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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 1/14/19

After Hours, Vol. 3 | By Yuhta Nishio | Viz Media – The scenes in this book of the rave, before, after and during, as well as what comes next, are fantastic, and the volume is worth picking up for that reason alone. That said, the romance in this third volume is the weak point. Kei abruptly disappears from Emi’s life right as Emi is ready to move into Kei’s life permanently, and while the family issues that Kei has to deal with are understandable, the author seems to think it’s 1959 and not 2019. You have phones! The journey by bus is a long one, but completely doable! There is no need for the ambiguous “maybe ever after” of this ending. That said, overall I found this series highly enjoyable, and if they want to do a sequel with Emi alone running raves, I’m cool with that too. – Sean Gaffney

Chihayafuru, Vol. 14 | By Yuki Suetsugu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Mizusawa has made it to the semi-finals of the national tournament, facing a team led by Megumu Ousaka, a candidate for Queen. Although Chihaya ultimately loses against her, she makes quite the impression on her opponent and others, causing one observer to think, “I never knew another girl this good existed.” I loved that it’s Desk-kun who seals the team’s ultimate victory, but less than an hour later, they’re facing formidable opponents in the finals. Fujisaki is full of Class A players but Chihaya’s opponent has an additional advantage: her grandmother is the reciter and she’s especially attuned to her nuances. Tense, fun, addictive, emotionally rewarding… I always want more when I get current with this series. – Michelle Smith

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vol. 29-30 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – In Japan, sports manga tend to have varying endings, with either the team winning it all or losing in the semis and resolving to try harder. North America tends to see a lot more of the former, so hope you like our heroes winning. It’s as well-handled as you’d expect, and I really enjoyed the development shown in Kuroko, Kagami, and Akashi here. There’s also a nice epilogue where Riko reminds us there’s a new tournament in the Spring, and they have to recruit! But for now let’s enjoy both their victory and the fact that the old Miracle Generation have mostly resolved their differences. The last shot has the old middle school picture balanced with his high school team, which is lovely to see. Do we get the sequel? – Sean Gaffney

Lovesick Ellie, Vol. 7 | By Fujimomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Last time, I was a little worried that drama fueled by misunderstandings would become the norm for Lovesick Ellie, but I’m happy to report that no longer seems to be the case. While it is true that Ellie’s classmates get the wrong idea about her relationship with Kaname and Ohmi is freaked out by this rival, never at any point does Ohmi think she’s actually cheating on him. In fact, he opens up to Kaname about his insecurities, potentially making a friend in the process, and takes a good look at the kind of boyfriend Kaname could’ve been to her that he presently can’t be. With his focus on acting how other people expect, and remaining the other girls’ princely ideal, he’s never acknowledged Ellie as his girlfriend. Now, he’s ready for people to know how special she is to him. I’m so glad this series is back on track! – Michelle Smith

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 33 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – I will admit the high point of Magi for me was the resolution of my ship, and the rest is just gravy. (Though I did enjoy the naive Alibaba being horrified at having a fight with Morgiana—that seems to have lasted five seconds.) But yeah, Sinbad’s still trying to make the world be at peace, and his methods are growing more and more horrible, as Kou’s dramatic cessation from the Alliance causes him to challenge God and emerge with the “it’s OK if I just mind control everyone to see it my way” solution. Sadly, Aladdin does not see this as anything but despotism. Aladdin is right, of course, but this is still Alibaba’s title, so he gets to mediate between these two. Who will he side with? – Sean Gaffney

Mob Psycho 100, Vol. 1 | By One | Dark Horse – There were several reasons why I was interested in reading Mob Psycho 100, the two most prominent being that One is the original creator of One-Punch Man (which I have been greatly enjoying) and that there was so much excitement surrounding the Mob Psycho 100 anime (which I still need to watch). But the main reason that I’ll continue to read Mob Psycho 100 is that I absolutely loved the first volume. Shigeo is a young man with superhuman powers which he tends to control by suppressing his emotions. Life being life, and middle school being middle school, there’s only so much he can bottle up before exploding. His mentor is Reigen, a spirit medium whose only extraordinary skill seems to be the ability to somehow convince others that he’s a legitimate exorcist despite all evidence to the contrary. Mob Psycho 100 is terrific, with a great sense of quirky humor and heart. – Ash Brown

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 6 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – The volumes of Queen’s Quality seem to alternate between characters saying that Fumi is too weak and characters saying Kyutaro is too weak, and this time around it’s the latter, as he really gets put through the ringer here. The training they have to take on may involve some unsettling looks at Fumi’s background and heritage, which to be fair we’ve known was coming since the first volume. I admit I am somewhat surprised by Ataru’s promotion to sidekick-type character, but he serves it well, though there’s also a nasty flashback to his past I’m sure he’d rather do without. This wasn’t the best volume of Queen’s Quality, but that’s likely as it was transitional, and it’s still pretty solid. – Sean Gaffney

The Water Dragon’s Bride, Vol. 8 | By Rei Toma | VIZ Media – Asahi’s time as a captive in the underworld is brief, though it does afford us a few nice scenes in which the worried Water Dragon God is trying to find her. Instead, most of the volume is focused on Kurose, a boy from our world who seems to have become the plaything of Tokoyami, the god of the underworld. Kurose had a horrible home life and after potentially dying, he wakes in the underworld and is promptly whisked off to a village where he experiences kindness and a loving family for the first time. That is, until war comes and the Water Dragon God refuses to notice his desperation to save someone he cares about. I’m left to wonder… did this all really happen, or was Tokoyami mentally torturing him to create an ally in a vendetta against the Water Dragon God? Very intriguing! – Michelle Smith

The Water Dragon’s Bride, Vol. 8 | By Rei Toma | Viz Media – There was a surprising swerve in this volume. After dealing with rescuing Asahi from turning into a rotting zombie, and seeing the Water Dragon God have to deal with these pesky things called feelings, the rest of the volume is devoted to sketching out the tragic backstory of Kurose, the mini-villain from the end of the last volume. Not only is he merely a useful puppet to the true Big Bad, but he’s also a lot closer to Asahi than she might suspect, and has a suitably tragic backstory—in more than one world. I was expecting the adorable little girl he befriends to be horrible killed, and she is, but that may not be the end for her, unfortunately. Riveting. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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recentanimenews · 6 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 12/12/17

Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage, Vol. 2 | By Leiji Matsumoto and Kouiti Shimaboshi | Seven Seas – Harlock has a scar. This is useful information in this volume, as in some panels it’s the only way to tell that you’re looking at him and not Tadashi, who has that same hair that seems to be blowing in the wind even in the corridors of a spaceship. The highlight of this second volume, though, may be the flashback to the first meeting of Harlock and Tochiro, which we’ve seen before in other adaptations and no doubt will again, but is always fun to show off what a badass Tochiro is despite looking like a short creepy guy. There’s also more drama from the Mazon, who now have a bounty out on Harlock. Dimensional Voyage continues to be a decent adaptation in any case. – Sean Gaffney

Cells at Work!, Vol. 5 | By Akane Shimizu | Kodansha Comics – We reunite with a cell with a history of befriending germs. He’s feeling lonely and bored, and wishes he could save someone and earn their gratitude. The chance presents itself and he ends up saving… some cute bacteria. Turns out, they’re good bacteria, and the whole volume consists of White Blood Cell giving the cell a tour of the digestive system, during which each variety of good bacteria finds its specialty and ends up saving the day. The cell bravely protects the bacteria throughout, and meanwhile we get an actually fairly dramatic return of Cancer Cell who is being protected by a regulatory cell, and who pitches his version of utopia in which the body’s cells revolt and refuse to kill each other for the body’s sake. There was almost some kind of plot there for a second! All in all, this was a pretty fun volume. – Michelle Smith

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 13 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – You never quite know from chapter to chapter what kind of Centaur’s Life you’ll get. Sometimes the “wtf” comes from the historical or political chapters, such as the retelling of the movie The Thing with snakes, or the ongoing war with the frogs (and their human advisor). But oftentimes it’s also with our main cast. We get another chapter devoted to Michi and Mitsu, the lesbian couple in the series, which shows us that one is the heir to a yakuza family, complete with assassination attempts. And sometimes there’s bizarre dream sequences, like Suu and Hime setting fire to the creepiest “factory” you’ve ever seen. Sure, sometimes we get adorable toddler sequences, but they’re fewer and fewer in number. The author has dreams, that’s for sure. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 21 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – More exams, and much as I’m enjoying these chapters the arc is already feeling dragged out. Turns out that when you actively try to suppress the resisters by cheating, it doesn’t work, as they’re clever enough—and good enough chefs—to get around such petty tricks. Which leaves more time for sightseeing in Hokkaido and bonding with unusual pairings—I was amused at seeing Ikumi, Isami, Erina and Megumi walking around town and thinking it’s an unusual group, only for Isami to say the exact same thing. Things may get harder soon, though, as now Soma has to fight Hayama, and the ingredient is absolutely stacked in his favor. Is this the end for our hero? Well, no. But find out why next time. – Sean Gaffney

Giant Killing, Vol. 8 | By Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – ETU’s game against Osaka continues, though it’s not going well, as the first half ends with the score 2-0. And yet Tatsumi smirks, sure that his counterattack is going to be effective. Soon, though, it becomes clear that he had misjudged Natsuki’s confidence, as the latter fumbles chance after chance that his teammates worked their butts off to create. Seeing the continued growth of ETU members is great, but I also really liked getting a glimpse inside the mind of Kubota, one of the Osaka forwards, who looks plain and unassuming, but who makes great split-second decisions (wholly unlike Natsuki) and who spurs Tsubaki to greatness. I kind of want him to join ETU, in fact, though that seems unlikely. The volume concludes before the match does, so I am definitely looking forward to volume nine! – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 18 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – Karasuno has made it to the finals of the qualifying round, where they’re up against the prefectural favorite, Shiratorizawa. They lost the first set, but in the second they’re starting to get a hang for how to combat their powerhouse rival. Surprisingly, Tsukishima is utterly key to this, as he’s the one who figures out some of their patterns and timing, and starts blocking them in such a way that allows Nishinoya to do his thing. Somehow, Tsukishima has really endeared himself to me lately, and I love seeing him actually get fired up and relentless about something in his own way. (I also adored the Potteresque poster at the end featuring him!) The volume ends with each team struggling to make two consecutive points and take the second set. How does this series manage to become even more nail-bitey each time?! Not that I’m complaining. – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 18 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – The evolution of Tsukishima from “tall grumpy asshole” to “CLEVER tall grumpy asshole” has been highly rewarding, and this volume shows off his maturation to excellent effect, to the point where he actually leads some of the strategy. He’d do well in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, I think. Nishinoya is also impressive throughout, and there are the occasional moments for our two leads. It’s still a tight game, though, and we get a lot of chapters devoted to showing us that while they have one really talented guy, that’s not quite all they have. The cliffhanger shows us veering back and forth between set points, but this is best 3-of-5, so I’m sure we have a ways to go. Excellent sports manga. – Sean Gaffney

Helvetica Standard: Italic | By Keiichi Arawi | Vertical Comics – As with the first volume, we start with the Helvetica Standard 4-komas. They have the strange sense of humor we know and love from Arawi, but do suffer a bit from lacking a lovable main cast—there are some recurring roles, but it’s even more random than Nichijou was. After this we get the original art that was used for the DVD/Blu-Ray covers, and again I like the way he works surreal art styles into them. He enjoys playing with the space given to him, sometimes in a very Escher way, and dislikes leaving blank space when he can fill it with something else. This is inessential, but I was pleased to see it anyway, and it’s whetted my appetite for the new series City in the spring. -Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vol. 17-18 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – As you’d expect, Seirin have managed to score some points by the end of this omnibus, so they aren’t shut out. Things still aren’t looking good, though, despite their amazing secret weapon—Kuroko actually shooting and scoring! He’s sort of hit-and-miss, but it’s another unpredictable aspect to his game. Things aren’t going nearly as well for Kagami, who’s finding it very hard to get past the huge and somewhat arrogant Murasakibara on the other team. He wants to get back in ‘the zone,’ but easier said than done. As for Kiyoshi, well, he’s still injured, and thus can’t contribute the way he wants. Though hopefully Riko beating the injury out of him offscreen may help. Exciting stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 2 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – After some terrifying sequences last time, we’re dealing with the aftermath—a lot of the students that Ms. Hayashi had been “dealing with” are also infested with bugs. As for Ms. Hayashi herself, she’s dying—and only Fumi seems to want to try to take the “save her” option. Of course, saving her might involve becoming the Black Queen again, but Fumi is able to move past that and become… possibly Fuyu? Whoever it is that takes over Fumi, she brings a memory of the traumatic death of her mother with her. But it’s not all drama and thrilling tension—Fumi’s choice of a weapon to fight with is a gag that will make you laugh hysterically, something Motomi excels at. Definitely recommended for shoujo fans. – Sean Gaffney

Waiting for Spring, Vol. 3 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – This third volume shows off more of the love triangle between Mitsuki, Towa and Aya, but two of those three are just so awkward that there’s not really any danger of sparks flying—even the one-on-one basketball game between the two guys is cut short by Mitsuki, who has a sneaking suspicion it would go badly for Towa. We also get the addition of another female friend, not always something that happens in a shoujo series. She’s shy but also straightforward, and has a pretty obvious crush, so I hope their friendship can survive things. This isn’t top-drawer shoujo, but it’s pleasant enough, and the lead girl is indecisive but not dragged around by the plot as much as some. – Sean Gaffney

Welcome to the Ballroom, Vol. 8 | By Tomo Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – It’s not that this volume of Welcome to the Ballroom is bad by any stretch, but for 99% of it, Tatara and Chinatsu are failing to communicate as partners, and it’s a bit excruciating. I suppose enduring this does make it all the sweeter when they finally achieve a few measures of harmony whilst competing in the Metropolitan Tournament, though. I did enjoy seeing Tatara briefly looking manly, and it seems like he’s on the verge of overcoming his timid personality. There are a couple of brief panels that look like Tatara’s mother abandoning the family when Tatara was a kid, which suggests he’s afraid to drive people away by really expressing himself, but Chinatsu is just the one to demand that from him. After all of their struggles, it sure will be gratifying to see them get it together. – Michelle Smith

By: Michelle Smith

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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