About Heroes

Beauty Pop Vol. 1
Story and Art By: Kiyoko Arai
Publisher: Viz Manga

I actually found this book to be helpful in dealing with stress in my life. The main character, Kiri, is a girl who has no qualms with life. She's very laid back, and I found it fun to pretend like I'm that type of person to - the type to just go, "Meh" about life and not get riled up. But let me tell ya, she still cares about people, especially girls with bad haircuts! She's a whiz with hair, much to the annoyance of the Scissors Project boys, three guys who cut random, lucky girls' hair as a show for everyone. But when Kiri does it, she helps the person become more confident with herself. I love books like this that are cute and funny, but also have an actual good storyline going on as well. Ending on an extreme cliff-hanger definitely makes me want to buy the next volume, and also raised the rating up to an A.

Dark Moon Diary Vol. 1
Story by: Che Gilson
Art by: Brett Uher
Tokyo Pop

Priscilla not only has to deal with icky hormones, body changes, and how to deal with raging emotions, but she also has to make sense of the new world into which she's been thrusted: that of Nachtwald, where vampires are her aunt, uncle, and cousin, and monsters are the norm! Her parents having passed away, she goes to stay with her new family, but can't adjust to drinking blood or being called "entrée" by her cousin. School's not any easier, when you don't know how the rules work.
The art is okay, with cute faces and lots of energy, but it's a little too sketchy and kiddy for me. It's rated ages 13 and up, but I think the target audience is from 10 to 14. The story jumps a bit between the action-to-action transitions, and it's also somewhat cliché. Nothing in the first volume made me want to read the second volume. C

Cherry Juice Vol. 1
Story & Art By:Haruka Fukushima
Publisher: Tokyo Pop

To appreciate the story of Cherry Juice, you need to understand the Japanese view on family and sexual relations. Shojo manga (for girls) authors like to press the envelope on how to build sexual tension, by having the main characters be two homosexual males or by having their attraction for each other be forbidden in some way. Minami and Otome are two teenagers who became brother and sister five years ago after their parents remarried. Right - so they're not blood-related, but Otome ends up accidentally showing her panties as she falls asleep on Minami's bed..., or he accidentally sees her naked in the bath..., or he wants to kiss her as she sleeps..., you get the idea. Otome has a crush on another guy at school, which makes Minami jealous. But maybe she is falling for her brother as well...Fukushima does a great job at building sexual tension with these two young people with their body language, ambiance, and drawing the eye to the mouth, flushed face, elongated fingers, etc. But the only real twist to this romance story is that they are technically related. C

Demon Flowers Volume 1
Story & Art: Mizuki Hakase
Publisher: Tokyopop

As you know if you listen to our podcasts, I have an affinity, a weakness, an all out devotion to tall, lanky men (specifically John Linnell - hot!). So is it no surprise that I find the art in Demon Flowers irresistible? The art on the cover or back of a manga is what usually sells me, and this definitely caught my eye.
I'm mad about the juxtaposition of the cartoony look of the art and the serious, dark story. Ushitora, a demon assassin, decides to adopt a young boy and give up chasing after the children of the gods. He takes on a young orphan girl as well, and the three become a family that is struggling for a place to belong, but all the while the other demons are after the young boy.The story is a little slow here in the first volume, but I believe it's to develop the relationships between the three characters. And the art doesn't distract at all - in fact, it enhances the ambiance that Hakase is creating. B

What's Michael? Sleepless Nights
Story & Art: Makoto Kobayashi
Publisher: Dark Horse Manga

It amazes me the pure insight Kobayashi has into the world of cats. After reading the first volume, I started noticing just how right he is about their nature when I watched my own little, cute Shinobi. So much writing material right there in front of me! What's Michael? Sleepless Nights delves into the domain of felines with short stories of how humans are just interacting with their world. Sometimes they act like humans themselves and interact with each other in gang, school, or marriage settings. Each story is creative and fresh, with tons of humorous cat facial expressions and thoughts. It's a really nice change from epic, horror, or cutesy stories. B+