Category: Manga

Posted in Book Reviews, DC comics, Graphic Novels, Manga, Marvel Comics

Free Comic Book Day Review!

Posted on by elishasbookreview

So this year’s free comic book day was a good selection of graphic novels. My fiance and I mostly picked the ones rated Teen and Mature. I will list the titles in which order I read them, and hopefully, this will make sense.

Shibuya Goldfish by Hiroumi Aoi – This manga is about alien goldfish that invade Japan and start devouring the citizens. It is up to Hiro, to guide the others to safety. I first discovered this Manga through a Facebook group I casually follow. So, when they had a free preview of this I instantly grabbed it and couldn’t wait to read it. I found the preview to be interesting and definitely couldn’t wait to read more!

Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro – A cyborg soldier readies himself for battle against Alita and her friends. Who will come out of this match alive? This free preview of this manga caught my eye by the cover art. I am a country girl at heart. This issue was brief and I am curious to know more, but I wasn’t sold on the plot. I would recommend reading the whole story.

Aposimz by Tsutomu Nihei – In this futuristic dystopian land, the land is frozen solid, disease rampant, and it’s up to one small group of survivors to survive. I enjoyed this preview into this manga. I liked the art style, it brings how desolate and barren the world is. I will definitely be checking out this manga in full volume.

Frankenstein by Junji Ito – A re-imagining of the famous story by Mary Shelley, this is from one of the most famous horror manga writers, so get ready for this terrifying story! I personally enjoyed this preview. I haven’t read the original story by Mary Shelley, so I can’t compare the two. However, I did enjoy this and I would recommend this for sure!

Jughead: The Hunger #1 by Frank Tieri – In this Archie Madhouse Comic Spinoff Series, beloved character Jughead Jones discovers his family’s curse, and is on the run. Betty: Werewolf Hunter along with Archie is hot on Jughead’s trail to stop the destruction their friend is causing. I’m not familiar with the Archie Comic Universe, however, I enjoyed this horror take on a classic and beloved series. Seeing Jughead handle the consequences of running away is heartbreaking. I would definitely recommend checking out this series.

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953 #1: Phantom Hand and Kelpie by Mike Mignola – Hellboy is in the 1950’s with his friend and the owner of the mansion. The supernatural goings-on has killed and maimed the guests of the mansion, and it’s up to Hellboy to destroy whatever is causing this mayhem. I am not familiar with the Hellboy comic series. However, I found that this comic gave me a good idea about what Hellboy is all about. He fights paranormal evil.

John Constantine: The Hellblazer #1 by Neil Gaiman – This issue starts off with a dead homeless man wandering through the London underground. Meanwhile, John Constantine has his own problems to sort through. I love John Constantine. He is an awesome character that fights the monsters that go bump in the night as well as help others. I will definitely be reading more Constantine graphic novels in the future.

So, in conclusion, here are the graphic novels I’m going to be reading in the future!

  • Shibuya Goldfish by Hiroumi Aoi
  • Aposimz by Tsutomu Nihei
  • Jughead: The Hunger by Frank Tieri
  • John Constantine
Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Manga

REVIEW: Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace Vol. 1 by Saito Tatsuo

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No major spoilers*

Marika Kato is your average third-year student at Hakuoh Academy, busy with homework, leading the school’s yacht club, and working part-time at the Lamp House café. But that’s not all to Marika’s life—she’s also a space pirate! As the captain of Bentenmaru, a privateer pirate space-ship bearing a letter of marque, Marika takes on a job involving a staged attack on a luxury cruiser, where she finds a mysterious young boy on the run and a new task for the crew of the Bentenmaru.

Along with the trend of manga with funny titles. I thought I’d read this just for giggles. I was sadly disappointed, this was a very loose story and lacked much of a real plot. One of the reasons being is you don’t see Marika at school very often, and you only see her with the Yacht Club one time throughout the story.

Even though I have some more negatives, I want to touch on something positive with this story. I did like the idea that the characters’ jobs were to stage attacks on luxury cruiser class spaceships, while the concept was good and there were at least a couple of attacks staged I found the story to be lackluster overall.

To conclude this one, I might read the second one in the series to see if the pace does pick up and actually manage to hold my interest more than this book did. Although I would recommend this book to manga readers that are a fan of the sci-fi genre and consumers of the manga art style. Overall it’s not a terrible book, but it’s not the best manga I’ve come across.

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Manga

REVIEW: Pokemon Sun and Moon Vol.1 by Hidenori Kusaka

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Spoilers*

The beginning on this ongoing series involves Sun, the delivery boy. He meets Moon, a girl on a mission to deliver a Pokemon, Rotom, to Professor Kukui. While on a mission for an odd job for the local gang, Team Skull, things go haywire and a plan is set to get revenge on Sun.

This manga reminded me of the relationship between Ash and Misty in the Pokemon anime. Sun is a bone-head who is living life by the seat of his pants. Moon is one that’s level-headed and know what she’s doing. She studied to be a pharmacist, and she can make various medicine to help both Pokemon and people.

I enjoyed this manga even though it was short. I hope this series gets better as it goes on. I might review Volume 2. The main underlining story with Team Skull seems to be interesting.

I would recommend this for Pokemon lovers and manga alike.

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Manga

REVIEW: Baccano! Vol. 1 by Ryohgo Narita

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Major Spoilers*

New York, 1927.

In a corrupt city where crime rules the streets, Firo Prochainezo is Camorra, an Italian criminal syndicate distinct from the mafia. A member of the relatively small Martillo family, Firo nevertheless got big ambitions and is determined to make his mark. But while the Martillos may not be the biggest bad guys on the block, they’ve got some distinct advantages working in their favor. Does Firo have what it takes to become a made man?

Let the crazy ruckus begin!

I was really excited about this manga when I saw this at my library. I enjoy 1920’s era stories as well as Mafia/the Mob stories. Sadly, this one disappointed me.

The characters were generic, I had a difficult time telling them apart. Generic mobsters all fighting for control. For example Similar hairstyles and hair colors between each one it was a bit of a headache trying to distinguish them apart

The storyline only got interesting when I was more than half-way into it. At that point I had lost my enthusiasm for the rest of the story. I did finish the story though. When I finished it things started finally making sense, but up until that point, it was like going to a family reunion and seeing most of the people you’ve never met.  Kind of like when Aunt May comes up to you and squeezes your cheeks and says “OH I REMEMBER YOU WHEN YOU WERE JUST A BABY!!” And you’re standing there like “Mom, why is this strange woman pinching my cheeks?”

I did like when the plot fully came together and started to make more sense. I would be willing to read the next book in the series to give it a second chance.

I would recommend this to people who are more into 1920’s era New York and a bit of the Noir theme.

Buy it here on Amazon!

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Manga

REVIEW: Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 1 by Ryoko Kui

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Major Spoilers*

When young adventurer Laios and his company are attacked and soundly thrashed by a dragon deep in a dungeon, the party loses all its money and provisions…and a member! They’re eager to go back and save her, but there is just one problem: If they set out with no food or coin to speak of, they’re sure to starve on the way! But Laios comes up with a brilliant idea: “Let’s eat the monsters!” Slimes, basilisks, and even dragons…none are safe from the appetites of these dungeon-crawling gourmands!

This manga caught my eye by the odd-sounding title. The theme of eating the monsters that are found in the dungeon is a unique idea. Most dungeon-crawlers are dependant on “standard” foods. Eating the monsters is unorthodox to most dungeon-crawler type scenarios.

My favorite character is Senshi, the dwarf. He joins the team at the beginning and teaches the group how to cook the monsters and how their diets affect their abilities to fight and travel. His unique perspective on the adventure is admirable and humorous.

My least favorite character is Marcille, the mage. She is against the whole idea of eating monsters and complains every step of the way. Even after Senshi proved to her time, and time again that eating monsters wasn’t a bad thing, she continued to complain throughout.

A unique touch I found in the story was whenever they cooked a dish, they would show the recipe and nutrition facts. I thought that was funny and added a nice touch to the story overall.

I would recommend this manga to lovers of dungeon-crawlers, monster lovers, and aspiring cooks alike. This is a unique take on the rehashed story of “going through the dungeon to save/do x,y, and z.

Buy on Amazon