Case Closed: The Kaito Kid - A Murderer?!

I read Case Closed, Vol. 53

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Assassination Classroom: Time for Grown-Ups

I read Assassination Classroom, Vol. 2

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or Grumble.

Review: HAPPY MARRIAGE?! Volume 10

HAPPY MARRIAGE?!, VOL. 10
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Maki Enjoji
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
EDITOR/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Nancy Thislethwaite
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5943-8; paperback (January 2015); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Happy Marriage?! is the longest manga series (to date) produced by mangaka Maki Enjoji.  It debuted in the Japanese josei manga magazine, Petit Comic.  VIZ Media published an English-language version of the series for North America.

Happy Marriage?! focuses on Chiwa Takanashi.  She is a young woman who never had any girlish fantasies about courtship and marriage, but she found herself in an unlikely scenario.  The 22-year-old married a total stranger in order to get her father out of debt!  Chiwa's husband, 28-year-old Hokuto Mamiya, was the President and CEO of Mamiya Commerce.  Their marriage, for a time, was a secret, with only Hokuto’s personal assistant, Taeko Soma, knowing of the union’s true nature.  Two years later, Chiwa and Hokuto are trying to be a real married couple.

As Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 10 (Chapters 37 to 39 to Final Chapter) opens, Chiwa recovers from the would she received when she tried to protect Hokuto from a savage knife attack.  Even after that, she still cannot reveal to Hokuto the letter she received from her his now-deceased father, Seiji Mamiya, that revealed a secret.

Her reticence will not stop the turmoil within the Mamiya family.  Hokuto will learn a shocking truth about his mother, Yoko Miura, and about himself.  The revelations could ruin Chiwa and Hokuto's marriage.

I am not happy about saying goodbye to the Happy Marriage?! manga.  However, I must accept that Happy Marriage?! Volume 10 is the final volume of this series that I have come to really enjoy reading.

I don't want to spoil anything, but I will admit that there are some some explosive revelations and that there are some character revelations that are worse than some readers my have expected.  I can say that Happy Marriage?! has a happy ending.  It has a celebratory last chapter that will remind readers why this typical shojo soap opera romance manages to be something different and also something especially lovable.

Readers looking for shojo/josei romantic drama will be happy with the Shojo Beat title, Happy Marriage?!

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Kiss of the Rose Princess: Here Comces Haruto Kisugi

I read Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 2

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Review: METEOR PRINCE Volume 1

METEOR PRINCE, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Meca Tanaka
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7908-5; paperback (January 2015); Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Meteor Prince is a shojo fantasy romance from mangaka, Meca Tanaka (creator of Pearl Pink).  The series focuses on an unlucky teen girl and the handsome alien prince who is totally in love with her.  Meteor Prince originally appeared in Japan's LaLa magazine.

Meteor Prince, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) opens at Izayoi High School.  There, Hako Natsune, the “Queen of Bad Luck,” has just had another experience of bad luck.  The president of the school's Occult Research Club has drawn a spell circle, and is hoping to use it to rid Hako of her bad luck.

Instead, a naked teen boy seems to fall from Heaven.  He is Io, an alien prince, and he declares that Hako is destined to be his mate!  Does this mean that Hako's luck has changed?

 The Meteor Prince manga seems like a natural comic for me.  Since I was a child, I have loved comedies featuring aliens who come to Earth (and also of comedies about humans whisked into space).  I was a fan of “My Favorite Martian,” a short-lived, Saturday morning animated series that was a follow-up of the live-action, “My Favorite Martian,” a classic, black and white series from the “Golden Age” of American television.

So I should really love Meteor Prince Volume 1, but I am not that crazy about it.  It isn't bad.  It is simply one of those shojo fantasy romances that feature pretty art and are built around the familiar loves-me/loves-me-not relationship between a human girl and a boy who is not human.  While I like shojo manga (to an extent that still surprises me), I find myself only mildly interested in Meteor Prince.  Late in this volume, a new character appears that brings some added conflict and dilemma into the series.  So I am curious to see if the second volume is more of the same or if it will offer some surprise and perhaps, some more tension.

B-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Happy Marriage: Michelle Heartless?

I read Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 9

I posted a review at ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Review: JACO the Galactic Patrolman

JACO THE GALACTIC PATROLMAN, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Akira Toriyama
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
LETTERS: James Gaubatz
EDITOR: Alexis Kirsch
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6630-6; paperback (January 2015); Rated “A” for “All Ages”
248pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.

Jaco the Galactic Patrolman is a shonen manga comedy from Akira Toriyama, best known as the creator of his breakout and breakthrough hit manga, Dragon Ball (published in the U.S. as Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z).  Jaco was originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan from July to September 2013.  Jaco the Galactic Patrolman focuses on the unlikely friendship between a stranded alien cop and a reclusive, island-dwelling scientist.

VIZ Media recently published Jaco the Galactic Patrolman as a paperback graphic novel, with the story being complete in one volume.  This stand-alone book is published under VIZ Media's Shonen Jump imprint, and is rated “‘A’ for All Ages.”  The printed edition of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman has a MSRP of $9.99 in the U.S. And $12.99 CAN.

The digital version of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, which is also currently available, is $6.99 (USD/CAN) from VIZManga.com and through the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch, Android-powered smart phones.  The digital volume of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman can also be purchased through the Nook, Kobo, ComiXology, Kindle, iBooks and GooglePlay stores.

As Jaco the Galactic Patrolman opens, we meet Jaco Teirimentenpibosshi (or Jaco the Galactic Patrolman), an interstellar cop.  He crashed his ship on the moon, which forces him to make a crash-landing on a small island on Earth.  There, he meets retired scientist and engineer, Omori Tokunoshin.  A widower, Omori lives alone on this deserted island, while continuing his research into time-travel.

Omori is perturbed that his quiet life is interrupted by Jaco, who decides to move in with Omori.  A member of the Galactic Patrol (which protects the peace of the galaxy), Jaco claims to be “Super Elite,” but he is quite clumsy and always gets into trouble, which aggravates Omori.  Can Jaco get along with old man Omori long enough to save the earth from a dangerous threat... and also to save Tights, the 17-year-old girl about to embark on a dangerous rocket ride?

[This volume includes the bonus story, “Dragon Ball Minus: Departure of the Fated Child.”]

Akira Toriyama seems to have a magic touch when it comes to creating manga for young readers, from the Halloween-appropriate COWA! to the beloved Dragon Ball.  Jaco the Galactic Patrolman is perfect for young readers.  It is cute and fun, but it isn't simple-minded.  Like Toriyama's other manga, it is quirky, delightful, and especially inventive and imaginative.

The other cool thing about Jaco the Galactic Patrolman is that it is tied to Dragon Ball, with Jaco and Omori's adventures mostly taking place just as the beginnings of Dragon Ball come together.  I have to admit, with some embarrassment, that I was quite happy to discover this connection – like a little kid.  In fact, this volume's bonus story is a kind of prequel to Dragon Ball, as it tells the story of how Goku's journey to Earth began.  If you need a reason to buy Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, this is it.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM Volume 1

ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Yusei Matsui
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Bryant Turnage
LETTERS: Stephen Dutro
EDITOR: Annette Roman
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7607-7; paperback (December 2014); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.

Assassination Classroom is a shonen manga that made its debut in Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan in 2012.  The series is created by Yusei Matsui, who was an assistant to manga artist Yoshio Sawai, the creator of such popular manga as Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo and the long-running JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Assassination Classroom is a humor and sci-fi manga about a classroom full of misfits who take on their teacher who has bizarre powers and super strength.  The teacher, whom the students name “Koro Sensei,” is the alien octopus that destroyed 70% of the moon.  He becomes a teacher at Kunugigaoka Junior High, where he teaches the outcasts of Class 3-E and he promises to destroy the Earth after they graduate.  Now, it's up to these students to kill their teacher to save the world.  They are the “Assassination Classroom.”

Assassination Classroom, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 7; entitled Time for Assassination) finds the students of the Assassination Classroom ready to pop a cap to save the world.  Besides saving the Earth, the other incentive is a 10 million dollar/yen reward, offered by Tadaomi Karasuma of the Ministry of Defense.  It's up to Karasuma to train these students to kill... even if he has to become their new P.E. teacher.  Plus, a juvenile delinquent skilled in battle tactics returns to school.

The Assassination Classroom manga is weird, with its mixture of comedy and menace.  It can be disconcerting to go from poignant teacher-student relationship to classroom violence in the space of a few pages or even a few panels.  At least, it would really be disconcerting if Assassination Classroom were not a shonen manga – a genre or class of manga where comedy and comic violence meld in imaginative and even volatile ways.

I like the science fiction and fantasy sub-genre that brings aliens, humans, and schools together.  I am still a fan of the 1980s animated series, "Galaxy High School," and I have even sampled some of the manga that influenced it, Urusei Yatsura (or Lum).  Assassination Classroom Volume 1 makes me curious to see where this goes.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE Volume 5

PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE, VOL. 5
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

ARTIST: Arina Tanemura
TRANSLATION: Tetsuchiro Miyaki
LETTERING: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6629-0; paperback (November 2014); Rated “T” for “Teen”
274pp, B&W, $10.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

VIZ Media's English-language publication of Arina Tanemura's Phantom Thief Jeanne came to an end with the November 2014 publication of the fifth graphic novel of the manga.  The series focuses on Maron Kusakabe, a 16-year-old high school student who sometimes transforms into Phantom Thief Jeanne.

Jeanne foils demons that reside in certain paintings.  She sneaks into private art collections and steals paintings possessed by demons, sealing the demons before they can devour human hearts.  However, Jeanne has a rival, Phantom Thief Sinbad, but he is also Chiaki Nagoya, a boy in love with Maron.

As Phantom Thief Jeanne, Vol. 5 (Chapters 26 to 29 to Final Chapter) opens, Maron realizes that Chiaki is under a spell.  Perhaps, that is why he is dating Maron's friend, Miyako Todaiji, even after declaring his love for Maron.

Also, Finn Fish, the “Minor Angel” that, until recently, served Maron, explains her dark actions – including betraying Maron.  That seems minor next to the fact that it is time for Maron to visit God, who created her.  It is also time for Maron to face the Demon Lord.

[This volume includes four bonus stories:  “Let's Go, Silk Road,” “The Memory of the Fish, the Snow Crystals of the Moon,” “I Will Be You Happiness,” and “The Memory of the Fish, the Snow Crystals of the Moon 2.”]

The Phantom Thief Jeanne manga (originally titled Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne) is an early work from beloved manga creator, Arina Tanemura.  Phantom Thief Jeanne Volume 5 does not demand the emotional involvement from readers that the fourth did (which was not that much, actually).  Still, these characters are full of love and a strong desire to sacrifice for the ones they love, and that is hugely evident in this final volume.  So we get a super-happy ending in the way that only Arina Tanemura can do it, so fans of Tanemura’s manga will want to try the Shojo Beat title, Phantom Thief Jeanne.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Rosario+Vampire Season II: Alter Ego

I read Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 13

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter and at Grumble.

Phantom Thief Jeanne: Minor Angel, Major Saint

I read Phantom Thief Jeanne, Vol. 4

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

LBX: Artemis Begins

I read LBX: Artemis Begins, Vol. 2

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Manga Review: ALL YOU NEED IS KILL

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL 2-in-1 Edition (MANGA)
VIZ MEDIA/Haikasoru – @VIZMedia

STORY: Hiroshi Sakurazaka
STORYBOARD: Ryosuke Takeuchi
ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS: yoshitoshi ABe
ART: Takeshi Obata
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
LETTERS: Evan Waldinger
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7601-5; paperback, (November 2014); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
430pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S., $16.99 CAN, £9.99 UK

All You Need is Kill is a Japanese science fiction novel written by author Hiroshi Sakurazaka, and first published in 2004.  Bestselling author John Scalzi (Old Man’s War), called All You Need is Kill “science fiction for the adrenaline junkie.”  The novel is also the source material for the 2014 film, Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.

Back in July 2009, All You Need is Kill was first published in English by Haikasoru, the science fiction imprint of VIZ Media, the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America.  VIZ Media also produced an original comic book adaptation of Sakurazaka's novel, All You Need is Kill: Official Graphic Novel Adaptation, created by Nick Mamatas (script adaptation of the novel), Lee Ferguson (artist), Fajar Buana (colors), and Zack Turner (letters).

There is a manga adaptation of All You Need is Kill, produced by artist Takeshi Obata with writer Ryosuke Takeuchi (storyboards) and yoshitoshi Abe (original illustrations).  VIZ Media originally premiered the manga in its Weekly Shonen Jump digital manga anthology.  Under its “Shonen Jump Advanced” imprint, VIZ recently published an omnibus print edition (5.5” x 8.25”and 430 pages) of All You Need is Kill the manga, which is black and white with several color pages.

All You Need is Kill opens sometime after Earth has been invaded by the alien Mimics.  In Japan, the United Defense Force (UDF) was created to fight the Mimics, which are difficult to defeat.  In the 17th Company of the UDF, Keiji Kiriya is a “Jacket soldier,” named because of the armor he and other soldier wear, called a “Jacket.”  One morning, Keiji awakens after a strange dream in which he died in battle.  He spends the rest of the day with a sense of deja vu.

Then, the U.S. Special Forces, which is basically the only military that is successful against the Mimics, arrives.  Keiji sees Rita Vrataski, the leader of the U.S. Special Forces, known as “the Valkyrie,” and also as the “Full Metal Bitch.”  Keiji knows that he has seen her... on the battlefield... before he died.  Keiji has been dying in battle, only to be reborn the next morning, to fight and die again and again.  Is the Full Metal Bitch the key to Keiji escaping the cycle or the catalyst to meeting his final death?

Takeshi Obata is one of my favorite manga creators, so I was excited when VIZ Media gave me a copy of the All You Need is Kill manga for review.  It truly deserves to be called a “graphic novel,” not only because of its length of 430 pages, but also because of the epic scope of its narrative.

All You Need is Kill is rousing military science fiction, and it offers the thrill of a frenetic action movie.  It is also the manga adaptation of a light novel reborn as a genuine shonen battle manga, because this feels less like an transfer of mediums and more like something first born as a manga.

Ultimately, what makes the manga All You Need is Kill successful is the attention to character drama and personal details.  Readers will buy the idea that Keiji and Rita are imperiled because the creators of this manga go to the emotional center and into internal conflicts of the characters.  The world seems at risk because the readers see it through characters in which they can believe, so the risk feels real.

Takeshi Obata deserves to be called “great” because his storytelling is always potent, regardless of genre, and he gives texture and life to drawings on paper.  All you need is talented manga creators who can deliver and you get high-quality science fiction manga like All You Need is Kill.

A

www.VIZ.com
www.shonenjump.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Case Closed: Star Blade VI

I read Case Closed, Vol. 52

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Review: LBX Volume 1

LBX, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Hideaki Fujii
ORIGINAL STORY: Level 5
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Aubrey Sitterson
LETTERS: Annaliese Christman
EDITOR: Joel Enos
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7695-4; paperback (November 2014); Rated “A” for “All Ages”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

The video game, LBX (Little Battlers eXperience), is a series of role-playing action games created by Level-5 for the Sony PSP.  Hideaki Fujii created an “all ages” manga based on LBX, which VIZ Media is publishing in English as a bi-monthly graphic novel series.

LBX, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 4, entitled New Dawn Raisers) introduces Van Yamano, a boy who really loves LBX!  These miniaturized battle-robots are the hottest toys in the year 2050.  The problem is that Van's mother does not want him to play with LBX because she blames them for the death of her husband and Van's father, Professor Yamano.

Little does she know that the professor left a very special LBX just for Van.  However, the C.I.O. and the New Dawn Raisers know about the special LBX and are interested in Van.

[This volume includes the original LBX story from Coro Coro Comics magazine.]

VIZ Media publishes the LBX manga through its Perfect Square imprint, which offers “all ages” books.   These are comic books for elementary age children, and if they have the patience and can read at their grade level, then, young readers can grasp the uncomplicated LBX.

I must admit that I find LBX Volume 1 to be surprisingly intense with a relatively believable sense of impending death directed at the heroes.  This isn't the kind of guaranteed death that comics like Kick-Ass or Preacher presented.  Still, the duels between LBX players seem painful, but I also have to admit that I would read this again.  LBX may be genuine kids' comics, but it offers up some interesting questions to which I want to know the answers.  Young comic book readers who are ready for graphic novels will want their own LBX.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

KISS OF THE ROSE PRINCESS Volume 1

KISS OF THE ROSE PRINCESS, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Aya Shouoto
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7366-3; paperback (November 2014); Rated “T” for “Teen”
188pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Kiss of the Rose Princess is a nine-volume graphic novel series from manga creator, Aya Shouoto.  The series focuses on a mystical girl and the four magical knights who help her on a quest to save the world from the Demon Lord and the forces of evil.

Anise Yamamoto cannot remove the rose choker from her neck or she will suffer a terrible punishment.   That is what her father told her, and she takes his dire warning quite seriously.  Then, a strange creature falls from the sky and hits Anise, causing her to lose the choker.  Instead, she gains four cards representing four knights, each of whom she can summon by kissing a card.

Kiss of the Rose Princess, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) opens at Shobi Academy.  As usual, Anise begins the school day running from the dress code enforcer who wants to remove the choker, which is a violation of the school dress code.  However, Anise is more afraid of her father than anything, so she won't remove that choker.

Then, the bat-like/cat-like Ninufa falls from the sky and knocks the choker off her neck.  He gives her four rose cards and exhorts her to kiss each one.  Each card summons a Rose Knight who is bound by an ancient Contract of the Rose (the Rosette) to the one who summons him.  Each knight is handsome, but Anise wonders why she needs them.

I think the Kiss of the Rose Princess manga is one of those shojo manga about a magical girl.  I think VIZ Media describes Anise as a “mystical girl,” but whatever she is, this plucky heroine is a funny girl at the head of comic fantasy romance.

The humor is what surprises me about Kiss of the Rose Princess Volume 1.  Creator Aya Shouoto has a funny “straight man” in Anise, who plays the grown-up in a reverse-harem situation.  Honestly, I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this first volume.  Where does this series go?  Well, there is a lot about Anise's magical destiny and about her father that has yet to be revealed.  In fact, I think it is worth coming back at least one more volume to get some answers.  Fans of magical/mystical girls will want to try the “Shojo Beat” title, Kiss of the Rose Princess.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: Matsuri Hino Presents LAST NIGHT - Vampire Knight Illustrations

MATSURI HINO PRESENTS LAST NIGHT: VAMPIRE KNIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Matsuri Hino
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7605-3; hardback (October 2014); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
44pp, B&W, $15.99 U.S., $18.99 CAN, £9.99 UK (for graphic novel and art book set)

Vampire Knight is a shojo manga series written and drawn by manga creator, Matsuri Hino.  VIZ Media recently published the final graphic novel collection of the series with the release of Vampire Knight Volume 19, on October 14, 2014.  Vol. 19 was released in a regular edition graphic novel and also a “Limited Edition” with an alternate cover.  The Limited Edition is actually a two-book collection that includes a hardcover mini art book entitled, Matsuri Hino Presents Last Night: Vampire Knight Illustrations.  [The Vampire Knight “Night Class” Manga Box Set 2, to be released November 4, 2014, will also include a copy of Last Night.]

Last Night contains over 40 full-color illustrations drawn and colored by Hino.  Most of these illustrations appeared in LaLa, the Japanese manga magazine in which Vampire Knight was originally serialized.  Many of the series' characters appear in these illustrations, but the characters which are most depicted are, of course, Vampire Knight's (un)holy trinity of and love triangle:  Yuki Cross, Zero Kiryu, and Kaname Kuran.

Is the packaging price of Vampire Knight Limited Edition 19 money well spent?  Well, my generous VIZ Media rep gave me both the single-volume regular edition and Limited Edition set.  The Limited Edition costs $6 more than the regular edition, and Last Night is worth the extra six bucks, especially if you, dear reader, are a fan of Matsuri Hino's illustrations.

Hino's moody, pouting, and contemplative vampires are gorgeous.  Other than their school uniforms, little of the characters' clothing could be “off the rack,” unless the clothes are off a rack found in an acclaimed fashion designer's personal work place.  These are fashion icon vampires.  As we leave the world of Vampire Knight, Last Night is the kind of neato item we might grab before we turn off the lights on our way out.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Happy Marriage?! - True Married Couple

I read Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 8

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is asking for donations.  Follow me on Twitter.

Review: VAMPIRE KNIGHT Volume 19

VAMPIRE KNIGHT, VOL. 19
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Matsuri Hino
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7391-5; paperback (October 2014); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
208pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Vampire Knight is a shojo manga series written and drawn by manga creator, Matsuri Hino.  The series premiered and was serialized in the Japanese manga magazine, LaLa.  VIZ Media publishes Vampire Knight in North America, collecting the manga in a series of graphic novels.  VIZ Media recently published Vampire Knight Volume 19, the final volume of the graphic novel series.

Vampire Knight is set in and around Cross Academy.  This is a private boarding school with two classes:  the Day Class and the Night Class.  At twilight, the Day Class students return to their dorm and cross paths with the Night Class.  They don't know that the Night Class students are actually vampires.  Yuki Cross is the adopted daughter of Headmaster Kaien Cross, and she is also a pure-blood vampire.  Zero Kiryu is a human suffering from the curse of the vampire.  Together, they are the Guardians of the school, patrolling the hallways and school grounds to protect the Day Class humans from the Night Class vampires.

As Vampire Knight, Vol. 19 (Chapters 89 to 92 to The Final Night) opens, Cross Academy will be closed again.  This time it will become the headquarters of the Hunter Society.  Meanwhile, Yuki has stolen Zero's memories of her to free him, and she plans on giving her own life to turn her brother, the pure-blood vampire, Kaname Kuran, into a human.

Kaname, however, plans to die so that his body can create new vampire-killing weapons for the Hunter Society.  The other vampires are determined to stop him, and that means war between humans and vampires.  Eternity is at stake, and Yuki and Kaname try to change destiny.

So the Vampire Knight manga has come to an end, and I didn't see it coming.  I don't know if other regular readers of the series will be satisfied with this finale.  I'm not.  Vampire Knight Volume 19 is not of poor quality.  It just seems like an untidy semi-rush job on the part of creator, Matsuri Hino.  Or maybe I'm in denial.

Vampire Knight has always been melodramatic, edgy, and bloody, and Vol. 19 is certainly that.  As usual, all the characters seem emotionally, if not mentally unhinged in this final graphic novel, and that offers some enjoyable vampire soap opera.  To the end, it's all crazy love, so at least the narrative is consistent to the end.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Happy Marriage?! - Will I Be Tied Down to You?

I read Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 7

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter.