What US Media Can Learn About Dynamic Female Characters From Manga

Last week I came across this article on Jezebel titled "Memo To The Media: In 2010, Add More Dynamic Female Characters" buy Latoya Peterson, and I wanted to spend some time discussing it. The main concept of the article is that while manga has it's fair share of sexism and follows plenty of stereotypes it also has a lot more content for women and by women than you can easily find in mainstream US media.

I loved the article, and was really pleased to see that many of the manga the Latoya recommends are titles I haven't read yet. The one title I had read, Nana, is one of my absolute favorites. Does it portray women in romantic relationships with men? Yes, definitely. The main difference for me between Nana and US-based media representations of women is that it treats them like real people. They also pass the Bechdel test because the two main characters are women, they talk to each other, and they often talk about things other than men. A+

There are plenty of issues with manga and anime and their portrayal of gender (fan service being a prime example), but there is such an amazing variety of options it's easy to find titles that are women-centric, and deal with issues of gender in mature ways. I agree with Latoya's premise and wish that the US would create more material that is for women and by women that presents women as more than accessories, are from different walks of life, and don't have to be made-over to be beautiful.

X-Men: Misfits

Overall Rating: A+

Summary: A superhero/romance shōjo series written by Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman (both of whom used to be regulars on Girlamatic with their comics Smile and Astronaut Elementary), and Illustrated by Anzu, which follows Kitty Pryde, a young high school girl who has the ability to phase through solid objects. In her public school, she suffers from the ridicule of her classmates, and alienation because she is a mutant. However, at the beginning of the manga, Kitty is invited to attend Professor Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, a school for people like her, and her whole world changes.

For one thing, she is the only girl at the school. As you can guess in a high school full of boys this means she gets a lot of attention. They're also all mutants like her, so P.E. means practicing in the danger room, and science class discusses the differences in DNA between humans and mutants. As Kitty adjusts to life at Xavier's, she catches the eye of the Hellfire Club. Led by Angel, the club seems to have it all - money, looks, and they can get away with anything they want. Now, the Hellfire Club wants to add the only female student to their group as their mascot. It doesn't hurt that Kitty can't take her eyes off of Pyro, one of the club's hottest members, and he can't seem to take his eyes off of her either. Throw in cold-as-ice (pun intended) Bobby Drake, the intimidating but sweet Kurt Wagner, and the radical Scott Summers and you've got an exciting high school. Who will Kitty end up with? Is the Hellfire Club more dangerous than it appears? Just how adorable is Beast? You'll have to read the series to find out!

X-Men: Misfits is everything that is great about the X-men comics shōjo rolled into one manga series. I have been eagerly awaiting this one since it was announced more than a year ago, and it does not disappoint. I absolutely love the character designs for Beast and Colossus, Cyclops works perfectly as a vegan, and the Hellfire Club is essentially a host club like Ouran! Brilliant! Seriously though, if you enjoy either X-Men or shōjo (or both, like me) then do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I can't wait to pick up volume 2, but unfortunately there is no release date information yet. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an Angel costume to go work on.

Uzumaki

Warning: Not for the faint of heart. Skip this one if you don't enjoy horror.

Overall Rating: A

Summary: A three volume horror seinen manga by Junji Ito, which is set in the small Japanese town of Kurôzu-cho and follows high school student Kirie Goshima. In the first volume, Kirie finds out that her boyfriend, Shuichi ,is worried about his father, who has begun a strange obsession about spirals. He has begun to collect anything he can find with a spiral pattern, and his obsession goes so far that he stops going to work and instead simply stares at his collection. The situation becomes even more disturbing when Shuichi's father begins making spirals with his own body, and eventually kills himself by contorting his entire body into a spiral.

After his death, Shuichi's father is cremated, and the smoke from his ashes form a spiral in the sky. Understandably, all of this drives Shuichi's mother insane, and she develops a phobia of spirals. She is hospitalized, and Shuichi, scared of what she do if she finds out, has the doctors remove anatomical diagrams of the ear which (of course) contains a spiral. Unfortunately, she realizes that her cochlea is a spiral, and stabs herself with a pair of scissors. This causes her to suffer from vertigo until she dies. Her ashes also form a spiral when she is cremated, and this is only the beginning.

Soon, things intensify: a lighthouse throws out spiral beams at dusk; babies are born, only to sprout spiral-capped mushroom-shaped appendages from their stomachs, and people begin turning into snails. Can this infestation of spirals be stopped, or will it swallow Kirie and Shuichi as well?

My friend Mark recommended this manga to me, and so I borrowed all three volumes from him. Junji Ito does an amazing job of using traditional manga settings and scenarios and making them creepy by adding in spirals and horror elements. For example, in one scene Kirie is at school and things seem normal until a kid who is known for being slow shows up with traits similar to a snail. Over a few days he becomes more and more snail-like until his transformation is complete. At first the other kids bully him as they would normally, but as the transformation continues they bullying becomes more vicious, but the bullies also become scared of the creature. I won't give away what happens next, but it's both creepy and awesome. If you enjoy a really interesting horror plot that builds its creepiness until the very end, then you will probably enjoy "Uzumaki".

Vampire Knight

Overall Rating: A+
Synopsis: A romance/supernatural shōjo created by Matsuri Hino, which focuses on the love triangle of Yuki Cross, Zero Kiryu, and Kaname Kuran. All three attend Cross Academy - a prestigious private school which is divided into two classes: the Day Class, which is made up of mortals, and the Night Class, which consists of vampires. The purpose of the school is to try to allow humans and vampires to live together peacefully. However, most of the students and staff in the Day Class have no idea this is going on, and apparently think it's normal for a bunch of bishōnen to only come out at night. Clearly they need their beauty rest.

Two people in the Day Class know the secret of the Academy, Yuki and Zero. Yuki is the adopted daughter of the headmaster of the school, Kaien Cross, who is a former hunter. Her earliest memory is of a snowy night when she was covered in blood and attacked by a vampire. Luckily, Kaname saved her from the vampire attack, but she can't remember why Kaname was there or what happened before he showed up.

Zero is a year older than Yuki, and is the child of hunters who were killed by a vampire. He was also taken in by Head Master Cross, and works with Yuki as a prefect for Cross Academy. The Prefects make sure that the Day Class students never learn the secret of the Night Class.

Meanwhile, Kaname is the president of the Night Class, and a pureblood vampire. Purebloods are the most powerful of vampires in the Vampire Knight world, and can control or easily destroy even other noble vampires. However, Kaname chooses not to exert this control and as a result he is respected by all the other vampire noble students. He believes in Head Master Cross' goal of humans and vampires living together peacefully, and his presence keeps the other vampires in check. Normally stoic and reserved Kaname clearly dotes on Yuki, which confuses the other vampires at the school and infuriates Zero.

As the series progresses, we learn more about the past of the three main characters, the society of vampires in the Vampire Knight world, and of course the relationship between Yuki, Zero and Kaname. Who will Yuki choose?

When I picked up Vampire Knight, by Matsuri Hino, I wasn't expecting much. The premise seemed fun, if a little cheesy, but the outfits were gothalicious (yes, it's a word, I just made it up, so leave me alone). Usually I'm pretty good at gauging how much I'll like a manga early on, but this one surprised.

Sure, the story is a little cliché in parts (like how broody Zero and Kaname are over Yuki), or how obvious Zero's secret is, but overall I love the series. So far, six volumes have been released in the US so far, and volume 7 is scheduled to be released on August 4th, and you can check out a preview online at Shojo Beat. Regardless, if you like supernatural romances, then check out Vampire Knight for a fun and interesting series.

Blank Slate

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: Created by Aya Kanno, this action/suspense shonen ai series is very interesting, if nothing else because it's a lot darker than most shojo. In fact, Blank Slate has little in common with most series under the Shojo Beat imprint, with little to no focus on romantic relationships, love triangles or other typical shojo tropes.

The series follows Zen, an incredibly beautiful and infamous criminal, whose memory has been wiped. Supposedly, Zen is  the "worst criminal in history", and has killed a large number of people. He is hunted by the police, bounty hunters, and pretty much anyone else with a reason to want Zen captured/dead (which is apparently 99.9% of everyone).

However, from Zen's point of view, he just woke up one day with an urge to destroy and kill. As he describes it, those two words have consumed him since he woke up, and so he has done just that.  While the main character in the series is most certainly Zen, the manga has a secondary storyline about how people who meet Zen change because of his actions.

The first chapter of volume 1 introduces a bounty hunter who is out to take down his number one target, and "control Zen's future" (by which he mostly means kill him). Yet, after pretending to become Zen's partner to get close to him, he ends up being the one who is controlled by Zen, and even sides with Zen in the end.

The first volume ends with the introduction of someone who knows about Zen's past, and gives some hints to what's coming in this suspenseful series.

I saw "Blank Slate" on the shelf at Borders a couple of times before reading a blurb about it on http://www.boingboing.net. After hearing a little more about the series, I decided to pick up the first volume and check it out. It's definitely not what I would expect from Shojo Beat, but the obvious shonen ai vibes seem to be the primary reason it's on the imprint. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and am excited about seeing the series develop. My only complaint (and why I didn't give it an A) is that it took awhile before Kanno gives you the juiciest plot hooks. That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book, and am excited about checking out the next volume.

Read the first 19 pages of the first volume!

Ghostbusters - Ghost Busted

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: An anthology of Ghostbusters stories set after the first two films written by Nathan Johnson and Matt Yamashita with art by Maximo V. Lorenzo, Hanzo Steinbach, Chrissy Delk, Michael Shelfer, and Nate Watson. If I were to categorize this book, it would be comedy/supernatural shonen.

The stories feature the Ghostbusters in six stories, with different characters taking center stage in each one. In one story, the gang is called in to help out a haunted Broadway production. Shortly thereafter, the director, stage manager, and star quit. As a result, Egon ends up replacing the star, Peter is the new director, and Ray is the stage manager. Needless to say, this leads to hilarity and hijinks. 

In another one of the stories, Ray learns that being a Ghostbuster can be pretty mundane at times. Meanwhile, Egon receives a mysterious call from his college mentor, who failed Egon after Egon began focusing on the paranormal. All of these stories build into the main plot, which involves an old enemy, and a group of anti-ghostbusters.

Apparently, this manga series leads into an upcoming videogame.

Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS! I came across this in Chapel Hill Comics a few weeks back, and was confused/amused/excited about it. Yes, that's right, it's a manga version of the Ghostbusters that Tokyopop put out. I really, really didn't know what to expect with this one, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing. It felt like the Ghostbusters, and was a really fun read. The only major drawback is the number of artists. With the artist chnging almost every chapter, it was really jarring, and made it hard to get a sense of style for the characters. That being said, there were enough common elements, that it wasn't too bad.

If you were a fan of the movies, then I definitely recommend checking this one out.

Ultra Maniac

Overall Rating: A-
Summary: Created by Wataru Yoshizumi, the romantic comedy series follows seventh-grader Ayu Tateishi, a tennis club member, and her friend Nina Sakura, a transfer student from the magical kingdom who is actually a witch. Ayu is a well-adjusted 7th grade student. She is the best female tennis player and one of the most popular girls in the school, but she has trouble staying cool after she meets Nina.

Ayu and Nina meet when Ayu runs into Nina crying on one of the school benches outside. Nina explains she has lost something very important, and that's why she's freaking out. Ayu, being the nice and awesome girl that many protagonists of shojo seem to be,  offers to help find the item, but Nina is reluctant to tell her what it is and runs off. After school, Ayu stumbles across a mini-computer underneath the bench where she and Nina met, and assumes it belongs to Nina. After Ayu returns the item, Nina is exstatic, and keeps referring to a "big secret" she wants to tell Ayu, but is unsure about.

In order to determine whether she can trust Ayu, Nina begins following her around. Eventually, she decides to tell Ayu that she is a witch from the Magic Kingdom. Ayu is all "Say what?!? I don't believe in magic or fairy tales. I haven't even read Harry Potter!!!" Nina is incredulous and then spoils Book 7 for Ayu. Okay, not really. Instead Nina uses her mini-computer to cast some spells to help Ayu. Unfortunately, they have a nasty habit of going wrong.

For example, when she tries to make Ayu the best tennis player she can be, it turns her into a boy. It turns out that Nina is a failure as a witch, and she has come to Earth to prove to people in the Magic Kingdom that she is worthy of being a witch.

I really enjoyed this one, and highly recommend it. Of course, I'm a huge fan of shojo so it may not be for everyone, but if you like romantic comedy manga with a touch of the supernatural, then this one is great. There are some great scenes where Nina's magic messes things up, and Ayu has to try and deal with them. In the scene I mentioned where she's turned into a boy, she isn't used to being in the body, so even though she's supposedly faster she makes a lot of mistakes. Of course, since this is a shojo, she is very attractive as a boy and all the girls develop a crush on her. Classic.

The Plain Janes

Overall Rating: A+
Summary: Written by Cecil Castellucci with art by Jim Rugg, The Plain Janes follows Jane Beckles, a teenage girl from Metro City who is injured during a terrorist attack. After Jane recovers, her mother is too freaked out by the attack to continue living in the city, and so the family moves to the suburbs. Of course, Jane thinks her life is over in the boring town until she finds some true friends; three other girls named Jane.

Adopting the moniker Main Jane, Jane partners up with Brain Jane, Theatre Jane and Polly Jane to form a secret art gang named P.L.A.I.N. (or People Loving Art In Neighborhoods) to make the suburbs less boring and bring art into everyone's lives.

With the police trying to lock them up, some of the community outraged, and others supporting the group, can art attacks help save th girls from high school and the suburbs, or will the land themselves in jail?

I'm not really sure why I haven't reviewed The Plain Janes before now, because I absolutely adore this book. It makes me nostalgic for the days when I was a teenage girl artist, which is weird since I've never been very artistic (or a girl for that matter). I guess that's what really makes me love this book. It drew me in early on. All of the characters, and particularly the Janes, are extremely well-developed and interesting, and I quickly fell in love with it. I highly recommend checking this one out.
Download a sneak peek here

MeruPuri

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: A Romance/Fantasy/Comedy shōjo series created by Matsuri Hino, which follows average high school girl Airi Hoshina. Airi wants only three things in life - to meet a nice boy, get married at 20, and have an ordinary, loving family. Unfortunately for Airi, her life is about to become a lot more complicated when she drops the strange hand mirror that has been in her family for generations.

When Airi goes back to find the mirror, a 7-year-old boy named Aram is waiting for her with it. The boy acts like nobility, which is to say kind of like an ass, but that might be because he is...in another dimension. Oh snap! Aram's uncle (or something, I think it was his uncle) is trying to take his magic powers away from him and age him prematurely. To escape, Aram has travelled to our dimension, but if he stays in the dark too long he will rapidly age about ten years. The only way to restore his youth is the kiss of his true love, and Aram decides his true love is Airi! Hijinks ensue as Airi tries to help Aram while still going to school and trying to find the normal boy she wants to marry, but what if Aram (17-year-old!) is who she really wants?

MeruPuri is another Shōjo series by Matsuri Hino, who also created Vampire Knight and Wanted. I picked this one up, because I enjoy her other work (and love Shōjo). This one didn't disappoint. It's only four volumes long, but it's a fun story. I particularly enjoy when Aram ages ten years in appearance, but acts like a seven-year-old. I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys Shōjo series and particularly Matsuri Hino's work.

Check out an online preview of the manga here.

Yggdrasil

Overall Rating: D+
Summary: Created by Lay Mutsuki, this seinen series is set "in the near future, and online gaming is all the rage!" Apparently, that's an important distinction, since no one plays online games these days. In the "near future" the same company that produces the most popular online game also produces the most popular OS and the two are shipped together. Luckily for Koki Tachibana, his father works for the company! Koki has been doing testing for his dad since the game started, and now he has two characters. One who is a pretty standard character and one that's the most powerful character in the game. Unfortunately for Koki, someone has hacked his account and is playing with the god-like character.

Now Koki's has to find out who's been logging into his account before they cause any major problems.

"Yggdrasil" sounded kind of interesting, so I gave it a shot, but I was pretty disappointed. The plot is pretty interesting, but so far none of the characters have much depth. Also, it was billed as being supernatural/fantasy, but so far the only aspects of the story that has been along those lines have been in the online game. Hopefully the series will improve in later volumes.

Wanted

Overall Rating: B
Summary: A one-shot Shōjo manga created by Matsuri Hino, which follows a young orphan girl named Armeria.  The story is set in the 17th-century, and Armeria belongs to a music group that sings for work. While singing for the Governer-General at his mansion, she meets Luce Lanceman, the Governor-General's nephew, and falls in love with him after he gives her an Armeria flower. The same night, Luce is kidnapped by the crew of the notorious pirate, Skulls.
Armeria vows to find Luce and rescue him from Skulls.

Eight years later, we find Armeria disguised as a young man, and she has managed to join Skulls' crew. However, joining a pirate crew isn't all she bargained for, and she quickly ends up over her head. Now she has to figure out what happened to her beloved Luce, and make sure she survives the experience.

Matusuri Hino is also the creator of Vampire Knight, a series I love, so I was excited to see something new from her. On top of that, the story was a vampire romance! What more could a boy ask for? The story is pretty solid, but it's also kind of derivative. It reminded me of a manga version of Princess Bride, which isn't actually that bad a thing. Overall, I enjoyed the characters, and I would have rated it higher if it weren't for the fact that I felt like I had already read parts of the book before. It was still a lot of fun though, and I definitely recommend it to fellow Shōjo lovers.

I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara

Overall Rating: C+
Summary: a Shōnen comedy created by Jirō Suzuki, which follows Sota, your average highschool guy. He's pretty popular, and has an attractive girlfriend, but Sota has a secret life as an otaku. Particularly, he is obsessed with a character called Papico, and he will cancel all of his plans for the chance to buy new collector's items for the character.

This leads to the bulk of the plot when one day he can't find the latest Papico release, the Ultra Limited Edition Wonder Digital Dokidoki Doggy Papico figure. As a result, Sota ends up in a store called Otakudo, where the owner (Mano Takuro) has the hard-to-find item. However, in order to buy the item he has to admit that he is an otaku. Somehow, Sato's girlfriend, Eri, has shown up at the store after following Sota, and Sota ends up confessing his obsession to her. Hilarity ensues.

I picked this one up, because I saw some of myself in it. When I was in high school, I wasn't that popular, hadn't even kissed a girl, and hadn't figure out A) my hair, B) black is a good color on me and B) women like men in eyeliner. I looked like a preppy kid who was trying too hard. I was also hiding my geekiness in the desperate hope that I could become popular. By hiding it, I meant I only played Magic: the Gathering before school in the science classroom and in front of the band room (I wasn't in band, but I was a geek). All of this is to say I really wanted to like this manga. The series seems to focus more on being a parody of otaku than on the trials of being a closet geek. I still enjoyed it, but the characters aren't very deep, and the plot mostly focuses on the small group of otaku and their hijinks. If you're looking for a fun, light read, then this is worth checking out, but if you want a plot and interesting characters, then I recommend you pass.

Check out a preview here.

Ghost Talker’s Daydream

Overall Rating: B
Summary: A supernatural seinen (18+) written by Saki Okuse with art by Sankichi Meguro, which follows Misaki Saiki, a normal 19-year-old woman who is holding down two jobs to make ends meet. However, her jobs are a bit...odd. Misaki works as a dominatrix and as a necromancer. Working for the Livlihood Protection Agency, she uses her ability to see and speak with spirits to help them find peace and move on.

Misaki works with Souichiro Kadotake, an agent for the LPA, who is a martial artist and afraid of ghosts. To add more zany hijinks to the series, Misaki is an albino and a virgin. Crazy!

I liked the sound of this manga from the blurb, so I decided to pick it up. Honestly, it was about what I expected. It's going for the same kind of dark humor that Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service does so well, and adds a bit of sex appeal. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, Ghost Talker's Daydream doesn't quite pull it off. For me, it's the sex appeal, which is used too often in unnecessary crotch shots and bad jokes. I think if the series went with less fan service and more dark humor, it could be as good as Kurosagi. As is, it's just okay. If you're 18+ and in the mood for a mature supernatural manga, then check it out, but be prepared. Check out a preview here: http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/Previews/14-972?page=0

Absolute Boyfriend

Overall Rating: A
Summary: A romantic comedy manga with a splash of science fiction created by Yuu Watase. Absolute Boyfriend is six volumes long and is the story of Riiko Izawa. Riiko is a high school girl with an addiction to buying things online, and has never had a boyfriend. In fact, she is rejected by every boy she asks out. The manga begins with Riiko asking out her current crush, and being immediately rejected.

After the rejection, she is wandering in the park, and finds a ringing cellphone. After answering the call, she returns the phone to an oddly dressed (kind of steampunk actually) man named Gaku. Gaku is a salesman for a strange website called Kronos Heaven, and offers Riiko anything she wants on the site for returning the phone. Riiko responds that all she wants is a boyfriend, and to her surprise Gaku says he can help.

When Riiko visits the site, she learns she can create her ideal lover. Still not believing Gaku, she customizes her lover with options like loyal, intelligent, attractive, etc. and orders him for a three-day trial.
The next day, men wearing outfits as strange as Gaku's deliver a large box to her door, and inside is a life-like figure...who is completely naked (don't worry, there's no nudity). Following the instruction manual, Riiko kisses him to wake him up, which also makes him to be in love with her. Unable to think of anything else, Riiko names him "Night".

Now Riiko has to deal with a man living with her (she lives alone) who wants to have sex all the time, a next-door neighbor named Soshi who may be more than a friend, a best friend who may be hiding things from her and who she is now hiding things from, and how to explain all of this without anyone finding out who "Night" really is.

I'm two volumes into this one, and I am hooked. This is another one Rachel recommended to me, and after "Life" I needed something lighter. "Absolute Boyfriend" definitely did the trick. This one is fun, has some great plot, and the characters are interesting. I also loved the progression of Night's personality. When the manga starts he's basically a robot and a bit silly (and very pretty). As it progresses, he develops feelings, and his rivalry with the serious Soshi provides a lot of humor and depth to the story. If you're looking for something light, then this one is a great choice.

Kasumi

Overall Rating: A
Summary: In this fantasy shōjo manga written by Surt Lim with art by Hirofumi Sugimoto we're introduced to Kasumi, a normal high-school girl. Well, almost normal anyway. Kasumi and her father move away from the city when he gets a new job, and Kasumi gets enrolled in an elite private school. Fairly typical manga plot so far, but Kasumi isn't a normal girl. On the way to their new home, Kasumi and her father stop in some woods so her father can look at some plants (I think I remember correctly that her father is a Botanist), and Kasumi falls out of a tree she has been climbing. The tree is high enough that the fall should kill her, but she is saved by mysterious lights.

After recovering, she discovers she can turn invisible, but only for as long as she can hold her breath. This power comes in handy when she inadvertently pisses off the fan club of the class president Ryuuki (this is very similar to the fan club in Fruits Basket for Yuki). Led by the Vice President, Reina, the club makes Kasumi's life hell, and tries to get her to leave the school. Fortunately, Kasumi makes friends with Yuuta, whose nickname is Otaku-Ken because he is such a nerd and tries to help her. Kasumi also meets Maiko, a fellow student who seems to have a connection to the mysterious lights, and what is the enigmatic Ryuuki up to?

I actually enjoyed this one a lot, even though some of the plot was very familiar. The plot and characters were different enough from Fruits Basket that I really enjoyed it, and the art is very cute (though the lack of noses on some characters distracted me occasionally). Overall though it's a good start to a shōjo series, and I will definitely be checking out the next volume.

Fairy Cube

Overall Rating: A
Summary: A three volume fantasy shōjo created by Kaori Yuki, which follows high school boy Ian Hasumi. Ian was born with wing marks on his back and the ability to see fairies and the world they live in. Unfortunately for Ian, no one believes him, and have taken to calling him "Ian the Liar". Ian also has a spirit twin named Tokage who hates him and an abusive father who burned the fairy marks off his back when Ian's mother left to prevent Ian from "flying away". Not so great actually.

Recently, there have been a series of murders in the city. The victims have had  their backs slit open and the blood spurting out has formed the shape of wings. As a result, the crimes have been dubbed "the fairy murders".

Ian's childhood friend Rin Ishinagi is the only one that ever seemed to beleive Ian's stories of fairies. In fact, he was once able to show her the fairy world. Now she has returned to the city, and Ian's feelings for her are returning as well. Unfortunately, they may cause him even more trouble!

Okay, I picked this one up on a whim in Borders the other day (I thought the title sounded funny), and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. The characters and plot drew me in and has me wanting to read volume 2 as soon as possible (it's already out but I haven't had a chance to get back over to Borders. I definitely recommend this one to fantasy and shōjo lovers. Check it out the first 22 pages online here

Paradise Kiss Manga Volume 1

Overall Rating: A+
Summary: A fashion/drama/romance Josei series created by Ai Yazawa (who is also the creator of Nana), which follows Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka. Yukari is an attractive high schooler, but her life consists of traveling from high school to cram school to home, and back again. The manga opens with Yukari running into Arashi (a punk) and Isabella (a transvestite), who are part of a group of fashion students that call their label "Paradise Kiss". Yukari thinks they are perverts (did I mention she's a bit naïve?), and faints.

When she wakes up, she's staring at a pink-haired woman named Miwako (the cute woman in lolita clothing on the cover), who explains the situation, and that they want her to be their model. She refuses, explaining that she's much too busy with school and doing important things, and that fashion students have it easy. This understandably pisses off Arashi (our spiky haired punk boy on the cover), who yells at her, and Yukari quickly leaves. Miwako runs after her and calls her "Caroline", because she doesn't know Yukari's name yet. As a result, Yukari is referred to as "Caroline" by the Paradise Kiss crew. Regardless, Caroline leaves, but drops her student id.

The next day a ridiculously attractive guy named George shows up, and tells Yukari Miwako has her id (he has it). George gets her to go with him, in theory to pick up her id, to the art school Yazagaku. He then takes her to a hair and makeup artist for a makeover (this mostly consists of giving her bangs). After this stop off, they go meet up with the Paradise Kiss crew, and they put Yukari in a dress they designed, give her back her id, and convince her to be their model.

I love Ai Yazawa. Nana is one of my favorite series, and I am now thoroughly addicted to "Paradise Kiss" after only one volume. I had already watched the anime, and finally got around to checking out the manga. Now I wish I had grabbed the first volume as soon as I finished the anime (or even while I was watching the anime). As with "Nana", "Paradise Kiss" has an excellent plot that really draws you in, interesting characters that develop in interesting ways (even in just the first volume), and is a lot of fun. The series is clearly intended for a slightly more mature audience (there are sex scenes, but they aren't explicit), but if you like Josei/Shōjo manga check this one out.

MPD Psycho Volume 1

Overall Rating: B+
Summary: MPD Psycho is a psychological horror series written by Eiji Otsuka and illustrated by Shou Tajima, which follows Yousuke Kobayashi a former police detective. The series opens with Kobayashi tracking down a serial killer who severs the limbs off his victims. Meanwhile, Kobayashi is suffering from strange dreams where he sees himself killing people. After seeing Kobayashi on tv, the serial killer kidnaps his girlfriend, and severs her limbs, but keeps her alive.

After Kobayashi tracks him down, the killer tells him that he sees something familiar in Kobayashi and that they are on the same side. At that point, another personality emerges, and Kobayashi becomes Shinji Nishizono. Shinji kills the serial killer and is sent to prison. It is implied that the dreams Kobayashi had been having were actually Shinji killing people.

Most of the above is revealed in flashbacks, and the bulk of the first volume is set after Kobayashi is released from prison. His primary personality is now Kazuhiko Amamiya, a brilliant criminologist, and he has been hired to work with a private consulting agency. The agency is headed up by Machi Isono, a criminologist that asked Kobayashi to consult on some cases while he was in prison. They work to track down and bring to justice serial killers, and tend to deal with the really weird and difficult cases the police have trouble solving themselves.

Eiji Otsuka also writes Kurosaki Corpse Delivery Service, which I love, so I was excited to read MPD Psycho. The two titles are very different, and MPD has little of the dark humor that makes Kurosaki great. However, it makes up for that with a great concept, some really intriguing plot, and interesting characters. The only slight negative is that sometimes it feels like they're trying too hard to shock the reader. MPD comes shrink-wrapped and with an 18+ warning for good reason, and I would definitely caution against reading it if you're squeamish. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to checking out volume 2.

Nightmare Inspector Volume 1

Overall Rating: F
Summary: An episodic manga featuring Hiruko, a Baku, a dream eater. Hiruko runs a tea house where people come for his help with their nightmares. After negotiating a price (so far it has always been their dream), Hiruko enters their dream and "fixes" things. Usually this means using common sense and being a stoic ass. After "fixing" things, Hiruko sends the client on their merry way (or not so merry since one ends up dying in real life), and then eats their dream. Mmmmm dreamalicious.

In case it's not already obvious, I really didn't like this manga. Every chapter involves different characters and their dreams with the only consistent aspect being Hiruko (who is boring and has the personality of carboard) and his assistant, whose name I can't even remember (I read this one in B&N last night, so I don't have it on hand for reference). There are a lot of manga with this sort of episodic supernatural theme, but this is one of the worst I've read. Do not bother with it, unless you enjoy being disappointed.

Love★Com Volume 1

Overall Rating: A
Summary: Also known as Lovely Complex, this shōjo romantic comedy is created by Aya Nakahara, and follows Risa, a tall girl, and Ōtani, a short boy. The pair are in high school together, and because of their height differences they are called the "All Hanshin Kyojin" (which is apparently a popular Japanese comedy duo with a similar height diference). The story starts with the two constantly at each other's throats (a sure sign they will be involved in a romance plot), and to make matters worse they're both such bad students that they have to go to summer school.

The first day of summer school, Risa falls in love with a tall boy in her class, Suzuki, and Ōtani proves he's not such a bad guy when he proposes to set her up with him. In exchange, he wants Risa to set him up with her shy friend Chiharu. Of course, hijinks and romantic entanglments ensue! Will Risa and Ōtani end up together, or will they end up with their crushes?

I can't help but love this manga already. It's got the kind of cute awkwardness that I love to see in a shōjo, because it feels more realistic. I spent the first volume hoping Risa and Ōtani would get together, but clearly I will have to keep reading as they aren't there yet. A great manga for the shōjo lover in all of us, and I plan to check out the live action movie soon.