About Heroes

Claymore Volume 10
Story & Art: Norihiro Yagi
English Adaptation & Translations: Arashi Productions
Publisher: Viz

When I read the first volume of Claymore I really thought of it as nothing more than an Escaflowne/Bastard/Berserk premise with chicks. Damn, I'm glad I was proven different by volume 3. The setting of Claymore's story is a fictional world with medieval technology, now you see why I thought of those manga. In this world, humans coexist with creatures called Yoma, shapeshifting sentient monsters that feed on human innards. By consuming a human's brain, Yoma can also absorb their memories, allowing them to disguise themselves as specific people without alerting any of their close friends or family. In this volume Clare and a group of Claymores are sent to the north to battle a group of Yoma that have banded together under the command of Isley. However, when confronted with this new threat, the warriors find their new enemies incredibly strong and extremely smart. There is no cutesy/slapstick-stuff in this book either, no animal sidekicks; just great story, great art (trust me, it does get better), and great characters. I only wish the books came out faster. It always bothers me when the artwork is edited and I know that Viz has edited some of the nudity in this title, mainly male zombie frontal nudity, but it really doesn't take away from the beautiful artwork. The story starts kind of slow, but really gets rolling around volume 3 and 4 and this particular volume is no exception. B+

Gunsmith Cats Burst Volumes 1 & 2
Story & Art: Kenichi Sonoda
Publisher: Dark Horse

The Gunsmith Cats are back and when I say back I mean all of them: Rally, Minnie May, Becky, Misty, and everyone's favorite badass Bean Bandit! It's been a long break for Sonoda working on Cannon God Exaxxion and coming back to old friends, but was it really worth the long wait? I hate to admit it, but I found a hard time getting into volume 1 of Burst. Don't get me wrong it is a great tale, but it didn't draw me in like the original series. There are mini chapters explaining the guns that Rally customizes for people and since I am no gun enthusiast, those chapters would literally put me to sleep. The pace picked up by volume 2 though and it really brought back everything that the first books had. The new story focuses on Rally's GT 500 being stolen from the GSC shop and used as a terrorist bomb. It was really hard for me to see the GT 500 blown to bits and Rally's expression really summed up what I was thinking. I think the second volume moved faster because it focused on Bean being captured by the police and his escape from the hospital. The artwork is better than ever, slick and polished, with the Sonoda style shining through in every frame. The women are still as perky and bouncy, but come on we all know that this book is about the cars and guns and let me tell you they are still drawn with loving attention to detail. The car chases and gunfights are drawn so clean and so action packed, unlike other artists that have to splatter their images with excessive action lines and sound effects that only confuse the reader and clutter the page. Like I said for some reason it was a slow start, but volume 2 really made up for all the slack. B

Princess Ai: Ultimate Edition
Created By: Courtney Love & DJ Milky
Story: Misaho Kujiradou & DJ Milky
Illustrations: Misaho Kujiradou

Courtney Love? What the hell? Rockstar, actress, and Mrs. Kurt Cobain? Now manga creator? You got it. This book came out in 2004 and all three volumes have been reprinted in one oversized collection. It seems that Love took many elements from her colorful past; hence we are introduced to her alter-ego, a young girl named Ai. She is a princess from a place called Ai-Land. Having somehow traveled to Tokyo, Japan from Ai-Land, our tough, but naive, amnesiac-princess secures a job singing at a local club and begins her path on discovering who she is and why she ran way from Ai-Land. I really surprised myself by reading the whole thing, considering the story did not keep interested, but I had to give it a fair shot. I think I know why I couldn't keep interested in this book, because it reads like a third grade storybook. The dialogue phrases things in awkward ways, and not only once either; they keep repeating themselves. Ai's supposed inability to recall memories seems to be defeated very easily, but she has to mention that's she's receiving a memory each time she does, no kidding, I realize the audience is supposed to be dumbed down a bit, but this really stretched things. I found the lyrics in the books to be okay, but silly at times. The only saving grace that this book had was the gorgeous artwork. Misaho Kujiradou's drawings are so stunning they make you want to turn the page to see more. So to sum it up it's a really dull story with some great art. C-

Ranma ½ Volume 36
Story & Art: Rumiko Takahashi
Translations: Kaori Inoue
English Adaptations: Gerard Jones
Publisher: Viz

I can't believe that I just read the last volume of Ranma. It's been 17 years since I have been reading this wonderful series (started in comic book format, when Viz was coloring the inside of the comics). I tell you what reading this, was like saying goodbye to some good friends and it was a mix of laughter and tears of joy and sadness. Almost every character makes an appearance in this volume. Ranma is doing battle with Saffron, when Akane suddenly vanishes and then transformed into a "doll" form, and only the water in Jusenkyo's heart will revive her. If Ranma doesn't douse her in it before her eyes close, then she'll die or even worse, Shampoo gets her hands on her. When the battle with Saffron and the bird-men is over, Ranma finds himself being roped in for a wedding, with all the trimmings. Unfortunately, his other fiancées aren't about to give up so easily and chaos ensues when the others learn that Guide has sent him a barrel of Spring-of-Drowned-Man water, which everybody wants, but only one can have. This was a great way to send of the fantastic characters that Takahashi has created over the years. The final volume of Ranma is sweet, sad, funny, romantic, and uplifting, and by the final pages there's a deep sense of satisfaction that we fans of the Ranma and Akane relationship will be happy with. Sure it leaves stories open for future possibilities, but this a way to end a series. Thank you Mrs. Takahashi. A+

Shinshoku Kiss
Story & Art: Kazuko Higashiyama
Translation: Monica Seya Chin
Publisher: Tokyopop

Dolls just freak me out, well not little dolls, but life size marionettes. So the idea of someone wanting to make dolls for fun or a living is just weird to me. Kotoko Kashiwagi is an aspiring doll maker who dreams of one day making dolls as life-like and beautiful as her idol's, the popular yet mysterious doll maker "Fool." Yeah, I know what a weird name, let alone the guy has a freaking fan. She'd also like nothing better than to meet him, but when she does, the circumstances are nothing like she imagined! First of all the guy kidnaps her. Second, he's kissed her hand, and third, he informs her she's going to become his servant or pay the price. There is some weird S&M stuff that goes on here, including chains, ropes, and lots of role playing. At least that's what I got out of it. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this manga. There's a cheerfulness and cuteness about the art and characters that is extremely annoying but engaging at the same time. That cover really stands out to me; it really lures me to want to know more about Kotoko. It's a pretty good start and I'm curious to see what happens next. B-

Welcome to the NHK
Author: Tatsuhiko Takimoto
Translation: Lindsey Akashi
Cover: Yoshitoshi ABe
Publisher: Tokyopop

Alright stay with me here. NHK refers to the TV channel and broadcasting corporation Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai, but within the series, the main character believes it stands for Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai, which literally translates to The Japanese Hikikomori Association. A hikikomori is an individual that is very reclusive and has chosen to withdraw themselves from social life. I believe these people are more extreme than hermits, because they go out of their way to get away from society. This story centers around Tatsuhiro Satou, a 22 year-old college drop out with an obsession for hentai (porn). He himself is a hikikomori, but gets aid from Misaki, a strange girl who seems to know a lot about him, despite never meeting him before. She presents him with a contract basically outlining that once a day they would meet in the evening in a local park where Misaki would lecture him in an effort to rid him of his lifestyle. During these outings, many subjects are discussed, though they almost always pertain in some way to psychology or psychoanalysis. One of their first meetings in fact deals with interpreting Tatsuhiro's recent dreams. I finished this book in one day, I don't know why but the idea of these people really intrigued me and I wanted to know what was going to happen in the next chapter and before I knew it I was done with the book and doing more research online. I really recommend this book, although some chapters are irksome, the story flows good enough to keep you entertained. A-