About Heroes

Bleach Volume 21
Story & Art: Tite Kubo
English Adaptation: Lance Caselman
Publisher: Viz

After the Soul Society story arc that lasted for over 15 volumes do you think that Kubo is going to let Ichigo and co. rest? Hell no! We get back to business. Everyone but Rukia returns to the land of the living to get back to everyday life and Ichigo is given a deputy pass to return to Soul Society whenever he pleases. Everything is quiet for about a chapter and then we are introduced to the new kid in class Shinji Hirako, who happens to be a Vizard (Soul Reapers that have become Hollows). There is also a new threat: The Arrancar (Hollows with Zanpaku-tos). Believe it or not, this book has two big revelations towards the second half: The return of Ishida’s father and the unearthing of Ichigo’s father as a Soul Reaper. I can’t believe that this book is still this fun and I every time I can’t imagine the plot getting better; I am proven wrong with some great chapters. Sure Kubo isn’t a master story teller, but he sure can deliver one damn good story. A

Cannon God Exaxxion volumes 1 & 2
Story & Art Kenichi Sonoda
Translation: Dana Lewis & Adam Warren
Publisher: Dark Horse

This is what Kenichi Sonada was doing during his big break from Gunsmith Cats and let me tell you, this is nothing like GSC. Hoichi “Gun” Kano is the Grandson of the world’s famous inventor Hosuke Kano. He is also a student at Howa High School in Musashino City, Japan. For the last 10 years Earth has been in contact with an alien race knows as the Riofaldians. At the tenth anniversary of first contact with the Riofaldians, an Elevator Ship is unveiled and designed for orbital transport to and from the Riofaldian home world and Earth. However, this was just a ploy to take control of the Earth, using their advanced technology and large Riofaldian work force on Earth to their advantage. It is now up to Hoichi, with the help of Hosuke an old scientist famous for his anti-Riofaldian stance), Akane (his friend from highschool), and Isaka (a humanoid created by Hosuke). You can tell that Sonoda borrows heavily from old science fiction movies for his concepts and designs. The robots are round and metallic and are void of any contemporary mech-and-tech design found in today's big robot movies or today's manga. The sixties black and white flick, The Day the Earth Stood Still, is the chief influence on this manga in both story and design. Not a bad choice for primary influence but I was very surprised at the lack of innovation and original ideas in Sonoda's tale. I have faith that Sonoda will be able to keep me entertained. C+

Naruto Volume 17
Story & Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Translation: Mari Morimoto
Publisher: Viz

First Bleach and now Naruto, I really can’t get enough of these Shonen Jump title. The price of eight bucks a pop makes this even better. Just in case you aren’t aware of what Naruto is…think Harry Potter with Dragon Ball Z (sort of). Naruto is the story of a young teenage orphan trouble-maker, who is desperate to become the greatest ninja in his village. He goes through all kinds of adventures, slowly maturing, but always willing to compete against his arch-rival Sasuke. Whilst Naruto’s mischievous nature gets him into a lot of trouble, his determination to become the best is unsurpassable. Unfortunately though, Sasuke seems to be top of the class in everything, and will be an incredible opponent to better. In this volume we get a glimpse of Sasuke’s past with the appearance of his older brother, Uchiha Itachi. This is the guy that killed his own parents, because he couldn’t let anything get in the way of perfecting his techniques. The artwork in this manga is fantastic, with great detail on every single character, and an impressive selection of background features that perfectly blend in with the surroundings. The story is excellent and engrossing, catching the reader’s interest immediately, and constantly improving with each chapter. Due to the brilliant way it is done, it is incredibly hard to stop reading this book. They keep pumping out three volumes a month and it’s hard to not buy them all. A

Neon Genesis Evangelion Volume 10
Story & Art: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Original concept: Gainax
Publisher: Viz

I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I saw Evangelion. 10 years since this series changed the way I looked at anime forever. Granted I had been watching anime for 20 + years now, but nothing moved me quite the way Evangelion did. The manga dives deeper into the story than the anime could. The artist Sadamoto was the lead character designer on the anime and is the perfect artist for this book. After two years since volume 9 came out, Sadamoto finally completed the 10th volume of the series and I hope we don’t have to wait as long for the final two volumes. Volume ten picks up right from the middle of the battle with the Angel Armisael, when tendrils from the being seize Unit 00 and try to assimilate the pilot, Rei Ayanami in a very disturbing scene. Ready to launch, but left on the pad is Shinji is Unit 01, pleading his estranged father, Gendo Ikari, to let him go into the fight to help Rei. Already on the scene and also under attack is Kaworu Nagisa, the mysterious Fifth Child, who through internal monologues hints he can defeat this angel, but will not show the power he possesses to do so yet. Sadamoto has taken the reins in clearly explaining some of the mysteries with more background stories and more dialogue, while remaining true to the essence in an almost shot for shot and word for word of the series. I can’t believe how much I really love Evangelion until I read this series and it makes me realize how much I have missed the characters. A

Pichi Pichi Pitch: Mermaid Melody volume 7
Story & Art: Pink Hanamori
Scenario: Michiko Yokote
Publisher: Del Rey

After seven volumes the story finally comes to a conclusion. Well, the story’s main battles really ended with volume 6, but it’s in this volume that you learn the fate of the characters you have been reading about. The big story is of course Lucia’s destiny. When she becomes ill with fever, it is at last revealed just when the real first time she met Kaito was. It laid the groundwork for her future, but she had no idea how big that future would be! A startling turn of events will seal her fate once and for all. Don’t fret though, this has been a warm and fun manga throughout so don’t worry about anything too angst ridden. This is a series about princesses and happily ever after endings. The layout of this manga is great. Pink Hanamori goes into a lot of detail with regards to the characters of this manga. She writes about their backgrounds and personalities as if they were real (basing some of the characters in this manga on real people helps to achieve this) and she happily elaborates on some of the finer points of the storyline. The detail is really apparent and makes a very big difference to the way this manga develops. Without so much depth, the story wouldn’t be anywhere near as interesting. There are also additional stories in the final volume. Something kept me reading the book so the author was doing something right. I was a little confused at times, but nothing that kept me from enjoying the story. B

Shakugan No Shana
Story: Yashichiro Takahashi
Art: Ayato Sasakura
Character Design: Noizi Ito
Publisher Viz

Yuji Sakai, a high school student, expected his very normal life to last forever. However, this expectation is quickly shattered one day while on his way home. The world suddenly freezes in time, leaving Yuji to watch in horror as blue flames engulf the people around him. Soon a monster resembling a large doll appears and begins sucking the flames into its mouth, until it notices Yuji. Surprised with Yuji's insusceptibility to the time-stop (fuzetsu), it jumps with glee. Just about Yuji is about to be devoured by the creature, a sword wielding girl with shows up. She introduces herself as a Flame Haze who now goes by the name of Shana. I have to say that I was really disappointed in this book, because the whole story is rather hard to follow and it can get real confusing. The art is really full of energy and Sasakura can show great facial expressions and still handle some fantastic art sequences. But like I said with a cover like that I was expecting something else and was disappointed with how the story played out. C