Seinen Manga
A new job, upcoming travel, and recent reading
I know updates have been few and far between lately, but that’s because a lot has been going on in my offline life that’s demanded my attention. Last week I accepted a new job as Youth Services Librarian for Pierce County Library System (WA), starting in mid-July. I will miss my colleagues and community [...]
Puppets and pirates
This afternoon I read volume 3 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service by Otsuka Eiji and Yamazaki Housui while sitting in one of my favorite neighborhood cafes. This series is another that reminds me that first impressions of manga series are not always reliable. I was not particularly impressed when I read volume 1 back in [...]
Ten titles to watch for in 2010
Everyone else did their list of what they’re looking forward to in January, but let’s just pretend I’m doing this for Lunar New Year! In the interests of brevity, I’m limiting myself to sequential art series or standalone titles being published in the US for the first time in 2010 and significant reissues.
What I’m Reading: Monster, vol. 1-18 (complete)
It’s been all Urasawa, all the time, around my apartment this last month, as I’ve been busy catching up on three of his series. I’ve reviewed 20th Century Boys and Pluto elsewhere, so that leaves Monster for this post. For the few of you who haven’t read this yet, Monster is the story of Kenzo [...]
Urasawa, Naoki: 20th Century Boys, vol. 4
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, vol. 4
Story and Art by Naoki Urasawa
With the cooperation of Takashi Nagasaki
English Adaptation by Akemi Wegmuller
Viz, 2009
Original Japanese edition: Shogakukan, 2001
Paperback $12.99
978-1-4215-1923-4
Naoki Urasawa now has three different series available in English from Viz, and I suspect if you asked any group of manga readers to choose their favorite, they would [...]
Urasawa, Naoki: 20th Century Boys, vol. 3
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, vol. 3
Story and Art by Naoki Urasawa
With the cooperation of Takashi Nagasaki
English Adaptation by Akemi Wegmuller
Viz, 2009
Original Japanese edition: Shogakukan, 2000
Paperback $12.99
978-1-4215-1922-7
Having now written full reviews of 20th Century Boys, vol. 1, and Pluto, vol. 1, the big challenge I face in writing this review of 20th Century Boys, vol. [...]
Urasawa and Tezuka: Pluto, vol. 1
Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, vol. 1
By Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka
Co-authored with Takashi Nagasaki
Supervised by Macoto Tezka
With the cooperation of Tezuka Productions
Translation by Jared Cook and Frederick L. Schodt
Viz, 2009
Original Japanese edition: Shogakukan, 2004
Paperback $12.99
978-1-4215-1918-0
Pluto takes readers to the future, where a series of murders is putting an unwelcome spotlight on the imperfect coexistence [...]
Kiyuduki, Satoko: GA, vol. 1
My review of vol. 1 of GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class is now up on Manga Life. Here’s an excerpt:
In the interest of full disclosure, I should begin by noting that I generally avoid picking up yonkoma series, as I mostly read manga for the rich character and plot development made possible by the multi-page [...]
Urasawa, Naoki: 20th Century Boys, vol. 1
My review of vol. 1 of 20th Century Boys is now up on Manga Life. Here’s an excerpt:
20th Century Boys is a sprawling, ambitious story set over several decades in the lives of a group of childhood friends. When they were boys, Kenji and his gang had big imaginations and bigger dreams, but as adults [...]
Usui, Yoshito: Crayon Shinchan, vol. 6
My review of vol. 6 of Crayon Shinchan is now up at Manga Life. I, er, didn’t like it very much.
Urushibara, Yuki: Mushishi, vol. 4
My review of vol. 4 of Mushishi is now up at Manga Life. An excerpt:
As with previous volumes in this series, these stories are episodic, linked only by Ginko himself. On the surface, these stories appear to focus on the mushi and their strange effects on the natural world, but at their hearts, they are [...]
CLAMP: xxxHOLiC, vol. 11-12
My review of vols. 11-12 of xxxHOLiC is now up at Manga Life. An excerpt:
CLAMP’s art in this series continues to be spectacular. They eschew the use of most screentones in the art of xxxHOLiC, and the resulting combination of deep blacks and clean white space is very striking and helps establish the series’ often [...]
Urushibara, Yuki: Mushishi, vol. 1-3
Mushishi, Vols. 1-3
Story and Art by Yuki Urushibara
Translated and Adapted by William Flanagan
Del Rey, 2007-2008
(First published 2000-2002 in Japan)
ISBN-13: 9780345496218 (vol. 1)
ISBN-13: 9780345496447 (vol. 2)
ISBN-13: 9780345496454 (vol. 3)
Review
Ginko is a mysterious and often sardonic young man who happens to be a mushishi, a mushi master. This means he has the ability to perceive and deal [...]
Mori, Kaoru: Emma, vol. 2
Emma, Vol. 2
Story and Art by Kaoru Mori
Rated Teen Plus
CMX, 2007
ISBN: 1-4012-4433-X
Review
In Victorian England, a quiet young woman named Emma works as a maid for Mrs. Stownar, a retired governess. William Jones is the eldest son of a wealthy merchant family and one of Mrs. Stownar’s former charges. When William meets Emma while visiting, he’s [...]
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