Comic Corral #2

Comic Corral #2: Black Butler’s Big Day(s)

by Geordi Demorest

Black Butler Chapters 1-111: I’ve never been one for long running series comic or otherwise so Black Butler took years to catch-up on inevitably ending in a marathon that was both fascinating and depressing. Once I truly sunk my teeth into the manga there was no stopping. I think the biggest hurdle for those who have seen the anime in part or entirely will be separating it from the source material which has an entirely different take on the world and characters after the booking arc. The manga tries its hand at everything from mysteries to sports manga.

Sweetness and Lightning chapters 1-29: I haven’t talked about Sweetness and Lightning much, if at all, but it truly is an adorable manga. There isn’t a whole lot to it beyond its premise. The characters have layers and goals though which I think is what establishes it apart from many other slice-of-life manga well that and its incredible artwork.

Today’s Cerberus chapters 1-28: This is not a comic with an ounce a class yet I adore it all the same. It takes Nisekoi’s tropes and characters and does them many, many times better. It isn’t afraid to continue its story and doesn’t go off on tangents. It’s still shameless fan service (which is perfectly fine) it just has more too it.

Dark Horse Presents volume 3 issues 1-16: Currently I’m working my way through the seventeenth issue of this comic anthology magazine. Not all the series are winners but the ones that are really hit it out of the park. It’s a breath of fresh air for one such as I who spends much of my time with Japanese comics.

Relife volume 1: This manga caught me particularly by surprise from the outset I thought it would be fan service pandering to the lowest common denominator. However it’s a surprisingly thoughtful and addictive series.  I cannot wait for more of it to be up on Crunchyroll!

Comic Corral #1

Comic Corral #1

by Geordi Demorest

So I’m trying something a little different again. This is column is more of a roundup of some of the books and shows I’ve been watching and a more blog style reaction to them instead of reviews with structure to them. So basically what I’ve been doing.

Island issues 1-4: This one caught me off guard. I hadn’t expected to enjoy this as much as I do. Not all of the stories were winners one of the stories in particular in which people have devices that do everything for them seemed to clash with the more surrealist at times almost dada.

Lettera volume 1: This one can be found on the sparkler monthly site where it is currently being serialized. It does this weird thing where it goes into super deformed mode at odd times, as in, most of the time. I really like series with strong female protagonists and this is a prime example of that. The heroine, who doesn’t have much depth so far honestly, can hold her own in a fight and has a compelling personality.

Orange Junk Chapters 1-14: This comic is kind of a guilty pleasure with not too much substance to it. It’s a fun read and also can be found on the sparkler monthly website. The modeling arc is by far my favorite as it actually has some stakes and greatly expands the cast.

Natsume’s Book of Friends volume 10: I have always been a fan of Natsume, though admittedly I still have the fourth/final season sitting unfinished on my CR queue. It’s a quiet series though my favorite moments are the more suspenseful ones. This volume pretty much continued to stick to the series’ status quo for better and for not so well.

Big Punch Magazine issue 1: I’d been vaguely aware of this magazine for some time but never had gotten around to reading it mostly because I wasn’t sure it would stay afloat for long. The end of the year though and it’s still around. The stories are compelling and too my liking in art style Though don’t really care for the first story in the issue.

There was a lot more that I read recently, and continue to read, and I might get around to writing up about those series at some point too. Anywho, have a good day!

Top 5 Best and Worst Comics of 2015

Top 5 Best and Worst Comics of 2015

by Geordi Demorest

2015 was a huge year for comics. Highly requested series have been licensed in droves, French comics made a splash onto the North American market, new services sprung up like Spottoon, Yen Press simulpubs, Silent Manga Audition, webtoons (a new format for comics designed for the digital age) seem to be taking off globally, and so on and so forth. With the year drawing to a close I thought I’d make a best and worst list for comics that came out in 2015. To clarify the worst list was really subjective while the best list is made up, what I feel to be, the best comics of 2015.

Let’s get the worst out of the way:

5) Idol Dreams: I couldn’t get past the first chapter of this one. Tanemura really isn’t that great at writing adults who feel and act like adults. There was also a suicide joke thrown in and well let’s say it isn’t one of her better works.

4) Takahashi-san is Listening: This series relies completely around a really awkward joke: the protagonist is a stalker. There really isn’t much to say about it beyond that. It never really goes beyond the joke nor does the heroine face any consequences for her actions.

3) Samon the Summoner: This one was particularly insufferable. The biggest problem lies in the fact that the heroine is actually a great person, and yet Samon tries to convince the audience that secretly she is evil at heart and that she should, thus, be miserable. It never gave a reason in the pilot chapter and it was another one I couldn’t read much of beyond it admittedly. Like most of the Jump Starts this year this one was cancelled quickly.  

2) Yuuki and Nao: This one goes higher because, when I started reading it, I was cautiously optimistic, that it might be decent, but it turned out to be yet another of Renta’s many hard-core smut series.

1) Marie of the Dragons: It now occurs to me that this list is comprised mostly of smut and tasteless humor series. Marie of the Dragons falls into the former category. It took me many months to finish the one issue I have bought. While I enjoy some bande desinee this is not one of them. The art is hideous and it prefers to concentrate on the smut far too much for my tastes.

Now for the “best of” list:

5) Bloody Mary: Admittedly this one is more of a personal favorite but the way it goes about its subject matter is well written and refreshing. It’s far more intelligent than I thought it would have been from the outset and it was a genuinely pleasant surprise for me.

4) Scarlet Empire: Another personal favorite. The artwork is distinct and eye-catching, the story flows fluidly, and the characters have layers to their personalities. It’s probably the lowest profile series on this best list but I think it deserves a spot.

3) So Cute It Hurts: This series was even more of a pleasant surprise. Despite how plain it looks it has a lot of personality. Gender benders are difficult to do well and I think So Cute it Hurts is certainly up to the task.

2) Princess Jellyfish: I really struggled with the top two.  Princess Jellyfish is only in second because I was well aware from the outset how great it would be. It’s charming and has many, many likeable, colorful characters. The common is perfectly tuned and it just does very well at what it sets out to be: a romantic comedy.

1) Tokyo Ghoul: I really could not NOT put this one at number 1. Tokyo Ghoul is by far the most compelling comic of 2015. It spends lots of time and effort establishing the decay of its protagonist’s morality and sanity and its multi-layered world. The artwork is no slouch either the series comic consistently looks good too. Tokyo Ghoul is nigh impossible to put down and it truly deserves its place.

xxxHolic Rei volume 1 review

xxxHolic Rei volume 1 Review

by Geordi Demorest

Review:                                Yuko has never really been one of my favorite leads in a manga and this volume spotlights one of her biggest flaws as a protagonist: she takes this whatever will be will be attitude which makes her difficult to root for. Instead she chooses to spend her time talking in circles and indulging in alcohol and smoking to pass the time while her clients fall metaphorically apart. That said, xxxHolic rei’s first volume has an almost hypnotic grasp over its readers and is the perfect book to read before going to sleep.

This new series returns Yuko to being the owner of the wish granting shop while Watanuki resumes being her flunky. While it’s clear something is amiss throughout the entire volume no one cares to explain it to the audience. Plot has never been one of xxxHolic strong suits. The aspect that ultimately compels the reader to continue is the strange relationship between Watanuki and Domeki. Watanuki spends the entire book asking for answers while Yuko would rather be vague and give non-answers that confuse both Watanuki and the reader.

I preferred when Watanuki was the shopkeeper because he was a lot more clear on what his goal was and was much more proactive in helping his clients that Yuko continues to be. In conclusion, I would say, that this would be a good jumping on point for new readers to the series. For those of us who have continued the series until now, well, there’s really no escaping for us at this point.

Grade: B-

xxxHolic Rei is available in print and digitally from Kodansha Comics.

Metamo Kiss vol. 1-3 review

Metamo Kiss volumes 1-3 Review

By Geordi Demorest

Review:                                I think the word “meh” is what best describes Mteamo Kiss ultimately. That isn’t to say the entire series is subpar but in the final book when you  would think the plot would really be ramped up the protagonist just kind stands around absent mindedly happy and the entire series ends with most of its subplots unresolved. In the afterward to the series one the characters are chatting with the “author” of the book and one of them calls the author a hack and, in all honesty, that probably wasn’t too far off.

The first two books have an actual tension but the third (which is also the final) book just goes “oh yeah, right, this a romance” and so in the last two pages the leads are a couple, inexplicably, despite having shared no actual moments or chemistry. And then the audience just walks away without having gained or lost anything. To the credit of the series, the first two volumes feature compelling, colorful characters and interactions and feels like it takes the tired bodyswap premise and uses it creatively. Ultimately Metamo Kiss is bland and forgettable. It starts off well but in the end just kind of fizzles out.

Grade: C

Metamo Kiss is available digitally from Viz Media.

Shonen Jump

Shonen Jump

                In the past I’ve looked at comics from Shonen Jump on here. Today I’m just going to look at the magazine and how it has evolved. This isn’t so much a review of Shonen Jump, as much as a brief, and probably ill-informed, examination of the magazine that brought about a fascination with Japanese comics for me. Jump has been around a long time, for a majority of my life anyhow, but started as a monthly print magazine. It enjoyed considerable popularity for a manga magazine introducing such hits as Naruto and One Piece. Bleach, what is often considered the other member of the “Big 3”, curiously wasn’t added to the magazine for quite some time.

                As a print magazine, Shonen Jump had a considerably pool of popular series to draw from many of which would be notoriously censored especially in the early years. This would not be entirely remedied until the magazine made the switch to digital which will be covered in a bit. The other frustrating aspect of the print magazine was that many of these series would never be fully serialized in the magazine instead being finished In graphic novel form if they were lucky. These problems would be remedied once the move to digital occurred but this too came with flaws.

                The move to digital brought with it changes, most of which for the better, chapters for the first year were near simultaneous with Japan (well nearer than before anyway 2 weeks behind) for the first year, Viz had to prove to Shueisha in Japan that they could put out a quality product. As odd as I find  Weekly Shonen Jump today, at the time, it was standard-ish for manga serializing in English. Most serialized digital manga in the early years was as magazines as it had been in print. Even now, manga publishers cannot seem to settle on a particular model that works for everyone.

Back on topic, many of the digital serialized Japanese comic’s pioneers: Comicloud, Gen Manga, Manga Boshi, to name a few have either faded or changed drastically over time with the rapidly changing media landscape. Weekly Shonen Jump, now jaded from years of the rapidly morphing manga scene, seems to stick firmly to the formula that brought them success in the first place. They have always had a very particular type of story they would run in their magazine, more so than the magazine’s Japanese counterpart, which itself has at least some variation on its formula.

                English Shonen Jump’s formula is as follows: the protagonist must overcome the odds and achieve their dream. The lower their situation is, and the greater the odds, the more it seems to resonate with readers. In some ways it feels similar to Disney’s formula which may be why it resonates with so many people. Viz is particularly formulaic at present as they tend to stick to certain genres (namely science fiction and fantasy).Will this formula ever grow tiresome for audiences or will we finally see some new ideas flow forth and gain traction from the beloved magazine we have come to know and love? Or is the answer already apparent? As a simple reviewer on the internet, I really cannot say. I suppose I will find out at some point in life anyhow.

VIZ MEDIA LAUNCHES THE SWEET SHOJO MANGA CONFECTION KOMOMO CONFISERIE

New Manga Series About An Ex-Rich Girl Who Starts Working At A Pastry Shop And Finds Love For The First Time From The Creator Of S•A And VOICE OVER! SEIYU ACADEMY

San Francisco, CA, August 26, 2015 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, announces the release of its latest shojo manga (graphic novel) series with the launch of KOMOMO CONFISERIE on September 1^st.

The romantic comedy, created by Maki Minami, about a sheltered but determined girl finding her way in the world after her family goes bankrupt is rated ‘T’ for Teens and will carry a print MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. KOMOMO CONFISERIE also launches digitally on September 1^st via VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga App, as well as from the Nook, Kobo, Kindle, iBooks, comiXology, and GooglePlay stores. The series will be published under the company’s Shojo Beat imprint with new volumes scheduled for release in print and digitally on a quarterly basis.

As a little girl, Komomo Ninomiya delighted in picking on Natsu Azumi, the son of her family’s pastry chef. Ten years later, when the family fortune is lost and she has no place to live, Komomo encounters Natsu again in her hour of need. Now that Natsu is a master pastry chef in his own right, he’ll help Komomo – but only if she works for him at his new confiserie!

“In KOMOMO CONFISERIE, Maki Minami has created a strong, unique heroine who tackles challenges in her own way including working hard for the first time in her life,” says Nancy Thistlethwaite, Senior Editor. “Be prepared for a lot of laughs as Komomo and Natsu learn to get along in this sweet new series!”

Manga creator Maki Minami is from Saitama Prefecture in Japan and debuted in 2001 with Kanata no Ao (Faraway Blue). Her other works include Kimi wa Girlfriend (You're My Girlfriend), Mainichi ga Takaramono (Every Day Is a Treasure) and Yuki Atataka (Warm Winter). Her series, S•A, (published in English by VIZ Media; rated ‘T’ for Teens), was serialized in Japan's Hana to Yume magazine and was also adapted into a popular anime series. Maki Minami also is the creator of VOICE OVER! SEIYU ACADEMY, which is published in English by VIZ Media.

For more information on KOMOMO CONFISERIE or other shojo manga titles published by VIZ Media, please visit: www.viz.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and ONE PIECE, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.