Manga Review: Ooku

Manga Review:  Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga In an alternate history version of Japan, disaster strikes during the reign of Shogun Iemitsu (circa 1630).  A plague that becomes known as the “red-face pox” sweeps the islands, with a fatality rate of 80% among boys and young men.  Within a couple of years, the gender imbalance among… Continue reading Manga Review: Ooku

Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Aincrad

Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Aincrad original story by Reki Kawahara, art by Tamako Nakamura Disclaimer:  I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. It is the year 2022, and commercially viable virtual reality equipment is now on the market.   Of course, one of the first… Continue reading Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Aincrad

Manga Review: Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit

Manga Review: Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit by Motoro Mase In an alternate-history Japan, the government immunizes all children as they enter first grade.  But one in every thousand injection also contains a nanocapsule that lodges in the child’s heart.  and somewhere between age 18 and 24, will activate and stop that heart.  There’s a triple-blind… Continue reading Manga Review: Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit

Manga Review: Rin-ne

Manga Review: Rin-ne by Rumiko Takahashi Sakura Mamiya is not quite your normal high school girl.  Due to a near-death experience as a child, Sakura can see spirits.  One day, she meets the new boy in her class, Rinne Rokudo.  She mistakes him for a spirit at first, but the truth is a bit more… Continue reading Manga Review: Rin-ne

Manga Review: The Twin Knights

Manga Review: The Twin Knights by Osamu Tezuka This is a sequel to the classic Osamu Tezuka work Princess Knight (“Ribon no Kishi” or “The Ribbon Knight” in Japanese), about Sapphire, a princess raised as a boy due to strange circumstances.  Queen Sapphire is now married and gives birth to twins, Prince Daisy and Princess Violetta.… Continue reading Manga Review: The Twin Knights

Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book Three

Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book Threeby Makoto Yukimura Note:  This review will contain SPOILERS for the first two volumes.  If you do not want to be spoiled, see the reviews for those volumes instead. It is the Twelfth Century C.E., the age of the Vikings.  Thorfinn Thorsson serves as a Viking warrior in the band… Continue reading Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book Three

Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book Two

Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book Two by Makoto Yukimura To recap for those of you who haven’t read the review of Book One, Vinland Saga is set in the early 12th Century, the time of the Vikings.  Our protagonist is Thorfinn, son of Thors, who serves in the war band of Askeladd.  Askeladd murdered Thors, and… Continue reading Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book Two

Manga Review: Magi #1

Manga Review: Magi #1 by Shinobu Ohtaka In a setting not unlike the Middle Eastern tales of the Arabian Nights, there is a boy named Aladdin.   He’s lived in isolation until now, so he doesn’t know much about the outside world, or how society works.  Soon, Aladdin meets a drifter named Alibaba, who’s a… Continue reading Manga Review: Magi #1

Manga Review: Afterschool Charisma

Manga Review: Afterschool Charisma by Kumiko Suekane Shiro Kamiya is an ordinary high school student until the day his father takes a job as headmaster of St. Kleio Academy, and enrolls Shiro in that exclusive school.  A very exclusive school indeed, as all the other students are clones of famous historical figures.  As the only… Continue reading Manga Review: Afterschool Charisma

Manga Review: Soul Eater

Manga Review: Soul Eater by Atsushi Ohkubo On a very alternate Earth, humanity has several different subspecies that do not exist on ours.  The most notable of these are Witches, who have the inherent ability to use magic, and Weapons, humans who can shapeshift into…weapons…that can then be wielded by more standard humans known as… Continue reading Manga Review: Soul Eater