“You Can’t Return To The Past” – Return to the Labyrinth (OEL) – 6/10 Pumpkin Pies

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. ~Buddha

Mangaka: Jake T. Forbes

Genre: Adventure/Drama/Fantasy

Review Status: Complete (4 Volumes/4 Volumes)

Licensed: Unlicensed, formerly published by Tokyopop.

Art: This looks like a comic book rather than a manga. Occasionally the characters can look… off. Generally, it looks just fine, though.

Summary: 13 years after the events of the movie ‘Labyrinth’, Jareth is in need of a successor- and has chosen Toby! Stolen away to the Labyrinth, he must decide if he will take the crown, and Jared will once again try to win the woman he loves.

Review: I’m not sure whether my fondness for the movie makes me like this more, or makes me dislike it more. On one hand, all the characters that you loved are back! For brief cameos where they are utterly useless and might as well not exist. The romance between Jareth and Sarah? Almost non-existent. It is there, all right, but it’s a side story to what’s happening with Toby, and not really what fans are looking for.

I did like how this went more into the labyrinth, why it exists and the lands that surround it. There is no real depth to this, though, other than the small mentions of these lands, giving intriguing hints to how the labyrinth fits in. On the other hand, it disappoints in many ways, leaving questions unanswered as to why he left one woman and desired Sarah to begin with.

Many things rely on Deus Ex Machina in order to work, leaving character useless in the grand scheme of things, focusing on the person that we couldn’t care less about (he’s a bishie, but that’s all that’s in his favor), and plot threads go totally unanswered. One character and *major* plot thread all in one completely is forgotten about in the end so that some important moralizing can be tossed at the reader.

While it’s an interesting, more in-depth look at the world of the labyrinth, the story is completely lacking. As a Labyrinth fan, I am disappoint.

Overall, It was nice, but I’d suggest reading fanfiction instead if you’re looking for a romance fix.

Recommended: 10+. This could perhaps be lowered. If your kid is watching the movie, they can read this manga.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Alice in the Country of Hearts (manga)
Are You Alice? (manga)
Pandora Hearts (manga)
Karneval (manga)

“Conventions of Love” – DramaCon (OEL) – 7/10 Black Cats

Love at first sight is often cured by a second look.
Love is sweet when it’s new, but sweeter when it’s true.
Love is like a butterfly, it settles upon you when you least expect it.
Love is the hardest habit to break, and the most difficult to satisfy.
~Drew Marrymore

Genre: Romance/Comedy/Drama

Review Status: Complete (3 Volumes/3 Volumes)

Licensed: No. It was currently licensed by Tokoypop, but it isn’t any longer.

Art: Very good! All the characters are easily recongizeable, and very cute! The panels flow well, and the backgrounds are excellent.

Summary: When amateur writer Christie settles in the artist alley of her first ever anime convention, she sees it as an opportunity to promote the manga she had started with her artist boyfried. But when she unexpectedly falls for a mysterious cosplayer, things become complicated. What do you do when you love someone who is going to be miles away from you in just a couple of days?! (Back cover of the 1st volume)

Review: This manga has earned a special place in my heart. An OEL manga about being an OEL mangaka gives a unique perspective on being a first time con goer (and all the interesting complications, drama, and surprises that come with it!), and the difficulties of making an OEL manga in the first place.

This covers all its bases very well and realistically. There were quite a few things that I enjoyed, from the mention of the men in skirts that don’t shave their legs, to how hard it is to break into the hardcore fans because it isn’t really ‘manga’ (which the author obviously has an opinion on, and I do have to sympathize with). This treats them with intelligence and humor, and I felt that in many ways these were the best parts of the manga.

The characters having to deal with all that on top of romance and family troubles is definitely something to behold! It’s hard not to love them, each one being such an individual. All of them are fully realized, and it’s wonderful to see their personalities bounce off of each other and create both chaos and chemistry.

However, the plot doesn’t quite live up to the brilliance that I expected from the hilarious first page. Most of it is quite good, really, from having to deal with security and other congers, getting recognized in the industry, the rough choice between going for your dreams with or without the support of a family that just doesn’t understand. Unfortunately, there’s two things that really bothered me. One was the choice of using attempted rape. Rape should never be used lightly, and that’s exactly how it comes across, both from the circumstances that precipitate it and in the aftermath of what happens to her and the boyfriend. The other is another obvious plot device to get one of the main characters and her mother closer together, used in a thousand dramas before this one.

These bring down what otherwise is a good story about the issues about romance that can happen at a convention. It really is good at tackling why it can be complicated- the distance that people live from each other, how it can be scary to actually take the step to keep in touch, the things that can happen between cons. Of course, a love triangle does happen- where Matt ends up getting together with another girl because… Well. Actually, that’s really never made clear, because it’s obvious that he really liked Christie and wasn’t really that into the other girl. This makes for a really awkward and heartbreaking situation for the other girl. She’s understandable jealous and hurt by how she’s just forgotten when it comes down to it.

All this means that some things are handled more smoothly than others, but in the end is a very decent story. Plot issues aside the romance was sweet (and sometimes bittersweet), while the situations are something that every con-goer (both those that aren’t in artists’ alley and those that are) are familiar with. It’s relatable, and accessible, for anyone who enjoys their conventions!

Overall, this was an interesting manga about the fandom and a touching manga about romance.

Recommended: 16+. There is attempted rape, almost-sex (thankfully no more than some kissing happens, though in one part they’re clearly nekked beneath the sheets). There is mention that Christine has had sex with her first boyfriend- and both she and her boyfriend are about 16 in the first volume). It’s also brought up between Matt’s ex and Christie. There’s also language- everything except the f-bomb makes an appearance about twice a volume.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Bakuman (anime and manga)
Genshiken (manga)
Fall in Love like a Comic! (manga)
Comic Party! (anime)
Doujin Work (manga)

“Gone But Not Forgotten” – 12 Days (manga) – 7/10 Apples

Genre: Drama/Yuri

Review Status: Complete (1 Volume/1 Volume)

Licensed: This was formerly licensed by Tokyopop, but has not been relicensed since they closed.

Art: Very sketch-like, more like a picture than a manga. The chibis feel out of place with the content of the manga, since the overall tone is very serious. Backgrounds are minimal, mostly blank or negative spaces. However, when they are drawn in, they have great detail in them and look very realistic.

Summary: When Jackie’s ex-lover Noah dies, she decides the best and quickest way to get over the love of her life is to hold a personal ritual with Noah’s askes. Jackie consumes the ashes in the form of smoothies for 12 days- hoping the pain will subside with her profound reaction to Noah’s death. (From the back cover)

Review: Grief is a very personal thing. Everyone deals with the loss of a loved one very differently, from crying, to locking themselves in a room, to more unusual rituals and rites that they feel help them move on and honor their loved ones. Jackie, heartbroken from the loss of the woman she loved, decides to consume her ashes and becomes a living urn for her lover, as in the tale of Queen Artemisia.

In somewhat abrupt and occasionally unclear jumps from the past to the present, the relationship between Jackie and Noah is revealed as the 12 days go by until the New Year. Each day Jackie drinks some more of the ashes. Nick, Noah’s brother, comes by and supports her as she performs her ritual- something that seems to comfort both of them in their time of loss.

Each day some more memories come flooding back- such as how when Noah’s church discovers that she’s a lesbian and she’s turned into an outcast. The disapproval of her family. The revelation of how their relationship might not have been the best- but they loved each other deeply regardless. Even so, Noah decided to leave Jackie for a man due to familial and social pressures… and ended up dead, which Jackie never wanted even if her heart had been broken.

In eating Noah’s remains and reliving their memories, Jackie finds that she can move on, feeling that Noah is in her both literally and physically. She becomes Noah’s memorial.

Overall, this was a touching look at two women who loved each other, and how one came to terms with her grief.

Recommended: 18+. There is rare language, including one rude slur for a lesbian. There’s the implication that Noah got pregnant before she was married. Jackie asks Nick to get her pregnant – but is refused. Jackie and Noah both mention having slept with a third woman before they were together. There is a brief (but tasteful- nothing naughty is shown) sex scene around the 2/3 mark between Noah and Jackie.

Other titles you might enjoy:
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifAno Hana (anime)
Wandering Son (anime and manga)
Heart of Thomas (manga)
A Cruel God Reigns (manga)

“Bad Girl Gone Good” – Serenity (manga) (Review Part 2) – 3/10 Pools

You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list. The longer your list, the smaller your God. ~Author Unknown

Review Part 1 found HERE

Genre: Christian/comedy/slice-of-life

Review Status: Complete (10/10)

Licensed: Yes, this manga is licensed in the US. OEL, actually.

Art: Better than the first few volumes. It’s still good-quality doujinshi art, not really professional-looking, but not bad. The backgrounds are still undetailed, and there’s a high number of no-background panels. The clothes still look silly, the art is still left-to-right instead of like the Japanese right-to-left, and there’s more American influence than Japanese.

Summary: Her name is Serenity Harper and she’s one obnoxious little bundle of attitude, anger, and animosity. Can the case and concern of Derek, Kimberly, and the rest of the Prayer Club break through Serenity’s tough shell- and prove to her that true love does exist? (from the back cover of the first volume)

Review: I had a very hard time deciding whether this was better or worse than the first five volumes. In some ways, there is a marked improvement. The storytelling becomes less rushed, more about everyday life and having fun, casually mentioning the Bible and Serenity’s struggles with it. And I will say, for the most part, the ‘movie’ sections of the manga were fairly entertaining.

However, this still struggles with many of the same issues that the first half struggled with.

The pacing might be better, but the characterization? Except for the ninth volume where you get a surprisingly in-depth look at Christian morality about casual sex and the struggles with it, it goes from staggered and unbelievable to nonexistent. It’s like the author just stopped caring back in the third volume where they started her praying. Does she still ‘struggle’ with her faith? Yes. However, it’s beyond superficial. If there was any doubt before the seventh volume, at that point it ends. She’s talking to God and going to church. The 8th and 9th volumes are there to take up space.

No, no, I’m wrong. They’re there to show how hateful and irrational non-Christians are. You have more disparaging remarks from her mother (who, as I’ve said before, is completely out of character to be saying what she’s saying, considering how she’s into every other religion on earth). She has a rather magical softening towards her daughter. And then you have the completely irrational attacks by the school counselor, who goes to insane lengths to…. Well, we never find out. Unresolved plot threads ahoy!

That’s right. Instead of cutting the movie sections out – or even cutting them short- they decide to go with them and leave a few important side plots dangling. What makes it worse is that in volume 9, the end to the movie section is also left hanging! Volume 10, though, had to be the worst offender. This was a very heavy-handed Author Tract on not accepting God’s love, twisting a brilliant story on God and man, nature and breeding (Frankenstein, to be specific), into a very poorly-written metaphor.

I believe I mentioned before how much I disapprove of teaching bad theology. This continues the trend in volume 6. C.S. Lewis’ insanity-liar-truth triad has been taken apart by both Christian and non-Christian theologian alike, and yet is presented and used in it. Serenity does have bigger, harder questions, though, and when she asks them? HEY LOOK A DISTRACTION! Yep, they are avoided, and avoided hard. This does everything it can to not have to deal with those, and when someone coming from a background as Serenity fails to follow up for answers and becomes Christian regardless, I have to headdesk. It would be nice to see things such as doctrinal divisions between churches dealt with, especially since those are massive hurdles to someone who’s new to the faith. This is probably why her teacher’s (and youth group’s pastor) denomination is never mentioned, and the most in-detail they go into them is saying that one of the members goes to a different church.

Yet again, I am highly disappointed. While some things improved over the first five volumes, there were an equal amount that went down the drain.

Overall, Serentiy fails to be a compelling conversion story- on any level.

Recommended: No. Just no.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Manga Messiah (manga)
Shelter of Wings (manga)
High School Debut (manga)
Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight (anime)
Gakuen Alice (anime or manga)
Aria (anime and manga)
Aishiteruze Baby (anime or manga)
Train Man: A Shoujo Manga (manga)

“Bad Girl In Town” – Serenity (manga) – 3/10 Flowers

You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list. The longer your list, the smaller your God. ~Author Unknown

Genre: Comedy/Christian/Romance/Slice-of-Life

Review Status: Incomplete (5 Volumes/10 Volumes)

Licensed: This is not only licensed in America, it’s an OEL.

Art: Doujin-quality. Obviously heavy on the computer graphics and colorization. More like American comics than manga, honestly. Plus, the artists have no fashion sense and have her run around in the most ridiculous/ugly outfits they can think of to try and emphasize how ‘counter-culture’ she is. At least, I’m hoping that’s the case.

Summary: Her name is Serenity Harper and she’s one obnoxious little bundle of attitude, anger, and animosity. Can the care and concern of Derek, Kimberly, and the rest of the Prayer Club break through Serenity’s tough shell- and prove to her that true love does exist? (from the back cover of the first volume)

Review: Having seen this manga being reviewed on a blog I semi-follow, I decided to pick it up. I had read this many years ago and recalled being less than impressed. Were my reactions justified?

As you can see from my score, yes. The plots in the volumes are disjointed from the beginning. It jumps from one scene/plot/idea to another with little to no breathing room. When it does that, it really doesn’t give the stories that are there the time or thought that they need. Some don’t need half a volume, no, but others really need some fleshing-out. Still more, such as the story of the abandoned baby, seemed entirely out-of-place. While they were supposed to show her growing/becoming more mature (I think), it really should have been put later in the manga- if it went in there at all. The fourth/fifth volumes are where the author finally settles down and manages to devote an entire volume to a singular plotline, ones that finally flowed well with each other. Since that is about halfway through the series, I was less than impressed.

But what is a plot without characters? What’s funny, is that for all her shortcomings, Serenity is the one character you can sympathize with the most. She swears, drinks, does drugs, has had premarital sex… and yet is depicted as someone who just has problems that need to be overcome, just like anyone else. More of a product of a mix of things, rather than just being bad through-and-through. I wish I could say the same about the rest of the characters. The Christians come off far worse. They outright tell her she’s going to be their ‘pet project’. Who wouldn’t be flattered by that? It’s not like they’re saying they’re going to be her friends, and yet really don’t care about her friendship or anything. They’re obnoxious, blackmailing her into going to Prayer Club. Thankfully, they do get better as the story goes on, but they still remain rather flat characters due to not getting any development. Even so, I couldn’t get that first volume’s impression out of my mind, and that colored a lot of their actions.

The rest of the school confuses me. A lot. I’m very sure this is supposed to be a smaller town in America, yet the kids in Prayer Club are the only Christian kids around- not exactly an accurate picture of small-town America, where it’s not being Christian that will make you an outcast. Serenity shouldn’t have any issues finding friends outside of Prayer Club, even with her drug use, as a lot of those Christians in small-town America are, indeed, also doing drugs. But again, it’s something that gets her cast out or ignored by the rest of the student population.

The worst bit is how everyone who isn’t Christian is depicted. They’re all rough, crude, mean, somewhat psychotic people. My issue is that they don’t get better- even Serenity’s mom, who goes through a revelation in the third or fourth volume that she hasn’t been a good mom. My major issue with this is that I know people who aren’t Christian. I have friends who aren’t Christian. I have family that isn’t Christian. I was not Christian for most of my life. These depictions anger and frustrate me on a level that I cannot properly convey with the English language. And yet, there are Christians out there who will read this, who know people who aren’t Christian and yet will completely accept these depictions without question, because of how common it is in Christian literature. They will not question it- they will accept it as truth even though logically they know it’s not. Well, I’m not taking it! I’m saying here and now if that you mindlessly accept these stereotypes, then you SHAME me!

To top off this little joyride, the issues that are presented are shallow, and perhaps the biggest reason why I don’t think this would move anyone over the age of 10. Her biggest issue is how to pray. She is a thinking, rebellious teenager- praying is the smallest issue they have! There is no struggle with how a good God can allow evil to be in this world. Why anyone should believe that a guy came back from the dead. The ideas behind the Trinity, even! None of it comes into play. Even with that shallow, silly question, there is no struggle when her prayers are not answered. Serenity continues to pray and talk to God. She’s Christian by the third volume, whether or not she admits it or realizes it. Any denial is merely pretense to drag the story out longer.

Her own personal struggles are just as meaningless, and resolved with the snap of the author’s fingers. This girl has a drug issue- and yet, we never see her doing them, going through withdrawal, and when she’s offered some after a few weeks of going without? Able to turn it down without a problem. Swearing is solved just as easily by the second volume. It’s merely been days, yet she is able to break or change the habit she’s probably had for years. I’m calling it out on being completely unrealistic. All her little struggles and issues are fixed with the same ease.

This manga isn’t without its own little theological issues, though. One of my berserk buttons was hit in the first volume when the pastor says that New Age beliefs were Christian values, watered-down without any higher moral authority. This isn’t true in the least, though going into that is complicated and wouldn’t answer everyone’s questions, I’m sure. Another thing that bothered me a lot was the sidebar into divorce and how it messes up kids. Obviously, Serenity is supposed to be the poster child for this, but I’m very sure that I know children from broken homes that have fewer issues than I do. And then there was the issue with speaking about religion on school ground. Buzz Dixon, our author, shows exactly how familiar he is with this law (not at all), by making it against the rules to even say you’re Christian or be asked a person question by the students about Christianity.

This isn’t to say that it doesn’t have its moments. It does. Some of the humor does hit, some of the situations are vaguely amusing. But the outdated slang, the unfunny humor, and the numerous other issues I have described made this a series that I would rather not pick up again.

Overall, all these issues made the series a slow, frustrating read.

Recommended: I would only consider borrowing this from the library for my five-year-old neighbor. Consider it- not necessarily do it. This isn’t worth the time or energy to search out unless that’s who you’re going to be giving it to. Any swearing is done with comic-strip symbols. The sex is alluded to, and she merely says that she’s going to have him (he is shown taking a cold shower- waist-up picture, there). It doesn’t actually happen, though. She does end up wearing some daisy-dukes and one of those tops that ties in back with a string.

Other titles you might enjoy:
High School Debut (manga)
Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight (anime)
Gakuen Alice (anime or manga)
Aria (anime and manga)
Aishiteruze Baby (anime or manga)
Train Man: A Shoujo Manga (manga)

Heaven Bound Update! (5/6/11)

Well, it seems that Heaven Bound is back- revamped into VN (Visual Novel) format rather than in manga form.

You're still able to read the original manga version
HERE

But you're able to download the new VN
HERE

"I'm Going! Or Maybe Not... Redux" - Heaven Bound (manga) - 3/10 Leprechauns

The best way to get to heaven is to take it with you. ~Henry Drummond

Genre: Christian/ sci-fi/ drama

Licensed: Licensed in the US

*NOTE- This is a Redo of my original review, which I have left posted here

Review Staus: Partial (1 Volume/ ? Volumes - only 1 published so far, but it's been cancelled as of April 26, 2010: http://www.christianmanga.com/smf/index.php/topic,1259.0.html, so there may ever only be one.)

Art: Decent. Not as polished and professional-looking as most mangas out there, but decent doujin quality. Characters all look very individual. Backgrounds are pretty much nonexistant, and very plain when they are drawn out. Occasional hispans when drawing characters- one occasionally has his mutation forgotten.

Summary: Getting everything you want isn't akways as great as it seems...and young Elijah Worthy found this fact out as a child. Subjected to experiments said to make him and many other people live in a perfect dream-state on the intergalatic space station "Heaven Bound", they would be able to pierce through the edge of the universe and find true heaven...and God. But when things have gone awry, and the implants cause them not to go into a deep, blissful sleep, but to gain awful, life-changing mutations, their sight of God has been all but lost. Now, everyone with the mutations is forced to live on Heaven Bound, because the normal world completely rejects them. Can Elijah keep his secret of being a Christian from the rest of the ship? Or will he befall the same fate of others like him? (From the back cover of Heaven Bound, Volume 1).

Review: I had a talk with my mother on this- she's known about my anime/manga review blog, and we got to talking about the Christian manga that is coming out, and a few titles I have read. When I expressed dislike for this particular title, she mentioned that I might have been unnecessarily hard because it's Christian, and that I read anime/manga with more implausible plots.

So I've come back to re-assess, and where necessary, justify my opinions about this series.

If I were basing my opinion simply off the sci-fi and drama, then I would still rate this a 4/10. Why? Because after thinking deeply about this, I realized that unless this were written before the discovery of DNA, none of the science aspects of this are valid in any way, shape, or form.

Sci-fi is written to be believable. It should fall in line with the scientific knowledge of the day, even if it is an incredibly far-out theory, because those have turned out to be truer than we suspected. The aspect of the mind devices has been used for decades. You can find it simply by searching for 'cryostasis' or 'suspended animation'. Being put into suspended animation does require manipulation of the brain functions. However, anyone with a basic knowledge of Biology knows that the brain does not control or influence your DNA. In fact, it's just the opposite. But the mutations that occur with the characters can only occur with DNA manipulation- they are physical, body-wide changes. A simple brain implant to slow down your body's metabolism and put you to sleep would in no way be able to cause that. If these mutations had been mental, such as giving them telepathy, psychokinesis, or even the ability to start fires with their minds, this would have been okay. As it is, the author clearly has no idea what she's writing about. It falls directly into 'Fails Biology Forever' and 'Did Not Do The Research'.

My second qualm: The people who join the space crew are smart enough to build a spaceship, but stupid enough that they are willing to get brain implants without having seen any sort of testing done. It's a brain implant. Who knows what the effects would be after immediate implantation, let alone the effects after a few years! If you're dumb enough to play in the highway, maybe you deserve to get hit by that truck.

Which also brings up (again) the issue of blaming God for the mutations. They don't bother to see that any testing is done to see if there are any side effects, and then blame God? I would be blaming the scientists for lying and taking advantage of me. And then I would blame myself for being an idiot. Another reviewer stated that maybe it was to show that people would blame God for allowing it to happen. I still think that makes no sense, since God did not force them to use the implants. God did not make the implants- the scientists did. I feel that if some of the people felt that God was at fault, it would be the minority opinion. Why? Well, it's like those people who believed that the world was ending in 1988- they expected something to happen, God didn't deliver. How did they react to it? Not by blaming God.

Now for the abortion aspect of it- whether or not you agree with abortion, this is perhaps some of the most callous, uneducated handling of it I have ever seen. It's clear that the pregnancy/abortion is used simply to emphasize that the woman is evil (because not only does she have to sleep with him, she has to laugh about getting one). It's given no good reason for happening in the first place, and her clear manipulation of the main character is given no justification, either. Not to mention that, after doing many days of research, reading, and talking to women, I know that this character in no way represents the vast majority of women who have had to go through that.

As for the Christian aspect of the story, I have to rate the manga still lower. This falls into so many Christian cliches and stereotypes I almost had to laugh. For instance, the bad girl has horns. It's not like horns represent the devil or anything like that. Nor is it like in any of the hundreds of Christian fiction that you pick off the shelf, where the bad guy has horns and likes to dress in dark colors. Or has tatooes. Or dresses in a sexy manner.

Another reviewer and I had a small back-and-forth about what might have been with this manga. I cannot rate on what the mangaka might have done with it- I can only rate on what she did with it. And what she did was terrible in all aspects.

Overall, I don't recommend this to anyone.

Recommended: No. Not unless you're desperate for manga with a Christian message to it (and even then I would only recommend it to the more conservative Christians out there)- there are other, secular mangas that do clean romances better. There are other, secular manga that do sci-fi far better, too. 14+ due to some light violence and implied sex.

Other series you might like instead:
Shelter of Wings (manga)
Searching for the Full Moon (manga and anime),
Hotel (manga),
To The Terra (anime series and manga)
Escaflowne (anime series)
Planetes (anime and manga)

"Game On" - Game Plan (manga) - 5/10 Candy Canes

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where the should be. Now put the foundations under them. ~Henry David Thoreau

Genre: Drama/Comedy/Romance/Christian

Review Status: Complete (2 Volumes/2 Volumes). However, I am reviewing the official online version, not the print version.

Licensed: This manga is licensed in the US.

Art/Animation: Overall, it's pretty good. Definitely reaching professional-quality. However, there are several places where how rough it is really shows through- leftover sketchlines show up. There are very minor differences in the art between the online version and the printed version, mainly in the cover and insert art.

Summary: They need an artist for the Christian video game idea that they have- and he's the artist they want to help with it. But Locke is a loner and has deep problems... can Sonia help him move past them?

Review: I approach recommended manga and anime with a certain amount of trepidation- after all, your taste and someone else's are naturally going to be different. So I picked this up rather hesitantly, though the review I heard was very enthusiastic. And while I don't think that this is the pinnacle of Christian manga, this is definitely a step in the right direction.

It was really nice to see that in Sonia's group of friends and fellow game-makers there was also someone who wasn't Christian- and presented in a good light. The main character is a pretty funny, nice girl who wants to have fun and make friends. While her friends don't get a lot of screentime... barely any... they all are characters.

The premise is very good- someone who'd lost their faith and is hurting finds a friend who helps them. I liked Sonia's description of why there's pain and suffering- it was very well done.

There were also some fun little shout-outs that I thought were hilarious ("Strongbad", anyone?! and Samus, too!)

Of course, this does have it's problems. The story feels very rushed in places- there's a lot of 'tell, don't show', which breaks a golden rule about storytelling. The first instance happens very early in the manga, when Sonia flashes back to how Locke is in school. Then it happens several times thorughout the manga, which is a shame.

Locke's mother spills pretty much everything about Locke and his past to Sonia when they first meet. Realistic? Maybe. However, she reveals so very much that it's again, a "tell, not show" and again makes the story feel rushed. Locke's behaviour also falls into this, with none-too-subtle hints that he isn't into being around other people. Most loners don't always mention that they're into being alone or generally speak like he does.

Sonia's "Pain and Suffering" bit was brought down by being just too early in the story. Some of the other Christian themes weren't very well blended into the storyline (the God's Chosen People thing in the game and unequal yokes) and sometimes don't make sense considering the characters that are talking (unequal yokes and Tremble. He's not Christian. Why would he care?). And then some themes seem like they're being beated into the reader's head, such as praying for Locke's salvation- and only his salvation- when it's fairly obvious that he has other issues that deserve it as much as that.

A minor jab at people who need antidepressents and infering that people who need them aren't good people ticked me off, since I have friends and relatives who do need them- and are good people. There was also an odd comment near the end about Christians not getting angry, when Locke hadn't ever really gotten angry before. So why would he get angry about something silly at that point?

I was also disappointed in Sonia's explanation of how she would talk to someone who hadn't had a miraculous experience like that. It really didn't make any sense. And the miraculous events go from interesting and touching to becoming Deus Ex Machinas when there were two very convenient ones to make characters Christian and repent. It's too much, at least within the short legnth of the story.

What really, really brings down my opinion of this, though, is instead of telling Locke that there's such a thing as child protective services, or that the police could stop it, or even reporting the abuse to the CPS and the police himself, his teacher brings out a Bible. Do you know what kind of message that sends? "It's totally okay that I'm leaving you in this horrible abusive situation that you could die from because I've saved your soul."

F--- you, teach. F--- you.

Overall, this had a lot of things going for it, but the things that brought it down really brought it down.

Recommended: 10+. There is some blood and some hitting- mainly in the form of child abuse. Parents or older siblings might want to read it with the youngest.

Other titles you might enjoy: Kimi ni Todoke (anime and manga)
Fruits Basket (manga and anime)
Mars (manga)
Full Moon wo Sagashite (anime and manga)
Ouran Host Club (anime and manga)
High School Debut (manga)
Cat Street (manga)
Dengeki Daisy (manga)

“Redemption” – Deathbed (manga) – 5/10 Candy Canes

To himself everyone is immortal; he may know that he is going to die, but he can never know that he is dead. ~Samuel Butler

Genre: Christian/ Drama

Review Status: Complete (1 Chapter/ 1 Chapter)

Licensed: This manga is available for online viewing here: http://www.christianmanga.com/smf/index.php?action=gallery&g2_itemId=4302 , though not published. Technically, it is licensed in the US.

Art/Animation: Rough, sketch-like. It isn’t bad for a basic outline.

Summary: A man is dying. Can his soul be redeemed before the end?

Review: The problem with this one-shot is that it’s so short. I can tell that there’s more to the story- or if there isn’t, there should be.

A man is dying. What of isn’t important. However, what is interesting is that he mentions that he can’t end it sooner himself. Why is that? Is he paralyzed and unable to pull a trigger or tie a noose? Is he under constant surveillance for something? There is no good explanation given for his being unable to commit suicide- especially since at that point, he’s not a believer. It also is odd that he can’t drink or smoke- there are patients who decide that, if they’re going to die they might as well do what they want. Would there be a bad reaction with the medicine?

A month passes (it just skips from the beginning of the month to the end- no interim of possible last-minute medical treatments or continuations of them, which could annoy many who have had to deal with the prolonged passing of a loved one. Especially when he apparently knows that at the end of the month exactly, he’s going to die. Anyone who’s had to deal with this knows that people don’t die on a schedule). He’s in the depths of despair and remembering the wife that he loved, thinking that God is cruel for letting them both die.

This is where the shortness of the manga becomes an issue. He’s told that “if he believes in God, he can see his wife in Heaven”. Well, we’re never told that she was a believer. And his conversion is very simple- “you don’t really die because God says so”. If it were that easy, then most people on the deathbed would convert. So where are the arguments that people who reject God on their death beds go? The ones that she uses are not real arguments- they’re ones that Christians who have never dealt with non-believers like to use and then scoff at the non-believer’s stupid arguments. This might be due to the length of this, since it’s hard to fit in sold theological reasoning in ten pages.

Having viewed only two of the mangaka’s (Calbhach) works, I can’t decide whether she’s writing purely for a Christian audience or whether she seriously expects non-believers to be moved by her work. I am leaning towards the former, as she draws manga that would only appeal to Christians that had never come across anything but the Christian stereotypes of non-Christians and how conversion and belief works.

With this, though, she has an outline for a potentially interesting, deep philosophical conversation about God and Jesus and heaven.

Overall, while I am better inclined towards this since it takes a more realistic/believable premise than her other work (Heaven Bound), it fails to be anything but mediocre.

Recommended: 5+, since the man is dying. Parents or older siblings would want to read it with their kids and talk about it afterward.

Other titles you might enjoy: Shinigami no Ballad (anime or manga)
Tokyo Godfathers (anime)
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (manga)
The Emblamer (manga)
Kino’s Journey (anime)
Haibane Renmei (anime)
Ikigami (manga)
Watashitachi ni Shiawase na Jikan (manga)

"Seriously Wierd" - Bizenghast (manga) - 10/10 Pumpkins

I walk in the realm of the supernatural. ~Benny Hinn

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Drama

Review Status: Incomplete (7 Volumes/ ? Volumes)

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Art: Odd, Gothic-looking, but not unappealing. I would actually say that it works very well for this manga. It would look very odd for anything other than a horror manga! And the level of detail is wonderful. It’s all very effective, and very good.

Summary: When her parents die in a car accident, Dinah Wherever is sent to live with her aunt in an old house that used to be part of a reform school in the run-down, decrepit town of Bizenghast, MA. In the woods surrounding her new home, she discovers a hidden graveyard that is home to a vast array of restless spirits, people whose violent and unhappy deaths have made it impossible for them to find the way to the next world. There she discovers that she has two choices: she can help these lost souls... or she can become one of them. (ANN.net)

Review: While this is an American-made manga, that doesn’t stop it from being a fantastic work of imagination. The mangaka manages to imbue this rundown little seaside town with lots of personality and life… so to speak.

The characters are characters. You have the classic two sides of the same coin couple in Dinah and her best friend Vincent. She is a depressed, anxious girl that suffers from being able to see the spirits, and it’s slowly driving her out of her mind. He is a true gentleman that tries to understand her and what she is going through. The two guardians that they hav met and made friends of (so far), Edaniel and Edrear even more so, with Edaniel being an amazingl off-the-wall boy who spends more time as a cat than cute human, and Edread, his brother, is even more of gentleman than Vincent!

The story is also fantastic- Dinah accidentally is drawn into the world of the dead, needing to help them find their ways to the Great Beyond…. Or the Great Below, as it sometimes is the case. But there’s a bigger mystery going on- some of the dead aren’t resting as peacefully as they should, and even more dark things than even the Guardians of the Mausoleum could have anticipated. Each volume brings you closer to what’s going on, and closer to the fight that Dinah must undertake to save the town and its inhabitants.

Overall, there are disturbing images and death depicted. It’s not graphic, but this is a manga for those 13 and over.

Recommended: For sure! This has enough creepy atmosphere to last you a good while. 13+ due to violence, death, and some gore. There's also dead bodies/dead body parts.

Other titles you might enjoy: Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (manga),
Mushishi (anime or manga),
Ghost Hunt (anime or manga),
Higurashi: When They Cry(anime or manga),
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (manga),
Mail (manga),
Psychic Detective Yakumo (anime),
Darren Shan (manga),
Nightschool (manga)
Kieli (manga and light novel)

"I'm Going! Or Maybe Not..." - Heaven Bound (manga) - 5/10 Sugar Cubes

The best way to get to heaven is to take it with you. ~Henry Drummond

Genre: Christian/ sci-fi/ drama

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Review Staus: Partial (1 Volume/ ? Volumes - only 1 published so far, but it's been cancelled as of April 26, 2010: http://www.christianmanga.com/smf/index.php/topic,1259.0.html, so there may ever only be one.)

Art: Decent. Not as polished and professional-looking as most mangas out there, but decent doujin quality. Characters all look very individual. Backgrounds are pretty much nonexistant, and very plain when they are drawn out.

Summary: Getting everything you want isn't akways as great as it seems...and young Elijah Worthy found this fact out as a child. Subjected to experiments said to make him and many other people live in a perfect dream-state on the intergalatic space station "Heaven Bound", they would be able to pierce through the edge of the universe and find true heaven...and God. But when things have gone awry, and the implants cause them not to go into a deep, blissful sleep, but to gain awful, life-changing mutations, their sight of God has been all but lost. Now, everyone with the mutations is forced to live on Heaven Bound, because the normal world completely rejects them. Can Elijah keep his secret of being a Christian from the rest of the ship? Or will he befall the same fate of others like him? (From the back cover of Heaven Bound, Volume 1).

Review: Okay, I've never been a big fan of most Christian.... anything. All too often, the stories fail to be compelling, falling on every cliche that can be asociated with these types of stories. Considering the dearth of Christian manga out there, I suppose that this isn't too bad for a breakout attempt. However, this also falls far short of something that could seriously be put out there for the masses.

The premise for this story is interesting. However, there are some clear logical inconsistancies that become clear once you get farther into the story. For instance, the people of the ship getting angry at God for letting their implants malfunction- wouldn't it be far more likely that they would get angry at the scientist who invented them and hunt him down? Especially when no scientist worth their salt would let people wear them without extensive testing to ensure that problems didn't occur? And would other scientists have wanted to verify that they would work, and want to know the science behind it?

Then you have the issues of cliches, which run rampant through this story. The 'evil' girl has horns. Been there, done that. Horns scream evil. And then you have the girl who the protagonist is going to hook up with- it's so unbelievably obvious it isn't funny. She's sweet, has an overprotective older brother, and is not only good with kids... she's a teacher! If there was ever a stereotype for the ideal Christain girl, she would be it. And to top it off, to emphasize how evil his original girlfriend is, she gets pregnant from a one-night stand with the main character and decides to get an abortion.

Now, I think it's okay whether or not you're for or against abortion. It's none of my business. However, how this woman is portrayed in her reasoning is degrading to all the women for which it's been a heart-rendering decision. The vast majority of women do not use it as a birth control method- for most, it's a decision they make because they can't afford to feed another child, or they can't afford time off work after birth or they won't be able to make payments on their apartment, or will be fired for not being able to work because of the pregnancy, or any number of reasons. The way this woman choosing an abortion is.... nigh on unforgivable.

Overall, this is fine if you're younger or have strict, religous parents or family.

Recommended: No. Not unless you're desperate for manga with a Christian message to it- there are other, secular mangas that do clean romances better, though. 14+ due to some light violence and implied sex.

Other series you might like instead: Shelter of Wings (manga)
Searching for the Full Moon (manga and anime),
To The Terra (anime series and manga)
Escaflowne (anime series)
Planetes (anime and manga)
Hotel (manga)