story by Yuma Ando; art by Yuki Sato Just as the stories started to get repetitive to me, this volume of the series ends with a significant change for the characters. First, though, most of Sherlock Bones volume 5 concludes the mystery started in the previous volume, in which a lady mayor has killed a blackmailing former paramour. There’s much emphasis put on her looks throughout, with statements such as, “You’re young and pretty, and yet you’re also competent.” Thus, […]

I sometimes find it confusing, keeping up with both the new characters and club alumni in this series about anime and manga fans. Thus, it’s a help to me that so much focus is put on Hato, the crossdresser and BL artist. He’s so distinctive a character that he’s easy to follow. Aspiring creators may also particularly enjoy the discussions of developing an art style and learning by copying. There’s also a school festival in this volume, which provides a […]

I never totally succumbed to the first xxxHOLiC series, but CLAMP (Legal Drug, Chobits) has its fans. I was glad, then, that this relaunch (“rei”, we’re told, means “return”) was comprehensible to the new-ish reader. Sure, if you read previous volumes, there are subtleties between the characters that you’ll notice, but the overall setup — mysterious witch Yuko takes clients and torments the nice young boy Watanuki who cooks for and takes care of her — is understandable enough. More […]

Say I Love You is a common type of shojo manga love story — loner high school girl is picked out and romanced by popular boy — that’s made special by art with josei touches. Mei won me over the same way she did Yamato. She’s been neglected by those she thought friends and bullied by other girls in her class, so she becomes a loner, trusting no one. Finally, when harassed by Yamato’s friend, who’s pulling up her skirt […]

story by Yuma Ando; art by Yuki Sato Nothing has changed about this series — Sherdog and Takeru are still solving mysteries based on the puppy’s observations — which means if you liked the previous volumes, you should like Sherlock Bones volume 4. (Although pace yourself. Too much at once makes the repetition even more obvious. This might be one of those rare manga that read better as chapters than collected volumes, since there aren’t a lot of complicated plot […]

I enjoyed Sherlock Bones volume 3 enough that I tracked down the two previous volumes. I found that the cases covered there followed the same pattern, making this a read better spread out instead of tackled all at once, where it risks becoming repetitive. The first book opens with Takeru adopting Sherdog. I had wondered if there were details to how they got together beyond the brief version in the Story So Far section (or at the beginning of some […]

What if Sherlock Holmes were reincarnated as an adorable puppy dog? That ran around with a pipe in his mouth because that’s the only way he could magically communicate? And only with Takeru, his Watson, because the pipe was a family heirloom? It would make for fun and cute mysteries, that’s what. Sherlock Bones is a light-hearted romp written by Yuma Ando and drawn by Yuki Sato. The series is actually short on deduction — the reader sees the crime […]

When I wrote about volume 1, I wasn’t as impressed by the battle scenes as I was by those of Viking home life. That’s changed in this volume, because the strategy and maneuvering among various factions are more compelling. Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga is a fascinating read on multiple levels. It’s the beginning of the 11th century, and the Vikings are invading England. The first chapter begins quietly, as an outspoken mother embarrasses her daughter by ranting about politics — […]