Review: QWASER OF STIGMATA

You have to try really hard to make an ecchi manga that stands out, particularly if you were making one in the time before monster girls.  This one...well, it certainly tried.

QWASER OF STIGMATA (Seikon no Qwaser), written by Hiroyuki Yoshino with art by Kenetsu Sato.  First published in 2006 and first published in North America in 2010.

PLOT:

Tomo and Mayuri are two sisters who are left adrift after their uncle/guardian disappears.  Their home is converted into a school dormitory shortly thereafter and the new dean's daughter has made it her mission to make the girls miserable.  Mayuri gently accept their fate with the hope that someday things might get better, but Tomo is picking for a fight.  They soon find an ally in the form of a strange Russian exchange student on the hunt for a legendary Orthodox icon hidden somewhere in the school.  He and Tomo must somehow find a way to get along if they are to find the icon and protect it from those who want to use its power for harm.

Review: WALKIN' BUTTERFLY

There's a lot of great josei that got completely overlooked in the 2000s, and few were as overlooked as this title.

WALKIN' BUTTERFLY (U-okin * Batafurai), by Chihiro Tamaki.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2007.

PLOT:

Michiko has always been taller than average.  By the time she turns 19 she's over six feet tall, and years of teasing, comments, and insults from others have given her a major complex about her height.  She feels physically and psychologically isolated from the world, to the point that she dropped out of school and is now stuck in a series of dead-end jobs with a gaggle of fellow dropouts.  

Michiko's world changes when a pizza delivery gone wrong leads to her being mistaken for a model.  When a designer declares that she will never be a proper model, Michiko is inspired like never before.  Now she'll take on anyone and anything to become a model, if simply to show that cocky jackass just how wrong they are.

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: MARIONETTE GENERATION

Sometimes a character designer can successfully make the leap from animation to manga.  Today is an example of a beloved old-school designer whose leap was not quite so graceful.

MARIONETTE GENERATION (Marionetto Jenereshon), by Haruhiko Mikimoto.  First published in 1989 and first published in North America in 2001.

PLOT:

Izumi Morino is a down-on-his-luck artist who gets the shock of his life when a walking, talking rag doll shows up in his bed.  His wanna-be assistant/teen fangirl Kinoko is jealous from the start, but neither they nor the doll herself knows how she got there or how she came to be.  The answer may lie with the aggressive blonde doll-woman who keeps following them, but can Izumi and Kinoko get past their own personal problems long enough to notice?

Review: A CENTAUR'S LIFE

I want to state for the record that I am NOT anti-monster girl.  I'm just very particular about the kinds of monster girl manga that I like.

A CENTAUR'S LIFE (Sentoru no Nayami), by Kei Murayama.  First published in 2011 and first published in North America in 2013.

PLOT:

In a world populated with all sorts of half-human races lives Himeno the centaur girl.  She lives out her days with her centaur family, as well as her draconoid friend Nozomi and goat-like friend Kyoko.  Together they live out their everyday lives as they deal with the challenges of a world that must make accommodations for all the various races, be it racism against Antarctic snake people, the ethics of riding a centaur, or coming to terms with non-human genitalia.