage girl academy, which has, as you might imagine, turned it into one of the most popular fan-service mangas current being produced. And to be honest, there’s more than just a little bit of T&A in the book (including Negi himself); there’s a lot of it. So if that’s what floats your boat, I assure you, you’ll get more than your money’s worth.

What’s surprising, however, is just how well the book has settled in to developing its characters. Negi and the primary girls in the cast are becoming very well defined in their personalities and the path of their stories. There’s a sense of purpose here that you sneaks up and nips at you when you aren’t expecting it, helping the story really gain some substance, rather than settling for smutty gags. Negi is an engaging character, naïve enough that you accept him as not being a tiny pervert, despite his living and teaching situations, and his desire to learn and better himself is clear. The book is definitely earns its “mature” rating, but its done just in smart enough fashion to bring you back for more.

GURU GURU PON CHAN VOL.2
Written and Drawn by Satomi Izekawa
Adapted by Douglas Varenas

GURU GURU continues the story of young puppy Ponta and her adventures with the Guru Guru Bone. Said bone, when she bites on it, turns her into a young human girl, making this one of the most unusual and bizarre books on the market period.

Her reason for wanting to turn human in the first place was her love and affection for the young boy Mirai, who has unknowingly captured her heart. Of course, the truth of all this puts him in a position that none of us could quite understand: Ponta is a very attractive young girl, and she has the instincts of a canine for mating and things of that nature. So Mirai can’t help but wonder if giving in to his baser instincts while she’s in human form might still be considered bestiality. And you thought dating was tough because figuring out what to wear was difficult!

Ikezawa throws a second boy into the mix in volume two, one who falls for both Ponta in human form and who becomes attached to the dog he assumes is named after her. Odd circumstances lead him to believe that Mirai is abusing both. It lends an even greater disconnect to the book, because in a certain way, he’s right. Stuff like that makes it hard to get a solid read on this book, and two volumes in, the only thing I’m certain of is that GURU GURU PON CHAN is just damned odd.

OTHELLO VOL.5
Written and Drawn by Satomi Izekawa
Adapted by William Flanagan

Izekawa’s latest work resumes her interest in the concept of dual identities, as OTHELLO follows the exploits of a young girl named Yaya, and her split personality, the ass-kicking Nana. Yaya is faced each day with her snotty rival, Hano, and only Nana seems to have the capability to deal with Hano’s nastier efforts to humiliate her. Such as what happens in this volume, when Hano forces Yaya to jump out of a helicopter and play air-tag for possession of a contract that Yaya desperately wants out from under.

Of course, Yaya doesn’t know that she has a second personality, and the boy who likes her is awfully reluctant to tell her. This is the one thing in the book that rings wholly false; Nana is so much more appealing than the quiet, dull Yaya, that you don’t believe for a second that he’d tell her all the time in an effort to force the headaches that bring the Nana persona to the forefront.

Hano’s efforts to put one over on Yaya come straight out of the classic comedic scenarios, as you know no matter what she does it will blow up in her face to spectacular effect. OTHELLO is a far stronger, more solidly written and characterized effort from Ikezawa, and more entertaining as well. This was more fun than I was expecting, for sure.

TSUBASA: RESERVOIR CHRONICLE VOL.7
Written and Drawn by CLAMP
Adapted by William Flanagan

TSUBASA follows the exploits of a couple of young heroes on a quest to save the pieces of a young girl’s memory. Actually, there’s a lot more to it than that, but that’s the simplest explanation for what turns out to be a highly complex, and at times confusing, story. Suffice it to say, there are demon hunters, princesses, a virtual city and dimension similar to the Matrix gone fantasy… it’s a lot to take. And it isn’t always explained very well.

Again, this is a book that would benefit enormously from a more detailed recap of the story-to-date and the characters at the beginning. Coming in this late, there were some aspects to the story, such as why Princess Sakura’s memory is now in feather-shaped pieces and floating around the universe, that would have been extremely helpful to know. And you’d like to believe that each volume can be someone’s first, so giving the new reader a reason to lay out $66 to go get the first six books would seem wise, wouldn’t it?

I will say that, when the story slows down and takes the time to explain itself a bit, it reads as a reasonably exciting action-adventure, and it would have been nice to get a lot more of that. Unfortunately, the undefined characters and situations got the better of me, and never really could enjoy it.

XXXHOLIC VOL.6
Written and Drawn by CLAMP
Adapted by William Flanagan

XXXHOLIC actually crosses over with TSUBASA, showing similar events from two perspectives, but it’s so much better, and so much clearer, that you’d never know. This is an excellent book, full of defined characters, subtle detail, and genuine human depth of emotion.

We are introduced to young Kimikiro, an orphaned boy who now works for the Time-Space Witch. That isn’t all fun and games, though, because she likes her alcohol, and part of his duties also involve cooking for the slightly crazy woman. But we are immediately drawn to him, because he seems like someone real. He works hard, wants to be appreciated, and hates feeling used by his boss. Plus, he’s overwhelmed by the situation his life has put him in, and he’s lonely from the loss of his parents.

There are two longer stories in this volume, and the best one takes an in-depth look at that loneliness, as Kimihiro meets a woman whop has lost her own child and they form a bond that begins to take its toll on him and threatens his life. But he is such a good person that he decides to accept those consequences, his own self be damned, because he has made a commitment. It’s powerful, affecting stuff, and I enjoyed it enormously. XXXHOLIC presents a well balanced look at the fantastic and the human, and it turned me into a fan.

ALSO!

ITA: CODE OF THE DRAGON VOL.1
Written by Samuel Bohon and Drawn by Komikers Studios
Published by Starline Multimedia

Coming from the American side, we have this domestic manga, the first in a planned trilogy. Ita Otami is one of the best cops the Tokyo Police Department has to offer. But when her boyfriend is murdered by a sniper, and her own wounds prove to be nearly fatal, she discovers a conspiracy thousands of years old. Dragons, she learns, are real. And they have plans for her and her twin sister than involve bringing a whole lot more of their race from their homeworld across the galaxy and subjugating humanity.

There’s a bit more in the way of ambition than execution in ITA, as Bohon’s ideas are perfectly serviceable, but his artists let him down far too often. The character moments are handled well for the most part, but the action sequences tend to devolve into muddled messes far too often. Plus, there are a number of times when the lettering and balloon placement proves confusing; sometimes the text is meant to be a voiceover, other times, there’s just no pointer running to the appropriate character. You can get away with that in some instances, but most of the time, you have to make sure the storytelling is clear to the reader.

The book ends on a solid note, delivering some resolution along with a good-sized cliffhanger that promises a bigger adventure in the next installment, and there’s enough here to lead me to believe that the talents and skills of the creative team can continue to improve upon the foundations and mistakes here and make the series something to keep up with.

See you in seven.

Review materials may be sent to: Marc Mason, P.O. Box 26732, Tempe, AZ 85285. You can also find me at Happy Nonsense and The Comics Waiting Room

E-MAIL THE AUTHOR | ARCHIVES