I had been a little disappointed with volume 6, so I had completely forgotten that it ended with the start of a story about a showdown between two rock bands. One, House Dust, is a “visual kei” group (kind of like glam rock), with a made-up lead who happens to look just like Asuka, our otomen hero. The other, Freak Bones, is a rockabilly group led by a guy in an outrageous pompadour (although the name and the lyrics given […]

I’ve waited a month to read this latest installment, because I knew it would be the last for a while. Volume 21 catches us up to the Japanese releases, and due to creator Ai Yazawa’s illness and recovery time, the series is currently on hold. (In the meantime, there’s always rereading the series from the beginning or enjoying her previous manga Paradise Kiss.) This isn’t a bad place to stop for a bit, actually. Events reach a distinctive turning point, […]

This charming ode to the wonder of reading, specifically the memories that manga can create, will touch the heart of any book lover. Kingyo Used Books carries most every manga series ever. That helps them find just the right book for their customers, one that the visitors may not even realize they’re looking for. The introductory chapter of the series by Seimu Yoshizaki I found very sympathetic. A young man enters the store, not to look for a beloved story, […]

This energetic adventure with a touch of romance has behind the action an anti-censorship message any manga reader can support. Library Wars is based on a novel series by Hiro Arikawa about a future Japan where the Media Betterment Act allows the national government to seize any books they deem offensive for any reason. They’re opposed by librarians, whose code speaks of freedom to acquire and read any book in privacy. They’re fighting for a citizen’s right to access media […]

Inspired by the To Terra… Manga Moveable Feast this month, I’m looking at some more modern stories of young people in space. Saturn Apartments has a very similar premise to Terra, in that humans have moved to an artificial structure surrounding the Earth, which is now an uninhabited nature preserve. But the approach is very different — where Terra tackles big philosophical themes, Saturn Apartments makes its points through quiet stories of everyday life for a lower-class worker. The society […]

This breezy shojo romantic comedy by Shigeyoshi Takagi answers the question, “what would action movies be like if they were aimed at women instead of men?” It’s a high adrenaline piece about finding the person who likes you for you, a twisted love story for a jaded generation super-saturated with media. Riko desperately wants to be normal, although she’s got the athletic prowess of Batman (but with a lot less control). Her abilities are described as “superpowers” in the promotional […]

by Chica Umino; adapted by Akemi Wegmuller; due out June 1 This volume ends the series. Since I stopped reading around book 4, I’m perhaps not the best person to evaluate how satisfying a conclusion it is. Also, I still dislike Hagumi, the elfin artist whom most of the guys are in love with, which creeps me out, since she (purposefully) looks like a child. Half the book finishes the main story, and apparently the only thread left to resolve […]

Otomen is the anti-Star Trek. There, the rule was that only the even-numbered movies were good. With this series, I seem to enjoy the odd-numbered books more than the even. Which means that, yes, I was disappointed in this volume — but I have great hopes for the next one! As the author, Aya Kanno, mentions in an early note to the readers, “the plot is all over the place, isn’t it?” Asuka is feeling uncomfortable with the demands placed […]