Astra: Lost in Space, Vol. 1

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By Kenta Shinohara. Released in Japan as “Kanata no Astra” by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Shonen Jump +. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Adrienne Beck.

As fans of Weekly Shonen Jump know, not every series that comes out in Japan, or even is a hit in Japan, gets licensed here in North America. And in the modern digital age, it has become much easier to follow the Japanese publication and theorize about the next pickup, or whine about why such and such a title is still not licensed despite being up to Vol. 22 or so. The mid to late 00s, in fact, had a bunch of those “not quite” titles, including my pet favorite Medaka Box, as well as Beelzebub and Supernatural Detective Neuro. And there was also Sket Dance, a very popular comedy that ran for over thirty volumes in Japan, but I think suffered from comparisons to Gintama (comedy about a group that theoretically helps people, any romance is played for laughs, cast full of weirdos), no “supernatural” elements, and lack of a real plot. I mention all this because the author’s new series which has been licensed, Astra, has improved on much of this. It’s got fantastic elements, it has an overarching plot, and it’s five volumes long rather than 32.

The premise is that sometime in the future a group of teens go on a survival camp to another planet, where they are supposed to have fun and do cool camping things. It’s all perfectly controlled and safe. They even brought along one character’s little sister to take care of. Unfortunately, the moment they arrive, they are all sucked into a mysterious orb and deposited in the middle of deep space some five thousand light years from home. Even the Rolling Stones weren’t that far away. They manage to board an abandoned ship… but find it needs repair, and they need food and water or they will die. So they land on a nearby planet, and proceed to forage. Naturally, this involves dealing with various alien plants and animals, ranging from hilarious to terrifying. And learning a bit about each other along the way.

The cast is not particularly original here, ranging from the overenthusiastic hero and heroine to the stoic smart guy to the haughty rich girl who secretly just wants to have friends. If Shonen Jump ever had a casting call for a generic shonen series, these are the people who would turn up. That said, they bounce well off each other, and none of them (not even the haughty girl) are overly irritating. There are also a number of amusing moments, despite the rather serious-sounding plot. You can tell the author is more experienced with comedy, particularly tsukkomi – a number of scenes are along the lines of “character says something dumb, the others respond with retorts”. The drama is also done well, though, with tragic pasts deployed at just the right moment to be relevant, and not overstaying their welcome.

This is the very definition of a good, solid Jump title. It’s the sort of thing you’d probably drop if it ran on over 20 volumes, but since it’s not going to I’m happy to see what happens next. And who knows, if it sells well maybe we’ll get Sket Dance too.

Re: ZERO -Starting Life in Another World – Ex, Vol. 1

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By Tappei Nagatsuki and Shinichirou Otsuka. Released in Japan by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

We’ve already seen DanMachi get a side story novel series licensed, but much as Aiz is theoretically the star of the novels, Bell Cranel is always lurking just around the corner. This side series for Re: ZERO is a different kettle of fish, taking place before Subaru’s arrival in Lugnica, with each volume (there are only two to date) focusing on a different side character with no chance of Subaru appearing. Given that my main issue with Re: ZERO is Subaru himself, I welcome this development with open arms. Instead we get the backstory for Crusch and Ferris, showing how they grew up together, along with a third member of their group who had just as big an impact – Fourier, a Prince of the Kingdom who has a crush on Crusch that is clearly visible from space, but hasn’t actually done about it. Of course, Re: ZERO readers know what happened to the entire royal family from the main series. Uh oh.

That said, the first half of this novel is relaxing and fun. Fourier reminds me a lot of Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club, both in appearance and personality, and he makes a perfect third in the friendship with the emotionally reserved Crusch and the snarky tease Ferris. Also like Tamaki from Ouran, we see that when he gets serious he can move mountains, which helps immensely as the book eventually does turn deadly serious. The narrative implies that he has a special power that comes out in a crisis; unfortunately, as the entire Royal Family ends the novel dead (this can’t really be a spoiler, right? We already know it from the main series), we will likely never know what that power is. The final scenes of the novel are still heartbreaking even if you do know it’s coming, with excellent writing and one of the most tear-jerking “out of context” color pages I’ve ever seen.

Of course, Crusch and Ferris are the characters we know from the main series, and they’re good too. Ferris gets an abusive childhood that makes sense in terms of the plot but is still wretched, and his father is really a nasty piece of work. There’s also a plot twist I won’t spoil, which if nothing else shows you how abusers can justify their abuse even when covering up its true intentions. Crusch is, unsurprisingly, badass throughout, but the ability to see her inner monologue at times is very helpful, and obviously we now know what’s really driving her in her campaign for the Kingdom. There’s also some good development here for Julius, the knight mostly known in the main series for getting into nasty fights with Subaru. Here we see him get a sense of what being a Royal Knight really means, as well as seeing how clever people can sometimes hide behind “acting the fool” in order to not attract attention.

Basically, this is a must-read for any Re: ZERO fan. The second volume will feature Wilhelm and his own tragic past, and I cannot wait.

SP Baby, Vol. 1

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By Maki Enjoji. Released in Japan as “SP x Baby” by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Petit Comic. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by JN Productions.

The cover for SP Baby (the ‘x’ has been removed from the North American title, for reasons that are unclear, particularly as the SP is not particularly obvious – I think it stands for Security Police) is meant to be viewed horizontally, I think. with the front and back together showing us the lead couple. It’s a good summary of the power dynamics of the couple itself, like many manga romance covers. Tamaki is the heroine, and she has her hand extended to stop some unseen person from coming closer, while the other is shoved up against the wall. Her face doesn’t make it clear if she’s guarding her charge from an attack or trying to stop anyone seeing him with his arm around her. Meanwhile, Kagetora is the hero, and is a ninja who… wait, he’s not a ninja? Nonsense, he’s named Kagetora. All manga characters named Kagetora are ninjas, it’s a rule. In any case, he’s standing there with one arm around Tamaki’s waist and the other posed artfully in the air, staring at the reader with a smirk that makes me worry he’s going to say something like “My bodyguard – I think I’ll keep her”. It is a great cover for showing exactly what you get in the manga itself.

Despite the occasional snark in the above paragraph, I found SP Baby enjoyable more than I expected. Tamaki is fairly hapless, but it’s in a likeable, realistic way. She’s looking for work but has an extreme case of bad luck, and it has a tendency to get others hurt. Her only close people seem to be her younger brother (who’s a non-entity) and her childhood friend Natsu, who is tall, good-looking, likes the heroine but seems to be unaware that she is into him. He’s also a blond in a josei series, never a good sign. One day while looking for work, she spots a man being chased and attempts to stop his attacker… who it turns out is actually the man’s bodyguard, trying to get him to do some unpleasant task. Turns out Kagetora is the nephew of the prime minister, so has a lot of people after him for various reasons. And whatever bad luck Tamaki may have, she can also kick. So Kagetora hires her to be another bodyguard for him. But is this really the first time they’ve met?

The author previously did Happy Marriage?!, and I get the sense that if you enjoyed that you’ll like this, and if you didn’t it’s probably not your thing. That said, I did enjoy Happy Marriage?!, and I liked this as well, forced kisses aside. For one, I liked the fact that the forced kiss was immediately called out. I also enjoyed the various bits of bodyguard training we saw – Tamaki can kick, but she needs to learn more if she’s going to be able to protect anyone. And the couple is cute. You hope they get together. In fact, they’d better get together soon, the second volume is the last. Josei fans should have fun with this.

Also, if Kagetora is revealed to be a ninja in Vol. 2 I will laugh and laugh.