The first volume of Prison School made a huge impact on me. I came to the series cold and the premise didn’t seem especially unique; other manga have featured a former all-girls school that opens its doors to a small squad of desperate, hormonal young men hoping to find a girlfriend (or at the very least, sneak a peek). The characters that make up Hachimitsu Academy’s male population are caught sneaking around the girl’s locker room and become in-house criminals, forced to wear prison fatigues and remain isolated from the rest of the school. This, however, is no ordinary prison story: to read Prison School is to wander down a rabbit hole and into a Wonderland so crazy it’d make the Mad Hatter seek clinical help. Needless to say, I quickly became a fan of this quirky manga and approached these next few volumes with eager anticipation, ready to drink from Akira Hiramoto’s fountain of madness.

What gives Prison School its perverse charm is the element of surprise, so I don’t want to describe the story of each volume in too much detail. Writing about the wacky hijinks of Kiyoshi and the gang doesn’t do it justice, and it must be experienced firsthand to be believed. What is important to know is that Kiyoshi successfully escapes the school during a sports festival by disguising himself in a girl’s uniform. He meets up with Chiyo for their sumo date and at first, the future looks bright for this young couple. Unfortunately, it ends in disaster after Chiyo discovers the clothes in Kiyoshi’s bag—her own clothes, no less!—and to make matters worse, the Shadow Council finds out about his rendezvous and orders the students expelled. After learning the truth, Chiyo—now revealed to be the daughter of the Chairman and little sister to the Shadow Council President—creates a stay of execution by threatening to withdraw from the school in protest. The boys are given a warning instead: three additional escape attempts will ensure their expulsion. Leaving Kiyoshi to be ostracized by the other prisoners, the Shadow Council hatches a plan to get the boys out of school for good.

Prison School is built on a solid foundation of unpredictability, zany physical comedy, and non-sequiturs. Hiramoto consistently tops himself in each book, penning all sorts of outrageous scenes, and just when you think it couldn’t get any weirder, he uses callbacks and seemingly innocuous pairings to turn things up to eleven. That said, some gags are hit-and-miss. The prolonged “test” between the school Chairman and Kiyoshi, debating the value of a woman’s butt, is more creepy than funny considering that a middle-aged man is involved in the proceedings. There’s also the continued oversexualization of the Shadow Council’s Vice President, Meiko Shiraki. I hoped that there’d be some explanation for her unusual behavior and attire, but nothing ever came of it. There’s one case where her seductive appearance makes sense, as she tries to turn one of the prisoners into an informer, but for the most part, she exists only to titillate the male characters and the reader. One strange scene that comes to mind involves Meiko getting her flimsy underwear caught on a doorknob (!) after doing finger pull ups (!!) as a “reward” (!!!) for the Council President after her successful campaign against the prisoners. Situations like this one, coupled with shameless camera angles and so much sweating, make her little more than an empty, large-breasted plot contrivance and the butt of a lot of jokes.

While the later volumes feature scenes that barely remain outside the realm of pornography, I’m buying the Prison School product. The art is all over the place in a good way, and although these volumes don’t have as many of the detailed faces of shock and terror that were so funny in volume one, there’s still plenty of genuine laughter to come from the artwork. I’ve never read anything like this, and no matter how ridiculous it gets, I’m constantly entranced by the experience. Readers who were sold on the first volume’s brand of offbeat weirdness will devour these installments and ask for seconds, but those who came away feeling iffy or icky will not find anything here to change their minds.

Prison School, vols. 2-4
by Akira Hiramoto
Vol 2 ISBN: 9780316346122
Vol 3 ISBN: 9780316346139
Vol 4 ISBN: 9780316346153
Yen Press, 2015
Publisher Age Rating: 17+

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Kuroko Koumori is the kind of woman who’d give Dexter a run for his money. Hired on as a State Sponsored Executioner, Kuroko enjoys her gig as a killer of killers and employs her favored sadistic streak against criminals deemed too extreme for ordinary incarceration. Partnered with a young schoolgirl named Hinako, the two indulge themselves in the delights that brighten their day. For Hinako, it’s doodling, hamburger steak, and ice cream. For Kuroko, it’s sex, violence and more violence.

Murcielago follows the exploits of Kuroko as she cleanses Tokyo of its criminal element. “Murcielago” is Spanish for “bat” which is a fairly close description of our heroine. Kuroko is dark and mysterious, with long flowing black hair to match her personality. She has the sharp, creepy smile of Assassination Classroom’s Koro-sensei and the disaffected detached look of Saitama from One Punch Man. Another notable hallmark of Kuroko’s personality is her sexuality. Kuroko is an out lesbian who enjoys flirting and having sex with other women. She’s also a fan of pornography, as her apartment is constantly littered with adult films and magazines.

Reading through the manga, I never got the impression the Kuroko’s sexual orientation is played for as a joke or a wink/nudge for the male gaze. She displays a cool confidence—in between bouts of violent bloodlust—about herself as a woman and despite her eagerness for sex, she doesn’t come off as being written strictly to satisfy a male audience. Some may balk at her behavior, but by the end of the book there is no doubt that she’s the kind of woman who gets what she wants.

Volume one of Murcielago is a collection of non-linear, non-connected cases Kuroko and Hinako work on. Our first introduction to their style of crime fighting involves a failed wrestler whose steroid addiction causes him to experience a rapid increase in body mass and muscle at the expense of his sanity. This crazed, Hulk-like man has been wandering the streets killing innocent people who he hallucinates are his former rivals. Other stories include the pair foiling a robbery by a pair of young men looking like they stepped off the set of Pulp Fiction. The last third of the novel involves a murder party, where the aged patriarch of a mansion invites criminals to participate in a deadly game. As revenge against the criminals that plagued him early in life, the wizened old man commits a slaughter, leaving Kuroko and a small contingent of survivors to find a way out alive. The Murder Party arc ends as oddly as it begins, leaving the resolution of the story for another volume. This left me feeling unsatisfied. As disinterested as I was in the story, I still want to know how it ends. There are two bonus stories at the end of a book, one functioning as a prequel to the story and the other a lighthearted romp through casual sex and Internet dating.

I really liked the artwork of Murcielago, even if the characters have a tendency to look like amalgamations of other popular manga character design. Kuroko’s look is different from the rest which allows her to stand out from the crowd. The manga’s action sequences are really pleasing to look at as well, showing a strong attention to detail without overwhelming the reader with too much artwork (which can often be distracting). There’s a lot of blood spilling out of pages, as limbs are repeatedly chopped or sliced off. Bodies are ripped, torn, sliced, crushed, and obliterated. If the manga’s sex scenes weren’t enough to ward off readers, the fountains of blood and loose teeth are likely to do so.

Murcielago is a violent action comedy that’s well drawn, well written, and features a character that feels well rounded and complex despite her outwardly pervy nature. She’s likely to win fans of readers who prefer their female characters to kick butt and look good doing it but without gratuitous fan service. If one can look past the silly violence and sex, they’re going to find a comic they can really sink their teeth into.

Murcielago, vol 1
by Yoshimurakana
ISBN: 9780316504607
Yen Press, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: 17+

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The adventures of high schooler-turned-demon Issei Hyoudou continue as his mistress Rias Gremory and the students of Kouh Academy’s Occult Research Club bear witness to revelations that threaten the world’s very existence. Those that have made it this far know what to expect from High School DxD: high-stakes demon battles, interesting but ill-fitting chess metaphors, and more bare breasts than seems healthy for a non-pornographic manga. These volumes introduce new characters and significant game changers which, by design, should maintain readers’ interest in any future volumes. However, the rapid pace in which these changes are introduced to the series threatens to buckle its foundation.

In volume six, our anti-heroes battle against the fallen angel Kokabiel and Freed Sellzen, the crazed exorcist who once served as a mentor for Asia Argento. Kiba comes face to face with his past in the form of Valper Galilei, a Church priest who willingly sacrificed children in rituals designed to wield the seven shards of Excalibur; Kiba, the only survivor, made a pact with Rias to enact vengeance. Meanwhile, as Kokabiel threatens war, Issei finds the courage to fight after Rias promises he’ll get to fondle her if he’s victorious. Before Issei can attack, Vali—owner of the White Dragon Emperor Gear—destroys Kokabiel, but only after the fallen angel drops a bombshell: God was destroyed during the last major war.

On that note, volume seven serves as a cool-down period for the members of the Occult Research Club. With the danger posed by Kokabiel’s power grab behind them, Rias and the gang prepare for the school’s annual parents visit. This event traumatizes Rias, whose visible embarrassment over her demon family is served as a source of comedy. This volume features plenty of skin, if only to remind readers that High School DxD is most definitely for adults. Issei has always favored the pursuit of being the Harem King as visions of doing naughty things with Rias dance in his head; the tables turn as the gentle sadist Akeno and Xenovia, the angel-turned-demon and latest addition to the Occult crew, take a sexual interest in our hero. The book also introduces Gaspard, a waif of a boy who happens to be half vampire. He’s also extremely agoraphobic and finds comfort wearing women’s clothes, his inherent androgyny making him look unbelievably feminine. Imagine Issei’s disappointment. Go on, it’s really not that hard.

Finally, the eighth volume concerns a peace conference between the angels, fallen angels, and demons. Now that the secret of God’s non-existence is revealed, the three factions meet with the intention of halting all conflict as a means of self-preservation. Issei takes this time to train Gaspard to use his Gear, which allows him to freeze time; he has also taken the (creepy) advice of Rias’ brother (creepy!) to casually manipulate the breast sizes of the Occult Club girls via his Gear (CREEPY). The peace conference begins in earnest and initially, all goes well… until the meeting is interrupted by a terrorist organization called the Khaos Brigade, which is led by Ophis, a powerful dragon god. As the melee rages, new factions and gods from different religions are suddenly introduced, culminating in a fierce battle between Issei and the Red Dragon Emperor Ddrang against Vali and Albion, the White Dragon Emperor. The book ends on a positive note, paving the way for a whole new chapter in the saga of the Occult Research Club, but it’s too bad it stumbles across the finish line. By adding so much exposition all at once, it feels like the authors rushed the ending of the story, creating more confusion than catharsis.

A trend in these three volumes that really stuck in my craw was Rias’ changing attitude toward Issei. Up until now, Rias has shown herself to be a confident and strong woman who knows when to use her womanly wiles to motivate Issei and put up with his deviant behavior. Over time, Rias begins to show affection for her servant, letting him get closer than any other young man. Even in the face of Rias’ arranged marriage, the pair exhibit a tightening bond, though I never got the impression these characters would be hooking up any time soon. Now Issei has attracted the attention of Akeno and Xenovia, and even the gentle Asia Argento wants a piece of him. Issei doesn’t bat an eye at the extra attention, but Rias experiences a flare of jealousy, butting heads with Akeno and embarrassing Asia if she gets too close. It’s weird that Rias is letting this make her feel as though she’s in direct competition for Issei’s perverted love; she’s the daughter of a prominent demon and the highest-ranking member of the group, and if she really wants Issei, she could easily pull rank. Instead, she broods over it in private moments, which is hardly like her at all.

On the other hand, I find myself impressed with how battles play out in the series. Although his perverted nature often keeps him from developing as a character, Issei shows a growing confidence in his abilities as a Gear wielder. The battles themselves are frenetic displays of energy-based attacks, reminiscent of an episode of Dragon Ball Z. As Issei’s connection with Ddrang grows, he gets new powers to play with, but sometimes he feels like a Mary Sue. Frequently cautioned against drawing on Ddrang’s true strength, Issei is given a bracelet to help him contain the Red Dragon Emperor’s power, lest it kill him. In the climactic battle with Vali Lucifer, wielder of the White Dragon Emperor Gear, the bracelet breaks… but instead of being consumed by power, Issei—a low-level high school pervert—is able to achieve feats like no other demon before him. He doesn’t always save the day, but unlimited and untamed power seems to come a bit too easily for someone so inexperienced.

High School DxD isn’t perfect, but it does have its fans (they wouldn’t keep printing books if it didn’t!). The end of the of the eighth volume feels like closing one door and opening another, and while that’s great in and of itself, the rushed ending is a disappointment. Those who have put up with the series’ unabashed nudity, Issei’s perverted priorities, and damage-laden battles that would make Goku proud are likely to be intrigued by the promise of a new direction in storytelling. For everyone else, High School DxD has no problem leaving them behind.

High School DxD, vols. 6-8
by Ichiei Ishibumi
Art by Hiroji Mishima
vol 6 ISBN: 9780316298544
vol 7 ISBN: 9780316309462
vol 8 ISBN: 9780316314961
Yen Press, 2016
Publisher Age Rating: Mature (17+)

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Tadaomi Shirotani suffers from severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The skin on his hands is rubbed raw from frequent hand-washing, despite him always wearing gloves. Simple pleasures like browsing in a bookstore are foreign to Shirotani, who can’t stand the thought that anything he handles might have been touched by strangers. Thankfully, Shirotani’s crippling fastidiousness has proved a boon in his chosen career: executive assistant to a company president.

A twist of fate and a near-fatal accident involving his boss brings Shirotani into contact with Riku Kurose. A therapist by trade, Kurose is sought out by Shirotani, whose boss orders him to find the hero who saved his life so they can be rewarded. Kurose instantly recognizes the symptoms of Shirotani’s condition and offers to help him—not as a professional, but as a friend. It’s an idea that adds to Shirotani’s already considerable anxiety, yet he finds himself agreeing. So it goes that Kurose asks Shirotani to write a list of ten things, in order of difficulty, that he can’t do because of his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder but would like to try. Thus begins a journey of discovery as Shirotani tests his limits and discovers things about himself that he never would have guessed.

Ten Count breaks the standard Yaoi tropes in several regards, and chief among these is the care that has been taken in portraying Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in a realistic manner. While many Yaoi stories typically have neat-freak/slob pairings between their leading men, the subject is usually mined as a source of humor. Here, Shirotani’s condition is treated with the utmost respect and he is not looked down upon, even when he collapses in a panic attack after trying to touch the hand-holds on a public train. It’s also noteworthy that the story is relatively romance-free in this first chapter. One senses that Kurose really is a good man who just wants to help out someone in need and maybe form a friendship, not a pick-up artist. For those who might have concerns about a story built around a romance between a medical professional and their patient, know that Kurose maintains a professional demeanor at all times regarding Shirotani’s treatment.

The artwork proves typical of the Yaoi genre. The male characters are all tall, pretty boys, and even Shirotani’s boss barely has a wrinkle or two to denote his age. The action of the issue is presented well and the story flows naturally from panel to panel. Fans of the genre will be satisfied with the appearance of this book, though there’s really nothing notable about Rihito Takari’s style one way or the other.

This volume of Ten Count has an M rating, but there’s little to offend anyone who doesn’t object to gay male relationships on principle. There’s no nudity or sex in this story—not even so much as a kiss! No violence, no curse words, just an apology from the author for the slow opening and a promise that the relationship between Shirotani and Kurose will change in volume two.

Ten Count, vol. 1
by Rihito Takarai
ISBN: 9781421588025
Sublime Manga, 2016
Publisher Age Rating: M (18+)

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Not yet fifteen years old, Youkou has devoted himself to caring for his wheelchair-bound sister, Mirai. He is a young man with high ideals and few qualms about calling out those who fail to live up to them. Although he’s the sort of person who will offer violence to a litterer, it can’t be denied that Youkou’s heart is in the right place—regardless of wherever his head might be.

Thankfully, the latest genetic engineering innovations by the Amenotori Company have promised a new life for the siblings, as well as millions of other people. Mirai has not only gained a pair of functioning legs, but a newfound sense of freedom and a fondness for cooking. In fact, she’s determined to whip up one heck of a banquet for her brother’s birthday!

Unfortunately, the process has a minor side effect: some who undergo treatment at the Amenotori Company shapeshift into horrific monsters with disfigured limbs and cartoon animal masks. Mirai is among the infected, as Youkou tragically discovers when she tries to kill him!

Enter the Jackalopes: a unique squad of cyborg mercenaries dedicated to destroying the menace posed by the “Spiders” created by the Amenotori Company. They are quick to step in after Mirai’s transformation, but are unprepared when Youkou throws himself in front of a shot meant for his sister. Now, with his injuries healed by the Jackalopes’ medic and three cybernetic limbs of his own, Youkou must decide if he will join them in their crusade or try to live a normal life.

Smokin’ Parade is one of the messiest manga I’ve ever read. I don’t just mean that in terms of gore, though it is quite a bloody book, but in terms of story flow and presentation. Given sufficient panel size, artist Kazuma Kondou’s artwork can look good, but unfortunately, most of the story seems fenced-in by the small panels utilized and there’s very few full splash pages. This results in multiple pages where the extensive line work serves to obscure the action, rather than enhance it.

The story by Jinsei Kataoka is not much clearer. It seems like most of the dialogue is set in the smaller panels, further obscuring the action. Apart from Youkou and Mirai, the characters are complete cyphers. While this does drive home how isolated and alone Youkou feels after being taken in by the Jackalopes, it is still a poor foundation for the series to come. Indeed, the fourth chapter—in which a reporter runs through her notes on the Spiders and the Jackalopes—seems to exist purely because the first three chapters do such a poor job setting up the series’ concept.

Smokin’ Parade, vol. 1 is rated M for language, nudity, and violence. I consider this to be a fair rating and a fair warning. This first volume features multiple uses of the f-word, bare breasts with a hint of pubic hair, and adult situations, along with enough disturbing scenes of medical horror and people being shot or sliced apart to make Quentin Tarantino say, “This is a little over the top.”

Smokin’ Parade, vol. 1
by Jinsei Kataoka
Art by Kazuma Kondou
ISBN: 9780316553339
Yen Press, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: M (18+)

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In one of his earliest works, acclaimed horror manga artist Junji Ito delivers a chilling supernatural tale about a beautiful girl known as Tomie, who drives men to commit violent acts and even murder. In Tomie: Complete Deluxe Edition, the hatching and shading of Ito’s recognizable artistic style complements the text and its pacing to create ample suspense and horror.

For the majority of the graphic novel, each chapter is its own mini-story that focuses on the way a variety of characters are affected by Tomie, who serves as the link that connects the tales. Readers of one of Ito’s most popular manga, Uzumaki, will quickly recognize this storytelling style. The premise and plot structure of each story are similar to one another: narrators are usually female classmates of Tomie, and since they are not typically the objects of Tomie’s manipulations, they provide observations and insights on the action. In each story, the same elements are present: manipulation, violence, and the death and rebirth of Tomie, who is killed directly or indirectly by her suitors. Tomie’s post-mortem reappearance is surprising and often grotesque, making this series not for the faint of heart.

In the opening story, Tomie—a girl with long, dark hair and a birthmark under her eye—plummets from a cliff on a school trip. To cover up her death, her classmates chop her body into small pieces and hide them, a scene that sets the tone for the story. Shortly thereafter, Tomie appears in class as if nothing happened, causing the students to question what really happened that day. In another instance, Tomie re-grows under the carpet in an apartment building, with dozens of her heads sticking up and merging together. Especially memorable is the episode in which a hospitalized girl who was given Tomie’s kidney begins to physically and mentally change until she actually becomes Tomie, again “reborn” in an unusual and horrific way. As chapters progress, readers learn a little bit more about Tomie, particularly after we are introduced to a man who calls himself her father.

The nature of the artwork and story, including partial nudity, makes this most appropriate for adult readers. Chilling artwork, expert pacing, and classic psychological horror make the Tomie complete omnibus a great addition to adult graphic novel collections and a solid choice for adult fans of horror.

Tomie: Complete Deluxe Edition
by Junji Ito
ISBN: 9781421590561
Viz, 2016
Publisher Age Rating: T+

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Ten years ago there was a cataclysmic event which became known as The Great Destruction. So widespread was the damage that Japan could no longer manage its own resources and fell under the control of United Nations. Coupled with The Great Destruction was the appearance of the first of The Orders.

Orders are humans granted magical powers because of wishes they made, usually under moments of great duress. The powers of The Orders vary in size and scope, with the most powerful of them being able to negate the natural order and physical law at will. The danger Orders pose causes them to be hated and feared by society at large—not unfairly, given the danger caused by the Orders who abused their powers in the past.

Slacker student Eiji Hoshimiya is an Order, but he keeps his power secret for another reason. Eiji’s childhood wish, to be just like his favorite anime character, somehow caused The Great Destruction. Worse yet, it crippled his step-sister, Sena, the only person he truly cares about.
So it was that Eiji swore never to use his Order powers, at least not until he was attacked by Rin Kunrenari, an Order with healing and regeneration powers that manifested in The Great Destruction upon the death of her parents. It was then that Eiji discovered his true power—to physically control anything within his “domain”—and his life became even more complicated.

Big Order is an interesting spin on the superhero genre, which invites comparisons to George R. R. Martin’s Wild Cards novels. Both series offer realistic takes upon the question of what would our world be like if people suddenly did start manifesting super powers. Big Order’s take is unusually bleak, however, starting with the dangers of an idle wish made by an excited child and escalating from there.

One can also draw comparisons to Deathnote, in that Eiji (in this first volume, at least) is a largely sympathetic protagonist who tries to use a dark power for noble purposes, much like Light Yagami. But the possibility for corruption is there from the beginning, and the story is not shy about exploring the potential for how the powers of The Orders can be used in disturbing fashions. Rin, for instance, attempts to turn herself into a suicide bomber to take out Eiji, knowing that her power makes her effectively immortal, not caring at all that innocent people might be hurt in the process.

The artwork is skillful, but not outstanding. Sakae Esuno gives each character a distinctive and memorable look, but there is little in their style to differentiate itself from the vast majority of action manga art. The action sequences are all well-blocked and flow naturally between panels, but the presentation is competent rather than noteworthy. However, the strength of the writing and concept make up for this.

Big Order is rightly rated M for audiences 18 and older. While there’s surprisingly little in the way of bloodshed or severed hands in this volume, the subject matter discussed does demand a more mature perspective than the average teenager is likely to possess. Throw in a spattering of curse words and a ton of fan service in the form of busty blonde “Rock Goddess” Kagekiyo (a.k.a “g-string girl,” as Rin calls her) before capping off the issue with a gratuitous bath house scene and you have a book that earns its M rating.

Big Order, vol. 1
by Sakae Esuno
ISBN: 9780316504621
Yen Press, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: M (18+)

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High school freshman Okazaki lives at the bottom of the social totem pole: he’s a gopher for bullying classmates, his only friend is as cowardly as he, and he quietly lusts after the girls around him. When a late-night vampire attack changes everything, Okazaki must control an all-consuming thirst and stumble through his first steps as the newly undead.

Happiness is a melancholy tale with brief moments of tenderness. Four volumes in, Okazaki is only just beginning to build trust with Nora, the vampire who bit him; she teaches him how to share blood through the mouth, almost like kissing. His vampire powers allow him to stand up to his personal antagonist Yuuki by socking him in the nose, but when Yuuki himself is bullied and also bitten by a vampire, Okazaki gains an unlikely friend; they even end up saving each other’s lives along the way. Also on his side is Gosho, a loner who worries over Okazaki due to his resemblance to her late little brother. When Okazaki’s bloodlust nearly causes him to feed on Gosho, she embraces him with immense empathy.

These interpersonal relationships underscore various takes on adolescent loathing and grief. Okazaki feels no better about himself as a vampire than his former whipping boy role, though he enjoys Gosho’s company—but her connection with Okazaki seems short-lived as he learns more about living as a vampire. Yuuki is shaken by Okazaki’s punch, but his pushy personality turns out to be overcompensation from having mostly absent parents. The enigmatic Nora is more a creature of the night than anyone’s friend, almost like an unwitting den mother among fledgling pups. Government agents gradually gain ground on all of them, coming to a head during the fourth volume’s cliffhanger conclusion.

Oshimi’s art is dreary, glowing, trippy, and grotesque in turns, according to each scene’s mood. Nights are serene and dark, but the heightened senses of the vampiric characters light up the sky with glowing shapes and fuzzy impressions of the horizon, resembling Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” Vampiric thirst leads characters into distorted, wavy sequences of vertigo and waves of sweat. Scenes of blood-sucking and cannibalism lead to gory moments with torn-open flesh and blood everywhere. Sexual scenes, such as Okazaki touching himself in his bedroom or Yuuki having sex with his girlfriend, are mature in nature. This series has a male gaze, including the framing of Nora’s nipples under her shirt and schoolgirls’ skirts and legs.

Each volume has about 200 pages, including some in color and translation/cultural notes. Comparisons to Oshimi’s earlier manga, The Flowers of Evil, abound: it also features a pervy high school boy whose soul is corrupted by a female. Whereas that series used dire realism, Happiness employs the fantastical lens of vampirism to explore self-destructive moods and relationships. Instances in which characters assert themselves usually give way to powerlessness, and the characters who recognize this cycle seem to navigate the story better than more impulsive characters. So far, the story seems like it has only just begun—there’s plenty of life left in its cold world of distant, unattainable happiness.

Happiness
by Shuzo Oshimi
Art by Shuzo Oshimi
vol 1 ISBN: 9781632363633
vol 2 ISBN: 9781632363640
vol 3 ISBN: 9781632363923
vol 4 ISBN: 9781632363930
Kodansha, 2016
Publisher Age Rating: 16+

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“The weak only get eaten,” warns native girl Asirpa, upon learning that veteran Japanese soldier Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto has been marked for hunting by a non-hibernating bear during winter. The encounter between Saichi, Asirpa, and the bear is an extended set piece that represents this book’s themes of survival, cooperation, and improvisation well.

Saichi is an infamous participant in the Russo-Japanese War who remained on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido to pan for gold. His childhood friend’s wife is in need of an eye operation, but getting her to see American doctors is prohibitively expensive. He hears a story from an old man about a hidden fortune of gold, stolen from an Ainu tribe and mapped with tattoos onto the skin of a group of prisoners. The prisoners have escaped, and word about the fortune has been spreading. Shortly after his informant is gutted by a bear, Saichi meets Asirpa, whose father was one of the Ainu men originally protecting the gold. Her hunting and tracking abilities make her an invaluable ally to her and Sugimoto’s combined quest.

The level of research that artist and writer Satoru Noda put into this book is exemplary. Diagrams between chapters specify the clothing and equipment Sugimoto and Asirpa use. Special care has been taken to get Ainu culture and practices correct, as evidenced by credits to the Hokkaido Ainu Association, an Ainu Language Supervisor, and a bibliography’s worth of reference materials and historical collections. Captions throughout the book explain the flora and fauna of Hokkaido, specifying why a certain plant is ideal for creating a smokescreen or how a special kind of throwing stick helps hunt rabbits. An explanation of The Blakiston Line accounts for how Hokkaido’s animals are larger than on Japan’s other islands. History is also a recurring factor in the story, with the latter years of the Meiji era marking the spread of Western culture to the edges of Japan. “Sugimoto, this is nice. This ‘pencil,’” Asirpa says while drawing one of the skin maps. A caption explains the spread and price of pencils in Japan.

These frequent mentions of history, geography, and culture would be an impediment to the story, except Noda’s art maintains a smooth pace in every chapter. Clear facial expressions and frequently wide panels combine to make each page easy to read as the plot leans into each of its life-or-death twists. Saichi respects the Ainus’ claim to the gold and wants to help Asirpa find it. He says so directly: “Let’s team up and find this gold together. It belongs to your people in the first place, so I won’t even ask for fifty-fifty. All I’m looking for is a small share.” Their partnership will have to survive encounters with each of the tattooed men as well as the Japanese military.

Heroism and villainy do not have much space in Golden Kamuy: there are simply the strong and the weak, among them helpers and dominators. This nuanced approach to characterization leads to some interesting character interactions, such as two characters willing to kill each other until they become drenched in freezing water and become quick allies. A soldier, upon finding and fighting Saichi, gives him an opportunity to walk away. “No amount of money is worth the life you’ve somehow held on to through the war. You have no idea what a dangerous game you’re playing,” the soldier warns while relaxing his combat pose to scratch the back of his head. With the possible exception of the mysterious man who killed the Ainu for their gold, there are no black-hearted psychopaths. Everyone has a somewhat relatable motive and attitude in addition to “survive.” Asirpa’s “No killing” rule goes a long way toward giving her gold-chasing rivals time to endear themselves to the reader, especially a body-contorting escape artist.

While an entertaining and informative series, Golden Kamuy is also mature in content. Swearing and violence are commonplace, especially the gutting of animals and bullets and bayonets going through people. The front cover is marked “Parental Advisory: Explicit Content” and the rating on the back is “M For Mature.” However, as mature manga titles go, this one is far from gratuitous or senseless. Readers are just as likely to pick up on the rituals and practices of Ainu culture, such as repeating “Hinna, hinna” to show gratitude while eating. Fans of the historical viking tale Vinland Saga, particularly its battle-hardened protagonist trying to do right by others, will enjoy following Saichi through this history lesson, too.

In addition, readers who liked Vinland Saga’s huntress in the snowy wilds will find Asirpa a kindred spirit. As she puts it, “I’d rather be in the mountains than stay at home knitting.”

Golden Kamuy, vol. 1
by Satoru Noda
ISBN: 9781421594880
Viz, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: M

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Never before have I read a manga that made me so uncomfortable and terrified that it made me want to stop reading. And this is coming from someone who gleefully hunts down Junji Ito’s cavalcade of body horror stories like Gyo and Uzumaki. But Scumbag Loser exists on a whole different level. I haven’t had a piece of psychological horror get so deep into my head since Jacob’s Ladder, surprising me in ways I thought I was too cynical and desensitized to be affected by. With its suspenseful story and menacing antagonists, Miskito Yamaguti’s Scumbag Loser proved to be a really difficult read.

Masahiko Murai is one pathetic loser. An overweight loner gifted with an unusually strong sense of smell (which plays to his fetish of collecting women’s underwear), he takes his inability to make social connections with people and turns it into malice against those he considers to be losers. He holds negative impressions of the pretty and popular girls and boys at this high school and even extends his concealed rage towards salaryman and authority figures. Inventing a social caste system to deal with his issues, he takes pleasure knowing that despite his current lot in life, there’s another student far more pathetic than he and worthy of the title, “biggest loser.” Masahiko’s worldview is shattered when this ugly, filthy, student suddenly shows up to school claiming to have a girlfriend, making him popular with the class and threatening to make Masahiko into the class’ shoe-licking “biggest loser.” This fear sends him into a panic, causing him to blurt out that he too has a girlfriend. When the other boys start to doubt his story, the class gets a new transfer student… which just so happens to be Mizusawa Haruka, the girl Masahiko claims to be dating. The only problem with Haruka is that she has been dead for five years. Who is this woman? Why is she after Masahiko? And why, despite all evidence that something is clearly wrong, does Masahiko beg Haruka to maintain the ruse?

What follows is an uncomfortable descent into madness as Masahiko finds himself at the whims of a monstrous creature that forces him to seek out victims. Haruka’s return functions as a catalyst of sorts as Masahiko’s life takes hard turn after hard turn as his past is revealed, exposing a dark series involving a troubled childhood molded by an extremely abusive father. The book is heavy with themes of bullying and it’s the threat of being treated so harshly by his peers that causes Masahiko to agree with Haruka’s demand to meet with other men and women Masahiko believes to be losers. Things quickly spiral out of control as a monster begins to affect the school, replacing regular students whose personalities dramatically change overnight. Masahiko gets in way too deep and is forced to fight for his life against an unstoppable malevolent force that feeds on humans looked down upon by society.

What is so frightening about this book isn’t so much the story (in honesty, the plot kind of crumbles in the third act due to, in part, a lengthy exposition dump) but the artwork. There’s a thick level of tension that builds in each of the ten “episodes,” an uncomfortable feeling of dreadful urgency as Haruka and the classmates she infects show increasing signs of change. The tension reaches a climax when Haruka and her victims flash unnaturally large and disturbing toothy grins. These reveals almost always happen after a page turn which makes the imagery all the more unsettling and scary. And each time this happened, I slammed the book shut in terror. Yamaguti knows how to draw some truly frightening facial expressions and scenes of violence with so much artistic intensity that I’m convinced that I’m going to have nightmares.

Scumbag Loser is a shocking psychological and psychosexual horror thriller that is most definitely not for children. If the creepy facial expressions won’t disturb young readers, the scenes of messy violence probably will. The majority of the story is gripping and keeps you turning pages to find out what is going on with Haruka and her growing army of smiling monsters. There’s a bonus chapter at the end of the manga that serves as an explanation for Masahiko’s cryptic final line and at first, I didn’t quite understand it. After re-reading it a few times, the realization went off like a bomb inside my head and immediately changed my perspective on the entire story. This new way of looking at the story goes to show that Yamaguti has put together a fantastic piece of fiction. Scumbag Loser is a great addition to a horror collection, but beware that some readers might end up spending a night or two with a light on.

Scumbag Loser
by Mikoto Yamaguti
ISBN: 9780316272223
Yen Press, 2016
Publisher Age Rating: 17+

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The hunt is on! All the hunts, in fact. Following from Golden Kamuy Volume 1, Saichi and Asirpa are still tracking down tattooed renegades in search of hidden gold. Survival in snowy Hokkaido means awareness of creatures and their habits, predator and prey alike. Bears, wolves, fish, and deer are all hunted, but the most dangerous game remains people. Lieutenant Tsurumi of Japan’s 7th Division wants the gold, as do the remaining tattooed renegades, some of whom are beginning to team up with each other.

The gold, of course, is simply a MacGuffin that keeps the players motivated. Golden Kamuy volumes 2 and 3 are much more concerned with ecosystems and habits than chasing down the shiny loot. At one point, unlikely ally and expert escape artist Shiraishi shouts at Saichi, “Don’t forget the whole reason we’re here!” If you’ve ever been distracted during a story with questions about what the characters eat during a journey, this series will more than satisfy your curiosity. You will see characters use their culinary skills on animals’ hearts, blood, brains, eyes, skulls, livers, and other apparently delicious components, along with many vegetables, seasonings, and sauces. Characters’ tastes in each meal range from cultural appreciation to humorous rejections. For example, there is a running gag that Asirpa believes miso to be made from feces, and nobody can stand the bitter taste of hupca leaves.

Between the adventuring and the meal breaks, there are four main narratives explored in these two volumes. All of these narratives involve partnerships and shared motivations, and serve to fill out each character’s profile into a well-rounded personality. Hunter-turned-soldier Tanigaki must reconcile his duty against his calling: “When I came to the mountains, it felt like a poison deep inside me was slowly seeping away.” The tattooed hunter Nihei, whose skin carries a portion of a map to the ever-popular gold pile, becomes more endearing as his conviction and worldview are revealed. His enjoyment of hunting being frequently referred to like an erection – “My hard-on is out of control,” “My hunter’s spirit is absolutely throbbing!” – paints his outdoor expertise in a different light than Asirpa’s dignified reverence for all living things.

These books are rated M for Mature, and there is plenty of content to justify that rating. Four-letter words, gruesome stab and gunshot wounds all over characters’ bodies, graphic depictions of skinning and organ removal, and a bear ripping a guy’s face off are all regular occurrences. What sets Satoru Noda’s writing and art apart is the execution of these elements alongside softening and humorous moments. The fights and swearing and injuries and death take place within a story that provides context for how characters feel, react, and interact. At one point, Saichi retrieves a baby bear cub from its den, and every page involving this bear is heart-achingly cute. Asirpa explains her village’s approach to raising and ultimately killing bears found in such a manner, leading to an emotionally complex resolution that is somehow both tragic and respectful. By contrast, Asirpa’s endangered Eza wolf Retar (see the cover to Volume 2) is a force of nature that can break legs with its jaws and also loves belly rubs, and Noda knows better than to bond the reader to an animal only to break that bond soon after. (Personal note: Retar had better survive Volume 4.)

Noda’s knack for human expression makes all his protagonists—are there really any heroes or villains here?—a joy to behold. Saichi is the cocky “Immortal Sugimoto,” but he also loses his nerve when he looks a fleeing deer in the eye, and laughs when he sees Asirpa dislikes hupca as much as he does. Characterization runs deep or shallow according to the eyes – Noda tends to draw grunt soldiers with solid black pupils, giving them an uncanny valley effect. Hijikata, an antagonist still a ways away from meeting the central protagonists, is an elderly sword wielder capable of joy, swagger, stern judgment, and an intense killer’s glare. Scenes of characters eating often involve distinct expressions of curiosity, doubt, outrage, defeat, and glittery release, sometimes within the same two-page spread.

As was the case with Volume 1, Golden Kamuy continues to be a high-quality title for mature manga readers. Readers who enjoy the frequent recipe breakdowns in Delicious In Dungeon will relish each “what’s for dinner?” detour here. Others looking for nonstop action may be disappointed in the shifting narrative and frequent reminders to respect nature, but when fights do go down, they are not for the faint of heart. This is a thoughtful, compassionate manga that’s as sweet as frozen tree sap and brutal as a snapped neck.

The anime version of Golden Kamuy is available on CrunchyRoll.

Golden Kamuy, vols 2-3
by Satoru Noda
Volume 2 ISBN: 9781421594897
Volume 3 ISBN: 9781421594903
Viz, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: M

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Jackass! is a one-shot school-life yaoi manga by Scarlet Beriko. The title refers to the boys in the story, who are all either afraid to admit their feelings for each other or allow silly, stupid obstacles get in the way of their desires. It’s a sweet, romantic story and it avoids one problematic aspect of the yaoi genre: the sexual encounters are all completely consensual.

The main plot concerns Keisuke and his classmate Shonada, neither of whom identifies as gay. In fact, Shonada is quite the ladies’ man: wealthy, attractive and popular. Keisuke, on the other hand, lives with his older sister and has to work a part-time job to help out at home. The sister plays a small but integral part in the story. She borrows Keisuke’s gym sweatpants and accidentally leaves a pair of her pantyhose inside them. This creates an awkward situation in the locker room for Keisuke. When Shonada tries to save him from the embarrassment, his hot-button hosiery fetish is triggered.

Thus begins their dance around the subject of friends falling for each other, or trying to avoid it, and what happens when your friend becomes something… more.

Beriko’s art is beautiful. The boys are all lovely and well-proportioned in a modern manga style, and there is a hint more realism and much fewer romantic special effects. The awkwardness of the plotline is funny enough in itself so joke panels are used sparingly. One of my favorite things about this book is that all the characters are easily recognizable. (Beautiful manga boys can sometimes start to look an awful lot alike.)

The first subplot does include a common situation in school life manga. Keisuke’s best friend, the openly gay Mayuki, is having an illicit relationship with the school’s male nurse, Aramaki. This is also illegal in Japan but it’s an often-used plot device. A minor subplot forms a sort-of love triangle as Miyoshi, a classmate who acts homophobic towards Mayuki but is secretly attracted to him, finds himself involved in a bit of blackmail. The three interwoven stories are deftly handled with the correct amount of tension and drama, ending in a satisfactory conclusion. As far as yaoi is concerned, this is definitely fluff—the good stuff (the sex) doesn’t happen until the third act, and even that action is subdued (but very sexy). But, it is explicit and the book is justifiably rated mature.

Good, single-volume stories are a nice break from longer series and I enjoyed this one immensely. It is available in traditional, paperback manga format, in e-reader formats, or as a downloadable PDF from the publisher. I would recommend it for any yaoi collection, and any adult manga library. It is filled with likable characters and has a feel-good ending, with everyone getting his man in the end.

Jackass!
by Scarlet Beriko
ISBN: 9781421596440
Sublime Manga, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: adults 18+

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WARNING: This is an explicit yaoi series featuring depictions of sexual intercourse, rape, S&M, and violence. It is for adult readers and adult library collections only.

You’re My Loveprize in the Viewfinder, simply referred to as the Finder Series, is manga artist Yamane Ayano’s most popular boys love series in Japan as well as in the United States. The series is set mostly in Tokyo as Akihito Takaba, a young and ambitious freelance photojournalist, finds himself wrapped up in the dark and dangerous world of the ruthless crime lord Ryiuchi Asami. The Finder in the title refers to Takaba’s camera lens.

In volume one, Target in the Finder, Takaba gets too close to Asami’s world while taking photos of a corrupt politician during a drug deal. In order to teach the young man a lesson, Asami arranges to have him kidnapped, and later drugs and brutally rapes him.

This is the beginning of a dark and twisted relationship between the two men. Akihito’s youthful resiliency, his guts, and determination pique Asami’s curiosity and lust. The powerful man becomes determined to make Takaba his, body and soul. The series pushes every yaoi hot button and doesn’t step too far out outside of standard plot devices, but still manages to stay exciting. It’s not groundbreaking writing, but Yamane knows what her fans like and dishes it out to them in tantalizing volumes, often ending chapters with character-in-peril cliffhangers.

Volumes one through four cover the establishment of Asami and Akahito’s wary relationship and the introduction of the main antagonist of the Hong Kong story arc: Fei Long Liu, a rival Chinese crime boss. Fei Long and Asami have a complicated relationship and their history is the main plot of volume two, Cage in the Viewfinder.

After their initial encounter, Asami treats Akahito sort of like a feral cat that must be captured and tamed. Akahito, for the most part, brushes off the sexual assault and abuse and goes about his business—which, unfortunately, keeps bringing him into contact with Asami. The younger man cannot deny his growing, unspoken attraction to Asami and the dangerous life he leads.

In a plot involving a stolen data disk, Fei Long’s men grab Akahito. Fei Long, nurturing a grudge against Asami, decides to amuse himself by drugging and raping Akahito. Asami has to stage a rescue to regain Akahito, who gets pulled from the frying pan and back into the fire. (If you want to know how many times one man can be kidnapped and raped, if it’s Takaba Akihito, it’s A LOT.) The biggest story arc of the series begins when Fei Long rapes Akahito (again), shoots Asami, and kidnaps Akahito (again), this time taking him to Hong Kong to try to lure Asami onto Fei Long’s home turf.

The problematic first sexual encounter and the ongoing rape needs to be acknowledged. It’s something I’ve had to get my head around as a yaoi fan. Rape is my least favorite trope but I won’t deny that I am a huge fan of this series—in spite of it, rather than because of it.

The pair do grow and change over the course of the series. Asami is forced to allow Akahito to pursue his dangerous career and assignments while facing the fact that the young man represents a real weakness for him and makes a convenient target for his enemies.

Finder is a dark, adult manga. The main plots are complex and include violence and criminal activity. Asami is an unrepentant criminal, which makes him a lot of enemies. He’s comfortable wielding power and using it to keep track of Akihito. This is not a relationship on equal footing, which leads to a lot of soul-searching for Akihito. The darker aspects of the story are relieved by comedic short-story extras included in the volumes.

Yamane’s artwork is consistently good. Her characters are sexy and compelling. While her men are beautiful, they are definitely masculine, but with delicately characteristic manga features. This series has some well-drawn action sequences, and most of the violence and shootings are fairly sanitized. Not so with the sex scenes; they are explicitly detailed and high quality for the genre—the US versions are not censored (with the odd exception of drug use in one of the short stories).

Yamane doesn’t skimp on the backgrounds or details. Finder remains extremely popular due to the high quality of her artwork and writing, and is still being serialized in Japan. Translations and releases in English have taken more than 15 years, in part due to publisher bankruptcy and Yamane’s health problems. Biblios released the first three volumes in English under the Be Beautiful imprint from 2002-2005, but went bankrupt in 2007. Libre Publishing then acquired the licenses and continues publishing the series in Japan in the bi-monthly Be-Boy Gold magazine. Digital Manga Publishing acquired the English license from Libre in 2010 and released the series under its Juné yaoi imprint.  Volume seven hit #1 on the NYT bestseller list in 2015. After Juné printed editions of volumes one through seven, it announced in 2016 that their licensing agreement with Libre was ending, leaving the future of the English releases in doubt (and on a plot cliffhanger).

Thankfully, Viz Media quickly negotiated the English license for the series and decided to not only continue by releasing volume eight, but to go all-in with a new edition re-release. Viz’s boys love label, SubLime, is responsible for the deluxe editions, which include new art and more modern, improved English translations. I have read (and own) both the Juné and SuBLime editions of the series. Some volumes are better than others. Volume one establishes the main characters and their relationships but is disappointingly short. There are three other non-Finder short stories included in this volume. They lack the powerful storytelling of Finder and are mainly filler.

The subsequent volumes delve more into the overall arc but are also are packed with extra Finder short stories (including an internationally notorious short set in a Japanese hot spring.) The Asami, Akahito, and Fei Long triangle has enough tension on its own to fuel the plot, but when Yamane adds Russian gangsters and crazed stalkers into the mix, the story gets exciting.

Finder is currently available in deluxe digital and print editions through volume eight. Volume nine, My Heart Races with You in My Viewfinder, was just released in Japan. No date is set for an English version release in the United States.

Finder Deluxe Edition, vols. 1-4
by Ayano Yamane
Art by Ayano Yamane
Vol. 1 ISBN: 9781421593050
Vol. 2 ISBN: 9781421593067
Vol. 3 ISBN: 9781421593074
Vol. 4 ISBN: 9781421593081
SuBLime, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: 18+

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Imagine your beloved grandfather dies of an illness and soon after you fall ill yourself. Your family members are whispering about the curse on your mother’s side of the family and every day you get worse. Then one desperate, lonely night, you remember what your grandfather said about the family’s guardian who lives in the family shrine. Soon a tall, brooding man with trailing blond hair, dog ears and tail, and a sour attitude appears in your room claiming to be able to eat the curse inside you. This is the beginning of A Strange and Mystifying Story. This man claims he’s been working with the family for generations to cure them of the curse, but Akio must first name him, as has every previous generation. In a panic, Akio chooses the name Setsu. To find the source of the curse inside, Setsu has to touch Akio. This of course leads to more touching and soon, complicated feelings.

Much of this manga is very typical for the yaoi, or “boys love”, genre; one partner is aggressive sexually and emotionally distant but has a soft heart, while the other is timid, but fierce in his emotions. The first sex scene appears within the first 30 pages of the book. Despite that, it doesn’t actually show us much beyond a lot of bare chest and leg, with a mere suggestion of other things. The artist sidesteps actually naming body parts. There are some moments where it can be argued that the sex is not entirely consensual. Although common in the genre, it can be uncomfortable to read.The plot quickly moves past these moments, focusing more on Akio’s denial of his feelings for Setsu and how that manifests itself.

The line work is very light and almost feels like a sketch, lending the story a general sense of delicacy. The art focuses on conveying characters’ emotions primarily with facial expressions and does it well. Backgrounds and details are kept simple. What we do see generally lends itself to understanding the scene. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell which character is speaking, as the artist doesn’t use strong directional cues with speech bubbles. This is especially true in high-emotion scenes, when the speech bubbles overlap more and it’s not as obvious based on the bubble’s relative location to a character.

While the story is entertaining, it jumps around in a jarring way and has an unusual layout of chapters. In the first volume, the main story ends on page 136 and we have 34 pages of an unrelated short story, then another one, then a six page mini-comic between two side characters from A Strange and Mystifying Story. Volume two jumps between flashbacks and the present, then has a short story at the end involving Setsu’s past. It’s a confusing narrative choice and makes the story feel more disjointed than it is otherwise.

I don’t feel comfortable strongly recommending this title. If you already have a yaoi collection in your library, this would be a solid addition.However, this would not be my first choice to start a new collection. This manga is currently in print through its publisher, SubLime, which has an ebook version that can be added to Comixology or downloaded as a PDF directly from their website.

Availability is almost always a concern with print yaoi, as it tends to have short publication runs and the binding and paper don’t tend to last well over time. A Strange and Mystifying Tale can currently be purchased on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers.

A Strange and Mystifying Story, vols. 1-2
by Tsuta Suzuki
vol 1 ISBN: 9781421595955
vol 2 ISBN: 9781421595962
SuBLime, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: 18+

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Tokyo Ghoul: re is the sequel to Sui Ishida’s hit horror manga, Tokyo Ghoul. The setting is a Tokyo not unlike ours, with the exception that monstrous ghouls walk among us, disguised as humans, while preying on them for food. The ghouls are gruesome killers and operate similarly to street gangs or the mafia. They organize as clans and get up to all kinds of nefarious stuff, mostly eating humans and sometimes other ghouls. To combat the ghouls, there is a Commission of Counter Ghouls. This group works as a supernatural police force investigating murders and crimes related to ghoul activity. The book centers around one group of new recruits, the Quinx Squad, led by Haise Sasaki. Readers familiar with Tokyo Ghoul will quickly realize Sasaki is actually Ken Kaneki who is suffering from amnesia.

Kaneki was the central character in Tokyo Ghoul. In it, he survived an attack by a ghoul, but surgeons unknowingly transplanted a ghoul organ into his body. This organ, called a kagune, turns Kaneki into a ghoul/human hybrid. The kagune acts like a flexible, bony, deadly tentacle and is a ghoul’s predatory organ, emerging when the ghoul is stressed, in danger, or hungry. Kagunes are nearly indestructible with conventional weapons, so the CCG harvests the kagune from deceased ghouls to create weapons called quinques for their investigators.

Following the events of Tokyo Ghoul, the CCG creates the Quinx Squad. This squad is special as recruits signed up to have quinques surgically implanted in their bodies, making them ghoul hybrids like Kaneki/Sasaki. (I will refer to him as Sasaki from here on.)

Volume one centers around introducing the Quinx Squad and how the CCG operates. The Quinx Squad’s goal is that its members will surpass the CCG’s star ghoul investigator, Kisho Arima. Of course, the Squad bumbles along, in spite of their powers. Sasaki struggles to control his subordinates and often flounders as the mentor he’s supposed to be. Toru Mutsuki is unable to get his kagune to manifest and wears an eye patch to cover up the ghoul eye he can’t make go away. Ghouls’ eyes glow red when fighting or eating but otherwise remain normal as part of their human disguise. Matsuki’s inability to hide his ghoul eye is a serious problem. Mutsuki also identifies as trans and the Squad is unaware. Kuki Urie is the new recruit with a chip on his shoulder. Urie thinks he’s better than everyone else and often makes foolish decisions. His arrogance leads him into things like not waiting for backup or chasing down ghoul suspects on his own. Ambitious and manipulative, Urie hates Sasaki and wants to be in charge. Ginshi Shirazu is the affable screw up. He joined the squad because he’s always behind on his bills and needed the money. The last Quinx Squad member is absent from the first volume. Saiko Yonebayashi spends her days locked in her room at the Quinx apartment. She spends most of her time playing video games and watching anime. She did really well on the Quinx aptitude test in school, so her mother signed her up for the financial compensation. Saiko doesn’t want to work but she really doesn’t want to go back to her abusive mother. Sasaki is empathetic to this situation.

Volume one of Tokyo Ghoul: re does a great job weaving the character introductions within the context of the storyline. There is a ghoul called “the Torso” that is killing women and taking their torsos, leaving behind the head and appendages. Quinx Squad isn’t supposed to investigate the case as they are still too green. Egotistical Urie decides he can solve this case, despite not being fulling trained. Through a series of events that leads to angering the more experienced squad handling the Torso case, Quinx Squad ends up collaborating with them at the request of a senior investigator. It’s a race to who can get a physical description of the Torso first. They figure out, based on the murder victims and locations, that the ghoul must be a taxi driver who picks up people around hospitals. All the victims have surgery scars on their torsos. The squad splits up to cover more ground, investigating  different hospitals. Mutsuki jumps into a cab following a hunch. The driver is the Torso. He attacks Mutsuki, ripping open his shirt, revealing his trans identity. There is an immediate backstory flashback. This reveal is an example of trans body horror and is incredibly disrespectful to trans individuals. It is degradingly played out for shock value. Mutsuki is able to get away from the ghoul and the rest of the team attacks. The Torso turns out to be part of the Aogori Tree Clan and a ghoul named Orochi shows up to save him. Sasaki goes head to head with Orochi and that’s when we find out Sasaki is part ghoul.

As in the original series, Sasaki continues an internal struggle with his internal ghoul personality. Sasaki, fighting in full ghoul mode, has a hard time regaining his control. The CCG, aware of this problem, is ready to eliminate him if he cannot control the monster within, but Sasaki comes back to himself. Volume one concludes with the squad finding out they will investigate the Aogori Tree Clan. Quinx Squad goes to the coffee house Sasaki used to hang out at when he was Ken Keneki. The ghouls running the place recognize him but he doesn’t remember them.

Volume two finally introduces Saiko Yonebayashi. Sasaki promoted Shirazu to leader and demoted Urie from leadership position to teach him humility. Now Shirazu is tasked with getting Saiko up and working which lends the story some comic relief.

The Quinx Squad is assigned the Nutcracker case. The Nutcracker is a ghoul who consumes men’s testicles. She also works for ghoul madams and there is an upcoming ghoul auction in which human victims will be auctioned off. A sting operation is put into place to get close to the Nutcracker and get into the auction. Since the ghoul is looking for women, the squad dresses as women, hoping to get an introduction to the Nutcracker at a nightclub.

This creates an awkward situation with Mutsuki’s trans identity and he is obviously uncomfortable. However, Mutsuki makes a connection with the Nutcracker, and they get the information regarding the location and time of the auction. Suzuya decides to use Mutsuki as bait, which leads to Mutsuki in another dress, getting kidnapped and sold on the auction floor along with CCG investigator, Juzo Suzuya. All hell opens up when it’s Suzuya’s turn to be auctioned off. He has a prosthetic leg filled with knives that he unleashes into the audience. Volume two ends in chaos.

Volume three has multiple events taking place at the ghoul auction. This series is really good at threading subplots throughout the main story line and you really see that here. This is a high level CCG operation mobilizing all their squads. It can be a little chaotic keeping up with everything going on as there are a lot of quick cuts to the next subplot/main plot element. The reader is introduced to more ghouls like the Clowns, more members of Aogori Tree (who are providing security for the auction), Big Madam, and Kanae. Mutsuki keeps trying to get away, but is chased by the Torso and then by Kanae. Kanae works for Master Shu, the ghoul that was obsessed with trying to eat Ken Kaneki in the original series. He is sure that his master will enjoy eating Matuski and wants to bring him back with him. Urie ends up rescuing Matuski. Instead of regrouping with other squads, they strike out for Big Madam because Urie is only thinking about glory gained. It does not go well for him, but Suzuya steps in and deals with the Madame. His story is in Tokyo Ghoul and this wraps up some unfinished business from his past. Shirazu and Saiko go toe-to-toe with the Nutcracker and win by using the ghoul’s own traps against her. Meanwhile, Sasaki is in a fight with a ghoul who calls him Ken Kanaki, causing another internal struggle between him and his inner ghoul. Sasaki comes to terms with the fact that he is also Ken Kaneki. Another ghoul defends Sasaki because she was friends with Ken Kaneki while Sasaki is wrestling with his identity. Volume three wraps with the CCG debriefing the case. There were a lot of casualties on both sides, ghoul threats eradicated, and important intel gained.

Toyko Ghoul: re is a gory horror manga suited more for older teens and adults. The art is really well done and the fight scenes are so frenetic readers can feel the energy jumping off the page. There is so much happening in big action sequences that it can be a little confusing. Each character has a well thought-out design and all are easy to visually tell apart. Readers should read the first series for a better understanding of plot lines and character motivations. I did not read Tokyo Ghoul, but was able to follow the story well enough. I did look things up if I felt I was reading something about a character that I should know from the original series. Each volume has extra content at the end of the book: small character vignettes or even short stories which add some more depth. I really enjoyed Sasaki’s conflict over his identity. It is a great metaphor for mental illness or accepting one’s flaws and vulnerabilities.

Where this series fell apart for me was Mutsuki’s trans identity. His trans reveal is done in a very disrespectful way and he’s never given real agency over his plot line. Using him as bait and having him dress as a woman is a transphobic creative choice and is not the only one in this series. I can’t in good conscience recommend adding it to a library collection. An LGBT character needs to have agency over their own storyline and also have acceptance of that identity. That is not present in this manga.

Tokyo Ghoul: re, vols. 1-3
By Sui Ishida
Vol. 1 ISBN: 9781421594965
Vol. 2 ISBN: 9781421594972
Vol. 3 ISBN: 9781421594989
Viz Media. 2017-2018
Publisher Age Range: Older Teen

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In My Brother’s Husband, writer and artist Gengoroh Tagame takes a heartfelt look at what it means to be a family and gay in Japan.

After sending his young daughter Kana off to elementary school, divorced stay-at-home dad Yaichi is surprised to find on his suburban Tokyo doorstep, a large, friendly, Canadian man who claims to be his dead brother’s husband. What follows is a sweet but awkward look into familial relationships and the cultural, social taboos still present in modern-day Japan. Kana serves as the bluntly honest conscience of this first volume by asking the questions adults are afraid to ask. This allows her bewildered father to ask questions about the biases of himself and of his community, ready to defend his new, albeit unusual, family member, and protect his daughter’s heart.

This is more of a slice-of-life story with larger issues at work but told in an easy-to-read language. It contains plenty of explanations of everyday life and customs in Japan for the hulking-but-affable Mike, as well as for the reader. The story covers some fairly common societal assumptions about homosexuality: whether gay individuals are a “bad influence” on children; do gay men find heterosexual men attractive; and how young gay people come out to their families. Bigger questions arise as Yaichi takes Mike on a tour of their hometown, which brings back memories of his twin, Ryoji. Mike, who’s still grieving, begins making an emotional connection with Yaichi and, especially, Kana.

Like Kana, I was charmed by Mike’s friendly, outgoing attitude and eagerness to learn more about his Japanese family. Her easy acceptance of the situation is what makes the story great. It is the adults who are most confused about the simple act of loving another human being. The child simply opens her heart and, I hope, her father and Japanese society follow suit. Gay marriage is not currently legal in Japan and, despite the openly embraced and highly-selling manga genres of yaoi, yuri, and bara, open homosexual relationships are still fairly taboo. I am definitely interested to see where the next volume takes the story. Yaichi has unresolved issues with his dead brother and subconscious worries about his daughter and Mike that manifest in dream sequences.

While the issue of gay marriage is an adult one, the manga is not inappropriate for teens or middle grade kids (depending on their maturity). The language, art, and ideas are presented in a straightforward manner without salacious details or sexual situations. This manga is Tagame’s first venture into an all-ages story. His previous work has been in mostly bara, sexually explicit manga geared towards homosexual readers. Tagame’s artwork isn’t typical of other manga genres. His male characters are hyper-masculine, sometimes bearish (common in bara). With simple, strong lines, and clean backgrounds, the characters’ faces are expressive and convey plenty of emotion to draw the reader into the story.

The comic was serialized in Japan in the seinen manga magazine Monthly Action in 2014. It’s been licensed in English and published in the US by Pantheon Books. Printed as a graphic novel in 2017, this volume is sold in a hardcover, omnibus edition, which makes it more expensive than most manga or graphic novels. It reads in classic manga style—right to left—and is also available in a Kindle version. The manga was adapted into a live-action television mini-series and aired in March of 2018.

As a realistic, slice-of-life manga it would fit in any collection. For yaoi fans like myself, it gives a different perspective on the real status of homosexuality and Japanese life.

My Brother’s Husband, vol. 1
by Gengoroh Tagame
ISBN: 9781101871515
Pantheon Books, NY, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: no rating

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Get under your blanket and prepare to hunker down with some horror stories!

In Frankenstein, Junji Ito brings to life Mary Shelley’s classic tale: Victor Frankenstein pushes to expand the realm of science, but in the process brings a monster to life. His actions will wreak havoc on his loved ones. Ito rounds out the volume with some short stories that follow Oshikiri, a lonely high school student whose creepy old mansion opens up to other dimensions. Oshikiri frequently finds himself in supernatural situations that will test his relationships and his sanity.

Ito’s portrayal of Frankenstein is gripping from the first page. His detailed artwork captures a stark, frigid Arctic landscape and pulls us into the world of Victor Frankenstein, a desperate man trying to hunt down and destroy his monstrous creation. Ito maintains the momentum by taking the reader through Frankenstein’s ambition, his monstrous process to his monster’s creation, and the fallout. Ito’s art captures the action and emotions well and works well with the story to make it easy to follow what is happening.

Ito continues to deliver quality work with the Oshikiri stories. With its strange occurrences in a so-called normal world, Ito’s ability to transition between the two concepts easily lends a sense of unease and uncertainty. Ito’s art conveys a sense of unease, and the monsters and supernatural figures are properly terrifying. Despite hinting at a bigger narrative, each individual story has a strong arc and ending, which should allow readers to enjoy the experience.

With its strong storytelling and dynamic artwork, Frankenstein will appeal to readers looking for something scary. Viz Media rates this collection for Teen Plus, which is their rating for older teens. Given some moments of intense gore, the reviewer agrees with this assessment.

Frankenstein
By Junji Ito
ISBN: 9781974703760
Viz Media, 2018
Publisher Age Rating: T+ (older teen)

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NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Adult (18+)

Prologue: Fire Punch is the story of Agni, a young man with the remarkable ability to regenerate his own body. Agni lives in a bleak frozen world, pressed by howling winds, constant ice and snow, and bitter cold. This second ice age was brought about by the mysterious Ice Witch.

Volume 1 begins with Agni and his sister, Luna, foraging for food for their dying village. The opening scenes immediately set the tone for what is a gratuitously violent story. Agni and Luna feed their own body parts to the town members, and then use their restorative powers to regrow their limbs. The act is repeatedly shown in graphic detail.

In chapter 1, a militia from the neighboring city of Behemdorg approaches the village to claim what little resources they have, but upon discovering their cannibalistic habits, their leader Doma has the village fire bombed. Over the course of several pages, Luna appears to be dead, while Agni continues to constantly burn and regenerate. He eventually learns to control the natural regeneration and keeps actively burning while he sets out for revenge against Doma.

The Fire Punch series is a story driven by revenge. Agni wanders the bleak frozen wastes in his flaming body for several years, hunting Doma with the intent to kill. While his primary focus is on Doma, multiple characters also discuss hunting down the Ice Witch. In the final portion of the book, several characters begin to reveal their individual motives and stories, and the story starts to become quite immersive.

While an unnecessarily large portion of the book is dedicated to showing imagery of burning flesh, desiccated bodies, blood, gore, rape, and torture, there is an intriguing story lying beneath it all. Volume 1 sets up several plot hooks: the nature of the Ice Witch; the survival of secondary characters; and the conflict between Agni and Doma. As a traditional anti-hero it will be interesting to see if Agni, a tortured loner bent on revenge, will be able to reclaim his humanity.

Fire Punch contains very graphic material and is recommended for an 18+ audience. Fans of gore may appreciate how over-the-top the art is, but many readers will certainly be turned off by the intensity of the violence, a slow start, and so far, undeveloped characters.

Fire Punch, vol. 1
by Tatsuki Fujimoto
ISBN: 9781421597171
Viz Media, 2018
Publisher Age Rating: Mature

What happens when a carefree, food-loving student with a huge appetite befriends another student with a hearing disability? This is the basis of Yuki Fumino’s I Hear the Sunspot, a heartfelt manga that dramatizes the intimate friendship between two college guys whose chance encounter evolves into a profound relationship. From that point on, their lives are transformed with each passing event.

The story begins one quiet afternoon when Taichi, an outspoken student, scampers through the streets, accidentally trips and takes a tumble down a path, crash landing on a nearby rooftop, where he meets Kohei Sugihara. Kohei, a freshman, is studying law and eats lunch on a rooftop everyday. When the free-spirited Taichi literally crash lands onto Kohei’s solitary lunching spot, a friendship emerges that deepens by increasing twists and turns.

Taichi offers to be Kohei’s notetaker. As their friendship develops, Taichi grows closer to Kohei and in some cases, runs to his defense. In one scene, classmates jeer at Kohei, accusing him of being standoffish, when in truth, they don’t even notice his hearing disability. Taichi reprimands their snap judgment, and through repeated encounters, draws closer to Kohei, their friendship advancing various levels of intimacy. What starts as a whimsical, chance encounter shifts into a deeper level of closeness, and into a quasi-intimate relationship.

Interior monologue and harbored feelings abound in fluid storytelling that unfolds as we learn more about Kohei. Fumino handles the character of Kohei with gentle care and compassion. From the moment they meet, Taichi befriends Kohei. Kohei’s disability is handled with sensitivity instead of being objectified. And, although this major conflict pervades the story, it’s not always the central focus.

Instead, the momentum evolves from the dramatic interplay between Kohei in relation to the other characters: how they perceive him and how he interacts with them. Most importantly, we are given a glimpse into the budding relationship Taichi builds with him as time passes.

The minimalist style of the character designs and facial expressions, sketched with wispy lines against a faded, grayish ambiance, belies the unspoken threads of connection between characters, drawing readers into a profound dimension of intimacy. Strategically rendered scenes in bleached hues reinforce the melancholy tone and solitary existence between Taichi and Kohei as they share a compelling attraction towards each other, yet are distanced by innocent misunderstandings. What evolves is a relationship that transcends mere romantic love or idyllic crush, but instead, shines with emotional depth and charming beauty.

A welcome entry into the diverse landscape of manga stories, I Hear the Sunspot is geared towards older teenagers given its exploration of the relational dynamics between a pair of college students. That this manga revolves around a character with a disability further highlights silenced voices, altogether showcasing characters with exquisite sensitivity and compassion. The whimsical friendship between two very distinct characters gives rise to dramatic flair and humor at strategic points that resonate with extreme poignancy.

I Hear the Sunspot
By Yuki Fumino
ISBN: 9781944937300
One Peace Books, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: OT (16+)

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Character Traits: Characters with Disability Not evident from text

A new mobile game is all the rage in N City. In this game, Magical Girl Raising Project, you play a magical girl using superpowers to save people. And rumor has it that a lucky few players will get turned into magical girls in real life!

The rumors are true. Magical Girl Raising Project has turned a select few players into real magical girls, complete with costumes and special powers. The girls are running around N City saving people, which earns them candies in the mobile game. You would think these real-life superheroes wouldn’t care about in-game candies, but they don’t have much choice. The game sends them a message: there are now too many magical girls, so some of them will have to go. At the end of each week, whoever has the least candy… dies.

At first, the girls work frantically to rescue more people and earn candy. Then they realize two things that will change the way they play this deadly game. One: candy can be stolen. Two: the game wants to eliminate one magical girl per week, but doesn’t care how it happens. The girl with the least candy is safe, if someone else dies.

As the game spirals into a murder frenzy, most of the girls form pairs or small groups. Every girl has a unique power and her own agenda. The game is now about survival and revenge, bloodlust, and altruism. Where will it end? Will any magical girls survive?

This two-volume series is packed with emotion as well as violence. The reader gets to know many of the magical girls, sees their fears and hopes and attachments before (usually) their gruesome death. And the deaths are indeed gruesome. While the series does not throw around gore on every page, or even go overboard with it during the fight scenes, it doesn’t shy away from showing the violence. Readers will see not just blood but, occasionally, exposed bones or intestines. And then they will see the grief and rage of the magical girls who were friends with the deceased. The series is pretty intense.

At the same time, this manga does have some fascinating strategy angles. Each girl or group of girls has a plan. These range from “lay low and try to survive” to “take out our opponents one at a time” to “keep saving people because that’s what magical girls are supposed to do.” Their plans factor in their individual abilities, which include shapeshifting, super-healing, hearing other people’s thoughts, and more.

The art is active and detailed, focusing on the girls’ emotions and also their elaborate costumes. Most of the magical girl outfits are skimpy, with cleavage and short skirts galore, and the angles from which the girls are drawn often lend themselves to panty shots. It can feel a little weird to have side boob and underwear on display in a way that is clearly intended by the artist, if not by the characters, while a girl is fighting for her life or sobbing over a friend’s body. However, this fan service is prominent in other manga series: see Puella Magi: Suzune Magica for another example.

Consisting of two volumes, this manga is based on a light novel series. The light novels have all been released in Japan, but only half have been translated into English.

The premise of Magical Girl Raising Project will appeal to fans of kill-or-be-killed stories like The Hunger Games or Battle Royale. Readers who like the Puella Magi series as a grim, serious twist on magical girl stories may enjoy this one for the same reason. Packed with combat, tactical maneuvering, and raw emotions, this series is a good pick for readers who want high stakes and intense action.

Magical Girl Raising Project, vols. 1-2
by Asari Endou
Art by Pochi Edoya Marui-no
Vol 1 ISBN: 9780316414180
Vol 2 ISBN:  9780316521314
Yen Press, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: Older Teen