Loveless: Ritsuka or Seimei?

I read Loveless, Vol. 11

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Loveless: Mobile Suit Gundam /Loveless Crossover

I read Loveless, Vol. 10

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Review: LOVELESS 2-IN-1 Volume 1

LOVELESS 2-IN-1, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Yun Kouga
TRANSLATION: Ray Yoshimoto
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Lillian Diaz-Pazygyl
LETTERS: James Dashiell
EDITOR: Hope Donovan
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4990-3; paperback; Rated “T” for “Teen”
446pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S., $16.99 CAN, £9.99 UK

Yun Kouga, the pen name of Risa Yamada, is known for creating such manga as Crown of Love and Gestalt. One of her other popular titles, Loveless, a fantasy/drama series, has a new North American publisher. Tokyopop had the license to publish the series in English, releasing eight of the series’ graphic novels before going out of business. VIZ Media now has the license and resumed the English-language publication of the series with the ninth volume.

VIZ Media will also republish the first eight volumes in 2-in-1 editions, which has a single graphic novel edition containing two volumes. Loveless 2-in-1 Edition, Vol. 1 collects Loveless Volumes 1 and 2.

Loveless, Vol. 1 introduces 11-year-old Ritsuka Aoyagi, a troubled sixth grade student who is still grieving the loss of his older brother, Seimei, who was murdered a few months earlier. Ritsuka meets Soubi Agatsuma, a 20-year-old man who claims to have been a friend of Seimei’s. After a little while, Ritsuka learns that Seimei and Soubi acted as a fighting pair.

They were involved in battles in which the fighting involved spells composed of carefully selected words. Soubi was the “sentouki” or “fighter unit.” Seimei was the “sacrifice,” the one who bears the damage inflicted upon the fighter. When the sacrifice gets worn down, the fighter loses. Through Soubi, Ritsuka learns that Seimei was killed by a mysterious group called Septimal Moon.

In Loveless, Vol. 2, Ritsuka and Soubi grow closer, while more pairs of fighters come forward to challenge them or Soubi, specifically. Yuiko Hawatari, Ritsuka’s classmate, falls deeper in love with him. Ritsuka’s therapist, Dr. Katsuko, tries to unravel the mystery of his apparent dual personalities.

Apparently, Yun Kouga does not consider her creation, Loveless, to be boys’ love manga, although the series does depict romantic, committed, or intimate relationships between pairs of boys and young men. There are no scenes of fleshy entanglements between naked young men, as may be found in the boys’ love subset, yaoi manga. But there is the kind of lusty hugging between fully-clothed young men that one might find in the non-explicit-sex subset of boys’ love called shounen-ai.

That’s how Loveless is. It takes on the characteristics of many genres. It’s part battle manga, and I must admit to being intrigued by its verbal, word-based skirmishes. Call Loveless a battle rap manga. It is also a high school romance with a love triangle (Ritsuka, Soubi, and Yuiko) that threatens to keep adding romantic interests (a fellow student and possibly a teacher). It is a family drama complete with a psycho mom and a largely absent dad.

Loveless is not too much of a good thing, but rather, too many good things. I like Loveless, but I’m not in love with it.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

I Reads You Review: MIKANSEI NO. 1, VOL. 2

Creators: Majiko! with Hope Donovan (English adaptation) and Ray Yoshimoto (translation)
Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, paperback, 198 pages, $10.99 (US), $13.99 CAN
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1603-0 (ISBN-13)

Neo Takigawa lives in the 23rd century and wants to be a pop singer, although her constant singing annoys people. Neo’s other problem is that she really doesn’t fit in with the 23rd century. She prefers to let the ways of the 21st century guide her. In the 23rd century, young women are more modest than they are in the 21st century, and Neo’s extra-short skirts bring her ridicule. An accident sends Neo back to the 21st century, where she inadvertently falls in with another wannabe pop star, Saya Kuduo, whom Neo calls “Sayaya.” Now, they’re a duo trying to get a recording contract.

In Mikansei No. 1, Vol. 2, Neo and Saya’s act (Clap-Equals-Star) is getting more and more attention. After a training retreat in the woods, Ebisu, president of Ebisu Productions, begins to warm up to his latest hot act. Ebisu’s little brother, Nozomi Tsubame, even becomes Neo and Saya’s manager. Just when they are about to have their biggest moment – a much anticipated concert in the park, Neo gets word from the 23rd century. They can open a time portal for her to return to the future, but this may be the only portal that the folks from the future can provide for Neo for quite awhile. And the portal opens at the exact time the concert begins. Will she choose the past or the future?

Mikansei No. 1 is a fun kid’s comic book. There is enough of a love story to attract girls, but not so much that it will put off boys. What brings the series together in a way that attracts a broad base of readers is the comedy. This is slapstick comedy geared towards young readers, but it does have moments when older readers may have a reason to chuckle.

I think that this may be the final volume of Mikansei No. 1, which is strange because this series seems to have a lot of story left to tell in both its past (our present) and future settings.

B

Buy Mikansei No. 1 Volume 2

I Reads You Review: DEADMAN WONDERLAND, VOL. 1

Creators: Jinsei Kataoka (writer) and Kazuma Kondou (artist) with Ray Yoshimoto (translation) and Bryce P. Coleman (English adaptation)
Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, paperback, 246 pages, $10.99 (US), $13.99 CAN
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1741-9 (ISBN-13)

After his classmates are slaughtered before his very eyes, 14-year-old Ganta Igarashi is sentenced to death for the murders. Ganta is imprisoned at Deadman Wonderland, Japan’s only fully privately owned and operated prison. Deadman Wonderland is also a tourist prison, where visitors can enjoy the spectacle of inmates competing in death sports. The prison guards are brutal, and the other inmates are the worst of the worst.

But Ganta is innocent, and the real killer, the mysterious “Red Man,” has also found his way to Deadman Wonderland. How and why is Ganta connected to this shadowy figure? Aided by a mysterious albino girl named Shiro, Ganta may live long enough to answer that question.

Just the fact that Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 1 is set in a prison is enough to give a reader the chills, but the execution of this story also delivers chills and thrills. Deadman Wonderland (originally published in Japan’s Shōnen Ace) combines elements of the dystopian science fiction sports film (Death Race 2000, Rollerball) and the prison drama – unusual elements for a comic book (or maybe not strange in the world of manga).

As executed by creators, writer Jinsei Kataoka and artist Kazuma Kondou, Deadman Wonderland is a story that is both a quest for survival and a journey of self-discovery, with requisite shonen action and super powers. Kataoka composes his script as an exercise in dropping just enough crumbs to keep his readers chasing after the mysteries of Deadman Wonderland; the action scenes, fights, and confrontations are candy to satisfy and keep us interested. Kondou’s art is stylish, but has plenty of substance. The compositions are strong, and the contents of each panel are designed for maximum dramatic impact. In a John Buscema-like way, Kondou is looking to grab the reader with this story.

Deadman Wonderland is a high-quality shonen manga. It is dark without being too edgy and has enough imagination to deserve the word “Wonderland” in its title.

A-

[This book also contains a preview of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory, Vol. 1.]

Buy Deadman Wonderland Volume 1