Dororo vols. 2 & 3
Story & Art: Osamu Tezuka
Translation: Dawn T. Laabs
Publisher: Vertical
It’s really hard to read a book by Osamu Tezuka knowing you are going to be reviewing it. It’s hard because how do you review the guy that set the standard for manga, hell not only manga but comics in general. I know Omar reviewed the first volume and loved it, but when he passed these down to me I just didn’t know what to critique. Dororo is a manga about a man named Hyakkimaru who was robbed of 48 of his body parts by the devil. Not your usual happy starting point from the man that brought you Astro Boy, Leo the Lion, and Unico. Every time that Hyakkimaru kills a demon one of his body parts grows back. Along with the boy thief named Dororo they roam the land in search of demons. There were some touching moments in volume two when Hyakkimaru is reunited with his parents and brother, of course things weren’t all Full House by then end when he killed his brother. There was a great fight scene with the legendary nine tailed fox and a great new ghoul with baby spirits that united to form him. The thing that I started noticing when reading volume two was that the stories were starting to get repetitive. It’s quite amazing to see Dororo get out of every deadly situation. I swear the kid must have powers too, because he is always getting out in the nick of time. As it turns out Dororo was a girl the entire time and Hyakkimaru figured it out when he got his eyes back. The series ends with the two “bros” parting ways; Hyakkimaru on his was to find more demons and Dororo fighting along the farmers. It was really weird to have a book just end there, but that’s all Tezuka ever wrote of the series. The series feels incomplete and that really saddens me because it was so entertaining. Some great panel layouts with awesome fighting sequences, I can’t believe this book was written and drawn in the 60’s. It was still a fun title to read with enough of a closure to keep most satisfied, but some wanting more. B+
Jade of Bango vol.1
Story: Ae-Ju Yim
Art: Jin-Ju Yim
Translation: Grace Min & Joyce Lee
Adaptation: Andrew Wolfman & Anthony Andera
Publisher: Tokyopop
Cute little school girl in the front cover with colorful candy and weird sperm with faces chasing her (I guess those are supposed to be ghosts); count me in. Wait, this is a manhwa not one of those countless magical girl saves the world manga. Surely it has to have some kind of twist right? Well as I mentioned in the previous sentence this is a story about a magical girl of sorts with the power to destroy the world. Lin Seonu is a high school student who lives with her dad (her mom got killed by a monster, but we’ll get to that in a minute). On her sixteenth birthday she learns that she can talk to ghosts and when she is attacked by a Spider-woman, not the sexy kind either, she learns that she is the Saint of Jade of Bango. Now all kinds of monsters want her power and the only man that can stop them is her husband/guardian In Mu. And the chick is only sixteen!! So, magical girl with the power to destroy the world has a crush on her husband to be, but he is very emotionally distant and has the charm of a wood block. I do believe this is the most manga inspired manhwa book I have ever read. It borrows not only the stereotypical story, but the artwork is definitely manga inspired. That is one thing that I did love about the book though; the wonderful and colorful characters. Sure it’s black and white, but with character designs that look to come right out of a videogame it really does stand out. Unfortunately it doesn’t save the lackluster of a story. But hey, I’m willing to give the book another shot come volume 2, just for the artwork. C
Jyu-Oh Sei vol.1
Story & Art: Natsumi Itsuki
Translation: Yuya Otake
Adaptation: Clint Bickham
Publisher: Tokyopop
Don’t let that cover fool you like it fooled me. I really thought I was going to be reading a shojo story about love and lust. Instead I got something I have been waiting a long time for. A very long time ago in not such a galaxy far far away, I read a book called They Were 11 and it was a perfect mix of sci-fi and shojo manga. I have been waiting for something like that and while there have been some great attempts none have really come that close. Jyu-Oh-Sei is a story about identical twins Thor and Rai living on the space colony Juno in the year 2436. Thor has dreams of being a pilot and Rai just wants to be a scientist, but they are the sons of one of the leaders of the Earth colonized system and are expected to take a role much like their father. When their parents are murdered they are kidnapped and taken to the Prison Planet Kimaera. Here they must survive not only against the criminals on the planet, but the creatures that reside on the surface. Thor and Rai become separated and Thor teams up with Tiz, one of the few women on the planet. Thor later learns that Rai had fallen to his death and swears to become the Beast King, who is the only person allowed to leave the planet. I was hooked from beginning to end and lost some sleep staying up finishing the first volume. This is a very convincing world that Itsuki has created and I really feel for Thor and hope he makes it out alive and I still have hope for Rai. It is 350 + pages of non-stop action and adventure that will capture the hearts of all its audience. Not since They Were 11 have I read something in this genre that moved me as much. A
Pumpkin Scissors vol.3
Story & Art: Ryotaro Iwanaga
Translation: Ikoi Hiroe
Publisher: Del Rey
A few months back Omar told me to read a book called Pineapple Army. Every time I read Pumpkin Scissors I think of that and Fruits Basket. When I think that those names are weird and have nothing to do with the book I always think of Yellow Submarine, Clockwork Orange, and Naked Lunch. The word Pumpkin Scissors in this case describes a small group of individuals within the army (Section III) that work to keep the peace and rebuild after the Great War that ended three years ago. I am one of the few people that didn’t like the first book. I wasn’t impressed and thought it was much like Full Metal Panic or a bunch of anime I had seen before. Things really started looking up at the beginning of volume two when Section III were inspecting the captured tank, but then the action came back and it was rather dull. The chapters didn’t seem to fit in continuity and this is something I am used to seeing in American comics not manga. Enter: Volume three. Instead of saving the Empire it seems they have to try and save Alice from an execution. After being deployed to the waterworks headquarters it was an all out war between the Pumpkin Scissors and Claymore One. The art style remains the same; clean and clear as presented in the previous two volumes. It doesn’t stand out as being original, but it Iwanaga manages to tell a solid story. While the first two volumes did very little for me in this series, I will admit that I am now hooked on the story and anxiously await the fourth volume. B
Shiki Tsukai vol. 3
Story: To-Ru Zekuu
Art: Yuna Takanagi
Translation: Mayumi Kobayashi
Publisher: Del Rey
I’m not sure if it’s taken a while for volume three of this series to come out or maybe I have just read too much manga in between volumes two and three. I had to go back and reread volumes one and two just to make sure I was caught up with this series. I’m really glad I did because so much happened in volume two. To recap: Akira is a normal kid until one day he is told he is meant for greater things by young girl named Koyomi. Along with Koyomi (a Shiki Tsukai) he learns that he can control the seasons. Akira is the destined Shinra, but he still has not awakened his true potential to control the forces of nature. Now the clans of Fall and Summer want to destroy humanity for all they have done to the Earth and they want Akira to help them do it. Finally we get to see more in depth explanations about the Shiki Tsukai and the forward speaking of the different months and seasons really clear things up. Koyomi jumps into action to help Akira against Nanayo. But it seems that Koyomi is just there to provide fan service and her character hasn’t developed much. The action sequences are still clearly drawn. The characters are easy to distinguish and backgrounds are sufficiently detailed and utilized to create the setting for each scene. Del Rey does a superb job of including extras in this manga. There are character profiles, character design sketches, a calendar, translation notes, and ability charts. The action has finally picked up in this volume, but I really wish they would move along with the story and quit introducing more villains of the week. B
Too Long
Story & Art: Hee Jung Park
Translation: Woo Sok Park
Adaptation: Jamie S. Rich
Publisher: Tokyopop
Before you make a gratuitous sex joke about the title; save some time. I’ve already made them all up in my head. It has been a very busy year for Ms. Park, Tokyopop released Fever in March, Hotel Africa in April, Martin and John July, and this August they released Too Long. Some of these chapters premiered in Tokyopop’s website and their MySpace profile. Too Long is a collection of ten short stories by Park and range anywhere from sadness, love, longing, and just plain bizarre. By far the best example of Park’s wonderful storytelling techniques in my opinion is Eoheulli. It is a beautiful story about childhood loss and the dreams that one has a child. When Yeongju’s younger brother needs a bone marrow transplant she has only one place to go; To the birth mother whom she treated like an older sister in her childhood. This story was completely moving and really touched me. Park’s childhood pictures were completely magnificent and even the usual problem I have with her art style wasn’t found in this book. She really has a knack for stories of anger, depression, and alienation. If you’ve read my past reviews you know that I adore Park’s style. She has a great understanding of sequential art with some sophisticated stories. Its one stand alone volume and I highly recommend it. A
