Monday May 21

Posts Tagged ‘manga’

Newer Entries »

A Librarian Reads Blank Slate

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

blank-slateBlank Slate by Aya Kanno

Zen is a handsome, dashing, and irresistible to everyone he meets. There are just two things wrong with him. First he has amnesia and cannot remember the last twenty years. Secondly, he is an unstoppable killing machine. He lives by his own whims, which usually means wreaking havoc on everyone and everything around him. If it wasn’t for his looks he would be unlovable.

But he begins to change when he meets Hakka, a young doctor who cares for a village of refugees. Hakka is everything Zen is not. He is kind, compassionate and seeks a better world for all of humanity. Hakka is so kind he takes pity on Zen and agrees to help him regain his lost memories.

Their journey is filled with intense gunfights and suspense. Will they discover Zen’s former life? What is the truth hurts? And is it worth dying for? Blank Slate is a story about being your own person no matter the cost. Like all of us, Zen seeks to be free.

Blank Slate is a quick two volume shojo manga. Reluctant readers who don’t want to dedicate themselves to reading a lengthy multi-volume manga like Naruto may prefer this short, self-contained story. It is recommended for anyone who loves action and spy fiction. It has intense scenes of gun violence, so it is appropriate for anyone 14 and up.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in A Librarian Reads | Comments Off

A Librarian Reads Genshiken

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

genshikenGenshiken by Kio Shimoku

There is a term for those who obsess over manga, anime, and video games. These people are known as otaku. We have many otakus who hang out on Monday nights here at BPL for our Anime Club. We nitpick about the filler in the Naruto anime or what happened in the latest issue of our favorite manga. These conversations go on forever and really bring out the passionate geek in all of us.

When I was younger I had a simliar experience with Star Trek. We called ourselves Trekkies. We just didn’t talk about Star Trek, but other nerdy interests we had, such as D&D, Super Nintendo, and whatever fantasy book we happened to be reading at the time.

This is what the manga series Genshiken is all about, obsessing over our interests and making friends. Sasahara is new at college and is coming to terms with who he is as a person. He knows he is into manga, anime, and video games so he decides to joining the Genshiken club, an all encompassing group of eccentric personalities. There is the hardcore cosplayer, the would-be manga artists, the video game expert, and the overwhelming sense of belonging. Sasahara builds friendships, and has fun, and truly starts to finally like himself.

I highly recommend this series. It is appropriate for anyone 16 and up. There are some racier comments in regards to different genres of manga. Genshiken is a perfect read for anyone who likes humor, and stories about finding true friends. It also works as a great introduction to otaku culture. I liked it so much, I will probably read it again.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in A Librarian Reads | Comments Off

A Librarian Reads Dororo

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

dororo-1Dororo Volume 1 by Osamu Tezuka

Lord Daigo wants to rule all the land. He travels to a monastery and promises 48 demons they can have any part of his unborn son as long as they grant him the power to rule. When his son is born the child is a monstrosity. It has no limbs, no eyes, and cannot care for itself. Daigo orders his wife to cast the child away. So she puts it in a basket to lets the baby float away.

A doctor finds the child and begins to care for it and begins to notice that the child seems to know how to move around even though he is blind. The young child also can speak even though he is mute (he speaks with his mind). The doctor strives to help the child fit into society and crafts prosthetic limbs for him. But one day the doctor is attacked by demons only the child can “see”. The doctors names the child Haykkimaru, which means demon boy. The boy must leave in order to draw the demons away from his foster father.

Life as a wanderer is tough, and one night while Haykkimaru is talking shelter from the cold he hears a mysterious voice. It tells him that 48 demons have his body parts and if he kills them he will slowly regain what is his rightful body. Soon after he meets up with a young boy named Dororo, a child thief who is being beaten by villagers. He befriends the boy and sets off on the adventure to regain his body parts.He is only armed with his special prosthetic limbs. He can remove his arms to reveal swords that are attached to his body. He also has contraptions hidden in other body parts as well, all of which he will need to kill the demons.

This manga is really good. Highly recommended. Osamu Tezuka is the godfather of manga. He created Astro Boy and pretty much invented manga. Dororo is appropriate for anyone 14 and up.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in A Librarian Reads | Comments Off

A Librarian Reads Naruto

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

I started this manga on a whim, only having seen a few episodes of the anime and playing the video game a few times. I quickly got sucked in and had to read it online via a scanlation site. About a week of my life was dedicated to reading all 31 chapters that have been published so far. Since I am clearly addicted I eagerly await the next volume.

So what is Naruto all about? Well for the uninitiated Naruto is a manga, so you read it right to left, and back to front. The story follows a young boy who is training to become a ninja. His whole life he has been mistreated and scorned by his fellow villagers, only the village leader, the Third Hokage, and his teacher Iruka Umino treat him lovingly. He soon discovers why he is so scorned though. It is because he has a demon, the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, sealed within his body. This demon would attack the village from time to time killing many. Naruto vows to become the greatest ninja ever and become Hokage one day, and learns from Iruka Umino the value of relationships, whether they are friends or family. Because of this lesson Naruto is fiercely loyal and this directly impacts the main story that runs through out the series. Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno form a ninja squad. Naruto begins to think of them as family, and so when Sasuke leaves the village to train with an evil ninja (all in order to eventually kill his own brother in an act of revenge), Naruto vows to bring him back to the village and help redeem Sasuke. Throughout the many years the story takes place, Naruto fights many villains, and becomes a more powerful ninja. He even meets up with Sasuke a few times but is beaten time and again. In the end it is Naruto’s unconditional love for his “brother” that makes him become a better ninja and gives him the determination to never give up.

And then there is the butt kicking action. It’s really quite cool.

Naruto is highly recommended for anyone 13 and up. Expect to get hooked just like me. :)

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in A Librarian Reads | Comments Off

Newer Entries »