June 2015 Manga Pick

Before I went away for vacation, I read as much manga as I could. I tried out new series to get a feel for different genres. Then I came back and continued on a few series. Some of them unfortunatlely have not been updated for at least a year and I wish some scanlating groups will pick it up in the future.

Ocha Nigosu

The subtitle is "a bad boy drinks tea". It sounds very cute for a tagline. Written and illustrated by the same guy who did Kyou Kara Ore Wa!!, it's another comedy based manga. Your two main characters are also very delinquent-like. Masaya is known simply as Devil Ma-kun because he gives off a nasty aura. While it is true he does beat up nasty people, the running gag is that he's misunderstood. So in order to reform, he decided to join the tea ceremony club at school in hopes of changing his image. It is definitely funny and some stories were indeed laugh out loud hilarious. I think the artwork is also a step up from Kyou Kara Ore Wa!!, leaving behind comic exaggeration. However, I feel that there's still some inconsistency where some chapters feel like filler dragging out the story. It got boring for me up to a certain point. I'm taking a break from reading it and will pick up on it later on.

New Petshop of Horrors

The sequel to Petshop of Horrors. Perhaps not as magical as the first one, but it's still intriguing. Count D moves to Tokyo Chinatown and his landlord isn't exactly a negotiable kind of man. Like the first Petshop of Horrors, the stories are usually about teaching pet owners or related persons a lesson. Some of them end tragically in death while most usually gets the problem solved. The overarching story is Lau Wu-fei, the landlord, trying to get D kicked out by exploiting some sort of weakness. The problem is Lau has no idea what D is. D is still a fun character to be around, but Lau here is the snobby businessman. I think the point is that you're suppose to find him despicable, but he does have a few weaknesses and there is still some mystery around him.

Genjuu no Seiza

By Akino Matsuri, the same mangaka that did Petshop of Horrors. The plot is just as intriguing to read. In a small obscure country in Asia called Darashaal, a high priest has been appointed similar to the selection of the Dalai Lama, but Garuda one of the guardians is convinced that this one is an imposter. A boy named Fuuto living in Japan is suppose to be the real one. He rejects this idea of being a high priest and continues to do so throughout the story because there are too many questions that need answering. At the same time, Fuuto has supernatural abilities that are sometimes beyond his control. He encounters a variety of situations that forces him to use his powers because he is also a very kind hearted individual striving to help others in need. I like the story a lot because the choices Fuuto makes are often times life and death choices that critically challenge him as a priest.  The manga is put on hold and I really hope whoever is doing the project will pick it up again. I'm curious about Fuuto's missing father and the real reason behind having an impostor priest.

Family of Brahman

Ahh. An 80s shonen manga. This one's really short, only four volumes. You must be warned, it kind of hangs on a cliffhanger leaving the viewer to imagine the rest of the story. Family of Brahman or Brahman no Kazoku explores a ancient and secret Hindu sect known as Brahman that has survived thousands of years. Descendants of Brahman master a unique set of martial arts to judge evil. It follows the very traditional formula of good vs evil. Our protagonist Ryu reminds me too much of Kujo Jotaro as many 80's shonen heroes were. The ways the villains ended up being "judged" are always painful deaths. It's a good read if you are into old school manga.

I want to include two more series that are in my honorable mentions. One is Shoku King. The reason being that there are only four chapters available. Shoku King is about saving failing restaurants. As someone who likes food mangas a lot, I wish this one was continued. The second manga in the honorable mentions is Onikiri Jyuzo. By the author of Basilisk, I thought this one would get the same vibe, but instead I was a little turned off. It feels bland sometimes and the story becomes too predictable. It's not much of a page turner like Basilisk or the Yagyuu Jubei series. So in the end I dropped this series.