This month was a little bit on the light side for me.

Books

A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen
Dream Trilogy by Nora Roberts

Manga

Natsume’s Book of Friends #1
Alice in the Country of Hearts #2
Haru Hana: The Complete Collection
Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee #1, 2
Nana #20
Sand Chronicles #7
Vagabond #6
Stolen Hearts #1
Hanako and the Terror of Allegory #1
Sexy Voice and Robo (reread)
Bleach #30
All My Darling Daughters
What a Wonderful World #1

Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee Volume 1 by Hiroyuki Asada

Tegami Bachi starts off with a familiar device in shonen manga. A prequel chapter shows a cool older character meeting up with a little kid, who vows to be just as cool when he grows up. The land of Amberground is shrouded in perpetual darkness, with only the capital city Akatsuki illuminated by an artificial star. Mail carriers called Letter Bees are a rare class of people that are free to move from town to town as they complete their errands. Gauche Suede is a Letter Bee, charged with delivering a small child named Lag Seeing to his aunt. Lag isn’t thrilled about being a letter or going along with Gauche. His mother vanished and he’s being sent to his Aunt in another town. As Lag travels with Gauche he learns about the dangers of the road the Letter Bees travel. There are dangerous insect-like creatures called Gaichuu that lurk in the countryside and attack the Letter Bees. The central message of the first chapter is “You’ve gotta have heart.” The Bees have special guns embedded with spirit amber that are fueled with fragments of their heart, and they are aided in their journey by animal sidekicks called dingos. They are dedicated to delivering letters that express the hearts of the postal customers. Lag has an eye made of red spirit amber, which gives him the potential to have more power than the average Letter Bee. There was a little too much weeping for my taste as Lag processes his emotions about his lost mother and begins to relate to Gauche. After Lag and Gauche have many adventures along the way to their destination, Lag vows to become a Letter Bee when he grows up.

It is five years later and Lag is ready to leave his town to take the entrance exam to become a Letter Bee. Along the way he finds a girl stuck in a crevice with a misaddressed label stuck to her arm. Lag names her Niche. As they begin their journey together, Lag learns that Niche’s hair can harden on command into sword-like blades. She’s a powerful companion. Lag wants to find Gauche, but he has to become an official Letter Bee first.

I enjoyed the world building aspects of the title. The illustration of a world shrouded in darkness, with the only illumination being a false star that looks like a Christmas tree ornament made for some compelling images. Asada uses a thick line and European designs for his buildings, making some of the background images feel vaguely like wood cuts. I’m not surprised at a certain amount of fan service in shonen manga, but a subplot involving Niche’s refusal to wear underwear and Lag’s instance on giving her a pair of boxers was more than a little bizarre. I did like Niche’s Medusa-like superpowers, which reminded me of old issues of the Fantastic Four.

Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee Volume 2 by Hiroyuki Asada

The second volume shows Lag and Niche on their way to the Letter Bee headquarters. They stop in a town that’s the end of the line and quickly get into trouble when Lag’s transit pass is stolen by Nelli, a local street urchin. It turns out that she’s struggling with her feelings of anger towards an older kid in her town named Jiggy Pepper who left to become a Letter Bee. Her little brother died soon after Jiggy left, leaving behind a letter that couldn’t be delivered. Lag goes beyond the call of duty to try to help resolve Nelli’s situation and then travels on to face his Letter Bee test.

I thought the underwear shenanigans that I found off-putting in the first volume were mitigated by the second volume. It was pretty hilarious when Lag asked Niche what she was wearing on her head and she produced an animal that was all mouth and sharp teeth and announced that his name was Steak. The reader learns more about her background as a semi-mystical creature known as “the Child of Maka.” There’s a little more action and less angst from Lag as he battles the forces that tormented Nelli’s heart and then turns to his outward test of Letter Bee ability. The art in Tegami Bachi can sometimes be a bit on the crowded side, but I actually enjoyed all the extra tiny stars that often decorate the panels, as they help remind the reader of the fantastic world that Lag is navigating. I have to say that the covers illustrations for these books are incredibly attractive, with tones of blue and lavender serving to illustrate the darkness of Amberground. I wish there were even more color pages included in these books, although there are a couple at the beginning of each volume. I’m glad I read the first two volumes at once because after reading the second volume it was clear that Lag’s adventures are just beginning. There are hints of additional subplots that might be explored like the motivations of various people in the Letter Bee bureaucracy and Lag’s quest to find Gauche again. As long as Tegami Bachi concentrates on action and world building I’ll be interested to see what happens next.

Review copy of volume 2 provided by the publisher

Happy Anniversary to the first comics blogger, Neilalien. He discloses some Secret Origins of his blog today.

Bleach Volume 30 by Tite Kubo

Well, it has been a long time since I’ve read a volume of Bleach. Fortunately, it wasn’t too hard for me to pick up on what was going on even though I’d only read up to volume 16 or so in the past. Ichigo and his band of friends are on a rescue mission to save Orihime in the Hueco Mundo story arc. They have to fight, and fight some more! I was interested to see that Chad has developed “The Left Arm of the Demon” as he beats up a man in an afro to a pulp. There are many other skirmishes, but the heart of this volume is Rukia’s struggle as she faces down what appears to be the resurrected Captain Kaien Shiba, the mentor who she was forced to kill.

Perhaps because Rukia was sidelined so much in Bleach’s first story arc, I really enjoyed seeing her duke it out in volume 30. She had such a haunted expression in her eyes when confronted with the reanimated corpse of her former comrade, but she didn’t give up when she realized she had to fight. Part of the reason why I dropped Bleach was that I thought the endless fighting of this shonen manga would get to be a little boring. But while I was reading this volume I was struck again by what a great artist Kubo is. Bleach is relentlessly stylish, with giant sound effects incorporated into the action scenes, the words themselves looking like explosions of energy. He isn’t afraid to get absolutely ridiculous with character design, as shown when the final villain reveals that his head is a jar filled with two other shrunken heads that look like mad balls. While I might wish for more complex plots and character development, I found myself enjoying the execution of the individual fight sequences.

While I might not rush out and read all the volumes I missed, revisiting Bleach did remind me why I liked it so much when I started reading it. It is somehow comforting to know that Ichigo will always be out there on a mystical battlefield with people yelling things like “Six-Rod Light Restraint” in order to cause explosions of energy. The formula is always the same, but Bleach has constant elements you can always count on. The villains will always take the time to explain how unbeatable they are. A hero will find hidden reserves of strength at the last possible moment and blow their enemy away. The paneling and pacing of the fight scenes will be epic, and the protagonist will strike a super-cool pose and affirm the power of friendship. That’s what this shonen manga does well.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

So things have been busy around here! I’m pleased to announce that the many-headed (just like a hydra, except we write on the internet) group of authors behind FakeAPStylebook known as the Bureau Chiefs has their own web site to showcase their writings at The Bureau Chiefs. I set up the web site with drupal and Benjamin Birdie did the awesome graphics.

I’m planning on doing the occasional manga and YA literature article over there. Visit the site often or add it to your feed reader because we’ll be posting new pieces there every weekday.

Haru Hana The Complete Collection By Yuana Kazumi

Hana has just moved to Tokyo from Osaka to live with her sister. Her parents are in Europe for work. Hana has an unfortunate condition, whenever a boy touches her she breaks out in hives and can only be cured by drinking green tea. Hana’s sister announces that Hana has an after school job, she has been sold to the relaxation room downstairs to work as a cleaner. Hana meets her fellow workers the benevolent gay pastry chef Shinnosuke and teenage masseur Haru. Haru is haunted by memory loss, and he and Hana instantly develop an antagonistic relationship when she starts breaking out in hives if he even if he touches her lightly. While Hana starts out as a cleaner, one day she takes out her violin in order to add music to the food/massage/aromatherapy experience. Shinnosuke promptly decides to take advantage of this new development and name the relaxation room “Haru Hana”.

Some of the plot elements in this manga were a little too cliched for my taste. While I can enjoy shoujo cliches very much if the manga-ka combines them with great character development or unexpected plot twists, there just wasn’t enough of a spark to the narrative to make me enjoy the secrets of Haru’s past or the repetitive nature of Hana’s unfortunate condition. I had a hard time remembering who a couple of the supporting cast were just because they were used so seldom in the main storylines. This was balanced a little bit by the central theme of healing that is explored in the book. Haru’s empathy causes him to experience the stress that customers bring to the shop, but he continues to use his magic hands to make everybody feel better. The workers at Haru Hana really do want to change their customers’ lives, and it is cute to see the trio leap into action with their different specialties to add to the relaxation experience. I did like Kazumi’s art, particularly Hana’s character design. She has short blond tendrils of hair launching off in all directions, giving her the look of an extremely hyper dandelion. While I wasn’t fully drawn in by the plot, I kept reading because I wanted to see the expressions on Hana’s face as she reacted to her developing relationship with Haru.

This is a large omnibus, with three books packaged in one phone book-like volume. I do like this format, and I enjoyed being able to sit down and read through an entire series in a couple days. Some of the darker tones in the art appeared a little grainy, so I wished the quality of the reproduction was a little better. While this series wasn’t a total hit with me, I’ll be on the lookout for more of Kazumi’s work if it is translated. I thought the art had promise, and if the plot of Haru Hana had a little more depth or innovation the potential existed for a much more appealing manga.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Daddy is going to take the bus home.
No Bus Home. Choo Choo!
No Choo Choo. Bus!
Choo Choo.
Bus.
Choo Choo.
Bus.
Choo Choo.
Bus.
Choo Choo.
Bus.
Two Choo Choo.
Why would Daddy need two trains? Isn’t one train enough?
No Two Choo Choo.
Two Bus.
Two Choo Choo.
Two Bus.
One Choo Choo.
Two Bus.
Choo Choo!
Bus!

Hanako and the Terror of Allegory Volume 1 by Sakae Esuno

I had high expectations for this title. I really liked the first volume of Esuno’s other series Future Diary, which I keep meaning to read more of. I tend to enjoy stories about wacky detectives, so a detective of allegory or folklore seemed intriguing. Unfortunately after reading Hanako and the Terror of Allegory, my reaction was mixed.

A girl named Kanae goes to consult detective Daisuke Aso. She’s haunted by the tale of “The Man with an Axe Under the Bed” so she can’t sleep. Aso has a unique way of welcoming a female client to his office. He offers her a porn magazine to read and after being turned down, mutters “As I thought, normal women don’t read porn mags. I guess it’s just her.” As Kaede starts telling her story, Aso has a curious reaction. He denies his interest in unusual cases and starts hiccuping. He tells Kanae that she’s been possessed by an allegory. Some stories have the power to manifest in reality if the belief in them is strong enough. Aso is haunted by two allegories himself, the story of someone who dies after hiccuping 100 times in a row and Hanako, the girl in the toilet. Hanako is Aso’s porn reading, traveling through toilets intrepid allegorical girl assistant.

Aso and Hanako manage to save Kanae from the man with the axe under her bed, and Kanae decides to join the agency. Other cases tackled by the trio include “Slit Mouthed Woman” and “Human-Faced Fish.” There were some elements of the manga that I really liked and others that honestly squicked me out a bit. I enjoyed the central concept of a detective dealing with folktales come to life. Esuno’s art is clear and dynamic. The illustrations of the allegories gave the book a bit of a j-horror feel, especially the slit mouthed woman whose mouth and teeth extended in all directions around her. I was amused by Hanako’s constantly needing to be drawn sitting on a toilet, and her face is just non-human enough to be a little unsettling. Aso’s hiccuping reaction when confronted with allegories ensures that he has to resolve each case quickly.

I wasn’t fond of the final story in the collection “Human-Faced Fish,” about a school bus of children who go missing after crashing in a lake, and the creepy sole survivor of the accident. I’m just generally weary of seeing rape used as a story element unless the story really earns it. In this case, I don’t think it did. Hanako also seems to often come up with technological solutions to fighting folktales, but I’d prefer if Aso were to fight them more by using the internal logic of stories the allegories inhabit. There are hints of this here and there, but with Hanako breaking out the big guns, the solutions to the mysteries are more action oriented than cerebral. The episodic nature of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory made it feel a lot less focused and cohesive than Future Diary. If I had to recommend just one manga from this author based just on the first volumes, I’d go with Future Diary. There were still elements in Hanako that I enjoyed. If the second volume has slightly less questionable gender politics and more interesting folktales I’ll want to follow the series.

Stolen Hearts Volume 1 by Miku Sakamoto

I bought this volume purely because of the cover image. A cute girl in a kimono has her mouth open in an “O” of surprise, while a red-haired boy lurks ominously in the background. At school Shinobu spills milk on a bag belonging to Koguma, the intimidating tough guy in her class. He announces that the bag contains a kimono and says that Shinobu has to work off her debt. He drags her to his grandmother’s kimono shop and she’s given the job of dressing up in the shop’s youth line and handing out leaflets. As Shinobu spends time with Koguma she realizes that his fearsome reputation is unearned. He’s actually a big softie, and he goes out of his way to take care of her while they are working.

Many other reviews of the book have mentioned the awesome character of Koguma’s granny. It is fabulous seeing her boss Koguma around, and the intimidating boy at school automatically becomes a compliant little lamb around his grandmother. It seems that she must have quite a past, judging by the way the local mafia is so solicitous of her grandson.

Sakamoto obviously spent a great deal of time researching kimono design. Her facility with facial expressions ensures that Koguma is an interesting male lead with the way he switches from his usual mode of inadvertent intimidation to bashful boyfriend. Shinobu is very direct for a shoujo heroine. She comments to Koguma that he looks handsome in a kimono, causing him to blush. When she realizes that she has feelings for him she just comes out and says that she’s fallen in love, “so I hope it’s ok if I stay by your side.” The couple start dating in the first volume of the manga, which is nice because some shoujo series take several volumes for the couple to get together. Since Koguma and Shinobu are so busy with work, their relationship progresses slowly. The workplace setting adds another layer of enjoyment to this manga. After reading so many series that are just set in high school, the extra plot point of kimono sales turns even stock plot developments like a school festival story fun. Stolen Hearts is yet another fun, under the radar shoujo series from CMX. They really seem to have a knack for finding unexpected gems to license.

Sand Chronicles 7 by Hinako Ashihara

As I was reading Sand Chronicles, I was reminded again how refreshing it is when shoujo series extend the time line of the story past high school. So many manga series end with high school graduation, but I like seeing the cast of Sand Chronicles as they move into the workforce. I think We Were There focuses on post high school life too, but for whatever reason I like reading Sand Chronicles when it comes out and then saving We Were There so I can read several volumes of that series in a row. One of the things I like about Sand Chronicles is that there are no easy fixes for the problems the characters have. Ann is in her 20s now. She has a job, and she is living with her father, new stepmother, and half sister. She’s alone. Her relationship with Fuji has ended, and she’s still haunted by the memory of her first love Daigo who she hasn’t seen in years. A chance encounter with an older businessman induces Ann to finally date someone else, but the man she has chosen has personality issues that would make a relationship with him disastrous. Ann, thinking of her mother, decides she has to do whatever she can to seize the chance for happiness.

The opportunity of a school reunion and Fuji’s advice prompts Ann to take the opportunity to see Daigo again. But Ashihara isn’t giving readers a happy ending just yet. Some people might say that the melodrama is drawn out, but I think it reflects an element of realism. Ann is still struggling with the aftermath of her mother’s suicide, and that event has shaped her personality in indelible ways. Reading her story is interesting because it is about the journey of a character who absolutely deserves happiness and peace, but who may be unable to accept changing her frame of mind in order to embrace these emotions. Ann is getting the message that she won’t find happiness unless she looks inside herself and pinning her hopes and dreams on someone else won’t work out. While she might have gotten this message intellectually, I’m not sure if she has the emotional capacity to change. I can sense this series moving in the direction of a concluding story arc, but it seems like there will be a few more volumes before the series ends. I don’t mind this at all, because I think Ashihara’s storytelling has grown since the series started, and I’m looking forward to the latter half of Ann’s journey.