From an ancient Korean landscape of strife and magic to a World War II prisoner of war camp; from a hip-hop immigrant kid in San Francisco to a man created in a lab to repopulate a decimated world—the characters in In-wan’s angsty romance anthology follow a cycle of meeting, falling in love, dying, meeting again in the next life. Readers looking for love stories that tug at the heartstrings will be captured by this collection, as will readers looking to learn more about the work of Korean comic artists.
Each story in this anthology is drawn by a different illustrator. Yang Kyung-il’s beautiful fantasy-style illustrations start things off as he illustrates the story of Spring. Set in 673 AD, it is the story of a young hunter who saves the life of a fox. That act sets in motion a love story that is continued in the next chapter, Summer, set in 1945. Yoon Seung-ki’s style is more softly rounded and modern, with clean lines that fit the story of a Japanese doctor who falls for a Korean poet who is a prisoner at the camp where she works. In-wan adds a touch of historical reality by making the prisoner a real person, the poet Yun Tong-Ju, and including an excerpt of a poem he wrote while in a Japanese prison.
Next we head into Fall 1995 with artist Kim Tae-Hyung, known in the US for his work on the manhwa Planet Blood. He uses a very realistic style, full of detail and background elements, for the story of a wanna-be rap star and the blind girl he falls for. This is one of the weaker of In-wan’s stories; it feels less developed than the others and ends more abruptly, but the characters are engaging and likable, so they carry the story on to Winter.
“A few thousand years later…” humanity has vanished from the earth. Aliens have taken DNA samples and used them to begin repopulating the earth, but trouble arises when the first man must decide which of two sisters fate really intends him for. Park Sung-woo’s art is a nice mix of fantasy and action-hero and blends well with the story, though his sisters are close enough in appearance to be confusing at times. In-wan ends his series by tying together the loose threads and bringing things full circle in a folkloric style, but doesn’t ignore the tragedy inherent in his final tale.
As a bonus, two more In-wan stories are included: “Utility,” illustrated by Byun Byung-jin, and “Ocean,” illustrated by Lee Vin. “Ocean” fits in with the romance theme of the main story. It is about a young man with a terrible sense of direction who finds himself on a quest to take a pop-star to the ocean so she can see it one last time. It is a fluffy tale, but not so fluffy as to stand out drastically from the rest of the book. Vin’s art is girly cute, but that works for this tale. “Utility,” on the other hand, isn’t romantic at all. It is a social commentary story about the calculating and harsh nature of children. Byung-jin’s rough, scratchy lines and high use of screentones is perfect for this story, which is powerfully well-written. It is a bit of a jarring read when compared with the other stories in the anthology, but I’m willing to let that go, simply because the elements of destiny and fate seem to tie in and make up for the lack of romance.
Whether you’re looking for an angsty, thoughtful read or wanting to see a selection of Korean authors, this is a good anthology to pick up. It’s not the usual fare and that’s a very good thing.
Youn In-wan’s Deja-Vu: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter—a love story Story: Youn In-wan; Art: Yang Kyung-il, Yoon Seung-ki, Kim Tae-hyung, Park Sung-woo, Byun Byung-jun, and Lee Vin ISBN: 978-1-4278-0318-4 TokyoPop, 2008
Deep beneath the streets of Tokyo lays a place most people don’t even think twice about—the subway. But that seemingly innocent transportation network is also a place where life and death intersect. One man, Seiya, is the bridge between those two worlds, helping the restless dead and the innocent—and not so innocent—living navigate the dark tunnels together.
A collection of horror stories with a touch of heart, Dark Metro is an interesting, if slightly pedestrian, anthology. The strongest feature is that the stories do not all follow the same pattern. In some the living person is blameless, in some they are not, and in others they walk the line between. It is the same with the restless dead that the mysterious and handsome Seiya is charged with helping. His background is left almost completely unexplored, which is fine for this first volume. The reader is left with the assumption that more on him will be revealed later.
Probably the weakest feature is that the stories, even though they are competently told, feel like horror tales that have been told before. The vengeful woman who feels a girl stole her man. The ghost who doesn’t realize that he’s dead. The man who is covering up a crime. We’ve seen these stories in many forms previously, so the horror factor is muted somewhat. Since Dark Metro was released in Japan in 2007 and in the US in 2008, it does have a freshness to the background details—clothes, cell phone use, etc.—that helps the stories shake off a little of their mustiness.
Yoshiken’s art is also competent, but likewise doesn’t break any new ground. It’s graphic when called for and all of the characters are model pretty, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary. There is a stiffness hanging around the characters occasionally, as if the artist wasn’t quite sure how to flesh them out in such short stories. Overall, if you’re looking for deep scares, this will disappoint. On the other hand, if you want spooky tales with a little gore and a lot of handsome boys and girls, then Dark Metro isn’t a bad way to spend an afternoon.
Dark Metro, vol. 1 Story by Tokyo Calen; Art by Yoshiken ISBN: 978-1-4278-0740-3 TokyoPop, 2008
Toshihiro does makeup. Ryouhei does skin treatments, fitness, and diet. Nobuo does hair. Together they are “The Knockout Makers.” By asking for their help on a special cell phone website only available for 10 minutes at midnight, girls who want to change their image, to become more than what they are, have their dreams answered.
At first, the plot sounds like a makeup company ad and I was worried that this manga would focus more on style over substance. However, I was happy to see that this funny and uplifting shojo title is, like the girls who are the focus of each chapter, more than it appears. Instead of falling prey to the Hollywood stereotype of the geeky girl who only needs to take off her glasses to be hot, Hashimoto’s boys help each girl see the beauty that is living inside. The chubby girl isn’t exhorted to eat less, but rather to eat healthier and, moreover, to embrace her love of food. The athletic girl is still a jock after the K.O.M. team gets done, though she does have a better haircut.
Hashimoto’s art is bishonen heavy, fitting for the tale. What appealed to me most is that she really does try to make over the girl in each chapter without changing too much of her to be believable. And she never makes them ugly, simply lacking in self esteem and skin care tips. Her page layouts are a little cluttered, but not so much as to be unreadable. As each chapter progresses, we’re shown a little more of the boys’ backstories and I’m assuming that trend will continue in later volumes. For now, though, they remain handsome men who love to make young women happy and what’s not to like about that?
Marie is an accomplished alchemist returning to her hometown of Zarlburg after a long time spent traveling the world. Elie is just starting out on her alchemical career, choosing to open her own shop rather than to continue her magical studies at the Zarlburg Royal Magic Academy. Together these two women will ply their trade in the service of the needy, determined to help the world…assuming they can sober up first.
Ochi’s humorous fantasy is based on a Japanese video game franchise that hasn’t made it to America, something that almost kept me from reading it. I’m not a big gamer, so I mostly avoid comics based on RPGs and other video games. This one, though, sucked me in with its bright, cheerful cover and promise of screwball fantasy. And it didn’t disappoint.
Marie and Elie’s story isn’t deep by any means, but it is a silly story with two very different main characters. Elie, the more studious one, is the voice of reason…most of the time. Marie, on the other hand, is the one who has perfected the art of running away, a valuable alchemical skill for a daredevil who doesn’t always think about the consequences of her actions. The story introduces us to a host of other characters, but does so in a smooth, flowing manner that makes them easy to remember. The plot, what there is of it, is mostly a series of funny situations revolving around Elie and Marie’s shop, their town, and the elves who inhabit the forest just outside the town walls.
Ochi’s art varies a lot from the screencaps I saw online of the game. Instead of being an almost demure beauty, Marie—along with the others—is drawn in a cute, comedic style that perfectly fits the tone of the story. The panels are crowded with art, screentone, movement lines, side comments, sound effects, etc. which should be distracting, but somehow manages to work. TokyoPop, not known for translating sound effects, is forced to here in order for the story to make sense, but they only do so for some of the effects.
While Atelier Marie and Elie is not a deep title, it is a fun read for those looking for humor manga. Check it out and see if it doesn’t just make you chuckle.
Atelier Marie and Elie: Zarlburg Alchemist, vol. 1 Yoshihiko Ochi ISBN: 978-1-59816-525-8 TokyoPop, 2007
Mika has always dreamed of achieving stardom with her best friends Kay and Naomi. They even won a nationwide singing contest, but when a record company comes with a contract offer, it’s only for Mika. She’s caught between reaching for her dreams and keeping her friendship with Kay. Then she meets Ken, former boy band idol turned music producer who offers to help her achieve her goals. The problem is that he’s given up on everything but her, pouring the last ounce of his life into the art he loves before he gives up on life completely.
This shojo title was a mobile manga hit in Japan and that shows in both good and bad ways. Good because it is a fast, engaging read; bad because it relies a little too much on flash and soap opera drama to keep readers interested, rather than developing a fully fleshed out plot. Things do begin to turn around by the end of the book as characters gain more depth, which bodes well for future volumes. The biggest weakness is Yashiro’s art, which is so sparkly sweet that it begins to sicken you, like eating too much cotton candy. All of her characters look very young and several are confusingly similar in appearance. Their gigantic eyes and flowing hair, all backed by shojo sparkles galore, are reminiscent of the work of Arina Tanemura (Gentleman’s Alliance+) and Natsumi Ando (Kitchen Princess).
J-Pop Idol is not really a bad addition to the large selection of manga about stardom, but don’t expect it to break any new ground. Millenni+M and Yashiro mostly just rehash the same old “fight for your dreams” pep talk of so many other titles. Perfect if that’s what you’re looking for, but tiring if you’ve been-there-done-that already.
It’s only the beginning of Chiemi’s high school career and she’s already been suspended twice for fighting. Her guidance counselor offers her a chance: get bad-boy Akifumi Hirata to quit fighting and her record will be wiped clean. But once Chiemi actually gets close to Hirata, she realizes that the bad boy’s heart may be more dangerous to her than his fists.
Seino, manga-ka of Girl Got Game and Heaven!!, offers her own take on the high school romance in a story that doesn’t break a lot of new ground, but pleases none the less. Humor and silliness are the keys, with a nice dollop of appealing main characters. I especially enjoyed that Chiemi was able to take care of herself. There are two situations where she gets rescued by her Prince Charming, but the set up for both situations is such that neither of them detract from the fact that she is a tough girl who isn’t afraid to stand up for what’s right. Hirata knows that about her and it’s one of the main things that attracts him to her. He himself is an ideal love interest—good looking, a bad boy who’s really not that bad, able to handle himself in a fight, and a softy and a romantic on the inside.
Misunderstandings, roadblocks to love, and conflicts abound, but they are all bulldozed through with a liberal application of fists and bellowed confessions. None of this is new for shojo manga, but Seino’s comic timing is such that there are plenty of laugh out loud scenes to go along with the sigh-worthy moments. The shojo flower-elements are kept to a minimum, fitting for our tough girl and guy, but the panels are still packed with action and there are chibis in abundance. Overall this new series is a great choice for readers looking for something a little less angsty in their romance.
Love Attack, vol. 1 Shizuru Seino ISBN: 978-1-4278-0294-1 TokyoPop, 2007
Rin Amami can dance like nobody’s business, but his bullfrog-like voice keeps him from being able to do what he really wants to do: sing. When an opportunity to audition for the Beat Men, an idol group, literally stumbles into his life, he goes for it, until his voice ruins everything once again. However, Shino, leader of the Beat Men, sees something in Rin that no one else has—something that could propel the Beat Men to the top of the charts.
Nishiyama, manga-ka for the basketball series Rebound (originally released as Harlem Beat) turns her attention to the world of stardom in an earnest, if slightly cheesy effort. Most of the characters are fairly undeveloped in this first volume, the members of Beat Men, especially. There’s the tough guy, the sweet sensitive guy, and the emotionless genius. Shino, however, is fleshed out a little more. He obviously loves performing and it is that love, echoed in Rin, that speaks to him and makes him want to give the younger man a chance. Rin’s conflict is obvious from the harsh font used to illustrate his tortured voice, but no explanation is given for why his voice is the way it is. None of the characters have much in the way of background, but I am hoping that will be gradually revealed over the next eight or so volumes.
The Beat Men’s routines will be laughable for anyone who likes their music more rough-edged. They are sharply choreographed, lighted, and scripted to show off their handsome performers in the best possible light. What made the story work for me, though, is the sense that Rin and Shino truly love performing, that they have to perform in much the same way that most people have to breathe. This comes through because Nishiyama takes those performances and her performers seriously, saving the comedy for other scenes.
Nishiyama intends this to be a shonen series, so the comedy tends toward the slightly bawdy, from the lecherous boss of the studio to the big-breasted, but extremely nearsighted manager of the band. The art should appeal to female readers, though, as the boys are all ruggedly handsome with soulful eyes and Rin, in particular, tends to run around without a shirt on. Panel layout sticks mostly to one large panel surrounded by a series of smaller panels, with a lot of action in each scene. Backgrounds are heavy on the movement lines. TokyoPop, which doesn’t always translate sound effects, much to the distress of people like me who yearn to know everything that is going on, here has decided to translate if the sound effect is necessary to the scene. This does help a lot in being able to follow the musical elements of a written and drawn story.
Though Nishiyama doesn’t break any new ground in her story of a boy dreaming of stardom, she does offer a funny and readable tale that should appeal to those looking for yet another manga about performers striving for fame.
Riku was found at age ten, lost and alone and unable to even remember how to speak Japanese. Despite that, he’s done well for himself in the past five years. He’s happy at school and everything is normal until a friend drags him to a flea market where he runs into a mysterious group who claim that they are his long-lost family. But his new brothers are a strange bunch and may end up causing more trouble for Riku than he can handle!
Suda’s silly manga is mainly an excuse for cute boys, many with cat ears, to run around doing silly cat boy things. The six chapters are fairly light on plot, but long on crazy running around. However, even with minimal character development, Pick of the Litter is still an enjoyable read. Riku is a likable boy, eager to earn money so that he can feed homeless cats, and his brothers, though odd, are genuinely fond of him and seem to have his best interests at heart. The art is chaotic, with lots of sound effects (untranslated), movement lines, and shojo sparkles, but it fits the hyper story. The stories are easy to follow and, though occasionally a character or two will look very similar to another, most of the participants are easy to keep straight. All in all, a fluffy, sweet read that vanishes quickly, but is enjoyable while it lasts, much like cotton candy.
Pick of the Litter, vol. 1 Yuriko Suda ISBN: 978-1-59816-819-8 TokyoPop, 2007
Wataru couldn’t be more ordinary. He’s an average student who lives a normal life with his mom and dad. His favorite things are playing video games and crushing on his classmate Kaori. All of that changes, though, when he meets a mysterious transfer student, Asikawa, who turns out to be much more than he seems.
I wasn’t holding my breath that I’d like this title. It’s a manga based on a novel that has also been an anime and a series of video games. To me that seemed like too many revisions and I was concerned that the story wouldn’t hold together well. Luckily I was soon drawn into Wataru’s world, or worlds, and found myself reluctant to leave. The main reason behind this reluctance is the empathy that Miyabe generates for her characters. Wataru is especially appealing, if simply for his ordinariness. I liked that his life, both in the real world and in the magical realm, wasn’t as perfect as it seemed at first glance. In fact that was the case with several of the characters and it gave depth to the story by adding to the characters’ motivations. She also has a talent for switching between reality and fantasy, action and pathos, humor and seriousness which helps make her story both more interesting and more believable.
Ono’s art is a nice compliment to the writing. The characters are drawn in a shonen action style, stockier and more muscular. Their faces are round, but still match their ages, especially in the teenagers. The fight scenes are also fairly well-drawn, though sometimes not as clear as they could be. Panel layouts are mostly square or rectangular, but they are clear and easy to follow. The sound effects are untranslated which sometimes confuses the action. There is a good amount of violence, especially in the fight scenes and in the back stories of some characters, which earns this its older teen (16+) rating. This nice combination of action, fantasy, and drama will leave readers ready for the next volume.
Brave Story, vol. 1 Story by Miyuki Miyabe, Art by Yoichiro Ono ISBN: 978-1-4278-0489-1 TokyoPop, 2007
Middle-school student Sakura thinks she’ll be all alone now that the grandmother who raised her is dead, but she comes home one day and discovers four young men in her home. A letter from her grandmother tells her that they are her long lost half-brothers, the sons of her father’s first wife. Now she has four crazy men to hover over her, worry about her, and take care of her, but only if she lets them!
The first two-thirds of Tokeino’s manga is a sweet, if slightly chaotic, story about a unique family coming back together after a long time apart. Sakura and her brothers are nice characters, though they’re not fleshed out much past caricatures. There’s the grumpy brother with a heart of gold, the pretty boy brother who tends to cross-dress, the strong silent brother who has gentle hobbies, the brother who wears glasses and speaks formally. Sakura is also simply drawn, but the scenes where she is making an effort to reconnect with her long-lost siblings are realistic and endearing. Unfortunately, the plot is fairly thin beyond the “reconnecting with family” story, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.
The story that comprises the final third of this volume is not quite as interesting, but still readable. An odd variation on the “It’s a Wonderful Life” plot, it is about a 16-year-old girl who is in love with her childhood friend. She’s positive that things would be different between them if she were the boy and he were the girl, so when a miniature Santa Claus offers her the chance to see if she’s right, she takes it. The premise is unique, but the story never manages to move into greatness.
Tokeino’s art is fairly standard shojo. The boys are pretty, if androgynous, but they are all distinct from one another. Sakura seems to vary the most. Sometimes she looks like a fourteen-year-old, but other times she seems more likely to be in elementary school. The panels are crowded with movement, untranslated sound effects, side comments, and sparkly backgrounds, occasionally making the action hard to follow.
Though not a first choice, this title is a nice addition to the growing line of shojo family stories and is a good possibility for those looking for a less angsty read after Fruits Basket, Aishiteruze Baby, and Crossroad.
Me & My Brothers, vol. 1 Hari Tokeino ISBN: 978-1-4278-0071-8 TokyoPop, 2007
From an ancient Korean landscape of strife and magic to a World War II prisoner of war camp; from a hip-hop immigrant kid in San Francisco to a man created in a lab to repopulate a decimated world—the characters in In-wan’s angsty romance anthology follow a cycle of meeting, falling in love, dying, meeting again in the next life. Readers looking for love stories that tug at the heartstrings will be captured by this collection, as will readers looking to learn more about the work of Korean comic artists.
