tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133835222011-06-07T23:40:19.145-07:00Reviews of various manga that I've run across. I'm starting with reviews of my favorites, of course.kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-72542895492954834382008-04-05T22:56:00.001-07:002008-04-05T22:56:40.400-07:00

I've decided to consolidate my blogs for simplicity, so new posts will be at tokyo kuri with the "manga" label.

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-41310238990371640712007-04-02T06:37:00.000-07:002007-04-02T07:05:55.498-07:00

Whew! Half a year later!Did I ever post a review of this? Even if I did, it's good to revisit this story; one of my all time favorites.A ways back, Viz published a little comic book called "Promise," containing the two stories "Promise" and "Since You've Been Gone", by Keiko Nishi. Promise blew me away. I still have an immediate emotional response just thinking about the comic; which I can

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1157975782090814612006-09-11T04:47:00.000-07:002006-09-11T04:58:21.263-07:00

Well, I have been slacking!I should figure out how to tag entries.Anyway, Yukie Nasu （那州雪絵） has volumes 3 and 4 of The Wizard's Daughter out in Japanese. I plan on picking them up soon. Creepy but good. I don't even like ghost stories! I really don't like them in fact, and yet I love these books. It's very contradictory.One of my favorite review sites is Emily's random shoujo manga page.

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1139966844746868442006-02-14T17:22:00.000-08:002006-02-14T17:43:56.166-08:00

Apparently VIZ picked up 仲村佳樹 Yoshiki Nakamura's "Skip Beat!" and the first book comes out in July.Skip Beat! Vol. 1MSRP: $8.99Length: 184 pagesISBN: 1421505851Language: EnglishIn stores: July 5, 2006Skip Beat! Vol. 2MSRP: $8.99Length: 208 pagesISBN: 142150586XLanguage: EnglishIn stores: September 5, 2006Must... own... English... version! But I already have 3-5 of the Japanese version. Perhaps

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1137990582798179132006-01-22T20:18:00.000-08:002006-01-22T20:40:43.090-08:00

For the time being, the only complete English edition of Slam Dunk is provided by a Singapore publisher, so I thought it would be convenient to list the ISBNs. All volumes appear available from Chuang Yi, so availability seems good. I think they've just about finished printing the last volume, #31.Info gleaned from Kinokuniya:Slam Dunk #01 ISBN:9812390901Slam Dunk #02 ISBN:9812392823Slam Dunk

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1137387330105258492006-01-15T20:51:00.000-08:002006-01-15T22:51:05.960-08:00

I'll update with more details but Geneon [Pioneer] has been distributing Slam Dunk on DVD for Toei Animation. They appear to be up to 5 disks, each about 125 minutes.The entire anime is 101 episodes long though; maybe 17 dvds in the Japanese edition. There are 4 OVAs and 1 movie.The U.S. DVDs stop at volume 5. Volume 6 was supposed to be released on August 16, 2005 but that doesn't appear to

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1132375624655721672005-11-18T20:40:00.000-08:002005-11-18T20:57:55.296-08:00

When you just want to know if a book is worth buying or not, a 5 star rating may not be clear enough to make that decision. I am considering a Ignore/Read/Buy rating. Since not everything worth reading is worth taking up valuable shelf space.Bleh: ok but...Read: worth readingBuy: worth reading againKeep/Hoard: force all your friends to read it; buy all versions of the books; buy any related

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1132192040507590352005-11-16T17:39:00.000-08:002006-02-14T18:17:05.943-08:00

English publication version to date (there should be 11 volumes). From the publisher Viz's web site. The page for "Here is Greenwood" exists but the link looks likely to change at any moment. Overstock.com currently carries 6, 7, and some others that cannot be identified yet as Viz has not put up the ISBN numbers yet. As always, check the ISBNs to make sure you're ordering what you want to

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1132191579487521892005-11-16T17:35:00.000-08:002005-11-16T17:39:39.503-08:00

North American readers may know that the first 5 volumes of Slam Dunk were published by Gutsoon in 2003 or so. Gutsoon has since folded and I don't know if another publisher has picked up the rest of the series.However, there is hope for English consumers! Because the Singapore publisher Chuang Yi is almost finished printing their translation of the story. At the moment they're at book 29 or

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1128571975724386582005-10-05T21:03:00.000-07:002005-10-05T21:12:55.730-07:00

Japanese title: メンクイ！genre: shounen-aisummary: Cute romance between two high school boys. The main character is a boy named Kotori (小鳥） who's known for liking pretty faces. "面食い（めんくい）" translates as a person who only likes good-looking people. The dictionary specifies "a man who likes only good-looking girls", but as this is a shonen-ai story, that certainly doesn't apply! Kotori thinks he's

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1127986552234272482005-09-29T02:34:00.000-07:002006-02-14T18:16:36.336-08:00

More comics to buy:New Seikimatsu Darling from Maki Naruto (なると真樹).I'm glad that Junkudo has them in stock! I have a feeling they'll be out of stock in the Shinjuku store, but worth a look.新・世紀末・ダーリン　３なると　真樹 著　実業之日本社 版600円（税込）　2004年03月 発行　ISBN4-408-43404-3書棚は、耽美コミックその他です。 在庫僅少 1冊新・世紀末・ダーリン　２なると　真樹 著　実業之日本社 版600円（税込）　2003年10月 発行　ISBN4-408-43397-7書棚は、耽美コミックその他です。 在庫僅少 1冊

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1127795976133098082005-09-26T21:34:00.000-07:002005-09-26T21:39:36.136-07:00

Tenchi Muyo (aka No Need for Tenchi) indeed, no need at all!Oh My Goddess! (Ah Megamisama!)Marmalade Boy and anything by that author I used to be a big fan, but it all got old after a while.Fushigi Yuugi, Mysterious Ceres and anything by that author Again, I used to be a big fan, but it all got old.Fruits Basket I should refer to it as Fruit Basket just to be annoying. Good

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1124856783372648942005-08-23T20:54:00.000-07:002006-02-14T18:14:37.843-08:00

Overall rating: 4 /5 stars (good, but scary! Slightly predictable probably for people who like scary stories, but well done nontheless)Title (Japanese): 魔法使いの娘(1) (まほうつかいのむすめ mahou tsukai no musume)Author (Japanese): 那州雪絵（なすゆきえ）Author (English): Yukie NasuSummary: Hatsune （鈴の木初音） is a self-described "extremely normal" high school girl with a very abnormal father Muzan Suzunoki （鈴の木無山）. Muzan is a

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1124767680440546782005-08-22T20:26:00.000-07:002005-08-22T20:34:26.030-07:00

If overstock.com carries a particular book, it's usually at least 10% cheaper than Amazon. I got all of my Here is Greenwood books from there :) And a Miss Manners book. And quite a good selection of Diana Wynne Jones.You should double check the ISBN numbers to make sure that you order the book that you want. The Slam Dunk books that overstock carries are mostly the spanish editions. I

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1124763553502595712005-08-22T19:18:00.000-07:002005-08-22T19:19:13.506-07:00

Tenchi Muyou! is overrated. Just like Oh My Goddess!

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1124184463116231852005-08-16T02:26:00.000-07:002005-08-16T02:31:01.076-07:00

But it's "Here is Greenwood"! I can't be expected not to buy it. I mean, it's available in English. It's not like I bought the DVDs (yet, haha).I can only be expected to have a certain amount of self-control.Speaking of self-control, I bought way too much at the 60th anniversary limited display of the Moomin Trolls. A one week exhibit at the Isetan department store in Shinjuku. Gosh, it was

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1122883667023482422005-08-01T01:06:00.001-07:002006-02-14T18:13:38.433-08:00

Overall rating: 4/5 starsTitle (Japanese): スキップビート!Author (English): Yoshiki NakamuraAuthor (Japanese): 仲村佳樹 （なかむらよしき）Total books: 8 or more so far?Summary: Welcome to the world of Japanese entertainment! For people unfamililar with the world of Japanese television and music, it's quite an interesting introduction to the industry. Solid, very interesting plot, and very nice characterizations.

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1122883614614027302005-08-01T01:06:00.000-07:002006-02-14T18:13:58.373-08:00

Overall Rating: 3 or 4/5 stars (first 2 or 3 books are really good, but by the 4th it's starting to turn into a normal shojo comic)Title (Japanese): ビューティーポップAuthor (Japanese): あらいきよこAuthor (English): Kiyoko AraiPublisher: Flower Comics (Ciao)Summary: high school comedy about a laid-back hair styling genius and the unwanted rivalry with an older classmate at her school. Fun, especially the

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1122519959972309272005-07-27T20:04:00.000-07:002006-02-14T18:13:14.456-08:00

Overall Rating: 4/5 starsAuthor (English): Yukie NasuAuthor (Japanese): 那州雪絵　（なすゆきえ）Title (Japanese): ここはグリーン・ウッドPublisher (U.S.A): VIZTotal books (単行本 tankoubon): 11Total books (文庫 bunko): 6Summary: High school comedy about life in an unusual dorm at a boy's school.I adore this series. I gave it 4 out of 5 because while I adore it, it's not a classic on the same scale as "Nausicaa of the Valley

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1122519128061994942005-07-27T19:34:00.000-07:002006-02-14T18:15:23.533-08:00

Overall rating: 5/5 starsTitle (Japanese): スラムダンクAuthor (English): Takehiko InoueAuthor (Japanese): 井上武彦(いのうえたけひこ）Total books (単行本 tankoubon): 31Total books (完全版 perfect version): 24Publisher (U.S.A.): Gutsoon (closed)Publisher (Singapore): Chuang YiPublisher (Japan): Jump ComicsSummary: A high school freshman named Hanamichi Sakuragi has been rejected 50(?) times since junior high school. A bit

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1122517559516776922005-07-27T19:23:00.000-07:002006-02-14T18:14:56.073-08:00

Overall rating: 5/5 starsTitle (Japanese): 風の谷のナウシカア(need to check spelling)Author (English): Hayao MiyazakiAuthor (Japanese): 宮崎駿（みやざきはやお）Publisher (U.S.A): VIZ, Inc.Summary: What if only pockets of livable land remained on Earth, and they were growing ever smaller? A complete masterpiece. An underlying message of the sanctity of life and the importance of the environment.Detailed review:

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13383522.post-1117787193887405412005-06-03T01:19:00.000-07:002005-06-03T01:28:37.046-07:00

I've been reading a lot of manga (Japanese comics) lately, so thought I might as well make a separate log for reviews and other comments.When choosing a blogspot url, everything I tried was taken, so I eventually went with Skip Beat, the most recent series from one of my favorite authors, Yoshiki Nakamura.My favorite titles are:*Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue Real is also quite good. Vagabond is

kuri*http://www.blogger.com/profile/02526803458973814141noreply@blogger.com0