Daytripper is a gift of unexpected brilliance. That's all you really need to know. And just as I soooooo appreciated knowing almost nothing about this title before I opened its enticing pages, I will try not to spoil a moment for you. If you're not ready to...
Here's a 21st-century spin on the 90-pound weakling who wakes up one day admirably transformed, complete with bulging muscles and confident attitude. That said, check out these covers: this version is not without some menacing twists. "There's something called a 'food chain' in this world....
High school student Hikari Hamura was supposed to die young. But thanks to the fervent intervention with the gods by his best friend Chiaki, who actually did die that day, Chiaki was able "to save [Hamura] and [his] incredible talent." Hamura's nickname, by the way,...
You can't just jump in midway with this manga ...
Shockingly enough, Valentine's Day wasn't actually created by Hallmark! In fact, the heartfelt holiday has two versions as to its origins. The Christians say the date commemorates three martyrs all named 'Valentine'; St. Valentine's Day was established at the end of the 5th century, only...
Wherever the ALA – the American Library Association, the mother of all library associations in the world! – leaves its stamp of approval, you're guaranteed some great reads. In 2007, the ALA even hopped on the manga bandwagon when their young adult division, YALSA (Young Adult...
The Three (teenage) Musketeers from Bakuman 1 are back: writer Takagi, artist Mashiro, and voice actress Azuki. They're even more determined that they become a successful manga team (Takagi and Mashiro), with characters that Azuki can someday (soon!) bring to life with her voiceovers. As young...
Let the weekend games continue: if yesterday's basketball story was a (mostly) feel-good, rah-rah fest, today's post is definitely more somber. The kids in this game are older, harder, more cynical ...
I admit it: Reading this put me in freak-out mode. Do NOT leave it lying around for your young kiddies to find ...
Long, long ago, the Eight Noble Sages helped a noble warrior found the ancient great nation of Saiunkoku, "the country of the coloured clouds," and eventually "brought about the dawning of the Age of Man." Therein lies the problem, of course ...
Every new year seems to begin with a fervent prayer/wish/hope for true PEACE. So far in my own lifetime, worldwide peace hasn't been achieved. Still, I have a few more years left in me and surely enough stubbornness to believe peace can truly happen before...
It's New Year's Eve 2014 ...
As my children get more tech-savvy which means I become more of a Luddite, their favorite exasperated phrase seems to be "Maaaah-ahm, you just do this!" So in one of my son's 'just' moments, I...
Living in the "Village of Orphans," Utsuho is constantly in trouble. He doesn't do his chores, he disappears when needed, but worst of all, he lies. "Lying is the worst thing ...
Checking my inbox yesterday, I received quite a flurry of emails highlighting the latest announcement that Chinese students are outscoring all other students in international standardized testing, with their U.S. counterparts ranked 23 or...
The unnamed playwright here is one lonely man. He "lodges" in Uncle Ernie's spare room as his own family stopped talking to him in 1978 when his screenplay "based upon his older, retarded brother" aired...
Ando, now in 11th grade, is more or less going through the motions of fitting in: "If I said I didn't feel empty inside for putting up an act ...
We've all heard the stories of palate-adventurers willing to go to extreme lengths to try some of the most ...
At 14, Moritaka Mashiro figures he's "just going to live a normal life." For a teenager, that translates into "getting into a good high school, a good college and a good company to work...
Having grown up Catholic (I'm still in recovery), nothing works better than leftover Catholic guilt to get me to do something I'm whinge-ing about. The supreme irony about my former Catholicism is...
