Reviews to Resume After the New Year

Title says it all. Been much to busy to keep up with the schedule. I am slowly working on stuff, and once I get enough, the schedule will be back on. So hold tight folks!

Chapter Review: Boruto Chapter 01: Uzumaki Boruto!!

Our series starts off very similar to the very last fight with Sasuke and Naruto battling before the end of part one of the original Naruto manga, except this time we have Boruto, facing off against someone named Kawaki. What looks like Boruto trying to save his friend, quickly switches to him bringing out a Konoha head bandana with the symbol of his village striked it, showing it is Boruto that has turned against his clan. The flash forward ends abruptly here as we travel back intime to Boruto possibly years later...

Boruto, unlike his father, seems to be a ninja who is a bit more popular when it comes to friends. He has the same personality as his father once had as well, accept for the fact that he hates his dad. Naruto now is the leader of Konohagakure. Boruto also makes it very clear in the narrative, this story is not about his father Naruto, it's about him. So now that we have that out of the way our story begins with Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki taking on missions with their master, Konohamaru. After their current mission, Konohamaru shows off a new device that he ninja world is developing that can reproduce ninjutsu techniques with tiny scrolls. It gives off powerful reults, but Konohamaru makes it clear that his students must get strong on their own and not rely on machines. Boruto can honestly care less about having to master his own techniques and on his way home, runs into the inventor of the device who gives one to Boruto to use. Unbeknownst to Boruto and us though is their is a scheme behind this that we will see in future chapters.

Our story then shifts quickly to the upcoming Chuunin exam. Boruto's team all wants to compete, but they need everyone to agree on it. Boruto however thinks it is dumb, but later agrees with the plan to do the exam. It is also the day of Boruto's younger sister's birthday, and Boruto gets even more upset that his father sends a shadow clone out to the party instead of himself to wish his daughter a happy birthday.

Sasuke, on his way back from seeing Naruto who gave him a new mission, finds Naruto's childhood jacket thrown outside of his house. When he returns it, Boruto chases after him, begging Sasuke to train him.

The chapter pretty much leaves us off there. As a whole, I thought it started out well, until we got to the Chuunin Exam stuff. Yes, this is not a weekly series like the original series, but a monthly; it doesn't mean that this series needs to be very fast interms of where we are going. We are just being introduced into this world. The Flash forward sequence at the beginning as we go to the past for the rest of the chapter was a nice touch; it gives us something to look forward to later. But us having so much, so quick, can really be overwhelming. Yes we know this world, but we don't know all these new characters unless you read the side-stories. Overall, it was an interesting ride and can't wait for the next addition.

Rating: 6/10

Quick Update

Once again, sorry for certain delays. I am really trying to play catch up! Tons of reviews still to take care of, so I am going to go to a 1 Volume a week, the TBT, and 1 Chapter a week till I catch up... So here is what its going to look like till the end of the year!

• 12/15 - TBT Review: Saiyuki V.02
• 12/17 - Boruto Chapter 01 Review
• 12/20 - Magi V.19 Review
• 12/22 - TBT Review: Battle Royale V.07
• 12/24 - Boruto Chapter 02 Review
• 12/27 - Platinum's End V.01 Review
• 12/29 - TBT Review: Saiyuki V.03
• 12/31 - Boruto Chapter 03 Review

This will bring us into the new year. I will most likely do another What to Expect in 2017 type of feature as well, give you all a glimpse on what I am expecting and what you all might see on here as reviews one day!

Review: Ninja Slayer Kills! V.03

Title: Ninja Slayer Kills!

Volume: 3 (of 4+)
Creator: Koutarou Sekine, Bradley Bond, Philip Ninj@ Morzez
Format: Right-to-Left
Original Publisher: Kodansha
US Publisher: Kodansha
Release Date: 9/20/16
Pages: 224
ISBN: 1632360888
MSRP: $10.99
Genre: Shonen
Rated: OT (Ages 16+)

Description: THE CRIMSON AVENGER RETURNS

The wicked ninja soul, Naraku, has been sealed away deep within Fujikido, but the flames of vengeance still burn bright! And despite the staggering setback caused by losing his ninja power, Fujikido continues his quest to avenge the murder of his wife and son at the hands of ninja. However, the Soukai Syndicate have sent out the young ninja, Dominant, to face Fujikido, and their ensuing encounter will be the start of Fujikido’s true battle!!

Contains Kills 12-17:

• Kills 12: Back in Black Part 3
• Kills 13: Back in Black Part 4
• Kills 14: Back in Black Part 5
• Kills 15: Neo-Yakuza For Sale
• Kills 16: Surprised Dojo Part 1
• Kills 17: Surprised Dojo Part 2

Review:

Cover: The front cover this time features Fujikido (Our ninja slayer) and Yukano, Fujikido is front and center with Yukano kind of more in the foreground. Both are in action poses. What makes this image cool though is Fujikido's mask is broken, part of it is falling off his face, while the rest is still hanging on his head, but cracking. The series title is in the upper right corner, and the volume number is on the lower right.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Kodansha company logo, the series title, the volume number, and the mangaka.

The back cover has the volume summary across the top third of the cover. Under that is an awesome collage of Fujikido's enemies in this volume of the series.

The cover is very simplistic, but every point makes it stand out, the hot and dark colors used on a white background is just a perfect fit. The empy spaces aren't really distracting at all. Plus the overall layout is spot on attractive. It's one of the reasons I picked this series up originally and still am buying it today.

Artwork: The artwork continues its dark shonen style feel. Action from pretty much cover to cover, and very detailed at that. It really reminds me of an 80s sci-fi samurai punk movie in terms of look and feel. The art to me is still probably one of the best things about this series, which in terms of overall depth, doesn't say a lot.

Translation: Character names, attacks, cultural references, places, sound effects, and honorifics are all left intact. I honestly can't ask for a better translation then this series.

Extras: There's a huge Character Design Setting section that gives lots of info on the characters and places in this volume, with detailed pictures and notes from the mangaka. Theres also an afterword from the mangaka and translation notes.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): This might be the last volume I review of this series, due to the fact that it is weirdly paced and completely unmemorable to me from volume to volume. With that said, let's go on with what I can piece out of what I read from this book.

First off, we have the Ninja Slayer and Yukano continuing with their fight from the previous volume of the series (which was released about 6 months before this one).Our heroes actually almost get their asses handed to them, but Fujikido won't give up because he vows to be the Ninja Slayer to avenge his family who ninjas actually killed. With that out of the way, Fujikido defeats the enemy and gives way to the next story arc.

We have a chapter that sets the tale of the next arc. Yakuza's have hired some of the worlds deadliest ninjas to take down the Ninja Slayer once and for all. There are a total of six, and by far I find them the most creatively made characters of the series so far, but probably with the stupidest names I've ever heard. The first of these ninjas, Big Shuriken, sets the stage for the rest of this volume.

The final two chapters dives straight into this new threat, the Six Gates. Like mentioned before, they are here to kill Fujikido. Big Shuriken and Fujikido's fight begins, but is interupted when two more of the Six arrive to cause even more trouble, Earthquake and Hellkite. The volume ends in a very overwhelming situation for our hero leaving him completely outnumbered.

For the most part, the action is incredible as far as this series is concerned. My huge issue is the overall story. It's very easy to get lost in with this series, I'm not sure if its due to this being an all action version of the original Ninja Slayer series or what the problem with the pacing is. We actually do get some character development in this volume. The flashback with Fujikido when he knows he needs to keep on fighting to avenge his family was a nice touch. Also the new enemies he will be facing have a bit of necessary development that previous enemies never had. Hopefully this means they will be around a bit longer then just a couple of chapters. If not, I and I am pretty sure a lot of fans will continue to be disappointed by this series as a whole.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: Yes
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: Yes

Score:

• Cover: 10/10
• Artwork: 7/10
• Translation: 10/10
• Extras: 10/10
• Story: 2/10

Overall Rating: 8/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles
Original Review Date: 12/12/16

Throw-Back Thursday Review: Reservoir Chronicle: Tsubasa V.01

Title: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE: TSUBASA
Volume: 1 (of 6+)
Creator: CLAMP
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: Kodansha Ltd.
US Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: 4/1/04
Pages: 208
ISBN: 0345470575
MSRP: $10.95
Genre: N/A
Rated: T (Ages 13+)

Description: SAKURA AND SYAORAN RETURN!

But they’re not the people you know. Sakura is the princess of Clow—and possessor of a mysterious, misunderstood power that promises to change the world. Syaoran is her childhood friend and leader of the archaeological dig that took his father’s life. They reside in an alternate reality . . . where whatever you least expect can happen—and does. When Sakura ventures to the dig site to declare her love for Syaoran, a puzzling symbol is uncovered—which triggers a remarkable quest. Now Syaoran embarks upon a desperate journey through other worlds—all in the name of saving Sakura.



Contains Chapitres 1-5:

• Honorifics
• Chapitre 1: The World of Beginnings
• Chapitre 2: The Price of Memory
• Chapitre 3: The Wings of Hitsuzen
• Chapitre 4: The Strength to Fight
• Chapitre 5: The Instant of Awakening
• Letter from the Editor
• About the Creators
• Past Works
• Dramatis Personae
• Translation Notes
• Preview of xxxHOLIC
• Preview of Tsubasa Volume 2

Review:

Cover: As you must know, this title was one of the first four titles that launched the Del Rey Manga line, and with its release, we have yet another company who will surely be promising with its future releases based on these first four volumes.

The cover of Tsubasa is a masterpiece. It almost is identical to the original Japanese volume. The front has the volume number on the left upper corner, followed by the series title next to it. I prefer Del Rey’s version of the series title rather then the original as it stands out more. Under the series title we have the mangaka in white text. The bottom of the cover, extending from the right side, is a little red bar which has a small blurb stating that this series is “new from the creators of Chobits.” The main image on the front cover is the same as the original. It has Syaoran protecting a distressed Sakura. The image is a little bit better from the original as there is more of a darker contrast to it, bringing the characters emotions more out from the expressions they are showing.

The spine is well done as well. From top to bottom we have the Del Rey logo, done in Japanese katakana, an image of Sakura taken from the front cover, the series title, the volume number, the mangakas, and the Del Rey logo again, this time done to their traditional logo used on all of their other releases.

The back cover has a background image taken from one of the panels from the manga itself, except it is done in green and black, with one of Sakura’s memories swirling around it. The top of the back cover we have a heading which states “Sakura and Syaoran return,” relating to the return of these characters to the manga world (they were originally in the manga and anime series Cardcaptor Sakura). Below that we have a summary of the volume.

As a whole, this cover was done very well. I enjoy looking at it, and sometimes that is hard to say for certain series. Del Rey did a great job for the cover for one of their first manga volumes, which is impressive for it being one of their first.

Artwork: The artwork from Tsubasa is an exact transfer from the original version. A lot of people have complained about this title having grainy artwork or to rigged, when this is how it exactly looks in the original Japanese volume.

CLAMP’s artwork always impresses me. If the story lacks, the artwork will always bring up a positive.

Translation: The translation is very accurate to the original. I had no problems at all with it. They even left “chapitre” as “chapitre” and did not change it to “chapter.” Honorifics are left intact and no name changes were made at all. SFX were also left in the original form, which means that the artwork suffered no damage from the translation.

Extras: Tsubasa V.01 comes with plenty of extras to keep everyone happy. First thing it comes with is the colored pages that were included in the original release in its weekly anthology serialization, as well as the Special Edition volumes. The color pages are quite nice and it is cool to be able to own a reasonably inexpensive manga volume, which in volume format in Japan, the Special Editions can cost you a pretty penny.

Del Rey also included quite a few of their own unique extras which were very pleasing to me. Before the actual content of this volume begins, we are introduced to a page explaining what “honorifics” is and what the prefixes mean attached to the ends of characters names.

Another addition Del Rey added was a short essay on one of CLAMP’s past works, Cardcaptor Sakura, which is a nice little piece which can be very helpful in understanding a little bit more about CLAMP, as well as the story of Tsubasa.

Next we have another original addition by Del Rey, which clues the readers on characters in this volume that appear in some of CLAMP’s other works. Tsubasa is one of CLAMP’s titles that deals with major crossovers between the “CLAMP Universe,” so this section can come quite in handy when trying to find out which characters come from which series (I myself am a big CLAMP fan because of the whole crossover fetish CLAMP has with putting old characters in newer series). There are a few characters that were not pointed out, but I am sure you can figure it out once you buy this volume, or if you have it already then you know what I mean. One note though that would have been nice to add is that Miyuki-chan is in the Tsubasa series, but can easily be overlooked. She shows up in this volume running around the background, as well as a few other volumes of the series. It is a little like “Where’s Waldo?” Can you find Miyuki-Chan?

We also have some translation notes that were added by Del Rey, so the readers can get to know a little bit more about certain topics or words that are brought up and wouldn’t be understood by the typical reader.

Since Tsubasa crosses xxxHOLIC in V.01, Del Rey decided to do a mini preview for xxxHOLIC, to try and seduce its readers into buying the other series. Nice couple of pages to get people to want to buy it.

Last, Del Rey decided to put in a preview of V.02 of Tsubasa, but the only thing is that it is entirely in Japanese.

The extras were very overwhelming and a very nice addition. They were also very helpful at times, and I hope to see future volumes with material just like this, maybe even better.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): Where do I start with this series. Well first it is a CLAMP series. It is also one of their newest series. But what makes this title stand out against CLAMP’s other works is that it is a crossover series that spans across every series they have ever made. CLAMP is known for its art and its crossovers, and when they decided to make a series that crosses all of their series boundaries, there was no way I was going to miss out on it.

RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE: TSUBASA, or Tsubasa for short, begins with two characters, Syaoran and Sakura from the Cardcaptor Sakura series, in a very close love relationship. Both characters are in love, but can not be in love because they are from totally different classes of society. One night, Sakura becomes entranced and ends up in a coma. Her memories are removed from her soul, and Syaoran decides to go on a quest to find Sakura’s lost memories.

Syaoran is brought to the Galaxy Witch, aka Yuko from xxxHOLIC, where she tells Syaoran that he can find Sakura’s memories, but their would be a price to pay; he could find all of her memories except for the memory that Sakura had of him. Syaoran agrees, but before he leaves on his quest, two more people arrive, Kurogane, a warrior trying to return to his own world, and Fai D. Florite, a magician not wanting to return to his own world. The three of them, as well as Makona their guardian, from Magic Knights Rayearth, are transported to a new world, the Hanshin Republic, where they are left to find the first part of Sakura’s memories.

In the Hanshin Republic they run into many other CLAMP Characters such as Sorata and Arashi from X/1999, and Rayearth and Sang Yung from Magic Knights Rayearth I and II.

By the end of the first volume we are left with out characters in a dire situation. I will not say much more as I want some of this to be a surprise.

As far as V.01 of the series go, it starts off slow with introductions, and then begins to pick up towards the later part of the volume. It was a very enjoyable read for me, but if you are expecting for a lot of action, don’t expect it until V.02.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 10/10
• Artwork: 10/10
• Translation: 10/10
• Extras: 9/10
• Content: 9/10

Overall: 10/10

Where Purchased: Walden Books
Original Review Date: 6/18/04

Review: Black Clover V.03

Title: Black Clover
Volume: 3 (of 7+)
Creator: Yuki Tabata
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: SHUEISHA
US Publisher: VIZ
Release Date: 10/4/16
Pages: 192
ISBN: 1421587203
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (For Teen)

Description: In a world of magic, Asta, a boy with anti-magic powers, will do whatever it takes to become the Wizard King!

Asta is a young boy who dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the kingdom. Only one problem—he can't use any magic! Luckily for Asta, he receives the incredibly rare five-leaf clover grimoire that gives him the power of anti-magic. Can someone who can't use magic really become the Wizard King? One thing's for sure—Asta will never give up!

Asta and his teammates were ready for trouble when they were sent into a magical dungeon full of traps, but going up against the Diamond Kingdom may be too much for them to handle. Even Yuno couldn't stand up to Mars and his mineral magic—does Asta have a chance...?!

Contains Pages 17-25:

• Page 17: Destroyer
• Page 18: Inside the Treasure Hall
• Page 19: Memories of You
• Page 20: One Instant
• Page 21: Destruction and Salvation
• Page 22: Assembly at the Royal Capital
• Page 23: The Distinguished Service Ceremony
• Page 24: Capital Riot
• Page 25: March of the Dead

Review:

Cover: The cover this time features Noelle, front and center. Behind her is Asta, ready to strike with his anti-magic sword. And behind them is Mars, watching over them in a greenish color. The background is rose pink, with the same tapestry like border as previous other volumes of the series has used. The series title is accross the center in white, with the volume number in red under it.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangaka, an image of Noelle taken from the front cover, and the VIZ company logo.

The back cover uses the same background as the front. Up top is a small pic that is basically a colorized shot of one of the cover pages from the later arc that takes place in this volume. Under that we have the series title, the volume title, and then the summary of the volume.

I honestly don't care for this cover whatsoever. The imaging used for the front is not very rememberable, expecially with the colors used. It reminds me of something that should really be a chapter title splash page over an actual volume cover. The volume number placement and the color used makes it very hard to even see. The image used on the back cover is ridiculously small and could have been enlarged slightly with how much space was left over on the top half of the cover. Overall, very bad layout!

Artwork: The art from this series continues to impress me. Being it a shonen series, we can expect there being a lot of action sequences, and does the volume deliver! Mixing a style similar to Claymore and Berserk, the volume continues its dark gothic/magical world element, which I very much enjoy! The comedic moments does change the tone of the art at times, but it really doesn't distract from the overall appeal.

Translation: Character names, attacks, places, and lore remain intact. Honorifics and sound effects have been changed, per usual from VIZ's translations.

Extras: There are tons of extras in this volume. Character bios, relationship charts, a mini chapter, an afterword. There's a lot of little things to find that makes the reading experience much better!

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): This volume concludes the previous story arc with Mars and the dungeon that started last volume, and moves onto the next big arc where we finally meet the current Wizard King. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though yet. Asta and the gang still have a bit to go with the fight with Mars.

Asta finally enters the battle with Mars, and does quick work of Mars' Talos Doll Swarm by using his Anti-Magic Sword. Mars uses his magic to create a Titan like body to defend himself, but in the end Asta manages to take that down as well. The Crimson Dawn and Black Bulls manage to make it into the dungeon Treasure Room.

All looks like our heroes won, until Mars returns using his Phoenix like abilities. We learn it is rare for Wizards to be able to use more then one type of element magic, Mars appears to have more then two so far. Noelle decides she will try to take him down, but in the end she is easily defeated, as well as Asta. All hope looks lost as our heroes are down, but Yuno manages to deliver the final blow to Mars, after Mars has a kind of flashback that shows a somewhat tragic past that he had (no spoilers here, just think that Gaara tragic backstory from Naruto but with Wizards and not Ninjas).

The next story arc barely gets off the ground. We get to see the Wizard Capital and see the Wizard King once again, learning a bit more about him then from the first story arc where we saw the trials Asta and Yuno went through to become actual wizards. This starts out as somewhat of a ceremony to promote wizards who have achieved certain merits (not sure how often these happen). It ends with the Capital getting attacked by a new threat who actually can reanimate corpses and use them as their zombie puppets.

As a whole, the story moved fairly quick. We really didn't have any intermission between the two story arcs and just jumped from one point to the next. It does work for some series, but for this one it was rather to quickly and didn't really give me, the reader, time to breathe between one instance to the next. Plot wise the story was engaging and it won't make me stop reading because of the problems it does suffer, but I do wish the stories begin to get a bit longer then just moving quickly through story arcs. We are on volume 3 and we have had pretty much four overarching stories so far. Like I said it is not a bad thing, just wish there was more overall substance. 

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: Yes

Score:

• Cover: 2/10
• Artwork: 8/10
• Translation: 5/10
• Extras: 8/10
• Story: 7/10

Overall Rating: 6/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles

Original Review Date: 12/6/16

Review: Fruits Basket V.05 Collector's Edition

Title: Fruits Basket 

Volume: 5 (of 12)
Creator: Natsuki Takaya
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: HAKUSENSHA
US Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: 9/27/16
Pages: 368
ISBN: 031636066X
MSRP: $20.00
Genre: Shoujo/Comedy
Rated: Teen

Description: As summer vacation inches closer, Tohru spends her days in anxious anticipation, Yuki meets a new student council member on the way to school...and Uo-chan is in love?! Who is the object of her affections?! Once summer break is in full swing, Tohru and the others take a trip to the Sohma family cottage at Momiji's invitation. Even though they're enjoying summer activities like swimming in the ocean and catching stag beetles, Yuki and Tohru have an ominous premonition! Meanwhile, Shigure pays a visit to the main house, where he makes a proposal to Akito--?!

Contains Chapters 49-59:

• Chapter 49
• Chapter 50
• Chapter 51
• Chapter 52
• Chapter 53
• Chapter 54
• Chapter 55
• Chapter 56
• Chapter 57
• Chapter 58
• Chapter 59

Review:

Cover: The character featured this time around on the front cover is Hatsuharu, the Ox. The background is white, with dark red text for the series title, on the upper left corner, and the volume number following under it.

The spine from top to bottom uses a tiny bit lighter of a dark red background; we have the volume number, the series title, an image of Hatsuharu and Ayame, the mangaka, and the Yen Press company logo.

The back cover featueres an image of Ayame, the Snake.

The covers continue the same flow as previous volumes featuring two characters prominently, one on each side. Me being a huge Hatsuharu fan, this cover to me was great in terms of imagery, however the text could have been a bit better, especially with the spine. The background color and the text on top of it was a bit hard to read seeing how similar in color they both were. This could have been pretty much a perfect 10, but this one flaw not only bothers the eyes, but its something that if you see it on a shelf and if it was not next to other volumes of the series, you might overlook it by the design of the spine alone.

Artwork: From the last few volumes being so emotionally charged, this one is a bit of a mixed bag when it came to the scenarios presented, and thus the artwork has changed quite a bit. One thing I love about Fruits Basket is even though the story is so deep, the art can be flawless when it comes to the simplicity of its art. However, this time around we go back to those weird comedy moments, where the stick figure characters are once again brought back into the mix. The art is already pretty bare minimum in terms of it being so clean and not a lot of background art to begin with, these stick figure moments really just kind of makes me thing the artist is a bit lazy at times.

Translation: I honestly can't ask for a better translation. Character names, honorifics, cultural references, places, sound effects; everything is left in place from the original.

Extras: There are a few color pages, an afterword page, and translation notes. I still wish the original chapter notes were included with this release, but due to the mangaka saying those notes were not relevant to the completed series, they were all removed.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers):  Long gone are we from a consistent story within the first half of this volume as we enter the dreaded one-shot stories yet again, with a bit of a mystery that seems to be unfolding though within the pages of these stories that might be leading into something huge!

First up we have a back story dealing with Hanajima, Tohru's other friend. This tells how she became friends with Tohru and how her "Powers" began to manifest. Although she tried to keep away from Tohru and Uo at first, she soon gave in to their frienship and they became very close.

We are also introduced to Kureno Sohma, but we don't learn much about him yet, just that he seems to fake being who he is. Who is he in terms of the Zodiac? We will probably have to wait quite a bit longer to find out about this.

The big mystery starts to trickle in at this point. There was a kid who ran into Tohru when she was younger and lost. The only thing that Tohru has from this event was the kids hat. And she is determined to one day find this kid, now her age, and give the hat back to him. So far it seems it might be Yuki, and when all is revealed, something big might unfold. This all lingers into the second half of the volume, but still is not really uncovered the mystery behind this.

The second half of the volume we have Tohru and pretty much the entire Sohma family going to a summer beach house for vacation. This also include Akito, who has not shown up for quite a while. Akito has plans to sabotage the vactation and ruin everyones fun, and it seems to work quite a bit when Tohru and Kyo are left alone in the house while everyone else has to pay their respects to Akito.  Akito absolutely despises Tohru and will make sure Tohru will be just as unhappy as Akito.

The volume does end on a solid note. This summer vacation trip is not over yet and it seems like things will begin to unfold more in the next volume. There were quite a few dull moments, but for the most part, this volume revealed many more things and mysteries to the overall story. Tohru is pretty much a god in this world. Her mission is to break the curse of this family. Kyo has one year left for that to happen because once he graduates, he will be locked away in the dark room like his grandfather, the previous cat, once was. Akito on the other hand will do anything to make sure Tohru doesn't destroy the family and it looks like the drama is beginning to spill out more with the end of this volume. 

As a whole, the series is becoming a bit more darker in terms of what will be happening in the coming volumes. I honestly can't wait to read what is to come next as this is the territory of the manga where I actually originally stopped reading, plus the anime pretty much is almost over at this point as well. I honestly recommend this series to pretty much all readers. You don't need to be a female to enjoy a Shojo series, especially this one. Definitely check it out!

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: No
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 7/10
• Artwork: 7/10
• Translation: 10/10
• Extras: 4/10
• Story: 7/10

Overall Rating: 7/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles

Original Review Date: 11/20/16

Review: BLAME! Master Edition V.01

Title: BLAME!
Creator: Tsutomu Nihei
Format: Right-to-Left
Original Publisher: KODANSHA
US Publisher: Vertical Comics
Release Date: 9/13/16
Pages: 408
ISBN: 1942993773
MSRP: $34.95
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rated: OT (Older Teens)

Description: In a future version of Earth, there is a city grown so chaotically massive that its inhabitants no longer recall what "land" is. Within this megastructure the silent, stoic Kyrii is on a mission to find the Net Terminal Gene—a genetic mutation that once allowed humans to access the cybernetic NetSphere. Armed with a powerful Graviton Beam Emitter, Kyrii fends off waves of attacks from fellow humans, cyborgs and silicon-based lifeforms. Along the way, he encounters a highly-skilled scientist whose body has deteriorated from a lengthy imprisonment who promises to help Kyrii find the Net Terminal Gene, once she settles a score for herself...

Contains Logs 1-9:

• Log 1: Net Terminal Gene
• Log 2: The Memory of Land
• Log 3: Technomads
• Ex Log
• Log 4: The Administration
• Log 5: Escape
• Log 6: Silicon Life
• Log 7: The Builders
• Ex Log: Abandoned Nest
• Log 8: The Cluster
• Log 9: Bio-Electric, Inc

Review:

Cover: The cover uses a white background with our protagonist, Kyrii, standing among the broken pieces of one of his enemies. The series title is across the top in big letters, with the volume number on the left side and the Master Edition label on the right.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Vertical Comics company logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangaka, and a label for Toha Heavy Industries.

The back cover has the same background as the front cover. We have the backside of Kyrii, standing among the ruins of his enemy.

I absolutely love this cover as a whole. Seeing Kyrii on cover to cover in a way that he can be seen from all sides was a very creative idea. One of the biggest things I also love is the font used for the series. BLAME is such a cool title name, and the way that the mangaka chose to write it on anything related to this series is done in a very powerful fashion. All around, the cover really does show what we will kind of be expecting within the series.

Artwork: If anything, one of the only reasons you should buy this is entirely for the artwork; it is brilliant! Being a very futuristic sci-fi series, and having such a dark tone, the art is gritty as it can get without becoming to grotesque. Being a Seinen series, don't expect a lot of mood changes at all. This series has a theme, which is survival and the artwork truly shows that fluently.

Translation: Not much to really show through translation in this volume. Everything has been left intact. What there was interms of actual dialouge it remains true to the original manga.

Extras: There are two Extra logs, but neither of them really advance the story much.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): This is probably going to be short, and I know I have reviewed a few of the original volumes of this series back when I first started reviews (I will probably end up posting those as well one day), the series still has a great concept, but truly not much to go off of.

This volume deals with our protagonist, Kyrii who is on a endless mission, climbing this huge structural building, world, not really sure yet... His mission - to find the Net Terminal Gene. Does he get remotely close to it? Probably not since this is going to be a total of 3 Omnibus volumes.

Along the way he does encounter many obstacles and enemies who make sure to try to end him before he gets closer to the truth, but the biggest thing I would say that he comes across is a female, broken scientist, Cibo, who agrees to help Kyrii reach his goal if he helps her finish her mission.

I really can't say much else about the content; its also because there really isn't a lot to talk about with plot. There is very little dialogue and character development at all. Its just a massive tower climb by a single man and the things he encounters on the way. If your looking for something with a bit more fluidity in terms of plot, BLAME might not be something for you. You have to read between the art if you want to get deep into the story. If you can't do that, its an extreme disappointment and you might want to avoid this series.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: Yes
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 10/10
• Artwork: 10/10
• Translation: 10/10
• Extras: 1/10
• Story: 2/10

Overall Rating: 7/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles

Original Review Date: 11/11/16

Review: RG Veda Omnibus V.01

Title: RG Veda Omnibus Volume 01 (of 3)
Creator: CLAMP
Format: Right-to-Left
Original Publisher: KADOKAWA
US Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: 9/6/16
Pages: 656
ISBN: 1616559888
MSRP: $24.99
Genre: Fantasy
Rated: T (Teens)

Description: RG Veda, pronounced Rig Veda, is based on the classic Indian saga of the same name. The lush, sprawling epic follows Yasha, once a mighty warrior king, but now the lord of a slaughtered people he could not save. Yasha journeys the land as the companion and protector of the genderless Ashura, even knowing Ashura's fate is wound with doom for many. Together they seek the other four of the "Six Stars," whose prophesied gathering will at least defeat Taishukuten, the evil usurper of Heaven's throne. But all prophecies are open to interpretation...

Contains 7 Parts:

• The Ressurection of Ashura
• Star Festival
• Storm of the Six Stars - Part 01
• Flame of Destruction, Thunder of the King
• Traveler's Light
• Storm of the Six Stars - Part 02
• Ice Castle, Fire Prison

Revew:

Cover: The cover for this volume has a Gold colored background. The main image is directly centered and features Ashura and Yasha. The series title and mangaka are along the left side of the cover, with the volume number on the right side.

The spine from top to bottom contains the series title and mangakas side-by-side, the volume number, an image of Ashura and Yasha taken from the front cover, and the Dark Horse Comics company logo.

The back cover mainly has everything shifted to the right side. The top portion has an image of, yet again, Ashura and Yasha taken from the front cover. Then we have the series title, the mangakas, and the volume description.

The only thing great about this cover is the front cover. The background color used was a great choice! The image used as well, on the front only! There was so much art that could have been used for the spine and the back cover, but nope! We got the same image used over and over. This is an Omnibus. It was originally 4 Volumes! And we got artwork from just 1 cover? This is probably one of the worst cover designs I have seen in a very long time.

Artwork: This series is done by one of my favorite group of artists of all time, CLAMP. Even if their stories are terrible, their artwork makes up for everything! RG Veda is their very first work, and it still shows just how beautiful of art they can truly create. The artwork is very Shojo-esqe, but it has a lot of detail to it. If anything, if you are a fan of great art, check this volume out!

Translation: Character names, places, artifacts, sound effects, and pretty much everything you can think of was left intact. However, from the nature of this series and knowing CLAMP, the one thing that was not kept were the honorifics, which was a bit disappointing to see.

Extras: There were absolutely no extras with this release. This was a bit disappointing as well weith all the extra content that was included when the series was originally released; the Tokyopop releases had the extra chapters and content.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): The prophecy tells of one man who will one day destroy the Earth completely. It is said that if he is revived that he will one day end all life. This is basically where our story begins. A man named Yasha hears this prophecy, yet still does not believe in such nonsense and decides to awaken a child, Ashura, who has been sleeping in a forest for 300 years. It is said that the child will bring bad luck to anyone who encounters him, including killing Yasha. Yasha still does not believe the prophecy and will do whatever he can to change the destiny and bring balance to the planet.

Thus we now begin a quest in a sense. Yasha decides to raise the young Ashura as his own, gathering his Six Stars and regaining the Sword that the original Ashura once possessed. But there is a lot to this tale and it is rich in history.

Ashura was actually born from a woman who did not love the original Lord Ashura, but an evil god Taishakuten. There were two children actually born and were seperated. The child Ashura was sealed in the forest because the prophecy told of him killng the god Taishakuten, which is also the reason Yasha is protecting the boy cause the god actually wiped out all of Yasha's tribe as well.

There is a large blood soaked path of destrucition whereever our protagonists seem to go, and the main quest in this volume does not really move that far along. By volumes end we have Ashura basically just regaining his sword and still looking for his Six Stars, which two of them have already been found just not really shared with the readers.

As a whole, this story is a bit confusing. The chapters don't really flow with each other and are all over the place without really telling the readers what happened and at what point in time the chapter takes place in the story. However, it is still a very rich tale, and if you can get through it, you can pretty much catch on to a lot of it if you pay really close attention to the details. As this is a CLAMP title, I wasn't expecting the story to go off in a complete weird tangent at times, but it is also their first work as well. The story has an intriguing plot, that I will stick around for with the next volume at least, but if you have a hard time following stories, this might not be something you want to get into.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: Yes

Score:

• Cover: 2/10
• Artwork: 10/10
• Translation: 7/10
• Extras: 0/10
• Story: 6/10

Overall Rating: 5/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles

Original Review Date: 10/31/16

Busy, Busy. Busy....

Sorry for the lack of reviews and not keeping up with the schedule, I am doing my best to manage my life and the reviews at the same time but have less and less time to do some of the things I love doing! It also doesn't help that a lot of the volumes that I am doing right now are big Omnibus editions...

If you notice, the review pile is getting longer and longer... Novembers releases have started trickling in...

Currently still going through reading RG Veda... might not be out by Tuesday as planned, but it will be out that week... Same goes for the following two weeks... BLAME and Fruits Basket are huge books as well! So I will try my best to get them all out on time! They just might be a few days late or so...

Review: One-Punch Man V.08

Title: One-Punch Man
Volume: 08 (of 11+)
Creator: ONE and Yusuke Murata
Format: Right-to-Left
Original Publisher: Shueisha
US Publisher: Viz
Release Date: 9/6/16
Pages: 200
ISBN: 1421586568
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (Teens)

Description: Nothing about Saitama passes the eyeball test when it comes to superheroes, from his lifeless expression to his bald head to his unimpressive physique. However, this average-looking guy has a not-so-average problem-he just can't seem to find an opponent strong enough to take on!

Class-S hero King is known as the strongest man on earth. Even monsters fear him. But when a mysterious organization sends an assassin after him, the shocking truth about King is revealed!

Contains Punch 38-40:

• Punch 38: King
• Punch 39: That Man
• Punch 40: Outlaws
• Bonus Manga 01: Lost Cat
• Bonus Manga 02: Monster

Review:

Cover: This cover features King and Saitama playing video games. Saitama looks to be beaten at the game he is playing and is tossing the controller down onto the floor, extremely pissed off. The series title is across the top in green lettering, with the volume number and mangaka listed on the lower left corner.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangakas, an image of King, and the VIZ company logo.

The back cover contains a bonus manga in color that has King browsing a local game store. The bottom 1/3rd of the cover has the volume's summary on a green background.

This is yet another great representation of the original tankouban release. It is also pretty hilarious to see this cover depicting an action sequence and it wasn't until really thoroughly examining the cover that I realized they were actually playing an old school SNES. I also really liked they included a kind of bonus manga, in color, on the back cover. Really creative here and probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen done with a manga.

Artwork: Artwork that consistently amazes me. This series is a Shonen title, so expect tons of explosive action from cover to cover. As we move on from the Boros saga, there still isn't a small breath of hesitation as we get right into the next Demon level threat in town, and tons of beautiful splash pages. I really wish some of these were done in color, they would look even more amazing.

Translation: Character names, attacks, culturual references, and locations are all left intact. Sound effects have been changed; typical VIZ stuff.

Extras: There are two extensive bonus chapters in this volume. Both of them take place after the events that happen within this volume. The Bonus Chapter, Lobster, does contain a bit with one of the new villains we will be seeing over the course of the next few volumes, Garo. Both are worth definitely reading and should not be skipped.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): This volume was pretty much an entertaining side-story after the events of the last story arc with Boros. We get the aftermath of that fight, but we quickly move to even more monsters still attacking the city.

Genos and Saitama decide its up to them to fight these monsters, but in another part of town there is a hero known as King, who witnessed a fight with Saitama against a monster that Saitama killed and he took all the credit. When King gets thrusted into this City infested with monsters, everyone looks to him for help because he is supposed to be so strong, yet really is the weakest person in the whole Hero Association and would rather stay in his apartment and play video games. Saitama however catches him in his lie and reveals it to King. With more and more monster attacks, King doesn't know if he can keep the lie up much longer, even with a new assassination organization who has sent enemies to take out King personally. Saitama once again saves the day, and King as well, but King still doesn't reveal to the world that he is a fraud.

Meanwhile with more and more threats attacking the city, the Hero Association looks to villains to start helping the heroes save their planet or they won't be able to keep fending the Earth. Enter, Garo; he takes out pretty much everyone at this assembly of villains and heroes. And he vows to kill every last Hero.

The volume was an entertaining read, but not as thrilling as the previous few volumes of the series. This is also the first volume that will be Season 2 of the anime, so we have now entered into some original content if readers cared to watch the anime now, or if fans of the anime wanted to pick up the series since we are now past the anime's first season. King was an interesting character, and hopefully they go back to him as the series progresses, especially with this new Garo story arc that we will be treated to within the next volume (yes, this arc is still going on in the current manga as well). Now that we are out of the shorter story arcs and entering a much larger story with this volume, let's hope the mangaka can continue to deliver!

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 10/10
• Artwork: 10/10
• Translation: 8/10
• Extras: 10/10
• Story: 8/10

Overall Rating: 9/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles

Original Review Date: 10/26/16

Review: Fruits Basket V.04 Collector's Edition

Title: Fruits Basket
Volume: 4 (of 12)
Creator: Natsuki Takaya
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: HAKUSENSHA
US Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: 8/30/16
Pages: 392
ISBN: 0316360651
MSRP: $20.00
Genre: Shoujo/Comedy
Rated: Teen

Description: Jealousy, rage, regret--the members of the Sohma family are no strangers to these emotions. Tohru Honda's cheerful optimism, however, is like a balm to them. Unfortunately, not every Sohma feels that way! Kisa and Tohru have become fast friends, but Hiro Sohma isn't too happy about this turn of events and decides to take out his anger on...Tohru?! And when the normally docile Hatsuharu snaps and pulls a Black Haru at school, will Tohru's brand of magic have any effect at all?!

Contains Chapters 37-48:

• Chapter 37
• Chapter 38
• Chapter 39
• Chapter 40
• Chapter 41
• Chapter 42
• Chapter 43
• Chapter 44
• Chapter 45
• Chapter 46
• Chapter 47
• Chapter 48

Review:

Cover: The cover this time around features Momiji in his school uniform, holding his hat in front of him. The background is a very light lavender color, with the series title and volume number in the left top corner in a darker purple color.

The spine from top to bottom contains the volume number, the series title, an image of Momiji and Hatori standing side by side, the mangaka, and the Yen Press company logo. The background on the spine is a flowery purple template.

The back cover has a picture of Hatori, dressed in his usual business suit.

I'm still in love with these covers, however, the image of Momiji used wasn't as impressive as the original volume that contained Momiji (can't remember the actual volume number at the moment). Also, yes I know he is a kid, but the position of Momiji on the cover leaves a lot of empty space across a lot of the front cover. I know these covers are going for a more simplistic look, but being the front cover, it should have been a bit better in terms of design. Hatori on the back cover was a good choice and his image took up almost the entire back.

Artwork: As the series continues on, the artwork is beginning to get a bit more consistentcy in terms of its style.  Being a shoujo series, the art is very simplistic in nature with a much more carefree and lighter appeal. Backgrounds are minimal, but character dramatization is high in terms of how things can go from happy to moody in a matter of seconds. For the most part, each volume does get better then the last in terms of the overall art.

Translation: The translation for this series is spot on. Everything from character names, honorifics, places, cultural references, and sound effects are left entirely true to the original Japanese manga.

Extras: There is an afterword and translation notes. Nothing really worth it in my opinion. As I have said previously, the original manga had a lot more notes in between the chapters, which the mangaka has eliminated with these Collector's Edition volumes. It kind of sucks, cause they were very fun to read!

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): This volume dives deeper into both the Sohma family, as well as backstory with Tohru and Uotani. So there will be a bit to discuss this time around.

At first we are greeted by a new member of the Zodiac, Hiro Sohma. He appears to give Tohru a hard time, but his attitude mainly stems from the relationship she has begun to develop with Kisa Sohma, the Tiger that he has a crush on. Not only does he make life hard for Tohru, but he also tests her to see if she really is a good person or not. We do learn too that Hiro is the Sheep of the Zodiac.

Next we get a very in depth backstory with Uotani, specifically the day she meets Tohru and how she got to meet her once idol, Kyoko, who she wanted to teach a lesson to for becoming too soft. Kyoko is Tohru's mom for the reader's of my review's who have not read this series. She had a past of being in a really serious gang. So we get to see some moments of how she got out of the gang as well. It is a very deep story, and one that needed to be told since we learn how Uotani and Tohru actually became such close friends, even though they are so very different.

We then get a few filler chapters with more comedy then drama, since we just suffered a lot of emotional angst with the previous few chapters, but it doesn't last long as we jump right into meeting the next new member of the Zodiac, Ritsu Sohma, the monkey. His tale is a bit tragic too as he dresses like a girl, even though he is a boy and he had a lot of hardships growing up in school.

Next we have another visit from Ayame, this time to see his brother Yuki. We finally get some clarrification on why these two aren't as close as they should be for being brothers, which is a bit gut wrenching as well, especially when we learn a bit more of Yuki's tragic past and being locked away by Akito.

We then dive back into fillers for the remainder of the volume, but we get a glimpse of the next Sohma we will be introduced to more in the next upcoming volume, Rin. Rin has a deep connection to Hatsuharu, which was covered a bit in this volume, but there is a bit more of a mystery behind her and it will be unraveling very soon.

The series continues to get better and better. I loved how we finally get to have some back story on a few of the characters in the series. It will be fun to see what happens next with the Sohma family, especially when Tohru begins to start breaking the curse (I have not read that far and with Volume 5 of the Collector's Edition, I will be exploring some uncharted territory myself). Here's hoping this series continues to rise in suspense as we get closer to the climax of Fruits Basket.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: No
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 8/10
• Artwork: 8/10
• Translation: 10/10
• Extras: 3/10
• Story: 8/10

Overall Rating: 7/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles

Original Review Date: 10/23/16

Review: Magi V.19

Title: Magi - The Labyrinth of Magic
Volume: 19 (of 27+)
Creator: Shinobu Ohtaka
Format: Right-to-Left
Original Publisher: SHOGAKUKAN
US Publisher: VIZ
Release Date: 8/9/16
Pages: 192
ISBN: 142158395X
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Sunday
Rated: T (Teens)

Description: Deep within the desert lie the mysterious Dungeons, vast stores of riches there for the taking by anyone lucky enough to find them and brave enough to venture into the depths from where few have ever returned. Plucky young adventurer Aladdin means to find the Dungeons and their riches, but Aladdin may be just as mysterious as the treasures he seeks.

Magomett, the leader of Magnoshutatt, learns that the Kou Empire plans to attack while the city is weak from fighting against Leam. In desperation, he uses the Magoi Reactor to create a terrifying blackness in the sky. The very essence of the world is now threatened, and Aladdin must summon his most powerful allies to try to stop it!

Contains Nights 179-188:

• Night 179: The Deepest Level
• Night 180: Koha Ren, The King's Vessel
• Night 181: Completion
• Night 182: Djinn Equip Amon
• Night 183: Meeting
• Night 184: Titus and Marga
• Night 185: Final Strength
• Night 186: Koen and Alibaba
• Night 187: Great Gathering
• Night 188: Djinn-Equipped Warriors

Review:

Cover:The cover for this volume features Alibaba in his Djinn Equip form. This is the first volume as well that he reveals this form, so it is fitting that he is gracing the cover. The imaging is full of lots of flames, since that is the power that Amon has. The words are across the top with orange lettering, with the volume number on the bottom.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Shonen Sunday brand logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangaka, an image of Alibaba taken from the front cover, a magic lamp image, and the VIZ company logo.

The back cover features Koha Ren in her Djinn Equip form on the top half of the cover. The bottom half has the volume summary on an orange background.

As far as the cover goes, I really enjoy it a lot. The visual appearance is great and really shows what is in this volume, on both the front and back cover. My only issue is the coloring of the lettering. The orange used for the series title on the front is very hard to see. The gold border around the volume number is also very hard on the eyes. As well as the white coloring of the letters for the mangaka. The visuals are beautiful, but everything else that tells you what series this is and everything about it is completely bad.

Artwork: This volumes artwork has improved significantly, but its probably due to there being no real change in tone. The theme of this volume is very action oriented with a bit of drama sprinkled throughout it. There isn't much of those comedic moments like previous volumes of the series where the artwork truly does suffer. Hopefully we will have this caliber the next volume as well, mainly because this storyline doesn't appear like it might be ending soon.

Translation: Character names, places, attacks, and the central plot was all retained. The sound effects have been changed however, like almost all of VIZ's titles.

Extras: There is a bonus 2-Page manga that really has nothing to do with the story, and is drawn in the comedic style which I loathe so much from this series.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): The battle rages on in this volume as what we thought was the climax was only just the beginning of the problems that Leam and Magnoshutatt have to face, when the Kou Empire arrives on the battleground and an even bigger battle begins.

Magnoshutatt's leader decides to go for broke; Mogamett decides to sacrifice himself to use the Magoi Reactor to possibly save what was left of his kingdom of magic, but in the process ends up killing all of the humans on the bottom levels of his empire in order to summon the dark magic he needs to possibly win the outcome of the war.

All seems to be lost as Aladdin and the rest of the Leam empire try to fend themselves from this power, as well as Leam and their incoming forces, when Alibaba reunites with his friend and is now fully in his Djinn Equip form. As they continue to fight on, it seems the evil powers of Magnoshutatt can not be defeated. When one shadow monster is destroyed, three more rise up. Leam notices this as well and with the forces of Leam and the Kou empire teaming up, they begin the fight for their life to try and stop this maniacal evil wizard's last dying wish, to make sure Magic is the real victor in this war.

This volume pretty much is just an all out war from beginning to end. There are very few dramatic points, except one chapter dealing with Titus and Marga. I really like the direction though that this series went. It's dark storytelling of the Magnoshutatt with how the Magicians truly did enslave humans for their own personal power trip; it reminds me almost of the holocaust in a sense on how morbid the wizards truly are.

The sentimental moments with Titus and Marga were really great as well, it showed quite a bit of character development for these two characters, especially Titus as he was once someone who was pretty monotone when he first started in this series.

Last point, Alibaba finally in his Djinn Equip mode! Took long enough! But the scenes with him were amazing. Hopefully the rest of the gang will join the fight in the upcoming volumes before this reaches a climax, if not maybe right after. As a whole though this volume was a great read from beginning to end, and I am really looking forward to what the climax is going to bring.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 6/10
• Artwork: 8/10
• Translation: 8/10
• Extras: 2/10
• Story: 8/10

Overall Rating: 6/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles
Original Review Date: 10/4/16

Throw-Back Thursday Review: Yu Yu Hakusho V.03

Title: Yu Yu Hakusho
Volume: 3 (of 19)
Creator: Yoshihiro Togashi
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: SHUEISHA Inc.
US Publisher: VIZ
Release Date: 2/25/04
Pages: 194
ISBN: 1591161835
MSRP: $7.95
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (Teens)

Description: Yusuke's back from the dead and better than ever! But his encounters with the supernatural are far from over, because his new after school job is as an Underworld Detective, working for Botan and Koenma to bring in renegade demons and solve mysteries that only a former ghost can figure out! But when three demons escape to the human world with evil artifacts, Yusuke's new job turns into a trial by fire. Now, armed only with his wits, his guts, and the mystic power of the "Rei Gun", he must face Goki (a soul-eating ogre), Kurama (a shape shifting fox spirit), and the deadliest one of all, Hiei of the Evil Eye...

Contains Chapters 17-25:

• Chapter 17: The New Mission
• Chapter 18: Action!
• Chapter 19: The Deadly Trio
• Chapter 20: The Muncher of Souls
• Chapter 21: What Binds a Mother and Son
• Chapter 22: Hiei of the Evil Eye
• Chapter 23: The Fearsome, Gruesome Binding Curse
• Chapter 24: Operation: Infiltrate
• Chapter 25: The Cursed Forest

Review:

Cover: The Cover to Yu Yu Hakusho volume three stays true to the original, yet again. The color scheme on this cover is mainly green and black with most text in white. We have the series title at the top. Under the title we have a nice picture of Yusuke in white, with a Kendo stick on one side and his hand in his pocket on the other. Then we have the volume number and the mangaka.

The Spine has the same green, black, and white color scheme. From top to bottom we have the Shonen Jump Logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangaka, and a nice bronze colored picture of Keiko. I don’t honestly know why Keiko graces this Volumes spine as she has hardly any run time in these pages.

The back is like most of the other Shonen Jump covers. We have the series title on the top with a summary underneath it (as well as the volume title, ‘In The Flesh’). To the right of the summary we have a picture of Yusuke in a detective outfit; it fits the main idea of this volume since he is now a “Spirit Detective.” Under Yusuke’s picture we have the volume number, which completes the back.

Volume 2’s cover I still liked the best out of the 3 covers. As far as this cover goes though, it is nice to finally see some full body shots of characters and not from the waist up.

Artwork: The artwork is kind of old, but VIZ touched it up quite a lot, which makes it look brand new. Some pictures at times do look grainy, but it could possibly be due to the master copies.

Translation: Perfect translation! Only bad thing IMO is the dubbed sound effects. Other then that, plot is very accurate and it gives good detailed descriptions where it needs to be explained.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): With this volume we cover a really major ARC, but first we have the first chapter which deals with how Yusuke learns that he has other plans with the Spirit World, he must become a Spirit Detective.

While the first Chapter is pretty much part of the whole resurrection ARC (I can not really place it with The Deadly Trio ARC), it still has a lot of important information. I don’t really want to get that much into this one chapter, so I will start off the content portion with The Deadly Trio ARC.

The main portion of this volume, or the Deadly Trio ARC, centers on Yusuke’s first real Spirit Detective Assignment, getting back the sacred artifacts from three criminal demons that escaped from the underworld. The three criminals are Goki, Kurama, and Hiei. Kurama and Hiei become main characters later on. Yusuke first goes after Goki who has a glass orb that steals souls. In order for Goki to survive he must consume souls. So, Yusuke decides to deal with Goki first as he is one of the real main threats (actually, Goki is the only one who would stick around to fight him). Yusuke loses the first time he fights Goki, but he manages to defeat Goki on their second encounter.

The next criminal Yusuke comes up against is Kurama. Kurama is not much of a criminal because he wants to use his item, a wishing mirror, in order to cure his ill mother. Yusuke let’s Kurama use the mirror, until Yusuke learns that Kurama must give up his own life in exchange for the wish. Yusuke butts in and manages to save Kurama and his mother by sacrificing some of his own life energy.

The last criminal is Hiei, whom attacks Yusuke through his girlfriend, Keiko. Yusuke goes after Hiei in order to save Keiko. Yusuke learns that Hiei used his item, a demon sword, to change Keiko into a demon. Yusuke must get the antidote from the sword before Keiko becomes a demon. Kurama helps Yusuke out in the match, since Yusuke helped him earlier. Their joined powers are able to put a stop to Hiei, and Yusuke gets back all 3 items of the underworld.

Yes, I know that was kind of vague as my summaries go, but there is a lot of information in this ARC that can not be explained in a 3 page review. This volume also introduces the next ARC, The Genkai Tournament ARC, but it does not really get that far into it. We have pretty much qualification’s for this volume (next volume is the actual tournament). The main point of the Genkai Tournament ARC is for Yusuke to find a criminal named Rando who is out to win Genkai’s technique which will give him an extra advantage at trying to take over the underworld.

As far as this volume goes, it is well worth the money. Yu Yu Hakusho gets to be a pretty intense series, and this volume begins to shed light on the actual action aspect of the series.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Overall Rating: 4 (out of 5)

Where Purchased: Frank and Sons Collectible Show
Reviewer: TheGodofJurai

Review: Black Clover V.02

Title: Black Clover
Volume: 2 (of 7+)
Creator: Yuki Tabata
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: SHUEISHA
US Publisher: VIZ
Release Date: 8/2/16
Pages: 192
ISBN: 142158719X
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (For Teen)

Description: Asta is a young boy who dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the kingdom. Only one problem-he can't use any magic! Luckily for Asta, he receives the incredibly rare five-leaf clover grimoire that gives him the power of anti-magic. Can someone who can't use magic really become the Wizard King? One thing's for sure-Asta will never give up!

On the orders of the Wizard King, Asta and his allies head to a mysterious dungeon to retrieve a powerful relic. When mages from a rival country show up, however, this mission turns into an all-out battle. Can Asta lead his team to the win?

Contains Pages 8-16:

• Page 08: Those Who Protect
• Page 09: The Boys Vow: Part 2
• Page 10: What Happened One Day In The Castle Town
• Page 11: Dungeon
• Page 12: Reunion
• Page 13: The Diamond Mage
• Page 14: Friends
• Page 15: Three
• Page 16: Mortal Combat

Review:

Cover: This covers volume features several characters. In the very front we have Yuno. Behind him is William Vangeance. And to the sides we have Asta and Noelle. The series title is directly across the center. The background imagery this time is a tan like grimoire with a flowery pattern.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangaka, an image of Yuno (taken from the front cover), and the VIZ company logo.

The back cover uses the same kind of background artstyle. We have one of the color pages, in actual cover, on the top third of the cover. It features Asta with his sword out and Yuno holding his book. Under that is the series title. with the volume title under it. The volume's summary follows.

As a whole this cover is done very well. The layout and characters used on the front cover was very strategically put on display that really gives the cover a pop when its sitting on the shelf. My only complaint is the back cover is still kind of bare. I really wish the color page image was a bit bigger as the color pages of this series are amazing! Loved this one too when it first appeared in Shonen Jump magazine. Overall though, its still an all around great start to this volume!

Artwork: Once again, more amazing art! This is a shonen series so we have a lot of heavy battle scenes. The artists style reminds me a lot of Berserk and Claymore, with a touch of Naruto. So if you are a fan of any of those, you will definitely enjoy this series! No complaints at all when it comes to the art.

Translation: Characters, cultural references, places, attacks are all left intact. Sound Effects have been changed as usual.

Extras: More character bios and notes from the mangaka. There is also a bonus manga. And an Afterword section. Tons of extras! Everything actually very relevant to the title as well which is a good thing as some titles stray from the actual source material. 

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): The battle with Heath Grice continues in this volume, with Asta going all out with using his Black Clover Grimoire in a last attempt to save the village from complete destruction. The battle does not actually take long to finish, as it is pretty much over within the first two chapters of this volume. Asta ends up killing Heath Grice, but one of his minions ends up escaping back to their true leader.

The next part of this volume deals with our characters taking a trip to the Black Market. This is pretty much a filler chapter, but we do learn that this is a place that wizards get to go to spend their money that they get from completing missions. This is where we also learn of the next mission that our Black Bulls will be going on, completing a Dungeon!

Thus our next story arc begins, which is pretty much a Dungeon crawl with another rival guild trying to find the treasure before the Black Bulls can reach it. The other guild is none other then Asta's Rival, Yuno's guild. This is the first time the two have seen each other for quite some time and lots has changed.

In the battle there are tons of fights and we even get a bit of a back story dealing with a Black Bull member, Luck Voltin, during his big fight scene. The climax of the volume though is between Mars and the rest of the Black Bulls and Yuno. We are left with a cliffhanger, but I really don't want to spoil any of the Dungeon story arc for you readers.

This volume is amazing We start with action, we end with action. There is lots of dialogue as well so its not just a cluster of art and battle scenes. The story moves right along at an even pace giving the reader character development, background, and a rich dark world full of magic battles. I am very hooked on this series so far and each chapter just makes me sink even deeper into this amazing world that the mangaka has created. Another great entry to this series, and I seriously can not wait until the next volume is released.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 7/10
• Artwork: 10/10
• Translation: 8/10
• Extras: 10/10
• Story: 10/10

Overall Rating: 9/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles

Original Review Date: 9/27/16

What The Schedule Looks Like

So I am not making plans as of actual dates yet when these will be released, but I do have a working order of what reviews will be done and in what order. So here is what to expect...

What we have left over from the month of August and September:

• Black Clover V.02 (This Week it will be released)
• Magi V.19 (TBA - Roughly next week)
• Fruits Basket CE V.04 
• One-Punch Man V.08
• RG Veda V.01
• BLAME V.01
• Fruits Basket CE V.05

Of those, Fruits Basket V.04-05, RG Veda V.01, and BLAME V.01 are all Omnibus volumes. BLAME won't take me as long to read as I have read all these before so I know what to expect on how long they will most likely take to get through. Fruits Basket and RG Veda are another story. Both are deeply involved so these might take me a bit longer then a normal review.

For October, we have a huge month of releases! The August and September ones might be taking up most of the October month as it is, but here's what to expect following if I get to them in October or not...

• Black Clover V.03
• Platinum End V.01
• Magi V.20
• Inuyashiki V.05
• Fruits Basket CE V.06

There might be two other titles that come out in October I may be reviewing as well, one being Kuma Miko V.01... the other is Tokyo Ghoul Days... Unsure on the Tokyo Ghoul Days one yet though as it is a Novel and I am currently into SAO V.03 - Fairy Dance. Hope this helps clear up future plans and what to look forward to!

Review: Naruto Hiden - Sakura's Story - Love Riding the Spring Breeze (Light Novel)

Title: Naruto Hiden
Volume: 3 (of 6) - Sakura's Story - Love Riding the Spring Breeze
Creator: Masashi Kishimoto & Tomohito Ohsaki
Format: Flipped
Original Publisher: SHUEISHA Inc.
US Publisher: Viz
Release Date: 5/3/16
Pages: 192
ISBN: 1421584425
MSRP: $10.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (For Teens)

Description: A new series of prose novels, straight from the worldwide Naruto franchise. Naruto’s allies and enemies take center stage in these fast-paced adventures, with each volume focusing on a particular clanmate, ally, team…or villain.

The Great Ninja War did not only harm adults, but left many damaged children behind. Medical ninja Sakura travels the land, opening clinics dedicated to healing children of the mental trauma they experienced. She learns of a series of attacks against Konoha, and her investigation leads to an impossible conclusion: Sasuke is the terrorist mastermind behind them all! Using her skills and her heart, Sakura strives to clear Sasuke’s name and bring the real perpetrator to justice.

Contains 9 Chapters:

• Reminiscing
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8

Review:

Cover:The cover for this volume features a sketched image of a much more mature Sakura. The background used this time is a pink and black frame like border, with a beige color for the center where the main image is focused. The series title is towards the bottom, followed by the novel's title. There is also the original Japanese title imprinted on the right side, which can only be seen if you move it through the light.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, the series title, the manga title, the writer, an image of Sakura (from the front cover, and the VIZ company logo.

The back cover uses the same kind of pink and beige background. The center has the Novel's title and subtitle, followed by the description.

Still absolutely loving the way these novels are handled. Love the imaging used for each character and how they are actually sketched pictures. Love how they included the original title on the cover in the original Katakana and Kanji. Everything is just amazing! 

Translation: Lot's of errors in this volume, which is probably the worst thing I can actually say here. First off the translation is pretty soft translated, so there is room for a lot of improvements in terms of the grammer. There are also a lot of character names switched which at times could get really confusing, especially when Sasuke and Sakura's name get swapped multiple times over a single page and its not who they are referring to.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers):Continuing forward from the previous Novel, this volume is the third in both chronological order in the timeline and release order. This one also takes place after Naruto The Last, the final movie in the Naruto Shippuden Movie series, so some events are mentioned throughout the entire course of the novel. Is it worth reading even though you have not seen the movie? Well let's find out shall we!

Sakura and Ino are helping Tsunade open up new hospitals through out the world, specifically for helping the children that were effected by the Infinite Tsukuyomi. While on their journey they come to find out that Sasuke has been seen and is trying to revive the Akatsuki to basically start a new project to collect the beasts once again.

Now it is up to Sakura and Ino, with the help of Sai, to try and figure out if it is really Sasuke doing this. In the end they find out that it is actually a warlord named Kido who had collected DNA from the final fight with Naruto and Sasuke at the Valley of the End and is trying to create drugs to reproduce the world's greatest ninjas in other people to make an army for himself. It is now up to our three heroes to find a way to bring down Kido before he fulfills his ultimate goal and creates a nine tailed beast drug that anyone can basically use freely just by taking a single pill.

Not going to give away the whole story this time since this may be the last volume of the Hiden series since VIZ has not actually released any info on the final three volumes. All I can tell you is yes, if you have finished the manga, it is a good idea to read this even if you have not seen Naruto The Last. There are a few flashback scenes kind of in the novel that give enough info to not really a person needs to see the movie. It has lots of character development and it was great seeing Sakura really in action as she is the third member of Naruto's team and has the least amount of time of the three members to actually be given a lot of growth. I for one was extremely pleased with this story and I hope the next novel does get released as these have great potential and a fulfilling gap between the original manga and the current Boruto series.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 10/10
• Translation: 4/10
• Story: 8/10

Overall Rating: 7/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles
Original Review Date: 9/20/16

Review: My Hero Academia V.05

Title: My Hero Academia
Volume: 5 (of 10+)
Creator: Kohei Horikoshi
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: SHUEISHA
US Publisher: VIZ
Release Date: 8/2/16
Pages: 192
ISBN: 1421587025
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (For Teen)

Description: What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called "Quirks"? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

The final stages of the U.A. High sports festival promise to be explosive, as Uraraka takes on Bakugo in a head-to-head match! Bakugo never gives anyone a break, and the crowd holds its breath as the battle begins. The finals will push the students of Class 1-A to their limits and beyond!

Contains Numbers 36-44:

• No. 36: Bakugo vs. Uraraka
• No. 37: Midoriya and Endeavor
• No. 38: Todoroki vs. Midoriya
• No. 39: Shoto Todoroki: Origin
• No. 40: Emancipation
• No. 41: Fight On, Ida
• No. 42: Final-Match Time
• No. 43: Todoroki vs. Bakugo
• No. 44: Relaxing Day Off

Review:

Cover:The cover for this volume features a close up shot of Todoroki in his hero costume. The background color used is white, with some cloudes to the right. Ir really shows the emotion in this image that the character kind of goes through over the course of this volume. It's almost as if its showing the calm before the storm. The series title is across the top, with the volume number to the left of it. The volume number this time features Ida.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, the series title, the volume number, the  mangaka, an image of Ida from the volume number on the front cover, and the VIZ company logo.

The back cover has a white background and continues the theme of the previous volume. We have the volume summary across the left top side, with a yellow cartoon bubble with the series description in it. An image of Todoroki from the front is under that, in a comic book type panel. The right side of the cover has an add from the hero Endeavor, showcasing his Burning Black Coffee.

I actually enjoy this cover a lot more then a few of the previous ones. Showcasing one character then multiple really makes it stand out a lot more. We still have the same comic book cover designs, which I hope continues for the course of the series; it really is an amazing idea that the creator did this. My still real big complaint is just the reuse of art on the front and back. I wish there was some more original artwork instead of it being recycled.

Artwork: Such a strong volume in terms of art and story. We continue to have the amazing Shonen stylized art that we have had in previous volumes, but we also have quite a few flashbacks dealing with the origins of some of the other characters of the series, so drama moments do happen as well. The action is explosive, and the emotion of the dramatic scenes is really showcased in the artwork too.

Translation:Character names, attacks, cultural references, and places are all kept intact. Sound effects have been changed per usual with most of VIZs releases.

Extras: More awesome character profiles. We also get some costume deconstruction where we get to see what all is involved with specific character's hero costumes. Last we have an afterword by the mangaka about the sports festival story arc, which pretty much concludes with this volume.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): Not much really goes on in this story in terms of pivitol moving the story along much. This volume just continues with the fights of the sports festival, but as it ends, we do get a glimpse of what is to come.

First up is Bakugo vs Uraraka; we got to see that they were going to fight in the previous volume, but it didn't actually begin yet. This fight doesn't last too long, but Uraraka does show she has a lot of fight in her, just not enough to actually take down Bakugo's explosive sweat powers.

We then move on to the fight that is actually the most important part of this volume. Midoriya goes up against Todoroki. Before the fight though, Midoriya confronts Todoroki's father, who has been pushing Todoroki to use his fire powers but he refuses. Midoriya pretty much tells Endeavor that Todoroki is his own man and he will win on his own.

When the actual match begins we do get a nice flashback that goes into great detail on Todoroki's character. It really fleshes him out greatly and we see why he only uses the power he has inherited from his mother, but in order to beat Midoriya, he's going to have to use his father's fire to win.

Many more fights happen, but they are a bit too fast to really take notice of. In the middle of them, Ida recieves a call from his parent's about his brother being attacked by a villain and ending up seriously injured. The villain who caused it is Stain, the hero killer.

The final fight begins with Bakugo vs. Todoroki. In a great display of action, Bakugo wins the match, even though he really wanted the fight to still let him be the winner, but in a different way of winning. The volume ends with everyone going back to their homes and the places they need to be; all is right for now.

Although it does conclude with no serious cliffhanger, we still have the lingering presense of Stain, the next enemy our heroes will be up against. In terms of actual story, this volume does very little to progress forward what we love so much about this series. It's more a typical shonen tournament arc; I know most shonen series have this kind of theme in them at some point, My Hero Academia started the arc off in a rather bold move by not doing head to head combat, but eventually moved to that direction. As a whole, I did not really care for the pacing as we didn't really get to see our heroes shine like they should have in each fight, but we did get Todoroki's story fleshed out a lot, and I kind of feel this was the main reason this story arc was originally created for in the first place. Now that the Sport's Festival is over, let's hope the Hero Killer arc will be much more battle heavy and put our heroes back out on the front lines once again.

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 8/10
• Artwork: 8/10
• Translation: 7/10
• Extras: 10/10
• Story: 6/10

Overall Rating: 8/10

Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles
Original Review Date: 9/14/16