About Heroes

Deja-vu: A Love Story
Story Youn in-wan
Art: Lots!
Translation: Woo Sok Park
Adaptation: Ren Zatopek
Publisher: Tokyopop
Funny enough, just a couple of weeks ago I rented Déjà vu with Denzel Washington and I thought the movie was great. When I saw the title to this book, I really wasn’t in the mood for a love story. About an hour and a half later I was so glad that I picked up the book, because I couldn’t put it down. The title includes spring, summer, fall, and winter because Dejavu is a story of unfulfilled love that takes place through different seasons and years. Through different seasons and different eras in time, two lovers cross paths again and again, trying for that one chance to get it right this time around. Although they have different lives at different points in history, one thing remains constant; their love for each other. The stories span from the beginning of history, WWII-era Japan, modern-day America, and the far distant future, and let me say that by the time the book ends you will be cheering for their love to go on. Although the overall story is continuous each of the four episodes is drawn by a different artist. Each artist breathes their own life into the story making it more enjoyable. There are a couple of short stories in the back along with an afterward by Clamp. By far my favorite story is fall with art by Kim Tae-Hyung. His artwork is completely amazing, it’s got that perfect blend of East meets west; I couldn’t be more satisfied with the art in this beautiful story. It’s a standalone book that I recommend to the romantic fools in all of us. A+

Knockout Makers vol.1
Story & Art: Kyoko Hashimoto
Translations: Jeremiah Bourque
Retouch & Lettering: Star Print Brokers
Publisher: Tokyopop

Mover over Extreme Make Over, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and What Not to Wear; because here comes the Knockout Makers! The concept is simple enough three guys are an urban legend in their city and turn out to be real. Toshiro, Nobuo, and Ryohei are the three mysterious beauticians that can take an average girl and turn her into a knockout. There you go! Anything from a hairdo, nails, makeup, to a simple push of confidence these guys are up for the challenge. There are six girls that introduced in the first volume and they range from a tomboy to a girl who wants to look like her idol. While the concept reminds me of the aforementioned shows, the guys really aren’t as vicious as their TV counterparts. While they do end up transforming the girls, they also give them the pep talk so they can find their inner confidence that they lack in the first place. For example the girl that is too skinny just needed someone to let her know that she doesn’t have to look like the fashion models. The only thing working against Hashimoto’s story is unfortunately the artwork. The problem is that it’s too perfect. Everyone looks like stereotypical shojo characters: pretty. This really works against the idea of what these women are supposed to look like before their makeover. The story also seems very repetitive and by the end of the book I am wondering how they are going to keep going for another volume. B-

Monochrome Factor vol. 1
Story & Art: Kaili Sorano
Translation: Takae Brewer
Adaptation: Laura Wyrick
Publisher: Tokyopop

Don’t let the cover fool you, this isn’t a Yaoi manga, but rather about superpowers and two worlds at war. Akira Nikaido is your typical slacker high school student who thinks he has a normal life. That is until a mysterious man called Shirogane appears and tells him to meet him at the school that night. Akira is dragged into the war between the shadows and the light realms (human world) because the balance between them is unbalanced. While Akira is losing his connections to his real world, he takes a more active role in the war. Shirogome convinces Akira that in order to restore the balance between the two worlds Akira must become a Shin (a creature of the shadow world). While the art remains kinetic and full of detail for 90% of the book, some of the panels are awkward to try and decipher. Particular the panels during fighting scenes with the shadow monsters are hard to follow. There is also too many SD (super-deformed/chibi sized) scenes for a story that is supposed to be dark and full of action. Another downside this manga has is that it is really not original in any way. While it’s not the first to be borrowing elements from other manga/anime it certainly doesn’t offer anything new. Now for the positive things: the character designs are fantastic and the character development seems to carry this first volume. There is some potential here, but it really has to come from the second volume, because unfortunately there are plenty of manga using the same formula that stand above this one. C

Oh My Goddess! vol. 27
Story & Art: Kosuke Fujishima
Translation: Dana Lewis
Adaptation: Christopher Lewis
Publisher: Dark Horse
I really can’t wait for the day that the newly redone Oh My Goddess early volumes catch up to volume 21. There is such a gap in my bookshelf and the books don’t come out fast enough for hungry fans like me ready to wet their appetite. However, I have to give props to Dark Horse for releasing further adventures of my favorite goddesses instead of waiting until the rest of the manga catches up to release them. We take off where the last volume left us with Keichi having a half demon/angel in him and flying off to Goddess knows where. Turns out the guy didn’t get very far and the four Goddesses find a way to merge the angel/demon with the only demon in their house that doesn’t have a familiar. You guessed it…..Velsper. Of course he doesn’t make it easy on them to do this. The rest of the volume contains an insane rubber band fight and a touching story about Keichii and his special connections with machines. The art as always….well what else can I say? Other than it is has your usual manga - stylized figures, speed lines, and gorgeous backgrounds that put this book above the rest. Unfortunately, these later volumes have been reading so fast that I fly by each volume in no time. Sure, it’s great to go back and look at all the art I missed out the first time through, but I really miss the days of those complex story lines with dialogue heavy plot. Still, it is a treat to read as always. B+

Shaman King vol.13
Story & Art: Hiroyuki Takei
Translation: Naomi Kokubo
Adaptation: Lance Caselman
Publisher: Viz

If you haven’t heard of Shaman King by now then shame on you for considering yourself a connoisseur of manga and anime. Or course I’m not saying you are considering yourself that, but anyway. A shaman is a person who connects this world and the spirit world. Shamans team up with ghosts and spirits to achieve their goals and their greatest dream is to become the Shaman King (one who is able to contact the Great Spirit ) in order to be the savior of the world. This volume contains the last volumes found in Shonen Jump with some new stories. After a long travel Yoh Asukura and the rest of the gang finally make it to the Patch Village and after passing the great test they are separated again. They must make three man teams to compete in the Shaman Fight. There are new characters introduced and the fights are some of the best in the entire series. I’m starting to be a big fan of Joco and this is his first appearance. The tournament reminds me of the Budakai tournaments in DBZ except with teams of three. Now, let’s talk about the art; Takei's style is highly stylized and angular, with some freakish characters that may not be some people’s definition of manga and may even turn off a few readers. Otherwise, the crisp, sharply contrasting black-and-white artwork is original and applied with skill. The story may come off as simple, but the inner layers are complex and with a cast of memorable characters that make you care about them this book delivers! A

Uzumaki vol. 2
Story & Art: Junji Ito
Translation & Adaptation: Yuji Oniki
Touch-up & Lettering: Susan Daigle-Leach
Publisher: Viz

If you haven’t picked up volume 1 of Uzumaki after my review then I obviously haven’t pushed this series enough. GO AND BUY IT!!! In volume 2 we see the further infestation of spirals in the little town of Kurozu-cho. There are six chapters found in this volume and they keep getting stranger and stranger. So let me just talk about my favorite one Chapter 8 The Snail. Monday morning it begins to rain, a signal that the slowest boy in class, Katayama, will be coming to school. In fact, it is the only time he comes to school, and he even does this in the tardiest of fashions. Because of the speed he operates at, he is constantly taunted by one of his peers, Tsumura, who goes out of his way to ridicule him in front of his other classmates. That's when they notice it, the spiral-like impression on his back, one that grows and grows as the each day of the week progresses. Soon it is apparent that there is a change transpiring in Katayama, one that is slowly turning him into a huge snail. Even when he becomes a full snail, Tsumara’s teasing doesn’t stop, but not to worry he gets his in a sick twisted way in the end. If you ever want to try out what manga of a different genre is like, give this book a shot, you won’t be disappointed. I do warn you though; this book is not for the weak of heart A