Monthly Archives: February 2013

New Licenses from Viz and Seven Seas

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Well, I’m off on a few days vacation, so naturally everyone decides to pile on licenses the moment I leave. Taunting me with their interestingness. But this will not stop me from breaking everything down, and keeping you, the reader, informed.

magiI’ve spent quite a few posts discussing Shonen Sunday, and Viz’s lack of enthusiasm about the titles as opposed to Shonen Jump. Of course, this is a vicious circle, as SS series tend not to be among the best-sellers or ‘fan-obsessive’ series. That may change with this new license, however. If ever there was a series running in Sunday that cried out to be licensed, Magi was it. The author has been seen on these shores before with Yen Press’s Sumomomo Momomo, but Magi is a better, more mature work with a manga take on Aladdin and the Arabian Nights. This has the potential to be the first really big Sunday title over here since Inu Yasha, and comes highly recommended.

Viz’s Shojo Beat line also announced four new titles, two of which are actually Josei Beat. Yoroshiku Master is a Hakusensha series from the author of Penguin Revolution, one of the old CMX shoujo favorites. This ran in LaLa’s sister magazine DX, and at 3 volumes is a decent investment (and the third volume apparently has a Penguin Revolution short chapter to boot.) As for the plot, if you like bishie demons, bishie vampires, and bishie catboys, you’ll love bishie reindeer boys! Viz is releasing the series as Sweet Rein.

seiyuu-academyI was always a big fan of S.A. and its dense as lead heroine, so I’m quite happy to hear that they’ve licensed Maki Minami’s next series that ran in Hana to Yume, Seiyuu Kaa!, which will come out here as Voice Over! – Seiyuu Academy. The title describes the series – our heroine is enrolled in a voice actor’s high school, and not only has to deal with her less than stellar voice qualities, but also the usual high school shenanigans. This being a Hakusensha shoujo series, I’m certain that there will be a few pretty guys to help her out. The series should be 11 or 12 volumes.

Then there’s the two josei series. Viz must have been at least somewhat pleased with the performance of Butterflies, Flowers, as we have not one but two new titles from the pages of Petit Comic, Shogakukan’s josei romance manga for women who have outgrown the already saucy Shoujo Comic. Maki Enjouji’s Happy Marriage?! is 10 volumes, and has ‘Shogakukan’ written all over it: an office lady, trying desperately to pay off her parent’s debt, finds herself engaged to her company president – who she’s never met before! I have a feeling that this title will be just as compelling *and* frustrating as Butterflies, Flowers proved to be, but at least can be assured that it will be quite spicy.

midnight-secretaryThe last, and possibly biggest license from Shojo Beat is Midnight Secretary, Tomu Ohmi’s 7-volume story of a secretary who becomes the personal assistant – and so much more – of her company’s president. Unlike Happy Marriage?!, however, this president is a vampire as well! Despite not having the word Vampire actually in the title, I predict this is going to sell like hotcakes, if hotcakes that have to be shrinkwrapped due to content – this, like Happy Marriage?!, will definitely be an M for Mature title. That said, there’s more here than just put-upon heroine and abusive-yet-oh-so-hot boss, and I am very pleased we’ll get to see this.

Of course, Viz was not the only one to drop new licenses on us, as we have three new titles from Seven Seas. Centaur no Nayami (out over here as A Centaur’s Life), is sort of like Seiyuu Kaa!, only instead of voice actresses it’s monsters and other mythological creatures. The juxtaposition of ordinary high-school comedy with girls with centaur bodies and angel wings is what drives this title.

loveinhellJigokuren – Love in Hell is from Futabasha’s Web Comic High, and features a guy who dies one day and finds himself in hell. But he has the chance to repent. Judging by the art and descriptions I’ve seen, however, this title seems to aim at the reader who enjoys seeing young-looking girls torturing guys in various ways. I’d put it in the I Don’t Like You At All Big Brother/Mayo Chiki category.

Lastly, we have another title from Tokuma Shoten’s Comic Ryu (where A Centaur’s Life also appears). Monster Musume is another harem title, regarding the integrations of mythological monsters (in the form of cute girls) into society. They all glom onto our hero, who I suspect is a nice yet unlucky guy, as these types usually are. Of course, the law prevents interspecies nookie, so the entire reason for this title’s existence would appear to be teasing but not delivering. Luckily, there’s a nice harem audience that this would appeal to. I also note that between Love in Hell‘s heroine and this series, we’re covering ‘breast fetishes’ at both ends – small and large.

As we get further into the year, more of the Fall 2013 licenses will become apparent, but this is already a great number of titles for all sorts of fans. Which of these excites you most?

Wonder!, Vol. 3

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By Akira Kawa. Released in Japan by Futabasha, serialized in the magazine Women’s Comic Jour. Released in the United States by Futabasha on the JManga website.

When I left off with Vol. 2 of Wonder!, I was wondering whether the extremely uncomfortable plot twist that ended it would be brought up again in the third volume or just glossed over. In a way, it’s both. But I’m OK with how it resolved, as having it any other way would just give me the creeps (as indeed it does to Kaori at the start of the book). That said, it feels a bit of a cop-out, and makes Kaori’s mother even less sympathetic than she already was. But then, that’s one of the main things about this series: family are always there, even if you try desperately to avoid them, and they always bring their own issues to the table. And not all families are perfect.

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That said, the main family – Kaori, Taiyou, Kota and Miya – still tend to be a bit better than you’d expect. Problems that affect them mostly come from outside sources, and even the one time there’s a big screw-up – Taiyou trusts a mother that he bonds with at the zoo to take his girl to the ladies’ room, only for the mother to run off with her – it’s something that resolves in a rather pat way. As for Kota, when your worst flaw is that you’re sometimes too direct and a bit reserved, you’re clearly a great kid. He gets to show off how he deals with both kids and creeps in this volume, and his awesomeness is (so far) rewarded. Only Kaori really seems to have major issues here, and that’s mostly from the fallout from last volume. Everyone’s just a bit too perfect.

However, the author does seem to be trying to shake things up. Kota’s cousin Kaito, who looks very similar to Kota except for his height, arrives, and proves to be a giant pain in the neck. He’s under pressure from his mother to live up to his siblings’ success in school, and it’s driving him to acting up. He’s clearly meant to contrast with Kota, as the cast lampshades, and almost causes Kota to show an actual emotion. His mother, though, once revealed, explains much of his behavior – she’s even worse than Kaori’s mom (and in fact allows Kaori’s mom to have the upper hand for a bit), and makes your nerves grate. Kaori notes to Taiyo that part of the reason they agre4ed to their ‘open marriage’ at first was simply to avoid dealing with each other’s family, and we’ve come to see why.

And throughout all this there is the dog Wonder, who still has odd traces of the supernatural to him, being able to instantly show up whenever there is trouble, even if he’s also still at home playing with the kid. The family seems to have quietly accepted it as ‘awesome dog powers’, but given that said dog has saved their lives multiple times, I can see why they’d want to gloss over and explanations in case they ruin the fantasy. It does add an odd touch to this off-kilter soap-opera of a manga, which never quite allows me to find my footing. While the lack of stability can be annoying, it’s also probably why I find it so fascinating. I want to read more about these people to see how they tick. Yes, even if it means dealing with their families. Here’s hoping for Vol. 4 soon.

Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game, Vol. 1

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By Quin Rose and Mamenosuke Fujimaru, based on the game by Quin Rose. Released in Japan as “Joker no Kuni no Alice – Circus to Usotsuki Game” by Ichijinsha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Comic Zero-Sum. Released in North America by Seven Seas.

As I’ve noted before, I’m enjoying the Alice series a lot more than I’d expected to. I think one reason may be its similarity to the Higurashi series, another favorite of mine. Both franchises based on ‘visual novel’-type games, and made into manga series where the continuity reboots with each new incarnation. The Alice books, however, haven’t really tied into each other the way Higurashi does – you don’t really need to read them in order, and you can simply pick the series with your favorite guy and only read that one without missing much. Now, though, we have Alice dealing with a new antagonist, Joker, and this very much ties into the previous series, and rewards readers/players who are well-versed in it.

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It may come as a surprise, then, to see the volume begin with what amounts to a giant 80-90 page recap of Alice’s adventures in Wonderland to date, from her abduction by Peter to her present life working in the Heart Palace (yes, she’s there in this iteration, not the Clocktower, the Amusement Park, or the Hatter Mansion). We meet the entire main cast, get a brief precis as to who they are and what their damage is, and see how they interact with Alice (who hasn’t fallen for anyone here – romance is, so far, not in the cards in this setup). It’s given a wraparound of Alice reading her diary and reminiscing about the past, which works all right. However, this doesn’t seem like filler but more a way of putting the basic concepts of Wonderland in the reader’s mind before the creators start fiddling with them.

Because it’s April, the Circus is coming to town, and Alice’s memories are starting to go a bit wonky. She’s currently in the country of Clover, yet runs into Julius and Gowland, neither of whom should technically be there. It would appear that this is merely a function of the season, but the arrival of the circus to town might also be a reason – a circus with two creepy children and their master, the titular Joker. We met Joker in a small cameo in the original Alice series, but this is the first time dealing with him in the flesh. He’s a smug trickster-type character, and no doubt will be driving Alice nuts as the series goes on. More to the point, Joker and his two assistants ask Alice why she’s staying in Wonderland and not returning to her world. We get a bit more detail about her life pre-Wonderland here, including a touchingly sad side-story detailing her crush on her tutor, and her sister’s role in it. Again, we see that all of the main male cast seem dedicated to her NOT thinking of her sister, and I have a feeling Joker might try to sabotage that. (Of course, the fate of her sister is about as much of a spoiler by this point as Higurashi’s main villain – if you haven’t figured it out yet, read the main series again.)

This is a more serious and mystery-oriented incarnation of the Alice series, with only one sexual innuendo from the Hatter (a new low!). This isn’t to say it’s without humor, however. Alice’s reaction to Peter’s assault at the start is amusing enough to take the taste of creepy away a bit, and the Hatter’s way of showing her she’s being appalling by comparing him with her tutor is fantastic. There’s also an amusing side-story showing what the series would be like if Alice was a tiny cute little girl instead – let’s just say less romance and more adorable. But the main reason to read Alice, as always, is for the mind games the world brings with it, and this series promises to be the best one yet in delivering them.