I’ve given up trying to make sense of this series — I just enjoy reading the over-the-top teen drama making fun of restrictive gender roles. Aya Kanno seems to be wandering through whatever conventions she wishes as a way of playing with her characters and providing entertainment to the reader. This time around, in Otomen volume 8, it’s the possibility of Ryo moving away for family reasons. That allows everyone to demonstrate just how much they’ll miss her in over-the-top […]

The most interesting elements of the series by Kiiro Yumi have been downplayed by this point in favor of generic romantic comedy. In Library Wars: Love & War volume 3, Dojo and Iku spat and argue, and her lack of self-control, instead of being charming, makes her seem childish. It’s no wonder their relationship can’t go anywhere; at this point, I wouldn’t want it to until she grows up. That would be acceptable if this was some schoolgirl shojo, but […]

As I feared, Miki Aihara’s worst tendencies are coming to light in Honey Hunt volume 6. Although considered a promising actress-to-be, Yura is also a dishrag, typical of Aihara’s young women. All that matters to her is whether she has the attention of the man she’s crushing on, risking her career (such as it is — she demonstrates no talent, just family connections) for a date. She gets jobs after press coverage based on whom she might be dating. Much […]

Akito and Moritaka struggle to become manga-ka (published comic creators) by meeting with an editor at Shueisha (owner of Viz Media) in Bakuman volume 2. They’re getting advice on submitting to the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. (That’s the original home of this manga during its serialization — it’s Disney-style cross-promotion in action!) The advice on making comics seems realistic, at least when it comes to the Japanese industry. I’m not sure a story about kids making professional-level manga can ever […]

I really want to support this series, because I very much want publishers to believe that there is a market for manga for adult women, not just girls, but its exaggerated sense of humor doesn’t quite match up with mine. Having experienced my own share of work discrimination in real life, I have a hard time finding it a laughing matter for Choko to be singled out for uncomfortable attention in the workplace. I don’t know the finer cultural distinctions, […]

It’s a good thing that I’ve had years of practice reading “boy comics”, material that, regardless of whether it’s appropriate and in spite of what’s going on in the story, position their female characters as eye candy for the male reader. If I didn’t, I’d have given up on this series by Yukiya Sakuragi long before now. Volume 17 was a real challenge in that area. I’ve mentioned the fan service before — the pinup shots of Suguri in bathing […]

Review by Ed Sizemore Akito Takagi is 14 years old and dreams of being a manga writer. However, he’s not a good artist, so he needs one as a partner. Moritaka Mashiro is Akito’s classmate and a gifted artist. He wanted to be a manga artist until he saw his uncle work himself to death in that job. After much arm twisting, Akito convinces Moritaka to join him. Together, they seek to become successful manga creators (called mangaka). Bakuman is […]

Because of the need to wrap up the series quickly in this second and final volume of the series, the flow here is choppy, but there’s still plenty of entertainment in its escapist, action-movie take on romance. In the first chapter, we meet Ran’s arranged fiancee Rinko, who was picked by his parents because it’s so important to the family business that he have the right wife. My first thought was, why can’t anyone have distinguishable names? I was already […]