Quote Roundup June 2011

Carl Kimlinger's entire review on Vampire Knight Guilty: "And there are rumblings even this early of an overarching plot, mostly from the hints dropped about a "true enemy" as well as the preparations being made for the resurrection of someone. (No one ever resurrects insignificant dweebs.)"  "Despite improved plotting (no more evil twins, thank god) and progressively cleaner integration of its romantic and non-romantic content, Vampire Knight still puts off a melodramatic stink that can be smelled (and by certain among us, savored) from miles off.. . . You can have my melodrama, Guilty may as well be saying, when you pry it from my shapely undead fingers."

Jason Thompson: "Chikyu Misaki juggles these plot threads well. It's part mystery, part science fiction, part comedy, part cute animals, and part steamy bath scenes with teenage girls and long-necked, frisky water monsters. (But like Carl Horn once said, the bath scenes are just to show that the manga is clean, so put away your dirty thoughts.) It's more or less suitable for younger teens, although there's just a tiny dash of yuri crushes and some shota-moe in the person of the adorable Neo. Really, considering how many sleepovers and bath scenes there are, it's amazing how little fanservice there is, so if your parent or schoolteacher is offended by this manga, tell them to suck it. (Excuse me, let me get back to the Sebastian-the-butler persona. I meant, tell them to "look at it in context.")"

Melinda Beasi: "To my mind, Hikaru no Go is one of those rare all-ages manga (or at least rare in translation) that genuinely reads well for all ages. It was you who quoted C.S. Lewis recently, wasn’t it? 'No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.'"

Carl Kimlinger on Hanasaku Iroha: "That may sound bright, but to begin with it's actually pretty grim going; mainly because the cast is seemingly composed of total jerks. The inn's staff is uniformly disagreeable: Minko is a witch, Tohru is a dick, Nako is a doormat, and Ohana's grandmother is a special kind of monster, an unyielding, intolerant old bat with the kindness and warmth of a crowbar to the head. Their treatment of Ohana is callous and unfair (she's beaten for inconveniencing a guest) and worse yet, thoroughly unrealistic."

Michelle Smith on 13th Boy: "You might not think that convincing a teenage girl to give up her stuffed animal would be riveting drama, but it really is."

Katherine Dacey on Grand Guignol Orchestra: "Worse still, Yuki feels the need to include closed captions for the emotionally impaired . . .."

Michelle Smith on One Piece: "I must also mention that many of Luffy’s allies are drag queens who rush into the fray whilst wearing fishnets and high heels. No one bats an eye, because in this universe, it’s a given truth that anyone can be brave and awesome, even if they’re a man wearing a tutu."
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