August 17, 2009
by Joy
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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 a … Continue reading
June 8, 2009
by Joy
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Honey and Clover, Vol. 4-5 Story and Art by Chica Umino Rated T+ for Older Teen Originally published in Japan in 2000 Serialized in US Shojo Beat in 2008-2009 Published by Viz in volume form 2008-2009 ISBN-13: 978-1-4215-1507-6 (vol. 4) … Continue reading
May 20, 2009
by Joy
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When Haruhi enters the SOS Brigade into a local baseball tournament, the club members once again find themselves scrambling to cater to her whims. Winning isn’t everything to Haruhi; it’s the only thing. And it’s up to Kyon and the … Continue reading
April 28, 2009
by Joy
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GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class is a yonkoma (4 panel) manga that follows five friends–Kisaragi, Miki, Namiko, Tomokane, and Miyabi–during their days in a high school art department. Each strip collected in this volume captures a different moment in the … Continue reading
April 22, 2009
by Joy
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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 … Continue reading
March 20, 2009
by Joy
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Even in the US, where most of his work is still not yet available, Naoki Urasawa is something of a manga superstar. When his work Monster, a suspenseful thriller about a doctor on the trail of a serial killer, first … Continue reading
February 10, 2009
by Joy
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The tenth volume of After School Nightmare marks the end of the series and finally offers some answers regarding Ichijo’s mysterious experiences in the dream class. Readers who’ve stuck with this fascinating series through all its earlier twists and turns … Continue reading
January 16, 2009
by Joy
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In Silver Diamond, Rakan, an orphaned teen with an affinity for plants, has his life turned upside down when a series of unexpected guests from another world turn up in his garden. Chigusa arrives first; he initially mistakes Rakan for … Continue reading
November 18, 2008
by Joy
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Crayon Shinchan is a gag manga about a cheeky five-year-old boy whose obsession with bodily functions, pretty girls, and his mother’s clothing tends to make life very interesting for his family, friends, and classmates. Though I haven’t read the earlier … Continue reading
October 30, 2008
by Joy
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In volume 5 of Venus in Love, romance is finally blossoming between Suzuna and Eichi, and their relationship grows stronger as various holidays provide opportunities for each to demonstrate their affection to the other. But complications loom on the horizon … Continue reading
October 21, 2008
by Joy
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In Two Flowers for the Dragon, Shakuya, the teenage princess of the Dragon Clan, finds herself in the uncomfortable situation of having not one but two fiancés. The cause of her predicament? The unexpected return of Lucien, her first fiancé, … Continue reading
October 15, 2008
by Joy
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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, Kurogane, … Continue reading
August 27, 2008
by Joy
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Ginko is a mushishi, an expert in the primordial life forms known as mushi. He does not have any unusual powers of his own, aside from a tendency to attract mushi and to see them while some others cannot. As … Continue reading
August 13, 2008
by Joy
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Volumes 11 and 12 of xxxHOLiC continue the story of Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school student whose inconvenient tendency to attract spirits led him to make a rash bargain with Yûko, the space-time witch, back in volume 1. Now fully … Continue reading
August 7, 2008
by Joy
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Wild Adapter, vol. 1-2 By Kazuya Minekura Translation: Alexis Kirsch English Adaptation: Christine Boylan Tokyopop ISBN-10: 1598169785 (v1) $9.99 ISBN-10: 1598169793 (v2) $9.99 In Wild Adapter, Kazuya Minekura takes readers into Japan’s underworld, where yakuza power struggles, interpersonal rivalries, and … Continue reading
July 16, 2008
by Joy
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Ouran High School Host Club is a shojo manga series that both embraces and pokes fun at the storytelling conventions that diehard manga readers have come to know, love, and occasionally mock. The protagonist, Haruhi Fujioka, is a poor but … Continue reading
July 10, 2008
by Joy
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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 … Continue reading
June 4, 2008
by Joy
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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 … Continue reading
April 30, 2008
by Joy
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My review of Bus Gamer is up at Manga Life. An excerpt: For fans of Minekura’s other series, Saiyuki and Wild Adapter, Bus Gamer offers familiar pleasures. Although the art is not quite as polished as that seen in Wild … Continue reading
April 9, 2008
by Joy
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My review of vol. 1 of Honey and Clover is up at Manga Life. An excerpt: Chica Umino’s Honey and Clover follows the lives of five students at a Tokyo art college. Though it is published in the U.S. by … Continue reading