Danielle’s Reading Diary

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Two November Releases

by Danielle Leigh
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 6:36 AM EST

Today I look at 2 very different manga titles released in November -- Crimson Shell (one-shot by Jun Mochizuki) and Jormungand vol 1 (by Keitaro Takahashi).

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Moyasimon vol 1

by Danielle Leigh
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 7:23 PM EST

Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture, by Masayuki Ishikawa, is one of the rare examples in manga of an outlandishly original concept -- boy can see germs with the naked eye -- which is actually executed quite smartly.

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Brilliant Blue 2

by Danielle Leigh
Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 8:33 PM EST

Today I look at the concluding volume of Saemi Yorita's Brilliant Blue, which cements this title's status as a charming, thoughtful yaoi series.

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Hero Tales vol 1

by Danielle Leigh
Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 5:30 PM EST

Hero Tales may be of special interest to North American manga readers -- it is drawn by Hiromu Arakawa (of Full Metal Alchemist fame) and written by Huang Jin Zhou (who is perhaps not an actual person but a "unit comprised of Hiromu Arakawa, Genco and Studio Flag" according to bakaupdates.com...whatever that means). However, the [...]

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Beast Master vol 1

by Danielle Leigh
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 4:14 PM EST

Beast Master, by Kyousuke Motomi, is one of the few contemporary shojo manga titles I know of that was created by a male artist. How does it stack up as a shojo work?

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Boys Love

by Danielle Leigh
Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 2:34 PM EST

Kaim Tachibana returns to the basics of the yaoi genre in the appropriately entitled Boys Love. While she doesn't subvert a number of traditional yaoi tropes, she does depict a relationship not bound by some of the usual "rules" of yaoi.

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Halloween Extravangza!

by Danielle Leigh
Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 3:37 PM EST

I discuss three manga volumes with appropriately spooky themes -- you've got your ultimate undead!fighter!, your fanservice-y vampires, and your bishonen zombies (a very *special* kind of undead). So there's a little something for everyone!

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- What a Wonderful World vol 1 and 2

by Danielle Leigh
Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 11:05 AM EST

Today I examine Inio Asano's (also the creator of solanin, which was reviewed for this site by the very talented Melinda Beasi here) short story collections, What a Wonderful World. Just released last week by Viz, these works are required reading for those of us who are avidly following the maturing manga market in the [...]

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Nightschool vol 2

by Danielle Leigh
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 3:22 PM EST

I continue covering Halloween-y books in my own little unofficial countdown to the best holiday of all. Today I take a quick look at the second volume Svetlana Chmakova's Nightschool.

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Vampire Knight vol 8

by Danielle Leigh
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 2:55 PM EST

The eighth volume of Matsuri Hino's Vampire Knight offers one of those rare moments in shojo / shonen manga, where the original playbook is thrown out entirely, and the title as a whole is entirely the better for it.

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Cirque du Freak vol 3

by Danielle Leigh
Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 8:20 PM EST

I continue to cover manga with "supernatural" themes as we start the countdown to Halloween (see reviews of RIN-NE and Soul Eater I posted earlier in the week). Tonight I take a quick look at Darren Shan and Takahiro Arai's Cirque du Freak (which as some might also know, has been adapted to a U.S. [...]

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Soul Eater vol 1

by Danielle Leigh
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 3:08 PM EST

In Soul Eater, Atsushi Ohkubo brings together Japanese and Western horror traditions, myths and legends with shonen manga staples such as a battle-oriented narrative structure and excessive fanservice.

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- RIN-NE vol 1

by Danielle Leigh
Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 4:22 PM EST

RIN-NE -- Rumiko Takahashi's (Inuyasha, Ramna 1/2) latest shonen work -- is a solidly entertaining series, even if it is not the most original contribution to the "girl who sees ghosts" genre.

Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary -- Ninja Girls vol 1

by Danielle Leigh
Saturday, October 10th, 2009 at 4:15 PM EST

There are many, many reasons I thought I wouldn't like Ninja Girls. It pretty much screams its fan-service-y orientation on its cover. In spite of that, the first volume not only entertained, it even made me laugh out loud a number of times.