Manga Zubon April 2008
Welcome to Manga Zubon, where I take a look at the manga that have come out each month and pick what I think are the best of the lot. These are the manga that I feel deserve recognition and readership more than the rest, so I’m singling them out. My focus in this column is mostly on first volumes to get you in on the ground floor of new series, but I will include standouts in ongoing series as well. Keep in mind that though I do my best, I can’t read everything that comes out each month, so if you have something you think I missed or just have something to say about the ones I’ve chosen, please chime in in the comments section.
Another fairly slow month.
Dororo V.1
Creator: Osamu Tezuka
Publisher: Vertical Inc.
This is a bit of a departure for Tezuka; it’s a samurai fantasy. A samurai general sells his newborn son to 48 demons for power during the Sengoku Period, and each demon takes a body part from the baby. Abandoned, the horribly disfigured child, who develops strange senses to replace the eyes and ears he is missing, is raised by an old man who builds him a new body from wood. When the child is grown, he takes the name Hyakkimaru and sets out on his own, fighting demons alongside a child thief he encounters named Dororo. Each time he finds and kills one of the 48 demons he was sold too, Hyakkimaru regains a body part, and he wanders Japan, slowly becoming more whole. The story is touching and has plenty of cool action, and while it isn’t quite the opus that Phoenix or Buddha are, it’s definitely worth reading. Seeing Tezuka’s cartoony art style drawing slashing samurai action is worth the price of admission alone.
Dragon Sister! V.1
Creator: nini
Publisher: Tokyopop
Ever since playing the old video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms I’ve been a fan of that epic Chinese story. I guess it’s no surprise then that I liked this particular take on it, which changes things up a bit by making some of the major characters women via a curse. This gets played up some for fan service, as you might expect, but the heroic journey of Liu Bei is still the focus, and and the action and drama of a China at war with itself is still exciting as hell. nini has a fairly classic manga art style, with clear storytelling and strong action scenes, and the only real issue I had is one that is endemic to the story being retold- there are simply too many characters to easily keep track of them all. This was a fun read, and I’m looking forward to more.
Mamotte Shugogetten V.1
Creator: Minene Sakurano
Publisher: Tokyopop
At first glance this looks to be a pretty blatant copy of Kosuke Fujishima’s Oh My Goddess!, complete with the kindly teenage boy and pure, beautiful goddess type who stumble into a chaste love. Don’t get me wrong, there’s certainly a lot of valid comparison. The difference, I think, is that while Oh My Goddess approaches the story from a seinen angle, this book takes a more shojo tack, which much of the drama coming from the development of the romance and the couple’s feelings of inadequacy for each other. Not exactly innovation, but a fresh take, and one I enjoyed. Sakurano’s artwork is very expressive and does a great job of drawing the reader into the emotional aspect of the story while making the more action-oriented bits exciting. This Tokyopop book collects the first two volumes of the series for thirteen dollars, a good deal for a good read.
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Have you read Gun blaze West? I read that this week
05 May 2008 at 6:06 pm
QuoteI read it, but I didn’t really get into it. It just didn’t really do anything for me.
05 May 2008 at 7:01 pm
Quotesame here man, I was excited too “Wow it’s manga and a westren….well yeah but by the end I was just calling it “gun peice”
05 May 2008 at 8:25 pm
QuoteHee hee hee…
I think you nailed that. Nice . “Gun Piece” indeed.
05 May 2008 at 8:44 pm
Quoteyeah and I’M afraid I was never AS blown away by one peice as every one else
05 May 2008 at 9:22 pm
QuoteA little off topic here, but I’m a bit of a manga novice and wondered if anyone has any thoughts on Black Lagoon which has been solicited for July release by Viz. Manga I’ve liked includes - Eden, King of Thorn, Naoki Urusawa’s Monster, Uzumaki, Gyo, Battle Royale. Does Black Lagoon sit well along side these?
06 May 2008 at 6:13 am
Quotemoster is neato
06 May 2008 at 10:11 am
QuoteI haven’t read the manga but I’ve seen the anime. The series was very action based but with a lot of good character bits and existential philosophy. Sartre is even quoted. I thought it was quite good.
I should warn you it is very gritty with no real heroes in it. Rock the salaryman who gets abducted by the crew of Black Lagoon and who later joins them is fairly sympathetic but weaked willed. Revy the main fighter in the series enjoys killing people and is nigh-psychopathic.
06 May 2008 at 11:36 am
QuoteI’ve never commented here before and I’m quite new to American comics (and this podcast) but I’ve been reading manga for awhile.
There’s already a pretty good description of Black Lagoon up there but here’s some more info if you’re interested. It is somewhat different from the other titles you’ve listed. The f9cus is mostly on the action and the fight scenes. The creator has a passion for guns and it shows in the art. That said, there is also an interesting plot and there is more to most characters that you would first believe.
I’ve been reading the French version of the manga for a while now and I think it’s pretty good. The only problem might be that certain action scenes are slightly difficult to follow and end up much better in the animated version.
It is one of my favourite series so I’m a bit biased but if you want to read a very good action manga, I definitely reccommand it.
Now for something unrelated to Black Lagoon. This is the third place to recommend Dragon Sister! so I think I’m going to go buy a copy.
06 May 2008 at 10:48 pm
QuoteFor the small fan base, the latest Kindaichi Case Files - The Undying Butterflies - came out just last week. Great series; it’s really too bad that its sales are the pits because that leaves us with just two releases a year. D’oh.
Also curious who else read King of Thorn V.4. I have been loving that series to pieces. Lots of reveals in this last volume. At least one I figured was coming since the series started, but the others and the revelations about what Medusa is and how it works were really well done. A bit far-fetched, but it IS a manga after all.
Mark E
07 May 2008 at 6:19 am
QuoteYes, Everyone go out and buy Kindaichi Case Files Now.
08 May 2008 at 7:19 pm
QuoteI really wish that book sold better. I’m glad it’s selling well enough that Tokyopop is at least not cancelling it, and I hope we see all 27 volumes, but I would much prefer to see them sooner, and I think a lot of people are missing out on a great series.
08 May 2008 at 8:05 pm
QuoteI might have to look for Dragon Sister. I too have been fascinated by the Three Kingdoms era since the NES game. In fact, after my parents found my old NES when they were cleaning for a garage sale, I took it home and hooked it up just to hear the music from ROT3K. hah!
Thanks for the info, Dan.
23 May 2008 at 11:19 am
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