Selah's Manga Mania Reviews: Barakamon, Vol. 1 Paperback by Satsuki Yoshino

Barakamon, Vol. 1 Paperback

by Satsuki Yoshino (Author, Artist)

February 21, 2009 – present

Paperback: 208 pages
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life, YA
Demographic: shōnen
Volumes 17 (List of volumes)
Manga

First things first.........Visitors are supposed to come in through the front door!! For a certain reason, a handsome, young calligrapher by the name of Seishuu Handa uproots himself and moves to an island on the westernmost edge of Japan. 'Sensei,' as he comes to be known, is a city boy through and through, and has never experienced rural life until now. And by the looks of it, he has much to learn! Luckily(?), he has a willing teacher in Naru, the energetic expert islander, to help show him the ropes. But can Sensei keep up with the plucky first-grader, or will he get schooled?! Here unfolds a heartfelt island comedy about a gruff on the outside, soft on the inside urbanite teacher and his new, unfailingly kind island neighbors!

As much as I love genre titles, I have a soft spot for a good slice-of-life story in manga. It helps me appreciate different cultures and lifestyles, and when a story is well done it just adds a little something to your life. 

Which is why I love Barakamon.

Seishu Handa is a young calligrapher who loses his temper on an exhibition curator when he's called unoriginal. His father sends him to Goto Island to cool off. Not only is he a fish out of water, but the neighborhood kids used to use his house for their fort and insist on still coming around.

The good: I love the interaction between Handa and the kids. Over time, the way he takes to Naru and the more her situation is revealed, it becomes a really nice emotional anchor for the series. It’s also great to see how the kids heckle Handa, and the series is filled with misadventures as he tries to acclimate to island living and being on his own. Just when you feel like he's growing, something will happen to remind you that he's still pretty young, himself, which is a great touch. 

As the volumes progress you also get a sense of how the Islanders feel about Handa, as well as their own daily struggles. There's a constant theme of growth and moving on as kids get older and contemplate life off the island, and as Handa finds himself as an artist and a person. This series balances humor and drama, sweetness and conflict really well.

The bad: Nothing in particular. If this sorry if title isn't your thing, this won't change your mind. The only thing that I noticed was that it's a little hard to acclimate to the choice to emphasize the island dialect, though it backs up Handa’s initial opinion that the Islanders are hicks. Either I got used to it or it softened in later volumes.

The ick: Nothing. This is a pretty all-ages title depending on reading level. Granted, I don't know if this type of title would speak to tweens, but there's nothing questionable in it.

I don't know how much research was done into the calligraphy for this, but everything feels realistic to me. I love the journey that Handa is on, both artistically and personally. Plus, a lot of the chapters are just hilarious. Definitely a great title to curl up with. 

5 sheep

About the Author:

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Selah Janel is a writer who is trying to start doing that again instead of reading manga all the time.

Selah's Manga Mania Review: Sorry for My Familiar Vol. 1 by Tekka Yaguraba

Sorry for My Familiar Vol. 1
by Tekka Yaguraba

March 13, 2018

180 pages

Publisher: Seven Seas

Genre: humor, fantasy, YA

AN UNFAMILIAR JOURNEY

When the devil girl Patty finds she's too weak to summon an animal familiar, she chooses a human instead. His name: Norman Volcanello--an eccentric guy with a dangerous fascination with exotic life forms. As Patty and Norman set out to find her missing father, an offbeat adventure begins!

I grabbed Sorry for My Familiar without really looking at the premise – I guess I expected it to be about witches and their animals or something. However, the premise just made it way WAY better for me.

Patty the devil girl is too weak to summon an animal familiar, so she chooses a human demonologist named Norman instead. Set loose in devil world to find her missing father, things go about as well as you’d expect.

The Good: I feel like in a lot of ways this was hand-written for me. It starts really fast with little setup, and you’re thrown into the adventure pretty straight away. It’s just so ridiculous – Patty’s looked down on for using Norman, but his skills help the pair out a lot, too…as much as they get them into trouble. Between getting suckered into a familiar deathmatch, getting lost in a desert, and having to store Norman in a barn with a giant lethal creature that he just wants to sketch and learn about, plus hearing how much trouble her dad’s gotten into along the way, this thing is chock full of fun and silliness. Both Patty and Norman have their extreme emotional reactions to things and play the straight person for each other at other times. It’s not a perfect balance yet, but I could see it really coming together in future volumes. The illustrations are over the top where it counts, adding to the emotion. I love the sheer amount of character types in this world, which helps out a fairly straightforward narrative. Adding in the character of her uncle helps a lot, too. In some ways, I wish a little more time was spent in some of these places, because there’s a lot to see framing the main story. We never really leave Patty and Norman’s point of view, which is a solid choice, but it also feels a little limiting given the sheer amount of stuff in this world.

The bad: Not really bad, but it definitely reads like a first volume. I’m not sure what could have been changed to suck me in a little more, but there were times I felt myself disengaging, or thinking ‘oh my gosh, what now??’ It leaves off after a punchline on an adventure, so there’s no real cliffhanger or something that makes me feel like I need to know what comes next, even though it’s set up as a long-form adventure. This feels like a better fit for middle grade and younger teens, but it’s still a fun flip through overall.

The ick: nah, nothing gets gross or too violent.

3 devilish sheep

About the Author:

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Selah Janel is a writer who is trying to start doing that again instead of reading manga all the time.

Selah's Manga Mania Reviews: The Promised Neverland, Vol.1: Grace Field House by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 1: Grace Field House

by Kaiu Shirai (Author), Posuka Demizu (Illustrator)

December 5, 2017

192 pages

Volumes 11 

Publisher: VIZ Media: SHONEN JUMP

Genre: mystery, post-apocalyptic, dystopian, dark fantasy, thriller

Shounen Manga

Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside 
world they are forbidden from seeing.

I will admit that I sometimes just pick up a title because I need something for a review, and if it looks like something I can tolerate, cool, fine, I’ll check it out and move on with my life. Oftentimes it’s exactly what I think it is, and everything is peachy keen.

And then there are the titles that throw in such a magnificent bait and switch that it makes me jealous to the point of blind fury. The Promised Neverland is one of those titles.

Take a look at the cover art, mind you. Really look at it. It’s cute, pleasant, not really indicative of too modern a setting, great for a fantasy, right? Same with the title. I figure maybe it’s a riff on Peter Pan, maybe it’s some sort of alternate timeline historical fantasy, all solid guesses, right?

Emma, Norman, and Ray live in Grace Field House, an orphanage run under the woman they call Mom. All the kids are cared for, loved even. They get along, are well-fed and nurtured, and have to take certain kinds of tests every day to keep their skills up. The tests, themselves, are done through headphones, so I was thinking well maybe they’re being trained as code breakers or something…

 One day, our three heroes accidentally find out the truth about the outside world they’re not allowed to go into.

The Good: The characters are likable in a kid-like way. Emma’s cheerfulness, Ray’s aloofness, and Norman’s desire to please can get a little cloying, but it really sets things up nicely. Things don’t seem perfect in a creepy way to start, so I was taken by complete surprise by how things play out. The blurb itself is really vague, but it hints at darkness. I would just like to remind you that it hints at it. And because this is a first volume and it’s still kinda recent-ish, I’ll behave and not tell you the twist. Other than this.

OH MY FREAKIN HOLY ORPHANS BATMAN, I NEVER SAW IT COMING. THEY SEE A (REDACTED) AND (REDACTED) AND FIND OUT THAT THEY’RE ALL SUPPOSED TO BE (REDACTED).

Picture me just flailing with windmilling arms at my desk at the moment, because that is exactly what I’m doing.

I will tell you that this becomes a horror title with a lot of gaming out an escape. I’ve read two volumes so far and just…fadjdvjldvjkldvsl’kdsv’kd.

 It’s interesting how a lot of typical kid activities suddenly become vital, and how the three heroes try to outmaneuver Mom and the Sister that comes to help out later on. Art-wise, I think it absolutely helps that things look so charming and expressive. While the more horrific panels don’t go into Junji Ito territory, they are definitely nothing to sneeze at. My only blinky moment is that the antagonists aren’t really the look I was expecting, but it does work for the overall look of the series, and to be fair, we don’t really see much of them right away.

The Bad: The cloying bit doesn’t go on too long, so I give that a pass because it sets things up so well. The only other thing that I could nitpick on is that it is pretty talky. To be fair, a lot of this is setting up plans to escape once they know THE TRUTH (picture me with my hands over my mouth trying not to tell you what it is. I may have texted my best friends who are used to me so I could spoil them on a series they’ll likely never read anyway).

The Ick: some gore, but nothing too over the top. I will warn you that there is a child death on screen, but mostly things are described or hinted at. Once your imagination follows the line given it, yeah (shudders).

Overall, a definite recommend, just because it’s such an unusual blend of styles and ideas for me. I really hope it keeps going on this strongly, because yeah, it’s really hard to startle me, and this series got me, good. AND THAT TWIST, MAN. THAT FREAKIN’ PLOT TWIST. 

5 well-fed orphan sheep

About the Author:

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Selah Janel is a writer who is trying to start doing that again instead of reading manga all the time.

Selah's Manga Mania Review: Chi's Sweet Home Vol. 1 by Konami Kanata

Chi's Sweet Home Vol. 1

by Konami Kanata (Author, Illustrator)

December 8, 2015

168 pages
12 book series

Genre: Comedy

Manga

Demographic: Seinen

Original run November 22, 2004 – June 23, 2015

Chi is a mischievous newborn kitten who, while on a leisurely stroll with her family, finds herself lost. Separated from the warmth and protection of her mother, feels distraught. Overcome with loneliness she breaks into tears in a large urban park meadow. when she is suddenly rescued by a young boy named Yohei and his mother. The kitty is then quickly and quietly whisked away into the warm and inviting Yamada family apartment...where pets are strictly not permitted.

amazon link to series

We’ve established my love of cats, so you pretty much know how this review is going to go. After reading Fukufuku, I happened upon the blurb for Chi’s Sweet Home in the back and…yeah.

Guys. There are FOUR. GIANT. VOLUMES. OF. THIS. FOUR VOLUMES OF KITTY MANGA!!! FOUR VOLUMES OF UNADULTERED CUTENESS!

Actually, there may be more. I may need to yell at my library or get buying.

I know I have a problem. I don’t care. I will fight you if you try to take cats away from me. Let me just have this thing.

Chi is a kitten who often gets into trouble, which leads to her getting separated from her mom. She ends up at a park, distraught, where she’s rescued by a little boy named Yohei and his parents. Problem is, there are no pets allowed at their apartment complex. DUN DUN DUUUUUNNN.

The first volume centers around Chi acclimating to her new home, and the humans trying to decide if they can keep her. I also love the character of Blackie, this round bearish cat who saunters around causing trouble but eventually becomes a friend and mentor to Chi. Volume 2 sees the family moving to a pet-friendly place, and things evolve from there.

The Good: Just everything. Every page, every line, ever little particle. Okay, seriously, Konami Konata has obviously had cats because a lot of this rings very true to life. The mannerisms, the reactions, the adventures – part of what makes it so cute and funny is that it’s just really realistic. I like that in this story, the cat's meows are interpreted into actual commentary, so that vs what the humans interpret the meows as leads to some fun moments.

Chi is indoor/outdoor so you gain a cast of animal characters that make for great sidekicks. Every little thing is a potential adventure, and because the chapters are so short, it’s easy to keep flipping. I was also really surprised at how heartfelt some of this is. Chi never quite forgets her mom and siblings, and there are multiple instances where she gets lost or gets into trouble that had me worried for her because I am a sap like that. The stakes are higher than Fukufuku, but not terribly higher, so it’s a lovely balance. The art is friendly and engaging, and Chi is just adorable in all her moods and mannerisms.

The volumes I’ve read from are a really nice, thick size, too. As an adult, I can get through them pretty fast, but a younger reader will have a lot of time to engage with the story. Plus, it’s cute and simple enough that you can keep going back to it for multiple reads if you need a pick-me-up.

The bad: Not a thing and I will fight anyone who says there is.

The ick: nah, this is geared towards kids and families.

5 trillion adorable kitty sheep-

Okay, fiiiiiine, five sheep. But it deserves 5 trillion.

About the Author:

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Selah Janel is a writer who is trying to start doing that again instead of reading manga all the time.

Selah's Manga Mania Review: My Neighbor Seki, 1 by Takuma Morishige

My Neighbor Seki, 1

by Takuma Morishige
January 4, 2014
Volumes: 10 (List of volumes)
English publisher: NA Vertical
Genre: Comedy
Demographic: Seinen
Toshinari Seki takes goofing off to new heights. Every day, on or around his school desk, he masterfully creates his own little worlds of wonder, often hidden to most of his classmates. Unfortunately for Rumi Yokoi, his neighbor at the back of their homeroom, his many games, dioramas, and projects are often way too interesting to ignore; even when they are hurting her grades.

Sometimes, you just want something light and fun with no huge stakes. Something ridiculous with an overall good narrative. I picked up volume one of My Neighbor Seki on a whim, and while it didn’t grab me by the throat, it’s a lot of fun.

Rumi Yokoi sits next to Toshinari Seki in school. Seki takes goofing off to the extreme, and she inevitably gets sucked into his antics…and of course ends up taking the blame half the time when they draw attention. Adventures range from massive domino displays to polishing a desk to mirror-worthy shine, to leading chess pieces into giant battle adventures, to robots tagging along for an emergency drill. So, how was this volume for me? Let’s break it down.

The good: Every class session gets more and more ridiculous, and that’s where this manga really shines. Yokoi gets so flustered and affronted and Seki’s antics grow more and more ridiculous, that it really is fun to see what on earth he’ll try to pull next. Both kids are really likeable, and it’s fun to see the emotions keep ramping up with each passing chapter. The art is fairly typical and expressive, and there are some fun things done with typical, everyday objects.

The bad: Not necessarily bad, but that’s basically all there is to the premise. There’s very limited engagement between Seki and Yokoi, so the character interaction and potential conflicts are very internalized and limited. It’s a one-note gag played to the extreme. It’s funny and cute, but I hope that if this moves into other volumes, we get more of an actual story.

The ick: Nothing. These are middle-grade kids in school, doing kids in school things. 

If you want something to kick back with and give you a giggle, definitely look for this one. If you’re looking for more of a broader story, be aware this isn’t a title that’s setting itself up for that so far.

3 sheep 

About the Author:

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Selah Janel is a writer who is trying to start doing that again instead of reading manga all the time.

Selah's Manga Mania: Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 1 by Aya Shouoto

Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 1

by Aya Shouoto

November 4, 2014

Volumes: 10

Shojo 

180 pages

Publisher: VIZ Media: Shojo Beat

Genres: Romance, Supernatural fiction, YA

Anise Yamamoto has been told that if she ever removes the rose choker given to her by her father, a terrible punishment will befall her. Unfortunately she loses that choker when a bat-like being named Ninufa falls from the sky and hits her. Ninufa gives Anise four cards representing four knights whom she can summon with a kiss. But now that she has these gorgeous men at her beck and call, what exactly is her quest?!

So, I have this habit of reading some titles just because they’re so balls-out ridiculous I can’t take it. They’re not bad, but the setup seems almost like a word-association exercise, and then I get completely invested in all the random things tossed together (and this usually involves texting my best friends about this because of course, I have to share that stuff). For me, there’s one title that stands above the others for these reasons. One that, I’m sure, is just as good as a romance/paranormal title on its own terms, but for me, it will always be pure, insane crack. This is the show that I would fight for if I could get it on the CW network, ever proving that my life priorities are terrible.

This is the title that started these reviews for me because I realized that it is entirely unfair that people don’t know about it.

My friends, you need to read Kiss of the Rose Princess.

Oh, shut up, we all have our guilty pleasures.

Seriously, this title is amazing, and by amazing I mean the most insane thing you will read that qualifies as a romance.

So we open with high schooler Anise who’s pretty normal except that she has this rose choker given to her by her absentee father who claims that it’s for her protection and she’ll be punished if she ever takes it off. After some complicated macguffin events, she loses the choker because of course she does. In turn, she gains four cards that will call upon the four Rose Knights (red, black, white, blue) when she kisses them (the cards. Not the knights. That’s a whole other deal). By the way, the knights are all hot popular boys at her school because OF COURSE THEY ARE THIS IS MANGA, MY FRIENDS. Also, she is now the Rose Princess with her own set of powers and the ability to control her knights with some thorn vine powers that resemble some sort of bdsm play a little too much. And they like it when she exerts that control over them and are drawn to her anyway. Because OF COURSE THEY ARE, WELCOME TO SHOJO MY DUDES!

With me so far?

Mythologically speaking, the Rose Princess once locked away a demon with the help of her knights. Also, since she commands her knights, any time they use their powers her blood loses its strength, it’s all very symbiotic and just go with it. We also have the surprise yellow rose who was a former childhood friend and sacrificed to seal the demon away…

….did I mention all of these characters are sort of reincarnations but not quite? Again, just go with it.

You also have the subplot of each rose trying to become the True Rose (ie, get with her), through a series of awakenings that also help stabilize the seal holding the demon. Stabilization takes the form of finding a set of Arcana cards, which represent the shards of the seal.

Just breathe. I know. Deep breaths.

THEN you find out that her father is actually an evil sorcerer trying to unleash the demon. And there’s a fake rose princess and a set of fake knights trying to beat the real set to collect the arcana.

By the way two of the fake knights are a boy band. (yeah, okay, idol group, my way is funnier).

And one is actually the brother of a real rose knight reincarnated from his eyeball from the last time he was killed.

I KNOW. NONE OF ANYTHING I SAID IS MADE UP. THAT IS WHY THIS IS SO AMAZING AND THAT’S JUST A BASIC RUNDOWN!

The good: This series is so freaking crazy and I live for it. I don’t even care that the premise is somewhat silly, I LOVE this thing. I applaud the randomness. It’s amazing. Honestly, it’s not a bad premise. There’s the obligatory love subplot (you pretty much see who she ends up with from ten miles away), it’s a decent kind of paranormal subplot, and Anise does have something of a character arc, though I wouldn’t put it up there with some other series I’ve read. 

The bad: The fact that this is not 20,000 volumes of pure delight. There are only ten, I’ve not found the last volume (though I don’t feel I’m missing anything. I’ve heard it wraps things up too fast), and this thing needs to run forever. Honestly, for me, the biggest downside is the pacing. There are 20-some-odd cards but we only see the knights getting a few of them and the rest of them are obtained off-screen. The setup of Anise’s choker and finding out who she is and some drama with the fake knights and fake princess take longer than the actual quest. I don’t know if this was an issue with serialization and publication, but it honestly came as a disappointment for me. I’m not joking when I speculate with the right writers it could be an amazing long-running series. The setup, season arcs, and different beats are all there…they’re just not really given time to all play out in the manga, which for me is a shame. The characters themselves are pretty tropey, but the events are all so out there that I don’t really mind it.

Seriously, CW. You need this. This would be everything.

The ick: I don’t really recall anything. There’s some blood because it does walk a line with some paranormal aspects played for reals and like you see the eyeball the one guy was remade from, but really a lot of it depends on what subtext you give it. I’m sorry, the rose vine powers will always make me snicker because hi, she whips her knights and binds her knights with them. Not in an overtly sexual way but COME ON THEY’RE INTO IT. The whole subplot of them being drawn to her and the different “awakenings” that happen through kisses and what not…I mean hi. I would point out that compared to Black Bird, this is way more innocent and positive, so don’t let my interpretations dissuade you from checking this out. I would probably have a very different view of this if I was like thirteen and not a bad person, but that ship has long sailed. All of that is my interpretation, though, and onscreen things are pretty innocent.

But come on, whip vines.

Rating: 20 billion sheep because this is insane perfection.

Fiiiiiine, okay, if I have to be all objective it’s probably closer to 3.5 Sheep

Totally twenty billion though. 

 X 20 billion

About the Author:

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Selah Janel is a writer who is trying to start doing that again instead of reading manga all the time.