Manga Reviews: Bleach, Doubt, Dr. Slump, and Trinity Blood
Bleach Volume 20
Story & Art: Tite Kubo
Publisher: Viz Media
If you remember the all manga podcast episode 67, we briefly talked about the greatness that is Bleach. This is my favorite story out of the entire run and trust me when I say you won't appreciate it if you haven't read this series since volume 1. Everything has been built up to this volume. After the climactic battle between Ichigo and Byakuya and the cliffhanger ending of the last volume we find out what everything is about. I definitely recommend to stop reading right now if you want to know what happens Click here to read the review with spoilers.
This volume really was a chance to show some fantastic fighting and set up for the next arc. It also ends the pivotal arc of Bleach/Soul Society arc with a bang. The Soul Society arc did drag at times in the beginning, but now that's over it has successfully set the series off into a new direction. The great thing about the manga is that there is no crappy Bounto filler that killed the anime for 50 plus episodes. This is another fantastic chapter and I can't wait for the next exciting volume. A
Doubt!! Volume 6
Story & Art: Kaneyoshi Izumi
Publisher: Viz Media
The final chapter of Doubt comes to a dramatic conclusion when So's first girlfriend is back in the picture and now Ai has to be confident that her relationship with So will outlast her return. This was another enjoyable and entertaining manga featuring Ai Maekawa and her journey to transform from a nerdy, plain jimi, which is Japanese slang for a plain, studious girl, to a cute, popular girl. Fans of Kare Kano will relate to this kind of situation. Following a rather pained journey through middle school Ai studies for her high school entrance examinations with exuberance determined to change her life. After a crazy diet and beauty regiment she enters a high school where she doesn't know anyone hoping for a fresh start. In the end it all turns out perfect for Ai and So. I could see fans of similar series being able to identify with the main character, but to me I just really didn't care that much. The art is good enough, but the story just dragged for too long, even for a soap operaish story like this one. C+
Dr. Slump Volume 13
Story & Art: Akira Toriyama
Publisher: Viz Media
The latest volume set in Penguin Village introduces us to Caramel Man 004, Dr. Mashirito's latest sinister creation. On the outer shell he looks like a sweet innocent boy, who remarkably looks an awful lot like Astroboy, but on the inside hides a killing machine set on world domination. Of course, much like everything else that Mashirito creates the machine backfires and ends up falling in love with Arale and instead of destroying her he befriends her. But it doesn't stop there! How can it when more and more terrifying robots can be created in the Caramel Man series? This book is always a joy to read, it's funny in a weird sesame street/ Meet the Feebles kind of way. I have been a fan of the series from the beginning and you figure after 13 volumes the jokes would get repetitive and dry, but the somehow it is all kept fresh. At any point can a reader just pick up a certain volume and catch on rather quickly. This is not only a plot driven book, but damn the characters are fun, such as Senbei Norimaki, Gajira, Suba-man, and of course Arale. I highly recommend anyone wanting to take a break from the seriousness of comics to try this book out. A
Trinity Blood: Reborn on the Mars
Volume 1: The Star of Sorrow
Story: Sunao Yoshida
Art: Thores Shibamoto
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
When the back of the book tells you that this is the source material for the Hit Anime, it is a bit misleading, just because I think the anime wrapped up this book in two episodes. This story is about a mysterious terrorist organization that is hell-bent on orchestrating a war between the New Human Empire and the Vatican. Special Ops AX Agent Abel Nightroad teams up with a spunky young novice named Esther to try and stop Gyula, the bloodthirsty Marquis of Hungary, from unleashing the legendary Star of Sorrow. Set against a neo-gothic backdrop, this second Trinity Blood series which is connected to the Rage Against the Moons series promises plenty of action and intrigue as Esther and Abel struggle to save the lives of humans and vampires alike! The end of the novel follows the manga and anime, yet it still contains several surprises. In the long run, this book is well worth reading if for the fact that the anime version is just the bare bones version. Although the story is pretty solid, I think at times the translation left a little wanting, I would rather people check out the Trinity Blood manga series, which is also available from TOKYOPOP. The artwork seems like overblown panels of the manga series, instead of new artwork. I guess its really small gripes for an otherwise enjoyable read. B
I like manga also...
Bleach is by far the best manga out today and Viz is so excellent at translating everything.