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Negima! Magister Negi Magi Spotlight
Story & Art: Ken AkamatsuTranslations: Douglas Varenas, Toshifumi Yoshida, and othersAdaptation: Peter David, Trish Ledoux, Kathleen O’shea David, Ikoi Hiroe, and othersPublisher: Del Rey Over the last month I have been reading Negima Magister Negi Magi just about every chance I got. After reading the first 15 volumes of this series and having read the entire Love Hina series, I have come to the realization that Ken Akamatsu has made a living off of underdog boys and girls who inexplicably adore them. I really have no idea how something like this could work in real life, these wimpy guys get all the chicks. That’s it I’m going to stop working…
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Midweek Manga Reviews: From Air Gears to fighting Reindeer
Air Gear vol. 6Story & Art: Oh Great!Translation: Makoto YukanLetterer: NMSGPublisher: Del Rey After a long streak of love story manga, I decided to go back to my true roots and read something with plenty of action and plenty of fan service. Thank God for Air Gear! Back to the world of high-tech inline skating, intense battling/racing, and gorgeous half naked women. Who could ask for anything more? In this volume Ikki(Itsuki Minami) learns a little about Rika’s past, which of course revolves around the Sleeping Forest and Sora. Instead of learning a lesson from hearing about Sora’s tragic past, Ikki sets a new goal; to be the new storm.…
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Catwoman # 77 Review
Writer: Will PfeifferPenciller: David LopezInker: Alvaro LopezCover: Adam Hughes Most of the time Adam Hughes’ covers don’t really bother me. They usually don’t have anything to do with the interior of the book. Half naked women with T&A everywhere, but hey he’s just doing what the editor tells him to do. While this issue is a tie-in with Salvation Run, with the exception of Joker, none of those villains make an appearance. I wonder how his All Star Wonder Woman is coming along? He’s been working on that since 2006? While Pfeiffer manages to keep his title character in the spotlight amidst all the crossovers and tie-ins and this Salvation…
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Midweek Manga Reviews: Fairy Tails and more folklores!
Bastard!! Vol. 16Story & Art: Kazushi HagiwaraTranslation: Kaori Kawakubo InoueAdaptation: Sean McCoyPublisher: Viz All hell broke loose literally with the release of the last volume. This volume doesn’t back down from all that intense action either. Hagiwara has finally found an art style that he is comfortable with and the action sequences have never looked better. Dark Schneider is still roaming in hell chatting with Satan while Lars, Zakk, and the others continue to fight the Seraphs. Lucien attempts to convince the Angels that human beings are worth saving but his calls for mercy go unheard. Meanwhile, Yoko comes to the realization that she is the one who has been…
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Midweek Manga Reviews: Devils in love and girls with guns!
Devil’s BrideStory & Art: Se-Young KimTranslation: Hyun Joo KimAdaptation: Lorelei LairdPublisher: Tokyopop That cover threw me for a loop because I really had no idea what it had to do with the story, well until there is a revelation about sixty pages into the book. The devil has been living in the forest alone for a long time. He gets a visit from an old friend, Jya and informs Jya that he is looking for a human bride. He wants to purchase one, because after all he is the devil and women just don’t throw themselves at him. A young girl approaches him one day and states that she is…
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Midweek Manga Reviews: From Goddesses to talking toys!
Minima! Vol.1Story & Art: Machiko SakuraiTranslation: Athena NibleyAdaptation: Alethea NibleyPublisher: Del Rey I can’t imagine what it would have been like to grow up without a favorite stuffed animal. My toy rabbit was my buddy when I was a kid and I would have given anything for him to come to life. Well that’s exactly what happens to Ame Oikawa. She is a shy schoolgirl that happens to be in love with the cutest guy in the school Sasaki; she also finds a stuffed animal that is already alive. Nicori is a little meerkat doll (I still think he looks like a mouse) that has a mind of his own…
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Monday Manga Reviews: Girls in love and Girls that are just insane!
Excel Saga vol. 16Story & Art: Rikdo KoshiTranslation: Yuko SawadaAdaptation: Carl Gustav HornPublisher: Viz I can’t even begin to explain how insane this series is. Some of my friends ask me why I even bother reading the manga when the anime is superior (according to them). I just answer by letting them know that the director himself stated that the stories in the manga were too insane and risqué to put in the anime. In this volume Dr. Kabapu is literally getting sick at the thought of the stunning success of Il Palazzo’s eponymous electronics firm. Umi has discovered another version of Excel, a woman in a torn prison outfit…
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Monday Manga Reviews: oh…and…some manhwa too!
Basara vol. 16Story & Art: Yumi TamuraTranslation: Lillian OlsenAdaptation: Gerard JonesPublisher: Viz There was a series called Chicago that I highly enjoyed when Viz ran their Animerica Extra Magazine. When I found out that Yumi Tamura had another series called Basara I jumped on from volume one and now I seem to be playing catch-up. This is probably one of the defining shojo titles of the 1990s, so don’t let the artwork keep you away from checking out this title. The story takes place in an apocalyptic future where evil kings rule and have tight grips on their kingdoms and peasants using murder and destruction. When Tatara, the Child of…
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Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Spotlight!
Creators: CLAMPTranslation & Adaptation: William FlanaganLetterer: Dana HaywardPublisher: Del Rey When Tsubasa first started back in 2004, I picked up volume 1. Del Rey was a fairly new company and I wanted to see what they had to offer from one of their first manga titles. I really thought that the concept was an interesting one. Taking all the characters from the CLAMP universe and putting them together in one book was a great idea that had worked on such titles like Exiles in the Marvel Universe. If you didn’t know CLAMP is a four member group of manga creators that have been around for almost 20 years. Being a…
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Monday Manga Reviews: From guys with giant swords to students with demon powers!
As you may have noticed last week there was no Monday Manga Reviews and it’s not because we got lazy (well I guess we could have sped-read through some books, but I’m glad we don’t do that). It’s because we got a double dosage of books coming up this week, but you’ll see, so for now on to the reviews! Berserk vol. 20Story & Art: Kentaro MiuraTranslation: Duane JohnsonLettering & Retouch: ReplibooksPublisher: Dark Horse After many years and volumes Guts and Casca are briefly reunited in this volume. But it wouldn’t be Berserk if they weren’t reunited amidst a heard of demons and angel/demon amalgamations. It seems that the demons…