About Heroes

Eden: It’s An Endless World Volume 1
Story & Art: Hiroki Endo
Translations: Kumar Sivasubramanian
Publisher: Dark Horse

I’ll be honest and say that what initially peeked my interest about this book was that gorgeous cover. It’s reminiscent of something Katsuhiro Otomo would have drawn back in his Memories book. The Wonderful character designs and technology all blended into one, hell at first glance I thought this was nothing more than a rip-off Otomo book. But it’s so much more than that, so much more. Enoah and Hannah are two kids around the age of fifteen, living in and around a Biosphere facility along with their mentor Layne. Layne is a man suffering from late-stage symptoms of a disease that is wiping out all of humanity in the future. We learn in flashbacks, that their parents were part of a group of scientists and military officers that gathered in the sterile base to escape the disease. But something went wrong, and now the three of them are the only ones left. The kids are immune, and as they get closer to adulthood, they are wondering whether to stay there or venture out into the unknown world and see if there are any other survivors. The second half of the story we fast-forward 20 years in the future and are introduced to Enoah’s son Elijah. He’s just a lonely guy trying to find his own worth and wanting to be with a woman. It is a very intriguing story, with some gorgeous art, violent action, and a question about where your place is on Earth. The characters of Eden are very meticulously drawn and there are some fantastic technological details found in these pages, the humanoid creatures are creepy and would make Steven Spielberg proud. This book was great and I highly anticipate the next volume. A-

Midori Days Volume 8
Story & Art: Kazurou Inoue
Translation: JN Production
Publisher: Viz

Before I jump on the review of the final installment of Midori Days, I figure a little background information is called for. Our protagonist is High school delinquent Seiji Sawamura, who is desperate to have a girlfriend, especially after being rejected by 20 girls as of late. Like most guys, he's afraid that he will end his life with his right hand as his only companion. Apparently, that doesn't change when one day he wakes up and discovers that his right hand has become a puppet version of a girl named Midori Kasugano, who confesses that she has had a crush on him for the last three years. Somehow when Midori’s body was put in a coma, her soul gets transported to his right hand. Since his right was known as the Devil’s Right Hand because of his fighting skills, he now has to hide the tiny girl torso from everyone and can’t punch his way out of situations. Sounds like a weird set-up and let me tell you it is. I didn’t know how this book could go on for eight volumes, because I really thought it had just one hook, but everything you can think of is addressed in all eight volumes. I think the supporting cast really made these books work. Shuichi alone could carry the book, him and his disturbing obsession with toys (hits close to home). My problem with the ending is that it didn’t have enough closure for me, it seems like they just ended abruptly. They finally admit their love for each other and the ending is left open. I guess after 8 volumes I wanted a little more. It’s was good to see her in her real body though. B-

Nodame Cantabile Volume 11
Story & Art: Tomoko Ninomiya
Translation & Adaptation: David & Eriko Walsh
Publisher: Del Rey

I never really thought I would dig a manga that was about music, to be honest I think the closest book was Violinist of Hamlin. I figure I would give this genre of manga a try and see where it took me. Shinichi Chiaki is the top piano student and a great violinist at the Momogaoka College of Music, but Chiaki doesn't care about playing these instruments as much as he dreams of someday being a conductor. For some reason he has several deeply rooted fears about traveling, and so finds himself trapped in Japan. Because he's trapped, Chiaki starts to question exactly how far he can possibly go in music, especially when he's passed over again and again for others he believes less worthy of musical scholarship and fame. Recently dumped by his girlfriend, passed over for a chance to go overseas, and removed from his star spot in the piano competition because he walked out on his piano instructor, Chiaki snaps. This is when he meets Nodame, or Megumi Noda. Nodame is a free and filthy spirit who reminds Chiaki that music can be fun and what drew him to be a conductor in the first place. The early volumes of Nodame were pretty humorous and kept me entertained, but around volume 5 I lost interest. The jokes were repetitive and the situations were very predictable. I’m so glad that I jumped back on with volume 10. Because we are now out of Japan and Nodame and Chiaki are both in Paris studying music and the characters have become more likeable and have developed since the early volumes. So to sum it up, the stories move really slow at times, but it picks back up with later volumes. C+

One Piece Volume 15
Story & Art: Eiichiro Oda
Translation: JN Production
Adaptation: Lance Caselman
Publisher: Viz

When we last left Luffy’s crew they were still on the island of giants. Now the extreme weather of the Grand Line has made Nami sick and the rest of the gang have to find an island and a doctor. They eventually make it to Drum Island, where its eternally winter. Now all they have to do is find the witch that is somewhere on this island. Of course it won’t be that easy with constant wars going on, gigantic killer rabbits, and avalanches. All this and we get the first appearance of Tony Tony Chopper, who at this time is hanging out with Dr. Kureha. I can’t think of any other shonen manga that evokes more emotion than One Piece, well at least to me. Every time I read this book, I am reminded of how amazing the art and story are. Just when I think it doesn’t get any better than this, I am surprised by another exciting chapter of this series. I am so impressed to see so many characters running around in this book, yet each one of them looks different than the other. Each new threat that is introduced in every chapter has something unique about them. From a corrupt king who eats everything (and I mean everything including people) to a man who turns into a bison. This manga will have you laughing, crying, and cheering for more. One Piece is the grand opus of manga, and everyone who reads shonen manga owes it to themselves to read this truly EPIC manga series. I can’t think of a better shonen series to get people to understand what that particular genre of manga is. A+

Q-Ko-Chan: The Earth Invader Girl Volumes 1 & 2
Story & Art: Ueda Hajime
Translation & Adaptation: William Flanagan
Publisher: Del Rey

It’s really hard not to compare Q-Ko-Chan to Hajime’s two volume FLCL series. Both series have cute girls, giant robot wars, insane alien protagonist, and very confusing stories that are addicting to read. I love the fact that Hajime has taken a pretty basic story about a boy and an alien and just made it more exciting and different with his amazing artwork. Sure this story is nothing more than just about robots and aliens, but really that’s just the surface of the deep story. It’s about belonging, relationships, jealousy, and just wanting to be a part of something bigger than you think you are. Not only is the story amazing, but the artwork is even better and it is what really sells me on this series. Hajime is able to define characters with long, sweeping strokes of the pen, lines at distinct angles from one-another. It’s completely unbelievable how simplistic yet detailed his art can be (just check out the lack of backgrounds to see what I mean). There isn’t a lot of detail crammed into each figure, but there doesn’t really need to be. From octopus-like aliens to cute schoolgirls, each character has their own unique and striking look that will stick with you as a reader. It’s almost surprising what Hajime can do with a few or at times, lots of lines to define a figure on the page. Even after you’ve read and think you have absorbed the story of Q-Ko-Chan, you’ll keep going back to it to simply gaze at the art again and again. This is one of those incomprehensible stories that still managed to appeal to me based purely on the strength of its art and the love that is put into each gorgeous panel. A-

Tanpenshu Volume 1
Story & Art: Hiroki Endo
Translations: Kumar Sivasubramanian
Publisher: Dark Horse

After reading Eden volume 1 I really wanted to read the second volume, but since I didn’t have the second volume I went on and read Endo’s other book Tanpenshu. To my surprise Tanpenshu seemed to be written by someone else and it didn’t feel the same as Eden. I say that because none of the stories have a sci-fi feel to it. I’m a huge fan of short story collections such as Memories, Rumic World Trilogy, and Four Shojo Stories just to name a few. I guess in a way I wish more people in America would enjoy them as much as I do, just so we could get some more books from Japan here. So anyway this book has three different short stories. The stories in Tanpenshu examine the darker side of the human psyche, exploring the root causes of disturbing, sudden, and extreme acts of violence. The first story, “The Crows, the Girl, and the Yakuza,” focuses on the relationship between Aoki, a mobster with brutal enemies, and a homeless girl who tends a mob of crows. The second, “Because You’re Definitely a Cute Girl,” explores the disturbing inner world of Makino, a high school student traumatized by the recent death of her mother and older sister. The final story in the anthology, “For Those of Us Who Don’t Believe in God,” introduces us to a college theater troupe that is staging a play about prolific American serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. I have to say that the strongest out of the three stories to me was the first; it reminded me of Old Boy in a way or a John Woo film. To my surprise I think I enjoyed this book a slight more than Eden. It may have to do with the realistic stories or the characters that one can relate to easier. A