Momo Tama Volume 1 by Nanae Chrono
When I first picked up the book I thought the premise of an Ogre prince being sent to an island where humans run an ogre fighting school seemed a little difficult to pull off, but Momo Tama ended up being more entertaining than I expected. Kokonose Mutsu is sent to infiltrate the human world. He joins a ferry of students who are taken to the island that the legendary Momotaro conquered. Kokonose has the imperious manner of someone who was born to rule. He greets people he likes by telling them that he’ll do them the favor of allowing them to be his property. I think fans of Sgt Frog or Artemis Fowl will also like Kokonose. He’s joined on the island by a random bunch of classmates like his hapless roommate Kashii and the annoyingly cute and manipulative girl Yuino.
One strength of Momo Tama is the character design. Kokonose’s squat form, elongated triangle shaped eyes, and bushy hairstyle definitely make him look like a little kid who is not quite human. There are a large number of students and teachers introduced but they all have a distinct look, so it is easy to distinguish between different characters.
Whlle Momo Tama wasn’t the laugh riot that the description on the back made me expect, it was fun to read. The first volume shows that Kokonose’s expectations of ogre behavior in the human world don’t match with reality. Second year students seem to be taking peach candy in order to manifest ogre-fighting powers. The Machiavellian headmaster of the school seems content to let Kokonose attend as a regular student, but his motivations are difficult to read. The story was a little hard to follow in the first few pages of the manga, but things smoothed out as the manga progressed. I’ll likely pick up the second volume of Momo Tama to see if I’ll want to keep following the series.
Review copy provided by Tokyopop
Silver Diamond Volume 2 by Shiho Sugiura
Nothing much happens in this volume, but it continues to entertain me as Rakan and his male companions now indulge in awkward three way hugs. Rakan deals with difficulties at school as everyone wonders who the handsome men are who follow him to school and loiter outside. Chigusa and Narushige start adjusting more to life in modern Japan, learning to cook and visiting the grave of Rakan’s mother. Yet another incredibly handsome yet emotionally damaged man appears in Rakan’s backyard. Although Tohji is assigned to kill Rakun he becomes just as captivated by him as Chigusa and Narushige are. Rakan’s house is going to start getting pretty crowded by cute otherworldly visitors if this pattern continues.
Kyo Kara MAOH Volume 2 by Tomo Takabayashi and Temari Matsumoto
Most of what anyone would need to know about this manga is contained in the following exchange:
Gunter: You’ve taken the throne! That means your subjects are like your children!
Yuri: I’m only fifteen, but I’ve already got so many kids!
Kyo Kara MAOH! continues to be both totally shallow and very fun to read. Yuri’s sense of right and wrong is activated when he sees the horrors of war in the demon realm, so he decides to take the throne in order to change the dynamic between demons and humans. Along the way his fiance Wolfram exhibits some sudden personality changes, and plenty of demons gush over Yuri’s good looks. My one criticism of this volume is that there was some horrible transposed text in the character portraits section at the beginning of the manga.