Independent Opinions, News, and Reviews of Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comic Books
Missing cat manga now that Chi’s Sweet Home has concluded? Never fear, author Konami Kanata has a new series with an adorable kitten. FukuFuku: Kitten Tales has an advantage over the previous series, in my opinion: the cat here doesn’t have an internal monologue in a cutesy dialect. In that way, it’s more true to cat ownership, as we simply observe the little kitty in her everyday life. She lives with an older lady, who works to give FukuFuku a […]
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I was concerned about this in my review of volume 2, but Master Keaton volume 3, aside from a couple of brief nods to archaeology, has turned Taichi Hiraga Keaton into a globe-trotting adventurer, which makes the stories more generic and seemingly more of their time. Several times while reading through the encounters in this installment, I found myself thinking, “oh, yeah, that was a thing we were concerned about in the 80s, wasn’t it?” In one two-parter, Keaton serves […]
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It’s interesting to see how Takuma Morishige’s My Neighbor Seki, based on a classically simple premise, has changed over its run. Previously, Rumi used to observe the crazy things Seki did during class, narrating to the reader in a way that added stories and context to his activities. Seki operated in his own, individual world. That was entertaining enough. But as the stories have continued, Rumi and Seki began interacting, and the stories occasionally wander away from their two desks. […]
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The new character briefly introduced at the end of volume 2 becomes a new friend in Kiss Him, Not Me! volume 3, and her presence is a welcome addition for shaking up the relationships with a bit more conflict. Although Kae first met Shima at a comic convention where Shima was cosplaying, it turns out that they go to the same school. (Yay for manga coincidences! Which is actually called out in the book, amusingly.) Shima is amazing. Everyone wants […]
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Chi’s Sweet Home volume 12 concludes the cute cat manga series with a lengthy exploration of what “home” means. From the beginning, Chi has been troubled by memories of her time with her mother. The kitten doesn’t always understand her wants, but she feels something’s missing, although she enjoys her life with little boy Yohei and his parents. As this volume opens, Chi and her mother come face to face. Yohei immediately sweeps up his pet/friend and runs away with […]
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I talked, in my review of the first volume, about how Master Keaton is an older series. I knew going in that there would be an air of “that was then” reading it. Yet it surprised me how many of the stories in this second volume were also looking backwards within their own texts. For example, the first story involves insurance investigator Keaton helping with the undercover sale of a medal from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The former owner’s widow […]
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The quarterfinal matches of the Fall Classic cooking competition continue and conclude in these volumes. The showdown began in volume 7 and extended into the previous book, where the contest between our hero Soma and the molecular gastronomist began; she presented her bento box there. Here, in Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma volume 9, we see Soma’s entry, a twist on a seaweed bento, using some of the fancy cooking science techniques. Although technologically advanced, Soma’s dish is focused on […]
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It’s been a while since I’ve caught up with the mismatched couple, school prince Yamato and shy Mei, at the center of Say I Love You. I liked the emotions she expressed as she began to understand the value of friendship and feeling loved, but I wondered how the series could continue for this long (14 volumes in Japan, 11 so far here) with just them at the center. That’s a hint, since the series doesn’t stay focused on just […]
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