Penguin Revolution Volume 1

The author of Land of the Blindfolded, Sakura Tsukuba, has another story about a girl who sees things others can’t. In Penguin Revolution, Yukari sees wings on people who have the talent to be stars. Since Dad’s a flake who’s almost taken them to ruin, Yukari dreams of stability; her goal is to become a public servant. She’s nonplussed when she once again sees wings on a classmate. As if all that wasn’t enough, it turns out that the classmate […]

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ES (Eternal Sabbath)

Thank you, readers, for recommending this title by Fuyumi Soryo — I enjoyed it! It’s intriguing in its premise and characters. The almost-stand-alone first chapter works as a lengthy introduction to ES, later renamed Ryousuke. He’s a psychic, capable of adjusting people’s memories and reading their impressions. We first meet him playing a kind of parlor trick. Someone asks him to pay for something he’s taken or used, he stares at them briefly, they blankly look back… and then they […]

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Genshiken Volume 7

I’d previously tried the first book in this series, but then, it didn’t click with me. Now, I felt less like I was reading a book, and more as though I was meeting a new group of people, friends of friends (since I’ve had so many recommendations about the series). That approach helped, since there was a lot I wasn’t told about these characters — it is volume seven, after all. Still, it didn’t matter. If I didn’t know them, […]

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xxxHOLiC Volume 1

Illustrating the oddities of interpretation and the passage of time… This is the second time I’ve tried reading CLAMP’s xxxHOLiC. I know lots of people love it, but after the first time through, I shrugged. It didn’t do anything for me, and I found the atmosphere of mystery silly and pretentious. The authors seemed to be trying too hard. I’ve since changed my mind. I came back to it because someone (sadly, I don’t remember who) whose opinion I respect […]

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Dramacon Volume 2

As promised at the end of the first book, it’s a year later, and Christie’s back at the anime convention in Dramacon volume 2. She’s still writing her comic, but her new artist, Bethany, is a lot easier to get along with. (The former artist and boyfriend has been dumped.) This year it’s Bethany’s first time at the show, and Christie’s a lot more comfortable with the atmosphere. Christie’s also seeing more realistically. The professional creator who encouraged her so […]

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Mail Order Ninja Volume 1

The writer, Joshua Elder, intends this 96-page story to be all-ages comedy “like the classic Looney Tunes cartoons”. Unfortunately, that’s not the impression the opening scene of Mail Order Ninja gives. It’s closer to a superhero comic structure, with a humorless (and fairly violent) ninja action scene being revealed to be part of a manga Timothy is reading. The action art by Erich Owen is well-done, so much so that I found the first glimpse of Timothy freakish. He’s typically […]

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Steady Beat Volume 2

I enjoyed the first volume of this series, although I was concerned that maybe a bit too much was being attempted — it seemed that the book had more plots and revelations than it might have space for. Things are much more focused here in volume two. It opens with a return to the key plot points, re-introducing the Texas suburb in which Leah lives, complete with expectations of church attendance and hidden secrets. In a few quick conversations with […]

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Crimson Hero Volume 4

I was a bit stunned to see the cover on this installment of the series by Mitsuba Takanashi, especially in comparison to the first book. That volume showed a girl in traditional dress struggling to play volleyball, indicating a culture clash aspect that seems to have gone by the wayside. Now, it looks as though it’s sun, sex, and oh, yeah, sport. The cover is a bit misleading, as advertising sometimes is. But it is true that the driving force […]

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