Review: Marmalade Boy, Volume 1 by Wataru Yoshizumi

Title: Marmalade Boy, Volume 1
Author/Artist: Wataru Yoshizumi
Genre: Manga, Shoujo
Star Rating: 5/5

Taken from 'Amazon', "Talk about dysfunctional! Miki is horrified to learn that her parents have swapped with another couple, and that all four now plan to live under one roof. But when her new stepbrother, Yuu, shows up, he appears to be just the one to ease her mental anguish... that is, until she sees the bitterness beneath his cool exterior. The strange romance that follows would make any love triangle seem ordinary by comparison."

Originally published by the now defunct Toykopop, 'Marmalade Boy' is hands down my favorite manga series.  It's classic shoujo and something you don't want to miss out on!

Volume one introduces you to the main protagonist- Miki.  Miki is your typical high schooler.  That is, until her parents let her in on the news that they're divorcing. Not just divorcing, but swapping partners with a couple they met on a cruise.  Add the other couples high school son and a house they all share and you have some major life complications!

One of the things that makes or breaks manga for me is the drawing style and I love the style used in 'Marmalade Boy'.  Wataru's style is cutesy and comedic, but at the drop of the hat, a character will have an expression on their face that just draws you in.  I love it.

The story found in 'Marmalade Boy' is filled with humor, angst, memorable characters, and true love.  This is a manga you'll want to check out.

'Marmalade Boy' runs 8 volumes.  Currently, most of the run is 'out of print', but you can still find copies used at conventions, online, or in used bookshops.

Review: Dramacon by Svetlana Chmakova

Title: Dramacon: The Ultimate Edition
Author/Artist: Svetlana Chmakova
Genre: Manga, shoujo, graphic novel
Perfect for: comic readers who a)love romantic comedies and b)have ever been to an anime convention!
Star rating: 5/5 stars


Taken from Goodreads, "When amateur writer Christie settles in the artist alley of her first ever anime convention, she sees it only as an opportunity to promote the manga she had started with her artist boyfriend. But when she unexpectedly falls for a mysterious cosplayer, things become very complicated. Because what do you do when you fall in love with someone who is going to be miles away from you in just a couple of days? Web-comic vet and Ignatz Award-nominated creator Svetlana Chmakova gives us a funny, romantic, behind-the-scenes look at an anime convention--where sometimes even two is a crowd!"


'Dramacon: The Ultimate Edition' is a collection of all three volumes of the Dramacon series bound in hardcover with enlarged print. Confession: I have enjoyed many shoujo mangas in the past. Confession: I've been to at least eight anime conventions (if not more). Confession: I love everything about Dramacon!


There are so many good things about this manga style comic. For me, there are three things that make a manga good. They are quality art, strong storytelling, and great characters. Do well with these three things and you have a winning story! 


In my opinion, 'Dramacon' excels at all three elements! Artist/Author Svetlana Chmakova has a great artistic eye. Her characters are adorable and expressive and her images overall always seem to get the message across. Her style is manga inspired, but you can see her own unique style in there, too. The two page spreads in 'Dramacon' are all fantastically drawn.  Take a look!

Story? 'Dramacon' earns high marks in that area, as well. I love the premise of this manga. The story revolves around two people (Christie and Matt) who meet by chance at an anime convention. The convention elements in the story are fantastic. From personal experience, I can say Chmakova captured the typical convention goings-on really well. As far as story elements, 'Dramacon' has a good mix of romance and comedy, making it great shoujo!


And the last thing-- characters... I love the characters in this manga. Christie has some great sarcastic lines and her 'inner thoughts' are fantastic, especially when they completely contradict what she saying out loud! Matt, the hot male lead, is well rounded and really likeable. The secondary characters all have their own little bit to play in the story, as well. The fact that they have a reason to be in the story and even some side storylines of their own, make them a great addition to 'Dramacon'.


So, if I leave you with nothing more than one thing, let it be this. 'Dramacon' is good, clean, fun and if you are at all into shoujo manga or even romantic comedies, you should try this out! It gets 5 out of 5 stars and is available everywhere books are sold!

Article: The End of Manga Scanlations?

Scanlations have always fallen into a gray area for me.  For non-manga readers, scanlations are manga that's scanned from the original language volume, then translated, and lastly, posted on the web for readers to either read on websites like OneManga or download via the the scanlaters website. 

The reason I bring this up is that a lot of the manga I have on my bookshelf, I sampled on sites that 'stream', if you will, the scanlations for free.  The sites, One Manga and the rest, were a great way to sample an entire manga volume or series, as opposed to a chapter, because you can't really sample a manga with *just* a chapter.  You really do need more than that to get a feel for the manga's tone, characters, etc and with most of the manga reading demographic having less money to 'chance' on a manga, it seems that the recent disappearance of these manga streaming sites isn't the best route to go.  

I realize piracy is bad, but I highly doubt these websites were making a difference in manga sales.  Working in a bookstore, I've seen the drop in manga sales.  The hey day for manga is over (for the moment) and with that publishers will be cutting down on their titles.  These streaming websites were great places to find the un-licensed  stuff-- stuff that is mega popular elsewhere but won't be published in english by any publisher due to the slump in manga sales.  

I'm not sure what the purpose of this post is.  I understand taking down licensed manga, but shutting down multiple websites just to do that?  That's going too far in my book... 

Review: Twilight: The Graphic Novel by Young Kim

Title: Twilight: The Graphic Novel
Author/Illustrator: Young Kim, Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Graphic Novel, Romance, YA, Supernatural
Perfect for: Shoujo and Twilight  fans!

I'll be honest, I used to be a Twihard.  I read all the books within a week of their release, went to a few midnight releases, and even have a hardcover (signed) and a paperback (travel copy) of the original printings of "Twilight".  I thought I had overcome this Twihard thing, until I found myself face to face with the fantastic cover of "Twilight: The Graphic Novel".  As well as being a recovered Twihard, I also choose books by covers and this cover drew me in instantly.

Let me start with the story.  If you've read "Twilight", there are no surprises here.  The story follows Bella as she starts life in her fathers home town of Forks.  There she meets Edward Cullen and and her life changes in ways she never imagined.  The graphic novel is adapted quite nicely.  Those who found "Twilight" slow or to 'inside Bella's head' should like its fast paced narrative.  Most of the essential bits from Bella arriving in Forks to seeing him 'sparkle' in the meadow are translated effortlessly to the graphic novel format.  Key lines are kept intact, while, for good reason, others are paraphrased.  The novel stops with the meadow, so don't expect this to be a complete adaptation of "Twilight".  Expect each book to be broken up into at least two graphic novels, if not three.

The greatest thing about the graphic novel is not the fine adaptation, but the fantastic artwork by artist Young Kim.  The Bella and Edward he created are more like 'my' Edward and Bella than the movie ever  will.  The glossy black and white illustrations with occasional color thrown in are pleasing to the eye.  The drawing style is a good mix of traditional disney-esc and manga.  Kim's drawings really help readers see Bella's and Edwards emotions, as opposed to telling us with text.  The illustrations really were the main thing that drew me to picking this title up.  I'm sure you'll love them!

The only problem I have with this book is the binding and price.  Twenty-One dollars is mighty high for a comic book, especially one that is only volume one of many.  While I usually love hardcovers, it seems a bit much to bind comics in the hardcover  format in volume form.  Why not wait till all the volumes of "Twilight: The Graphic Novel" are out and in print?  It's rare for me to even want to pay ten dollars for a paperback manga these days, let alone twenty for a hardcover that isn't a compilation.  I would have preferred this to be in a more affordable format (ie paperback) than in the (however nice) hardcover/glossy one Yen Press decided to go for.

Overall, though, regardless of what I think of the price, I am happy with this adaptation.  I'd even say I prefer this to the movie versions that are so popular at the moment.  Enjoy this read!

Valentines Day Reads

Happy Valentines Day to all my readers!  I hope the 14th brings you laughter and joy-- or a least a box of chocolates!

Need some sappy, beautiful, hilarious titles that are perfect for Valentines Day?  I thought you might!  Here are some of my favorite romance'y titles to read!  Enjoy my Valentines Day Reads!

1- "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer: Regardless of my opinion of the sequels, "Twilight" is awesome chick lit.  It is full of sappy romance, which I frankly don't mind in the least!

2- "Certain Slant of Light" by Laura Whitcomb:  This ghost story has a great deal of beautiful, lyrically written romance that I love.  The story follows two ghosts as they discover love again, as well as work on why they are stuck on the ghostly plain.  Beautiful story!

3- "Hana Yori Dango"/"Boys Over Flowers" by Yoko Kamio:  This shoujo manga series is good for any age group, be it YA or adult.  The love 'square' is one of the best I've read in a manga series so far.  The story follows Makino, a poor girl who attends a rich school, as she encounters the gorgeous and rich 'leaders' of the school known as F4, and slowly finds her life increasingly entangled with theirs.

4- "Full Moon [W]o Sagashite" by Arina Tanemura:  Another shoujo manga, this title is about a girl who has cancer who has always wanted to sing.  When two shinigami enter her life and grant her the chance to live her dream with the time she has left by changing her into a teenage pop star, she leaps at the chance.  While the description doesn't make it seem romantic, this title really does have one of the cutest relationships I've read in manga form.