Manga!

Just how long has it been since I’ve featured any Manga here? Far too long, it’s time to sort that out with some bits and pieces that I’ve been sent over the last couple of days…



‘Roureville #1’ – E. Hae (Net Comics)

I have to say that I found it hard reading a comic book featuring American characters none of whom looked American in the slightest. It was hard to believe that the story was taking place where it was meant to be. The artwork wasn’t bad, it just felt misplaced somehow…
Once I got past that though, E. Hae’s story of a reporter sent to cover a ghost sighting in a secluded village really had me hooked with the questions that it was throwing up. The character of Evan Pryce isn’t particularly easy to engage with (although I suspect that will soon change) but the townsfolk certainly are with their hostility to Evan’s presence. There’s a real undertone of darkness here that will have me back for more, 8.5/10.



‘100% Perfect Girl’ – Wann (Net Comics)

This is the kind of thing that I’d normally stay well clear of but was more than pleasantly surprised with what I found this time round. We’ve all heard the tale of the foreign prince falling in love with a beautiful girl that he’s only just met and Wann pretty much plays us the same song here, complete with all the usual romantic misunderstandings and differences arising through class and culture. Where ‘100%’ rises above the rest though is in it’s absolutely gorgeous artwork and a more thorough examination of the two main characters as they get to know each other. There was enough of the ‘Cinderella’ story here for me to read this book for the blog and I’ll certainly check out the next instalment (although given events near the end of the book, I’m not altogether sure how the next book will continue in the way that it says it will…) 8.5/10



‘Starcraft: Ghost Academy #1’ – DeCandido/Furukawa (Tokyopop)

I’ve read a few ‘World of Warcraft’ books through Tokyopop but have only ever really read teasers for ‘Starcraft’. ‘Ghost Academy’ was my first proper look at ‘Starcraft’ and it wasn’t bad at all. What you get for your money is another ‘kids in Battle School’ scenario with the requisite teenage politics that come with it. DeCandido balances this out though by giving us some interesting characters to follow and raising intriguing questions that will be answered in future volumes. Furukawa’s art is a joy to view, I’m hoping for more of the same in the future as I’ll be back for more. I may have seen this all before but it’s worth a read anyway. 8/10



‘Alice In The Country of Hearts #1’ – Quinrose/Hoshino (Tokyopop)

This was the book that I had the highest hopes for and it was the book that ended up falling slightly flat. Part of this was down to Hoshino’s artwork that didn’t really stand out for me, there was nothing there that was any different from other Manga… It wasn’t bad by any means, there was just nothing there to hook me.
The story did slightly better with its skewed vision of Wonderland and the mob wars running through it. I guess I was just after something a little more than a bunch of gun slinging characters all falling in love with Alice and stalking her. It got a little repetitive after a while although I did find it refreshing to see Alice commenting on how messed up all the make attention was. The world of Wonderland will be what has me coming back to check out the next volume in this series (especially finding out about ‘ones with duties’); I’m hoping for a little more from the plot next time round though… 7.5/10