Cat Paradise vol.1

I've never read any of Yuji Iwahara's work before Cat Paradise, but I'd heard nothing but good things. While his past stories seemed to be a bit dark, this is straight up action/adventure fun.
Yumi is a new student at Matabi Academy, and like many other students, her main reason for going to this school is that they allow cats on campus. We soon find out that a demon cat is sealed somewhere on the school grounds, and that the student council and their cats watch over it. Yumi and her cat, Kansuke, soon encounter a demon and gain their own power similar to the student council members'.

There's well tread ground here, but Iwahara obviously knows it. In the author's comment section, he says he was aiming for creating something that felt like an anime, and I'd say he hit his mark. Ancient sealed demons, students fighting monsters, a mysterious student council, seven "chosen" kids, etc.; it's all fairly common for anime. The twist in this scenario is the fixation on cats. Each student/cat pair has a unique power based on some aspect of their personality (Yumi creates costumes for Kansuke which turn him into a humanoid cat person). Their powers also allow them to communicate with cats. There are plenty of pet owners who dress up their pets, and Yumi is no expection, so when Kansuke finally gets to talk with her, it's funny to finally see an animal get to complain about being forced to wear clothes. In addition to Yumi, we get to see one other student council member's power in this volume.

There's a kind of silliness to the story's underlying premise, but that's what makes it fun. The other thing that make this series worth reading is the art. His art actually reminds of Eiichiro Oda's (One Piece), not in his character designs (they're nothing alike), but in the thickness of the linework, and the way that he uses parallel lines for shading instead of screentoning. Except in Iwahara's case the shading sometimes stands out a bit too much, and can look a little weird. Here ,for instance, Yumi's tongue and neck just seem a bit odd (click to enlarge):


Otherwise, I really like his style. I'm no cat expert, but it seems Iwahara put in the effort to make the cat's breeds all look distinct and like real cats...or as real as is art style would allow. There's also a touch of Disney to the way he draws the cats, but maybe that's just me. I loved this small little gag where they're in a library and Kansuke has the sudden urge to scratch a book for no other reason than the fact that he's a cat. The way he looks at Yumi as he's about to do it is just cute. It's something a real cat would do:


This manga is fun in the way something like Digimon is. You know it's silly, but you can't help but get wrapped up in it. Your mileage may vary, but I'm looking forward to more. And if you want your shonen fix, at 5 volumes, this is a good alternative to other, more epically-sized series.

Japan makes Twilight cool!

I am neither condemning nor praising Twilight. (Never read the books, but saw the first movie and I didn't hate it entirely. I'm more of a Harry Potter man.) Moving on. I wanted to share something cool. I saw these a while ago, but I was reminded of them with the recent hubbub over New Moon.


The books probably aren't my kinda thing, but if I saw these, even I would take a second look:

More appealing than apples and chess pieces? The Japanese release of the novels were given a manga makeover, at least on the outside (the inside is just Twilight in Japanese). To be clear, these aren't manga, just the covers given to the novels in Japan. You'll notice that one of the books is listed as number "13". I'm almost certain there aren't that many novels in the series. It's common for novels in Japan to be released in parts, so for example, the first Twilight book might be divided into 2 or 3 individual volumes. I don't know why that is. Maybe Japanese text takes more page space? Also, I'm not sure how common it is for foreign novels to be given manga-like covers. Maybe they're marketing this to the light novel crowd? I dunno.



I really like the style. It makes it look like a hip shojo manga. I prefer this to mopey K. Stew and R. Pats (let's just ignore the fact that I called them that). The artwork is done by mangaka Ryuuji Gotsubo, whose soccer manga, Sasameke, will be released by Yen Press in just a few months. So if you like what you see here...check out Sasameke! And while we're on the subject of Yen Press, they're releasing a Twilight manhwa.

If you wanna see the rest of the covers just search "トワイライト" on amazon.co.jp Rest assured, they all feature Edward-san and Bella-chan dressed stylishly while practicing abstinence. In conclusion: manga makes everything slightly better.

Oh god, I just made a Twilight post.

Monster!!

Monster premieres tonight on Syfy(not SciFi) at 11!

Okay, I'm just posting this because I haven't posted anything all month...that will change. But yea, watch Monster!

One Piece 3-in-one collections?

We all know Viz is speeding up the release of One Piece in 2010 in a big way, but I just came across another One Piece release they're doing. On the Simon & Schuster website, where Viz's upcoming licenses and releases are often listed even before they're announced, there are listings for several One Piece volumes entitled "One Piece: East Blue 1-2-3", "4-5-6", "7-8-9", and "10-11-12", at a price of $14.99 (3 for the price of 2), which covers the East Blue saga (hence the title). I'm not sure if they'll be VizBig releases, but I doubt it, considering the price. It's probably meant more for new readers to play catch-up, and omnibuses are great for a series as long as this one.

From what I've read of NYAF reports, they didn't mention anything there, but the Simon & Schuster listings are usually true.

Bleach vol.27

I've been looking forward to this volume for quite a while, as it marks the beginning of a new arc in Bleach.
The first few chapters pick up where the last one left off with the gang fighting some Vizards, and most notably, Urahara jumping in...oh and Orihime running into Ulquiorra. But Urahara fights! He's one of the coolest characters in the series, so any time he gets to fight is a treat. His fight is kind of silly, involving some of his gadgets and whatnot. And speaking of the coolest Bleach characters, Shinji also steps in for a bit!

As for the main part of this volume, like last time, Orhime is once again the true star of the volume. Ulquiorra has come to take her to Hueco Mundo, and threatens to kill her friends if she resists, but he allows her to see one person to say goodbye to (in an invisible form). She chooses to go see Ichigo, of course. After finding out that she is missing, Ichigo and Renji's group want to go rescue her, but the leaders of the Soul Society decide she is a traitor and not worth the trouble of rescuing when they have bigger things to worry about. Obviously, this won't stop Ichigo.

There were several scenes that I really loved in this volume, the biggest one being Orihime's goodbye to Ichigo. Her speech is touching and fittingly (for her character) somewhat childlike. The other great scene is Tatsuki confronting Ichigo about Orihime's disappearance, in addition to the secret's he's been hiding. Tatsuki is a character I really like and who hasn't had much screen time, so I was happy to see her get down right pissed off about being left in the dark, especially when it involves Orihime.

Things were pretty tense this volume, and the stage is set for another epic arc. Yes, this looks to be yet another mission to save a damsel in distress, but this time it feels like there's more at stake, partly because Orihime seems like a much more innocent and vulnerable character than Rukia (and also much more of a mystery because of her powers), and partly because she's being sent to evil central. Either way, I'm sure there will be some great battles along the way.
Once again, I wish Viz would speed up its release a bit.

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle coming to an end

Tsubasa: Reservior Chronicle's final chapter is set to run in the September 30th issue of Shonen Magazine. The series will end up having 29 volumes, I believe. Don't know what's going on in the storyline at all, but here's hoping CLAMP finishes it in a satisfying manner. I guess xxxholic's end can't be too far off either. But then again, I've never read it, so I don't know how strongly it's main story is connected to Tsubasa's. I want to start reading it soon (CLAMP's little crossover ploy works). Maybe they'll finish X now?

It seems like Del Rey might be fast-tracking Tsubasa's release a tiny bit, as they're releasing the next two volumes, 23 and 24(and an artbook), simultaneously in October.

(info from Ritual Scan Forge)

License Wishlist Wednesday! Future Retro Hero Story

Today I'll be talking about late-80's sci fi manga!! Future Retro Hero Story, by Takehiko Ito (Outlaw Star...more on that later), started in 1988 and ran in Ultra Jump.

Space adventurer Roger Fortune was in the midst of a space battle to save a space princess when his enemies banished him to a far off world (our Earth). Fast forward several years later to modern day Japan(...well, 80's Japan), to his grandson, Juji Godoh, who is, what else, a high school transfer student. On an ordinary day, Fortune's enemies come to earth, and Juji ends up inheriting Fortune's ship and having to pick up where his grandfather (now just a brain/robot thing) left off.

When this manga first came out, the titled referred to it being an homage/spoof of old school science fiction from the 50's and so on. Now, the "Retro" part of the title actually refers to the style of the manga itself, which is now 21 years old and unmistakably drawn two decades ago. There are also multiple references to sci-fi stories such as Lensman.

One thing I really like about this series is how tongue-in-cheek it is. Though it's not a full on comedy, it doesn't take itself seriously at all. Take a look at these pages. The dialogue of the kids on the bus made me chuckle quite a bit. And check out our hero's supreme modesty, along with the innocent prayers of a Catholic school girl!

Also full of hilarity is his teacher, who is drawn in completely exaggerated poses in just about every action he does.

There's a certain universal charm to the typical 80's manga art style, and that's definitely present here. I'd really like to see more 80's manga released here (and several more of these will probably be about older manga), and this is one that's really high on my list. By the way, the images here are from scanlations, but the group behind it dismantled, and only did a few chapters of this series.

That's about it. Here's some nice action shots. There are some dynamic drawings here (like Juji summoning his ship), and the characters are all pretty cool looking. The whole thing is really energetic and cartoony.


Oh yea, I said I'd mention Outlaw Star. Outlaw Star is actually a spin off this series (the manga also ran in Ultra Jump), and by extension, so is Angel Links. I don't know how strongly they're connected beyond taking place in the same universe, but there is a definite similarity between the two. Both main characters are redheads, and have similar guns, and both series have a mix of science fiction and magic.

Who: Viz. Maybe CMX.
Likelihood: I say Viz because it's Shueisha and Ultra Jump, and I say maybe CMX, because they just seem like a wild card to me. They've released some older shojo, so why not some older seinen/shonen? But either way, the chances are probably pretty low. Manga this old doesn't get licensed, and when it does, it's because it already has some sort of following or big name attached to it (Takahashi, for instance). So I'd say the chances are lower than 10%...like 5%!!
It should also be noted that at one point in time Viz did have the license for Outlaw Star. I might be crazy, but I distinctly remember the announcement, and possibly even seeing it listed on their site at one point several years ago. Nothing ever came of it, but if they ever do decide to release Outlaw Star, then I could see a release of Future Retro Hero Story possibly going along with it. I'm still hopeful for both of them.

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle vol.21

The flashback continues! This time showing us how Fai came to be in Seresu, and what made him leave (basically, Ashura is a coldblooded fiend...or is he? [He is.]) Kurogane tries to snap Fai out of his pity party by drawing his sword against him (!!!), and once snapped out, Fai dukes it out with Ashura as more of his past is revealed and Sakura's body is in danger.

I finished this volume feeling confused. Part of it was visual, part of it was story. While it really was a treat to see Kurogane and Fai actually fight each other, that, along with Fai fighting Ashura, were kind of hard to make complete sense of in one reading. I've never had a problem with CLAMP's actions scenes before, but this time there just seemed to be way too many magic swoops and swirls (even more than usual). This hurt things a lot, especially near the end of the volume, where a bunch of black swirls spread out everywhere. I eventually realized this was supposed to be some sort of sphere closing in around them, but it was very hard to notice that until the end of that particular sequence. Don't get me wrong, there are still some nice visual moments throughout the volume (this is CLAMP), but there were just as many moments where the effects were overdone, and ended up hurting the clarity of some scenes. There was also this bit (when Kurogane first draws his sword), where Kurogane slashes and all of sudden the area he slices cracks like a glass wall, and a bunch of shards fall, each with an image from Fai's past. The effect was nifty, but I couldn't help wondering...where did that wall come from???? Was it some sort of projector screen where they were viewing Fai's past? If so, there was no evidence of that at all in this or the previous volume, until Kurogane broke it.

There were also some story elements that just seemed iffy. It seems like Fai's memories were tampered with, but because no one ever says this outright(well...Fei Wang says something to that effect near the end), it makes things kind of confusing. The biggest point of confusion involved the curses, though. Fai's first curse was that he'd kill someone with more magic power than him, and that one's already been activated and done with. At the end of the previous volume, Fei Wang says something along the lines of "Your second curse, you need not remember it. From here on you will be trumping moves of my plan," which makes it sound like the "trumping" is the second curse, meaning Fai would be his puppet. But then the second curse activates near the end of this book and it's something completely different, which threw me for a loop. It took a trip to Wikipedia (at the risk of spoilers!) to sort things out. The problem was the bit in the previous volume. It seems that in between the "second curse" phrase and the "trumping" phrase, there was some block of memory that was censored. The problem was, there was nothing that visually or textually implied that, making it seem like the second phrase followed right after the other. Maybe that was their intent, though. Coincidentally, that trip to Wikipedia also cleared up another point brought up in this volume regarding Fai's back tattoo. I shouldn't have to resort to Wiki to understand things. Also, I, and possibly CLAMP, completely forgot that Fai became a vampire not too long ago, so when I remembered that fact, I was kind of surprise that it didn't come up even once in the most Fai-centric story so far.

Essentially, while I'm almost sure there are no gaping plotholes, because of CLAMP's writing style, it feels like there are. I guess by now I should just accept this as CLAMP's style. Show us random things (like Kurogane's completely nonsensical action at the end), and only explain it after we've racked our brains trying to understand it.

All in all, it was a flawed, but not terrible volume. Confusions aside, the storyline was resolved and we got some closure regarding Fai's past, and it was great to finally see Fai going all out.

Now, Yuko, come and explain everything next volume, thanks.

Pluto vol.3

Three Astro Boy posts in a row! This volume is mainly split up between two stories: A group of robot haters who have it in for Gesicht, and Uran's encounter with a strange bum.

The Gesicht side of this volume is actually one of Urasawa's infamous tangents. It is about Gesicht, but we don't seem him all that much. It's actually about the group of robot haters mentioned above, who wear pointy white hoods (...subtle). One in particular has a grudge against Gesicht (I won't say why), and plans to bring him down. This storyline adds two things, one being a new layer to the future presented in this manga. As obvious as the real life reference might be with the hoods and all, it makes sense that their would be those prejudiced against robots being integrated into society, and those who would take that prejudice to the extreme. The other thing it adds is a clue regarding Gesicht's missing memories and why they would have been erased.

As for Uran's story, anyone familiar with the original story (or any of it's anime adaptations) knows that Uran plays an important role, and they will immediately where this volume is headed. Still, Urasawa's take on it is great. It also includes one of the most interesting uses of color I've ever seen in a manga.

Other highlights of this volume include the seventh super robot, Epsilon, a semi-good glimpse at Pluto and what his abilities are, and a robot that barfs a bunch of robotic bugs!!!
I was also pleased to Abracadabra (aka Kino from "The Third Magician"). Abra is changed into "Abullah," but Tawashi calls him Abra Cadabra at first. He only appeared in one Astro Boy story, so he's not the type of character I'd expect to make it into Pluto, much less in what seems to be a very important role. I actually recognized him first because of his sideburns, which is what stood out to me about Kino. This new character adds another piece to the puzzle by showing us that someone might be pulling the strings, and that Pluto might just be a pawn in a larger plan.

In other Urasawa news:
MONSTER is coming to Syfy's Animonday block in October!!!!! I've never seen or read Monster, so I'm excited about this.

More Mighty Atom!

There's a preview for IDW's Astro Boy movie miniseries at USA Today of all places. Click.
It doesn't look that bad, actually. It might give an idea of what to expect from the movie, as well. And there's totally Rock and Pinoko lookalikes in his classroom! It would be neat if the movie had a bunch of Tezuka characters hanging out in the background like extras.

Go, Go, Go, Astro Boy!

'Astro Boy' Trailer
There's a new trailer for the Astro Boy movie, and it's looking pretty cool (the butt guns are there!). Imagi did a pretty awesome job with TMNT, and this looks even better. I love Astro Boy, so I have high hopes for this movie. Apparently, the footage they showed at Comic-Con was well received, but I wonder how this will actually do at the box office. Do kids care about Astro Boy? Is the nostalgia factor strong enough for the adults who do know him?

And guess who made it into the movie?:

The man himself, pulling a Stan Lee! Just like he'd insert himself in his own manga.

Also, over at Japanator, they have a look at some of the toys (by Hot Toys) for the movie, which are also looking very nice and will probably end up on my bookshelf.

License Wishlist Wednesday! Giant Killing

This week, Giant Killing!!! It's published in Kodansha's Morning, written by Masaya Tsunamoto and drawn by Tsujitomo.

It's not about Shadow of the Colossus, or mass murder, it's about soccer. Specifically, about a professional soccer team, East Tokyo United, on it's last legs and the coach (Tatsumi) who's determined to bring them out of their rut. From what I've heard about it, it differs from most sports manga in that it focuses more on the coach than the team, and that's what interests me about this series. Underdog sports stories are nothing new, but this story's angle, as well as the art, make it seem pretty nifty. The series is currently at 11 volumes and still going.

I'm not a sports guy at all (who has time for sports when there's manga to be read!), but this seems to have the Eyeshield 21 factor, where the art is solid enough to attract me to the story regardless of its subject matter. Admittedly, I haven't read Eyeshield 21 since volume 10, but super kudos for keeping my interest as long as it did despite being about something I'd normally not care for.
Anyways, take a peek at the goods:



I really like Tsujitomo's art style. It has enough energy to make an otherwise boring (to me) sport look damn exciting. There's a shift in panel layout whenever there's "action." Any non-game scenes play out in mostly square and rectangular panels, but once the games start, it's crazy quadrilaterals and parallelograms aplenty! The sequence in the fourth page above is pretty boss. Check out the way he draws knees, too. I guess in most manga, you wouldn't notice them, but here they'd be important, so it's fitting that they have a distinct look. They look unusual, but appropriately muscular in a boxy, Dragonball Z way.
Also, Coach Tatsumi looks so cool!


Who: Del Rey
Likelihood: The way I see it, this has several knocks against it. One, it's a sports manga. We have a few sports manga in the US, but I wouldn't call it a popular genre. Two, it's soccer. It might be the world's game, but it certainly isn't America's game. I say Del Rey because it's published in Morning, and Kodansha seems to be their buddy, but while they have released some seinen (from Morning as well as others), they don't do it quite as often as other companies. Even if they were to release more Morning manga, I'm not sure this would be high on their list. Maybe when the World Cup comes around and everyone pretends to care about soccer for a few weeks, Del Rey might find it an opportune time to release and market the series. For now, I'll say a 20% chance.

Reborn! vol.11

The fight for the Vongola Rings has started!
Members of the Varia show up earlier than expected, even though not everyone from Tsuna's side is prepared. Their attack is stopped, though, by a message from the 9th Vongola boss himself, saying that the conflict will be settled in the form of a tournament. The first two fights are for the Sun Ring and the Lightning Ring.

Usually, I don't like it when a shonen manga introduces a tournament into the plot. It just feels like there's some bit of danger taken out of it by having organized fights, and they end up throwing in a bunch of characters that aren't really important, and sometimes the fights might not involve any of the main characters at all. It feels like a story shortcut; instead of thinking up a plot where this encounter would happen, the author just tosses everyone in an arena to take turns. However, I don't quite mind it as much here for two reasons: 1. This isn't like most shonen tournaments because the fight is only between two groups, meaning only the main characters will be involved. These fights were going to happen anyway. 2. Reborn is bananas. It can get away with just about anything, just by virtue of the fact that the core concept of the series is absolutely ridiculous. The reaction is this:"Geeze a tournament? Flinging the salt from evaporated sweat off your arm like bullets(not kidding) ? Oh wait...this is that series about the talking baby hitman and the Japanese kid trying to become and Italian mob boss. Okay, I buy it. A tournament isn't that farfetched."

While it would've been more interesting for this arc to go like the beginning of the volume, with the Varia chasing after them, these fights were gonna happen anyway, so it doesn't really matter if it's being done tournament style. It doesn't feel like a plot shortcut, because the scenario for everything was already set up before the tournament was even introduced.

As for the fights themselves, we get two of them: Ryohei's and Lambo's. I'm glad Ryohei's came first, because...it's Ryohei. He's the least important of the group, and while his fight was interesting (the salt thing I mentioned), it was the one I was looking forward to least. I was really looking forward to Lambo's, though. He's one of my favorite characters, so I loved him getting the spotlight. It only lasted two chapters (both fights wrapped up relatively quickly), but his fight was very eventful and creative, and just pure fun to read. Electric powers, time travel? Good times.

The art has improved in leaps and bounds from the first few volumes. The art was somewhat awkward and amateurish at first, but Amano has really hit her stride now, and her character designs have become much more stylized. However, a bit of that early awkwardness still remains, especially when she draws her characters at certain angles. It's not very noticeable, but it's there. But like I said, it has improved. Lambo's fight in particular is very well drawn.

This volume was pretty exciting, and I can only imagine it getting better from here. I can't wait to see the rest of this arc. I just wish Viz would release this series faster!

Rin-ne Ch.1-14

Rinne is the newest series by Rumiko Takahashi currently being release by Viz at The Rumic World. It's about the adventures of a student/shinigami name Rinne Rokudo, and Sakura Mamiya, a girl who can see ghosts.
When this series started, a lot of people (myself included) were expecting some sort of Inuyasha/Bleach mashup. The first chapter didn't exactly disprove that either, with Rinne fighting an evil spirit and all. But then the series went on, and each chapter has involved Rinne and Sakura dealing with some ghostly problems, but nary a bit of fighting. Instead there's been comedy, and an ever growing cast of silly ghosts.
While most were expecting the next Inuyasha, what we actually got was the next Ranma 1/2 or Urusei Yatsura. A shonen series with some action but with the true emphasis on comedy and silliness. And I'm definitely not complaining.
It's a nice, lighthearted series, and the chapters feel light and breezy, going by quicker than expected, which is part of what's made it so readable. Only recently, was a villain/rival character introduced, but he's mostly been a source of more gags.
When I first heard about the series, I thought what Viz was doing was awesome, but I didn't think I'd follow it. Now here I am, months later, having read each chapter right on the day they came out. Each story has been light fun, though nothing amazing. But it's been pretty enjoyable, and I love the clever ways Takahashi uses Japanese folklore in her story (the blog on the manga's site does a great job of explaining a bunch of references). I can't say it's a must-read though. I don't think I'd buy it when the actual volumes come out either. But who knows, it might develop a really interesting main plot in the future.

For now, it's a very fun, light series, and it's worth at least checking out. If you're a Takahashi fan, it's a no-brainer (and you've probably read every chapter already).

License Wishlist Wednesday! Kidou Ryodan Hachifukijin!

When I first started LWW, I said there would be some manga I wouldn't know much about beyond their looks, and dang it, I'm a man of my word. This week it's Kidou Ryodan Hachifukujin, or Mechanized Infantries 8 Fukujin, or MI-8 Fukujin (French version), a seinen manga from Comic Beam by Satoshi Fukushima.

Notice I mentioned the French version? That's because I had to look up that version to find some sort of plot summary that could be easily translated. Even then, the summary was pretty vague. The world is at war, and the story follows 8 young soldiers involved in the fight with an emphasis on character drama as well. From what I can tell, the tone of the series is more on the serious side. Oh, and the war is fought with these:

Last week I talked about Rideback, which involved some unusual mecha, and this is yet another such series. The robots really caught my eye, and are my main draw to this series. The idea of a war being fought in amphibious, kinda goofy mechas with bellies is amusing to me.
The rest of the art seems promising as well. I haven't seen much of what's inside, but the covers are rather nice, and I like the looks of the characters, especially the slightly nerdy main character. You can also check out more of his (or maybe her) art at his website.

If anyone knows anything about this series, let me know!!!!

Who: CMX, maybe?
Likelihood: I say CMX because they've release Comic Beam stuff before, like Emma and Astral Project. They tend to prefer shorter series, and this is 9 volumes, so that's shortish. Otherwise, there isn't all that much Beam manga available here. Maybe a 45% chance?