Animania

July 2008 Purchases

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 23:52:27 -0400

Semi-small month, comparitively, as I was conserving most funds for the move.

Chibi Vampire: The Novel, Volume 05 (07/21/2008)
Ballad of a Shinigami, Volume 02 (07/23/2008)
Delivery Cupid (07/23/2008)
I Shall Never Return, Volume 01 (07/23/2008)
Nana, Volume 11 (07/23/2008)
Rave Master, Volume 29 (07/23/2008)
Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning, Volume 04 (07/23/2008)
Voices Of Love (07/23/2008)
Blood+ Volume 2: Chevalier (07/25/2008)
Kurogane Communication, Volume 01 (07/25/2008)
Chibi Vampire, Volume 09 (07/29/2008)
Fruits Basket, Volume 20 (07/29/2008)

Got this one at such a great deal, I had to snag it!

Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok: Complete Collection (07/17/2008)

June 2008 Purchases

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:55:59 -0400

Not very much manga this month, due to all the anime! One, Platinum Garden is a new series, but with Tokyopop's cancelling a bunch of stuff, I suspect this one won't get finished.

Platinum Garden, Volume 01 (06/07/2008)
A Love Song For The Miserable (06/11/2008)

June not only saw my usual grabbing of goodies from DeepDiscount's twice a year sale, but also RightStuf putting almost all Geneon volumes on sale for $5 each! Suffice to say, I went to town!

Blood+, Part One (06/19/2008)

E's Otherwise: Complete Collection (06/19/2008)

R.O.D. - Read or Die (06/19/2008)

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World: Complete Collection (06/19/2008)

3x3 Eyes, Volume 1: Immortals (06/20/2008)

3x3 Eyes, Volume 2: Legend of the Divine Demon (06/20/2008)

A Little Snow Fairy Sugar, Volume 1: Sweet Mischief (06/20/2008)

A Little Snow Fairy Sugar, Volume 3: The Bear Pianist (06/20/2008)

A Little Snow Fairy Sugar, Volume 4: Magical Sparkling Days (06/20/2008)

A Little Snow Fairy Sugar, Volume 5: Home Sweet Home (06/20/2008)

A Little Snow Fairy Sugar: Special (06/20/2008)

Ai Yori Aoshi, Volume 1: Faithfully Yours (06/20/2008)

Ai Yori Aoshi, Volume 2: My Dearest (06/20/2008)

Ai Yori Aoshi, Volume 3: Hugs and Kisses (06/20/2008)

Ai Yori Aoshi, Volume 4: Truly Yours (06/20/2008)

Ai Yori Aoshi, Volume 5: With All My Heart (06/20/2008)

Haibane-Renmei, Volume 1: New Feathers (06/20/2008)

Haibane-Renmei, Volume 2: Wings of Sorrow (06/20/2008)

Haibane-Renmei, Volume 3: Free Bird (06/20/2008)

Haibane-Renmei, Volume 4: Day of Flight (06/20/2008)

Star Ocean EX, Volume 1: The Inception (06/20/2008)

Star Ocean EX, Volume 2: The Dragon's Teeth (06/20/2008)

Star Ocean EX, Volume 3: Magical Moonlit Flowers (06/20/2008)

Star Ocean EX, Volume 4: Ruins and Hopes (06/20/2008)

Star Ocean EX, Volume 5: El Continent (06/20/2008)

Star Ocean EX, Volume 6: The Legendary Warrior (06/20/2008)

Tokyo Underground, Volume 1: Awakening (06/20/2008)

Tokyo Underground, Volume 2: Irruption (06/20/2008)

Tokyo Underground, Volume 3: The Promise (06/20/2008)

Tokyo Underground, Volume 4: Assailants (06/20/2008)

Tokyo Underground, Volume 5: Convictions (06/20/2008)

Tokyo Underground, Volume 6: Into the Light (06/20/2008)

Tsukihime, Lunar Legend, Volume 1: Life Threads (06/20/2008)

Tsukihime, Lunar Legend, Volume 2: Lunar Dance (06/20/2008)

Tsukihime, Lunar Legend, Volume 3: Nocturnal Fate (06/20/2008)

A Love Song for the Miserable

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:48:13 -0400

Note: As I'm in the process of moving, expect reviews to continue to be fairly sporadic until August, as much of my manga is now packed.

A Love Song for the Miserable is a single volume yaoi title from the seemingly unknown, single named mangaka Yukimura. It was published here in North America by Digital Manga Publishing under their June label back in May. I decided to give it a whirl after reading a favorable review of the title over on AnimeOnDVD.com. Being from DMP, it features the usual large book size, a nice color dust jacket and high quality pages and printing.

Itsuki Asada works for a large department store. When his request to be transferred to his dream department, events planning, is denied, he drowns his sorrows in alcohol and ends up laying in a bush crying. He's found by Iwasaki Sunao, normally just called Nao, who got lost while jogging and thinking. He pulls Asada from the bush and, sobered up, Asada gives him directions. In exchange, Nao tells him to drop his shop. Feeling more and more depressed about his job, Asada finds the paper with the shop's address and decides to visit. This starts a friendship between the two men, as Asada becomes new pastry chef Nao's personal taste tester. Alas, when Nao decides he should go to France to study more, Asada reacts badly, leaving things bitter between them. At this point, the story jumps ahead three years, finding Asada finally in the events department and Nao the pastier at a new shop who is already receiving tons of praise. Asada must inject himself back into Nao's life to try to get the chef to be a participant in a baking event at the store. These two must now deal with the past, and with the feelings that caused them to both react as they did. They must also decide what kind of future they want, and if it should include one another.

I don't know if this is Yukimura's first work or not, but if it is it is certainly a good one. She has an excellent art style, with her men looking like men without the ridiculously sharp pointed chins often seen in these series. Instead, their chins are more normally proportioned, while still being "manly." Her characters are all distinctive looking, with good facial expressions, and her drawings of the desserts were so well detailed I wanted them to come off the page so I could eat them! I like both central characters. Asada is so miserable, I can't help pitying him. He has a lot of issues with his work, and really just wants to be needed. When he finds his own little paradise, losing it really hurts him. Nao also has an interesting personality, hurt by Asada's reaction and a little slow to realize why. As whole, it has a good story, with some nice resolution and just the right amount of interaction with others without getting distracted by them. It was particularly nice to read a yaoi title that didn't fall back on having some former friend/coworker etc decide they suddenly want to have one of the main characters. The only thing causing problems for Asada and Nao are their own personalities and unwillingness to be honest with their feelings. I highly recommend this one for anyone tired of the usual high schoolers, love triangles, and ultra-pointy chins. This is two adult men, just trying to deal feelings they never expected to feel.

Rating: A

Blood+: First Kiss

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:05:00 -0400

Back in February, I reviewed the first volume of the Blood+ manga adaptation. As I mentioned there, in addition to the manga adaptation, two light novel adaptations of the original Blood+ anime series were written and published in Japan. Both are licensed by Dark Horse, and the first volume of the main series, also entitled Blood+, has been released. Written by Ryo Ikehata, the series is illustrated by Chizu Hasahi. Each volume is subtitled, so to avoid confusion for the rest of the review, I'll refer to this first volume by its subtitle of First Kiss. Unlike with the manga, the main novel series is a fairly straight novelization of the anime events, with First Kiss covering the events in the first fourteen episodes of the series, with the introduction of the characters and Chiropterans, and the trip to Vietnam. All of the novels are divided into two "books", which each book divided into two parts and each part into varying numbers of chapters.

For those unfamiliar with the anime series, Blood+ tell the story of Saya Otonashi, a high school girl with amnesia who can't remember anything of her life beyond the last year. Her otherwise normal life is destroyed when she encounters monsters called Chiropterans, and discovers that she is the only one who is capable of killing them. Joined by the mysterious Hagi, who is her companion, and taken into the care of an organization called the Red Shield, each battle with Chiropterans causes Saya to learn more about the past she has forgotten, a past she realizes she needs to remember if she wants to protect her brothers and her new found companions, not only from the monsters, but from herself.

While the series is a novelization of the show and follows events pretty much right on track with the episodes, it adds more descriptions and more in-depth views of the characters thoughts and reactions to events. David, in particularly, comes across more sympathetically here than he did in the first parts of the anime, and Riku as being less bland. The writing is very well done, flowing well with descriptives that not only helped me remember the scenes from the anime, but visual them with greater depth. I also got a better feel for the individual characters and their motivations. Dark Horse's translation of the work is good, with only one or two minor typos. Like most companies releasing light novels, Dark Horses released the work in the typical manga size, though they did choose to keep the full color front pieces. All in all, this was an excellent read, and it was nice to have a novel keep me busy awhile instead of the usual quick 30 minute read of the typical manga volume. I'm looking forward to picking up the second of the four volumes, Chevalier, in July.

Rating: A

May 2008 Purchases

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:35:30 -0400

Mmm....yeah, I got happy again All caught up on RM's available volumes, and cauht up on TB as well.

Ceres, Celestial Legend, Volume 02: Yuhi (05/03/2008)
Chibi Vampire, Volume 08 (05/23/2008)
Rave Master, Volume 14 (05/23/2008)
Rave Master, Volume 28 (05/23/2008)
Shaolin Sisters: Reborn, Volume 02 (05/23/2008)
Shaolin Sisters: Reborn, Volume 03 (05/23/2008)
Shaolin Sisters: Reborn, Volume 04 (05/23/2008)
Trinity Blood - Reborn on the Mars, Volume 02: The Iblis (05/23/2008)
Trinity Blood, Volume 01 (05/23/2008)
Trinity Blood, Volume 03 (05/23/2008)
Love Mode, Volume 09 (05/28/2008)
Rave Master, Volume 23 (05/28/2008)
Rave Master, Volume 24 (05/28/2008)
Rave Master, Volume 25 (05/28/2008)
Rave Master, Volume 26 (05/28/2008)
Rave Master, Volume 27 (05/28/2008)
Shaolin Sisters: Reborn, Volume 01 (05/28/2008)
Trinity Blood, Volume 06 (05/28/2008)
Blood+, Volume 02 (05/30/2008)
Nana, Volume 10 (05/30/2008)
Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning, Volume 03 (05/30/2008)

Fall In Love Like a Comic

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:39:24 -0400

Fall in Love Like a Comic is a short, two volume series from Chitose Yagami that takes a look at high school mangaka (manga writer) who writes shojo manga but as never had a boyfriend. It was originally serialized in Japan's Ciao magazine in late 2002. Viz released the series as two volumes, however the second volume is really a separate sequel that was serialized sporadically in in Ciao and another magazine, Chuchu. Still, the two flow together very nicely, so I can see why Viz made the choice to just release as a whole story. I decided to pick it up after reading the first chapter when it was previewed in an issue of Shojo Beat.

The story focuses on Rena Sakura, a high schooler who hides the fact that she is a successful, professional mangaka from most people. Her best friend teases her about writing smutty manga when she's never even been on date, while her editor has mentioned that having actual experience would only make her writing even better. Enter Tomoyo Okita, a gorgeous schoolmate who stumbles on Rena's secret. With her editor's words still ringing in her ears, Rena impulsively asks Tomoyo to date her so she can gain experience. When he accepts though, she soon finds herself wanting to be more than Tomoyo's fake girlfriend, not realizing he wants her to stop seeing him as some perfect shojo manga boyfriend.

Though short, Fall in Love Like a Comic is a short, but fun series. Rena is cute and her surprising vulnerability and insecurities about her looks and whether Tomoyo really finds her attractive are a nice touch. With her success and popularity, one might have expected her to be more arrogant or aggressive. My only minor annoyance is that Yagami drew Rena in such a way that she looks like a elementary or middle schooler. Very small, short, with big huge eyes and a child-like figure. She's the only character given such an appearance, and its jarring at first to see her then sharing rather heated kisses with Tomoyo, who looks like a normal high school boy. Still,

Rating: B+

Chibi Vampire: The Novel, Volume 1

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:07:54 -0400

Okay, it isn't quite as soon as I'd been planning, but as I mentioned in my last review, in addition to the Chibi Vampire manga series, I'm reading the Chibi Vampire: The Novel series. The novel series is written by Tohru Kai, with the manga's writer Yuna Kagesaki providing the illustrations. The first novel was published a few months after the manga was released. So far, most light novel series I read that tie into an manga and/or anime series are either straight adaptations (like Blood+) or the original source material (Trinity Blood). Chibi Vampire: The Novel is neither. Instead, it is actually neatly tied into the manga, fitting within the manga story line at various points. The first novel is set between the events in volumes 1 and 2 of the manga and the second between volumes 2 and 3. The third and forth novels are set in the middle of the forth manga volume, during Karin and Kenta's summer break. The novels, of course, reference events and characters from the manga, but the manga also does the same. I think its great that Kagesaki and Kai worked so well together to enable the novels to work so well with the manga.

That said, one shouldn't think that Chibi Vampire: The Novel is the same as the manga, just in prose. The novel series was published under Fujimi Shobo's mystery label. As such, in each volume, Karin and Kenta get involved in various strange and mysterious events. In the first volume, Karin bites a rich high schooler named Youichiro Juumonji, but Anju's usual memory erasure doesn't completely work. In order to find the girl who "hugged" him and made his life better, Youichiro begins "kidnapping" girls from Karin's school to test hug them. He eventually gives this up and transfers to Karin's school. After quickly figuring out it was her, he begins pursuing her as his good luck charm. Kenta doesn't like any of this one bit. While Karin thinks Youichiro is an okay person, he also sends her into blood overload even worse than Kenta. When she learns Youichiro was behind the kidnappings, though, she isn't sure what to do, because all the girls who were kidnapped were also raped while they were drugged. Karin and Kenta have to figure out what really happened, before Karin becomes the next victim.

As you might guess, the Chibi Vampire novels are a bit more adult, to me, than the manga. Tokyopop puts cute and silly descriptions on the back, and labels them as comedies. While they have a lot of hilarious moments that had me laughing so hard I nearly cried, they also have some serious events happening, with multiple sexual assaults and harassment, attempted murders, and some rather vicious bullying in the four volumes I've read. So if you want silly, immature comedy, skip these, but if you can get past the bad Tokyopop descriptions and are looking for well-written and relatively well developed novels that expound on Karin and Kenta's continuing adventures, with lots of humor but with some nice twists and quite a few serious moments as well, go get these now. I am thoroughly loving them, particularly in reading them along with the manga series. Kai's commentary at the end of each volume also make for fun reading.

Though Tokyopop uses rather poor descriptions, their releases of the novels are otherwise nice. They only slightly modify the original Japanese covers to match the manga releases and the print is clear and large enough for me to read without my glasses but not insanely huge. I do with they would take a page from Seven Seas, and at least keep the color pages at the front. Tokyopop does include them, but they are all converted to black and white. Can't argue with the price point, with $7.99 a volume being right in line with any standard fiction paperback. I just hope that it doesn't end up like some of their other novels, and left uncompleted. So far, though, they seem to be committed to finishing them, with volume five due in July. I'll be picking it up, of course

Rating: A

April 2008 Purchases

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:00:15 -0400

Late? Just a little. After the insanity of March, April was back to a more normal size with me finishing off one series, starting a new novel series, and filling in some gaps.

Nana, Volume 09 (04/07/2008)
Ballad of a Shinigami - Momo: the God Girl of Death, Volume 1 (04/10/2008)
Chibi Vampire, Volume 02 (04/10/2008)
Sunflower (04/10/2008)
Blood+ Volume 1: First Kiss (Novel) (04/14/2008)
Chibi Vampire, Volume 03 (04/14/2008)
Passion, Volume 04 (04/14/2008)
The Moon And Sandals, Volume 02 (04/14/2008)
Tokyo Mew Mew, Volume 01 (04/18/2008)

Chibi Vampire, Volume 1

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:30:29 -0400

I've never seen the anime series Karin, but a while back I stumbled on its manga series at my local library. For its English release, Tokyopop renamed the manga to Chibi Vampire to avoid having the series confused with another of their titles, Kamichama Karin. I picked up the first four volumes from my library on a whim and because I was bored and wanted new manga to read. I figured it would be something silly, full of dub gags and fan service, and nothing I'd like that much. I'm glad to say, I was mostly wrong, and have since picked up the all seven volumes of the manga that are currently available. While this review is mostly for volume 1, I do touch on some of the over all story lines that are explored more in volume 2. In Japan, fourteen volumes have been released as of this month. There is also a nine volume light novel series, which I'll be reviewing soon, and an anime adaptation that was being released by Geneon as Karin, but that is now in hiatus due to the company's shut down.

Chibi Vampire puts a new twist on the vampire in a human world story usually seen in manga series. Its not a dark series, though there are some serious overtones, and primary Karin Maaka is not your typical vampire. Instead of sucking blood, she has to regularly give blood to others or she becomes too full of blood and has a nose-bleed of epic proportions. Her family, all normal vampires, consider her defective and regularly let her know, yet despite how it sounds its pretty obvious her family loves her greatly and are very concerned about her condition and its toll on her body (well, maybe except her brother Ren :P). Karin finds her life becoming even more hectic and strained when a new classmate joins her class, the scowlingly handsome Kenta, who discovers her secret because he is Karin's preferred blood type and sends her excess blood production into overdrive. To stop the affect, Karin figures out that she must somehow make the unhappy Kenta happy, but first she has to figure out why he is unhappy all the time.

Chibi Vampire is a great series so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. Yuna Kagesaki, the writer of the series, has done a wonderful job in creating a varied cast of characters with multiple facets to their personalities. The artwork is well done, and despite the rename, Tokyopop seems to have done a faithful and well done translation within. While the series certainly offers plenty of laughs, and a mild bit of fan service, there are some nice underlying undertones in the growing feelings between Karin and Kenta, the drama of Kenta's home life, and the potential ramifications and the seemingly hidden seriousness of Karin's condition. My only complaint about the series? That I have to wait four months between volumes!

Rating: A+

Vanilla

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:30:00 -0400

Of course, any one who regularly reads Animania knows I do love my yaoi. I must admit, I've found myself sometimes getting bored, though, as a lot of stories, particularly one-shots and two-shots, seem to follow a basic formula and use cookie-cutter characters. After reading a good review of it on AnimeOnDVD, I decided to pick up the two-volume Vanilla series written by Riyu Yamakami. The review gave some indications that this one might be a bit of a break from the "same old same old." It was originally released in 1998, which may explain why its a bit different from some of the stuff coming out today, but on to the review.

Vanilla introduces seventeen year old high school student Ichiru Morio who finds him world turned a bit upside down as he comes to realize that he is homosexual through his strangely growing love for his teacher Yoshitaka Saeki. Saeki is like the worse person for a first love in that he is very cold and somewhat cruel. Ichiru accidentally finds himself hiding behind a desk while Saeki has sec with another male student. Saeki sees him, but is unbothered and toys with Saeki after the other student leaves. Ichiru finds himself confused, hurting, and lonely as Saeki blows hot and cold. Even when Ichiru's feelings finally seem to get through, he can't be sure if Saeki truly feels anything back or if Saeki is just indulging in another one of his strange whims.

I really enjoyed this two volume series and it certainly met my hopes for being different. I like that Ichiru doesn't just quickly jump into the "okay, I love a guy, let's get it on" bandwagon that is often seen in these series. He genuinely struggles with his feelings and his growing realization that he's "different" and even then needs someone to help point it out before he finally comes to see he is gay and to accept it. His reactions to Saeki's hot/cold mannerisms may seem over the top, but certainly is in keeping with the way some might feel when they are so hurt and torn and feeling lost. I think Yamakami did a great job of crafting Saeki's complex character and balancing between having him be seem like a total jackass and being an emotionally awkward and thrown for a look by his reactions to Ichiru. The second volume is a little weaker than the first in that it focuses a bit much on Yajima, Saeki's butler, and Kazuki, the student Saeki was having sex with that Ichiru saw. It wasn't too bad, though, and Yajima is a very interesting character, though I'd rather those two have been given their own volume so it could be better developed. DMP's release is beautiful, as always, and Yamakami's art is well-done with distinctive characters, good details, and a great job showing Saeki's often subtle emotions.

Rating: A-

Voices of a Distant Star

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:16:53 -0400

Voices of a Distant Star actually started life as a single episode anime OVA that was created entirely by Makoto Shinkai on his Mac computer, with his wife helping in do the voice dubbing. When it was released to DVD in February 2002, it was redubbed using professional voice actors. I've the OVA once, which ADV released here, and thought it was okay, but I vaguely remember not liking the ending. A novelization was also created in Japan, or so Wikipedia says, but its unlicensed. Mizu Sahara wrote a manga adaptation as well, which Tokyopop released here in 2006. I decided to pick it up and give it a go. Alas, I don't remember the OVA well enough to compare how much it follows it, but I know Sahara extended the story further than the anime went.

In Voices of a Distant Star teenage high school student Mikako is recruited into a research team to explore space and deal with recent contact between the humans and an alien race that there appears to be conflict with. The alien conflict is only touched on as needed, however, as the primary focus is on Mikako and her classmate Noboru, who realize they love each other after she's left and spend years communicating through cell phone text messages. As Mikako goes further out in space, however, it takes longer and longer for the message to arrive and while she's still the same age, Noboru is becoming an adult and wondering if he should move on with his life. The original anime ending occurs roughly in the middle of the manga, and it then moves on to continue the story, providing a clearer ending to the series.

As a whole, from what I remember of the OVA, I like the manga more. It expands more into both Mikako and Noboru's lives, including friends and their more routine lives along with Mikako's work in space. I also like that it finishes up the story in a more conclusive, and to me satisfying, way than the anime did. ADV's release of this single volume title is also quite nice, including a soft pastel cover, and all four double-sided color pages from the original release. I highly recommend this title for a short, but sweet and gentle story of long-distance love and faith.

Rating: A

Ballad of a Shinigami, Volume 1

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:30:05 -0400

In another foray into the japanese light novels, I picked up Ballad of a Shinigami, released by Seven Seas Entertainment. Seven Seas is a relatively new company, having started in 2004, focusing on English manga-inspired comics and webcomics before it began licensing and releasing real manga in 2005. They moved into light novels in 2007, with Ballad of a Shinigami being one of the first six titles they picked up and began releasing. Ballad of a Shinigami, which premiered in Japan in June 2003, is written by K-Ske Hasegawa and illustrated by the one-named Nanakusa. I was first introduced to the series in the form of its six episode anime series, which aired in 2006 and I watched via fansubs. The anime is unlicensed, but I enjoyed the touching stories. When I learned about the novels, and that they had been licensed, I looked forward to giving them a go.

Similar to Kino no Tabi, Ballad of a Shinigami is a series of shorter stories in which the central characters interact with other people. Unlike Kino, however, Ballad of a Shinigami's Momo isn't so much as an observer and traveler, as she is the catalyst for major events in those people's lives because she is a shinigami - a god of death who usually meets someone because they, or someone they are close to, is about to die. Momo isn't like other shinigami, however, in that rather than wearing all black and handling her job with grim efficiency, Momo wears white with red shoes and regularly cries for those whom she's met. She is almost always in the company of Daniel, her demon servant cat.

This first volume contains four stories in which Momo finds herself breaking the rules while performing her duties so as to allow people to take care of "unfinished business." Each story is takes a look into some of the various ways people view death and think about death, against the backdrop of human relationships that are at times touching, and disturbing. During these seemingly disparate stories, we learn more about the unusual shinigami Momo, and get a bit of foreshadowing that her being different has not made her afterlife pleasant at times, but still she manages to smile "beautifully." The relationship between she and Daniel is also quite an interesting story in and of itself, with their easy camaraderie and obvious affection for one another.

Light novels have had mixed success here in North America, so Seven Seas has decided to buck the trend in hopes of turning the tide. Ballad of a Shinigami has been released in the original size that light novels are released in Japan, which is "pocket size" making it very easy to hold in the hand, slip in a back pocket, or tuck in a purse. They included all of the color pages from the original, which are beautiful, with quite a few translation notes. This first volume is absolutely beautiful, as well as adorable, and I find myself regularly looking at it just to enjoy the view.

The series is still on-going in Japan, with eleven volumes released thus far. I'm curious as to how well Hasegawa will handle the need to keep the stories fresh, while also progressing with some of the underlying themes that have been hinted at here. I sincerely hope Seven Seas's gamble pays off and they will be able to keep going with the series to the end. The next two volumes have been solicited for May and November releases, respectively. I'll be picking them up as soon as they hit the stores as I want to read more tales of Momo's assignments, as well as learn more about this childlike Shinigami in the bright red shoes.

Rating: A+

Night of the Beasts

collectonian@eclectic-world.com (Collectonian) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:09:41 -0400

When browsing my manga shelves, the primary companies represented are, of course, the two biggest: Tokyopop and Viz. In the last year or two, a few others have also appeared, such as ADV and CMX. With Blood+, Dark Horse Comics made their debut. Go! Comi one of the youngest companies has, thus far, only had one slot in my shelf with Crossroad. However, I recently discovered and picked up a second title from Go! Comi, Night of the Beasts by Chika Shiomi Like Crossroad, Night Of The Beasts is a relatively short series, with six volumes. It seems to have been a relatively obscure title in Japan, originally released from 1996 through 1999 by publisher Akita Shoten.

In Night of the Beasts we meet Aria, a tall, tough as nails girl who is the enemy of aggressive and rude males, but also an overall kind person. One day a stranger named Sakura appears, stealing her first kiss then claiming that he is possessed by a demon and that only she can save him. Now with a premise set up like that, all kinds of stereotypical scenarios come to mind, and I was worried it would be some lame key to the whole "saving" thing. However, I found the series managed to put a fresh twist on the idea. Sakura's inner demon wants to slaughter 4,000 people, hence his wanting to stop it, but Sakura isn't strong enough to keep the monster at bay for long. Aria, though willing to help, is fairly powerless to prevent several tragic events, and unwittingly becomes a pawn for Sakura's blood relatives (i.e. those 4,000 people slated to die). As the story progresses, the mystery of how Aria was able to do anything for Sakura, and why she is the one who is being called on to save all the other people becomes clearer, and the reason for the demon's unmitigating hatred of the entire family.

Shiomi's artwork is very good for the series with a slightly hard edge in the drawings in keeping with the underlying story. She forgoes background in many scenes to focus on well-designed and easily recognizable characters, but in scenes where backgrounds are included, they are well drawn with attention to scale and detail. In particularly, I think Shiomi does an awesome job of visually differentiating between Sakura when he's himself and when he's been taken over by the demon. The main characters of the series, as well as some of the major supporting ones, re all unique with distinctive appearances, personalities, and roles. The villains are skillfully portrayed in such a way that one finds it hard to hate them for what they do, and to even sympathize with them to some degree while still not condoning their actions. The ending is well done, with a few last minute twists and an almost expected, for manga, tinge of sadness.

As with Go! Comi's other series, Night of the Beasts, carries a higher price point of $10.99 a volume, with slightly better quality covers, but no color pages or anything else to really justify it. As such, while I do think this is a great short series for anyone liking drama mixed with touches of horror, romance, and comedy, I also recommend waiting to buy until you can get it on sale.

Series Grade: B+