What I read in June 2013: Digest Version, part 1 of 3

b 07Ghost 1-4: Holy unexpected license rescue, Batman!  This series is still kind of a sloppy mess, but the story underneath all the slop is compelling enough that I will support this license rescue and learn all the names again in this different translation.  Teito gets better acquainted with his inner Mikhail and then loses his Eye.  He decides to take the test to enter the clergy anyway, and he and his new friend (the nice Oak guy) train and team up and do their best.  Unfortunately, the church is attacked while the test is going on.  Will Teito even have time to pass the test before the church is blasted down around him?  You have to wait until the next volume to find out.

b Ai No Kusabi 8:So I read volume 7 and was told volume 8 was the last, and I was trying to figure out how it could possibly end that quickly with all the threads it had outstanding and without being some stupid, cop-out, fake-y happy ending.  Instead, it kept on its determined course, ignored lots of dangly bits, buckled down and focused, and continued to the end of its path, turned the tragedy on 150%.  This has always been a really dark series, with two protagonists who loved each other but were ill-equipped to realize it or do anything even remotely positive about it.  I wanted them to be happy, as I do all folks in love, but it just didn't seem in the cards.  In the end, I guess they sort of were as happy as it was possible for them to be.  Bitter, bittersweet ending.

"He could hope.  All I have to do is not quit."

"It might break your heart, but there's love that can only be expressed the way they lived it."

b Ai Ore! 4:Uh-oh!  The power-crazed student council president finds out the our heroine is dating a boy from a crappy school.  So what does she do?  Lock her up without pants, of course!  (I have no idea sometimes.)  When her boyfriend Akira finds out, he's on a mission to reform his school and prove that it's not completely full of total losers.  Except that it sort of is, and extreme measures have to be taken to make the place more respectable.  New character: Banbi is this huge, facially-scarred, quiet guy who turns out to be a really nice rich boy also tired of being judged by his thug-like appearance.  I am a big fan of Banbi because he has NO CREEPY INTENTIONS towards Akira, which is unfortunately refreshing . . .

b Boys Over Flowers 34-36 of 36: Yuki ends up in a unique position: she can give Sojiro another chance with the (only) girl he (ever) loved, which she does because she really loves him (and wants what's good for him even if it makes her miserable).  While it turns out that Sojiro doesn't love the girl any more, he still gets a proper chance at closure.  Then he decides to start being a player again, and Yuki is first in line . . .  Err . . .  I give up.  Anyway, Tsukasa's father collapses, and his one year grace period sort of evaporates.  He's  leaving, but he can't quite find the right moment to tell Tsukushi, so things are awkward as he keeps screwing up and she keeps freaking out.  He keeps asking her to marry him, and she keeps dodging the question, so when he makes the public announcement that he'll be moving to the United States for college, he promises he'll come back for her when he graduates.  They have one last day together, and maybe one last night, but Tsukushi ends up falling in a pool and getting a fever, and Tsukasa doesn't push it.  Then it's time for prom and graduation, and Tsukushi's parents lose their jobs again, so she might not get to go back for her senior year (not that she's terribly disappointed).  Her family moves on the day of the prom, and her dress gets ripped, so she shows up all sweaty and bruised from moving and in her civvies.  She gets one last dance with the guys, which is kind of a hoot.  Her family also decides to work their tails off to make sure she can keep going to Eitoku, and she decides the same thing because there are people waiting for her there.  To close things out, there's a lovely little short about Akira and some of the crap he's had to put up with keeping things in balance for the F4.  Oh, Rui Hanazawa, you are still pretty great, and I wish she'd chosen you.

"In four years from now, if you come back a good man, I could make you very happy!"

What I read in January 2013: Digest Version, part 2 of 2

b Ouran High School Host Club 11: The sports festival charges on to its hilariously stupid conclusion as the manipulator becomes the manipulated.  Every time I pick up a volume of this series to read, I wonder why it's been so long since I read it.  I just really love the mix of sitcom goofiness and actual character growth that occurs over the long haul.  A great good time all around.
"As long as the people we care about understand us, the other stuff doesn't matter. Don't you agree?"

b Pandora Hearts 12-13:  Oh, Pandora Hearts, you are killing me with your fabulous and tortured characters and their increasingly convoluted relationships with each other.  Reim is dead; Xerxes is out for revenge, the headhunter is on a rampage, the orphans are involved, and the tragedy of Sabelier is trying to happen again.  There is no way this series can come out fast enough.  Eeeee!

b Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro 3: I waited so long for this volume!!!!!  And it was great.  More short comics that somehow do tell a wandering story.  I'm not sure if it will ultimately be a tragedy or a triumph.  Yen is doing a great jobn sticking with this one and giving it the lovely color treatment.  I have no idea if/when the next volume will come out, but I will be buying it if it ever sees the light of day.  I must know what fate awaits everyone!

b Skip Beat 30: Still deep in their role playing for the sake of this TV series, Kyoko and Ren are both struggling a bit.  And there's a 3rd player: the star of the show has taken a liking to the character Kyoko is playing off-screen, and he's feeling really challenged as an actor by the character Ren is playing.  Things are getting dangerous.  It's awesome!!!!

b Train*Train 3:  More adventures of a boy and his prairie dog.  Not really but sort of.  The wacky hijinks continue at Minami-Kitazawa Train station where all the employees are handsome in different ways.  Generally dumb fun.

b YuYu Hakusho 9: Things are brutal in the tournament.  Yusuke is unconscious, trying to process taking in Genkai's powers, and the rest of the team has to step up in his place, which is hard because of all the cheating from the tournament brass.  Sheesh.  Love the action, sarcastic banter, and tension, even though I know who will win through in the end.

What I read in May: Digest Version, part 4 of 4

So, so random.  Marimo Ragawa, author of Baby & Me, a sweet and touching slice of life series published in the US by VIZ (and winner of the Kodansha manga award?) has won the Manga Taisho award for her shonen manga Mashiro no Oto, which appears to be about a group of high school kids who play the shamisen?! 

b Seiho Boys High School 4-5: Every time I read this series, I am reminded for some reason of Fumi Yoshinaga, and it turns out I'm not the only one (see here) and here: "There’s a slight taste of Fumi Yoshinaga’s character observation and development skills, and that was what got me to stop hating it after the first chapter."  Sometimes it's a particular drawing or framing of an image, and sometimes it's a character observation or situation.  Anyway, it's a favorable comparison.  : )  So if you need at least a few good giggles check out this other take on what it's like in an isolated boys' high school . . .

b Stellar Six of Gingacho 1: Oh, this series is just delightful.  It's bursting with energy, and I'm a sucker for stories that have a bit of melancholy nostalgia.  Here's hoping they stay friends until long after that next meteor shower . . .  And, you know that someone rescues the license, so I can read about their further adventures.

b Sugar Sugar Rune 3-5: This slightly twisted magical girl story comes to you from the pen of Mayoco Anno, which shouldn't be a surprise.  I love the combination of sweet and creepy, and I really like the story as it's heading deeper into this idea of two magical races that have been at war and how they might be stopped.  I'm a little sad about all the deception and the willingness of people to believe the worst about each other, and it is overdramatized a bit, but not to the point of ridiculousness.  I do want there to be a happy ending, and I would like to be able to read it in English . . .

I wonder why we stopped being honest like we were when we were kids? 

Everyone's feelings for another person have a little drop of poison in them. 

"If you wish to eat whatever you want and never gain weight, it means your heart will never be fulfilled."

b Tsubasa: Those with Wings2-3:  "If you want to save the world, plow the fields and plant seeds."  So this one ended with a lot of twists and the kind of plotting that pushes it more firmly into the territory of fantasy even as it tries to convince that it's sci-fi.  Who cares.  Sometimes it was a bit of a slog, but I don't regret reading it.  I mean, it's rare to read a shojo where the hero is kind of a rogue and spends an inordinately large amount of time trying to get into the heroine's pants . . . Caution: if you're looking for Fruits Basket art or content, don't be fooled by the covers.

"Loving someone that much makes you feel strangely lonely inside, doesn't it?  That loneliness doesn't go away easily.  And it won't go away even if you were to learn all about me.  No matter how much you know about your partner, no matter how deep your love is for them, that little kernal of loneliness will still be there, and that kernal breeds the need to reaffirm your love over and over." 

---

"But having a dream, an ideal you can hold onto, can help you keep your chin up and look forward to the future!  It can give you courage to try, and to work hard at whatever you want to do!"

"I think I've just realized that I may be a tad jealous of you.. . . My deep interest in you may perhaps stem from the fact that I am--all unthinkingly and naturally--jealous of you for possessing something twisted people like myself do not.  Honesty, purity, integrity, those are things the cynical have little to do with."

---

"Why is it that when people try to make themselves happy, they always seem to feel the need to sacrifice other peoples' lives to do so?"

--- 

No matter how much you love the person, no matter how precious they are to you, sometimes you just don't get a happy ending.

b Utahime: A sad and lovely story about what people will sacrifice to protect the people they love and about the darkness of human nature and the triumph of quiet, dedicated love to bring salvation and freedom.  The art is really lovely, too.

"For once in your life, why don't you decide something for yourself?!  All of today, no, ever since I met you, you haven't made a single decision for yourself!  You even told me yourself that the reason you left home was so you wouldn't stand between your sister and this Thomas fellow.  You act like people and circumstances forced you to leave, but in reality, you just chose to leave because you felt uncomfortable there, didn't you?  Can't you do anything unless you have somebody to blame for your actions?. . .

"Just so you know, it's not that I'm speechless, I'm just thinking." 

"Do you even know how pathetically lame that excuse sounded?

b VB Rose 8: Frilly, girly, emotional giddiness that I adore.  Finally, a confession has taken place.  Things are awkward!  There is jealousy!  There is another confession!  Squee!

b Whistle! 5: Good, fun-loving teamwork goodness.  In this volume, we see the power of nice and teamwork versus the snotty, punk-a-rrific star player on an opposing team.  Who will win?!  Well, you'll have to wait for volume 6 . . .

What I read in May: Digest Version, part 1 of 4

b Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys 19-20: !!!!!  Coming down to the wire.  It twists, it turns, it makes me really impatient.  What will happen?!  Arggggghhh!

b Bride's Story 3: Oh, what a heartbreaker this was.  Once reviewer mentioned that she liked the fact that this was more like sociology than improbably romance.  True.  There were cultural forces at play, and, well, at least nobody died.  Yet.  The political situation is heating up, and I'm worried for Mr. Smith . . .  Will he be able to get out of the country without being captured by the Russians? 

b Cross Game 4: More quiet, character-driven baseball team member action on and off the field.  Oh, I want Touch and other good ones by this author!  Everyone please buy this, so that maybe someone will license Touch.  That makes it sound like I only encourage folks to read this as a means to an end.  That's not it.  This series is great.  I just know there's even more out there by Adachi, and I want to read and enjoy it, too.

b CROWN 2: Super-ridiculous Cinderella sort of story with art by someone I adore.  Only two volumes ever came out here, but I'm curious what happens next.  Rats.

b Itazura Na Kiss Volume 6: More obnoxious adventures of two people I sort of can't stand.  So why is it that I like this series so much?  I guess it's not quite as static as a sitcom because things do change, and people do change slowly in real life.  I just didn't expect marriage so soon!  An odd thing to say when I think we're actually 12 regular volumes in, come to think of it . . . 

b Kitchen Princess 8-9: Oh, the drama!  He loves her, and so does he, but who does she love?  And who really is her flan prince?!  If you don't know by now, you have some problems.  Will there be a happy ending?  One more volume to go!

What I read in April: Digest Version, part 2 of 3

b Dawn of the Arcana 1-3:   Yes, volume three ends about where I would have liked volume 1 to end, but I have been reading a lot of shonen lately, so maybe that's why I feel so frustrated at all the meandering and wasted time and space setting up the main conflict.  Where volume three leaves off makes me look forward to its future potential for awesome.

b A Devil and Her Love Song 1-2: "You may be right.  Who I am isn't the same as who I want to be.  I need to start accepting that."  This one is kind of tough to read sometimes but worth it.  The author does tend to smack you over the head with references to the title that might make you cringe.  The main character has a lot of issues interacting with other human beings, and that's always awkward to see.
As a non-people-person, I often made friends with this kind of misfit because they were usually quite interesting and no one else seemed to want to put forth the effort.  There are still some unbelievable extremes in terms of outlying characters, but I think the author's still sort of trying to find her legs, and I suspect this one will be a keeper, too.  It has these moments of greatness.  One reviewer complained that who she would end up with in the love triangle was a foregone conclusion, but I disagree.

b Itazura Na Kiss 4-5: Again, these are people I would hate in real life, but that's why God gave us fiction books.  Our plucky (obnoxious) young heroine vacilates back and forth about her love for him and his love for her.  Hints are dropped.  Fiances are picked up out of nowhere, and silliness occurs.  Also a near-heart attack.  Exciting and simple romantic comedy of errors that's alarmingly addictive in small doses.

b Kitchen Princess 7: Guess what?  There's cooking!  Also a former rival becomes a big fan, and I hate the dad even more than ever!  What is his problem?  He sticks out in this manga like a sore thumb.  Yes, lots of stuff is ridiculous, but it is totally understandable.  This guy's hatred and behavior do not fall under that category.  I am waiting for whatever ridiculous shojo explanation is forthcoming.

b Kekkaishi 31: I should just stop reading these until I get all of them and then have one massive, massive marathon of awesome.  There are so many tiny plot threads and connections that I am totally missing due to my terrible book memory.  Oh, Kekkaishi, how I love your dark and mysterious and complicated shonen goodness.

b Kieli 6: The Sunlit Garden Where It Began (Part 2): Not surprisingly, this was a downer.  Harsh, dude.  And creepy.  And very, very sad.  Part of the growing sadness is the knowledge that one of the characters is dying, and the likelihood of any romantic future is fading nearly as fast as said character.  I am going to cry a lot when this character dies down the road.  And every time this character does something right or makes a choice to open up and share and be honest and have a real relationship with the other main character, it will be another twist of the knife because time is short, and the relationship is so, so doomed.  I really like this series for all its flaws, and I'm rooting for an impossibly happy but satisfying ending but would put up with a quietly tragic one if the remaining character is able to go on and live a good life because the time spent with the dead character.  Is that quite convoluted enough to avoid spoilers?  : )

b Kuro Gane 5 of 5: Hm.  This "ending" felt really abrupt but not totally enraging.  The journey will go on, but not the books.  This was a really odd series with interesting brush-stroke art, a fascinating sort-of steam-punk boy and his dog/wandering ronin storyline, and some great amoral characters.

What I read in February: Digest Version, part 3 of 5

b Kitchen Princess 5:  Oh, hooray!  Who knew basketball would come to our princess' rescue when she has a bout of overuse tendonitis at a rotten time.  And older bro grows a spine and actually confronts his father!  Good volume!

b Library Wars 7:  Oh, politics.  I hate them.  Someone does something bad and then tries to get our heroine in trouble for it.  Grueling appearances before a panel of less-than-unbiased judges and ostracism by everyone but her closest friends are really taking their toll on Iku.  I hate it when politics stomps on the idealists who just want to be doing what's best/the right thing/working together with everyone to make the world a better place.  Stand firm, kids.

b Me & My Brothers Volume 11 of 11:  I bet you can't guess how this romantic comedy ends!  Aww.

b MW: So, if you feel like you really need to read something depressing that will kind of make you wish the end of the story was the destruction of the world, look no further.  Not one of Tezuka's cheerier works, I recommend only reading it in a puddle of sunlight possibly with a puppy nearby to cuddle.  Wait, not a dog.  Er, maybe a non-dog stuffed animal . . .

b Natsume's Book of Friends 11: Oh, Natsume.  Poor, poor Natsume.  We see some more of Natsume's past and the cruelty of children and the beauty of friendship and memories (even the ones that hurt) and the casual cultural cruelty that can exist between yokai and humans.  This series is so beautiful and gentle and melancholy, and I love it and wish I could give it a huge hug.

b Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan 1: Kind of silly, kind of goofy, still finding its feet.  Not astounding but definitely promising.

b Only Serious About You 1-2 of 2:  A bit of gloss-over of the custody issue doesn't really derail anything as this story of an unusual family comes to an end.  Some of the best depictions of tenderness I've ever seen in manga.  It's a sweet picture of what it means to be family.  A charming story well told and likely to be reread frequently when I am feeling crabby or cynical.  Well done.

What I read in February: Digest Version, part 2 of 5

b Drops of God 2:  This is a manga about a guy competing with a professional wine critic to inherit a ridiculous wine collection.  Dirt licking is common.  In this volume, our hero faces off against a co-worker who is a champion of Italian wines. ("Fauxtalian Chosuke" should be the name of a band.)  Friends are made, wine is imbibed, and a wonderful time is had by all.

b Genkaku Picasso 2: More weird and creepy heart diving in this episode of outcast artist boy saves the world of his classmates and usually makes a fool of himself in awkward and embarrassing ways.  This series is just odd in the best sense of the word.  And the art, the art!  Compelling stuff.

b IC in a Sunflower: The literal translation is apparently something like "The Sunflower Quality of an Integrated Circuit."  This is some interesting stuff.  One story was about a future where pornography was totally legal, and the birthrate was dropping dangerously drastically because teens and young adults just weren't interested in sex anymore.  Seriously.

b ICO Castle in the Mist: Too much fun.  Technically, this is a video game adaptation, but it's by Miyuki Miyabe (Brave Story), so it's pretty much just awesome fantasy swashbuckling, rescuing, mystery-solving goodness.

b Itazura Na Kiss 1: I kind of hate the main characters, and I would move to another city to avoid going to high school with them, but something about this series is just addictive anyway.

b Kamisama Kiss 4: I'm still enjoying it, but it's a bit tiresomely superficial at times.  I want to like the main character, but she's kind of shallow and silly.  I guess I'm reading it wanting it to be more serious than it is, which is my fault.  I'm still reading because it's fun.

b Kekkaishi 30: Oh, man!  The tension is slowly rising, mysteries are bubbling to the surface, people are lying, betraying, appearing, disappearing, and still trying to get stronger, make their own decisions, and protect the people important to them.  And finally, finally we discover why Masamori didn't get the mark.  It makes sense in retrospect.

What I read in February: Digest Version, part 1 of 5

The trouble with not having sufficient self-control to keep you from reading your favorite manga when they arrive is that then you have to wait FOREVER for the next volume. Until then, there are other books to read.

b Bamboo Blade 1: "What a terrible man.  What a horrible, worthless adult.  He's like the model for everything wrong with adulthood.. . . What a scumbag."  Really, he is.  Every time you think maybe the author will reveal something admirable, it hilariously turns out to just be another nail in the coffin.  But this story is actually about girls and kendo and being a hero of justice.  It's a bit reminiscent of Yawara if the grandpa wasn't so awful and the arena was the high school club instead of national competitions and the main character was more like the one from Nabari no Ou.  Hmmm.

b Black Butler VI: The tale of a boy bent on revenge and his dog, er, butler.  More smirking, more needling on both sides.  More morally dubious actions (and beyond dubious).  There is a plot forming slowly into larger story arcs, but this could go on a long time because the flashbacks indicate there were probably a lot of people there that he has to kill before his contract is up.

b Black Jack 1-5:  Oh, I'm sorry I didn't start reading this sooner.  It's a lot of fun, and the romance stories are so sweet (and more than a little creepy and dated, but anyone who doesn't expect that of a work written decades ago is a bit silly.

b Book Girl and the Captured Angel: This time the plot tangles with The Phantom of the Opera and introduces a highly intriguing character it then throws away at the end, which is irksome because I could see him being useful.  Small advances are made on the overall plot, and a certain mysterious girl working evil in the background is likely going to be in the foreground next time.  I hope the book deals with her well because the set-up has been excruciating.  I do love that the main character is slowly developing and growing.  Maybe by the next volume, he'll be strong enough to handle his nemesis.

b Border 3: I will admit that I really didn't want a whole volume about the young, innocent genius kid in the group.  There are so many characters I wanted to know more about more.  And I still Want books about them, which is why I hope this series continues and gives me what I want.  The problem with the series overall is I'm not sure how everything will come together since there's not exactly an overarching plot or even strong hints of one.  Not that I care, of course.  This is a character-centric series that has lots of characters with pasts and presents that are interesting, and they interact with each other well.  This might just be a journey manga more than a destination manga, and it's okay if there's no solid happy ending as long as there's more good stuff about these characters.

b Bride's Story 1-2:  This is gorgeous, richly illustrated, breathtakingly overwhelmingly lovely stuff.  It's very slice of life, so if you don't really like observing other cultures or appreciating minute details and nuance, you might actually lose consciousness in the first chapter.  Please don't drool on the book.  Wow.  Just great stuff.  I'm glad I waited to read it until I had two, so I could immerse myself in a silk road mini-marathon.

b The Cage of Zeus: Kind of talky, kind of clunky sci-fi novel that is Trying to Make a Statement About Gender and does so with kind of ham-handed prose.  Interesting when you know it's coming from Japan and what kinds of cultural mindsets they deal with there.  The pronouns were super awkward, but that's mostly English's fault.  The Amazon review is actually really thorough, if you're interested.

What I read in December: Digest Version, part 3 of 4

b Loveless 1-8: Giddy with the news that VIZ license rescued this series (and will be starting by publishing the unreleased volumes first), I couldn't resist a reread.  That was a bad idea.  Now I'm still on that cliffhanger, waiting to find out what happens to the friend!

b My Heavenly Hockey Club 4: More ridiculous antics of the field hockey club that never plays a real game of field hockey.  There's travel and hijinks and interruption to people's sleep schedules and probably something you can't unsee because Ai Morinaga is very, very good at that.

b Natsume's Book of Friends 10: Natsume meets up with an old friend, and it doesn't end in total disaster.  Then more clashes between Natsume and Nattori.  One review I read said they wondered how long they can stay friends.  The tension between them is not letting up.  It can't be resolved unless one of them changes something fundamental about himself.

b NG Life 2, 7:  Oh, Keidai.  I like how this series holds up for repeated readings.  Still funny, still dramatic, full of characters who are a hoot in both time periods.  So nice.

b Only Serious about You 1: When is volume 2 coming out?  I don't know that I've ever come across a series that moves so slowly and deliberately and with such tenderness, affection, and lack of sentimentality.  There's a relationship here, and I'm really looking forward to finding out how things work themselves out in the last volume.

b Real 10: I love how unhurried this series is; that's one of the things that allows it to be so real.  No fakey rah rah inspirational easy answer crap.  Despair and baby steps.  I can finally see the light, though, even if he can't.  Keep "walking," dude.  And other people, keep walking, too.

b Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei 7: More snark and social commentary, brought to you by sensei and his students.

b Skip Beat! 9-11, 21-26: When you get a new volume, you just want to go back and read the rest . . .

What I read in December: Digest Version, part 2 of 4

Broken Blade anime!!  Super excited!  CMX didn't finish this manga, but maybe now I'll get to see the rest of the story!

b Garden Dreams: I'm not sure why people dislike this one; I think it's quite good.  Not brilliant, but it manages a few nice twists and a lot of redemption and tragedy in a small space.  And it leaves you smiling.  Unless you don't like it, I guess.

b Gate7 1: Interesting, baffling, neo-CLAMP-y.  It gets at least three volumes to win me over.

b House of Five Leaves 5: Things continue to break apart even as we get new information and start piecing things together.  I hate Masa's brother lots.

b Kekkaishi 28-29: I was a bit worried there when it looked like Yoshimori was going to lose it when yet another friend seemed on the verge of dying.  That friend is still pretty dang mysterious, but he's sympathetic as all get out.  And things are heating up on Masamori's end, too . . .

b Kieli 5 The Sunlit Garden Where It All Began, Part 1: Yeeeeeeek!  Awesome!  So much backstory dropped in bits and pieces and woven together!  Oh, the way it ties together so sadly and beautifully . . .  Oh, the pain and agony of a single story getting split into two volumes and ending with a character's aparent death!  Not allowed!!!!  When is the next one coming out?!

b Kimi ni Todoke 12: Awwwww.  Is for awkward as he meets her parents.  It is gently funny (rather than the overblown, aggressive non-funny that often happens in these situations) and very sweet.  Dwaaaa.

b Kuro Gane 4: More adventures of a robot boy and his talking sword with an eyeball.  In this volume, we learn more about the man behind the eyeball sword, and it's sweet and melancholy, like so much in this series.  Also kind of tragic and violent.  And the brushwork!

b The Lord of the Sands of Time: The cover is wrong, but what do you expect? A nice little sci-fi story spanning lots of time and time streams and still not being totally confusing.  It's kind of a love story and kind of a coming of age story and kind of an action adventure battle story.  One thing that intrigued me was the idea that the guardians were super-humans genetically engineered to save humanity but denied reproductive capabilities.  What an interesting idea: keep them from being attached to their children and bogged down in a single time stream in order to let them focus on the overall goal of saving humanity.  The problem is that there are a lot of humans that make up humanity, and some of them are easy to get attached to.  That dichotomy was played well, as was the bit with the AI.  I picked this one up an super sale, and it was a good buy.

What I Read in September: Digest Version, Part 2 of 2

b La Esperanca 1-7:  Ah, book binge.  I originally read this series as it came out, and I must say it makes more sense when one can read it all at once.  On the one hand, you have a nice, cheerful boy who tries really hard to be good to make up for what he believes his no-good father did in the past.  He's equally pleasant to everyone, and his walls of nice are impenetrable until he meets a certain someone at their super-swanky private school.  On the other hand, you have a surly boy who's equally mean to everyone but especially mean to the first kid.  His walls have menacing iron spikes on them.  When they collide with each other, the walls eventually come crashing down.  I like this kind of story, where a self-proclaimed sinner and someone everyone considers a saint meet and throw sparks and help the other become more human.  There's a certain measure of realism here because they act a bit like actual teenage boys who don't quite know how to express themselves or deal with their pasts or their future potential.  They get bogged down in themselves and misunderstand others, and it can be kind of angsty, but I love the way that, in the end, things are moving forward again instead of endlessly swirling around the drain . . .

b Maid Sama 1, 2, 8: Oh, Maid-sama, you are so ridiculous and fun, and I am sooooooo disappointed I will never know how you end!  Who is the perverted space alien really?  Will he and Misaki ever start dating while keeping up their hilarious slightly-adversarial relationship?!

b Mardock Scramble 1:: Well, that's violent and shocking and confusing, but the little mouse weapon thing is definitely cute, and I'm curious to find out what on Earth is going on.  I might like the anime as long as it's not as violent as the manga, but I might have to try the novel if I don't want to throw up . . .

b My Girlfriend Is a Geek 4: Still dating.  Still geeky.  Still funny.  In this volume, the girl finally gets suspicious of all the boy's sneaking around to hid his job tutoring a cute little junior high kid from her rotten fangirl fantasies. 

b Oresama Teacher 1 Okay, I had fun with this one.  There are certain parallels to Love Attack! (another Tokyopop title we'll never learn the ending for), but I find some of these characters more endearing and more opaque.  There's this girl who sort of ended up the leader of a gang and then ends up getting kicked out of school and then transfers into the only school who'll take her only to reunited with her childhood friend/older crush who is pretty much nothing like she was re-imagining him.  He totally abuses his authority as a teacher to make her use her talent for violence to help out some of the oddballs in the school.

b Otomen 11: Still a great sitcom about a bunch of kids trying to live true to themselves in a world that pretty much just doesn't like that sort of thing.  The Valentines Day chocolates thing is kind of a hoot; I liked the unexpected ending of that one, even if I was the only one who didn't see it coming.

b Train*Train 2: Y'know, I kind of want a prairie dog.  I'm probably allergic . . .

What I Read in September: Digest Version, Part 1 of 2

b Animal Land 1: Why, yes, this is by the creator of Zatch Bell.  Was it the poop jokes that gave it away?  Defecation as comic relief aside, this one is weird and touching, which is kind of par for the course for this artist.  It's about a human baby abandoned by his mother because she can't feed him.  Somehow, he ends up in the animal world and turns out to have the ability to speak and understand any animal language.  Awwww, you might think, a touching story of how he will unite everyone!  Well, when you're dealing with predators and prey, it probably won't turn out that neatly, will it?

b Boys Over Flowers 25: Sometimes you find an impossible to find out of print volume at Half Price Books when there's a huge sale!

b Crazy Love Story1-5: One of the things I love about manga is how you can read a story about people you would find 100% repulsive in real life, and you can sympathize with them sometimes.  You can cry over their stupid, stubborn contrariness and the ways they make themselves miserable when they're fictional.

b Dengeki Daisy 4: And the moral of the story is that when you see a piece of paper with an X on the ground, and someone's been threatening you, watch out for the desk.  It's starting to be one of those I know you know he knows you know, but you can't talk about it situations, and that should be irritating me way more than it is.

o Drifters 1: I have no idea, really, what's going on, but there's time travel and a war and Rasputin is really mean.  Pretty much everyone is bloodthirsty and crazy, too.

b Eensy Weensy Monster 2: Continuing its one chapter a month growing romance all the way to the conclusion, this series is just quirky and fun all the way through.

b Fake 6: Oh, the agony of choice and some deep, dark history rising up out of the shadows to prey on the innocent!  Also police drama, annoying characters, and goofy romance.

b Hetalia 2: The more I read of this, the more I can't understand why anyone would take it seriously enough to get offended by it.  It's goofy, ridiculous, occasionally almost accidentally educational.

b In the Walnut 2: Art, crime, and Robin Hood forgers.  I like this series quite a bit even if only for the gorgeous art lovingly recreated within.

b Kyo Kara Maoh 1, 3, 4: Y'know, there are some awful typos and crimes against graphic design in Tokyopop's earlier volumes, but I really enjoy the culture shock moments.  I'm sad no more will be published.  (I wonder if YEN would ever pick up the light novels that deal with the story line after the last Tokyopop volume that came out.)

What I read in August: Digest Version, Part 1 of 2

b Alice 101st 1: Slightly hyper adventures at a classy music school.  Aristede is a student allowed in as an exception because of his amazing performance of a single song.  Too bad he's a hick with no real training and a total inability to actually read music.  He has an amazing ear for music, though, and with the right teachers and help from some new friends (if they would stop calling him Alice and start calling him Aristo, that would help), he might not continue to be a total embarrassment.  Maybe.  At least not all the time . . .

b Black Bird 8: Well, you might be shocked to know this volume does not strike any real definitive blows for the cause of feminism, either, but it's full of other culture mystique and a growing sense of frustration and tragedy.  I've heard a lot of people hate on this series because they seem to assume the main relationship is supposed to be prescriptive instead of descriptive, and if this kind of relationship were being held up as a good and healthy example, I would laugh and then run away screaming.  However, this relationship is not exactly considered healthy by anyone in the story.  It's messy and weird and opposed on every side.  I give kudos to the author for managing to portray how alien the tengu culture is.  Culture clashes in this world are beyond ugly.  Neither of the main characters are perfect, but they're trying in their own screwed up ways to deal with this situation and maybe even figure out how to really love each other despite all the deadly strangeness around them.  Maybe other people can't get past the creepiness unhealthiness of the main romantic relationship, but I am still along for the ride.  Just maybe not in public.

b Eensy Weensy Monster 1: You know how KareKano started out light and funny and grew progressively into a morass of darkness and depressing and then had that weird ending?  This series doesn't.  It's only two volumes long, and it is lighthearted, weird, and funny.  An unremarkable girl with two amazing best friends finds out that she has this monster living inside her that makes her do horrible things but only to this one super-shallow boy that everyone else fawns over.  I laugh out loud every time I read this, especially because the idea of saying stuff like this to someone you don't even really know in Japan is kind of hilarious.  The monster is a hoot.  Good girl lets inner monster out and transforms shallow prince into thoughtful young man while making me laugh a lot.  Pretty much perfect.

b Family Complex: Thanks to Borders going out of business, I finally picked this one up for cheap.  It stars one of the side characters from Princess*Princess.  Akira is the younger brother of a famous high school student council president, and his whole family is made up of freakishly attractive people.  He hates how much it bothers him that he's the only normal one.  This collection tells his story of coming to terms with his family and himself and then traces his siblings and how everyone has problems.  Sometimes being normal is a huge blessing.  A really huge blessing.

b Grand Guignol Orchestra 1: It's messy, horrifying, and sort of tangled and confused with sibling weirdness, cross-dressing, and too much mystery, music, and mayhem.  Must be Kaori Yuki.  Lovely.

b I Am Here! 1-2 of 2: A sad sort of story about a girl who is completely unnoticed, starts a blog, makes a couple online friends, and, with their help, starts to connect to the real world around her.  At least they took their time with the love triangle.  This series was quieter than many shojo that come over here, are, and it does some lovely things in the beginning with the pain and loneliness of being misunderstood and shy.  Might be liked by fans of Kimi ni Todoke.

b In The Walnut 1: Art, a little bit of crime, and a bit of romance.  Did I mention the art?  Cause it's kind of awesome.  I don't think I've seen this many masterpieces recreated in a manga since Gunslinger Girl. 

What I read in July: Digest Version, Part 3 of 3

b Ôoku: The Inner Chambers 6: The historical dramatic tragedy continues.  It's amazing.

b Otodama 1: When is 2 coming?  Seriously.  I've been waiting for a couple years now.  This is good stuff, and I would like some more, please.

b Rasetsu 9 of 9:  Okay, so volume 8 left us in a place where much of the horror was dawning on us, and anticipation of the final confrontation and how it was going to play out were strangling us.  Did volume 9 live up to the build-up.  Oh, weepingly, yes it did.  Lots of talking and lots of fighting and lots of sad, sweet resolution.  One of my favorite lines, "It was your yearning to be loved that made you weak."  Ouch.  But true in actions, not just words.  This series kind of surprised me in the places it went while dealing with love and strength.

b Sugar Sugar Rune 1-2: Creepy cute with a sweet exterior and a bitter center.  Man, kids can do dumb things even if they're magical and stuff.

b Whistle! 4: Awww, they were so young then.  I love this series; I really do.  I was a bit irritated with the sports sexism in this one, but the argument made sense for their culture.  I just have one thing to say: which team won the World Cup, boys?  Just saying.  Cute shonen soccer adventures ahoy!

b YuYu Hakusho 10: Adrenaline, testosterone, and the springtime of youth!  Or something.  Good times with Yusuke and the gang.  Actually, Yusuke was unconscious through most of this one, which was kind of hilarious.  Sad times with Genkai . . .