Weekly Manga Reading List – November 14, 2010

Author / Artist: Yoshinori Natsume
Original Title: Kurozakuro
Publisher: Shonen Sunday / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Kurozakuro Vol. 1

Mikito Sakurai is meek high school boy who been getting more than his share of lumps from bullies. But all that changes Mikito meets a mysterious boy in his dreams who gives him the strength to overpower his tormentors, but at a very high price.

If the whole "wimpy boy gets strange powers" thing sounds familiar, well, it's because it's been done a ton of times before. When working with such familiar material, it's up to the artist to make it fresh and interesting. Alas, Kurozakuro has such flat characters and predictable twists, it fizzles out pretty quickly. About as un-fun as it gets.

Author / Artist: Hiroshi Kubota
Original Title: Shikigami x Shoujo
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
Compare prices for Summoner Girl Vol. 1

Hibiki is a 4th grader with a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders... and five tiny elemental gods too. Her battle-axe grandmother has charged her with finding six magical jewels that will determine who will rule the exorcists guild, but Hibiki is more kind-hearted than competitive, so she's going to do things her way.

Summoner Girl has lots of cute art, goofy sidekicks, magical battles and a few lessons about honor and friendship to share. It'd be a fun tween read, except TokyoPop skimped on the translation notes, so if you don't know what shikigami are, you'll probably be a little lost.

Author / Artist: Makoto Tateno
Original Title: Koyoi Wa Kimi To Chi No Kiss O
Publisher: DokiDoki / Digital Manga Publishing
Compare prices for A Bloody Kiss Tonight

When an impossibly handsome man comes to Riku's flower shop and asks for a daily delivery of roses, Riku starts getting special deliveries of his own when the man starts haunting his dreams and invading his bedroom. In fact, his vampire visitor pretty much rapes him nightly until Riku decides... he kinda likes it.

You know how in some vampire stories the blood-sucking is a stand-in for sex? Makoto Tateno skips the metaphors and gives yaoi readers the kinky guy-on-guy sex scenes they crave. It's trashy and its dialogue is corny, but like Twilight isn't?

Author / Artist: Yana Toboso
Original Title: Kuroshitsuji
Publisher: Yen Press
Compare prices for Black Butler Vol. 3

Sebastian and Ciel discover who "Jack the Ripper" is, and the history of pain that lead to this bloody crime spree. As one grim reaper exits, another introduces himself, and more secrets of the Phantomhive clan are revealed. Also, Ciel's ultra-strict aunt comes to visit, and Sebastian is hard-pressed to keep her from seeing the household disasters created by his fellow servants.

In Volume 3, readers learn more about Ciel and Sebastian's covenant, and Toboso seems to hit her stride with a saucy mix of Gothic decadence, over-the-top violence and goofball humor. A guilty pleasure that gets better over time.

Author / Artist: Ai Tenkawa
Original Title: Kamiinu x Blood
Publisher: DokiDoki / Digital Manga Publishing
Compare prices for Wolf God Vol. 1

When Koiyuki meets a strange boy who asks for her help to find his brother, she soon realizes how strange he really is. Kyounosuke Shirogami is part of a clan that is descended from wolves, so he has super-strength and supernatural powers. With Kyounosuke's grandfather on his deathbed, another 'alpha' must take his place. Kyounosuke is next in line, but he doesn't want the job, however there are others who are willing to fight him to take his place.

While not wholly original, Wolf God is an likeable supernatural action/adventure series with some interesting twists. Worth a look.

Author / Artist: Yellow Tanabe
Original Title: Kekkaishi
Publisher: Shonen Sunday / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Kekkaishi Vol. 23

A giant crack appears on the grounds of Karasumori, the sacred site that Yoshimori and Tokine are charged to protect. Soji, a strange young man with emotionless eyes arrives at Karasumori saying he's there to help, but Yoshimori suspects that Soji might be behind increasing attacks on mystical sites.

From first impressions, Soji seems destined to be another enemy who turns into a friend like Gen or Sen, but we'll see if things unfold differently. Tanabe tosses in some sweetly awkward moments between Tokine and Yoshimori to offer some laughs to offset the tension that's been steadily building.

Author / Artist: Sumomo Yumeka
Original Title: Natsukashi Machi no Rojione
Publisher: Yen Press
Compare prices for Himeyuka & Ronzione's Story

In these four short stories, a young woman finds her apartment covered in childlike scrawls and a boy who seems to know her from her past. A yakuza princess falls in love with a boy who works at a ramen stand. A witch disguises herself as a schoolboy to try to get the one thing that will increase her magical powers: a human boy's tears. A lonely robot tries to find... well, I couldn't figure out what the last story was about.

Yumeka's art creates a sweet, melancholy mood, but these stories are just a tangle of half-woven plot threads that go everywhere and no where. A pretty mess.

Author / Artist: Youngran Lee
Publisher: NETComics
Compare prices for There's Something About Sunyool Vol. 1

Free-spirited and opinionated Sunyool isn't your typical daughter of a powerful politician, but given that her father didn't have any other children, she's pretty much what he's got. To please her father, she agrees to an arranged marriage, but there's something about Sunyool that ensures that this plan won't go smoothly.

There's Something About Sunyool wants to be a madcap, rags-to-riches-to-rags-and-riches-again romantic comedy, but its pacing is so haphazard, its dialogue is so awkward and its jokes seem so forced, I couldn't see that "something" that makes Sunyool's antics adorable, much less tolerable.

Author / Artist: Kou Yaginuma
Original Title: Futatsu no Supika
Publisher: Vertical
Compare prices for Twin Spica Vol. 4

As several weeks go by at space academy, Asumi's training regime continues to challenge her physical and emotional capabilities. Asumi also learns more about her standoffish classmate Marika, and discovers that she has painful secrets of her own.

Kou Yaginuma's gentle coming-of-age story continues to offer a winning mix of science fact and heart-touching fiction. There's some repetition here as "Mr. Lion" makes peace with his father much like how Asumi 'reunited' with her mother in Volume 1, but hints of Marika's secrets show us that this story is moving forward, slowly but surely.

Author: Yumi Hotta
Artist: Takeshi Obata
Publisher: Shonen Jump / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Hikaru no Go Vol. 20

Now that Hikaru has joined the ranks of professional Go players, he sets his sights high to be one of three Japanese players competing for the Hokuto Cup, a tournament for pros under 18. Hikaru must win against Kiyoharu Yashiro, a young gun from Kansai whose unconventional style pushes him to his limit.

I've now read 20 volumes of this 23-volume series and I haven't the faintest idea how Go is played. It's a testament to Hotta and Obata's storytelling skills that the dramatic tension still comes through even though I don't know why Hikaru's moves seem so amazing to his fellow pros. Still, I miss Sai.