Koukenryoku Ouryoku Sousakan Nakabou Rintarou by Tetsuo Hara

Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro by Yuusei Matsui 

*AHEM* Sorry, a certain demon distracted me (yet again) from a prompt posting. I couldn't even find a zombie manga to do for Zombie Awareness Month in May, either! I've just been all over the place, the month was gone before I knew it. Ah well...




Koukenryoku Ouryoku Sousakan Nakabou Rintarou by Tetsuo Hara

Big Face is (c) Tetsuo Hara

Genre: Shonen (?)
Length: 2 Volumes – 19 Chapters



           Let's see if I can put to words this art, if you know Hokuto no Ken, AKA, Fist of the North Star, then I don't have to explain as it is the same mangaka, but for the rest of us… Its manly, beefs of all types dominate the pages with wide shoulders and necks like tree trunks. Heavy shading dramatically lights everyone, and tends to make for strange looking

foreheads. The caterpillar eyebrows don't help. Of course, they are all under lots of business stress so its understandable that they would be so sweaty, too. The hair is nicely detailed and, in most cases, very natural looking. Though the clothing has the same over dramatic shading as everything else it's well drawn suits of just about every type. Personally, I find this kind of art strangely mesmerizing, and while grouchy man faces may get boring to look at, put to good use in the humor. If anyone is put off by it, I'm not going to criticize, that's for sure, but the art is well done and its only the style it's self that can be objected to, really.
           With the Japanese economy in really poor shape, though the force of many foreign dignitaries, a special agency has been set up to help get it back into working order. The agency's name? The Misappropriation Enforcement Administration, and it will dig out politicians and other individuals who are misusing banks to line their own pockets. What sort of men work at such a slap dash place, one with out any sort of budget and a limited time, and what tactics will they use?
           If I had to sum up this manga in three words: Manly banking regulations. Luckily, I don't have to shorten it so much but, all the same, my art, plot summary, and whatever

other words I use to review this manga, cannot do this proper justice. Truthfully, I'm not sure who exactly would be interested in reading this anyway, so that also trips me up... I questioned the shonen of this because it seems more seinen in appeal, considering the subject and art style, and also the fact that there is boobs once or twice. That isn't the only thing that has me waffling on what to score and recommend Koukenryoku Ouryoku Sousakan Nakabou Rintarou. I mean, I got a lot of enjoyment out of this, but it is wordy and goes into the specifics of Japanese banking in ways I don't think even a regular Japanese person can understand completely. IT. IS. DENSE. On the other hand, the humor hits right at the gate and continues on through out. Rintaro is a bit of a silly sadist, and his switch flips are epic. Anytime you see a cigar come out of his suit pocket, you know stuff is about to go down. And heaven help anyone who mentions his parents! Rintaro just has to be sitting down somewhere, and you'll laugh; he's got such a strong presence, and not just because he's six feet wide, so that he makes all the technical stuff worth it. He has a bit of a Clark Kent/Superman thing going, too, that leads to a lot of strange situations, as well. Overall, the art and subject matter may seem daunting, but within the introduction is a man named John Climton (as seen in the picture above) who is a caricature of former President Bill Clinton, and if his inclusion does not tickle your funny bone in anyway, feel free to stop, because its just a sample of how ridiculous things get. It's basically super manly guys yelling and tricking middle aged bankers into giving up money they've stolen and embezzled amid a haze of cigar smoke. I will confess something, though, I always read everything when I'm reviewing a manga but I did not read two pages of this one. All the same, I think I can get a pass.




4/5 Probably niche, but I very much enjoyed it.

Sora Sora by Youko Maki

Really busy this week, even busier next week! Considering how my jury duty goes, I may not find the time to read any manga that's too involved in the weeks to come. Some prior planning could probably help, but where's the fun in that? Well, I'm only doing this for personal enjoyment anyhow so I know I'll get around to it, because manga is a drug I can't kick.

Sora Sora by Youko Maki

Art and story (c) Youko Maki

Genre: Shojo
Length: One Volume – 5 Chapters


            This shojo has art that is pretty typical of it's time (early 2000's) but it is very well done, and I think there is enough style thrown in to appease. The eyes are the huge kind, just a glance and you know exactly what kind of art style I mean, I'm sure, but they have a lot of detail and life. The hair is also typical styles of the era, but they have good

movement definition. Likewise, the clothing has good detail, just the messiness of the main couple's uniforms shows their character right away, even if the uniforms themselves are generic. If you don't mind the style anyway, its a good example of it, and there isn't anything to really put you off.
          Sorako and Sorao are the Sora-Sora pair that are always causing trouble in class together, and by all appearances are best friends. Sorako actually likes Sorao but just being with him seems like enough for her, until a meddling girl takes an interest in Sorao and will stop at nothing to discredit Sorako and make Sorao hers. Can Sorako deal with such a girl taking her best friend?
           I'll admit it first thing, this is a rather stereotypical set up for a romance manga, girl likes boy but values their friendship too much to say anything until someone tries to take him away, but there is an interesting twist to this in that [SPOILER ALERT] in the end there is no tearful confession where the heroine spills her feelings. [STILL SPOILING] The main man isn't a total idiot, either, who never recognized her feelings the whole time and their getting together moment comes with the feeling that they don't have to change anything to be a couple. [SPOILERS OVER] So, despite sounding super generic, there is a lot going for this one volume manga, and its worth the time to read it. The couple are lots of fun to watch and the resolution is satisfying. Sorako is very spunky and her quick temper against the cutesy rival is gratifying. The male lead is a bit plain, as he's just the tag along, but he has some character traits not often seen in this type of story. Though, he does come off a little mean at times. It rides the line of cliché vs. fluffy romance and it comes up on the fun side. All these years of reading manga, you'd think a person would get tired of these quickie shojo stories about throw away characters, but, nope, I still enjoyed this quite a lot.




5/5 A good example of a one volume shojo. 

It's not nice to side punch a lady.

Touhou Bougetsushou Tsuki No Inaba To Chijou No Inaba Art by Toshihira Arata and Story by ZUN

Chose another bad one this year. Easter was also quite rainy. Lots of Wikipedia links in this review.

Touhou Bougetsushou Tsuki No Inaba To Chijou No Inaba Art by Toshihira Arata and Story by ZUN

Art and story (c) ZUN

Genre: 4-koma, Gag
Length: 2 Volumes – 30 Chapters



           The art is efficient, but not much beyond that. It's cute and the characters look the
same through out, but there is no real style to it, and it doesn't show any personality, either. Typically the poses and faces are repeated over and over, and some of that is the gag nature of the manga its self, but I don't believe that excuses it. The simplistic details are also on track for a 4-koma, as well, but they just come off plain rather than silly. The eyes lack any sort of life and the clothing is kind of odd looking at times because it doesn't flow naturally. The nature of the universe this is set in leads to a lot of mix-n-match for the clothing and scenarios, and while that inherently isn't a bad thing, when given nothing to reference it to, it comes off really disjointed.
          The adventures of two rabbits in the fictional land of Gensokyo where humans and monsters live together. Reisen Udongein Inaba is a rabbit from the Moon who fled to the Earth and Tewi Inaba is an Earth rabbit that lived so long she became a yokai, who live together with two other escapees from the Moon. The two of them are just about opposite in every way so, along with a strange cast of visitors, the days are never dull in their home of Eientei.
           I sat a long time after I finished this manga wondering how I was going to review it. I almost didn't, but since I already wasted my time reading it all the way through I decided to just go for it. I'll start with a little explanation, because as soon as I stared reading Tsuki No Inaba To Chijou No Inaba I knew it was based off of something and, sure enough, when I looked it up there is a whole prolific franchise that this belongs to. Touhou Project is a set of video games made by one

person, ZUN, that has had over twenty installations with the most recent being announced on April 20, 2017, which was only days ago as of this review, as well as a myriad of light novels, manga, and even music CDs. Not to count all the doujinshi comics and games along with other fan made material. Meaning, that when this comic came out in 2007, there was already a glut of other ways to jump in on the Touhou Project universe and all it's many side stories, and I think that this is probably one of the worst ways to do so. Mainly because this manga was boring. The gags didn't even make me give a sympathetic 'oh, that’s cute' or even an ironic lifting of one side of my mouth. It was a slog from beginning to end, full of characters I was already supposed to know as well as being full of lukewarm jokes and gags I've seen before. Maybe if I liked these characters (which, as far as I can tell, are boss characters from the connected game named Imperishable Night) and wanted to know more about them I'd actually care enough to go through two volumes in which the Moon rabbit is abused and side characters show up to just to cameo, but as I stood, there was no redeeming feature to it. It definitely doesn't make me want to look up the source materials for it, or even bother to read more than I have to in a Wikipedia article. If the pattern follows I should enjoy the next 4-koma I pick up, though.




1/5 Probably only worth reading for die-hard fans of the original source materials. 

Nice Monty Python reference, tho.

Assassination Classroom by Yuusei Matsui

After several problems, usual health stuff, corrupted picture files, and wrong info, this post is much later than I thought it would be! Geeze, I am always nothing but excuses. Anyway, the Easter post probably won't be done by the day of Easter now but I'm glad I'm still able to sit and read so many good (and even the bad) stories. So, obligatory Shonen Jump parody:

What sort of manga do you suppose that is?

Assassination Classroom by Yuusei Matsui

Art and story (c) Yuusei Matsui

Well, I guess that's not that great of a color title picture...

Better? I think so.

Genre: Shonen, Action, School Life
Length: 21 Volumes – 180 Chapters and 4 Bonus Chapters


          This manga was created by the same mangaka who did Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro, which is a particular favorite of mine (so much so that I have mentioned it several times in other posts for absolutely no reason except because I love it so much). The art of this

manga does differ from Neuro in some ways but stays exactly the same in others. There is a strangeness to the art that I attributed to lack of practice and the supernatural nature of Neuro, but Assassination Classroom has shown that a lot of the strangeness in the art is just actually very characteristic of this artist. Odd angles and the body proportions do seem strange at first, but once you are used to the art it hardly even registers. The creepy factor is turned way down on this work, though it is thrown in for no reason any chance the author finds, but the same care to clothing and backgrounds is there. The background characters, too, are the same weirdly normal and oddly not normal that tends to lead the eye to roam the crowds. The main characters themselves are very varied, and its almost strange to see all the young, fresh faces amid some of the terribly real looking monster faces. Another thing you get used to, though. The student characters are one of the big differences from Neuro, though, they seem so wholesomely cute most of the time. I suppose it helps with the discrepancy between their usual demeanor and the fact that they will instantly be trying to kill something the next panel. The big star, the tentacled teacher, is really rendered well, too, to the point that his movements are completely plausible. Its not as reality breaking and Neuro, but Assassination Classroom has the same mix of realness and odd-ball situations that makes for an interesting manga. What can I say, all its faults are pretty much moot because I'm such a fan of the artist.
           A certain junior high class had the strangest beginning of the year. Not only was the moon permanently turned to a crescent by an an unknown force, when they started the semester a literal monster appeared as their teacher claiming to have done the deed!

Now, since the government cannot actually kill the octopus-looking creature, they have given in to the monster's demands for now and what the monster wants? To be a teacher. And because of the secluded nature of their particular classroom they were chosen to be his students. Along with the new teacher they are given a special assignment, however, if they do not kill the creature by the time they graduate, he will do to the earth what he did to the moon! Now this group of misfits has become the official saviors of the world and the so called Assassination Classroom where they do school work and the work of assassins is in session.
           I was looking up finished Shonen Jump titles on a whim when I found out that this manga had finished. I immediately went to find it and read it, I was so pumped up to see it was done! Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro left such an impression on me that I was sure I'd like Assassination Classroom as well, and I was not disappointed. The set up is already very interesting, and allows for a typical school life manga to be oddly juxtaposed with intense violence. It also allows for a large set of characters that you get to know one by one in an easy going fashion while a tentacle monster dodges bullets and knives at the speed of Mach 20. The humor is excellent, there aren't a lot of manga that I laugh out loud about, but this one I did so through out the whole thing. The weird gags and the silly characters can bring back the humor during even the most intense fight. You know what, I'm going to throw another joke in here just because I want to:

The tentacle teacher, known as Koro Sensei (a play on words combining sensei, or teacher, and korosenai, which means can't be killed), is a twist on the “perfect teacher for delinquents” character and seeing the class become one minded in working together to do him in as well as earn his praises is very entertaining. The school life of the students gaining confidence and growing beyond themselves is really the main part of the story beyond the whole assassination stuff and you really get to know them well in a natural way. Its not like, here's this person's chapter, now its this person, though there is a little of that when new characters are introduced but its all in a light and heartwarming fashion that things progress. Though there are a few I'd like to get to know better, actually. The chubby girl, for example, needed more face time. The school sections were just as compelling as the

This guy is a tame one.

assassination sections, truthfully. Seeing the students succeed is very rewarding. Speaking of the school sections, that was one of the times the creepy was allowed in. Utilizing the fact that taking a test is just sitting at a desk, you are thrown into the minds of the students where the questions are strange and grotesque monsters, the harder the question, the weirder the creatures, and it really lessens the boring act of watching test taking. That tall guy is one of them, though he's pretty normal. I found that to be a very intriguing way of getting around the normalcy of school, and the principal's twisted nature adds to that, too. The ending is really uplifting as well, and the extras included in the last volume are full of laughs. I really don't want to give anything away about the ending though, lets say if you imagine what might happen with the basic knowledge that Koro Sensei is the best teacher and that the students are getting better and better at attacking him, you'd probably guess how it ends but, I assure you it will not be predicable beyond that. There's a lot of twists and turns that come full circle, too, so that is pleasing to see as well. The one issue I had was with the too easy way that a certain issue was sidestepped, which explaining will give too much of the ending away so this all might not make much sense with how vague I'm being, but I think final actions of the story allow the situation to get away with it's simple and “happy” resolution. I don't think I mentioned it in my Neuro review, but the author likes to sprinkle in complicated theories and interesting hobbies as the manga goes on, which makes things more interesting, too. A big part of the plot is the school work, for example, so math problems and chemistry stuff is thrown in during those times. And then there is all the student's hobbies that leak in, and the science behind Koro Sensei himself. So there is a lot to get engrossed in. I really liked to see what would happen next, plus when and where the next fight would happen. To sum up this fangirling vomit of a review, the fight scenes are really good, the characters are interesting and grow on you very quickly, and the story sees itself all the way to its conclusion in a rewarding manner. There isn't much else you can ask for in a story about a whole group of kids trying to become killers and ace their final exams. Though, I still liked Neuro better...



5/5 Fun, exciting, and filled with tentacles.

An odd assortment, indeed.

Itou Junji no Neko Nikki: Yon & Mu by Junji Itou

That post title looks a little like a palindrome, doesn't it? I had a hard time choosing which pictures to choose for this manga, so there is a little too many of them. I just couldn't help myself.



Itou Junji no Neko Nikki: Yon & Mu (Ito Junji's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu) by Junji Itou

Length: One Volume – 10 Chapters
Genre: Comedy, Seinen, Slice of Life

...and this color picture, too

           This manga is by a prolific horror mangaka, and the art style is played up even further for entertainment purposes in this comedy manga. As I said the last time I reviewed Itou Junji's work, the art is practiced and well done from every angle. The creepy and

unsettling look is very unique, as well, and the realistic way every thing is drawn just adds to the atmosphere. Surprisingly, it lends very well to the comedy of it all and allows for super dramatic movements for the cats and captures the strange things you do for your pets in a real-to-life way. The cats' faces are the best part, no question, but the over the top way he caricatured himself and his former-fiancee-now-wife are also lots of fun and creepy for no reason whatsoever. You quickly adjust to it, anyway.
           A horror manga artist's comedic depiction of his learning to love living with cats, and all of the furry creatures' strange ways.
          When I read Black Paradox, I sort of swore off this artist because I simply didn't care for that story at all, or the way it was written and so didn't feel in the mood to try another of his work. On the other hand, I really like cats and the humor of Black Paradox worked for me. After looking at it several times and debating I decided to go for it and read this. I do not regret it at all. Its completely understandable and the humor does hit. All the embarrassing and scary things that his cats did speak true and had me laughing out loud a few times. The oddly horrific art meeting the mundane mischief of the two title cats is a blend I wasn't sure I'd

like, but it works so well it adds so much more to the stories. Mu, the fluffy one, is so much like my own cat (who was sleeping on my chest while I was reading and who is currently laying across my forearms as I type this) that I enjoyed it all the more. A big part of the plot is how unused to cats the author is, so he looks like a fool trying to understand, and, and simply get to like, his new roommates. Things like having to have his brand new house spoiled by their claws and items to protect against them. Its also about trying to understand why cats act like they do, and how much that effects the owners. The looks the two human characters give each other out of jealousy because one cat or the other is showing favoritism is just so perfect, even if it is twisted into inhuman form by the horror-style art. And I do mean twisted. The cats are the stars, though. Yon has such an atrocious face at times and at other times he's perfectly normal that the personality is so easy to understand. Mu is the cuter one but the way he's so likable but suddenly will bite, and how normal it is, also is super realistic. There's not really a continuous story, as its short tales of how different life is when pets share your house, but for comedy manga its pretty well cohesive. Its so funny how much people will do for their pets and how much they simply seem to be undermining your entire system of living that this manga could probably go on and on and not lose any of its humor. I'd like to see more of the pair, for sure.



5/5 Fun with cats and horror art.

Good Luck and Dear Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I chose a "Luck" and a "Green" to review today. If you're not wearing green... *pinches*



Good Luck by KANG E-Jin

Genre: Shojo
Length: 5 Volumes – 25 Chapters



           The art is pretty at a glance but it has a lot of anatomy problems through out, heads too big, prospective skews, odd poses, etc. Overall, its not bad, though, its pretty average. It does get messier as the volumes progress, as well. The backgrounds are

really lacking and the tones used sometimes are too repetitive or just rather odd looking. The pacing isn't great, either, so action scenes just look like still frames that are not connected. The amateur mistakes show through all too quickly as you read on.
           Rumored to be a person who only brings misfortune is tough, but its even worse when the person also believes it to be true. Can a girl who has had nothing but a terrible life find happiness when anyone she decides to get close to is destined to have a disaster?
           This manhwa is okay in just about every aspect, though some would call that generous. I could tell right from the beginning, when I opened it up, what kind of manhwa it was, too. I've tried others that look just the same, and they all are just as average or worse. I know that sounds harsh, but this story was actually more continuous than most I've read. It was disjointed, don't get me wrong, which is another problem I've had with manhwa in the past, too, but it had a start and finish that match up with out too much wandering. No random time skips, either, a big plus. Settings

and feelings seem to change instantly from chapter to chapter, at one point I suspected that the chapters were out of order because I thought one side of the love triangle had been resolved but it was suddenly a plot point again for some reason? Its just that the characters, and the story itself, sort of muddle around until everything is randomly fixed in the end, with out any sort of rational motive to connect it all. The main character is interesting, she's strong and willing to smile even though she is despairing, but she also changes indiscriminately from chapter to chapter. The many love possibilities sort of come and go around her, one she just randomly meets and then randomly disappears again near the end. He was rather pointless, except for giving advice to the main character to advance her relationship with the main love interest, which she takes back the next chapter. The poor side guy is even given several pages where it is heavily-handedly shown that he and the main guy are good friends and are in love with the same girl, but he is disposed of so quickly. Unnecessary plot twists, all of it, and hard to follow at the same time. The translation was choppy, too, which made reading it even harder (unfortunately another reason I avoid manhwa), though I don't usually factor that into my reviews. Why did I even bother, you may ask? I guess I was feeling generous? I don't know, but it definitely was not worth the time, even if it was amusing here and there. The color pages and faces were pretty, but it was a lie, a vicious trap.



1/5 Don't bother.

See, a very pretty trap.

Dear Green by Amyuu Sakura



Genre: Shojo
Length: One Chapter – 50 Pages



          The art is nice, professional, and has good movement. The eyes are large and expressive, and the hair is pretty and full of personality, too. Very enjoyable all the way

through.
          Shun's older sister is good at everything she does, and Shun has always been a rebellious child, so she's always getting scolded. It doesn't bother her, though, Shun continues her ways happily. Yet, when she meets a very forward boy who seems to like her for being her, she just isn't sure how to behave anymore.
          Very cute. Much fluff. Make smile. Enjoyable all the way through, even if it is a little cliché. Totally washed away the bitterness of the previous review and refreshed me. I'd like to see more of the main character, actually, she's a little naughty and her personality is fun. This taste was a good, well done story though. Much like the last one-shot I read by this author so I think I'll take a close look at their body of work...



5/5 Very cute and well done one-shot about unexpected love. 

Ahiru by Himawari Ezuki

I'll sum up this review in one GIF if you don't have the time to read it:

Ahiru by Himawari Ezuki

Art and story (c) Himawari Ezuki

Genre: Shojo
Length: One Volume – 6 Chapters


           The art on this is rather messy and generic; its just bland all around. Large eyed shojo is probably the most prolific type of art in manga, at least its the most visually recognizable to Westerners, but it's style doesn't always mean that a manga is played out,

too. Unfortunately, in this case, it does mean that in the worst way. It is cute, I can't deny that at all, and the characters are all different visually. Even the expressions change a lot and show a character's personality. Still, does not change the fact that it very much feels like you've read this all before, nor does it make up for the hectic placement of the panels on each page. It was so crowded, its kind of hard for the brain to make any sense of flow, which is further skewed by the pace of the story. The “bubble” eye reflections are also huge distractions.
           A group of friends very reluctantly join a ballet club at school, but end up picking a fight with students who go to a ballet school who look down on the club. Can these “ugly ducklings” learn well enough to go head to head?
           Okay, did you read the description? Good, good, now forget it because that's not really how the story goes but I couldn't really scrape together enough plot to write much else. Technically, I suppose, that really is the plot but it doesn't really go anywhere, in fact the “battle” never happens. Instead, the story is disjointed and changes on a dime for no reason, until it has a cliché ending with a future flash forward included. It hardly makes any sense. Its forced and contrived from the get go, I mean joining a club and then trying your hardest so you can compete against some other kids way better than you is probably the oldest story in the book. Well, besides the hate-the-boy-until-it-turns-to-love narrative, but that is also included so you can be sure there is no originality here at all. Even the characters are all plain in personality, the group of friends, especially, they, despite all looking different, sort of just run together. And the two main characters? Seen 'em a thousand times. Then there is the composition, something I don't really comment on much, but in this case it's just adds to the hectic for no reason atmosphere. Like I said in the art section, this manga is too crowded. The ballet information is thrown at you randomly and there is absolutely no passion to the story at all. The romance has no heat to it, it is also forced, and at the end they are just randomly in love? The whole thing is just a waste of time. I didn't really hate it, like I said it is cute, and the humor is slightly amusing. For example, the main character's friends acting all dismissive, but beating her to the action/location and lording it over her is one of the re-occurring jokes that I liked.

Still sparkling, too.

Still, also as I said, the cuteness does not make up for all the other glaringly annoying or just plain generic-ness of the rest of it. What I find most irksome, though, is how much it reminds me of the anime Princess Tutu, and the fact that came out after the anime did, seems like much too much of a coincidence. Capitalizing on something someone else brought attention to? Common practice. Doing it in a completely unoriginal and uninspired way? Leaves a person going ugh. So I'm going ugh. UGH.



1.5/5 Cute, but driven only by tropes and cliches. 

Somehow, these characters look completely different in color.