Monday Manga Reviews: Back on schedule with Goddesses, endless love, spirals, knockout makers, kids with powers, and shaman!

Deja-vu: A Love Story
Story Youn in-wan
Art: Lots!
Translation: Woo Sok Park
Adaptation: Ren Zatopek
Publisher: Tokyopop
Funny enough, just a couple of weeks ago I rented Déjà vu with Denzel Washington and I thought the movie was great. When I saw the title to this book, I really wasn’t in the mood for a love story. About an hour and a half later I was so glad that I picked up the book, because I couldn’t put it down. The title includes spring, summer, fall, and winter because Dejavu is a story of unfulfilled love that takes place through different seasons and years. Through different seasons and different eras in time, two lovers cross paths again and again, trying for that one chance to get it right this time around. Although they have different lives at different points in history, one thing remains constant; their love for each other. The stories span from the beginning of history, WWII-era Japan, modern-day America, and the far distant future, and let me say that by the time the book ends you will be cheering for their love to go on. Although the overall story is continuous each of the four episodes is drawn by a different artist. Each artist breathes their own life into the story making it more enjoyable. There are a couple of short stories in the back along with an afterward by Clamp. By far my favorite story is fall with art by Kim Tae-Hyung. His artwork is completely amazing, it’s got that perfect blend of East meets west; I couldn’t be more satisfied with the art in this beautiful story. It’s a standalone book that I recommend to the romantic fools in all of us. A+

Knockout Makers vol.1
Story & Art: Kyoko Hashimoto
Translations: Jeremiah Bourque
Retouch & Lettering: Star Print Brokers
Publisher: Tokyopop

Mover over Extreme Make Over, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and What Not to Wear; because here comes the Knockout Makers! The concept is simple enough three guys are an urban legend in their city and turn out to be real. Toshiro, Nobuo, and Ryohei are the three mysterious beauticians that can take an average girl and turn her into a knockout. There you go! Anything from a hairdo, nails, makeup, to a simple push of confidence these guys are up for the challenge. There are six girls that introduced in the first volume and they range from a tomboy to a girl who wants to look like her idol. While the concept reminds me of the aforementioned shows, the guys really aren’t as vicious as their TV counterparts. While they do end up transforming the girls, they also give them the pep talk so they can find their inner confidence that they lack in the first place. For example the girl that is too skinny just needed someone to let her know that she doesn’t have to look like the fashion models. The only thing working against Hashimoto’s story is unfortunately the artwork. The problem is that it’s too perfect. Everyone looks like stereotypical shojo characters: pretty. This really works against the idea of what these women are supposed to look like before their makeover. The story also seems very repetitive and by the end of the book I am wondering how they are going to keep going for another volume. B-