Review: THE LEGEND OF MOTHER SARAH

It's time for yet another Old School Month here at the Manga Test Drive, and we're digging deep into the Dark Horse library to dig up a forgotten story from one of manga's most legendary creators.

THE LEGEND OF MOTHER SARAH (Sara), by Katsuhiro Otomo with art by Takumi Nagayasu.  First published in 1990 and first published in North America in 1996.

PLOT:

In the future, nuclear devastation has driven humanity to space stations in low orbit.  A civil war broke out between those who wanted to stay in space and those who wanted to use an experimental bomb to reboot Earth's ecosystem and were unafraid to bomb those space stations to prove their point.

Only a small portion of humanity made it back to Earth, struggling to survive in this post-apocalyptic world.  One of those survivors is Sarah, who wanders the world in the hopes of finding the children she lost during the evacuation.  In the process, she finds herself in a mining town ruled by a tyrant.  There, water is just as precious as gold and there are plenty who would fight to control them both.

Review: FRUITS BASKET ANOTHER

Let's wrap things up with the modern sequel to one of shojo manga's most beloved series.

FRUITS BASKET ANOTHER (Furutsu Basuketto Anaza), by Natsuki Takaya.  First published in 2015 and first published in North America in 2018.

PLOT:

Sawa can't seem to do anything right.  Everyone seems to be judging her: her teachers, her classmates, her mother, her landlord.  Her anxiety is so bad that she can barely function.  That's when Mutsumi Sohma, the handsome school council president, extends his hand in kindness to her (while also securing her a spot on the student council).  Bit by bit, Sawa's world begins to open up alongside Mutsumi, his reticent cousin Hajime, and Hajime's perky twin sister Sora.

Review: GRAVITATION EX

It's time to return to one of the landmarks in millennial BL and see how its sequel fares.

GRAVITATION EX, by Maki Murakami.  First published in 2004 and first published in North America in 2007.

PLOT:

Shuichi and Eiri have finally settled into a relationship, and now they are travelling to NYC so Yuki can give his final respects to his former teacher Yuki.  No sooner do they get there than they get saddled with Riku, Yuki's orphaned son.  The two now have to juggle caring for a child alongside managing their stormy relationship, the demands of Shuichi's rising music career, and all sorts of nonsense along the way.

Review: THE ANCIENT MAGUS' BRIDE: JACK FLASH AND THE FAERIE CASE FILES

Both the summer movie season and the summer anime season is loaded with sequels, so it's as good as a time as any for us to cover some more manga sequels, prequels, and spinoffs, starting with a spinoff from one of my favorite manga. 

THE ANCIENT MAGUS' BRIDE: JACK FLASH AND THE FAERIE CASE FILES (Maho Tsukai no Yome Shihen.75: Inazuma Jack to Yosei Jiken), written by Yu Godai with art by Mako Oikawa and script supervision by Kore Yamazaki.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Just beyond the busy everyday surface of New York City is a world of alchemists, fae, and other magical beings living amongst them.  When the thin boundary between the two is broken, it is up to investigators like Jacqueline "Jack" Flash and her werewolf assistant Larry to make things right.  Their status as changelings allows them to easily traverse both worlds, which they'll need to do to solve cursed cameras, a ring of thieving spectral hounds, and stolen dragon eggs.

Review: THE ECCENTRIC DOCTOR OF THE MOON FLOWER KINGDOM

 It was inevitable that the success of The Apothecary Diaries would spawn imitators.  Those imitators can be enjoyable in their own right, but this book can't help but make me wish I was just reading about MaoMao instead.

THE ECCENTRIC DOCTOR OF THE MOON FLOWER KINGDOM (Gekkakoku Kaiden), by Tohru Himuka.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2023.

PLOT:

Trouble is afoot in the capital of the Moon Flower Kingdom.  The head consort wants to clear the way for her own son, even if that means killing the crown prince Keiun.  His guard is injured during their escape, and this is what ultimately leads him to the small-town doctor Koyou.  Her pretty face and ditzy ways bely her talent for practical treatments and medicine-making.  Keiun takes it upon himself to bring her and her assistant to the palace to ply her trade, even if it means facing all the machinations of the royal court.