Manga and Comic Reviews
With this third volume, the series has settled into a comfortable and familiar groove. Shizuku will encounter someone in crisis or distress that will somehow be related to wine, much investigating by himself and his associate Miyabi will be done, and we will all have learned something new about this classiest of beverages before the […]
The Shohoku vs. Ryonan match is over. FINALLY. This particular game ran over five volumes for thirty-six chapters. Think about it: When this was originally serialized back in Shonen Jump, it took 2/3rds of a year to tell this story. That’s almost as long as it took to serialize this story in English. I could […]
The first four volumes of this series gave me the impression that it was an amusing bit of fluff showing how a bachelor copes with adopting his grandfather’s six-year-old love child. It did have a very “how to” vibe with its look at what a single father’s lot is like in modern Japan, but that’s […]
As I mentioned in the podcast, “Twin Spica” sold so poorly that in order to complete it Vertical started publishing the series as two-in-one editions from volume seven onwards. Now that it’s finally over, we’re getting an idea of just how bad sales were courtesy of a thread on their Facebook page. The short version […]
Pretty quiet this month. Too quiet in one respect. All I can say is that if I don’t see a certain title in next month’s solicitations, I’ll be making a trip to the Kinokuya in L.A. sometime in the future. B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth vol. 3 — Russia: This will be the first full volume […]
This is a series that has been on the cusp of greatness a few times over the past year. Protagonist Kei Kurono’s efforts to save his girlfriend back in vol. 15 and his release from the game and the repercussions of that act in vol. 19 were handled really well. Unfortunately creator Hiroya Oku hasn’t […]
With this volume, Eiji Nizuma becomes the most interesting character in the series. The brilliant young manga creator has always been a striking presence, from his introduction as the poster child for the off-putting quirks that accompany genius to his current role as a potential catalyst for the greatness of protagonists Moritaka and Akito. He […]
It was inevitable that the rematch between arch-rivals Shohoku and Ryonan would be a big deal, but to have it stretch out this long has tested even my patience. After kicking off back in vol. 17, I was fully expecting it to wrap up here, BUT THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN! So by the time this match […]
Not a whole lot this month, but there’s one thing in here that makes it all worthwhile. No points for guessing what it is. B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Transformation of J.H. O’Donnell: I didn’t realize this at first, but the title character is actually the crazy-ass ranting scientist from the series. You know, the […]
As the last volume finally caught up to what was covered in the anime, this one should be completely AWESOME since I’m finally reading all-new content! Or at least, that’s what I think it would’ve been if pages weren’t wasted on pointless sidequests or rehashing “Dawn of the Dead.” I was afraid that rehashing George […]