Manga

MANGA REVIEW:  Strobe Edge volume 1 by Io Sakisaka

MANGA REVIEW: Strobe Edge volume 1 by Io Sakisaka

Story & Art: Io Sakisaka Publisher: Shueisha/Viz Rated: T for teen Volumes: 1/10 Dear readers, In my ongoing quest to reacquaint myself with the shoujo genre, I stumbled across this new title from Viz. The series completed its run in Japan in 2010 but was just officially published in English this month. While straight up(…)

MANGA REVIEW:  Jiu Jiu volume 1 by Touya Tobina

MANGA REVIEW: Jiu Jiu volume 1 by Touya Tobina

Story & Art: Touya Tobina Publisher: Hakusensha/Viz Rated: T+ for older teen Volumes: 1/5 Dear readers, It’s been a while since I picked up a new shoujo title so after looking around a bit, I decided to give this a try. I admit I don’t often read shoujo manga much these days but it’s good(…)

MANGA REVIEW: My Darling Kitten Hair by Haruko Kumota

MANGA REVIEW: My Darling Kitten Hair by Haruko Kumota

Title: My Darling Kitten Hair Story and Art: Haruko Kumota Publisher: JManga Genre: BL (Boys’ Love A.K.A. yaoi) Rating: M for Mature Length: 1 volume (168 pages) Dear Readers, I can’t deny it was the title that caught my attention. What on earth does My Darling Kitten Hair mean? I didn’t know when I started reading(…)

MANGA REVIEW:  Walkin’ Butterfly volume 1 by Chihiro Tamaki

MANGA REVIEW: Walkin’ Butterfly volume 1 by Chihiro Tamaki

Story & Art: Chihiro Tamaki Publisher: JManga Rating: T+ for Teen Plus Length: 2/4 volumes Dear readers, Unlike shounen, shoujo, or BL, josei is one of those manga genres that seems unable to get a foothold in the U.S. It’s true that there are exceptions, such as Ooku, but for the most part, it doesn’t(…)

MANGA REVIEW:  Urameshiya volume 1 by Makiko

MANGA REVIEW: Urameshiya volume 1 by Makiko

It's the return of the manga review! I know it's been a while. While we can't promise that these will become a regular feature at Dear Author, I will try to review a couple titles occasionally. Story & Art: MakikoPublisher: JMangaRating: M for MatureLength: 1/1+ volumes (14 volumes currently available in Japan) Dear readers, Dear(…)

MANGA REVIEW: Ooku: The Inner Chambers volume 3

MANGA REVIEW: Ooku: The Inner Chambers volume 3

Story & Art: Fumi Yoshinaga Publisher: Viz Signature Rating: M for mature Retail: $12.99 Length: 3/5+ volumes Dear readers, A few months ago I reviewed the first volume in this historical josei series by Fumi Yoshinaga. In it, we were introduced to an alternate history of Tokugawa era Japan where the majority of the male(…)

REVIEW: Ooku: The Inner Chambers volume 2

REVIEW: Ooku: The Inner Chambers volume 2

Story & Art: Fumi Yoshinaga Publisher: Viz Signature Rating: M for mature Retail: $12.99 Length: 2/5+ volumes Dear readers, A few months ago, I read the first volume in this wonderful series by Fumi Yoshinaga. The premise is deceptively simple: What would happen if a plague wiped out the majority of the male population in(…)

MANGA REVIEW: Ooku: The Inner Chambers

Story & Art: Fumi Yoshinaga Publisher: Viz Signature Rating: M for mature Retail: $12.99 Length: 1/4+ volumes I first heard of ÅŒoku about a year ago from a friend.   The premise, she said, was that due to a disease that targets only men, the power hierarchy in Japan was genderflipped.   Women filled roles that had,(…)

COMIC REVIEW: Solanin

Comic Review: Solanin (2008) Art & Story: Inio Asano Publisher: VIZ Signature Genre: Josei / humour / drama Pages: 432 Language: English ISBN-10: 1421523213 ISBN-13: 978-1421523217 Solanin is one of those rare comics that manage to something memorable out of a predictable story premise: a coming-of-age story revolving around the lives of twentysomething college graduates.(…)

REVIEW: Luv-Luv titles and Netcomics

Dear Readers, Netcomics is a publisher that publishes manga and manhwa online. No e-reader is needed, just $0.25 per chapter. They publish not only their own but Luv Luv and Yaoi Press comics among others. The way it works is that you buy e-cash in $10 amounts, then pay as you view each new chapter.(…)

[Review] A Manga Guide to Japanese Cuisine: Oishinbo by Kariya Tetsu

Dear Readers, I just have to tell you about this manga. This isn’t a typical manga for me to review because it’s not a romance manga, and it’s not really about the characters. It’s about food. I’m a serious foodie. I love exploring foods of all cultures, from low cuisine to high. And I love(…)

Yaoi/Manga Publishing Issues: Iris Print and Tokyo Pop

I received two publisher alerts and want to share them with the community. One relates to a Yaoi publisher closing shop and the second is Tokyo Pop’s Manga Pilot draconian contract. Iris Print: Iris Print is a Yaoi publisher who apparently closed up shop and failed to tell its authors. Giapet.Net first reported this on(…)

First Impressions 4: Honey and Clover, and Swan

First Impressions 4: Honey and Clover, and Swan

Dear Readers, Here are two more first volumes, these two from popular series that I found I didn’t like as much as their popularity suggested I should. Honey and Clover by Chica Umino. Viz. Retail $9.99. Rated T+ for older teen. 10 volumes (still ongoing in Japan; 1 released here). Honey and Clover centers around(…)

Manga First Impressions 3: Land of the Blindfolded, I.O.N., Sand Chronicles

Manga First Impressions 3: Land of the Blindfolded, I.O.N., Sand Chronicles

Dear Readers, Two more vol 1′s from Viz. But the first is a Vol 1 from CMX, another publisher who brings quality shoujo to the US. Land of the Blindfolded by Tsukuba Sakura. CMX. Retail $9.99. Not rated, but I’d say high school and up. 9 volumes (complete in Japan and in the US.) (I(…)

Manga First Impressions: Wild Ones and Fairy Cube

Manga First Impressions: Wild Ones and Fairy Cube

Dear Readers, I got some first volumes of some shoujo series from Viz for review. I’ve not read any of the series, so I’ll just be providing my first impressions based upon all the Vol 1′s, a couple at a time. Wild Ones by Kiyo Fujiwara. Viz. $9.99. T for Teen (innuendo, some cartoony violence).(…)