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)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4215-2366-8 (vol. 5)
Ysabet gets to review most Viz Shojo Beat titles over at Manga Life, so I’ve decided to put my comments on some of those series over here. And this weekend I began catching up on Honey and Clover, thanks my order of a couple recent volumes from Amazon.
I’m really unreasonably fond of this series, so you should probably take my gushing here with a whole shakerful of salt. But I think these two volumes both show the series hitting its stride. Both highlight the way the series is interested in more than romantic love. Yes, love is certainly a central concern, but friendship is just as important. And beyond that, the series looks at what it means to grow up, to choose a career, to be an average person in world where there are geniuses.
(Some spoilers in the rest of my comments)
13th Boy is the story of Hee-So Eun, an eighth-grader who has been spectacularly unlucky in love. Despite her tender years, she’s already had–and lost–eleven boyfriends. So one can’t blame her for being reluctant to give up on boyfriend number 12, Won-Jun, when he wants to break up after a month of dating. After all, their relationship began with her dramatic confession of her feelings for him on national television: it must be destiny! But reigniting their romance isn’t going to be easy for Hee-So, especially with Won-Jun’s best friend Whie-Young offering obnoxious commentary on the futility of her efforts every step of the way. 
A young scholar sleeping in a temple courtyard encounters the beautiful daughter of a government official. It’s not quite love at first sight, but both parties are intrigued; before long, a clandestine second meeting is arranged. So begins The History of the West Wing, a manhua adaptation of a classic Chinese play (Xixiang Ji by Wang Shifu). 
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 others to make sure she goes home happy, lest the universe suffer the consequences. 
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 girls’ lives, from the frantic rush to complete an assignment to not-so-peaceful lunches in the cafeteria. 
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 of a mysterious swordswoman, Tomotaka Onogoroshi. Tomotaka accuses Nanami of being a demon and tries to kill her. And when the dust finally settles, Nanami learns things about her family history that will change her life. 
When eight-year-old Si-Joon, the spoiled son of a senator, is lost in the mountains during summer camp, he meets a strange woman who tells him that he must marry her (literally) pig-faced daughter to atone for the sins of his ancestors. He stupidly agrees to participate in the wedding ceremony just so he can have something to eat. (Well, he is only eight!) It’s such a strange adventure that he grows up thinking that it was only a dream. But on his sixteenth birthday, his bride shows up in his dorm room, ready to consummate their marriage, and Si-Joon finds himself in a very awkward situation. 
Step is the story of Mr. Han, a professional monster hunter, and Dynasty Tang, the orphaned vampire girl that he has taken in. When Mr. Han is not busy fending off vampires and three-headed dogs, he focuses on lighter pursuits, such as getting Dynasty Tang off to school on time and reading her bedtime stories. But Mr. Han as some secrets of his own–secrets that he’d very much like to avoid sharing with his young ward. 
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 began to be published in the states, it was greeted by rave reviews and not one but two Eisner nominations. So it’s not much of a surprise that the publication of Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys has been accompanied by very high reader expectations. Could 20th Century Boys really be as good as Monster? Could it even be better? 
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 will not be surprised to discover that Mizushiro has a final shocking revelation up her sleeve. 
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 someone else, but soon realizes his error and vows to protect Rakan. Narushige and his snake companion Koh come next, bringing Rakan more information about his strange connection to their world. Finally Tohji appears on the scene, intent upon assassinating Rakan on the orders of the imperial prince of his world. As volume three begins, Rakan, Chigusa, and Narushige have captured Tohji and must decide what to do with him and, ultimately, what to do with themselves. 
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a children’s cartoon that aired on Nickelodeon over three seasons. It’s the story of a fantasy world where certain people have an affinity for elemental magic. Those with the ability to manipulate one of the four elements–air, earth, water, fire–are known as benders. And one person in every generation, the Avatar, has the ability to bend all four elements and thus carries the heavy responsibility of maintaining balance in the world. In the show, the Avatar returns after disappearing for one hundred years, and the series follows his adventures as he tries to master his powers and prevent the Fire Nation from conquering all the others.