My Monster Secret Vol. 1
by Eiji Masuda
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
In general this is a cute manga — but, I had some structural issues with the story. A few times the characters were transported to new conversations or locations without prior indication. It was a little jarring. Overall, I didn’t mind, however; and I appreciated that it read as a “shounen” romance but wasn’t blasted with fan-service.
750 Years in Paris
by Vincent Mahé
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gorgeous bold contrasting colour palette, that reminds me of vintage Eastern European Children’s book illustration. Who doesn’t love teals and orange together?!
This title follows 1 piece of infrastructure in Paris over the period of 750 years – following a seemingly accurate depiction of architectural history. It is essentially wordless, with a very brief timeline summary on the final page.
I enjoyed the colour and illustration — but, being a plotless and textless novel, I suspect is not something I’d pick up very often. Maybe would be good as a coffee-table book to flip through and enjoy at random.
You’ll probably enjoy this title if you also like: “Tokyo Sanpo”/”Tokyo on Foot” by Florent Chavouet or, “Here” by Richard McGuire.
Oyayubihime Infinity: Volume 1
by Toru Fujieda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Okay. So, this series is obviously out of print considering that the publisher no longer exists. But, if you have the finances and inclination I would urge you to buy a copy of this series.
Oyayubihime Infinity is one of those romantic shoujo dramas about reincarnation, with memories of the past life, and a hint of fantasy. It’s a bit less dramatic or science fiction-y (yes, that’s a technical term) than titles like, “Please Save My Earth” but nevertheless, the premise is essentially the same. However similar, I find that the the story feels fresh, and isn’t as overwhelmingly heavy as other attempts.
Back Cover – Meet Kanoko, a high school student, and manager of the up-and-coming young actress Maya. Humble, modest Kanoko’s only dream is to see Maya hit the big-time. But the butterfly-shaped birthmark on her thumb might change her entire life.
Essentially the birthmark is one shared by a number of young people in the story. They are indicative of a past life where as lovers – tattooed themselves with a butterfly before committing suicide.
Why butterfly tattoos? This is due to the will of each couple to follow in the footsteps of the famous Agemaki and Sukeroku’s tragic past. Agemaki taking her name from the Japanese word for butterfly. The tragic story of Agemaki and Sukeroku is represented in one of Japan’s most famous kabuki plays “Sukeroku” – I’m sure you can find a synopsis online if you care to read about it!
Kanoko learns about the connection with her birthmark to the past life when one of the most popular boys in school starts pestering her about her being his past love. He too has one on his thumb, and is looking for his missing soul-mate.
There is plenty of drama and angst, and love triangles. Actually, it looks more like a love hexagon. But, what is great about this manga is that the characters grow up, mature, and give up some of their past insecurities. The meek become strong, the lonely find happiness, and the angry find peace. The past is given a proper burial, and everyone has a chance to move on.
Alice in Wonderland
by Rod Espinosa
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Recommended for younger readers, who might be unfamiliar with the story.
As a child, I loved Alice in Wonderland. I recalled enjoying Espinosa’s courageous princess years ago and thought I’d try this. It wasn’t my favorite. I know the Alice story too well, seeing as it was a favourite growing up. And also, I don’t see myself as the demographic for this title.
Personally, Espinosa took some of the famous scenes from the story and hurriedly smushed them together in a fast narrative. He forgot to add the “wonder” to his story. Alice barely has a chance to catch her breath before she’s already onto something new. Espinosa is relying too heavily on the reader knowing the story… And, on Alice being incredibly adaptable.
The art is 50/50. Scenes are well expressed. Some of the character design is interesting, if a little over-simplified. But, Alice is a poor attempt at a manga style. Ineffective, expressionless, and distinctly uninspired-“fan” work. It doesn’t look like Espinosa has bothered to meld his own style… It’s just a poor rehashing.
I might be overly harsh on this comic.
Espinosa is treading into too many territories where I have strong opinions on.
Maybe if this was a retelling of a story I didn’t know… in a style of comic that I didn’t read daily… I wouldn’t be so annoyed by it.
Sorako
by Takayuki Fujimura
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Short stories about Sorako: an aimless slacker, who is bored and dissatisfied with her current situation. Normally this would be the premise of a story where the character slowly comes into her own, finds ways to be satisfied with her situation… Or, you know… Do anything. She doesn’t (do anything, that is).
This comic could be construed as a character study, but I would argue that it just doesn’t go very deep. It’s not particularly moving, I don’t think it feels like a commentary on society. So, I have to judge this based on story and art.
Story-wise, it’s nothing special. Short vignettes, that don’t really go anywhere.
Art-wise this is a fair comic. I appreciate the heavy use of cross-hatching to create texture and shading over screen tones. There were still “screen tones”, but they were laid with computer rather than sheets. However, this is one of the few titles that a CG screen tone didn’t annoy the heck out of me. Each story seems to display slightly different art style as though several people were working on this — or possibly, the author is still trying to decide on their own unique style. It was interesting, but a little too obvious at times.
I originally read this title because of reading Anomal, also published by Gen. I was incredibly disappointed with the translation of the title. I really really wanted to like the publisher. I will admit that this translation is far far far superior to that other title… But, I’m still not overly impressed.
There is one more title by Gen that a friend highly recommends, which I’ll try before officially saying, “sayonara” to works by this publisher.
Sweaterweather: & Other Short Stories
by Sara Varon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I enjoyed several of the VERY short stories. And I think her colour palette is divine.
But I don’t think it’s a particularly good curation of stories. You’ll be hard to classify the reader for this work. The pacing generally makes each story feel geared to early readers–with lots of wordless stories. but then are mixed with a handful of text-heavy stories dealing with more adult topics. Not “adult”, just ‘adult’ (if you catch my meaning). But, I’m not sure how many grade schoolers are interested in pages from the author’s journal, or her worries about quitting her job. Certainly, an adult would appreciate this book more on the whole than a child would.
Generally a fun quick read… But I couldn’t see myself reaching for this more than once.
A Drunken Dream and Other Stories
by Moto Hagio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was so fantastic! I’m not generally a fan of short stories, but these were so wonderfully created and curated. They generally follow themes of past regret or finding your place in your family. The stories varied quite a lot in form and genre, but were delivered with with a similar feel. The artwork was stunning, especially in the title comic. Those reds! Gorgeous!
I did think there were translation issues with one of the comics. But I may be interpreting the interpretation wrong.
I guess the only real problem with this title is that it is a collection. This would have been nice to read in singles. I can never allow myself that time to take a break when I’ve got a whole compilation of great stories staring at me. The best way to enjoy this would be to read a story and take some time to reflect on it.
Honey So Sweet, Vol. 1
by Amu Meguro
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Unfortunately, the only redeeming quality is the pretty art. Megumi certainly has a nice sense of human proportions; and these are probably some of the best uses for screen tones I’ve seen in a while.
But, the story itself is completely forgettable. Megumi relies too heavily on the common trappings of shoujo manga, and forgets to fill the spaces between these common scenarios to make a complete or robust story. For example, half of the volume focuses on prepping for a school trip and the inevitable walk-thru-the-woods-test-of-courage but essentially doesn’t show anything else about the school trip experience. Seemed like a wasted opportunity to me. I won’t be buying more…
Just So Happens
by Fumio Obata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this comic, but I think you have to be in the right frame of mind to read it. It’s quiet, melancholic and introspective… The art is beautiful and delicate, and colour is applied with purpose (which is something I always appreciate). The story is relatively without, and I guess you could say, incomplete, but this isn’t about a story, or solving problems — this comic is about opening up conversation on important topics.
What do you feel when you don’t belong home anymore? — returning to a place where you’ve rejected the cultural ideals and expectations that everyone has of you? — living in a new place where you’re in the minority, rather than the majority?
Plus, it always helps to add all of these familiar settings: I’ve attended a Buddhist Funeral in Japan, I’ve watched Noh theatre, I’ve sat in that exact place where Yumiko and her mother have tea… I always love to be able to point at pictures and say, “I’ve been there”. So, even if I don’t quite understand what Yumiko is going through — at least I can understand where she is.
Overall, I really enjoyed this comic.
Yokai Watch vol. 01
by Konishi Noriyuki
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
A funny and cute children’s manga series about an ordinary boy who saves a ghost-shaped yokai who in turn gives him a special “yo-kai” watch which he can use to collect yokai friends, and later call on them to help him collect more yokai. It’s a fun series with an extremely predictable and repetitive plot that would probably remind most people of Pokemon. Except that the yokai aren’t being used to deliberately “battle” other yokai while the owner stands back. It actually reminds me a bit more of “Cardcaptor Sakura”… but, maybe intended for an even younger audience. It is fun, and I probably laughed out loud once or twice, accompanied with the phrase “this is so dumb”. I certainly could picture it as being a fun series for children, but probably not super interesting for adults, or even teens.
I will say, that I had one major issue with the series that will keep me from reading further. I don’t know who makes these translations decisions! …but, to rename “Keita” as “Nate Adams”!!! I don’t understand why children couldn’t handle or even relate to a Japanese character? Why are we censoring this? Do we seriously think that keeping the Japanese names intact is a barrier to children’s understanding of a simple comic book? I do not understand. Actually, I would argue that part of the fun of reading manga is that it is “Japanese”. Why are we trying to take the “Japanese” characters out of the series??
— English translation is the source of most of my current pet peeves!
And, to make matters more confusing to my little mind… they didn’t even bother to alter or replace the Japanese word “yokai”. The entire series is based on the premise of a “Japanese” theme… and yet, the main character was given an English name.
Or, flip the comic to read left-to-right! Wouldn’t you think they would flip the comic so that it could be read in the “English” direction if it was necessary to make the character “English”.
ARGGHH! *Why is this happening??? Who is making this decision??? And, How do we make them stop???*
manga hoarder 