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Geekscape Reviews: The ‘Revolutionary Girl Utena’ Manga Box Set

by Natalie KipperApril 19, 2017

If you are crazy about magical girl manga or just want to read something with a strong female lead, you can’t go wrong with VIZ Media’s newly released box set of Revolutionary Girl Utena. The classic series is widely known for its LGBT tones and unique take on the prince-princess trope.

This manga box set, which encompasses both the entire series of Revolutionary Girl Utena as well as The Adolescence of Utena, contains two large hardcover volumes plus a bonus poster. The books themselves are well-made and appear to be bound well enough to survive a lifetime of re-readings. Several full-color pages can be found at the beginning of each book, which I thought was delightful.

SHOJO KAKUMEI UTENA © 1997 Chiho SAITO, Be-PaPas /SHOGAKUKAN

The story starts off more like your standard magical girl manga, with a girl that doesn’t quite fit in and her mysterious romantic interest. Things take a unique turn when the heroine Utena takes a more active role in her future and that of her classmate Anthy, with her decision that rather than be the princess waiting to be rescued, she will become a noble prince. What follows is a world of magical fencing duels, mistaken identities, and even mystical deities.

All of the main players in the story were fleshed out and had more to their personalities than met the eye. The Student Council President, Touga Kiryuu, is an excellent example of this. I actually ended up liking him much more than I thought I would as the story progressed. Even the female fencer Juri (who I felt was the flattest character) is expanded upon through a short story found at the back of volume two.

The other short story included, The Adolescence of Utena, is a retelling of the main manga’s storyline but with some serious alterations. It has a darker tone but I highly recommend giving it a read. It was fascinating to see what the story could have been if certain details were changed.

The Revolutionary Girl Utena Manga Box Set wins a 5 out of 5. I thought the story itself was spectacular as well as an important piece of magical girl history. Combine that with a high-quality print with lovely detail abounds and you have yourself what I consider the definitive edition of the series.

[This review is based on a sample provided by VIZ Media. All opinions are my own.]

Geekscape Reviews: ‘Blanc Et Noir’ By Takeshi Obata

by Natalie KipperMay 8, 2016

[This review is based on a sample provided by the publisher.]

VIZ Media recently released a limited edition art book, Blanc et Noir, featuring Takeshi Obata’s work. I can’t imagine many anime fans haven’t at least seen his art in passing. The artist is perhaps best known for Death Note but he also drew Bakuman and Hikaru no Go (my favorite of his series).

With a title like Blanc et Noir, you can imagine that the images housed within are dark or sinister. But you would only be half-right. Yes, the majority of the pages are dedicated Death Note and its grim-looking cast but the rest of the (surprisingly heavy) book contains drawings from Hikaru no Go along with promo art from throughout Obata-san’s career and even some original works (see the image directly below.) One of the features are the author’s notes in the back, completely translated to English. The notes describe each page, including what series it is taken from, inspirations for the drawing, and other tidbits. I am glad they included this part as it adds a lot more depth to the pictures included.

The quality of the book itself is impressive. The pages are large, as if you were holding a portfolio of thick posters. Some of the pages have a sort of film on them (which can be pulled away) or on a different textured paper (most are on a glossy-type page) to give certain images a different look The cover is a smooth matte black with a simple embossed silver emblem on the front. And the book is hefty! It has 132 pages of illustrations not to mention a four-page “How To Draw Section” and 12 pages of author’s notes.

Included with Blanc et Noir are three lithographs from art also found in the book. Those and the book are housed within a sturdy, textured book sleeve. Only 10,000 of this title were printed.

The edition size plus the quality of the product would justify the $99.99 price tag for most collectors and fans of Obata-san. Even if you aren’t familiar with his work, it still makes for a cool book to display on your coffee table (people still do that, right?) if you can fit it into your budget. The cost is really the only downside to an otherwise awesome art book.

I would give Takeshi Obata’s Blanc et Noir a 4.5 out of 5. The book itself is spectacular but the price is a barrier some fans may not be able to get past.

Geekscape Reviews: ‘Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter’ Volume 1

by Natalie KipperApril 25, 2016

[This review is based on a sample provided by the publisher.]

As a fan of Capcom’s Monster Hunter series, I had high hopes for VIZ Media’s first volume of Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter, featuring art drawn by Shin Yamamoto and a story penned by Keiichi Hikami. Unfortunately, only some of those expectations were met. As one would anticipate, the manga caters to those that have played the games but it goes so much in that direction that the book’s story is lacking in depth (at least in volume 1).

I don’t generally like to start a review off on a negative note but I feel like the story or lack thereof should be addressed sooner rather than later. I think if I wasn’t as excited for this title as I was, I wouldn’t have been so disappointed. But that is the problem. The majority of people who will pick up this manga are going to be fans. And from my experience, those readers are also going to have experience with manga on some level.

The story centers around a hot-headed hunter named Raiga from the village of Dundorma. Volume 1 mainly outlines how he meets his teammates, the skilled gunner Keres and the bookish Torche. After Keres and Raiga meet, they are constantly butting heads, leading most of their exchanges to basically boil down to arguments (see the page above for a good example). The remaining dialogue is either flavorless or, in the case of hunting scenes, reads like a strategy guide. The characters get hung up on details of hunting strategies, equipment, and items. I can definitely see this being a turn-off for unfamiliar readers.

The manga’s art is a double-edged sword. Fans can clearly identify the sets of armor each of the characters are wearing as ones from the video games. Even in action sequences, you can pick them out. Same goes for the monsters. When a monster appears for the first time, a bare-bones bio is listed for it but, once again, fans will have no trouble naming them. The art for Qurupeco and Rathian impressed me the most.

So what’s the negative side of the art? With the exception of a few intro pages, The backgrounds are sparse at best. The Monster Hunter series has some fun environments and it’s a shame that they weren’t included as backdrops.

I would give volume 1 of Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter a 2 out of 5. Yes, the series has potential (and it still could improve in volume 2) but as it stands, that potential is wasted. I would have been happier with an art book drawn in this style.

Geekscape Comics: Weekend Reads!

by KarsonMarch 22, 2016

Welcome to Weekend Reads! It’s your little, weekly dose of comic book goodness that focuses on some aspect of my weekend reading!

I pretty much punted comic book reading this weekend for what should be obvious reasons; a little Netflix show called Daredevil. Anyways, let’s get into the reads! Well… read:

Extraordinary X-Men (2015-) 008-000 — Extraordinary X-Men #8 by Lemire & Ramos

It begins. That’s right, the big X-Men crossover, “Apocalypse Wars” kicks off in the 8th issue of Extraordinary X-Men and so far, so good! The issue serves as a setup for events to come but Lemire offers enough action pieces and character moments to make it a worthwhile read. We have some sweet fight scenes, old villains, and big reveals! Ramos’ art is hit and miss for me, but I’ve been liking what he’s doing with the X-Men, mostly because it gives him a chance to draw non-human characters (something I think he excels at). Cerebra looks so damn good!

I don’t know if this crossover will be awesome or not but it’s off to a good start, and I’m going to keep up with it… but first I’m going to finish Daredevil!

#QOTD Is there a Marvel franchise around right now (any medium) that is better than Netflix’s Daredevil?

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