Red River: Vol. 7

by Chie Shinohara

Synopsis
Prince Kail, a young warrior and sorcerer and Yuri, a modern-day teen, where thrown together when evil Queen Nakia drew Yuri across time and space into the ancient Hittite Empire. When it is the season of the North Star, Prince Kail has the power to send Yuri home. But the evil queen's plan to murder them both -- and their growing feelings for one another -- keep getting in the way!

Nakia's evil sister, Nadia, schemes to help Kail's archenemy, the Prince of Darkness! As the North Star blazes in the sky, Kail and his forces struggle to reach Mittani in time to rescue Yuri from becoming one of the dark prince's courtesans. Will they arrive in time to send Yuri back to modern-day Japan?

Review
A lot happens in this volume. The Prince of Darkness arc gets wrapped up, and immediately we get thrown into another. My prediction was correct, the prince does get interrupted right when he's about to rape Yuri. But as far as the story goes, this arc get resolved rather quickly, meaning the end of the Mitanni empire.

Ok, about Yuri going home. It gets sabotaged. Ilbani, Kail's advisor, has decided that it would be better if Yuri would stay. He's probably right, but it's too bad that other people have to decide for the main characters. So now Yuri's stuck there for another year, oh darn. Should I go out on a limb and guess that Yuri's never going to go home? There's 28 books, I highly doubt they're about her and her life in Japan.

Later, when the characters are back in Hattusa, Yuri complains (to herself) that Kail is out of her reach, but how can she give him up after she has to stay with him for another year? Meanwhile, Kail gets the advice to love her and make her forget about her own country. It seems to me like the characters just need to talk to each other for five minutes, and their weird internal conflicts would get resolved. But no, we get interrupted by the next story arc.

Tutankhamen has died, so his wife needs a husband, and they've asked for one of the princes of the Hittite empire. A lot of fighting and conflicting happens over who to send, of course Nakia wants to send Kail (which I personally think would work against her, personally), her son Juda, who's a really nice boy considering his mother, wants to go, and so forth. After a chariot race to decide, it ends up being Zannanza who goes. So, being a good sport, he goes, and Yuri goes with him (why? Probably to witness the next events). Unfortunately, he is assassinated, and only Yuri is left alive. What most fascinating about all this, is that these events really did happen in history. I was about to praise the author for not pulling punches, except that if she wanted to follow history, Zannanza had to die.

Still, the story is a good read, and Hittite history is very interesting.

Final thought: I'll read the next book.

Fairy Cube: Vol. 3

by Kaori Yuki

Synopsis
Ian and Rin used to just see spirits. Now Ian is one. Using the Fairy Cube, Ian must figure out how to stop the lizard-spirit Tokage from taking over his life and destroying any chance he has of resurrection.

The Last Wing
Will Ian save Rin? Can he stop Tokage? Ian only has one chance left to get his life back!

Review
This is a pretty good series. It ends well and is a good read. There's nothing annoying or cliche about it, but there's also nothing spectacular about it.

The basics of this final volume is that the fairy god wants to recreate Faerie on earth, and to be resurrected, and he doesn't care who he kills or uses to get what he wants. Some of the minor players like Shira, the daughter of the president of the Gotoh Group, and Kaito, the mysterious man who helped Ian get his revenge, all have their own motives as well. The best part, though, is finding out what really happened to Ian and Tokage's mother, why she abandoned Tokage, and why she disappeared. It ends about how I expected, and was acceptable.

There's also a bonus story called Psycho Knocker, that actually is a side-story to this manga. It chronicles what Isaiah (you'll know who he is by the end of the main story) and Raven have been doing since the end of the story. It's pretty interesting, and I think it was a good inclusion and was well done. I'm glad it's not a regular series, because it would have too easily become a monster-of-the-week story.

Final thought: A good series that's worth reading, but not good enough to own.

Wish: Vol. 1

by Clamp

Synopsis
One moonlit night, Shuichiro saved an angel stuck in a tree. The angel granted him a wish to repay his generosity. Shuichiro said, "I need no wish, I can get what I want on my own." But they both soon learn that some wishes can't be fulfilled alone.

Review
It took me a couple tries to get through this. At first, it just seemed like a goofy comedy, complete with cliche, ditzy hero(ine). But after you get through a few chapters, the real meat of the story comes into play. Basically, it uses the whole heaven/earth/hell with angels/humans/devils motif that's been used before. The angel Kohaku gets saved by Shuichiro, and wants to give him his reward, but he doesn't need one, so she stays with him until he decides what he wants. I say "she" but, the footnotes tell me that angels and devils have no gender, so they call angels she, and devils he. Anyway, goofiness follows ditzy Kohaku, who keeps complaining that she can't do anything right.

The real story comes into play when we learn that Kohaku's real mission is to find a AWOL angel, Madam Hisui, the master angel of wind. It took long enough to get to that point. This volume might have caught my attention faster if it hadn't. Anyway, the rest of the volume involves finding her, and finding out the reason she went missing. It's interesting enough, but not unheard of, and I suspected something like that. One question I have is how do genderless angels, well, make love? Maybe I don't want to know.

One thing that was really annoying was the use of slang language. I mean like, gag me with a spoon. I really hate when they try to make people sound "hip," because usually it comes out forced and lame. Also, someone needed to proofread this volume, because some words had the last letter relegated to the next line due to lack of space in whatever editing program they used.

Still, it's interesting, and though I've heard it called shounen-ai (which I don't care for), I fail to see how it can be, since neither angels nor devils are male.

Final thought: I'll check out the next volume.

From Far Away: Vol. 13

by Kyoko Hikawa

Synopsis
After a terrorist bomb catapults her into an alternate universe full of magic and mystery, teenage Noriko finds herself the central figure in a political power struggle over a dark prophecy she's destined to fulfill, turn the man she loves into a monster that could ultimately destroy the world.

When Rachef and Tazasheena kidnap Noriko, Izark is forced to face the fact that the only way to saver her may be to do exactly what they've been trying to avoid: fulfill the prophecy of The Awakening.

Will Clairgeeta's wistful hope that the Sky Demon may not be evil turn out to be true after all? Or is this the end of Izark as we know him?

With their enemies lying in wait just beyond the city walls, and Noriko close to death, Izark may not have time to figure it all out before it's too late!

Review
Some really interesting things happen in this volume. First, Rachef kidnaps Noriko, but doesn't kill her right away, like they were planning to do. Tazasheena is the smart one, wondering why he doesn't, but apparently, he doesn't take criticism well, and slaps her. Then, in a move that shows that he didn't read The Evil Overlord's Handbook, he starts saying odd things like he wants her power, and he becomes angry when she rejects him. This is interesting because in an earlier volume, he mused about what made her so powerful, that it changed Izark in a moment when she arrived. I thought, "well, that sounds like something someone who had never been in love would say." Well, of course, he has no idea what love is, he thinks that she actually has some ability, and didn't seem like he could understand when Noriko said what she had for Izark was love.

Of course, I couldn't stop myself from thinking that perhaps this was just the characters acting stupid so that the heroine could win, but that is very uncharacteristic for this author. She seems to think about events ahead of time, and I think she used this opportunity to show us more about the Rachef character. Namely, how he was rejected by his mother, so he hates for people to reject him, and he wants to rule the world so that he won't feel like something is missing from his life. Apparently if he controls everything, nothing will be missing in his life. I can't help but think there is some flaw in this, but I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.

The rest of the volume is Noriko escaping, because Tazasheena foolishly offered her the teleportation chimos, then she makes it back, but the teleporting took a lot out of her. Finally, Rachef and others make their move, so Izark decides to end it before they can hurt Noriko. We'll see how it turns out in the next book!

Final thought: I have to read the next book!

Platinum Garden: Vol. 7

by Maki Fujita

Synopsis
Marriages ought to be based on trust and understanding, but lately Kazura's engagement seems to be nothing but secrets and mysteries. First, Shintaro Aguri, a substitute teacher who is really a member of the Magahara family, challenges her to find a former classmate's mysterious parting gift or else break up with Mizuki. Then Mizuki performs a soul return on a friend's husband, leaving Mizuki in the hospital, exhausted and wracked by fits, and poor Kazura (is) clueless as to why!


Review
Marriage. Ha, don't make me laugh. We won't see any marriage in this manga.

Well, apparently there's a woman who can see the future in the Magahara family. Fine, whatever. She thinks that Kazura and Mizuki should break up because of an unhappy future. Kazura bravely asks to see what it is, and she shows her. Unfortunately, the audience is not worthy of seeing what this horrible future is, probably so Fujita can keep us in the dark, and drag out her story. Seriously, what the hell? I was expecting to find out what the horrible future was, and was really disappointed that I didn't get to. I always worry, because things that are kept secret like this end up being not as bad as imagined. In other words, what you can make up in your imagination from not knowing is worse than reality. Meaning, a huge disappointment in the end, when it all comes to light.

Then there's the end, where we actually see Mizuki perform a soul return. He says that he did this to punish himself, because he's not worthy of Kazura and her kindness. Because, the author has totally established this beforehand, so it doesn't feel like it comes out of left field. Right, whatever. Oh, and right before that, he says he has to tell her how he feels about her, before it's too late. But you know what happens!? Everything gets interrupted and he never says it. Cliche.

I don't know about this series. I'm disappointed by this volume. Too much humor, not enough development. Lately, I've realized that I've had my own ideas about where this manga should have gone, and that I like my idea better than hers. I think it should have been a real romance, where the characters were initially opposed to the arrangement, but as they got to know each other, they realized that they like each other. Everything about the family could have remained exactly the same, with people trying to drive them apart, and having supernatural powers. Except it would be the two of them, a united front, against the world. Well, what a shame.

Final thought: Do I care? I don't think so.

Honey and Clover: Vol. 1

(aka Hachimitsu to Clover)
by Chica Umino

Synopsis
Takemoto, a sophomore art student in Tokyo, thinks his greatest worries in life are finding ways to eat more meat and getting to class on time. But with friends like his, life is never going to be that tame.

Review
It's hard to know what to say about this series. It's off-beat, high-energy, and weird. The main character lives in a studio apartment with some friends from school, and to be honest, they're all completely nuts. One works strange jobs for ungodly amounts of money, while the others are obsessed with getting enough meat to eat. What's sad is that these characters were introduced so quickly, I can't really remember their names and only vaguely remember how they look. Add in other characters with similar names, and dark hair, and I'm confused already. Then, a cute girl named Hagumi is introduced, and a couple of characters have a crush on her, and it gets even weirder. The odd jobs guy worships Hagu like a Koropokkur (an Ainu fairy) and tries to take pictures of her carrying leaves, sitting on toadstools and even taking plaster casts of her feet. It hardly makes sense.

But as the book goes on, things start seeming a little more normal as more is explained about some characters, like the pressure Hagumi is under to perform with her art, and Mayama's (I think) ex-girlfriend Yamada is still pining for him while he's interested in another woman that he's been asked to help. It's hard to say where it might go, it has the threads of different stories that will hopefully lead somewhere. It was hard to get into at first, because it's so weird, and that's not really my style at all. I guess I'll have to check out more to see if it lives up to what it promises.

Final thought: I'll check out the next book.

Red River: Vol. 6

by Chie Shinohara

Synopsis
Yuri, a modern-day teen, is trapped in the palace of an ancient Prince of Darkness! She waits there for Prince Kail, her savior and the only one who can send her back to modern-day Japan. While Yuri attends to the prisoners taken by the Dark Prince's armies, hoping they can rise up and fight again, Prince Kail and his brother Zannanza, journey into enemy territory. If they misstep, the consequences will be great -- for both the future of the Hittite empire and Yuri and Kail's relationship!


Review
Once again, Yuri shows some remarkable strength of character in this volume. She tends to the prisoners of war, and those who've been injured and are taken to the infamous "house of rest," where people go when sick, but eventually die. She improves the conditions, so it's more like a hospital. I really respect this aspect of her character, and if it weren't for her being such a ditz when it comes to love, I'd like her a lot more.

Kail continues his remarkably fast campaigns, all in an effort to get Yuri home. Although it's not shown very well, a lot of time passes in this volume, at least five months are spent in the Prince of Darkness's seraglio, and another four after being captured by him, thus bringing us to almost a year since Yuri was brought to Hattusa. Somehow, Kail and Yuri still love each other, yet they continue to speak of her going back to Japan. Even other people are beginning to comment on what a perfect queen Yuri would make, and suggest that Kail should keep Yuri rather than sending her home, but he falls back on the excuse of his promise, rather than reanalyzing the situation and making the logical choice. And, if it were me, I'd be thinking: why would I want to go back home anyway? At home, everything is boring and I'm unimportant. I'd rather stay where I am treated like a goddess, have anything I want, and am loved by a good man. But, you know, I'm pragmatic and logical. I'm not an author trying to artificially prolong my story, and contriving to keep conflicts going so that the story happens on my schedule, not at its natural pacing.

Later in the story the Prince of Darkness is holed up in a stronghold trying to stave off the inevitable. For some reason, he decided to take Yuri with him, despite not having any interest in her these past months. And of course, he only decides to make his move on her right at the point in the story where he has a chance at being interrupted, instead of three months before. It's too bad that the "conflict" has to be so transparent. I still wonder why Yuri's virginity is so damn important. Is it just to create more conflict, without the risk of anything bad happening to Yuri? At that point, it becomes cheap, and the audience figures out that nothing will happen anyway.

The story is still interesting, and the Prince of Darkness has been developed a bit, explaining why he's such a misogynist, even if it is a hasty generalization.

Final thought: I'll keep reading.

The Key to the Kingdom: Vol. 3

by Kyoko Shitou

Synopsis
The competitors search for "The Invisible Tower," and elusive location containing an important clue about the quest. A new competitor enters the ring: Fairheart, a man who is seemingly impervious to the flames of the Dragon Men. He welcomes Prince Asta and his protector Badd to his castle. There he shares with Asta his knowledge of a family secret he learned from Asta's father -- the late King of Landor -- just before he died.

Review
Well, all I can say is there is a lot more going on here than the story is letting on. Of course, new evidence right at the end of the volume (before the side story anyway), changes everything about some characters, and has me questioning everything they said and did before. This story is very interesting, and is far deeper than the succession worries that it started out as.

Unfortunately, just as the story was getting interesting, it ended, and there was a side story in what should have been another chapter's place. I didn't mind the side story, and it was very interesting in it's own right (and made me feel bad that Prince Winslott had to die, he seemed very nice), but I wanted to know more about what was going on! Now I have to read the next book.

I like how the characters are developing, too. Asta is becoming more mature and responsible, which I like. Lettie, is showing herself to be a bit power-hungry, to fulfill her dreams, which seem rather childish, to me. However, this would make sense because she is a child. I hope she gets more developed, and is shown that blindly and heedlessly pursuing your dreams can be harmful to yourself and others.

I really like this series, but I hope it doesn't let me down like other series I've gotten my hopes up over.

Final thought: I have to read the next book!

Emma: Vol. 3

by Kaoru Mori

Synopsis
On the train back to her hometown, Emma meets Tasha, a maid working at a wealthy family's mansion in the country. This fateful encounter leads to Emma finding employment with the family as well. But despite her years of experience as a maid for Mrs. Stownar, living in a mansion filled with servants is something for which she is not prepared.

Review
It's an intriguing series. It's nice to follow the deliberate pacing and orderly panels. The story is slow, but keeps your interest. In this volume, Emma happens to find new work with a recently transplanted German family. It's a new and confusing experience for her. One really odd thing was they mentioned that she didn't have a reference. If you don't know, not having a reference at that time was like a death sentence; you'd never find work. Sure, it's glossed over with the family really needs the help, but it's completely unrealistic. Plus, it shows that Mrs. Stownar didn't care about what happened to Emma after she died. Would it really have been that hard for her to write one? I don't even know why this is here, it would have been easier and made more sense, and worked out the way the author wanted, if Emma just had a reference.

Meanwhile, William is acting strangely, taking an interest in work, going to parties, and seeing Eleanor more often. He reveals that this is because Emma is gone, so he's just going to live how his father thinks he should. If that's what he thinks he should do, that's fine, but he should be ready to accept the consequences. Also, it strikes me as "cutting off your nose to spite your face." You only hurt yourself.

I'd vaguely hoped that since she'd moved away, perhaps Emma and William wouldn't get together and that she'd move on, but the fact that he's still shown, and she misses him (sniff, sniff) leads me to think that won't happen. Too bad, it might have been interesting.

Also, the astute reader will notice that William's mother is shown in this volume. I wonder what her story is.

Final thought: I'll keep reading.

From Far Away: Vol. 12

by Kyoko Hikawa

Synopsis
After a terrorist bomb catapults her into an alternate universe full of magic and mystery, teenage Noriko finds herself the central figure in a political power struggle over a dark prophecy she's destined to fulfill, turn the man she loves into a monster that could ultimately destroy the world.

With the evil Brunei brothers hot on their trail, Noriko and her doomed warrior Izark follow Clairgeeta to the rebel enclave in the fortified city of Ennamarna. But the reunion with old friends is quickly interrupted. Corrupt local officials plan to oust the fugitives and turn the walled city into an enemy miliarty base.

While Noriko and Izark once again use their power to save their friends from the greedy government, their enemies in Rienka are joining forces, mixing up new magic that they hope will bring the prophecy that much closer to coming true.

Review
After the big build-up with the brothers, they were dispatched rather anti-climatically. The rest of the volume consists of the group trying to get to their friends that they split apart from in Ennamarna. In fact, this volume is really just a build-up to the end, as the final battle will be fought very soon. All the pieces move into place.

The insight that Clairgeeta offers is useful. He confirms the idea that the sky demon could be used for good, and that the city of Ennamarna may have more information about the world of light. He also said that good and evil is internal, and whichever the person chooses is the one that will manifest.

Final thought: I can't wait to see what happens!