Manga Worth Reading

In case you’re looking for something appropriate, these three manga are rated as suitable for all ages and recommended as good reads.

Choco Mimi Book 2

Choco Mimi Book 2
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by Konami Sonoda
Viz, $7.99 US

The fun of the first volume continues with more four-panel comic strips about fashion, friendship, and young love. There are also album and scrapbook pages featuring “pictures” of the characters and their pets that are very realistic in feel, as though a 14-year-old really put them together, plus longer stories with the same characters. An early one is surprisingly thought-provoking, with a flower symbolizing love and the characters discussing their different approaches to the subject.

Others are silly takes on topics like going to the beach or working in a cafe or putting on costumes to scare each other. School activities and holiday celebrations also feature. It’s a light read, but the cute kids and darling art style are appealing, and I enjoy being part of their world for a while, where there aren’t many things to worry about beyond looking good and the attention of the boy you like. It’s also got a surprising amount of content — I spent longer reading this than I do many other shojo volumes, both due to the page structure and wanting to notice the details of the characters’ outfits. (The publisher provided a review copy.)

The Lapis Lazuli Crown Book 2

The Lapis Lazuli Crown Book 2
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by Natsuna Kawase
CMX Manga, $9.99 US

Miel Violette found her impulse to study magic and improve her skills in the first book: befriending an undercover prince. Here, in the second (and final) book of the series, we first see her back at school, working toward that goal. She aims to improve enough to work at the palace and thus get closer to Prince Radian.

Unfortunately, the prince is missing from the opening chapter, which has turned into a school story, following Miel and two of her friends as they study magic. I’m glad to see him back in the following chapter, where she’s met her goal, since his interaction with Miel is the best part of the book for me. I’m just not as interested in her classmates and their struggles with (for example) succeeding on merit instead of due to their family name.

The changes in direction and approach may be related to the short length of the series. It looks like the author was casting around for a successful path to follow and never quite got there. She alludes frequently in the many author’s notes about wanting to do more with various characters but running out of space to do so before the series end. There are also what look like the beginning of subplots that don’t have room to go anywhere. Perhaps the best way to describe this is “valiant but failed experiment”.

If this book sounds interesting to you, the core premise is explained early on, and the new setting is different enough that a reader who couldn’t find book one could start here with little trouble, although I found the first volume much more interesting. (The publisher provided a review copy.)

Yotsuba&! Book 6

Yotsuba&! Book 6
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by Kiyohiko Azuma
Yen Press, $10.99 US

The beloved series returns from a new publisher (who thankfully has also brought the previous volumes back into print) with all its charm intact.

The stories here fall into the category of “what it’s like to live with a young child” — they see the world differently. Everything’s new to them, yet they also start forming their own conclusions about the way things work. The result is creative comedy that rings adorably true. In this volume, Yotsuba discovers recycling, bicycling, office work (which consists of her labeling everything in the house), and playing milkman.

Sound effects (of which there are many) aren’t translated here; instead, the English sound and meaning are both written into the panel next to the Japanese symbol. I found this cluttered the page and distracted my eye from following the characters. Add in the translation notes put in the gutters between panels, and sometimes, there was just too much to look at. Especially when they kept reprinting the same note every time a labeled object appears, which I found unnecessary. I was also distracted by how often Yotsuba’s speech is bolded — I know she’s supposed to be frequently excited, but I soon lost that awareness in annoyance at the technique.

But those are minor points. The artist’s sense of motion and movement is wonderful. Yotsuba feels right, in all her actions and expressions. I appreciate her dad’s patience with her, even though you can tell it can be a struggle (as when, for example, she’s doing gymnastics on top of him). It’s her lack of self-censorship that makes her such a joy to read. The neighbor girl egging her on helps with the comedy, too.

I don’t know that I would have handed her a power tool, as Dad does when they build a bookcase, but that I was concerned for her welfare indicates how much I was lost in her world.

Here’s another review by Brigid at MangaBlog. If you’re interested in differences between the two publisher versions, here’s a visual comparison, criticism of the translation decisions, and an interview with Yen about their choices.

When I’m feeling out of sorts, nothing calms like a new volume of Aria. It’s the manga equivalent of a hot cup of tea and a sit-down, a lovely mediation on appreciating the quieter aspects of life.

Aria Book 5
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The series had some unexpected delays, but that means it’s timely — Akari, the apprentice gondolier (undine), is beginning her second autumn on the water planet, just as fall has firmly fallen here in the U.S.

The opening story (the book has five) is a wonderful stand-alone that sums up much of the series’ appeal. A mailman’s gondola is gone for repairs, so Akari volunteers to take him on his route through the Venice-like setting. By the end, she (and we) have learned more about her town, the way communication ties together community, and the pleasure of writing letters on paper. A more subtle message involves the skills and contributions of older workers being valuable and how they can teach the younger through example.

The art focuses on Akari’s happy, open face, and those of her friends (who can be a little more negative or concerned, providing spice and contrast). Plenty of beautiful, Italian-influenced architecture is drawn with care. It’s a wonderful world to sink into and relax with.

There’s also humor. At one point, Alice gets a bee in her bonnet about needing to train herself to be more ambidextrous since she thinks her right hand is doing all the work. But while that is somewhat silly, there’s another component of the same story that has a touching undertone, a lesson Alice learns from her singing roommate and a parable about seemingly unnoticed contributions.

A story about watching a meteor shower is one of many in the series that promote natural awareness and wonder. It also brings back Al the Gnome, a thoughtful boy who resembles Harry Potter. Another has Akira, a tough instructor who helps the younger girls improve their craft. The last is a quiet story about waiting, as Akari spends the day at a cafe learning a lesson about relaxing that I will also benefit from.

My quibbles, there are three: I was sad that two different sections introducing characters, obviously created in color, were reproduced in black and white. Also, while there’s a lengthy introduction of the premise, the character page omits the youngest undine, Alice, who features prominently in one story and significantly in two more. I found that an unfortunate omission, given how close her name is to Alicia, Akari’s mentor, and thus confusing. Last, the usage of goofy exclamations like “Holy Guacamole” or “Holy Baloney” really doesn’t suit the timeless feel of the series. The adaptation credit has changed from the previous book, so maybe the new writer needs a little more time to fully grasp the style of the stories. (The publisher provided a review copy.)

At this point, I’m reading this series out of nostalgia, since it’s the oldest manga series I’m collecting that’s still running. It started in 2003, when the first three books came out, with book 4 following four years later, and then after another two years, here we are.

INVU Book 5
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Goodness knows that the story isn’t worth six years of patience. The events are stereotypical soap opera, and the characters are types instead of three-dimensional. There’s the good girl who can’t cope with her crush on a more experienced boy, the troubled beauty in love with her teacher, and the wannabe model whose father bans her from his house for keeping her tryout a secret. Everyone “talks” in screaming matches or passionately dramatic declarations.

The art can be ridiculously exaggerated, and not in a reasonable way. Instead, perspective is off, so characters grow a foot among panels on a page or their head is too small for a too-long torso or their extended limbs would look better on a giraffe. The adaptation text is clunky as well, whether it’s bad grammar (”I had no idea it was one of your customer’s clothes!”) or just flat to the ear (”I was going to break the news like that!”).

So why am I still reading it? Well, at this point, why not? Between the two pages of story and character information and the familiarity of the plots, it’s easy enough to keep up with the series, even with the extensive delays between volumes. And it’s a relatively cheap fix, with only one book every few years.

Of more substance, I have a fondness for Hali and Hajun. She models as a way of escaping her mixed-up home life, where she has to pretend to be her dead brother in order to prevent her mother from going insane. (In this installment, that subterfuge quits working.) She’s good at it because most of her life has been spent pretending to be someone else.

She clings to her teacher as someone who cares for her as herself, and their feelings for each other still seem realer than anything else in the book. He knows something about her situation, since his family gave him away to be adopted by an important political figure. The obstacle between them, their age difference and his responsibility for her, will be taken care of relatively quickly just by waiting for her to graduate. They’re already ready for each other, unlike the other pairings, who are emotionally immature.

I also like Jae Eun, the fannish young lady who cosplays and draws yaoi, even though her conflicts are similar to those in Genshiken, where they’re more developed. I’d like to see more of her story, even though I know she’s comic relief, which is why the others take up much more space. She and her baker crush seem to have the best chance of actually succeeding together … but I think a later revelation may affect that.

(The publisher provided a review copy. INVU 5 will be released on November 3.)

When I started this series, I read an awful lot into the first volume. Based on what I saw, I was expecting a dramatic exploration of the contrasts between appearance and behavior as twins were set in opposition to each other, layered over with the message of optimistic struggle making a dream come true.

Papillon Book 4
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So when I read the second book, I was shocked to find that it went in a radically different direction, with a very different kind of drama: the kind you get with over-the-top soap opera and outrageous plot twists. Once it sunk in that I needed to reset my expectations, I could begin enjoying the way this story goes gloriously off the rails.

I mean, the first major piece of art in this book is a drawing of a girl kissing herself romantically with her eyes closed. Is one of the twins leaning into a mirror, thinking of her boyfriend? Or are the two sisters teasing at a closeness that will intrigue a certain group of readers? It doesn’t matter, because the situation in the story has little to do with the intriguing image. Instead, one of the twins is playing pretend with the other’s boyfriend, testing his fidelity with mind games. That’s the pattern of this series, continuing cycles of doubt and reassurance as girls worry about their boyfriends’ loyalty.

The reader is tricked, the character relationships are continually complicated, and no one should think too hard about any of this. If you did, you might notice that the advice given to one lovestruck girl boils down to “if you liked him enough to want to date him, you should be happy with that and not dare to ask him to change in any way.” Instead, she should change herself to better match him.

That’s not the only creepy thing: The core relationship is a romance between a student and her guidance counselor, a man who’s attracted to her, among other reasons, because she’s a virgin. (Assuming you can trust his statements. I’m never sure any more with any of these characters if they’re being honest about what they think or even who they are.)

Everyone here just wants to be happy. The complications come in the twisted things they do to get there. Another example of only-in-fiction exaggeration is the plot device that sets up the twists in the second half of the book, driven by a girl who can smell when someone’s had sex. This starts out being barely plausible but quickly turns into another way to make characters believe others are cheating. Everyone’s miserable until an even more ridiculous hand-wave resets things… before the next authorial device to mess with these fictional lives comes along.

Most of the time, I prefer more depth and emotional realism in my schoolgirl shojo soap opera, but that’s asking more of this series than it wants to provide. As emotion-plucking entertainment populated by pretty people, that encourages you to feel, not think, it’s popcorn. But sometimes, that’s what you’re in the mood for.

(The publisher provided a review copy.)

Review by Ed Sizemore

Nana is a normal human girl who is friends with Majoko, a witch of the same age from the Land of Magic. A magic diary serves as the portal between the two worlds. The girls have lots of adventures together in the Land of Magic. This volume opens with the conclusion to the cliffhanger from volume 1. Further adventures in this book include helping an old clay pot find a beloved owner, attending the Snowman Festival, searching for the runaway Mirror Fairy in the Land of Mirrors, and a visit to the Land of Toys. All of the chapters but the first are self-contained stories.

The Big Adventures of Majoko Book 2
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This second volume is just as delightful as the first. Majoko continues to be impulsive and overly confident. The authors are careful to make her a likeable character by showing how her faults come from youthfulness. I love that she understands how special and unusual the Land of Magic is and is filled with enthusiasm and curiosity. I do worry that Majoko seems to be have a very slow learning curve. I’m hoping as the series continues that she will begin to mature. Perhaps some of Nana’s own maturity will rub off on Majoko.

There were two chapters I found particularly heartwarming. The first is when Majoko and Nana help an old piece of magical pottery find an owner he got separated from years ago. The years have not been kind to the pot. Yet, when he is reunited with his old owner, she immediately welcomes him and showers him with affection regardless of his appearance. It’s a wonderful lesson on the true worth of each person.

The second chapter I found moving is when Nana’s mother accidently throws out her favorite doll, Katie. Nana and Majoko travel to the Land of Toys to find the doll. They find out how bitter abandoned and abused toys feel. They also discover the power of love. Katie is able to use all the love Nana has given her over the years to reform one of the abandoned toys, making him happy and emotionally whole. It’s a touching lesson on treating our possessions with respect.

The page layouts are simple and easy for young readers to follow. The drawings are a little simpler than the standard manga, but they don’t lack details. There is lots of energy to the artwork to keep young readers engaged in the book. One nice extra with this book is a two-page guide on how to read unflipped manga. Not just how to read a page, but even how to read the balloons within a panel. I really like having this in the book, so it’s right there if young readers get confused.

Udon does make one small misstep. The inside back cover tells readers, “For more cool stuff, games, and free previews, visit MangaforKids.com.” However, the only thing currently on the website is free previews. I hope they correct this soon. I hate for them to disappoint young, excited readers who are looking for ways to have more fun with the books and characters.

I still think The Big Adventures of Majoko is a great series for both sexes, though I realize that boys are much less likely to read a series with two girl protagonists. The stories are short and quick-paced. There is plenty of humor to keep things entertaining and from getting too serious. It’s a great series for introducing kids to manga. Parents will enjoy the books, too. I’m glad to see Udon continue it’s commitment to quality manga for younger readers.

(The publisher provided a review copy.)

Odette is an android, a teenage girl robot who wants to go to school to learn more about what it means to be human.

Karakuri Odette Book 1
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(Her professor, on the other hand, appears to have given up on normalcy. He looks like a teen boy but wears a top hat, plaid jacket, and caped coat to meet with the principal.)

It’s a comedy, as indicated by early slapstick involving Odette not knowing her own strength. It’s also Pinocchio, only instead of being about the virtue of good deeds and clean living, it’s a charming portrayal of being a naive outsider, of valuing the simple things about life: eating lunch with school friends, playing hooky, caring about the feelings of others.

It’s like a shojo version of Yotsuba&!, only with less wacky humor, more gentle exploration of emotion. The usual conventions of the genre appear, such as a misunderstood guy known as a trouble-maker for getting into fights. He finds out Odette’s secret, and the two open up unexplored areas in each other. He can be nice to Odette without her having preconceptions about him that get in the way. She, meanwhile, is learning about infatuation, noting how her classmates’ heartbeats change as they mention the person they’re interested in.

The art feels different from what I expected. It doesn’t feature the kind of fan service I feared would be the case when I heard “girl robot”. It’s made up of thin lines, a little spiky — I’m vaguely reminded of Jules Feiffer’s work, although it’s a very remote relation. I like it. It’s sparse and emotion-focused.

The second story in the book is the most memorable. It’s a Christmas tale, with Odette wishing for someone to keep her company when the professor goes to a college reunion. A robot boy shows up unexpectedly. Although his motives are unpleasant, the way things evolve is quietly comforting. I particularly liked the touch of the two of them playing the game Life. (You know, with the little car with the people pegs.)

There’s also a chapter where another girl robot, Asia, comes to visit. She’s more practiced at being human, although her version is stereotypically girly and cute, and the contrast sheds some light on jealousy and expectations. The last story is a fascinating take on ghosts and taking care of others, as Odette finds a little boy no one else can see. I was impressed by how many different things was done with the concept in this volume, getting out of the typical school setting frequently.

Odette’s lack of external emotion is a refreshing change from the overheated expressiveness of much other shojo. It makes the moments of significant feeling that much more powerful. I look forward to reading more. (A complimentary copy for this review was provided by the publisher.)