Kobato Volume 1 by Clamp When I got into manga again for the second time after a long absence from comics, Clamp wrote some of the series that got me addicted. I collected X/1999 like a maniac and was disappointed to find out that the series didn’t have an actual conclusion. Since then I’ve sampled [...]

One thing that’s a little tricky about review copies is when you get sent mid-series books and you haven’t necessarily read the first volumes. If you write about how accessible the book is for someone to pick up midstream, the review becomes less than useful. I think I remember reading a review of the 8th [...]

I was hoping to participate more fully in the Manhwa Moveable Feast, but things are a bit too hectic for me right now what with having to get ready for ALA. Instead I’m going to post links to my original reviews and meander a bit. The Color of Earth and the Color of Water The [...]

Flower in a Storm Volume 1 by Shigeyoshi Takagi Flower in a Storm has plenty of ridiculous action and romance, making it an ideal summer read. Riko is the heroine who (say it together with me!) just wants a normal high-school life. Unfortunately she is gifted with physical abilities way beyond a normal high school [...]

Portrait of M & N Volume 2 by Higuchi Tachibana There are few shoujo manga out there that are really weird. Portrat of M & N is about the developing relationship between masochist Mitsuru and narcissist Natsuhiko. The second volume places the somewhat unusual protagonists in stock high school manga situations – mean girls bullying, [...]

Toriko Volume 1 Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro I tend to like cooking manga. I might not be compelled to collect every volume of a cooking manga series, but I generally like to sample the first few volumes. I’ve read and enjoyed Iron Wok Jan, Yakitate Japan, Kitchen Princess, and Oishinbo. I think I need to track down [...]

I got some great comments on my library wars giveaway. I will never look at compact shelving or microfilm machines again without trying to estimate their potential for destruction. The winner (according to Random.org) was comment #4 from Rij who said they would fight the enemies of intellectual freedom like this: First I’d roll over [...]

Millennium Prime Minister Volume One by EIKI EIKI I have a weakness for certain shoujo plot devices. I am very fond of the crazy way to begin a series where an ordinary high school girl will suddenly find herself transported to a new environment. She might suddenly be forced to be a live-in maid to [...]

I will start out by saying that I am an unabashed fan of the Library War franchise. What is there not to love about stories where librarians fight censorship with machine guns? In Japan there are the original Library War novels, the shoujo and seinen manga versions of the story, the anime, and random tchotkes. [...]

Deadman Wonderland Volume 2 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou I liked the first volume of Deadman Wonderland because it seemed a little different than most of the shonen manga out there. It had a darkly cynical sensibility that seemed refreshing, and the storyline about a boy forced into a prison death trap was interesting. [...]