Manga-ka: Shiro Amano
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: May 2008

Synopsis:
“Stunned by the cryptic words spoken by Namine, Roxas desperately tries to uncover the true connection to his dream-self, Sora. For her part, Namine wants to help Roxas in his quest, but she’ll have to act quickly before DiZ succeeds in his plan to “dispose” of her. And then there is the question of Axel – and just who side he is really on…”

The story continues to follow Roxas, the progressively more confused young boy who comes to realize that his entire life as he remembers it is a lie. With everything unravelling around him, the threat of Roxas being lost forever in light of Sora’s return, leaves him rightfully unsettled. The lead cast of the game returns here in volume two and the story is ready to take off.

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Author: Fuyumi Ono
Manga-ka: Shiho Inada
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: September 2005

Synopsis:
“Mai Taniyama and her classmates have heard the rumours that the creepy old high school is haunted – possibly by ghosts from the Second World War. So one rainy day they gather at the old school to tell ghost stories, hoping to attract one of the suspected spirits…”

Rounding off a week of ghost stories comes a review for the first volume of one of my favourite English released manga titles: Ghost Hunt. As the name would suggest, the name of the game is hunting ghosts and it’s no easy task. The story begins with Mai Taniyama, a high school girl who, through an unfortunate accident, meets the cold Shibuya, President of the Psychic Research Centre. After an incident leaves her in his financial debt, she agrees to work for him, and the hunting for ghosts begins!

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Manga-ka: Shuri Shiozu
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: March 2004 – September 2004

Synopsis: “Mitsuo Shiozu seems to be particularly attractive to spirits. His mind and body are taken over in succession by two female ghosts who use their incorporation to resolve something left undone by their untimely deaths… gender-bending hi-jinks ensue…”

Originally titled, Ghost! during it’s original Japanese publication, Tokyopop held nothing back its renaming of this series for its English release: Eerie Queerie. The lead character is Mitsuo, a young boy with the ability to see and interact with ghosts. Problem being, however, is that the ghosts can take over his body, and he has little say in the matter! Enter a variety of other characters that all come together to make this a wacky, weird and humorous four volumes of ghosts, spiritualists and boys’ love.

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Just a few links today before I upload the next review in ghost story week. And speaking of reviews, next week I’ll be taking a break from the themes and older series, to put up some reviews for a few new releases! I’m glad people have been enjoying the theme idea, I really appreciate the kind words of those who’ve taken the time to comment and e-mail me about them! A new theme will begin after the week of new release reviews.

First of all, those who make frequent visits to the manga blogosphere have probably come across the debates and mild-outrage towards Tokyopop’s Manga Pilot contract. MangaBlog’s Brigid shares her take on the casually constructed contract over at DigitalStrips.com, and makes some good points. A good place to start for a thoughtful and calm look at what’s sparking people into verbal action.

Second, for those who enjoyed Jonathan Clement’s work for (and in) NewType USA or some of his books, including The Anime Encyclopedia, you’ll be happy to know he has a new book coming out called ‘Schoolgirl Milky Crisis: Adventures in the Anime and Manga Trade’. Note: Schoolgirl Milky Crisis is a referrence to a non-existant anime series he used, in place of series he actually worked on, while writing about his experiences in his NewType USA column. No synopsis yet on the book itself but I think the title speaks for itself fairly well and it has the potential to be a pretty interesting read.

And elsewhere, there was some talk about the DramaQueen website being down for a number of days. Hopes were high that its return might symbalize some update content or information, but with its return this morning, that unfortunately does not seem the case. Hopefully Taisa will come through for the patient and shed some more light on DQ’s position at the end of the month.

Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: DelRey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: May 2004

Synopsis: “Watanuki Kimihiro is haunted by visions of ghosts and spirits. Seemingly by chance, he encounters a mysterious witch named Yuko, who claims she can help. In desperation he accepts, but realizes that he’s just been tricked into working for Yuko in order to pay off the cost of her services. Soon he’s employed in her little shop – a job that turns out to be nothing like his work experience!”

XXXHolic starts with an introduction to Watanuki Kimihiro, a lively young man who’s spent his life trying to deal with the ghosts and spirits that constantly harass. When he tries to outrun a particularly annoying group one day after school, he finds himself at a mysterious shop run by the beautiful, Yuuko. She offers him a fix for his problem but, in exchange, Watanuki must work for her until he can pay off the debt.

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Author:Tomiyuki Matsumoto
Manga-ka: CLAMP
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: September 2004 – March 2005

Synopsis: “Five students run a study group to explore mysterious and unexplained phenomenon: Takayuki is a genius with a ghost sidekick; Mifuyu is a master swordsman; Rion communicates with spirits and lost souls; Koji has famous ninja blood and remarkable skills to match; Yuki has the ability to teleport and likes to cross-dress. Filled with action, mystery, twists, turns and clues up the yin-yang, this new novel series will have you saying, ‘Elementary, my dear detective…the truth is out there!”

CLAMP Paranormal Investigators is a three part series of light novels written by Tomiyuki Matsumoto and illustrated by CLAMP. Though CLAMP has illustrated numerous light novels (none others released in English), this one takes place within the walls of CLAMP’s own CLAMP School, a main location for a variety of their series. It follows a mix-matched team of students as they solve one mystery after another, from monsters to ghosts, nothing goes unnoticed by the CLAMP Paranormal Investigators!

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Manga-ka: Tomo Maeda
Publisher: Viz
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: December 2005

Synopsis: “Mizuno and Mamoru never saw eye-to-eye in school. Nervous glances, crippling shyness… every day, a tangled web of feelings threatened to keep them apart forever. But when Mamoru dies and returns as a ghost, the boys unearth a truly special connection. Can this new love from the great-beyond bring Mizuno back to life, or will his shadowy past bury all hope?”

Beyond My Touch is a collection of Tomo Maeda boys’ love stories, three in total. The title story, and also the longest, stars Mizuno, a quiet student who keeps to himself until one day when the ghost of his classmate follows him home. Mamoru claims that Mizuno is his regret, keeping him here on Earth as a ghost. Despite how hard Mamoru tries to help, and openly shares his feelings, he seems to be nothing but an annoyance to Mizuno. What’s a little ghost to do?

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ghost

1. The spirit of a dead person, especially one believed to appear in bodily likeness to living persons or to haunt former habitats.
2. The center of spiritual life; the soul
3. A demon or spirit

With the week of mystery reviews over, it’s time for a new theme! This week it’s ghost stories: mangas that revolve around the deceased and haunting. Like last time, you can expect five reviews, spanning across the week with one a day. This time around there’ll be some more volume ones (for those looking to start a new series), a one-shot, a complete series and a set of light novels, all from a few years back but still great today. From creepy to funny to fluffy, keep checking back for some stories that are a little different from the ones you’ve heard around the campfire!

Previous ghost story-related reviews:

Mail (Vol. 01)
Kamen Tantei (Vol. 01)
Psychic Power Nanaki (Vol. 02)
Tokyo Babylon (Full series)
XXXHolic (Vol. 11)

Just some random thoughts today. The next review theme will be posted up tomorrow (Saturday) and I’m still open for some more guest reviews from fellow Canadians! Also a heads up to those going to Anime North this weekend; have fun! I look forward to reading your blogs and journals on the event (and help me plan my own trip for when money allows ;p ).

By now I’m sure everyone’s heard of atleast one incident involving students writing names in Death Notes, and the reactions of people when they’re discovered. This of course spawns from the series Death Note, where writing a name in such a book would lead to that person’s death.

I was reading another news article today about just such an incident when one paragraph inparticular caught my attention:

“Kids can buy their own “Death Note,” complete with material from the movie and a set of blank pages to list their own potential targets. It’s listed for $15.95 at www.amazon.com.”

I had never thought of these imitation Death Notes as that before and that’s why this really stood out to me. I even own a Death Note of my own but I’d never considered writing names in it. I look at it more like a neat prop (I’m a big fan of replica merchandise) and I know it’s a popular cosplay item.

I’m not saying it surprises me that people write names in it, not at all, but it really made me think about how people percieve the item itself. Is that the intention of these sold Death Notes? Is it what people would assume they’re for? For those outside the culture, I can certainly see why but reading it was a bit of an eye-opener none the less.

It’s the final review of mystery week today with CLAMP School Detectives! This set of books takes readers of CLAMP’s older works to a familiar place, back to the walls of the prestigious CLAMP School: a fully self-functioning school (and small city) for the gifted in the heart of Tokyo. This three-volume series revolves around three such gifted youths, the trio who makes up the elementary division’s council: Nokoru Imonoyama, Suoh Takamura and Akira Ijyuin. Together they’re also the CLAMP School Detectives, saving the city one damsel at a time!

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By now I’m sure most have heard about DramaQueen’s apparent preparations for a come back, publisized highly in an article by Publishers Weekly. Quick recap, it’s been a loooong time since DQ has released any of their books, leaving many worried that they were going under or dropping licenses.

Now with word of a comeback on the near horizon, DramaQueen has begun sending out cease and desists to scanlation groups for some of their licenses, such as the Tyrant Who Falls In Love.

Taisa, DQ’s representative on the DQ forums, has been doing the best she can to keep the curious informed while remaining under a non-disclosure agreement. She did have this to say recently though: “I’m not sure what the bosslady intends to do as far as announcements. But if she doesn’t say something by the end of May, then I’ll be sure to spill whatever beans I have to spill.”

Just a little more to let us know there does indeed seem to be something stirring over at DQ. Now we just need some release dates!

Manga-ka: Ryo Saenagi
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: July 2006

Synopsis: “Shima is a jack-of-all-trades who can solve any problem that’s presented to him. When he’s approached by Kaori, a super-hot teenage model who’s being followed by a mysterious figure known as “The Snowman”, the two team up to catch the stone-cold stalker in the act. One thing’s for sure: When you hire this hot duo, your satisfaction is guaranteed!”

Meet Shima Yoshitsune, a young man (though not nearly as young as he looks), who single-handedly runs Anything Agency, claiming that he can do and solve anything. When his newest client ends up being the famous supermodel, Kyo, the two become friends and team up to solve the problems of others. It’s one mystery after another in this episodic series of events.

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Manga-ka: You Higuri
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: July 2006

Synopsis: “The trio decides to visit the castle of a distant relative known for its unique garden full of monstrous sculptures. However, these mysterious topiaries are more than mere decorations and hold secrets that could be deadly. When a mysterious figure begins to attack the houseguests and an unexpected blizzard keeps everyone confined to the grounds, this peaceful trip to the countryside soon becomes something out of a nightmare, full of mystery, intrigue and murder.”

Gorgeous Carat Galaxy, released by DMP, is a sequel to the BLU released series, Gorgeous Carat. The same cast of characters are back in this one-book sequel that continues off from where the last left of. Ray, the charismatic and charming thief-by-night; Florian, the beautiful astriocratic son sold by his family and Lila, Ray’s assistant, take a trip out to the country to visit a distant relative’s estate. Soon everyone there finds themselves trapped by a freak blizzard and at the mercy of someone out to get them!

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Author/Artist: Jen Lee Quick
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: September 2005

Synopsis: “Meet 15-year-old Tory Blake, a self-proclaimed genius who is somewhat antisocial and more than a bit cynical about the world Life is just tedious for Tory… until the day an attractive but secretive boy his own age moves in across the street. Tory becomes obsessed by his mysterious new neighbour and begins documenting his every move. But this pursuits of friendship – and possibly more – leads Tory to the one thing he wasn’t expecting to discover.”

Off*Beat isn’t so much a mystery in its own right as it is the story of a boy looking for one. Tory Blake is the story’s lead. He’s an intellectual, anti-social teenager who doesn’t give the world a whole lot of credit, plus it seems to bore the heck out of him. One day a boy named Colin moves in across the street in the dead of night and suddenly Tory’s found a target for his obsessive-compulsive nature.

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Manga-ka: Matsuri Akino
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: September 2006

Synopsis: “A pair of young aspiring mystery writers tries to crack the most bizarre, baffling and hilarious cases around them. But when clues lead to a dead end, fortunately for our duo, the Masked Detective always seems to show up in the nick of time to help! In this light-hearted mystery from the creator of Pet Shop of Horrors, it’s not always about solving the crimes – but you can be sure that trail of evidence will lead to a hoot and a holler!”

A mystery story about mystery lovers solving mysteries: A perfect beginning to this week’s theme! The story follows Haruka Akashi and Misato Nishina, two high school students, and best friends, with a shared love of mystery novels. Together they make up their school’s Mystery Book Club and write stories of their own under the pen name Taro Suzuki. When a fellow student commits suicide, Haruka decides they need to put their skills to the test and set out to discover what really happened. When the two hit a dead end, a strange man decked in costume appears to help, calling himself Kamen Tantei!

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