Review: A TALE OF AN UNKNOWN COUNTRY

It's quite rare to see a shojo maid manga.  Maids tend to be there to assist the heroine, not be the focus of the story.  I guess that's technically true for this one as well...look, let me explain below.

A TALE OF AN UNKNOWN COUNTRY (Shirinai Kuni no Monogatari), by Natsuna Kawase.  First published in 2001 and first published in North America in 2009.

PLOT:

Rosemarie is the princess of a small but impoverished kingdom of Ardela, where even the royal family has to work part-time selling goods to tourists at their castle to get by.  To improve their lot, Rosemarie is to be married to Prince Reynol of the far more advanced kingdom of Yurinela.  Rosemarie has heard nothing but bad things about this prince, so to find out more she poses as "Marie" the maid and joins Reynol's household.  As the two grow closer, Rosemarie starts to worry that she can't reveal her true feelings without offending him and ruining everything.

Merry Month of Shojo Review #15: CIPHER

 And now let's switch things around to the opposite: an old-school series set in (what were then) modern times.

A series that's literally as old as I am.

...oh dear.

CIPHER, by Minako Narita.  First published in 1984 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

One day, Anise manages to gather up her courage to confess to her handsome famous classmate Siva.  What she wants is not a romance but his friendship.  Amazingly, he accepts her offer but remains cryptic and cynical.  Eventually Anise discovers his secret: he and his identical twin brother Cipher have been switching places on a regular basis.  Anise is furious at the deception and presumes the two do this just to hold everyone at a distance.  She's ready to disclose their secret, but the boys counter with a bet: if she can tell them apart after two weeks, they'll tell her everything.  If she can't, she has to keep their secret forever.  Anise is determined to win, even if it means moving in with them.

Merry Month of Shojo Review #3: CANON

It figures when I need to talk about a good but overlooked shojo manga from the past, I can always turn to CMX.

CANON (Kanon), by Chika Shiomi.  First published in 1994 and first published in North America in 2007.

PLOT:

Six months ago, Canon’s classroom was attacked by a mysterious vampire.  All of her classmates were drained in an instant, while Canon was transformed to a vampire.  Through sheer willpower, she has managed to contain her hunger and now uses her supernatural powers to save others and hunt down the man who transformed her.  The only ones able to help her are Fui, a sassy vampiric crow, and Sakaki, a fellow vampire with an agenda of his own.

Review: CHIKYU MISAKI

During the manga boom of the 2000s, it seems that publishers would put out anything.  We got a lot of garbage titles out of it, but we also occasionally got a diamond in the rough like today's title.

CHIKYU MISAKI, by Yuji Iwahara.  First published in 2000 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

After the death of her grandfather, Misaki Makishima finds her the new owner of a huge old house on the shores of Hohoro Lake.  Just as she starts to get used to small town life, she discovers that the rumors of a lake monster are true.  Not only that, but the monster is tiny, adorable, and turns into a little boy with a kiss.  Now Misaki and her friends have to find a way to protect this creature, since he's now the only thing standing between a thief and the suitcases of gold he lost in the lake after a plane crash.

Review: MUSASHI #9

We could always use more action-oriented heroines in shojo manga...maybe just not like this particular one.

MUSASHI #9 (Kyuban no Musashi), by Miyuki Takahashi.  First published in 1996 and first published in North America in 2004.

PLOT:

There is a secret organization known as Ultimate Blue that dedicated to preserving world peace.  They are a force of only nine members, but each member is like an army onto themselves.   Their most notorious agent is #9, nicknamed Musashi.  No matter whether she is saving kidnapped teens from terrorists, Russian refugees from Middle Eastern conspirators, or the President of Russia himself, Musashi can save the day and slip back into the crowd, leaving nothing but admiration and rumors in her wake.

Review: SEIMADEN

This month provides me with a good excuse to go back to the CMX well, which always produces something interesting.  

SEIMADEN, by You Higuri.  First published in 1993 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Hildegarde is a beautiful, graceful dancer haunted by a past she can't remember.  She spends her days in a small town full of refugees and other forgotten people like herself.  She ends meeting with two men who are fascinated by her beauty and seem to know something about her past.  The first is Laures, a powerful demon prince who swears he will win Hilda's heart.  The other is Roddrick, the last survivor of a magical race that swears Laures is lying.  Hilda isn't sure who to believe, but she fears that they will destroy the town in their pursuit to possess her.

Review: SHIRLEY

This month has mostly been full of duds, so thank god that there's still one good maid manga out there that I hadn't talked about yet. 

SHIRLEY (Shari), by Kaoru Mori.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2008.

PLOT:

In this short story collection, we follow three young maids.  The first is Shirley, a 13-year-old girl who is hired by a widowed cafe owner to be a housemaid only to become something closer to a friend or a substitute daughter.  There's also the story of Nellie, who serves as a constant companion to her lonely young charge.  Finally there's Mary Banks, who must deal with the fallout of her former master's prank well after his death.

Merry Month of Manga: ORFINA

It's time to take a look at another failed fantasy manga from CMX, although this one is less about fairy tale romance and more about epic battles.

ORFINA (Orufina), by Kitsune Tennouji.  First published in 1993 and first published in North America in 2007.

PLOT:

Fana is a lone warrior on the run from the conquering forces of Granze.  Her wanderings lead her to the kingdom of Cordia and its royal family, who are stunned by Fana's resemblance to their daughter Orfina.  Fana comes to know and love Orfina and her family as if they were her own, but their idyll is interrupted when the armies of Granze finally arrive.  Now Fana must use her skills and her resemblance to the princess to survive and preserve the hope of the people.

Merry Month of Manga: THE LIZARD PRINCE

It's been too long since we've covered a CMX manga on here.  They always had shojo fantasy series that were always interesting, even if they weren't always good. 

THE LIZARD PRINCE (Tokage Oji), by Asuka Izumi.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2009.

PLOT:

Princess Canary is far from thrilled at the prospect of her engagement to Prince Heath of Gazania.  Heath is a boorish, lazy jerk whose very nature offends the sensible, strong-willed Canary, and he in turn has no desire to get married to anyone.  He decides to switch places with a talking lizard of his, unaware that said lizard is in fact his missing elder brother Sienna.  Canary ends up falling for this gentler, thoughtful creature, but their true love makes the magic behind the enchantment go haywire.  How do you make a royal relationship work when your fiance can turn into a lizard at any moment?

Merry Month of Shojo: VS.

CMX's library never fails to surprise me, even after all these years.  Their library was filled with interesting little shojo series like this.

VS. (Vasasu), by Keiko Yamada.  First published in 1999 and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

Reiji is an incredibly talented violinist who is driven to succeed so that he can save himself and his sister from their abusive father.  His playing is technically accomplished, but often lacking in emotion.  Thus, his teacher calls upon the assistance of Mitsuko, a former student and violin prodigy whose career was cut short by an accident.  The two of them are frequently at odds, as Mitsuko tries to find a way to connect with Reiji while Reiji fights to save his sister before it is too late.

Merry Month of Shojo: THE DEVIL DOES EXIST

Alas, this month can't be all joy and surprises.  Sometimes it requires diving into the dumpsters of publishers past, dusting off a particular piece of garbage, and marveling at how little that particular brand of garbage has changed over the years.

THE DEVIL DOES EXIST (Akuma de Soro), by Mitsuba Takanashi.  First published in 1999 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Kayano just wanted to finally confess to her crush, Yuichi.  Instead her letter gets intercepted by Takeru, who uses his looks and his status as the principal's son to get away with all sorts of bullying.  Now Kayano is his new favorite target, and his determination to mess with her only increases when Kayano's mother and Takeru's father get engaged.  Will Kayano ever escape his torment?  Or will she discover that this devil isn't as tough as he looks?

Review: MADARA

So what happens when you take the creative team behind MPD Psycho and have them do a fantastical take on Dororo?  You get this.

MADARA (Moryu Senki MADARA), written by Eiji Otsuka  & art by Sho-u Tajima.  First published in 1987 and first published in North America in 2004.

PLOT:

For fifteen years, Madara was content to spend his days in his peaceful village, helping the local blacksmith out with the aid of his nearly all-mechanical body.  Then one day the forces of the evil Emperor Miroku invade, and Madara learns that not only are his mechanical parts capable of great power, but that unsealing that power and defeating powerful enemies gives him the chance to spontaneously regrow parts of his body.  Now with his childhood friend Kirin at his side, Madara sets out on what just may be a journey of destiny.

Merry Month of (Shojo) Manga: MOON CHILD

You know what?  Let's get weird today.  Let's get "gender-changing amnesiac merperson from space falls for human dancer" weird.

MOON CHILD (Tsuki no Ko), by Reiko Shimizu.  First published in 1989, and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Art is a struggling dancer in New York who gets in a car accident.  He's saved by a mysterious and beautiful young man with amnesia, who is quickly dubbed "Jimmy."  Art takes the boy in, and the two start to bond.  Then strange things start to happen: Art exhibits telekinetic powers, strange fish-like beings start to appear, and a boy from hundreds of years in the past comes looking for Jimmy.  His past turns out to be tied to a a species of intergalactic merfolk, witch hunts, and the story of The Little Mermaid, and the more he remembers the more his life is in danger.

Merry Month of (Shojo) Manga: PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE

Today's shall be a two-for: a magical girl story and yet another attempt at finding an Arina Tanemura manga that I like.

PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE (Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne), by Arina Tanemura.  First published in 1998 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Maron is an ordinary girl by day, always busy with schoolwork, clubs, and her tempestuous friendship with her neighbor/classmate Miyako.  By night, Maron is the Phantom Thief Jeanne, a reincarnation of Jeanne d'Arc who saves the world from demon-possessed paintings with the help of angel-in-training Finn Fish.  Jeanne is pursued by Miyako (who is the daughter of a detective), but also by a mysterious boy with similar powers calling himself Kaito Sinbad.  Does this Sinbad have anything to do with the handsome, mischievous boy that moved in next door? And is Sinbad an ally or an enemy?

Review: BROKEN BLADE

BROKEN BLADE (Bureiku Bureido), by Yunosuke Yoshinaga.  First published in 2007 and first published in North America in 2009.

PLOT:

Rygart Arrow is a one-in-a-million sort of guy.  He lives in a world where people can manipulate quartz to obtain magic energy and fight an endless war, but Rygart is completely unable to do so.  His father even went so far as to send Rygart to military school to try and develop some sort of ability, but all Rygart got out of it was a lot of debt and some friends in high places.

Years later, Rygart is summoned by one of those old school friends, who now happens to be king.  It seems that the military discovered an ancient mech suit in a quartz mine, but no one has been able to start it.  When Rygart climbs in, the suit comes to life, but now Rygart finds himself in a battle against a massive army as well as another old friend.

Review: DIAMOND GIRL

The Olympics may be over, but I'm still in the mood for more sports action, so let's take a look at some sports manga this month!  Today's review a series that we desperate need more of: sports stories about girls.

DIAMOND GIRL (Shiramata Shojo), by Takanori Yamazaki.  First published in 2007 and first published in North America in 2010.

PLOT:

Tsubura just wanted a fresh start in a new town.  What she didn't want was her past catching up with her, which it does when a stray baseball flies through her classroom window and she throws it back like a pro.  The school's hard-luck baseball club wants her to become their star pitcher, but Tsubura just wants an ordinary life without baseball.  Why is Tsubura so talented, and why does she hate baseball so much?

Review: TOWER OF THE FUTURE

Of course, I can't let an Old School Month pass without some old shoujo, and there's no better source for mostly forgotten 90s shoujo than good ol' CMX.  Alas, they can't all be gems like Swan and Eroica; most of them are middling dramas like today's offering.

TOWER OF THE FUTURE (Mirai no Utena), by Saki Hiwatari.  First published in 1994 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Takeru's life was for a while not all that different from that of any other 14 year old boy.  He's struggling with his choice of high school and a newfound crush and his desire to be a fantasy novelist often leaves him lost in his own imagination.  That all changes the day Takeru's mother dies and reveals that Takeru has an illegitimate half-sister in England.  This revelation shocks Takeru to his core and his reactions threaten to tear apart what is left of his family.

Merry Month of Manga Review: THE EMPTY EMPIRE

Once again, we're looking at another oddball shoujo title from CMX.  This one is a bit more divisive for me.  In some ways, it's much better than Two Flowers For the Dragon, but it's worse in some ways.

THE EMPTY EMPIRE (Kara no Teikoku), by Naoe Kita.  First published in 1993 and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

The Emperor Idea once ruled the world through a combination of incredible powers and indominatable charisma.  Then the emperor suddenly died and the world was thrown into chaos.  In the midst of this chaos, a stray duke and a whip-wielding girl from the streets find a boy that looks just like the late emperor.  He's a rejected clone that was left without any memories and bearing a rose-shaped scar on his forehead.  They bring him to the palace to teach the boy what he needs to know to survive, but there are many people who both adored and despised Idea and are determined to dispose of this doppelganger by any means.

Merry Month of Manga Review: TWO FLOWERS FOR THE DRAGON

Now we're going from one of the classics of shoujo to one of my favorite sub-sub-sub categories: weird shoujo series from CMX!  They picked up all sorts of weird little gems during their brief time that are remembered mostly by manga bloggers like myself, including (but not limited to) today's selection.

TWO FLOWERS FOR THE DRAGON (Ryu no Hanawazurai), by Nari Kusakawa.  First published in 2005 and first published in North America in 2008.

PLOT:

Shayuka is the heiress to the dragon clan.  This grants her the ability to control water, to transform into a dragon and to someday rule over the desert oasis kingdom she calls home.  As a child, she was engaged to her friend Lucien, but he disappeared in the desert.  These days, she's set to marry Kuwan, the captain of the guard, but those plans go awry after Lucien reappears.  Shayuka can only marry one, so the matter will be settled through Shayuka's enchanted engagement tattoos.  One hand bears the rose of Lucien; the other has the bellflower of Kuwan.  As her love for one or the other grows, their respective flowers will grow and bud, and whomever has the most in a year's time wins her hand.  Shayuka is confident that her love for Kuwan will win out, but will Lucien's newfound strength and flirtatiousness even the odds?

Review: ZOMBIE FAIRY

It's October once more, which means it's time to look over some monstrous manga.  That is, manga about monsters and hopefully manga that ARE monstrous.

Well, hopefully at least.

Let's start things off with a quirky little oddity from the dying days of CMX and their short-lived partnership with web manga distributor Flex Comics.  It was meant to bring revolutionary new titles to the States.  The actual result were weird little one-off projects like today's selection.

ZOMBIE FAIRY (Kyonshii Sennyo), by Daisuke Torii.  First published in 2007 and first published in North America in 2008.

PLOT:

Aoto Hozoki's family didn't think much about the weird old coffin in the basement.  All they knew is that Grandpa picked up 20 years ago from an old Chinese monk.  Until Aoto took it on TV for experts to examine, they had no idea what it could contain.  What it did contain was Chun-Ai, a jiang-shi (or Chinese hopping vampire) who turns out to be a magical being under a terrible curse.  Now Aoto and his family must help Chun-Ai break her curse and return her to normal all while keeping things under control in their own household.

STORY:

Zombie Fairy.  That's a weird combination of words.  It simultaneously offers up something overdone and kind of boring with something magical and exotic.  In other words, it's a perfect reflection of the work itself.

At its core, this is another sitcom-style comedy, albeit one with a touch of action to it.  Torii certainly wrote his cast like they were in a sitcom, in the sense that they are the blandest sitcom stereotypes you could imagine. You know you're dealing with a serious lack of character when the most well-defined member of the cast is the horny old grandpa pulled straight from some 90s schlock.  Aoto might as well not be there for all he contributes to the story.  That being said, the magical beings aren't treated much better.  Chun-Ai has only two modes: innocent girl and mindless monster.  For a while it looks like they will trade on Lin-Fa's vanity as a gag, but she mostly gets relegated to the role of Giver of Exposition.  When it comes to the cast, Torii was clearly just going through the motions to get to what he really wanted to write about: the mythological angle.

To his credit, Torii digs deeper than most supernaturally-themed manga do for his creatures, which is part of the reason why the title is so clunky.  It's not that it's inaccurate, it's that Chun-Ai is a combination of creatures that few in the west would recognize off-hand.  Jiang-shi are obscure enough (unless you like old Hong Kong exploitation films), and it's weird that they went with 'zombie' when they are often more closely tied to vampirism.  The 'fairy' part is even more complicated.  Chun-Ai is meant to be a sennyo, a being from Chinese/Japanese Buddhist mythology that's closer to what westerners would call a 'nymph' versus a fairy.  The story finds a terribly convoluted way to make combining such drastically different ideas work, one that involves demons and seals and the Chinese zodiac.  None of it makes a bit of sense, and the worst part is that it ultimately doesn't matter.

That's right: there's no ending.  The story sets up a big quest to hunt down a bunch of demons and simply leaves it there.  It seems that Torii was no more successful in Japan than he was in the States.  Maybe if Torii had put more effort into the story overall, that might not have happened.

ART:

That's a real shame because Torii's artstyle is pretty cute.  The character designs are more doll-like than the standard, anime-friendly look that most works like this use.  He also plays with perspective a little, and the character designs can actually hold to that without looking weird.  It's actually kind of unique looking in that sense.  That's about the only unique quality, though.  He's a perfectly competent artist, but no more beyond that.  The jokes, the action, the backgrounds - all of them are drawn in a perfectly unremarkable way.  Honestly, the title and the characters might be the only original ideas to be found in the entire thing.

RATING:

A title like Zombie Fairy demands a certain degree of commitment and skill to make it work without being ridiculous, and this Torii guy simply wasn't up to the task.  This renders the book nothing more than an obscure oddity, even by the standards of the CMX library.

This book was published by CMX.  It is currently out of print.