Manga-ka: Shin Mashiba
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: June 2009
Synopsis: “Dreams on the menu in this volume: a childhood friendship that has lost its innocence, Kairi caught up in his own delusion, a sinister trap set for a Baku, an inn with deadly secrets, a sea of drowned memories, a mother’s forgotten item, a man confined to an elevator, and Hifumi’s family affairs.”
Of all volumes of Nightmare Inspector, this one took the most reread to grasp what was going on chapter to chapter. Dialogue is relied on heavily to explain some pretty out-there conclusions, and many of the stories lacked that ‘oh!’ moment that previous stories had when foreshadowed events would eerily come together in a conclusion you likely didn’t suspect. While endings are still generally a well-kept secret here in volume eight, they never felt as coherently planned as before.
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Manhwa-ga: YoungHee Lee
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: July 2009
Synopsis: “Though they’ve settled into an easygoing, playful relationship, Seung-Ha’s still far from opening up to his goofy girlfriend, Nan-Woo. But keeping his emotional cards close to his chest might not be the best idea when past tensions are once again stirred up by his family… Meanwhile, a sudden incident endangers Hyun-Ho’s life and forces Jay to examine his feelings. Will Seung-Ha and Jay be able to overcome their very different demons?”
After a rocky start, Nan-Woo and Seung-Ha are finally dating, becoming without compare the most unexpected couple in their high school. First Nan-Woo couldn’t wait to get away from the two-faced Seung-Ha but now she’ll do anything to be at his side. From cheery cell phone calls to her first visit at his home, after weeks of trying to avoid him she has a lot of catching up to do.
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Manga-ka: Ruri Fujikawa
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: June 2009
Synopsis: “Hibiki serves as the personal bodyguard of Wu Xiong Wang – an outgoing entrepreneur, whose influential Hong Kong family has conducted business in Japan for many years. Having grown up together as children, the two have a bond that goes beyond the trappings of master and servant. Hibiki has dedicated his life to keeping Wu Xiong safe, and remains vigilant against any threat a man in his position might face. When it appears Wu Xiong is to be named the new head of his family’s corporation, the danger becomes even more evident as rivals conspire against him. Will the rise in alert cause Hibiki to see the truth behind his employer’s playful advances? Or does the responsibility he feels for Wu Xiong’s safety outweigh his own personal happiness?”
A collection of multiple stories, Ruri Fujikawa puts together an assortment of stereotypical short chapters that follow a number of different couples. Inevitably the stories are built solely around getting the two couples to sleep together and the sex scenes prove the literal climax of each portion. Sadly it feels evident that the artist hopes these scenes, and the shallow self-indulgent romances before them, will serve as compensation for the lacking substance of both plot and character.
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Yaoi Press has posted the results of its previously announced Caption Contest. You can currently head on over to their contest page to see the winner, along with the runners-up and honorable mentions. Congrats to the winners! For the shiny posters, I would’ve loved to enter but conflicting interest or something like that no doubt.
Speaking of which, the panels used in the contest are from Yaoi Press’s newest anthology, Happy Yaoi Yum Yum which just had a release of volume one. I was allowed the opportunity to letter a couple of the stories (which was fantastically fun, let me tell you) so the book already has a special place awaiting it on my bookshelf along with being a collection of work from some talented creators. If you like your yaoi porny and your story’s funny, I recommend checking it out.
Author: Antony Johnston
Artist: Wilson Tortosa
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: April 2009
Synopsis: “Logan is a teenage rebel with a real good reason for having a real bad attitude. Ever since being left in a nearby forest–with no memory of who he was or how he got there–Logan (or Wolverine, as his classmates sometimes call him) has been stuck in a martial arts school in the icy wilds of Canada. No wonder he’s bored, restless, yearning. There’s a whole world out there, and Logan can almost taste it. But he’s chained to a past he can’t remember and can’t escape. Now it just may destroy his future.”
DelRey’s Wolverine takes the iconic Marvel character and aims to fit him into a manga-shaped mold. The story doesn’t trend new ground in either world of subject or style, but the familiar set-up just might pull off a winning combination along with Wilson Totora’s work, which finds a fairly solid style-compromise that both manga and comic fans can appreciate. It’s not the same Wolverine fans are used to, but many of the well-known features are intact, they’re just compressed into the body of a pretty- boy adolescent instead of the hairy 50+ man we’re used to. Big stretch, I know, and yet Wolverine still manages to work on some of its intended levels.
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Manga-ka: Mikage
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: May (16+)
Release Date: July 2009
Synopsis: “Nanako and her two best friends, Akane and Shino, have been in the same class since elementary school. Now with the entrance exam just around the corner, the girls have big plans for spending their college years together as well. Unfortunately, those big plans hinged on all three of them passing their exams…Now Nanako and Akane are ichiroh, first-year students at the local prep school. Nanako is determined to do better next year, but it’s going to be a real challenge — the bossy dorm/shrine manager puts the pair to work as miko, Akane can’t kick her video game addiction, and the neighbor’s pranks are getting out of hand! With all this nonsense, Nanako will be lucky to get any studying done!”
Nanako is a young girl with big dreams of going to college. Unfortunately, it becomes apparent that there are several forces working against her; mainly her friends, family, and life in general, but nothing holds her back like her penny pinching ways. Poor Nanako finds herself in more trouble by trying to save a dime than her lecherous brother or Akane’s video game addiction could ever get her in.
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In follow-up to their press release outling Digital Manga’s newest endeavour, a preorder set-up that allows early releases for books recieving high orders, their web blog now lists a variety of future yaoi titles that will have the same opportunity for eager fans.
The titles include volume two of Yugi Yamada’s Close The Last Door! and volume three of Yukari Hashida’s Kabuki. You can see the complete list of titles on their website.
Manga-ka: Taishi Zaou
Publisher: Doki Doki
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: May 2009
Synopsis: “High school student Tasuku Mizuochi has a secret he knows and a secret he doesn’t. Even though he punches, kicks, and otherwise abuses fellow karate team member, Ryouta, on a daily basis, Tasuku has hidden feelings for his childhood friend. Confused and embarrassed by his secret crush, Tasuku takes his frustrations out on Ryouta to keep him from ever knowing the truth. When Tasuku learns that his late mother may have been an “ageman” (ah-gay-man) – a woman who brings men good fortune – he starts to believe he’s inherited these powers, too. Can having the ability to influence luck give Tasuku and Ryouta a future together? Or will all the people crawling out of the woodwork wanting to use Tasuku’s power cause him to run screaming for the hills?!”
Right off the bat you know this isn’t going to be your average boys’ love story as Tasuku spends the first chapter criticizing and literally assaulting his friend, Ryouta, out of frustration. The interaction and banter between the two is very cute, albeit a little violent, and it becomes all the fluffier as you read further into the story and see how the high-strung Tasuku uses those opportunities to vent his uneasiness at the growing affection he feels for Ryouta, his own variation of the ‘tease-because-you-like’ reaction.
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VIZ MEDIA CONTINUES TO ENTICE APPETITES WITH THE LATEST EDITION OF OISHINBO
Check out the latest volume of the acclaimed manga series about food and Japanese cuisine. This edition spotlights Fish, Sushi And Sashimi!
The critically acclaimed long-running cooking manga is written by Tetsu Kariya and illustrated by Akira Hanasaki. Published by VIZ Media under its VIZ Signature imprint, OISHINBO: FISH, SUSHI AND SASHIMI is rated ‘T’ for Teens and will become avaialble on July 21st with an MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $15.00 CAN.
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Manga-ka: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: June 2004
Synopsis: “For Tanpopo Yamazaki, life at the elitist Meio Academy seems way out of her league. The daughters of wealthy families snub her, other students make light of the fact that she actually tested into Meio instead of relying on family connections, and the cute boy she saw tending a dandelion the day before wouldn’t even acknowledge her existence. Hoping to make friends and have some fun, Tanpopo starts up a gardening committee, but will this help her survive in a school where superficiality and nepotism reign supreme?”
It’s Tanpopo Yamazaki first day seeing her new high school and she’s eager to make friends. After crashing landing on her bike, she meets her first acquaintance, an attractive fellow student with a passion for plants named Koki Kugyo. She’s taken in by his kindness but meets with a cold truth the next day when he completely ignores her! What gives? What gives is a story that’s light on originality and heavy with the overdone quintessence of its genre, but can famed manga-ka Yuu Watase take a story riddled with predictabilities and make it work?
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Manga-ka: You Higuri
Publisher: June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: June 2009
Synopsis: “Ludwig II, the King of Bavaria, has unthinkable wealth and legions of retainers at his disposal… but he’s the victim of a madness that is capable of turning reality into a mere shadow! Has passionate fantasies and hunger for life’s most unreachable beauties seize control of his every waking thought and transport him away from the dire day-to-day problems of conflict-riddled Europe and into a hypnotic dreamscape of his own design. But when the shy and handsome footman Hornig suddenly appears, the King finds himself irresistibly drawn to the sweet boy’s innocence and pure heart. Will Ludwig’s spell of isolation finally be broken… by love?”
A loose retelling of the days of true-life historical figure, Ludwig II, the book opens with a brief, event-to-event summary of Ludwig’s life up until his death, foreshadowing the apparent end result of the story as a whole. Ludwig II himself is set up by this opening chapter as an introverted dreamer with his own unique take on the world, a seductively torn character who is introduced to readers in more detail as the story progresses.
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VIZ MEDIA RELEASES DAISUKE IGARASHI’S SURREAL AQUATIC MANGA
CHILDREN OF THE SEA
San Francisco, CA, June 22, 2009 - VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, announced the release of Daisuke Igarashi’s surreal and riveting manga series, CHILDREN OF THE SEA, releasing July 21st in North America. The manga is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and will carry an estimated MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $17.50 CAN.
When Ruka was younger, she saw a ghost in the water at the aquarium where her dad works. Now she feels drawn toward the aquarium and the two mysterious boys she meets there, Umi and Sora. They were raised by dugongs and hear the same strange calls from the sea as she does. Ruka’s dad and the other adults who work at the aquarium are only distantly aware of what the children are experiencing as they get caught up in the mystery of the worldwide disappearance of the oceans’ fish.
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Manhwa-ga: Park SoHee
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: February 2009
Synopsis: “After the king grants his late brother a posthumous coronation, the status quo shifts dramatically as his widow, Yul’s mother, gains power in the palace. And she definitely has it out for Shin and Chae-Kyung! When the newlyweds are invited to go abroad, it seems like they might be on the road to romance… but with Yul’s mammy dearest determined to make the couple miserable, will they even get off the ground?”
With drama around every turn, Shin and Chae are still finding the time to fall in love (though Shin will be hard pressed to ever admit it). His royal mood swings and possessive personality cause tension between them as he begins to suspect she’s falling for his cousin, Yul. Little does he know, she’s far to much in love with him to even consider it.
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Manhwa-ga: JinHo Ko
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: May 2009
Synopsis: “Any high schooler on a nerve-wracking first day at a new school is apt to lose his or her head a little, but in Noh-A’s case, she literally does! When she wakes up in one piece with a little help from a mysterious doctor, Noh-A quickly realizes that nothing is as it seems at Amityville High, where paranormal creatures battle for supremacy. Caught in the crossfire, Noh-A may have to rely on the unlikely aid of the most sinister student at Amityville… the deadly Jack Frost!”
Zombies, vampires and a school of super-powered teenagers fighting each other in a high school? Already the stuff unique stories are made of, I know. While the story takes off on a fairly interesting note, when a young girl finds herself the living victim of a beheading, what follows is a visually sharp but ultimately underwhelming first volume that fails to find substantial footing in both its plot and art.
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Manga-ka: Jun Mayama
Publisher: June (DMP)
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: March 2009
Synopsis: “Yasuie runs the Kiryuuin Detective Agency in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Nichome neighborhood. With no clients and no money, it’s a constant struggle just to live and pay the rent. For the past seven years, Yasuie’s assistant and partner Yoshiyuki has been willing to suffer through all the good and bad times with him – even considering Yasuie’s playful advances, which approach sexual harassment – but life has a way of changing things. Faced with his family’s ultimatum, Yoshiyuki must choose between a penniless future with Yasuie and a more traditional lifestyle. Can Yasuie convince Yoshiyuki to stay with him? Even if Yasuie does confess the true reason he brought Yoshiyuki into the detective business, will it be enough to change his partner’s mind?”
Yasuie and Yoshiyuki follow a long line of other yaoi characters that run a detective business, though their occupation isn’t a big part of the plot as they do very little detective work. They could be astronauts-in-training and it still wouldn’t affect the story all that much.
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