Pride & Prejudice (Manga Classics)

Genre: manga
Pages: 377
Published: 2014

Pride and Prejudice, depicted in gorgeous shojo manga style?!  Being a confirmed Jane fanatic and, as a teenager, an avid admirer of melodramatic manga in which all the characters are mildly anorexic and have enormous eyes, I could hardly resist buying this hefty manga.  Nor was I disappointed.  I devoured this fun, exquisitely-drawn manga in a few hours and enjoyed revisiting the world of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in a new medium.

Devout Pride and Prejudice fans might be a little squeamish at seeing such a complex and verbose story as Austen's original novel simplified for the manga format.  And, yes, despite my enjoyment of it, I cannot deny that this is certainly "Austen-lite."  However, I began the book acknowledging that it would be nearly impossible to capture all of the social intrigue and slights and character complexities of the novel with dialogue bubbles and the occasional narration.  I think this would be an excellent introduction to Jane, or to classic literature in general, for a teenage reader or someone who usually avoids reading classics.  In any case, I was actually impressed with how much of the novel's plot the manga encompasses and how many classic P&P quotations it includes.

I loved the way the artist Po Tse depicted all of the characters!  Elizabeth and Jane were visually just gorgeous, and I think the writer Stacy King captured the strength of their friendship and their characters very well.

Elizabeth and Jane

 Also intact are most of the humorous moments from the original novel.  Mrs. Bennett's match-making antics made me smile!  I loved the scene in which she tries to make Mr. Bennett convince Elizabeth to marry Mr. Collins, swearing that she will never see Lizzie again if she doesn't marry Collins.  Mr. Bennett replies that Elizabeth is in the unfortunate position of losing one of her parents from this day forward, for he'll never see her again if she does marry Collins!  Speaking of the always-irritating Mr. Collins, I also enjoyed his character and the sort of abbreviated, almost chibi-like way he was drawn compared to the other, more elegant characters.

Mr. Collins' arrival frightens everyone

Most elegant of all was Mr. Darcy, and I think the artist did an excellent job showing his emotions through the lack of emotions visible on his angular, sardonic face... Does that make any sense??  Anyway, I was perfectly satisfied with the way Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship changed (and changed) over the course of the story.  All of the major plot points were covered, unless I'm forgetting something.  A few things seemed out of place or a little anachronistic in the manga, such as the way Kitty constantly flirted with the local soldiers much more openly than she did in the book.  In one scene she yelled, "Hey, boys!" or something like that, across a busy street and I was a little miffed, because that wasn't something any girl in an Austen novel would do.

Elizabeth and Darcy

Nitpicking aside, I would highly recommend this manga to an Austen fan who cannot get enough of Pride and Prejudice (meaning all of them, I guess!)  As a manga reader, I was incredibly pleased with the breathtakingly beautiful art.  There was also something very satisfying about reading a stand-alone story, because many of the manga series I have read consist of dozens of volumes.  I will definitely be checking out the other Manga Classics in this series, and I am particularly eager to get my hands on the manga adaptations of Emma and The Scarlet Letter.


This book is

gorgeously-drawn              faithful                 irresistible        

Claymore by Norihiro Yagi, Volumes 10-11

Genre: manga, fantasy

Claymore is the story of Clare, a half-human, half-monster warrior who is sworn along with her sister Claymores, "silver-eyed slayers," to protect humans from the flesh-eating Yoma who roam her world.

Though I have been reviewing this manga three volumes at a time, so much happened in these two volumes that I think reviewing volume twelve here as well would be absolute overkill.

So, volume ten!  First of all, I have to say that I love the cover for this volume even more than any of the previous gorgeous ones.  This volume continues where the ninth left off, with Clare and twenty-three of her fellow Claymores on a suicide mission to defend a northern village from what seems to be dozens of monstrous Awakened Ones (powerful former Claymores who have lost their human side and become Yoma, monsters).  The warriors are divided into teams and must immediately learn to adjust to each other's different fighting styles and techniques, as well as their various personalities.  As usual when Claymores meet, there are hostilities--even when they are fighting for their lives!

Many new Claymores are rapidly introduced, but despite the dominance of fight scenes in this volume, I felt that I was able to get to know and distinguish them very quickly.  We learn some of their traumatic backstories and, before very long, see some of them die fighting the Awakened Ones.  These death scenes are always gut-wrenching in Claymore, which says a lot considering that the series has tons of characters; the characters are such that one immediately becomes invested in their fates and usually strongly likes or despises them (for the latter category, that awful Ophelia comes to mind!)

On the other hand, there are many morally ambiguous characters.  Clare's former companion Raki (reportedly sold into slavery in the north in the last volume) has ended up traveling in the company of Clare's archenemy Priscilla and Isley, one of the most powerful Awakened Ones in this country. 

 Although we last saw Priscilla as a monster and know Isley to be trying to destroy the Claymore Organization, the two of them appear human in front of Raki and behave humanely towards him, taking care of him. Isley even begins teaching Raki to fight with a sword.  While I somehow did not gather from the first few volumes that featured Awakened Ones that they can retain a human appearance (even though Riful appears as a young girl in the last few volumes I reviewed), it seems that she is not the only one who can.  (On the other hand, some Awakened Ones never appear to be humanoid, which is a bit confusing!  Perhaps the mythology changed as the series progressed, or perhaps I just wasn't paying attention and missed something.)  Anyway, Raki is determined to grow stronger so that he help Clare fight and it is revealed that Isley is planning a major attack on the Organization while half of the Claymores are engaged fighting in the north.

The eleventh volume made me gasp and groan aloud more than a few times as I read it.  It is a brutal, brutal continuation of the Claymore epic which honestly I did not at all anticipate.  Here there be climactic last stands and character deaths, the deaths of likable and major characters.  The battle in the north between Claymores and an army of Awakened Ones continues in the village of Pieta, which fortunately has been evacuated.  Clare pushes herself to her absolute limits and alternates between despair and fierce anger as her comrades die in droves around her.

Meanwhile, the Organization have gathered their strongest warriors to defend their base in the south.  This includes Galatea, no. 3, who, despite her privileged position as a powerful fighter, has grown to resent the Organization's abuse of her fellow Claymores.  Galatea learns the extent of the Organization's callousness when one of their leaders explains that the Organization does not expect any of the weaker and "habitually disobedient" Claymores in the north to survive that battle.  She also meets warriors nos. 1 and 2, Alicia and Beth.  The two are actually twins, and are different from any of the other Claymores.  They have been brainwashed to be completely obedient to the Organization and are able to transform into Awakened forms (this generally means monstrous, with predatory animal features such as giant claws, tentacles, teeth, etc) without fully losing their humanity and becoming Yoma.

In yet another part of the country, Isley faces Luciela of the South, one of his rival Awakened Ones, in battle.  This is an awesome fight scene which promises to continue into the next volume.  Isley's Awakened form is extremely cool, and looks like a centaur.

Isley's awesome Awakened form

Once again, the eleventh volume in particular was a slightly soul-crushing read for me.  I didn't realize that I had become attached to so many of these characters until they died!  The fact that the Claymores die fighting because the Organization essentially decided to use them as disposable shock troops while they prepare their obedient, stronger warriors for battle makes their deaths particularly disturbing, and I begin to see certain themes of questioning and rebelling against corrupt power and institutions emerge more strongly and potently in these last two volumes.  This manga has really come a long way as far as complexity since the first volume!

Update for the 2016 Graphic Novel/Manga Challenge: I have now read 17 of 24 of the graphic novels/manga that I had hoped to read for this challenge.

Claymore by Norihiro Yagi, Volumes 7-9

 Genre: manga, fantasy

Claymore is the story of Clare, a half-human, half-monster warrior who is sworn along with her sister Claymores, "silver-eyed slayers," to protect humans from the flesh-eating Yoma who roam her world.

I definitely have a new manga obsession.  While Claymore started out as a fairly simple tale about a female warrior and her companion, a boy she rescued from the Yoma, it has by the seventh volume expanded into a full-blown epic saga, complete with a complex mythology, larger objectives, and many, many more characters!

The seventh volume continues with the showdown between the sadistic Claymore Ophelia and the monster that I simply call "the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my life."  (See my review of volumes 4-6 for some images.)  This is another freakishly beautiful fight scene.  Meanwhile, Clare and Raki try to get as far away from Ophelia as possible.  Clare sends Raki on to a village where he will be safe, and just after they part ways (with a kiss!), Ophelia shows up to kill Clare.  The other warrior is so much more powerful that Clare has little hope of defeating her, so she tries to trick her...unfortunately Ophelia figures out what is going on.

Clare is badly, permanently injured and saved from death only by the appearance of another very powerful Claymore.  This Claymore, Ilena, helps Clare to regain her strength and as a parting gift presents her with the single strangest present I have ever heard or read about.  However, Clare has barely said goodbye to Ilena when she encounters Ophelia again (!).  Now Ophelia has awakened into a monster, having used too much of her Yoma power during her last battle against Clare and so lost her human half.  Battle ensues between her and Clare again, continuing into the next volume.

The eighth volume features the finale of Clare's battle with Ophelia, and we learn something by Ophelia's past which makes her seem a little more human.  Er, even though she is now a gigantic snake monster with a woman's head.  The next arc sees Clare searching the nearest village for Raki.  However, while there she sees a party of her comrades leaving the village to hunt yet another Awakened One.  (Exactly many Claymores have gone crazy and turned into monsters over the years??)  Her search for Raki is unsuccessful, and Clare is interrupted by the appearance of one of the Claymores from the hunting party.

The girl is bloody and looks half-dead.  She pleads with Clare to rescue her comrades, who are trapped in a nearby cave with not one, but two very powerful Awakened Ones.  Clare finds the other Claymores being tortured by an enormous, hideous monster called Dauf and a pretty young girl.  The girl says she wants to force the Claymores to awaken and join her army of monsters to lead an assault on another Awakened One's army in the north. Clare must then fight Dauf, against whom she is very outmatched.  And, then, as if things were not bad enough, one of the most powerful Claymores in the organization, Galatea, arrives to take Clare back to the organization because she disobeyed their orders in fighting Ophelia instead of working with her.  (As if Ophelia were a team player, right??)  Under the circumstances, however, Galatea joins Clare in the battle against the monster.  

In the ninth volume, the fight continues.  The powerful Galatea distracts Dauf, while Clare manages to save Jean, one of the Claymores who has been chained up and tortured to the point of awakening.  Jean is a cool character, one of my favorites of the many Claymores we have met in the series so far.  With the help of Jean, ranked no. 9 in the organization, Clare and Galatea are able to defeat Dauf.  They are prevented from killing him, however, by the pretty girl who has been sitting in a corner of the cave commentating on the fighting all this time.  The girl shows her true face and turns out to be Riful, a very dangerous Awakened One indeed.  However, instead of fighting, she and Dauf disappear, though not before Riful reveals a tantalizing hint to Clare about the location of Clare's greatest enemy, Priscilla--the Claymore who killed Clare's beloved friend Teresa.

The volume continues with a new arc, "the Battle of the North."  Clare and twenty-three of the organization's most troublesome Claymores (hmm, suspicious much?) are sent to quell an army of Awakened Ones and Yoma in the north of the country.  The organization promises to forgive Clare for her disobedience if she goes and, furthermore, Clare learns that Raki has been captured and sold into slavery in the north in her absence. (Tsk tsk, Clare can't leave the kid alone for five minutes without something happening.)  Jean, no. 9, has declared that since she owes her life to Clare, she will follow the other Claymore until she is able to repay the debt.  Clare and Jean therefore report to the north together, joining the other Claymores who have gathered to prepare for battle.

There is a lot of tension between the assembled Claymores, some of whom threaten to turn violent.  Though they are all exploited by the organization, they are all eager to fight one another to prove a point or perhaps improve their number ranking.  The dynamics between the different warriors are endlessly interesting and one of the main reasons that I am enjoying this series so much.  I will doubtless review the next three volumes, featuring a gigantic battle between half of the Claymores in existence and hordes of monsters, very soon!

Update on my 2016 Graphic Novel/Manga Challenge: I have now read 15 of 24 of the graphic novels/manga that I had hoped to read for the challenge.

Claymore by Norihiro Yagi, Volumes 4-6

Genre: manga, fantasy

Claymore is the story of Clare, a half-human, half-monster warrior who is sworn along with her sister "silver-eyed slayers" to protect humans from the zombie-like Yoma who roam her world.  

I read these next three volumes of this exciting and action-paced series with a rabid eagerness and, at the end of volume six, once again encountered an evil cliffhanger.  Oh, Norihiro Yagi, you are the most malevolent of manga-kas!

First things first, though; I'll start with volume four.  This volume continues the story arc about the powerful Claymore Teresa and her new companion, a young girl who Teresa saved from a Yoma a few villages back, a young girl who turns out to be the human Clare.  Teresa tries to leave Clare with kind villagers so that she can have a normal, human life, but ends up having to double back and save Clare from the same bandits who threatened and had planned to rape Teresa in the third volume.  The bandits are brutal men, though no match for Teresa.  Furious at their slaughter of some villagers and their mistreatment of Clare, Teresa kills one of them in a fight.  In doing so, she violates the most sacred rule of the organization who hires (and creates?) Claymores: their job is to slay Yoma and protect humans, not kill them.  Teresa and Clare go on the run from the organization, but in the meantime four of the strongest Claymores are summoned together and ordered to hunt down and execute Teresa for her crimes.  The character of Priscilla, one of these Claymore who appears to be only a little girl, is particularly interesting and she promises to be an important part of the series.

I had been hoping the series would introduce more Claymores, and my wish definitely came true with these next three volumes!  In fact, so many new Claymores are introduced that it is a little difficult at times to tell all these beautiful, fair-haired young woman apart.  I loved this story line that focused on Teresa and "human Clare" and their strong friendship, since they are still my favorite characters even with the introduction of some others.  The fight scenes between Teresa and her Claymore comrades who are under orders to kill her are very well-done and I liked that the drawings increasingly emphasize the monster or Yoma side of the girls as they are fighting.  For example, their faces change and their eye colors shift and their limbs grow longer as they draw on more of their Yoma power during tough battles.

If the third volume clearly marks the point where I began to become emotionally invested in the series, then the fifth volume is really where the "feels" kicked in!  There is a new story line, titled "The Slashers," which focuses on Clare in the present day.  She and some of her fellow Claymores are instructed to hunt down and slay an "awakened one," an extremely powerful creature which is actually the remnant of a Claymore who has lost their humanity and fully transformed into an inhuman monster.  This monster varied from the typical, zombie-like Yoma and I have to say that it was creepy!  I liked seeing the interactions between Clare and the other Claymores.  We learn among other things that Clare is in fact ranked as the least powerful Claymore currently alive, and once again we meet some interesting new characters.  It is impressive that the manga-ka has managed to endow each of the twelve (and counting!) Claymores who have been introduced so far with a unique and remarkable personality.  They do have similar designs, though, and I usually have to rely on hair styles to distinguish them during the fight scenes.  Speaking of which, there are a lot of fight scenes in this fifth volume, but also some emotional depth.  Something happens in this volume which shocked and saddened me.

The sixth volume boasts the most absolutely horrifying, pee-your-pants scary manga monster I have ever seen.  Let's just go ahead and put that out there.

I placed a picture there to present a rough idea, but that one panel does not really do this creature justice.  It has the face of a human female, because it is another "awakened one" who was once a Claymore before she released too much of her Yoma power.  The way this monster moves her wings and hair and her neck, and the way she looks when she opens her mouth...just ugh!  I nearly dropped the manga and ran away screaming.  Forget fighting her, I would just take one look and instantly die of terror.

Anyway, in volume six the organization orders Clare to kill this lovely monster which has been terrorizing a village.  She is supposed to have assistance to kill the monster, in the form of Ophelia, the fourth-strongest Claymore (they are all ranked precisely in order of strength).  Miria, no. 6, had warned Clare about Ophelia and the other powerful Claymores in the last volume.  Because Clare is sort of semi-awakened, having unleashed too much Yoma power and almost become a monster forever during the episode in the cathedral city, Ophelia becomes suspicious that Clare is already a monster.  

She torments Clare and Raki and seems on the verge of killing at least one of them when the "awakened one," pictured above, makes her entrance.  She first attacks Clare but then turns on Ophelia, sensing her arrogance, and Clare and Raki are able to temporarily escape while Ophelia battles the monster.  The volume leaves off as they are running, trying to get as far away as possible before Ophelia comes after them.

Ophelia vs the monster

Ophelia is one scary, sadistic bitch.  I am actually not sure whether I would prefer to face her or that freaky, winged hair monster.  Oh, wait...just kidding, I'd take Ophelia!

It practically goes without saying that I adored these three volumes and will be starting on volume seven as soon as possible!  I have grown used to the style of art and now think it is really quite beautiful, so no complaints there.  The story has really taken off in lots of different directions since the fairly straight-forward first and second volumes, and I cannot wait to find out what happens next.  While I realize not many people read reviews of later volumes in a manga series, I will continue writing these reviews for every three volumes if only so that I can reflect upon what I read and because I enjoy writing about Claymore!

Claymore by Norihiro Yagi, Volumes 1-3

Genre: manga, fantasy

Claymore is the story of Clare, a half-human, half-monster warrior who is sworn along with her sister "silver-eyed slayers" to protect humans from the zombie-like Yoma who roam her world.  I was attracted to this manga series by the beautiful covers and that premise, which reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer if Buffy were set in a fantasy world which closely resembles medieval Europe.  While I was initially not impressed by the art and worried that it might turn out to be a typical shounen manga--lots of fighting and half-naked girls, little characterization or thematic depth--I quickly realized that Claymore is more complex and interesting than that.

The first volume opens with a village in distress.  Six people have been gruesomely murdered and everyone knows that the killings are the work of a Yoma.  Yomas are flesh-eating monsters, much worse than the sort of zombies you see in The Walking Dead because they are cleverer, more powerful, and much, much faster.  In addition, they can take on human form to disguise themselves.  Raki, a local teenage boy, soon encounters Clare, a Claymore who has been sent to hunt down and slay the Yoma terrorizing his village.  Claymores are dreaded and despised in this society despite their function as monster slayers, because they are half-monster themselves and may lose their human selves, allowing the monster to take complete control at any time.  However, Raki is fascinated by Clare (and more than a little enamored of her).  He is cheerful and naïve and treats her like an ordinary girl, which disconcerts solemn Clare.  She has come to this village to do one thing and one thing only: destroy a monster that feeds on human flesh, armed only with her claymore blade.  After further tragedy strikes his village, Raki ends up travelling with Clare against her better judgment.

This volume is immediately exciting and does a good job setting up the story and the universe.  There is also a lot of gore and plenty of fighting scenes which were well-drawn and well-paced.  I was less than captivated by the art in some of the panels.  The style is efficient rather than extravagant and extremely detailed, like in some of my favorite mangas, but on the other hand I have seen shounen manga with much uglier drawings.  And the covers for the whole Claymore series are gorgeous!

The second volume was my least favorite of the three I have read so far.  The arc about Clare and Raki's journey to investigate Yoma killings in a cathedral city is an interesting premise, but I felt that one fight scene dragged on literally for several chapters, even running into the next volume.  On the other hand, we do get to learn a little more about Clare and witness her chameleon-like acting skills as she disguises herself as an ordinary girl travelling with her brother in order to seek out the Yoma without being thrown out of the city by monks.  There is little dialogue in this volume due to all of the action scenes; I breezed through it in about a half hour!

The third volume, subtitled Teresa of the Faint Smile, was the one that made me eager to get my hands on the next, um, twenty-four volumes of this series now!  The first two chapters finish up the "Darkness in Paradise" arc from the last volume, in which Clare and Raki hunt a particularly powerful Yoma in a holy cathedral city.  The rest of the volume begins a new arc about another Claymore, called Teresa.  I immediately liked Teresa!  

And I was happy to meet her, because I had been wondering about the other Claymores and whether they resembled Clare.  While Teresa does superficially resemble Clare--she is a beautiful, blond young female--they actually are quite different both in their designs and their personalities.  Clare is serious and solemn and very willing to sacrifice herself to protect the humans who despise her from Yoma.  But Teresa is not afraid to bend or break the rules of the mysterious organization for which she and the other Claymores work.  She is fierce and has a bit of an attitude going on; I liked her a lot!  The first few chapters of this new story line about Teresa involve her seeking out a Yoma hiding among villagers and being followed through the woods after she finishes her job there, first by a strange, mute girl and then by a group of bandits intent on humiliating Teresa.  Yeah, needless to say, they've got another thing coming!

I love this series so far.  Honestly, I half-wish I had not picked the first volume up, because now I will become addicted to the series and have to read the next twenty-four volumes in the next week or so.  Then, I will have to watch the anime and obsess over it when I should probably be doing preparatory reading for graduate classes next semester.  Oh well!

I am keen to learn so many things about the characters, their backstories, and the world of Claymore.  Are all Claymores female?  How does one become a Claymore, and what is this organization that sends Claymores to different villages to kill Yoma?  I cannot wait to read the next volume and am considering breaking into the library tonight to get it a few hours early!

This manga has

strong female characters              lots of action       gore                         monsters                  

These three manga volumes count towards my goal in the 2016 Graphic Novel/Manga Challenge!

Manga Review: Library Wars: Love & War

Genre: dystopia/manga
Pages: 186
Published: 2010 by VIZ

Synopsis: In the near future, the federal government creates a committee to rid society of books it deems unsuitable. The libraries vow to protect their collections, and with the help of local governments, form a military group to defend themselves--the Library Forces!

Iku Kasahara has dreamed of joining the Library Defense Force ever since one of its soldiers stepped in to protect her favorite book from being confiscated in a bookstore when she was younger. But now that she's finally a recruit, she's finding her dream job to be a bit of a nightmare. Especially since her hard-hearted drill instructor seems to have it in for her!

Review:
For whatever reason, I haven't been reading a lot of manga lately.  That definitely changed when I discovered Library Wars, a series I was drawn to if only because of the title and the synopsis.  Libraries, or pretty much the greatest places in the wide world, + futuristic dystopia-like Japan + a guy who looks like Colonel Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist on the front cover is a recipe I could not resist.

Kasahara is our spitfire of a (very) flawed heroine.  She has wanted to be a member of the Library Defense Force for years, ever since a mysterious Defense member, her "hero", inspired her to dedicate her life to preventing the censorship of books.  At the story's start, she's made it to the lower end of the totem pole, training to be a Defense Force member under the harsh but basically well-meaning Sergeant Dojo.  Although she always falls asleep in her classes and can't seem to get her Dewey Decimal on, Kasahara manages to impress Dojo and the other higher-ups with her quick, impulsive thinking and great athletic skills.  Dojo's bipolar criticism and support of Kasahara makes her wonder how her superior really feels about her.  But meanwhile her rival student Tezuka, who by all accounts hates her guts, may also have a thing for her.

Library Wars is a very light-hearted series, so far.  Kasahara is far from the most bad-ass female heroine in manga history, though I like her alright.  Dojo is the brooding, bipolar love interest, and Tezuka is the... even more bipolar love interest??  Both of them are so hot-and-cold.  Tezuka is also terrible to Kasahara most of the time, though, and I was definitely Team Dojo from the moment he was introduced.  I really have no good reason why (*cough looks like the awesomely amazing Colonel Mustang cough*), but he is my favorite character so far (I've read two volumes).  

There is also some non-romantic and non lighthearted comedy stuff going on, though not too much.  The Library Forces, sponsored by local governments, are at war with the media censorship sponsored by the national government, and so there are some raid and battle-type scenes where Kasahara and the others must spring into action with their deadly weapons and whatnot.  This looked very cool, especially with the backdrop of a public library.  I absolutely disapprove of banning or censuring books in a big way (the only bad book is badly-written one, I think), so I loved the idea of the Library Forces protecting free speech and the freedom to read-- very cool premise!  The art of Library Wars is a very highly rated so-so.  It's by no means extremely unique or beautiful art, but the characters are easy to distinguish from one another and I generally enjoyed it.  Some of the panels are maybe a little sparse.  I would recommend this series to new manga readers or those who want to get into manga, since it is a straightforward series with good translation and a bookish theme which I think all bibliophiles would be drawn to.

Rating:

 

Manga Review: A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori

 (A Bride's Story #1)
Genre: historical fiction-- manga
Pages: 191
Published: 2011 by Yen Press

My Take:

 20-year old Amir has just crossed a Central Asian mountain chain for her wedding to her new husband, 12-year old Karluk.  A member of a tribe which is nomadic during the summers, Amir encounters some culture shock after moving in with her new family: her intricate clothes don't fit in, and neither does her penchant for hunting rabbits across the desert with her bow and arrows.  Nevertheless, Amir is welcomed by her new relatives and starts to befriend her husband, even though he is eight years her junior.  But when Amir's tribe decide they want her back in order to give her to another groom, her new family ends up having to stand their ground and fight in order to keep the vivacious and resourceful new bride.

A Bride's Story is the latest manga (Japanese comic) series by Kaoru Mori, the creator of Emma, which as I understand it is a series about a maid in Victorian England.  So, it is the beautifully-drawn and very well-realized work of a manga-ka who is known for really "fleshing out" her historical settings.  I think there have been four volumes released so far.  The graphic novel itself is fairly short--I think I read it in a little more than an hour, but overall found it enjoyable despite its lack of profound "depth".  It's not a manga which will require a lot of thinking as you read it, or even a lot of reading-- there are pages and pages of panels with only action and little dialogue.

I loved, loved, loved the art!  You can tell from just glancing at the cover, but Kaoru Mori never skimps on the panels of this book-- every character and setting are beautifully-realized and very appealing to the eyes.  Oriental carpets are everywhere in the tents and the clothing of the various characters-- especially Amir-- really serves to invoke the time period of 19th century Central East Asia.  I remain somewhat confusing on where exactly the story took place, since there were yurts (which made me think Mongolia) alongside carpets and architectural styles which looked more Turkish.  I guess that is the beauty of the Silk Road!  Overall, I got the feeling that Amir was from more east-- maybe towards Mongolia-- and Karluk's family lived roughly in eastern Turkey.

The character of Amir is my favorite: she is a strong-willed young woman, very adapt at things like bow-hunting-- which Karluk's family have mostly forgotten how to do-- and generally making herself a great addition to the little family, enlivening their lives with her cultural insights and what they see as the new bride's "weirdness".  The rest of the characters are so far less fleshed-out, with the possible exception of the grandmother-matriarch of the family-- an older woman who, like Amir, was once also a bride from far away.  Amir's brother was the only character close to a villain-- he wants to take Amir back and give her away as a bride to another groom to serve his own political ends-- but didn't appear too much.  I'll be interested to read the next volume if I can find it at the library ($16 is a lot for manga you can finish in an hour!)  Though it wasn't an overwhelming favorite, I do recommend this fantastically-realized historical "slice of life" manga, for the art alone if nothing else. 

My Rating:

Mega Manga Review: Fullmetal Alchemist

Artist/Manga-ka: Hiromu Arakawa
# of Volumes in Series: 25 released; 2 still to come
Genre: steampunk/ shounen/ action-adventure
Recommended for: everyone

I recently finished the 16th volume of FMA (universal nickname for Fullmetal Alchemist) and was going to review it.  Then it occurred to me: most readers won't bother reading a synopsis for a review of the sixteenth volume of a manga series they don't know the plot or premise of, and who could blame them?  So, instead of writing a typical review for that specific volume, I've decided to undertake a review (READ: total unapologetic gush fest) for Fullmetal Alchemist in general.
No spoilers follow, only lots of awesome.  You have been warned.

 My Take: 

For me, stumbling upon a tattered copy of the first volume of Fullmetal Alchemist at the local library was akin to finding a gold mine between those creased cover pages.  I devoured the manga in an hour, then passed it along to my picky sister Pinky, of guest reviewing fame, who proceeded to devour it in about ten minutes.  (Pinky reads manga FAST!)  We've since watched the anime series-- which is nearly as good, and would be as good but for the fact that it is television and we all know TV can never compete with the written (or illustrated) word.  Though FMA is one of the most popular manga series in the US and Japan, if not the world, it's also one of those mangas which can be enjoyed by readers who don't usually like graphic novels, graphic novel fans who don't usually like manga, even people who normally don't like to read at all.  It's that good, that addictive.  FMA is the most suspenseful, perfectly-crafted manga I've ever read.  Its material is often dark, yet our heroes Edward and Alphonse bring much-needed light humor and determined optimism into the mix, therefore rendering it pretty much perfect. 

the Ouroboros.. a mysterious symbol

The basic premise of Fullmetal Alchemist goes a little like this: Amestris is a country run by the military in a war-torn world which resembles a steampunkish England around the time of the Industrial Revolution.  Alchemy, advanced and complex science which seems like magic to ordinary people, is wielded by the military to keep control and protect the borders.  Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric are only children when they first discover their innate talents for alchemy.  After the sudden death of their mother, the boys use alchemy's most forbidden art in an attempt to resurrect her using alchemy.  But the first law of alchemy is equivalent exchange: you must sacrifice to obtain.  The brothers' alchemical ritual goes horribly awry.

Edward loses his leg in the process and is forced to sacrifice his arm in order to save Al from being lost altogether in the darkness beyond the mortal world.  He binds Al's soul to the only available host-- a suit of metal armor-- and hires his childhood friend Winry, an automail engineer, to forge him a new, fully automated arm and leg made of steel.  The brothers burn their small town home and set off for Central, capital city of Amestris.  Ed is determined to become the youngest-ever State Alchemists in order to find out more about the Philosopher's Stone, a mythical substance believed to give the alchemist who wields it great power.  The brothers are determined to restore their damaged and lost bodies to normal... but at what great cost?

The cast of characters in this series is beyond awesome.  In particular, we have so many people who we have so much reason to hate or dislike yet somehow worm their ways into our hearts.  We have State Alchemists who brutally murdered thousands in the name of the military; we have Scar, a refugee-turned-serial-killer who makes use of his own destructive brand of alchemy while trying to make sense of his muddled past.  And then there are the homunculi-- mysterious human-like creatures created via alchemy, convincingly human but for their lack of a soul... and their bizarre physical abilities.  The homunculi are so damn cool.  Very occasionally in fiction a villain comes along who is totally despicable, yet somehow you want to see more and more of them.  The manga-ka of FMA does an excellent job holding the identities and abilities of the homunculi over our heads, offering only occasional tantalizing glimpses of them.  And if the villains are great, the heroes are even better.
 

  Ed's the best.  He's easily aggravated, especially when it comes to his small stature and refuses to consume milk in any form (lack of calcium is probably the reason for his vertically-challenged condition ;).  He's stubborn, holds a grudge, and is a child prodigy convinced he can do absolutely anything.  Yet he's also incredibly haunted by his past, hindered by his auto-mail limbs, and suffers a ton of guilt over what happened to Alphonse.  Altogether, I pretty much love Ed to death. (So does Pinky, I feel compelled to add-- she wouldn't want anyone claiming to be a bigger Ed fan than her.)  His brother Al is in some ways the perfect contrast: Ed's genius without the infamous Ed ego, I guess.

I can see this fangirl post has definitely ran a bit long, so I'll just hastily add that Winry Rockbell, Ed and Al's neighbor, Lt. Riza Hawkeye, and her dog Black Hayate are a few of my other favorites.  If you're a fellow FMA fan, I'd love to hear from you, and I hope the rest of you will consider checking out the first volume in my favorite manga series of all time! 

Manga Review: Black Butler Volume 1

Japanese title: Kuroshitsuji
Genre: shounen;historical fantasy
Manga-ka/Artist: Yana Toboso
Pages: 192
Published: 2010 by Yen Press in the US


My Take: 

Twelve-year old, tragically orphaned Ciel Phantomhive is nevertheless a young Earl and head of the world's most successful toy company.  He's also inherited the Phantomhive distinction of being the Queen's 'watchdog' in London in these times of Victorian deceit and brutality disguised as kindness.  Ciel's household servants are less than competent: every attempt of the gardener to make the enormous Phantomhive estate look presentable goes comically awry, and the cook and maid experience similar epic fails.  Luckily for Ciel, he has his faithful, immaculate butler Sebastian Michealis on hand at all times to ensure that the household runs smoothly... and that any devious adults and criminals who try to take advantage of a child Earl will find themselves on the wrong end of neatly polished silverware.  Of course, Sebastian is also a demon whom Ciel has promised his soul to, in exchange for Sebastian's assistance in helping him complete a series of yet mysterious tasks... including, perhaps, revenge on the arsonist who murdered Ciel's parents.

In Japanese, so I'm told, the kanji for 'butler' and 'demon' can be used as a kind of play on words.  Similar to how, in English: words like 'saw' and 'duck' have multiple meanings.  Go figure, right?  Anyway, I really enjoyed both Sebastian and Ciel's characters.  Ciel is a brooding, possibly even disturbed little boy-- terribly clever for his age and somewhat cynical.  Still, there's nothing he likes better than sweets, and nothing he hates more than losing at games.  Sebastian... I love his enigmatic smile and gangly grace.  He's definitely crush-worthy, despite the fact that he's, you know, an avenging demon/butler.  He's fantastic in the first chapter, when he salvages a ruined kitchen and lawn (courtesy of those pesky servants) into a fine, exotic dining experience for one of Ciel's guests.  And when Ciel is kidnapped, we get to see Sebastian in action for the first time when he rescues his master, just in time to save the carefully prepared dinner back at the manor.  Another character I liked was Elizabeth, Ciel's young betrothed, who upon visiting insists on throwing a frilly dance party at the manor house. 

I'm not sure if I would categorize Black Butler as shounen-- it's really more shojo, as I think girls and women would be more intrigued by the humor in the story and the beautiful Victorian period costumes.  I definitely recommend this series and am looking forward to finding out more about Ciel's past and the deadly deal he made with Sebastian.  I don't think Black Butler will become one of my all-time favorite manga series, but I really enjoyed Sebastian's character and the spectacular art.  My favorite Victorian manga will probably remain Godchild by Kaori Yuki.

Art: 5/5
Premise: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Story: 3/5
Overall Rating:

Manga Review: Afterschool Charisma Volume 3

Genre: shounen science fiction
Artist/Manga-ka: Kumiko Suekane
Rating: T+ for older teen according to Viz
Pages: 200


My Take:

Shiro Kamiya, the sole human student at St Kleio's Academy, a private and heavily guarded boarding school attended by the clones of historical figures such as Napoleon and Florence Nightingale, has just undergone the shock of his life after encountering an older research assistant who looks uncannily like him.  As the clones' talent Expo begins and millionaires from around the world pour onto the grounds to poke sticks and observe the clones in their 'natural habitat', Shiro finds himself questioning the one thing he thought he was absolutely sure of: his own humanity.  To make matters worse, he soon also finds himself locked in a room with Mozart.  (Not a happy fate.)

Meanwhile, the clones are frantically making last minute preparations for their big presentations.  The revelation of Rasputin's 'project' concerning the Almighty Dolly, the deity-like mascot the student clones have adopted, shocks every clone in the auditorium into silence, just before the building catches fire and assassins burst onto the scene to annihilate the St Kleio clones once and for all.  Students and visitors alike rush to flee the school, but it doesn't escape Napoleon's notice that some of the assassins look eerily familiar...

This volume definitely kick-started things up again.  The psychological aspect of clones is delved into somewhat and there are more than a few shocking twists.  Lots of action; a lot less pointless fan service.  The events towards the end are definitely going to leave me obsessing until the fourth volume comes out-- which won't be until October!  So, next week I'll be reviewing a different manga for the Mega Manga Challenge.  I'm open to suggestions, but was considering finishing Fullmetal Alchemist (I'm on volume 16) or else starting the first volume of Black Butler.  Any opinions?

Art: 5/5
Premise: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Story: 5/5
Overall Rating:

Manga Review: Afterschool Charisma Volume 2

Genre: shounen science fiction
Artist/Manga-ka: Kumiko Suekana
Rating: T+ for older Teen according to Viz Media
Pages: 200

My Take: 

The second installment of Afterschool Charisma opens only days after the first volume left off... Shiro Kamiya, the only 'human' student at St Kleio Academy-- a futuristic school designed to enlighten and prepare the clones of historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Albert Einstein for their destinies-- is still reeling from the attempted suicide of one of his classmates.  The circumstances surrounding the murder of President Kennedy's clone are somewhat revealed, and a shadowy group of assassins emerge with plans to kill every last one of St Kleio's teenage clones at the upcoming talent Expo (think academy open house).

On a lighter and considerably more ridiculous note: Rockwell, the Academy's director misses the school helipad but drops in for an extended visit at St Kleio's anyway.  The lucky guy assigned to be Rockwell's guide and entertainment... Shiro, as he's the only student not busy preparing the clones' Expo.  Rockwell comes across as a pretty much hopeless idiot.  His antics with Shiro and his mysterious adopted 'daughter', Pandora, really lightened up the ominous mood.  Not so his obvious contempt for clones... or the bizarre cult-like club meetings which are swiftly taking hold of the entire student body.

Okay, remember Dolly the Sheep-- the first animal clone ever created?  The clone students of the Academy keep miniature Dolly key chains as charms, hoping some of the sheep's good luck will rub off on them.  In this volume, that tradition evolved from something kinda cute and cool to something vaguely creepy.  There are fewer story developments overall in this second volume, but overall I remain impressed and enthralled with this series.  The twist ending is a great and terrible cliffhanger!  My jaw literally dropped open; I probably looked like an astonished cartoon character.

Hitler is my favorite character.  Yeah, I never imagined I'd be saying that, but it's true.  He needed more screen (panel?)-time, but what we do see of his tween-age clone only intrigued me further... Joan of Arc was kind of the "featured character" in this volume, as she's on the cover, and I did feel like she was developed a lot better than in the previous volume.  Once again, though, the girls' main purpose in the story seems to be fan-service (that's strutting around looking sexy, if you're not familiar with the manga-lingo) and freaking out.  Grow a spine, Queen Elizabeth!  And don't even get me started on Florence Nightingale.  I miss Marie Curie, though Rasputin is an interesting addition to the student body.  (Teenage Rasputin= considerably creepy.)  Let's see... Mozart may or may not be stark raving mad.  There's some romance in this volume, though not much; this is shounen.  Overall, this series is quickly becoming one of my favorite manga.  I mentioned this in the last review, but I LOVE the art.

Art: 5/5
Premise: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Story: 3/5
Overall Rating:

Mega Manga Review: Afterschool Charisma Volume 1

Genre: shounen science fiction
Artist/Manga-ka: Kumiko Suekana
Rating: T+ for older teen according to Viz
Pages: 208
My Take:

Shiro Kamiya is always the odd man out at St Kleio Academy, a futuristic private boarding school which is exclusive to say the least.  All of the other students are clones of history's most famous-- and infamous-- men and women.  Shiro, whose father is a professor at the Academy, manages to befriend the teenage Napoleon and develops a crush on outspoken Marie Curie.  Still he struggles to understand the tight-knit and clandestine society that has emerged around the St Kleio clones.  His classmates live secluded lives where their natural abilities for leadership and greatness are carefully honed and encouraged.  Failure to pursue the footsteps of their 'originals' is not an option.

When Marie Curie dares to question the school's authority and chooses to pursue a musical talent-- which, according to history, she should not possess-- she is suddenly spirited away to a mysterious 'musical school' which Shiro and the others begin to suspect is in fact something far more sinister.  Meanwhile, the first clone ever to graduate St Kleio-- the clone of President Kennedy-- announces he is running for president on live television... only to be shot in the head in the exact same manner of his progenitor, the first Kennedy.  As the campus erupts in panic, the same question is running through every clone's mind: Are they doomed to repeat history?  Can they possibly outlive their predecessors, or are they nothing more than regurgitated DNA, destined to achieve nothing more and nothing less than their originals?  And what of the shadowy group of assassins who have contacted the St Kleio institute, promising to annihilate every last one of the clones they have created?   

This manga has a fantastic premise.  The story seized my imagination and my attention and didn't release either of them until I turned the final page, only to read a volume finale which is shocking to say the least!  As for the characters, in manga the protagonist is often one of the weaker characters (go figure, right?), but Shiro is much more than a bobble-head going through the motions-- his gripping concern for Marie Curie and the others is immediately evident.  The vast variety of the historical people whose clones cavort through the halls of St Kleio is endlessly fascinating and amusing.  You really haven't met irritatingly all-knowing and uncanny until you've conversed with the teenage Sigmund Freud or fenced against Wolfgang Mozart.  Hitler is without a doubt my favorite of the clones.  Like Marie Curie, he seems to defy the expectations of who and what the scientists who created him expect him to be.  Instead of a monster capable of committing genocide, we are introduced to a big-eyed younger boy who is ostracized by the other clones for the crimes of his original, yet claims he would never hurt a fly.  Hitler seems friendly to Shiro, and yet there's something vaguely eerie about the kid as well... I can't wait to see how he is developed in future volumes.  Mozart is another great character: so arrogant and talented, yet it becomes clear that he is in fact tortured by some terrible secret.

If I were to name one complaint, it would have to be that most of the female characters seem rather shallow compared to their male counterparts.  An example is Queen Elizabeth's clone wailing about how she doesn't want to die an old maid like her original when there were clearly, come on, much more pressing matters at hand.  Marie Curie is the exception to the rule, and Joan of Arc has promise.  Overall, the translation is pretty much flawless and the art superb.  I liked the larger panels and appreciated also how close the manga-ka's artistic rendering of the clones was to how they might have actually appeared as teens.  I am now officially obsessed with this series and physically need to get my hands on the next volume!

The rating system for manga will be slightly different:

Art: 5/5
Premise: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Story: 4/5
Overall: