About Heroes

Cowa!
Story & Art: Akira Toriyama
Translation: Alexander O. Smith
Publisher: Viz

Being a Toriyama fan has been really hard over the years. After reading everything he has done and collecting the Japanese tonkabon, it gets really hard to wait for the next Toriyama project. I remember seeing Cowa pictures a few years back, but I’m really glad Viz went on and brought the manga over to the States. This particular work contains all of the things people expect of Toriyama; action, gags, and Toriyama's signature drawing style with a kiddie twist. There are also elements in this book I have never seen in a Toriyama book; a real kiddie simple story, that is just that a simple story. Paifu is a half vampire half werekoala(that’s right his dad was a full blooded werekoala). He is best friends with Jose Rodriguez, the ghost and the two of them seem to get into trouble all the time, whether it’s stealing watermelons or invading Mr. Maruyama’s privacy…even though he is an accidental murderer. When the entire town gets sick it is up to Paifu, Jose, Mr. Maruyama, and Paifu’s so-called rival Arpon to go on a journey and save the town. It’s a book which is supposed to be fun and it achieves that goal. Sure it’s supposed to be a kid’s book, but it’s got elements that adults can enjoy too. I only hope that Toriyama visits this world again. A

Dominion vol.1
Story & Art: Shirow Masamune
Translation: Dana Lewis
Adaptation: Frederik L. Schodt & Toren Smith
Publisher: Dark Horse

If you haven’t heard of Masamune Shirow, well he did a little manga called Ghost in the Shell as well as Appleseed, Orion, Black Magic, and Intron Depot. So even if you haven’t heard of him, I’m sure you have heard of his work. I remember Tank Police was one of the first subtitled anime I watched (that wasn’t bootlegged) back in 1991. I was really excited all those years ago when Dark Horse released the manga and I haven’t read this story in over 15 years. This is a story about the future in which mankind is forced to wear oxygen masks outside, they live in bio-created cities, and crime levels so high that the police use tanks! The main character is a tank-loving Leona Ozaki, a police mini-tank commander, who seems to be fighting a one-woman war against crime (well one woman if you don’t count her little tank; Bonaparte). Most of the time she is dealing with Buaku, a master criminal, and his two catgirl thugs, the Puma sisters (I know you recognize these two. They also make an appearance in Ghost in the Shell). The fact is that Buaku has more than just gold coins and cash on his mind. In fact, the future of planet Earth and the human race hangs in the balance when the group of thugs kidnaps Green Peace. This is truly one of the best manga books that I read back then and still shines to this day. The story is really fun and since it is not as complex as Appleseed or Ghost in the Shell it's easy to follow. Don’t get me wrong it’s technical at times, but not on par with his other works. I highly recommend introducing yourself to the Domion world. A+

Fairy Tail vol. 3
Story & Art: Hiro Mashima
Translation: William Flanagan
Publisher: Del Rey

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed volumes 1 and 2 of this series. I’m not a big wizard fan (let the Harry Potter fan-boy emails come) and I really got bored with Rave Master, because Mashima never stepped outside of his formula and the story was going nowhere. But, this was something that brought me back to my child hood and I really got that sense of adventure when Natsu, Lucy, and Happy took off for Fairy Tail. Now the Dark Guild Eisenwald are going head to head with Fairy Tail for the Lullaby (no, not what you think, but a magic weapon). Eirgor, leads the mission to broadcast the Lullaby all over town. Titiana Erza sends fire mage Natsu and ice mage Gray after Eirgor himself. All hell breaks loose and there was plenty of action in this issue to make up for the lackluster second volume. Mashima manages to keep the momentum going, but with villains, now that the villains are finally proving to be more than a thorn on the side to our heroes. With one hell of a cliffhanger he has really up the ante in this volume and it just keeps me wanting to come back for more. As always there are wonderful translation notes in the end, but this volume also has a Happy the cat mini story. The only bad thing or good thing, depending on how you look at it, is that I can see this series going on forever, much like One Piece. This book is hilarious and gives nudges in the ways of relationships, but leaves enough room for the reader to wonder about who might end up with who. It’s got a perfect mix of action and magic that any manga reader will appreciate. A

Gantz vol.1
Story & Art: Hiroya Oku
Translation: Mathew Johnson
Publisher: Dark Horse

I didn’t know what to expect from Gantz, because I have heard so many people compare it to Battle Royale. To me Battle Royale is still one of the most disturbing pieces of work I have ever laid my eyes on, granted I have seen plenty of weird things in my life. Gantz is the story of Kei Kurono(who is kind of a dickhead) and his semi-friend Masaru Kato who die while saving a drunk from an oncoming subway train. Instead of dying they are transported into a room full of other people who have just died as well. It seems to be an empty apartment with a view of Tokyo Tower, well empty except for the black sphere that people keep coming out of. This sphere informs everyone in the room that their former lives have ended and their new lives belong to it. Inside the sphere is an old man that seems to be on life support and I don’t know what role he plays in all this. They are given a target and weapons to take down this alien, pretending to be human. I have to say that I was a nervous wreck in that first scene with the train. I had no idea Kei and Masaru’s death was going to be so graphic and speaking of graphic, every time some gets transported they appear and reappear in slices. So you get to see the inside of the human cavity. Other than your basic blowing of the brains and nudity, I really didn’t see anything too graphic. But I enjoyed the hell out of the story and as confusing as it is now, I can’t wait to see what happens to this team of dead warriors. By far one of the best manga I have read this year. A+

Samurai Champloo Complete
Creator: Manglobe
Story & Art: Masaru Gotsubo
Translation: Louie Kawamoto
Adaptation: Christine Boylan
Publisher: Tokyopop

Cowboy Bebop is still one of my top 10 favorite anime of all time. I’m sure if you ask many Otaku, they would tell you the same thing. I remember how disappointed I was when I read the manga and how unlike the show it was. Samurai Champloo, much like Bebop, was a visual feast to watch on the screen; so yeah I was worried when I opened this book up. The manga starts out almost identically to the anime. Fuu (the 15 year old waitress) is still searching for her Sunflower Samurai, and Mugen (the mercenary) and Jin (the samurai) are at each other’s throats. Beyond that, though, the manga goes in an entirely different direction. Instead of getting captured by the feudal lords, and instead of doing a great deal of traveling and battling, most of what happens is slapstick comedy that takes place in cities and villages, and we never quite know the progress of the heroes because they rarely mention where they are at. This kind of gets confusing at times and made me put the down the book more than once. But as different as the manga was, you still have to be fair by taken the two as different forms of the same medium. What makes the manga good, is the fact that it really dives into the characters and it gives the readers psychoanalysis of their personalities in just a page. The manga has the ability to explain certain cultural references that readers unfamiliar with Japanese society might find confusing as well as an explanation of the word champloo for the reader that like everything spelled out for them. Gotsubo’s art style is very stark. He uses lots of shades and plays on black and white backgrounds. It’s a bit of a distraction at times, but you do get used to it. It’s not great by far, but it does get the job done. Fans of the show will love it and people who have never seen the show will enjoy this samurai story. B

School Rumble vols. 9 & 10
Story & Art: Jin Kobayashi
Translation: William Flanagan
Publisher: Del Rey

School Rumble is not Battle Royale if that’s what you are hoping for. I think that’s what I was hoping for when I first started reading the series. Instead I got a romantic comedy and a good one at that. School Rumble tells the comedic/love story of two high school students. The first student is Tenma Tsukamoto, a second-year student who is absolutely in love with a boy, Karasuma Ouji, who's about to transfer to a different school. Of course lots of things have happened in 10 volumes and after the madness that was the previous arc, we finally get to settle down in these volumes. Sure hilarious misunderstandings aren’t as fun as over the top shoot outs, but it still moves the story forward. And what’s a high school drama without a school festival? I think that is a prerequisite in 90% of manga that focus on high school life. Volume 10 brings us Yagami High School’s version of Sleeping Beauty. Of course there is a twist to this tale when Harima is the one that falls asleep and someone has to wake him up. This leads to a face-off between Eri and Yakumo on the stage and then the dance floor. There are a couple of extra stories that focus on a drag race and about Yakumo wanting to find a love of her own. I have to say that while Kobabayashi can deliver some great action scenes his character designs are still bland. The characters all look average, and the fact that this takes place at school most of the time doesn't help getting the characters confused. William Flanagan is one busy guy, I see him translate so much manga in one month, I have no idea how he does it. I bring this up, because translators do more work than they get credit for. They set the mood and tone of the narration and dialogue and that can either make or break the book. In this case however, I have always enjoyed Flanagan’s adaptations and this is no exception. B+

The Wallflower vols. 15 & 16
Story & Art: Tomoko Hayakawa
Translation: David Ury
Publisher: Del Rey

I really have no idea what draws me to this series so much. Sure it’s cute and it’s got a good morbid funny story, but it’s just not something I would normally read. While the story is still morbidly funny, it seems that the creator has finally hit a point where she really needs to start wrapping up the series. It seems she is really dragging out every possible plot point possible. Sunako always seem to have some sort of crisis that involves her being forced to dress up like a lady. Of course she rebels against dressing up and this leads to having people calling her ugly, only to then have her show her inner beauty and it all leads to her acting the way she was before. When Sunako is invited to a reunion party for her class, she runs into her old crush and instead of resolving past problems or coming to a conclusion the romance just goes away. It seems more and more that Chibi Sunako seems to take the center stage. There are some nice chapters that focus on Sunako’s skeletons in the closet that get some closure out of them and those stories were the saving grace of these two volumes. I totally loved the scene in Harajuku, because it reminded me of my trip to Tokyo and the crazy clothes kids were wearing. The reaction the boys have to White Day had me laughing. So yes, it’s not all bad, but I wish there was a light at the end of the tunnel. As always Del Rey does a phenomenal job with the manga extras that include translation notes, author notes, and a preview of the next volume in English. C+