About Heroes

Fate Stay Night vol.1
Story: TYPE-MOON
Art: Dat Nishiwaki
Translation: Lori Riser
Adaptation: Jake Forbes
Publisher: Tokyopop

As an avid toy collector I buy stuff all the time that I have no idea what series or books is based on. A few years ago I bought a set of Fate Stay Night Gashapon figures. I didn’t care where these figures were from, I loved the character designs. It turned out the characters came from a visual novel PC game. That game was then adapted into a TV series, which serves as the basis of this manga. We are introduced to Shirou Emiya and his quest to follow in his stepfather’s footsteps and become a hero of justice. It turns out that his stepfather was a Magus. When faced with death, instead of crossing over to the other side, but is put through a test to see how much of a hero he wants to be. He has been chosen to participate in the Holy Grail War. If he wins he will have his every desire granted. There are seven magi that are also gambling their lives in order to achieve this goal. Now the highlight of this manga is Shirou’s servant Sabre. She is the badass chick on the cover and is summoned to protect her master. Overall it was a rollercoaster ride of great kick ass action and then your typical RPG inspired manga, where the story slows down to introduce the rest of the characters. It was during the slowing down parts that I found the manga to get a bit boring, maybe it was just the way the dialogue was written. It ends with a good cliffhanger and I can’t wait to see what happens next. B-

Goth
Story: Otsuichi
Art: Kendi Oiwa
Translation: Lori Riser
Adaptation: Anothony C. Andora
Publisher: Tokyopop

I kept flipping the book upside down trying to figure out which way the picture was supposed to be. It’s a very catchy cover with limited use of colors and you know a naked chick always gets my attention. The manga is based on the novel that was also published by Tokyopop and it’s a story about two high school students, one being the narrator of the book Itsuki Kamiyama and the other, a girl named Yoru Morino. Both happened to share something in common and that happens to be their obsession with death. The manga is split up into four separate stories: Wristcut, Goth, Grave, and Twins. Morino and Kamiyama first meet, because Kamiyama wanted Morino’s hands due to the slash marks on her wrists. This all leads to a teacher that has an obsession with hands and likes to collect them. The remaining three stories all have different deaths and show the characters have different fascinations with the murders and suicides. For some reason when I started reading this I was reminded of Harold and Maude (yeah, I admit it I love that movie). Being a huge fan of the horror genre I am glad I read something creepy in just in time for Halloween. There is plenty of gore and shocks to creep you out and it does happen to be a standalone volume. I highly recommend this manga. A+

Kyo Kara MAOH! Vol. 1
Story & Art: Temari Matsumoto
Original story: Tomo Takabayashi
Translation: Jennifer Pan
Adaptation: Karen S. Ahlstrom
Publisher: Tokyopop

I never know what to expect when I see some manga covers. I knew that this was an anime series, but had no clue what the concept was about. I have to say that the story had me hooked from the moment that Yuri Shibuya gets transported into another world by being flushed down the toilet. Hey, all the guy was trying to do was stop some bullies from picking on another student. He is now strayed in the Demon Kingdom and is crowned the king and has to lead the Mazoku race to a war against human kind. Only problem is, that he happens to be human too. Although I have read many many manga that featured a typical school girl that gets transported to another world surrounded by good looking guys; this is the first time I have read a manga where the main protagonist is a man too. This is manga has to be some young girl’s dream come true. Plenty of pretty boys with plenty of humor and action to keep even boys interested in reading this series. The only thing I would have loved to see more of is the action in the plot. Can’t wait for volume 2. A

To Terra vol. 1
Story & Art: Keiko Takemiya
Translation: Dawn T. Laabs
Publisher: Vertical

Just two weeks ago I finished the great Andromeda Stories trilogy and I couldn’t wait to open up To Terra. It’s really hard to believe that this book was originally published over 30 years ago. To me it doesn’t seem to have aged at all in terms of art and a great story. This is another trilogy by the same translation team that brought us Andromeda Stories. In the distant future humans are no longer reproducing the same way (keeping it clean), but instead are a product of a universal computer. However, like most computers; there are problems that cause mutants to be born that are known as the Mu. These Mu are forced into exile by The System. Jomy Marcus Shin is a 14 year old raised as a normal human being with latent telepathic powers. He is captured by the Mu to become their new leader and lead them back to Terra. The art stands out as unique as it did back 30 years ago. It feels both retro and progressive. Takemiya’s settings and organic spaceships are simply awing to look at in each page. The only problem that I had with the entire book was that Jomy sounded like a brat for the first third of the book. While this may seem to “old school” for some, I think if you get passed the idea of what manga should look like, you will be pleasantly surprised. A-