There it is, Plain as Daylight

A few quick links for today! First off, I have a review in today’s Manga Minis, for the first volume of Tokyopop’s KimiKiss. This was a fairly depressing read and the best I can think of to say about it is that it is too bland to be offensive. It breaks my heart that this is the kind of manga Tokyopop is putting money into nowadays, while more deserving works languish in cancellation limbo. I realize that sales are (and must be) the driving force behind it all, but really, this? I read the story synopsis of the game it is based on, and it sounded more interesting than the manga. That’s pretty sad.

Secondly, don’t miss my reviews from the weekend! Yuri Monogatari is a fantastic look at lesbian comics from across the globe and a must-read for female comics fans, and Children of the Sea is a gorgeous, thoughtful supernatural mystery story nobody should miss out on.

Looking at this week’s shipping news (thanks, Kate Dacey), I see we have yet another adaptation of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time coming our way–this time of the animated film. I must admit I’m fan enough of this story to be interested in more, so I’ll probably be looking to pick that up. It might be interesting to compare it to CMX’s The Girl Who Runs Through Time, which I own but have never reviewed.

Lastly, please read Erica Friedman’s post at Ozaku where she discusses the “Girls Read Comics” project that was developed recently via Twitter as a response to some of the deeply sexist press revolving around Comic Con this year. This is a very exciting project and I’ll be advertising it more here when there is more to advertise, but if you’re interested in participating, especially as an artist, please read Erica’s post and contact project organizer Deb Aoki ASAP!

Yuri Monogatari, Vol. 6
Published by ALC Publishing

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Yuri Monogatari, now in its sixth volume, is an anthology of short comics featuring lesbian life and love, special in both its unity of theme and diversity of art. Written and drawn by artists from across the globe, the vast differences in style and storytelling could easily create a fractured feel over the length of the volume, but instead there is the sense that there is simply something for everyone. Though there were certainly stories that appealed to me less than others, no story was easily pigeonholed from the beginning, and I found that I ended up really enjoying some stories much more than I would have expected based only on a first glance at the artwork.

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Children of the Sea, Vol. 1
By Daisuke Igarashi
Published by Viz Media

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Though summer has just begun, Ruka’s temper has gotten her kicked off her handball team, leaving her with nothing to do. Taking the train to Tokyo on a whim, she encounters a young boy at the ocean who seems to intuitively understand her thoughts. When the boy turns up later at the aquarium where her father works, she discovers that he was one of two young boys found swimming with a herd of dugongs, by whom they had most likely been raised. Though she tells her mother she is still attending handball practice, Ruka continues to return to the aquarium to see the boy, Umi, and eventually her father gives her the job of entertaining Umi (and his less friendly brother, Sora) as “punishment” for her behavior. As she spends time with the boys, Ruka finds out that they have experienced the same strange sight she did as a young child–a fish that turned into light and disappeared before her eyes–something they call the “ghost of the sea.” Drawn to these boys and to the mysterious world of the sea, Ruka’s long, strange summer truly begins.

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Reviews have been appearing here in short bursts lately, but I should be back to a more rigorous schedule soon. Shouldn’t the summer be relaxing? :) A few short items:

- For those curious about my non-manga-related activities, I have joined the staff at Act Too Studio, coaching young singers and actors alongside two incredible teachers who also happen to be my parents. I’m pretty excited. Here is some information about us, and here is a page full of people saying we (and by “we” I mean mostly my folks) are great. We are also developing our website as we go, so if that’s your kind of thing, keep an eye out for new content!

- Just yesterday, I got myself on the list to review 801 Media titles, so look for a little more yaoi content here from time-to-time! They also introduced me as a new reviewer in their blog!

- As a testament to my deep love for Yen Press’ One Thousand and One Nights, my review copy of volume eight arrived on my doorstep just yesterday and was immediately pushed to the front of the line (and believe me, it’s become quite a long line). Don’t miss my review!

- On a very different note, I reviewed a new volume in another of my favorite series this week–volume seven of Mushishi. I suppose the contrasting nature of these two series should put aside any lingering worry I might have about this blog not representing me (or my tastes) fully. :) ETA: Also, translator William Flanagan has linked to my review on his Facebook page, filling my fangirlish heart with glee!

- The ever-fabulous Danielle Leigh posted a shojo round-up a day or two ago, and we ended up rambling on together in comments about NANA. Look for more of this to come. /cryptic

I wonder how much of this actually constitutes “news”? Ah, well. More reviews tomorrow!