A manga take on X-Men, a Star Wars one-shot, and the newest volume of Fool Night are among the releases we’re covering on this week’s Reader’s Corner. Check out our reviews of those volumes and more below!
Fool Night (Vol. 9) • Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku! (Vol. 2) • Geniearth (Vol. 1) • Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim (Vol. 4) • Record Journey (Vol. 1) • Star Wars Visions: Tsukumo
Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku?!, Manga Vol. 2
Much like its anime adaptation, the Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku?! manga and source material is very sweet (and just ever so spicy) and such a comforting read. In volume two, Takuya effectively takes turns dating Ijichi and Amane. That sounds like harem trash (not that all harem is trash, says the resident Tenchi Muyo fan!), but the “dates” are portrayed in a sweet and, more importantly, authentic way. It feels natural, and it feels like it could happen. A huge part of the reason this works is that Takuya is honest with himself—he’s a good kid, but he does find the girls attractive. And yet that goodness keeps him looking out for their best interests. Unlike some romcom protagonists, he’s able to come across as both real and worthy of being liked by the girls. Speaking of characterization, Ijichi and Amane are both given some depth too, which makes them more than prizes to be won. This is a winner of a romcom series, and I encourage readers looking for a comfy, cute read to try it out. And for viewers of the anime, a treat in this volume—a visit to Comiket that didn’t make the adaptation! ~ Twwk
Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku?! is published by Yen Press.
READ: Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku?! Vol. 1 Review
Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim, Manga Vol. 4
Francesca continues to try to find out what happened at the party she attended with Leonardo, but she is still not getting much in the way of results. It doesn’t help that she’s completely caught off guard when her family, the Calvinos, meet the Ceranova family, who want to form an alliance. With tensions so high, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but when the Ceranovas reveal they want to cut ties with Lenoarda and the Aldini family, that feels very much like a bad thing, especially when they seem to want to use Francesca as a pawn! I really enjoyed the previous volume, but I feel this volume restored my hype for the series! (Also, that is not to say I disliked the last one or that “it fell off,” just that it wasn’t quite as exciting as the earlier volumes or this one!) I admire how she is keeping her cool about this whole situation: I’m annoyed that one of the dons is simply ignoring whatever she may want purely because they are dealing with Leonardo. Like, yeah, I get it, he’s a bad guy, and it seems he’s done a bunch of bad stuff, but where is your proof? Francesca’s father better be reading between the lines and seeking his daughter’s thoughts/opinions on all this; I will be deeply disappointed in him otherwise! Though I really, really hope that Francesca can see that she sure is doing a lot for someone who’s supposedly just a friend when she is engaged. Ha! I mean, it’s part of her charm that she’s so naive, but I would love to see her acknowledge those moments when her heart skips a beat and that a friend wouldn’t feel that kind of doki doki merely for another friend… I am so bummed there is not a volume five preorder because I need the next volume! But I’m hoping, based on the Japanese cover of volume five, that everyone really is okay! ~ Laura A. Grace
Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim is published by TokyoPop.
READ Reviews of Reincarnated in a Mafia Dating Sim: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3
Star Wars Visions: Tsukumo, Manga
Some of the best Star Wars material of the last decade or more hasn’t come from the traditional sources but out of Japan, where anthologies like Star Wars Visions and various manga have been developed. In fact, those two realms come together for one of the best Star Wars stories I’ve read in recent years: Star Wars Visions: Tsukumo. Based on the folklore concept of the “tsukumogami,” in which items acquire a spirit, this one-volume manga by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi of Ultraman fame begins shortly after Order 66 has been given and the new Empire is hunting down the remaining Jedi. Nagi Tsukumo, a Jedi Knight who has been poisoned, continued to live by their code, which includes taking two droids who act a whole lot like R2D2 and C-3PO to a rumored “Droid Paradise.” However, he is being hunted relentlessly, which is when this story takes a unique turn. It delves into the way of the Jedi and their actions, which sometimes run contrary to their beliefs. I really appreciated this dive into the apparent sins of the Jedi, but also into the outcome of these events. Tsukumo is a stirring, deeply Japanese take on Star Wars, while retaining the heart of the franchise (something too often forgotten in Disney’s recent releases). I absolutely loved this release—and I hope we keep receiving more Star Wars manga, as the Japanese understand and value the franchise as much anyone these days. ~ Twwk
Star Wars Visions: Tsukumo is published by VIZ Media.
Geniearth, Manga Vol. 1
Volume one of Geniearth is absolutely mesmerizing. A sort of X-Men origins story that mixes in a more Japanese take on the environment, as well as brutal violence and—most notably—a 90s comic/cartoon style that’s more reminiscent of Rugrats or other Nicktoons than manga of today, Geniearth, if nothing else, demands your attention. It presents a world where mutated humans have developed superpowers—perhaps meant to erase regular humans and other “lesser” creatures from the planet—and these “geniearth” are becoming increasingly frustrated and violent. The artwork feels juvenile because of the character designs, but also because the violence is highly graphic, yet rarely results in the type of awful deaths it seems to picture. I could see my middle school friends drawing a manga like this, though it wouldn’t match the level of art in the volume (another comparison, especially in the action scenes, would be to Sam Raimi’s take on the Scarlet Witch) nor the storytelling that’s going on here. As I mentioned earlier, X-Men comes to mind; fans of the series will see multiple ways in which Geniearth is inspired by the classic comic, right down to a Professor X/Magneto character and a society hunting down mutants. As the volume ends, it’s very difficult to say where the story will go and whether there’s actually a morality to it; the last bit bothers me, but I do get the sense that the deeply flawed anti-heroes of volume one may find some sort of stronger heroism within them as the series progresses, though that might just be the wishful thinking of a reviewer who otherwise found volume one to be outstanding. ~ Twwk
Geniearth is published by Titan Manga.
Record Journey, Manga Vol. 1
Do you have memories of listening to vinyl records? Do you ever browse through old ones at a local store—or even collect vinyl, old or new? If you have, you probably feel that connection between the records and a time now long past when there was something different about the music—something warm, passionate, meaningful. Volume one of Record Journey delves into vinyl, memory, and music with (sometimes) loosely connected stories all centered on such records, beginning with an amateur detective chapter centered on a vinyl store owner helping a young woman find the meaning behind one of the records her recently deceased grandfather left behind. I have to be honest; I didn’t think much of that story, but I warmed up the volume over time, and really enjoyed all the rest of the tales, which included stories about radio pirates, which feature a fictional band that resembles The Beatles in multiple ways, and that jump backward and forward in time. It’s a unique manga strongly imbued with a sense of time and place for each individual chapter, and which makes you feel nostalgic for those times and for the records made during them. The artwork is shaded heavily, and characters are drawn in a style more rembling manga of the past, furthering that sense of age. This is a very cool work—and I’m excited that Titan Comics has brought this series over to us so that we, too, can take the journey! ~ Twwk
Record Journey is published by Titan Manga.
Fool Night, Manga Vol. 9
Fool Night is a dark and deeply sorrowful series, and volume nine reminds us of such right from the start with a story about Kanaeno—the only happy-go-lucky character in the series—and her transflorated son. But the series isn’t nihilistic and never really even pretends to be. I think that’s part of the magic of Fool Night; in addition to its beautifully grim artwork and creative dystopian world, the story creates tension and despair despite showing us a glimmer of hope. Although that light remains in the distance, volume nine draws us a bit closer as Yomiko, Akira, and Toushiro conduct their own under-the-radar investigations to both keep Yomiko safe and find out how truly vile Transflora Medical is. There’s so much danger in the air (as always)—but it feels even more sinister in this volume as these characters we’ve embraced are fighting evil within. And as usual, the hidden agendas by the powers that be are scarier than the nightmarish monsters on the outside—in this series due to volumes now of world-building. Oh, and a crazy new character makes an appearance in this volume. Scratch that—two crazy new characters appear. Fool Night always keeps us on our toes—what a tense story, and what an insanely great series! ~ Twwk
Fool Night is published by VIZ Media.
Read Reviews of Fool Night: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6 // Vol. 7 // Vol. 8
“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.
