Fri, May 16, 2008
Dog Style (vol 1)
Story and art: Modoru Motoni
Publisher: Kitty Media, imprint of Media Blasters
ISBN-10: 1598831259
ISBN-13: 978-1598831252
Review by Cat
I figured that since volume 2 is due out next month, I ought to read volume 1 as it's been a while since I read it (if there is one thing a gadfly and I have in common, it's an inability to remember for long).
When I received Dog Style last year, I had to do with just a skim because I was already on a trip to Christmas Hell, so I remembered very little about it, which in the end is a good thing. So how does it go this time? [more]
Posted by Cat @ 07:34 AM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Wed, May 14, 2008
Vampire Hunter D
Story by Hideyuki Kikuchi
Art by Yoshitaka Amano
Published by Digital Manga Publishing
ISBN-10: 1595820124
ISBN-13: 9781595820129
Review by Jilly Gee
In this world of the far future created by Hideyuki Kikuchi, vampires are not just vampires; they are the Nobility. Having stepped in to rescue the remaining bits of mankind left over from their nuclear warfare, the vampires became their saviors and their masters, thus claiming for themselves such a title. The nature of mankind is not to just let themselves be ruled, however, and as soon as the Nobility began to show signs of weakness, the humans rebelled. The Nobility fell. While they are not as prominent as they once were, they are still out there. As strong as humans make themselves out to be, they are still terrified of the Nobility. [more]
Posted by Jilly Gee @ 09:56 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Kiss Blue vol. 1
Story and Art: Keiko Kinoshita
Published by Juné Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN-10: n/a
ISBN-13: 978-1-56970-716-6
Review by Kris
Falling in love with your best friend that you've had since childhood is not a new concept in the world of romance. It is especially popular in the yaoieverse (yes I just made that word up, lay off!). In Kiss Blue vol. 1 it is the introduction to Tomosaka and Noda and their relationship. [more]
Posted by Kris @ 04:27 AM PST [Link]
Red Angel vol.1
Story and Art: Makoto Tateno
Published by Digital Manga Publishing
ISBN-10: n/a
ISBN-13: 978-1-56970-724-1
Review by Kris
According to the back of the book:
"Demons walk among us.
From the streets of modern day New York and the hallways of a Japanese high school to the confines of a British boys' school dormitory, Mika and her twin persona, Eru, have stalked and hunted. The two are vampires - creatures driven by their thirst for blood.
A fateful encounter with the enigmatic Kinsei reveals a clue to a forgotten past. Mika remembers nothing, but Eru knows of a shared past with Kinsei. Though Kinsei seems like a vampire, he also hints at being something more. Are Mika and Eru merely creatures of darkness, or like Kinsei, are they something more ancient and powerful?
Mysteries, intrigues, and a hint of drama unravel in this two-volume masterpiece by Makoto Tateno." [more]
Posted by Kris @ 04:23 AM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Mon, May 12, 2008
Pathos vol. 1
Story and art: Mika Sadahiro
Published by Juné Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN-10: n/a
ISBN-13: 978-1-56970-560-5
Review by Kris
It must be vampire month at DMP. First it's Necratoholic by Maguro Wasabi, then it's Red Angel vol. 1 by Makoto Tateno, finally Pathos by Mika Sadahiro. Pathos is the tale of two vampires who adopt a human boy.
King is a caring and kind older brother. J is a mondo jerk. Ace is our main man who is human, but desires to become a vampire to be closer to J. [more]
Posted by Kris @ 10:59 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
A Foreign Love Affair
Story and Art by Ayano Yamane
Published by 801 Media, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1-934129-18-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-934129-18-0
Review by Linda Yau
Ever since I had the opportunity to watch the OVA of A Foreign Love Affair and learned of the anime being inspired by the manga, I have been waiting impatiently for the manga to be translated and finally it is. I have read parts of Ayano-sensei’s other works like The Viewfinder or Crimson Spell and thought that this is a good side story while waiting for the other two to be finished. [more]
Posted by Linda Yau @ 09:17 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Say Please
Story and art: Kano Miyamoto
Publisher: Deux Press
ISBN: 978-1934496176
Review by Cat
For me, there are three interesting things about Say Please:
1. it's the first from Deux Press that I had.
2. it's the first Kano Miyamoto title published in English that I had.
3. Say Please is the only Miyamoto story I haven't read. Or so I thought.
When I began reading Say Please, I thought, "It seems familiar..." A bit of investigating has unearthed a nugget of info: Miyamoto's 2004 work is originally called Please. Her body of works is so huge that it's almost impossible for me to keep track of her stories, let alone remember all these titles. However it's two years since I read it, so I had largely forgotten what the story is about, which is a good thing. [more]
Posted by Cat @ 12:19 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Party
Story and art: Tatsumi Kaiya
Publisher: June, imprint of Digital Manga, Inc
ISBN-10: 1569707790
ISBN-13: 978-1569707791
Review by Cat
I thought a character chart on the first page was a nice touch. Mostly because at a glance, Kaiya's characters seem to look alike. However, when I reached the end I was a little confused, so I double checked by creating a list of characters from the story and comparing it with the flow chart. Half of those characters don't appear in the story itself. [more]
Posted by Cat @ 11:55 AM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Sun, May 11, 2008
Nana
Directed by Kentaro Otani
Based on a manga by Ai Yazawa
Distributed by Viz Media
Review by Jilly Gee
Nana Komatsu is naive, somewhat selfish, and very bubbly. Nana Ozaki is willful, proud, and withdrawn. When the two girls with the same name yet vastly different personalities meet on the train, it is the beginning of what Komatsu believes to be a fated relationship. Indeed, the meeting on the train would have been the end of their relationship, with Ozaki walking off without a word and Komatsu being distracted by her old school friends, if the two had not been apartment hunting a couple of days later at the exact same time. Komatsu instantly takes to the idea of sharing the apartment, despite not knowing anything about Ozaki herself; Ozaki, on the other hand, seems to accept being roommates partly out of spite for her realtor. [more]
Posted by Jilly Gee @ 02:06 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Love*Com
Directed by Kitaji Ishikawa
Based on manga by Aya Nakahara
Distributed by Viz Media
Review by Linda Yau
If you were a girl, would you fall in love with a guy shorter than you? Or if you were a guy would you fall in love with a girl taller than you? This double question was the starting point in the movie Love*Com. [more]
Posted by Linda Yau @ 12:01 AM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Thu, May 8, 2008
An Infamous Army
A novel of Love, War, Wellington and Waterloo
by Georgette Heyer.
Originally published in the United Kingdom in 1937 by William Heinemann, reissued by Sourcebooks, Inc. 2007.
Review by Ida Vega-Landow
"I have got an infamous army;
Very weak and ill-equipped,
And a very inexperienced staff."
Wellington to Lt. Gen. Lord Stewart, G.C.B., 8th May 1815
So begins this epic novel by Georgette Heyer, with a quote from the Duke of Wellington, a modest man and a brilliant strategist, ultimately responsible for winning the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte's last stand. Ms. Heyer sprinkles quotes from Wellington throughout the novel in an attempt to authenticate this historic romance by letting the general speak for himself. Her attempt was successful, in fact a little too much, as the story tends to drag whenever she writes about the war itself. In my humble opinion, she doesn't write enough about the romance. Speaking of which... [more]
Posted by Ida Vega Landow @ 10:27 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
A Strange and Mystifying Story, Volume 1
By Tsuta Suzuki
Published by the Juné Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc
Review by Ryes
I'll bet anyone who follows manga translations online know of Tsuta Suzuki. She's relatively new but she is one of the best debut manga artists, in my opinion. Licensing A Strange and Mystifying Story is one of the best decisions Juné has ever made and I am so happy to have a copy of it in my hands!
The main story in this manga is about Aki Yamane, whose family is cursed with a strange illness. Because of this, everyone in the Yamane family die young. Just when Yamane feels like he might be on his deathbed, he finds the strange fossil tooth that his grandfather pointed to before he died. When he held it in his hands, the tooth grew into a demon. [more]
Posted by Ryes @ 05:53 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Endless Rain
By Yuuya
Published by the Juné Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc
Review by Ryes
Endless Rain is a disappointing volume. It might have worked better if the story was split into two or three volumes, but as it is now, all the plot points are cramped together and a lot of integral details are left out.
The story starts off with Akira's mother's death. Akira and his younger brother Nao are in a bad situation now. Even though Akira has a job, they'll be living alone on a meager income and Nao is blind and so has special needs. A srange man brings Nao to Akira at the hospital to see their mother one last time. It is raining. [more]
Posted by Ryes @ 05:50 PM PST [Link] [1 Comment]
The Prime Minister's Secret Diplomacy, Volume 1
By Youka Nitta
Published by 801 Media
Review by Ryes
The Prime Minister's Secret Diplomacy is one of Youka Nitta's latest works and it is awesome, just like her other works! I really didn't expect any less from one of the great yaoi triumvirates (i.e. Youka Nitta, Ayano Yamane, Kazuma Kodaka).
Koushi Yoshinaga is a celebrated diplomat from Japan and his skills can't be matched. Just recently, he became engaged to Michiko Shiraishi, the daughter of one of the most influential diplomats in Japan. Tomohiro Shiraishi, Michiko's brother is assigned as a translator and his work brings him in contact with Yoshinaga. But Tomohiro finds out secrets about Yoshinaga that could ruin both Yoshinaga's career and his engagement with Tomohiro's sister. [more]
Posted by Ryes @ 05:48 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Don't Blame Me vol. 2
Story and Art: Yugi Yamada
Published by Juné Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1-56970-740-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-56970-740-1
Review by Kris
I'm not really in the mood to summarize the complicated plot of Don't Blame Me vol. 1 here, so be sure to check out my Don't Blame Me, vol 1 review. If you have a desire to read this series (and I say you should read it) you'll definitely want to start with the first book. [more]
Posted by Kris @ 05:44 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Yaoi Gothic
By Yaoi Press Artists
Published by Yaoi Press
Review by Ryes
Yaoi Gothic is a collection of artwork from the artists of Yaoi Press, an original English language yaoi publisher who occasionally translates mangas not from Japan or Korea. There's some good and bad aspects of the artbook, but I feel that this could have been handled a lot better, considering there were about four or five artists whose works were featured in here.
One of the downsides to this book is the black and white interior. Color images would have been great, especially for some of the artists who were displayed. But I got over this quickly. The artists made do with the monochromatic limitation and the shading and patterns were excellent. [more]
Posted by Ryes @ 05:43 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Don't Blame Me vol. 1
Story and Art: Yugi Yamada
Published by Juné Imprint of Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1-56970-741-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-56970-741-8
Review by Kris
I've seen Yugi Yamada-sensei's books on the shelf at my local Borders. I've seen them advertised in the back of several of my other Juné manga. I've also read reviews on some of her titles. But, here's my major confession, I've never read anything written by Yamada-sensei. When we learn to read we're always taught not to judge a book by it's cover. Well, when it came to Yamada-sensei I was judging the contents inside by the cover. I must admit that even though I was not terribly impressed by the covers, I was wrong. [more]
Posted by Kris @ 05:38 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Love Circumstances
Story and Art: Aco Oumi
Published by 801 Media, Inc.
ISBN-10: n/a
ISBN-13: 978-1-934129-17-3
Review by Kris
Love Circumstances is another steamy release by 801 Media, Inc.
Yamaguchi and Takagari were best friends, but they started dating over their summer break. Even though they are in love, Yamaguchi has some insecurities. He doesn't seem to know what Takagari sees in him. Not only that, but Takagari wants to kick it up a notch and take their relationship to the next level. [more]
Posted by Kris @ 03:20 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Wed, May 7, 2008
Red
Story and Art by Sanae Rokuya
Published by Juné, imprint of Digital Manga, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1-56970-714-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-56970-714-2
Review by Linda Yau
Red was an unusual story that I am surprise to say that I cannot find a similar comparison in bl with. The most similar in plot concept I would say that would resemble this is Seirei no Moribito. However their only similarity is of princes running away from their royal identities. The stark difference is the age of the princes, the bodyguard, and the fact that Red is a shonen-ai graphic novel. I hope this review won’t sound as off putting as I seem to make it appear to be and I actually read this book in an hour’s commute. [more]
Posted by Linda Yau @ 08:33 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Tue, May 6, 2008
Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 2
By Hideyuki Kikuchi
Adapted and Illustrated by Saiko Takaki
Digital Manga Publishing
Review by Tom Good
With so many vampire stories crowding into the Nosferatusphere these days, a vampire tale needs some good hooks to keep it unique and interesting. This volume of Vampire Hunter D certainly has a great selection of visual elements. It's got the goth-cowboys-with-laptops aesthetic. It's got some hooded bad guys whose robes are drawn with cool hatching patterns that make them look like evil pinstriped monks. And it's got a new character, Lina Sween, whose wide-eyed and somewhat possessed look reminded me of Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeny Todd. [more]
Posted by Tom Good @ 10:26 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
Bond(z)
Story and Art by Toko Kawai
Published by 801 Media, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1-934129-00-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-934129-00-5
Review by Linda Yau
When I first picked up this book a long while ago, I had to put it down because I felt too rushed to read it so knowing that I wouldn’t enjoy it. I had to not read it until now. I had already read Affair by Shiuko Kano last year, so I was left with a favorable opinion by 801. Bond(z) is a collection of short stories. The blurb on the back cover is only the synopsis for the first story. I am apologizing in advance, if I give too much detail of the stories. [more]
Posted by Linda Yau @ 09:23 PM PST [Link] [No Comments]
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