What I Just Read: "Another" and "Otomen" Volume 16 (Manga Reviews)

Title: Another
Story: Yukito Ayatsuji
Art: Hiro Kiyohara
US Publisher: Yen Press
ISBN: 978-0316245913

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

First Impressions:

I couldn't get passed the first few episodes of the anime because it was too slow, but in manga form I can follow it.  Wow... does nobody notice the mass psychosis? All right, I'm going to put aside the absurdity of this curse and accept and enjoy the story that's being told.

Breakdown --

Artwork A: The color pages are gorgeous and the comic artwork is uncluttered. There is a lot of focus on faces and eyes, while having just enough background to indicate place and mood.  The characters look like middle schoolers, the adults look like adults, and there's very little fanservice to distract from the story.  There is also nice use of screentones to create the dark atmosphere. The artwork balances well with the story -- it supports the story rather than overshadowing the story.

Presentation A- : This is tome! The thickness made it difficult to read in the tub and the gym. I think it would have been better to break it into two volume omnibuses rather than packing all 4 volumes into one book. However, the book is so lovely that all is forgive.  The cover is striking.  The hot pink and contrasting purple and gray appeal to me. There are quite a few lovely color page between each volume. And then there's the large size. I love larger size manga because my eyesight is crap and I need larger text. The translation also read smoothly and naturally.  Needless to say, at $17.99, this is an excellent bargain considering it's four volumes ($4.50/volume!!!).

Story B: The story itself is ridiculous. While reading this, so many solutions to the "curse" crossed my mind, including the most obvious solution of everybody recognizing the mass psychosis. Curse stories usually annoy me in this sense because they become self-fulfilling prophecies. But... the curse must be forced or else there would not be a story.  The central mystery of the story doesn't become apparent until the end. Once the revelation of how to stop the curse is made, the story becomes very paced paced and nail-biting. I like Sakakibara and Mei, the two main characters. The side characters were good too, accept for the crazy wench that goes all Lord of the Flies toward the end. I didn't like her and I suppose that was the point of her nasty character.

Overall A-: This is an enjoyable read if you accept the curse and let the story take you into its world.  The artwork is nice and the presentation is excellent.  I encourage readers to purchase this omnibus.  At $17.99, you will get a lot of bang for your buck.
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Title: Otomen Volume 16
Story and Art: Aya Kanno
US Publisher: Viz -- Shojo Beat
ISBN:  978-1421554808

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Mini Review: C+
Ryo and the Otomen boys put on a play and Asuka's mom decides to save her son from his feminine ways by ruining his life. This volume closes the Yamato arc and in general signals the series is ending soon. I was kinda "meh" about this volume, but it was a quick read, so I was okay with it. Obviously the series had run too long, so the entire volume felt like filler, with a sudden rush of plot at the end.　The rushed feeling at the end is kinda weird considering that there are 2 more volumes to go!

Manga Review: Otomen vol 1 - 3

Volumes 1 - 3 of "Otomen" are out in English from Viz. I read through these volumes and I still think this manga is very sweet. After the first three volumes, though, I don't know if the sweetness hold up. Looking at Bessatsu Hana to Yume I know the series takes a long detour in which it appears that Asuka and his fellow Otomen become roadies for a rock band. The whole rock band detour turned me off so much that I haven't bothered to even look at the Japanese text. The other thing I noticed, even after reading the first 3 volumes, there is no tension in the story that is driving me find the next chapter. I think the series has a great premise, but ultimately Asuka is so wonderful, there is no dramatic tension despite his Otomen ways. In conclusion, I recommend this manga if you are looking for something really cute and laid-back. If you are looking for drama, humor, romance, and gay or straight tension then skip this and read "VB Rose" instead.

Here's a link to some more of what I've written about Otomen

Link

Rating 3/5

New Manga (to me): Otomen

After reading a brief synopsis on Manga-Updates, I finally decided to check out "Otomen." This has got to be one of the cutest manga I've read in a while. It's the story of Asuka, a young man who likes girly things and had girly hobbies (Otome + man), who hides his true self to please his mother. He was doing pretty well until he started crushing on Ryou. In comes Tachibana, an irritant, who decides that he's going to propel Asuka's relationship with Ryou on for his own selfish reasons. The cutest thing about this is Asuka, who is strong and cool and oh, so pure hearted and somehow this combination of protector and nuturer seems much more manily than physical strength alone. I also believe that there are more men out there like Asuka, who like things that are stereotypically considered girly, and hide their tendencies for fear of being called "gay" and ridiculed. I think this is a tragedy. Guys who can cook and have soft hearts are HOT!!! Anyhow, I liked this series so much, I bought all the available volumes of this manga from Yes Asia. The series is also currently running in "Bessatsu Hanato Yume", which I also get. The first 6 chapters are out there in the ether, so check this series out! As I read through the bunko, I'll give updates :).

Manga Review: You are My Girlfriend

"Your are my Girlfriend" is a short 4 chapter series about a girl, Hatsune, who is unable to make female friends because of her foul mouth and uppity attitude. After all of the clubs in the school reject her, she meets Kirie, the president of the "Maiden's Club." Kirie comes from a family with all girl siblings, so he's into girly things and has a make-over fetish. Kirie is able to see past Hatsune's foul mouth and attitude and becomes her first friend. Hatsume, of course, assumes Kirie is gay and so the fun begins. This is very nice and compact story and I'm glad it was limited to 4 chapters because there wasn't anymore story beyond that. I give this 4/5 for being very good, but it wasn't provocative or funny enough for me to feel that I would read the series again.