Kitsune's Manga Review

Sometimes, I have to wonder just what the graphic designers and editors are thinking when they put a book together. When you come across a volume of manga saddled with such a heavy title as Heaven's Will: A Poem of Atonement and cover art of a vaguely Victorian persuasion portraying two girls holding hands and looking oh so very serious, you might expect there to have been some great tragedy involved. The protagonist must have done something horribly horribly wrong, right?

Well, as far as Mikuzu goes, if she's dealt the cosmic good some horrific blow, I must have missed it. And when your manga is about a girl who hires a cross-dressing exorcist who works for cake and has a pet vampire, it's a little hard to take reconcile the deep, heavy packaging with the story inside.

Okay, so ignore the packaging. Completely toss it out of mind. Heaven's Will is the story of Mikuzu, a young girl who has the talent (some might say curse) of seeing monsters and the standard dead people. Because of this, she's got more than a few issues: she's terrified of most things, and one of the things that scares her most is the entire male half of humanity. Her life takes a turn for the better when she runs into Seto, a pretty boy with a taste for pretty dresses and a gift for exorcising all those things chasing our dear heroine. He agrees to get rid of all the monsters chasing her, if only Mikuzu pays him in cake.

Of course, things aren't so easy. Seto's pet vampire isn't precisely Mr. Friendly, and Seto's got a secret... one that may just destroy Mikuzu's happy new life.

I'll admit it, I enjoyed it. The story was intriguing, and there were some very touching moments here and there, as well as some good general amusement (and Kagari the vampire provided some nice eye candy). While there was an undercurrent theme of atonement, it seemed to be more about understanding than anything else, and the ending, while a little abrupt, also wasn't what I was expecting, so yay, surprises!

One thing that did disappoint me was that this was it. Yep, it's a one-shot, folks. So sayeth the cover: "Complete in one volume!" If it was going to end so soon, I can't argue with how it ended, but I definitely would have been interested in reading more. So, if you've got a thing for sometimes quirky, sometimes touching, sorta-kinda-love stories, go ahead and give it a read.

POSITIVES:
* Intriguing storyline
* Good artwork
* Interesting characters
* Good character development
* Won't have to shell out a couple hundred bucks to finish the series.

NEGATIVES:
* Nothing like what you'd expect (but hey, that's probably a good thing)
* Lacked a little depth - felt like it was only brushing the surface at times
* Only one volume

"Under the cover of darkness... they come to the Silver Star Tea House... seeking solace...

Thus begins nearly every chapter of Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun, which begs the questions: who are "they," and why are the seeking solace at a tea house?

Well, "they" are nightmare sufferers, and the tea house is where Hiruko the Baku hangs out. He may look like a kid, but he gave up his humanity to become a dream-eater. Bring him your nightmares, and he'll resolve them... and get a quick snack for himself out of the deal.

Mystery is a big theme of Nightmare Inspector. Almost every chapter is a brand new one, with a different nightmare to figure out. It's a bit like a dark, supernatural version of Detective Conan/Case Closed. In Volume One, you'll be introduced to a boy dreaming about a funeral, a girl whose life is written in her nightmare, a girl who's literally falling apart, and more. And each time, Hiruko must lead them to unravel the meaning behind their nightmares before he gets his dinner and they get their peace of mind.

However, there's a bigger mystery here: just who is Hiruko, and the girl who owns the tea house? Well, I have to tell you... you're not going to find out in Volume One. You don't even start to find out until Volume Two, and then, little by little, more is revealed in each volume. I've just finished Volume Four, and the mystery is slowly being unraveled.

Nightmare Inspector is definitely more on the psychological end of the manga spectrum, but that doesn't mean there isn't any action, and while the main characters don't instantly feel like your best friends in the first few pages like in some other manga, the characters are strong, if subtle. A few of the stories don't feel as satisfying as they could have been, but more than a few fully succeed in giving you that uneasy feeling you want from a manga that dances on the line of the horror genre. Personally, I enjoy something a little on the odd end every once in awhile, and Nightmare Inspector definitely qualifies there.

It's also very pretty to look at, which is a definite plus. Character designs could be a little stronger, but overall, it's eyecandy. Very dark eyecandy. The story flow is easy to follow, and the mangaka didn't play "how much can I stuff on each page" with this one, which is nice.

Overall, if you don't like slower paced stories with a heavy psychological bent and more than a splash of darkness, stay away from Nightmare Inspector. But, if you're like me and you like more than a dash of weird and unsettling to balance out your epic 25-volume story arcs of other manga, be sure to check this one out!

POSITIVES:
* Comes to you in short, bite-sized episodes.
* Dark and eerie atmosphere without being "too much."
* Beautiful artwork.
* Intriguing mysteries to keep your brain working.

NEGATIVES:
* Takes awhile to get to know the characters.
* No strong, overall story arc to drive the plot.
* Can be hard to tell some of the characters apart.
* A few stories that aren't fully satisfying.
* Fairly slow pace.

Ever since he was little, Ian the Liar has had the ability to see the world of the fairies. But he's about to do a whole lot more than just see them: the fairy Tokage wants to take his life. Literally. And now Ian has to get it back, before Tokage can completely ruin it - or worse, hurt the only person who ever believed him.

Yep, this is a fairytale, in the whole "good fairy, bad fairy" tradition - more emphasis on the "bad." Now, I've only flirted with Kaori Yuki's work before - looked at some pretty Angel Sanctuary artwork, read Godchild up until Shojo Beat rotated it out - but she's well known for her complex storylines and mature themes. And yes, that as in "Rated M, for Mature." Fairy Cube promises to be just as prettily drawn and complex as its predicessors, complete with prophecies, plots to take over and/or destroy the world, and subplots a-plenty. From the "fairy murders" to bodysnatching and the screwed-up homelives of Ian and the object of his affection, there is a lot going on in this story.

But don't worry about that. While Kaori Yuki stories can get hopelessly convoluted, Fairy Cube has so far done a pretty good of not skipping those steps crucial to understanding the story. Sure, there are a few, "Wait, wha?" moments, but nothing too major as of yet. Whether that changes in future volumes remains to be seen, but as of Volume 2, I'm still following everything pretty well.

Even better, I'm wanting more. Between the beautiful artwork and the dramatic storyline, the plot just pulls you along with the good kind of "What in the world is going on?" Yuki throws plenty of challenges in for Ian, who is a likeable protagonist (always a good thing). All too often, actually "good guys" come off as kind of annoying, especially when they come from rough backgrounds. For some reason, those kind always seem too good for their own good, but Ian has his own flaws, and he makes mistakes and more than a few questionable decisions. It makes for an interesting character, one you really want to root for, and you'll cringe every time you watch him fall.

Even better, Fairy Cube has a wide selection of antagonists, from the bitter and homicidal Tokage to the more gray-area characters like the mysterious Kaito, each with their own motivations and reasons for doing their dastardly deeds. Variety is good: whether you want your straight-forward bad guy, the justified villain, or the perennial favorite "is he good or bad?" guy, you'll find them in this manga.

Fair warning, though: this one's rated "Older Teen," and not just for violence. Yuki continues her trend of exploring abusive and questionable relationships here, and there is some potentially disturbing stuff going on. Not a manga for younger readers, but if you don't mind dipping into the darkside, check it out!

POSITIVES:
* Beautiful art.
* Interesting storyline.
* Likeable protagonists.
* Complex antagonists.

NEGATIVES:
* Definitely has dark, mature material.
* Can be a little confusing at times.

When I first picked up Kurohime, I was a little torn. Part of me was intrigued by the woman who looked incredibly like Dark Schneider from the cult classic Bastard! - long white hair, blue eyes, slight smirk. The other half insisted that any manga with a cover graced by a woman with melons the size of her head could not possibly be any good... at which point I reminded that half that one of my favorite anime movies includes the back-breakingly big-breasted Mai Shiranui and added it to my collection.

I definitely do not regret it.

This is the story of Zero, the good-natured quick-draw gun-slinger of a pseudo-Wild West. Back when he was knee-high to a grasshopper, his life was saved by the beautiful, kind, noble witch-gunslinger Kurohime. From that day on, he declared his love for her and decided to follow her fine example.

Fast forward about ten years. Kurohime's disappeared, and Zero's looking for the love of his life while spreading justice and right throughout the West with his three guns. That's when he runs into Himeko, a little girl bearing a striking resemblence to his beloved... right from her white hair and blue eyes to her nightmare-child attitude. Guess who went and challenged the gods and got herself turned into a little girl?

There is a heavy Dark Schneider influence here. Kurohime/Himeko, far from being the benevolent soul Zero always thought she was, is a maniacal, selfish super-powered witch-gunslinger whose main goal in life (besides becoming a literal goddess) is to claim all the men in the world as her dogs. And, of course, Zero is her Yoko, the one person in the world she can count on to put up with her in her uber-annoying girl-form... even though he lacks Yoko's violent tendencies.

But the similarities pretty much stop there. Kurohime's got a great Old West atmosphere (and kudos to the translator - they probably had to sit through hours of black and white I Shot The Sheriff movies to get the right feel with the dialogue), nobody's clothes goes mysteriously missing, and there's a lot less violence. Zero's adorable with his patient heart of gold, and Kurohime's so gosh-darn arrogant that she can't help but be hilarious.

The story's episodic so far, but each little episode is a complete short story with great characters and some pretty good surprises. With its interesting, well-developed characters flow that's kept me interested and laughing all the way through, Kurohime is definitely worth a read.

POSITIVES:
* Great atmosphere.
* Great characters.
* Great pace and dialogue.
* Very attractive art style.
* Kept me interested and amused.

NEGATIVES:
* Heavy Dark Schneider vibe.
* Most of those women are gonna have serious back problems real soon.
* Runs the risk of becoming formulaic if a unifying plot doesn't show up soon.

Take the modern world. Add in all the gods of all the old mythologies and religions and weave their influence into everyday life. Now, assume those gods kept up their habit of seducing mortals and populating the world with lil' demigods, and you've got the world of Pantheon High.

It's no secret that I'm a big mythology fan. I love it. I especially love reading modern interpretations of it and seeing how modern authors use those ancient building blocks to construct something new. The set up certainly had lots of potentional: four teen demigods with nothing in common get drawn together when they stumble upon a sinister plot concocted by four of their fellow students. And yet... something fell flat.

The characters seemed well thought-out. Grace, daughter of Tyr , is the new kid and a math-loving bookworm. Yukio, son of the goddess Benten, is the cheerful slacker who coasts along on his natural divine luck. Griffin, son of Hades, is doing his best to join his dad in the Underworld, but just can't quite seem to get there. And Aziza is the pretty, pampered, cheerleader daughter of Ra that puts Narcissus to shame. So far, so good, right?

Well, it would be if I hadn't just flipped through the first twenty pages and read the handy dandy report cards from the school (complete with counselor's evaluations to tell me exactly what each character's deep, inner conflicts are). This is manga - it's ESPECIALLY important to show-not-tell here! Unfortunately, between trying to squeeze in every reference to myth possible and trying to pay attention to somewhere around eight different main characters (four protagonists, four antagonists), there wasn't really a whole lot of room left for character development.

There are a LOT of characters introduced in this first volume: students, divine teachers, godly parents... As a mythology buff, I loved all the quirky little add-ins, like having Hercules coach phys-ed and having Heimdal be the hall monitor. The character designs are great, and the artwork is dynamic and fun to look at. The basic plot is engaging, and I think I could actually like some of the characters if I got to know them a little better. The non-crude humor was good, but overall, I would have preferred a little more character development over all the numerous and varied panty shots.

Since I think this could actually be a good series if the focus was narrowed a little, I'll still be picking up volume two. Just call me an optimist.

POSITIVES:
* Interesting premise
* Interesting characters
* Dynamic artwork
* Great action sequences
* Great integration of mythology

NEGATIVES:
* Can't get to really know any of the characters because there's just too many of them
* Certain character relations seemed a little forced
* Too much reliance on crude humor and panty shots

Beyond the Beyond is a cute, fast-paced fantasy about a boy whose destiny becomes inextricably tangled with that of a mysterious girl who materializes in front of him one day and whisks him off on an otherworldly adventure.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. This is another one of those harem manga, like Tenchi or El Hazard. Been there, done that, right?

Well, not exactly. Our dear protagonist is a vertically challenged 6th grader by the name of Futaba Kudo. He's the youngest of four, and his older siblings are more over-protective than a pack of mama bears and focused on their dear little brother to the point of near neurosis. Perhaps because of this, however, Futaba is an extremely optimistic and positive kind of kid - if there's a problem, you solve it; if something's broken, you fix it; if someone's bleeding, you break out the bandages. With his motto of "Everything is going to be just fine," Futaba happily plods through life, meeting every challenge head-on.

Therefore, when a young lady falls out of the sky and mistakes him for her master, Futaba's solution is to help her find her real master. The young lady in question is Kiara, and with Futaba's help, she manages to get back to the realm her master's really in, bringing a willing Futaba along with her.

It turns out that Kiara, as our mandatory magical girl, is the Amaranthine, the possessor of unimaginable power. There's just two problems: 1) only her master can use that unimaginable power, and 2) everyone under the sun doesn't know about #1 and wants that power for themselves. This does not bode well for our hero, who has only the power of positive thinking coupled with fairly good common sense and a spacey girl with no useable power in his arsenol. Fortunately, as they wander about, their little group grows to include the magical bunny-like Lady Belbel and the rather formidable and rather homicidal Virid, both of whom pull their fair share of the weight.

All in all, if Beyond the Beyond reminds me of anything, it's Digimon Frontiers, (the only season I've ever watched all the way through, but gotta say, I fell in love with it). It's got the same fast-paced adventure feel, with the story progessing in an episodic method. It has the same sprinkling of character development, done quickly and vividly in the character's introduction and then slowly developed further bit by tiny bit. Also in the Digimon vein, Beyond the Beyond has that hint of darkness underlying all the cuteness, a darkness that pulls you in and makes you tingle in anticipation of it spreading and growing into a spectacular climax.

At first glance, Beyond the Beyond has the look of something we've all seen before, a shallow imitation, but if you look further than that, you'll find a fun, fast-paced adventure that promises to grab hold and take you spiralling down into a world you're sure to remember filled with characters simmering with potential. Will it live up to its promise? Only future volumes will tell, but I know I'll be keeping an eye out for Vol. 2!

POSITIVES:
* Fast-paced, easy to follow story
* Likeable characters who are cute without being annoying
* Cute, fluid artwork
* An underlying plot that promises great things

NEGATIVES:
* Fast pace means the character development comes off a bit two-dimensional
* The siblings are built up in the first chapter, then never heard from again.

Black Cat, one of the latest offerings from Shonen Jump, brings us the story of Train Heartnet, a rather happy-go-lucky young bounty hunter (known in this world as "sweepers") who goes from place to place with his partner, Sven, in hopes of collecting enough from bounties to pay his considerable food bill for the next week. As cheerful as he is, though, Train has a dark past (dun dun duuuun!) - he spent his teens as the top assassin for the secret world organization known as Chronos. His name, the "Black Cat," struck fear into the hearts of those who cross the organization.

Then, something happened. Chronos crossed the Black Cat, and he left, despite the organization's attempts to *ahem* persuade him to stay. The Black Cat became Train, whose goal appears mostly to have fun in life and try to avoid all the people looking for his former alter-ego.

Sound familiar? Well-read manga fans (or well-viewed anime fans) will probably pick up several familiar elements from other anime and manga. It's Cowboy Bebop meets Rurouni Kenshin meets Getbackers! Like Kenshin, our hero will suddenly snap back to the personality of the alter-ego he's supposed to have left behind. His fashion sense is straight out of Getbackers. However, while these similarities are noticible, they're more amusing than cheap or distracting. The artwork's great, and the story is easy to follow and flows along at a nice, quick pace. The humor works as a good counterbalance to the darker elements of the story, keeping it a fun read on the lighter side. I definitely plan to keep reading.

POSITIVES:
* Interesting, easy to follow story with enough intricacies to keep it moving
* Well-developed, consistant characters
* Very cool, dynamic character designs
* Decent sense of humor

NEGATIVES:
* Strong similarities to other works
* Train can get a bit annoying at times
* World could use a bit more developing

"Dazzle" is the story of a young magic-using girl (Rahzel) whose father decides to send her packing in order to see and experience the world. In her first chapter out in the world, she meets a dour, angsty anti-hero (Alzeid) who for some inexplicable reason decides to let her tag along, and wacky adventures ensue, with momentous milestones in life-learning for the girl and more revealed about the past of the boy along the way.

You may be picking up a certain amount of cynacism from that description. You'd probably be right. I picked up "Dazzle" for the premise - I love those coming-of-age adventure stories. (The fairly hot bishounen didn't hurt, either) The artwork is pretty decent, and the placement of the speech bubbles isn't terribly hard to follow. The actual story, on the other hand...

The dialogue is choppy. That alone would make things hard enough to follow. But then, we have the random about-faces in plot and character to deal with. Rahzel and Alzeid don't get along... Oh, but wait! Turn the page and they do! Rahzel tells a minor character how much she trusts Alzeid through a lovely, beautifully sentimental segment... then she brazenly declares that she doesn't trust him at all. It's incredibly inconsistant to the point of the characters seeming shallow and insubstantial. "Dazzle" is listed as a drama, but honestly, I think it leans more towards adventure/comedy than drama.

And yet... I bought Volume 2. Perhaps I'm being optimistic. The author has set up some interesting relationships and a plot goal. The character of Alzeid provides enough of a point of interest that I am willing to ignore Rahzel as much as possible and forget about trying to figure out the sloppy writing. Either way, I'm hoping something will come out of it.

POSITIVES:
* Interesting set-up
* Interesting characters and backstories
* Consistant artwork of decent quality
* Pretty good sense of humor
* Potential to become something really good

NEGATIVES:
* Inconsistancies in character
* Inconcistancies in plot
* Sloppy writing, less than easy to follow
* Way too many "buh- wha?!" moments