About Heroes

Momo Tama vol. 1
Story & Art: Nanae Chrono
Translation: Beni Axia Conrad
Adaptation: Lorelei Laird
Publisher: Tokyopop

I thought the artwork seemed familiar. Funny enough I read two books by Nanae Chrono this past week. It took me a long time to realize that Kokonose is not coming out of an egg, but he is coming out of a peach. Anyway….on to the small summary. Kokonose Mutsu is a cute little guy, who also happens to be a descendant of ogres who were banished from their own island. You see in ancient Japan the mythical Japanese hero Momotaro defeated and banished all the ogres from their own island. Now Kokonose wants to reclaim that home that has been turned into a military school for ogre exterminators. Of course things don’t go as plan because everything gets in the way and he ends up getting enrolled in the school. The only thing he has managed to do is let everyone know he is going to take his land back and overthrow the current Momotaro. It’s a little different than Peacemaker and Peacemaker Kuragane. The main character is adorably cute and has powers that can take down his enemies. The story is really easy to follow and everything starts coming together, even though it has plenty of Japanese folklore like the boy born from a peach. Please don’t let the pink make you think that this is a girly manga (not that there is anything wrong with those). B

Peace Maker Kurogane vol. 1
Story & Art: Nanae Chrono
Translation: Bruce Dorsey
Adaptation: Christine Boylan
Publisher: Tokyopop

As I mentioned in the review right above this one; I happened to have read two Nanae Chrono manga this week. This one however is a little different because it is inspired by the anime series of the same name. I had never watched the anime of Peace Maker, but two years ago I got to read the manga and I became hooked on the story. I did cheat and went ahead and watched the anime of Peace Maker Kurogane and the first thing I noticed was the character designs. In the anime the characters looked very bubbly and with strong defining lines, but in the manga they look very dark and sketchy at times. The artwork matches the personalities of each character, from the mysterious Hajime to the seriousness of Tatsunosuke. There is really nothing to compare about in Chrono's work here; sure it’s not original in any way at all, but it still felt refreshing, which I think works better for a story like this. Speaking of story, this is a follow-up to the original Peace Maker series. Three months have passed since the incidents in the original story and now the Shinsengumi is the peacekeeping force in Kyoto. Tetsunosuke and his brother Tatsunosuke are back and still trying to get revenge for the death of their parents. It may be a little confusing to new readers, but it’s a story about samurai, sword fighting, and historical Japan it might be to your best interest to check this book out. A-

Tsubasa: Those with Wings volume 1
Story & Art: Natsuki Takaya
Translation: Kinami Watanabe
Adaptation: Stephanie Duchin
Publisher: Tokyopop

Let’s just make this clear that this book has absolutely nothing to do with CLAMP’s Tsubasa series that is published by Del Rey. I guess it’s only fair to say that the Japanese word Tsubasa means wing. You may have heard the name Natsuki Takaya before. Tokyopop also publishes Takaya’s other series Fruit Basket, which is a bestselling manga that is almost finished here in America. Tsubasa shares very little aspects with Fruits Basket. This is more of an adventure quest than a shojo manga. Orphan and ex-thief Kotobuki has a love/hate relationship with military commander Raimon and they have to team up to find the legendary Tsubasa, a legendary object that grants its beholder any wish. Other people want this Tsubasa and want to hire Raimon and Kotobuki. The story was written and drawn in the mid 90’s and you can really tell from the artwork alone. The character designs look very generic and the facial expressions are emotionless at times. Raimon has a dark past, but it’s really difficult to see this come across with the artwork. The story is intriguing enough for me to keep getting the series; I just hope they keep with the same 400+ pages for 15 bucks. There is also a 25 page preview of Phantom Dream, another manga by Takaya included in the back. This is definitely a book worth checking out. B

Yokaiden volume 1
Story & Art: Nina Matsumoto
Publisher: Del Rey

I had no idea that Del Rey was doing any OEL (Original English Language) until I checked out The Reformed last year. This seems to be their latest OEL manga from the lady that brought you the manga style Simpsons artwork. Yokai are Japanese spirits that can be anything from mischievous to deadly. This doesn’t matter to Hamachi, because he just wants to be friends with all of them. When his grandmother is apparently murdered at the hands of a Yokai, Hamachi journeys into their realm. Along his way he runs into different kinds of spirits and particularly two who befriend him a talking lantern and a talking umbrella. In between chapters there is Inukai Mizuki’s Field Guide to Yokai. These are notes to differentiate the different spirits that live in this realm. I found myself loving this book. It was full of adventure, comedy, and a dramatic pursuit for the truth. It has very smart and snappy dialogue, which brings a light-heartedness to what could have been a dark story. The art I’m still trying to get used to. It really does look like one of those How to Draw Manga books, but it is very clear and easy to follow. I’m excited to see where this series takes us. A