NSFLibraries?

In the interest of fairness to the boys I'm going to talk about Sorcerer Hunters, a fun filled romp with magic and lots of sexy girls. That's right, sexy girls. Lots and lots and lots. Already I'm sure some warning flags are rising. This is definitely unsafe for an elementary school. That's where I read it, but then I had pretty awesome parents. I'm betting most parents would not approve.

So, what about high schools? I'm going to let you be the judge of that. The things to watch out for are the main character's very casual approach to sexual harassment and all the partially clad women. You aren't going to see nudity but it comes pretty darn close. One main character wears nothing but suspenders on her top (I'm guessing she has shares in the double sided tape company). The main character is constantly beaten up by EVERY girl he meets, mainly because he's a perv. Here's another flag, the two main girls are sisters and they pretty much dress like dominatrices.

So what makes this story good then? Excellent story telling. It's loosely based on mythology and is just chock full of fantasy elements. It's also pretty funny. The whole thing has this marvelously light hearted attitude which is why I still recommend it. It should be on my ewwy, don't touch pile but I loved reading it. Reading it as a young teen I didn't even notice the sexual content of this manga, I just thought it was funny when Carrot got hit with a mallet. I guess I liked this comic as a young girl because it showed me that girls could be in charge and take care of themselves. Most of what was published for girls had the heroine being rescued by handsome princes on white horses. The main hero, Carrot, is a flawed character but still a good guy and the girls rescue themselves.

Why do the Japanese sometimes name people after food? Everyone in this Manga is named after deserts. We have Carrot and Mellon Glace(called Meron in print, but it's a pronunciation error), we have Chocolate and Tira Misu and finally Gateau. These five people go around saving the country side from magic users who abuse their power. Tira is the brains, Chocolate is the beauty, Meron is the magic user, Gateau the strong man and Carrot is the punching bag. Each character is interesting, their powers are interesting and their style of dress is very interesting. If you think you'd like putting this in your library than give it a brief read trough. Please don't skip that step though, I won't be responsible for a mob of parents with pitchforks. :) Well all this talk of food has made me hungry. Happy reading folks, I'm going for lunch.

His and Hers Circumstance

I wanted to talk about Fruits Basket but really, who doesn't already have it for their collection? So instead I thought I'd tell you about something a little older that you may have missed. His and Hers Circumstance in English, and Kare Kano in Japan, is a sweet but wacky love story. The main protagonists are teenagers Yukino Miyazawa and Soichiro Arima, two seemingly perfect people who meet and fall in love. That's the surface, now lets get down to the meat of the matter. Yukino is a great character, and something not often seen in girls YA novels. She starts out as a scheming manipulator who would do anything to become loved and trusted by everyone she meets. She has a pathological need to be adored. When she meets Soichiro she originally hates him, but has to put on a sweet face. When she finally beats him at something she learns that he's a better person and that everything she's worked for from then is a lie. Her personal growth through the series is a joy to see, really, she's smart and brash and not afraid to go for what she wants while never really stepping into the territory of "Bitch".

Some worrisome areas for libraries are that it does get really dark in the middle, I mean pretty pitch black, can't see in front of your face dark. Soichiro's motivations are similar but less self centered than Yukino's. He was a victim of child abuse and neglect, something both of them must work through. Eventually the two are lest alone for the day and do have sex, resulting in a pregnancy. But really, it's the slowest buildup and sweetest seen you'll ever read. If you're in a high school library then it's nothing new to most of your patrons. Most of the relationships between the very large cast of three dimensional characters end up being love stories, the book is aimed mainly at girls. But don't let the covers stop you, some pretty tough guys I know read this too. It's smart, well written and the characters are people you'd love to make friends with. Give it a read, and let me know what you think about it.

Why Blog?

I've started this project for two reasons: the first is because of a school assignment and the second is because I feel many librarians are interested in Manga for their libraries but aren't sure what's safe to buy. Because Manga is from another culture and because it has a wide variety of genres some of what is offered is completely not acceptable for children. But then there are some really cute stories acceptable for elementary students and some really epic story telling that could grab the attention of teens and never let go. This is what happened to me when I was twelve and it's spawned a love of Japanese culture and a two week trip to Japan.

My starting goal is to review Manga that I have either completed or read most of. Some times the stories can start out quite tame and take a turn partway through as the action gets more intense. I won't be giving age recommendations unless it's really obvious. I will be looking at certain risk areas like sex or violence and then let the reader make the choice about weather they want the books or not. I'm going to try not to make value judgements people, but if one creeps in let me know. There's some really good stuff out there, so lets get started.