Gal Gohan, Vol. 1

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By Marii Taiyou. Released in Japan by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Young Animal. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Andrew Cunningham. Adapted by Bambi Eloriaga-Amago.

Sometimes Japanese manga companies have a broad spectrum of things they release across all genres and age groups… and sometimes they specialize. Hakusensha is one of the latter – it has no shonen titles per se, and is best known over here as the top shoujo publisher with its magazines Hana to Yume and LaLa. But… they do also have Young Animal. As with most magazines with ‘Young’ in the title, it caters to the young adult male, with each cover featuring a cover and insert section of an idol singer or model. Unlike the shoujo end of the company, Young Animal titles rarely get licensed over here – the most famous one still going is probably Berserk, which has lots of the gool ol’ ultraviolence. But there’s also fanservice and ecchi titles, and Young Animal has plenty of those as well. A good example of which we’re reviewing today, Gal Gohan. That said, like some of the best ecchi manga, there’s a certain purity of tone to it.

Shinji is a relatively new teacher, having difficulties making connections with students and doubting himself as with all good newbie teachers in manga like this. Shinji, however, teaches home ec, which makes it even harder – he doesn’t even see the students as much. Meanwhile, Miku is a very stereotypical “Gal” – tanned skin, loose socks, accessories, etc. – and is in danger of flunking out of school. The jaded principal suggests bribing her teachers with cookies, and so she goes to Shinji to try to get some help. Things go badly at first, but he gradually realizes that under her Gal exterior is a rather tender young maiden, and she starts to fall for him pretty hard – to the point where she decides to join the cooking club, even though – well, actually, because – it’s just the two of them. How far can Miku take her teasing… and how serious is it meant to be? And can Shinji avoid the temptations of his student?

This pretty much is the perfect setup to a series designed to entice young men. Miku is pretty, outgoing, busty, and is not ashamed to panty flash her teacher… at first. As the manga goes on, she starts to get a little shyer about that sort of thing, hinting that her teasing has gotten closer to an actual crush. Despite being a manga about a cooking club, there’s minimal attention to the recipes or preparation – this is not a foodie manga. You’re here to see if Shinji can resist the extreme forwardness of Miku (he has so far), and if Miku can get across to her teacher that she’s not just teasing but really does like him (she hasn’t so far). Part of Shinji’s reticence is simple – he’s her teacher, she’s his student, this is a forbidden relationship. But we also do get a bit of him not quite understanding a “maiden’s heart”, which allows Miku to be frustrated in a cute way.

I’m assuming anyone reading this knows what sort of manga they’re getting. But it caters to its readers very well, enticing without getting too over the line – Miku’s teasing and flashing of her body is relatively innocent compared to where the series could have gone. Worth a read if you like this genre.

86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 3: Run Through the Battlefront [Finish]

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By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert.

True to its title, this is the second half of the story that began in the second volume. The Legion now have a massive Railgun that they used to destroy 40% of the Federation’s forces. Given that the Federation lacks Kamijou Touma, they need to defeat it by more military means. Fortunately, the railgun was slightly damaged when it was dealing out masses of deaths, so there’s time to send a strike force. That said, the chance the strike force survives and takes out the Railgun is basically 0%. It’s essentially a suicide mission. And so, as you likely guessed, it’s time to send out the 86, who are not fitting in well with the other soldiers and don’t seem to want to retire somewhere and grow potatoes. It’s very much a “if you love war so much why don’t you MARRY it?” sort of attitude, and our heroes just sort of shrug and get on with it. They’re the only ones who can really do this anyway. But will they have help?

As you might expect, a great deal of this book is very grim. We see soldiers with wives and families tragically blown to bits, and drivers shielding their superiors and ending up as corpses. There’s also the 86, who are, as is pointed out, still children, but we’re not really in a position in this war when they can avoid using them. They want to try not to be like the Republic… but when things go badly and someone has to be sacrificed, it’s all too easy to go with the ones who everyone already pities, especially when they’re so… well, stoic. Especially Shin, who in this book contrasts himself with Kiriya, one of the Legion’s main forces but still with memories of Frederica, his “princess”. We get POV from both of them in the book, and near the end Shin realizes that the main difference between them may simply be that Shin isn’t dead… something he’s not confident is a good thing.

Fortunately there is a bit of… well, I won’t say humor, but less bleak stuff here. I did laugh out loud at the reveal halfway through the book. We all knew it was coming, but it’s still really funny seeing every single one of the 86 (yes, including Shin) scream “ARE YOU AN MORON?!” at the same time. We also get the appearance of Lena, who has been fighting a losing battle against the Legion on her own end, and ends up meeting with Shin at the final battle with the Railgun. Neither one know who the other one is, though Shin eventually figures it out. It’s a reminder at how good Lena is at strategy, and I look forward to her actually joining the main cast again after this. She’s also a reminder that Shin actually was more emotional and occasionally smiled in the first book, something we haven’t seen at all in this two-parter. Frederica has helped, to be sure, but maybe Lena is just what the 86 need – someone who accepts them without pity.

The author has said the next book will be lighter in tone, something I don’t believe for a minute, but it should at least be another one-volume book. In any case, if you enjoyed the first two book in the series this is still a very good read. It’s not quite as good as the first, but that’s a high bar.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 21

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By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

It can sometimes be hard to remember that Hak, in the context of this series, is a normal human. He does not have any Dragon Warrior powers, but gets by by simply being very, very, VERY strong. This becomes very clear about two-thirds of the way through this volume, where the tension that has been slowly building about how long can Su-Won and Hak get away with not meeting face to face finally breaks – there’s just no avoiding it in the melee battle to save Riri that is going on. Indeed, it’s the unspoken communication between the two that saved Riri’s life, and I really long for some sort of alternate universe where the two of them fight crime. But unfortunately, they are enemies. Ju-Do certainly doesn’t forget that, and he alone is ready to take down Hak for the benefit of the Kingdom. But there’s more complexities going on here than can be dealt with by a murder. Hak and company saved so many lives. They do have to ignore each other right now.

The first half of the book is quite serious and action packed, though I’m not entirely sure Zeno saving Yona by literally dropping himself like a bomb on the enemy can be called 100% serious. Su-Won is once again doing far more than a King should be doing, which to be fair Riri is very grateful for. He’s still not really recognized by his subjects or indeed neighboring kingdoms, which leads to scenes like the one we get here, where a thousand soldiers are taken down by him and his four generals… and yes, the Happy Hungry Bunch, an alliance that makes both uncomfortable. The second half is lighter in tone, starting with Hak, whose nerves are frazzled by having to ignore Su-Won here because of circumstance, becoming a cuddlebug and hugging Jaeha and Zeno, both of whom react appropriately for such an occurrence.

This then leads to a wonderful chapter where, having moved back to the forest to camp out, Hak and Yona try to have a heart to heart. There’s an earnest core here, as Yona has felt fairly “princess in need of rescuing” this arc, which makes her unhappy, and Hak is dealing with her being in danger PLUS Su-Won, so is, as I said, a bit frazzled. But Hak is hugging others, and Yona wants to be hugged… except (she thinks to herslf) she hasn’t had a good bath in a while, so she must stink. Hak has not, in fact, noticed this, and later says she’s been filthier before (not the right thing to say), which leads to an amazing battle between the two of them, Yona avoiding his touch and Hak trying to capture her. It all ends well, though, with hugs being had, and Hak being reassured. That said, though, Yona still is apparently unaware of her own feelings towards Hak. How long will that last?

To no one’s surprise, this is an exceptional volume of Yona, and brings this arc to a close. What happens next? Intrigue? Action? Shenanigans? All of the above? Please read this series.