The Strange Tale of Panorama Island
I’m not sure where to start in describing this historical erotic fantasy manga. The Strange Tale of Panorama Island is for adults, certainly, with a bunch of (mostly female) nudes. It’s been...
View ArticleThe Color of Earth, The Color of Water, The Color of Heaven
This manhwa trilogy by Kim Dong Hwa, a coming-of-age story set in rural Korea several generations ago, follows a young girl learning about love. The Color of Earth Ehwa lives with her mother, a widow...
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A Drunken Dream and Other Stories
Guest review by Ed Sizemore As the title indicates, A Drunken Dream and Other Stories is a collection of short stories spanning the career of Moto Hagio. Hagio is considered one of the pioneers, not...
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Wandering Son Volume 1 and Anime
Guest review by Ed Sizemore ***Warning: This Review Contains Spoilers*** Shuichi Nitori and Yoshino Takatsuki are mirror images of each other. Both are in fifth grade and have just recently transferred...
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The Heart of Thomas
Continuing their pattern of bringing out significant manga in substantial hardcovers, next month Fantagraphics will release The Heart of Thomas, an important work in the history of shojo. It’s by Moto...
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Nijigahara Holograph
Continuing Fantagraphics’ program of bringing notable manga to English in deluxe presentations — titles so far include important historical shojo The Heart of Thomas and Moto Hagio’s Drunken Dream as...
View ArticleBallad of a Shinigami Volume 1
by Asuka Izumi; story by K-Ske Hasegawa You may know the term “shinigami” from the popular Death Note series, where the death god is black and goth and scary. Ballad of a Shinigami, based on a light...
View ArticleEmma Volume 9
Like the previous volume, Emma volume 9 contains short stories set in the world and time period of the main story. But you don’t need to be familiar with all the rest of the series to enjoy this one;...
View ArticleThe Lizard Prince Volume 1
The Lizard Prince by Asuka Izumi, a romance in a magical fantasy setting, has enough humor to make it an enjoyable read for the young and young-thinking. As explained in the author’s notes, this book...
View ArticleApothecarius Argentum Volume 8
Argent, the Royal Apothecary, has left the princess in order to seek a cure for his condition of being a living toxin. He’s learned a process that may remove the poisons from his body, but leaving the...
View ArticleOnward Towards Our Noble Deaths
Guest review by Ed Sizemore Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths is the semi-autobiographical story (in the afterward, Shigeru Mizuki tells us 90% of it is true) of Japanese soldiers stationed on New...
View ArticleNonNonBa
Guest review by Ed Sizemore Shigeru Mizuki is a cultural icon. His manga GeGeGe no Kitaro is credited with igniting the modern day fascination with Japanese folktales. Mizuki is recognized as a expert...
View ArticleShowa 1926-1939: A History of Japan
Although intimidating, with its doorstop size and historical focus, Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan is surprisingly readable. I found it fast-moving, with an inviting combination of personal...
View ArticleBallad of a Shinigami Volume 1
by Asuka Izumi; story by K-Ske Hasegawa You may know the term “shinigami” from the popular Death Note series, where the death god is black and goth and scary. Ballad of a Shinigami, based on a light...
View ArticleEmma Volume 9
Like the previous volume, Emma volume 9 contains short stories set in the world and time period of the main story. But you don’t need to be familiar with all the rest of the series to enjoy this one;...
View ArticleThe Lizard Prince Volume 1
The Lizard Prince by Asuka Izumi, a romance in a magical fantasy setting, has enough humor to make it an enjoyable read for the young and young-thinking. As explained in the author’s notes, this book...
View ArticleA Distant Neighborhood Volume 2
Guest review by Ed Sizemore **Warning: This Review Contains Spoilers** Hiroshi Nakahara is a 48-year-old architect who finds himself mysteriously transported back to when he was 14 with all his...
View ArticleAX: Alternative Manga Volume 1
I am very glad anthology collections like AX: Alternative Manga exist, but I don’t care much for actually reading them. It’s an important book, and it’s a good thing that this kind of material is being...
View ArticleThe Story of Lee
I liked the idea behind The Story of Lee, but the execution wasn’t as successful as I hoped. It seems like it should work well — it’s the story of a Chinese girl in Hong Kong who gets involved with a...
View ArticleMangaman
This dynamite concept didn’t quite come together for me, although I’ve been anticipating Mangaman since it was first announced. The idea — a manga-styled character transfers universes to the “real”...
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