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Shōnen Manga

This category contains 21 posts

Scene stealers in manga

This week marked the return of Shiho Sugiura’s Silver Diamond to Tokyopop’s publication schedule, and that is a reason for much rejoicing. It has been almost a full year since US readers got a new volume of this underappreciated shōjo gem, which combines an interesting fantasy premise with warm, funny character moments. I wrote a [...]

Women warriors and the male gaze in Claymore

Fifteen volumes in, I’m ridiculously fond of Claymore’s women warriors, but I still have a sneaking suspicion that Yagi’s target audience does not necessarily include me.

Azuma, Kiyohiko: Yotsuba&!, vol. 7

My review of vol. 7 of Yotsuba&! is now up at Manga Life.

Arakawa, Hiromu: Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 20-21

Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 20-21
Story and Art by Hiromu Arakawa
Translation by Akira Watanabe
Adaptation by Jake Forbes
Viz, 2009
Original Japanese editions: Square Enix, 2008-2009
Paperback $9.99
978-1421530345 (vol. 20)
978-1421532325 (vol. 21)
Between this blog and Manga Life, this is the fourth full review I’ve written for the Fullmetal Alchemist series. I’ll be honest: it’s hard to find a lot of new [...]

Mashima, Hiro: Fairy Tail, vol. 1-3

Fairy Tail, vol. 1-3
Story and Art by Hiro Mashima
Translation and Adaptation by William Flanagan
Del Rey, 2008
Original Japanese editions: Kodansha, 2006-2007
978-0345501332 (vol. 1)
978-0345503305 (vol. 2)
978-0345505569 (vol. 3)
Being generic isn’t always a bad thing. This probably sounds a little strange coming from me, since that’s one of my most frequent complaints as a reviewer, but hear me [...]

Shan and Arai: Cirque du Freak, vol. 1

My review of vol. 1 of the Cirque du Freak manga went up at Manga Life while I was on vacation. Enjoy!

Arakawa and Zhou: Hero Tales, vol. 1

My review of vol. 1 of Hero Tales is up at Manga Life.

Azuma, Kiyohiko: Yotsuba&!, vol. 6

Yotsuba&!, vol. 6
Story and Art by Kiyohiko Azuma
Translated by Amy Forsyth
Yen Press, 2009
Original Japanese edition: Media Works Inc, 2006
Paperback $10.99 US
ISBN-13: 978-0316073240
In Volume 6 of Yotsuba&! we continue to follow our heroine as she learns about and explores her everyday world. This time she’s unraveling the mysteries of recycling, bicycles, sticky notes, and work. This [...]

Arakawa, Hiromu: Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 19

Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 19
Story and Art by Hiromu Arakawa
Translation by Akira Watanabe
Adapted by Jake Forbes
Viz, 2007
Original Japanese edition: Square Enix, 2008
Paperback $9.99
978-1-4215-2568-6
While reading vol. 19 of Fullmetal Alchemist, it’s hard not to get the feeling that the series is slowly heading towards its endgame. This is not to say that it is going to be [...]

Totsuka and Igarashi: Bamboo Blade, vol. 2

My review of vol. 2 of Bamboo Blade is now up at Manga Life.

CLAMP: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, vol. 22

My review of vol. 22 of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is now up at Manga Life. An excerpt:
The last time I reviewed Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle for this site, I noted that CLAMP had just kicked the plot of the series into high gear. Well, after many chapters of high drama, volume 22 finds our protagonists enjoying [...]

Tanigawa, Tsugana, and Ito: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, vol. 3

My review of vol. 3 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is now up at Manga Life.

Ishida, Akira: Oninagi, vol. 1

My review of vol. 1 of Oninagi is now up on Manga Life. Here’s an excerpt:
Fifteen-year-old Nanami is looking forward to starting high school, since it will give her an opportunity to be closer to her long-time crush Kazuto Sanjouin. But her hopes for a normal springtime of youth are promptly derailed by the arrival [...]

Hagaren miscellany

Via umadoshi: Jake Forbes on the joys of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga. An excerpt:
Any anime fan who’s followed the scene for the last five years is probably quite familiar with this ongoing tale of angst and alchemy, but if you’ve only experienced Fullmetal in its animated form, you’re really missing out. The manga, still going [...]

Naruto Nation redux

As others in the comics & anime blogosphere have already reported, Viz will be repeating last year’s Naruto Nation in the first half of 2009.
On the manga front, eleven volumes of manga will be released between February and April 2009; after this, the series will go back to its old quarterly release schedule. On the [...]

CLAMP: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, vol. 16-18

My review of vols. 16-18 of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is now up at Manga Life. An excerpt:
CLAMP kicks the plot of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle into high gear in volumes 16-18 of this ongoing series. Readers of the first fifteen volumes would have been somewhat justified in wondering if the story’s determined group of travelers–Sakura, Syaoran, [...]

Arakawa, Hiromu: Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 16

My review of vol. 16 of Fullmetal Alchemist is now up at Manga Life. An excerpt:
In Volume 16 of Fullmetal Alchemist, the story returns to the present after the long flashback to the Ishbal campaign in Volume 15. As such, this is very much a transitional volume in the series. The characters are scattering to [...]

Arakawa, Hiromu: Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 15

My review of vol. 15 of Fullmetal Alchemist is now up at Manga Life. A teaser:
The fifteenth volume of Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist takes readers several years into the past, as Lieutenant Hawkeye tells Ed about the Ishbal campaign. For anyone unfamiliar with the series, Fullmetal Alchemist is the story of two brothers, Edward and [...]

Hoshino, Katsura: D.Gray-Man, vol. 2-3

My reviews of

Hoshino, Katsura: D.Gray-Man, vol. 1

D.Gray-Man, Vol. 1
Story and Art by Katsura Hoshino
Translation and English Adaptation by Mayumi Kobayashi
Rated T+ for Older Teen
Viz, 2006
(First published in 2004)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4215-0623-4
Review
Set in an alternate nineteeth century, D.Gray-Man tells the story of Allen Walker, a fifteen-year-old boy with a dark past. Allen is an exorcist: his left hand, disfigured since birth, hosts a fragment [...]