Category: Manga

“Wait… gotta breathe… lemme breathe…!”

This continues directly from volume 2 and is the final volume of a three volume series. Don’t start reading here. Go back to the beginning.

Wow, there’s a lot happening in this final volume. As I suspected, there was a bit too much left to address in just one more volume, and some aspects felt rushed. Another installment in the series would have been helpful in giving all the characters and plot threads their proper due. That said, this is still a strong finale for the series that packs some major surprises, provides a reasonable amount of closure to the main plot, and remains nicely character focused. Some things were predictable, but that just means they were foreshadowed and built well.

Grim Reaper and 4 Girlfriends retains the same feel right up until the end. While I wish certain aspects had been more developed, this ecchi comedy with an edge was quite good while it lasted.

“… just be there for me.”

This continues directly from volume 1 and is the middle volume of a three volume series. Best to start reading at the beginning.

Kaoru is still trying to handle the difficulties of having four girlfriends, including things like convincing them all to keep quiet about the relationship, avoiding having the girls run into each other, and getting to know each girl’s personality and desires. He also still feels extremely guilty about it all and tries his best to make all four happy, which keeps him somewhat likable and sympathetic.

Airi is still causing some trouble as she tries to undermine Kaoru and revert him to a “No-Lifer” so she can reap his soul, though the true center of this manga is the continual reveal of each girlfriend’s personality and Kaoru’s reactions. The girls have somewhat cliched hidden sides, but it’s all well implemented and adds as much dimension to them all as is possible in such a short series. That’s the only drawback: while nothing seems overly rushed so far, the pace is rather brisk and I have a feeling at the end I’m going to wish this ran a couple more volumes.

The humor continues to be largely based on ecchi situations, but it arises more or less directly from the characters and is pretty funny overall. In general the balance of comedy and “drama” is quite good.

Fun second volume for Grim Reaper and 4 Girlfriends. Will be interesting to see how it wraps up considering there seems to be a lot to address with only one more volume.

“What a marvelously agressive declaration…”

Kaoru Minaguchi is a “no-lifer,” who doesn’t interact with society or other people in any meaningful way. He doesn’t see this as a problem, until he meets a grim reaper appears to cull him for the benefit of society as a whole. If an effort to become a “real-lifer” and stay alive, he claims to be about to confess to a girl he likes and get a girlfriend. But what happens when a frantic Kaoru sends four love letters to increase his odds… and they all say yes?

Grim Reaper and 4 Girlfriends takes a ridiculous but amusing premise and uses it to put a fun twist on the harem genre. The main character is not oblivious to nor trying to fend off the advances of his suitors. Rather he has to actively court four girls despite  the guilt he feels and believing in “one true love.” His hesitation and regret keep him sympathetic, and the individual personalities of the girls make things interesting.

The comedy is amusing and arises both from Airi (the reaper) trying to sabotage Kaoru indirectly and ecchi situations involving the girlfriends. But while there is some fanservice appropriate to the flirtations, it’s not as blatant nor pervasive as may be expected for this type of series and is blended into the story well. There’s a dark edge to everything that adds a compelling layer to Kaoru’s dilemma.

For what Grim Reaper and 4 Girlfriends is, it’s fantastic. I look forward to seeing how Kaoru continues to try to stay alive while keeping his unfortunate secret, dealing with his girlfriends’ hidden sides, and trying to be a good guy despite having become a four-timer.

“Everyone has a side… they don’t show to anyone else.”

Horimiya is a wonderful little romance with a fantastic premise. Two high school students with home lives that are extremely different than the image they project at school stumble upon the sides of each other they never show anyone else. There are understandable, valid reasons why they’re reluctant to be themselves and these and other “real life” concerns and insecurities give them depth and make them extremely easy to relate to and root for. The deft touch with which everything’s kept realistic without getting bogged down or boring is impressive.

Overall the best word to describe Horimiya is sweet, and I look forward to learning more about Kyouko and Izumi and watching their relationship grow.

“I’ve always been a bystander.”

Amano Yukiteru is a 2nd year high school student who’s content to watch the world pass him by and make notes in his cell phone diary. He contents himself with his imaginary friend Deus Ex Machina, Lord of Time & Space. His time as a spectator comes to an end however when the not-so-imaginary after all Deus changes his diary to record future events, and forces him to participate in a game where the survivor will become Deus’s successor.

Future Dairy is built around an interesting core idea, but is already going off the rails a little. There appear to be some contradictions in the “rules” and I honestly feel things are going way to fast. Still, the variety of diaries and extremely varied personalities and motivations in play here give great potential for growth and depth. A solid, if imperfect, start.

“I’ve always been your fan!”

Chiyo Sakura finally asks dreamboat classmate Umetarou Nozaki out only to discover he’s artist of a hugely popular shoujo manga and unexpectedly become his apprentice.

The more manga I read that use it, the more I personally find the 4-koma format lacking for comedy based manga. Something about the abbreviated pacing throws off the tempo for me, and the jokes usually fall flat. The only 4-koma manga I recall really enjoying is much more drama than comedy.

In this particular case there’s also the issue that despite the fact that I enjoy manga, I find this “peek behind the curtain” to be a bit boring. It’s more about the characters, but said characters are largely one-note and I found myself rolling my eyes at the humor more often than chuckling. So for me it has neither enough interesting things to say about manga making nor a compelling enough cast to properly capitalize on its premise.

I’m in the minority regarding Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun and if quick comedy surrounding high school students who secretly work on popular shoujo manga sounds amusing to you by all means try it for yourself. But personally I had to force myself to finish even this one volume and won’t be continuing. It’s not bad, just too bland.

“What kind of ridiculous backstory is that?!”

Yeah, the title here is all the summary you need.

This is an amusing send up of action/Shounen manga, taking standard elements to their extremes and featuring a main character that has no equal and is so strong he’s bored. Outside of the over the top build up to fights completely described by the manga’s title, ridiculous amounts of emphasis are placed on odd things for comic effect both during the fights and when spotlighting One Punch Man’s past. His real worries are things like forgetting to do chores, side characters wear shirts labeling them generically (like one that reads “school child”), etc. The entire manga is built around how far absurdity can be pushed.

One Punch Man is a good parody, although I don’t know how much I could read before the humor gets stale. Fun first volume though.

“I can’t even say what’s gonna happen tomorrow. But as long as I’m with this girl…”

Minato Sahashi has failed his college placement exams for the second time and is considering giving up on life in the city when a girl modified for fighting falls from the sky and declares him her fated partner. He’s now part of an elimination game against other pairs for control of the universe.

Sekirei in no way shies away from what it is: an Ecchi action series. There’s heavy fanservice with nudity, super endowed fighting girls in search of partner/master with all the cliches that go with it, and a “game” being played among all the pairs with the fate of the world as the prize.

But acknowledging and embracing its core allows Sekirei to revel in its cliches and use them well, being quite entertaining overall. The romance between Minato and Musubi is charming despite “in your face” aspects, and there are a variety of intriguing plot threads being seeded.

Surprisingly good. Want to read more at some point.

“I hate that someone else changed him.”

Bell Cranel has big dreams of meeting and impressing the perfect girl while adventuring in his city’s monster filled dungeon. He’s off to a poor start when he becomes the damsel in distress and said dream girl rescues him. Further complications loom as the goddess he serves might just be jealous… 

There are several interesting core concepts here, but the test of the story going forward will be whether they will all come together in a compelling way. I like Hestia herself, but the god hierarchy, rivalries and schemes (not to mention the several page argument/taunting about breast sizes) all feel run of the mill at this point and aren’t as intriguing as Bell’s end of the story. So at the moment certain elements are much more engaging than others.

Bell’s central desire to get stronger is incredibly cliche, but so far it’s being done well and has a nice twist with his growth potential possibly allowing him to get too strong, too soon.

The RPG trappings of the world are acknowledged in world as fact, which allows some fun perversions of said trappings without explicit fourth wall breaking. For example, character’s actually have experience gained and other stats and skills magically appear on their back to be totaled and tracked by their god, and it’s treated as a completely normal part of life. This approach is odd, but presented and handled in a fun way.

Decent start. I could definitely see myself reading more.

“I need to become a respectable person.”

Orphan Rin Okumura and his brother Yukio were raised by famous exorcist Father Fujimoto. What Rin didn’t know was that he was being protected from the secret of his true nature and status as the child of Satan himself. After a heated argument leads to a dramatic and dire upsetting of the status quo, Rin vows to fight his dual heritage and become an exorcist himself. It won’t be easy…

Blue Exorcist takes a solid central idea and really runs with it. The key, as with any great story, is in the characters. The opening chapters firmly illustrate the current conditions of Rin’s life and naturally convey the motivations and frustrations behind his attitude and actions, as well as those of Father Fujimoto. The second half of the volume establishes his brother Yukio as another vital character with his own distinct views, goals, and personality. This all works together to ground the plot and action and make everything engaging.

And there’s plenty of action to get into. From dealing with bullies to facing the truth behind his situation to training at school, Rin’s journey contains a lot of chaos and it’s all well done. The tension is kept up nicely and the entire atmosphere adds nice layers to Rin’s internal conflicts and difficult choices.

Blue Exorcist strives to transcend it’s typical Shounen trappings and elements with depth. And so far it’s succeeding.