Selah's Manga Mania: Shuriken and Pleats, Vol. 1 by Matsuri Hino

Shuriken and Pleats, Vol. 1
by Matsuri Hino
March 22, 2016
192 pages
2 volumes
Shoujo
Publisher: VIZ Media: Shojo Beat
Genres: Manga, Fiction, Graphic novel, Action, Drama, Romance, School Life  

When the master she has sworn to protect is killed, Mikage Kirio, a skilled ninja, travels to Japan to start a new, peaceful life for herself. But as soon as she arrives, she finds herself fighting to protect the life of Mahito Wakashimatsu, a man who is under attack by a band of ninja. From that time on, Mikage is drawn deeper into the machinations of his powerful family. 

Everybody likes ninjas. This is just a fact. Don’t dissuade me, it’s law. So when I saw a relatively short (only 2 volumes!) series about a schoolgirl ninja fighting a shadowy underground…

Uh, hi, yes, please.

The actual reality was a little different. Your mileage may vary.

Mikage is from a ninja family assigned to protect a man who she has a great fondness for. They discuss their lives and he has a wish for her to be able to experience a normal girl’s life and not that of a deadly assassin.

Obviously, he dies pretty much right off the bat. Oh come on, that’s not a spoiler, that’s like page 2 in manga-world.

Anywho, Mikage decides to see what all the fuss about normal life is about, leaves ninjaing (although can you REALLY leave ninjaing? Hint: No, you cannot), and goes to Japan to start school. She’s drawn to Mahito, who has some ties to her previous master. He’s also being targeted by a ninja family, so she takes it upon herself to protect him.

The whole line of how everything fits together is a little complicated for a 2 book series, and for me, there isn’t quite enough fun had with the dichotomy of Mikage trying to go to school and do her ninja stuff. Like if this were a television show those kind of hijinks would be at least a season and a half before the overall arc fully came back into play (foreshadowing not included). Here, that and her of-age potential love interest are touched on, but those and other friendships just aren’t as developed as I’d hoped. You don’t get a huge sense of worlds colliding, because, at the end of the day, it all comes down to….

Wait for it.

You know what’s coming.

Wait for it…

Her unrequited feelings for her first master. Who was a married dude and quite a bit older than her. 

 Look, I’m not that old and I’m not an idiot. I get teen girls crush on older guys all the time. For me, though, the pining takes up so much of the plot that could be used for more interesting things. Plus, you have other characters you could actually play those emotions out with.

The second volume, for me, was something of a disappointment. You have all this setup, and then don’t really use it to its full potential. I don’t mind her battling past colleagues because as I understand it, that’s like Ninja Thursday, but certain things are brought back to the forefront that just really kill the action for me. The ending is…odd. Maybe I’m not thinking as a teen girl, but this wasn’t really billed as a romantic title, and the ending isn’t really romantic per say…more like her interpreting some things in a way that makes you think it could be revisited/come into play later when she’s older.

Which is creepy.

I will say there’s not any real ick factor, and I’ll give credit that the schoolgirl thing isn’t played for fantasy. Any discomfort of mine is reading pages of this girl calling a dude master and immediately running after him. I get that’s kinda her job, but for a ninja, it seems very….not quite empowered? Like yeah, she kicks butt, but it also always comes back to her feelings for this dude. Who is dead. And was married. And even if he wasn’t the relationship might be a crime (I forget how old she actually is).

The actual ninja scenes themselves are fun. Mikage trying to fit in at school is fun. There’s a lot of potential for fun, and then it just kind of turns into…other stuff. Or it’s shadowed by feelings that feel a little shoehorned in. I honestly don’t get why this was only two volumes because I feel like even with three or four, the story may have been able to take its time and be more balanced.

The art is great, there’s a lot of movement and prettiness to be enjoyed (This is Matsuri Hino we’re talking about. The art’s gonna be amazing). The story just feels very rushed and portrayed from a slightly odd angle to me.

But hey, some people go for stuff like that, and to be fair, Mikage’s pining does feel like a teen girl. Granted, if she was trained as an assassin/bodyguard from a young age, I kind of question if that would be at the forefront of her mind, but in that world, I can kind of buy it.

Kind of.

It’s short, it’s a good way to kinda get a feel for shojo manga, and there are some fun scenes.

2.5 assassin 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: Dawn of the Arcana Vol. 1 by Rei Toma

Dawn of the Arcana Vol. 1
by Rei Toma (Author, Illustrator)
April 30, 2012
192 pages
Volumes: 13 (List of volumes)
English publisher: Viz Media
Genres: Fantasy, Romance novel
Publishers: Viz Media Shogakukan
Shōjo manga
Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power!

For those who like some adventure and lots of subplot with your possible romance, we have a great series to look at this week.

Dawn of the Arcana opens with Nakaba, a Senan princess forced into marrying Caesar, a Belquat prince to help the kingdoms actually get along. Whether this works or is a gesture for show is debatable. Nakaba and her Ajin (half human/half animal) servant Loki move to Belquat, and all sorts of intrigue develops. If this wasn’t enough, Nakaba also has the Arcana of time (in the past, those with Arcana powers were slaughtered, so obviously she keeps this quiet once she realizes that it’s a thing). 

There’s a LOT going on here. Like just so much. Almost too much. You have the struggles between countries and political coups going on within Belquat, there’s the actual question of Nakaba’s station because her red hair isn’t a desirable trait in that world, there’s the human vs. Ajin racism, her and Caesar not getting along then learning to love each other, and a love triangle between her, Caesar, and Loki, because of course.

 

Honestly, this hits a lot of issues that are relevant in today’s world, and it’s really interesting to see how they’re dealt with. The stereotypes and racism are somewhat obvious in a clunky fantasy world way, but in a genre that usually chooses high school love fantasies, this makes for an interesting read. Nakaba grows and has to balance all her feelings for people with opinions on the issues, as well as keep herself and those she cares about alive. I like that she isn’t completely automatically in love with Caesar at first, and vice versa.

There is real development going on there, and the political stuff takes time to unfold as well. Caesar and Loki are both portrayed as not perfect, which is refreshing. If anything, the Arcana stuff feels a little wedged in to me, but it’s still an interesting subplot. I need to catch up, but there are some interesting side characters that we meet as the cast journeys around, and all in all the worldbuilding isn’t bad. Everything has a distinct look, which I appreciate, and you can tell a lot of thought went into things.

Nakaba, herself, isn’t a naïve heroine or one that figures things out right away. She’s there in the thick of things, learning, getting things wrong, stumbling through the events, which I really like.

The Loki vs Caesar stuff admittedly tires me out, but it’s at least coming from a believable place. As far as ick, there isn’t really any unless you’re not into fantasy adventure violence.

If you want romance, yeah, of course it’s gearing up for that, but if you want consistent plot, it’s also got bucket loads of that, which makes for a fun fantasy adventure read.

3.5 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:My Love Story!!, Vol. 1 by Kazune Kawahara Illustrated by Aruko

My Love Story!!, Vol. 1
by Kazune Kawahara
Illustrated by Aruko
July 1, 2014
184 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media: Shojo Beat
(Ore Monogatari!!)
Genre: Romantic comedy
Manga
Shōjo
Volumes 13
Takeo Goda is a GIANT guy with a GIANT heart.

Too bad the girls don’t want him! (They want his good-looking best friend, Sunakawa.)

Used to being on the sidelines, Takeo simply stands tall and accepts his fate. But one day when he saves a girl named Yamato from a harasser on the train, his (love!) life suddenly takes an incredible turn!


Takeo can hardly believe it when he crosses paths with Yamato again, and he finds himself falling in love with her… But with handsome Sunakawa around, does Takeo even stand a chance?

Ever get tired of the same set up of pretty people fumbling around and getting together? Weeell, let’s take a look at this week’s title!

My Love Story! takes traditional romantic comedy tropes and tilts them just enough. Takeo would be the scary-looking comic relief or maaaybe the sidekick in any other manga. He looks intimidating, but is actually conscientious, polite, and basically has the good soul you want in a romantic lead. Unfortunately, every girl he likes is into his good-looking, socially adept friend Makoto. Enter Rinko: a shy, petite, cute girl who also likes to cook.

Yes, I do actually read things like this. Shut up.

This has all the tropes of high school shojo mixed in with a lot of romantic comedy staples: meetcutes, misunderstandings, fumbling relationships, all the good stuff. The difference is that the two leads aren’t really adept at dating life and have to be steered along. Rinko may look more like a traditional type of heroine, but she’s a little more naïve than most, at least at first. Then again, so is Takeo. 

For me, the real gem of this story is Matsuko. I love that instead of making him the smarmy friend who turns out to be competition for Takeo, he helps his bud get the girl, and keeps getting roped into helping Takeo out because Takeo’s never really dated before and is just clueless. Like seriously, I know it’s comedy, but I feel for the poor guy. So Matsuko becomes this well-meaning, but put-upon character that Rinko and Takeo are always depending on. And then they start wondering what’s wrong with him because he really doesn’t care too much about dating or have his eye on anyone. It’s also really nice to see that other characters are into Takeo, so Riko isn’t a total anomaly or a pity girlfriend. This is a cast that has characters that see the good characteristics in each other, which is refreshing.

I also get why the character designs are the way they are, but I do kinda wish some of them were refined in later volumes, because to me, the constant over-playing of Takeo’s physical attributes is a one-note joke that gets played out by like the second or third volume. It’s like…in Baby & Me there came a point where Gon just became Gon and wasn’t all that noticeable even though he was designed to look more brutish than Takuya and co. But I just couldn’t get to that point with Takeo, and I feel like it got brought up fairly constantly, too. Isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it is kind of the hinge point of the series, but I just found it a little wearing.

Honestly, I forget how many volumes I lasted, but I ended up stopping on this one and not feeling all that bad about it, mostly because it was very episodic and felt like it was always going to stay at the same fumbling, figuring things out point. Again, not bad, but I don’t need a million volumes of the same set up on repeat. I genuinely like the three main characters, there just came a point where they weren’t as interesting to me as those in other series were.

However, I do absolutely think it’s worth a look. This is an unusual take on the genre, and I really like that the characters are supportive of each other and not trying to take each other down like in other titles. For that alone, it’s worth it. There’s some genuinely great humor, as well, and it could be that I’ll eventually go back to it when I’m more in the mood for that sort of thing.

For cute, unusual romantic comedy, definitely give this a flip through.

3 romantically fumbling 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: Skip Beat!, Vol. 1 (Skip Beat! Graphic Novel) by Yoshiki Nakamura

Skip Beat!, Vol. 1 (Skip Beat! Graphic Novel) 

by Yoshiki Nakamura

August 27, 2013

184 pages

Genre: Comedy, romance Manga

Publisher: VIZ Media: Shojo Bea

Demographic: Shōjo

Volumes: 42

Kyoko knows she's not plain and uninteresting, no matter what Sho says. With the help of a little makeover, Kyoko's ready to exact her revenge. But first she needs to land an audition, and she sets her sights on the agency where Sho's lead rival works. Her persistence pays off, but her broken heart turns out to be a disadvantage. Kyoko has lost the will to love anybody, let alone fans she's never met. Can the agency see past this problem to Kyoko's true star potential?

Sometimes the right title just finds you and it is everything you ever wanted and needed but never realized. Skip Beat is one of my favorite titles, and it’s a unique blend of story, romance, character growth, and wackiness. There’s equal emotions and comedy here, and it all blends into something really special.

Kyoko Mogami is a sixteen-year-old girl who runs away the dude she’s in love with, Sho, to Tokyo where he tries to make it as a musician. She’s worked for his family for a while and they have a lot of history together. So, when he becomes famous, it becomes a massive betrayal when he dismisses and humiliates her, pretty much leaving her on her own far away from home after she left school and took multiple jobs to support him while he was trying to get started.

Any other title, this would be played as a sad, tragic thing and it would focus on getting them back together and reaching understanding.

In this series, Kyoko’s inner ‘pandora bos’ opens and all her inner rage is unleashed. She determines that the obvious course of action is to take revenge and become more famous than Sho. She walks into a talent agency with no experience to audition, catching the attention of the eccentric president when she claims she doesn’t believe in love. The president is all about love. What follows is a long-running series of events where Kyoko slowly trains and develops as an actress, makes multiple friends and enemies in the industry, and slowly develops feelings for her friend/mentor Ren Tsuruga, though they both fight it and he has secrets of his own.

Part rom-con, part I don’t even know what, what really makes this thing work are the characters. Kyoko starts off so spikey and angry, and slowly develops a sense of self through acting and begins to regain her empathy, it’s really a character arc to behold. She’s also fairly naïve and oblivious, which makes a lot of interactions (especially with Ren) super amazing. Ren also is something of a dark horse, and as more of his past is revealed other than just his acting ability, you really get two fantastic characters learning to deal with their emotions before they hopefully get together.  

There are great side characters along the way, and a lot of this series is just so funny. Not even in an unintended sense – there’s some great, great comedy here. There are a lot of fantastic mini-arcs that are just absorbing and you truly grow to feel for everyone in the cast. The pacing is pretty smooth, and it’s always fun to suddenly revisit certain people from volumes upon volumes ago. I also have no idea how accurate any of the entertainment industry stuff is in Japan, but it feels legit, and Kyoko learning her craft is given a really nice amount of time throughout the whole thing.

I started this one on a lark because of the subject matter, but it’s become one of my very favorite series.

The good: everything I just mentioned.

The bad: For me, nothing. Because it is long-running (we’re up to volume 40), it is a time investment, but one that’s well worth it. A lot of the subplots also take their time, so for some people, some bits may feel a bit draggy if you’re not into the subject matter covered.

The ick: I can’t really think of anything. Anything that might raise eyebrows is usually put there because it might (the Cain Siblings arc comes to mind), but it’s fully addressed and the characters’ feelings often mirror what presumably are the reader’s. There’s nothing over the top graphic or violent, though. 

Rating: 5 superstar 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.