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Minima! Volume One

Publisher: Random House/Del Rey Manga
Manga by: Machiko Sakurai
Translated and adapted by: Athena and Althea Nibley
Lettered by: Steve Palmer
Rating: T 13+
Genre: Comedy
Released: 26^th of February, 2008

Reviewed by Julie Gray

“Living Doll”

Locating details on the genre for this manga took more effort than usual. And it’s not obviously apparent what genre this manga should belong to. On the one hand, it appears like a coming-of-age type manga about a girl who befriends a ‘talking’ toy. At first it appears that her real friends aren’t very nice friends at all and seem to be a backstabbing lot that she’d do better off without. But the manga also seems comical (especially when the main character Ame Oikawa begins to talk to the doll). On the surface though, this manga is all about the growing pains of teenage life: alienation, loneliness, schoolgirl crushes and the need to belong.

The talking toy that Ame discovers becomes something of a celebrity and Ame finds that she now has ‘friends’ again. Everyone suddenly wants to be close to Ame. But the doll has other ideas. Unhappy with the way that he is being treated by Ame, the doll decides to take matters into his own hands (or is that paws?) and then attempts to commit suicide. Yes, that’s right; the doll actually tries to end its ‘life’.

When the doll ‘Nicori’ slowly begins to have an impact on how Ame relates to others, the manga suddenly changes pace and becomes a lot more interesting. At first, it appears that Nicori is a good influence on Ame. Ame is the type of girl that just doesn’t seem to fit in. Even when her friends try to include her, Ame is always on the outside, never wanting to participate. The only problem is Ame never disagrees with anyone, either. She is meek and timid and as the story progresses we begin to see her personality change as a direct result of being around the talking doll Nicori.

A spanner is thrown in the works when Ame’s secret crush on one of her schoolmates is announced to the entire class by Nicori (yep, the doll). And it’s scenes like this in the story that make the direction of the manga unclear. Is Nicori more of a blessing or a curse in Ame’s life? An unexpected twist towards the end of the book suggests a more serious tone and once again, we are left wondering just where this manga will go.

Artistically the book has its moments. The artwork looks very similar to the artwork in the manga ‘ES’ (Eternal Sabbath) where the characters share a lot of similarities in appearance (the eyes for instance and the lips are all drawn the same). I also noticed a couple of small grammatical errors probably just overlooked by the translators.

The target audience of this manga is 13+ so I’m guessing that some teenage girls will probably be able to relate to this type of manga on various different levels. But if you’re wondering about talking dolls well, I leave that up to you and your imagination (and the author’s, of course!).

Minima! Volume One comes complete with translation notes and a note from author.

You can visit the Del Rey official website for this manga here.

Art Work: 6/10
Story: 6/10
Overall Rating: 6/10

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Psycho Busters - Volume One

Publisher: Random House/Del Rey Manga
Manga by: Akinari Nao
Story by: Yuya Aoki
Translated and adapted by: Stephen Paul
Lettered by: North Market Street Graphics
Rating: OT 16+
Genre: Action/Shonen/Supernatural.

Reviewed by Julie Gray
Review originally published February 14, 2007

“Mystery Girl”…

Looks can be very deceiving. Fifteen year old Kakeru is about to embark on the ride of his life after his supernatural encounter with a transparent ‘ghost’ girl in his bedroom. This may all sound rather strange but what’s even more whacky is the fact that the girl was completely naked! Although I don’t know too much about the concepts behind ‘Astral Projection’, in Psycho Busters Volume One, scientific anomalies like astral projection are regular occurrences.

If you enjoy supernatural stories that blend action, a little romance and focus on the weird and whacky world of the paranormal, you will certainly enjoy Psycho Busters. Written by the author of ‘Get Backers’ an extremely popular manga and anime series, Psycho Busters Volume One is viewed through the eyes of an ordinary teenage boy living a fairly uninteresting teenage life. What Kakeru doesn’t realise is that his life is about to become anything but ordinary.

The characters are introduced in chapters that are set out like case studies for patients throughout the manga beginning with Kakeru and slowly working through the group of psychic teenagers that Kakeru discovers.

The book is full of quirky humor which didn’t seem out of place in the story and Kakeru comes across as a seemingly likeable character. We also discover that the strange psychic teenagers that Kakeru has befriended are not at all what they seem. They have secrets and by all accounts, seem to be in hiding from an organisation called ‘The Farmers’ who are trying to hunt them down. When Kakeru witnesses one of the teenagers in action, he begins to realise that his life is now in danger as well.

One particular nasty villain is also briefly introduced and slowly the story starts to piece together. I am concerned for our ‘ordinary’ boy, Kakeru. What will these newfound ‘friends’ have in store for him and to where will this dangerous adventure take him? Drawn in by the beauty of the astral projecting girl Ayano and the opportunity to help someone in need, Kakeru is more than willing to follow the group.

With the introduction of the characters in volume one the stage is set for a good versus evil battle of psychic will. Although there is an air of mystery surrounding Kakeru, it’s clear to see that Kakeru is the gel of the story that brings all the other characters together.

The artwork in the book seems very reminiscent of ‘Bleach’ . Akinari Nao really enjoys drawing the characters with their tongues sticking out and is also a big fan of full page action sequences with big, bold lettering to emphasise the action. It all works well for this manga.

I am interested to see how the characters and story develop from here on in and anyone with an interest in the supernatural should find this manga equally entertaining. Psycho Busters Volume One comes complete with translation notes, a note from the creator, illustration gallery and a sneak peek at the next volume in the series.

You may view a preview of this manga here and the official Del Rey website for this manga is here.

Art Work: 6/10
Story: 7/10
Overall Rating: 6.5/10

You can view the original published article here.

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