Nakama Britannica

Pumpkin Scissors Vol. 1 Ryotaro Iwanaga OT Ages 16+

“This book does not contain and is not based on historical facts. Please also note that standard military facts and concepts do not apply, either.’

In the aftermath of a protracted war between the Empire and the Republic of Frost that in some ways resembles World War I, the motley little crew of soldiers (and their dog Mercury, Corporal Private 1st Class, soon to be demoted to Courier) that make up ‘Pumpkin Scissors’ (Imperial Army State Section III) struggle to help the people rebuild their lives. It’s three years since the cease-fire, however, and the Empire is still terrorized by bands of former soldiers.

In command is 2nd Lieutenant Alice L. Malvin: young, idealistic, yet incredibly stubborn when she’s determined to get her own way. Alice’s unit find themselves pitted against Grey Wolf, a group of ex-soldiers still in possession of a tank, who are hiding out in a dam and terrorising the local villagers. Things look bad for Pumpkin Scissors until a scarred giant of a man, Randel Oland, comes to their aid. It turns out that Grey Wolf were Chemical Tactic Troopers who have used Kirche-3, a delayed reaction chemical weapon on the villagers. Pumpkin Scissors have a short time to get the antidote from Grey Wolf or the victims will die. It’s only when they’re being fired on by the tank that Oland brings out his mysterious blue lamp and his true identity is revealed. He is a Gespenter Jager, Ghost Hunter or Deathmarch Trooper, one of those ‘who march among the midnight glow’. The implication here (and more will doubtless be revealed as future volumes are translated) is that Oland and others have been secretly altered during the war to make them into human fighting machines. Alice and Oland seem to understand each other and the taciturn giant is made a corporal in her unit. But it’s not long before they’re called to the estate of a viscount who’s been hunting down humans for fun – with a tank. Trapped, Alice is forced to reveal that she is one of the thirteen noble families as she tries to encourage the viscount’s servants to rebel against their master and stop his bloodthirsty games.

Fans of ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’ may find some echoes of Colonel Roy Mustang’s squad (there’s even a dog!). The nice little touches of humour that alleviate the grimmer moments also bring FMA to mind, especially when Pumpkin Scissors attempt to look after an abandoned baby. The growing understanding between Alice and her laconic new corporal Oland hints at interesting developments to come. Well-told, with sympathetic, quirky characters and an intriguing premise, ‘Pumpkin Scissors’ is the stand-out for me of Del Rey’s recent list. And there’s the anime version on R1 to enjoy as well; although sadly, for us R2 viewers, it’s one of the new ADV series that’s just been announced as on hiatus before it’s even begun!

Hell Girl Vol. 1: drawn by Miyuki Eto, based on an original story by The Jigoku Shoujo Project Ages 16+
“Hell does exist.”

Imagine you’re being blackmailed by one of your school fellows. Imagine you hear of a mysterious website that appears only at midnight which promises that the Hell Girl will care of your problem once and for all. Imagine you’re so desperate that you type in the name of your persecutor…

“To curse someone is to dig a double grave,” warns the beautiful, cold-eyed girl who arrives to fulfil your request. She is Ai Enma, Hell Girl. “If you want to take revenge you have to pay with your own soul.”

In each of the five tales that make up the first volume of Hell Girl, someone is being victimized. In Chapter 4, Junko’s beloved dog Lucky falls sick. Lucky dies in the care of the vet who has promised to care for him and Junko is distraught when the practice nurse tells her that the vet only treats the really profitable cases, neglecting the other animals in the surgery. After she uses Hell Girl’s website, the vet suffers an unpleasant fate and is last seen being ferried away on a boat by Ai Enma to hell.

The first volume of ‘Hell Girl’ has been released at roughly the same time as the R1 anime series from FUNimation. Each chapter follows the same formula, even down to the exact words pronounced by Hell Girl. Whether this format may evolve and change in subsequent volumes is hard to tell. There’s no hope of redemption here for the persecutors; they suffer a horrible fate for their crime, yet, as we already know, their victim’s soul is also destined for eternal punishment. The moral thus seems to be: put up with it – or condemn your immortal soul to eternal damnation!

Ventura Vol. 1 by Shino Midorikawa Ages 13+

Although it has been compared to Harry Potter, (well, it is set in a school for wizards and wizard-swordsmen) ‘Ventura’ feels more like a traditional sword and sorcery tale – and is none the worse for that! Red-haired Lewin Randit dreams of being a wizard but has to put up with being trained as a swordsman at the Gaius School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It doesn’t help matters that his classmates give him a hard time; easily provoked, Lewin is always getting into trouble. However, it seems that Lewin may not be as useless at magic as he believes – even though it can prove to be much more complex and dangerous than he has ever imagined. But when Lewin and two friends infiltrate the preparation room, they unwittingly unleash a deadly force trapped inside that endangers the whole school.

Midorikawa’s wispy and intricately detailed character drawings are distinctive and attractive, giving ‘Ventura’ a genuinely different look from many of the other fantasy manga stories around. It’s important to pay great attention to the text and dialogue; many significant nuggets of information are revealed, but not always at moments when they could move the story along in a meaningful way. In fact I had to read this first volume twice to make sense of the unravelling plot strands. Again, a most promising start to a genuinely different series that should appeal to CLAMP readers as well as sword and sorcery fans.

‘Dragon Eye’ by Kairi Fujiyama Ages 13+

Readers looking for a good shonen adventure can’t go wrong with ‘Dragon Eye’ by Kairi Fujiyama, which has recently reached Volume 3. Deadly viruses decimating mankind is a favourite theme of recent manga and anime series and in ‘Dragon Eye’ the ‘D Virus’ turns its victims into ‘bloodthirsty monsters’ called Dracules. Young Leila Mikami, whose parents were killed by a Dracule, sets out to join VIUS, teams of elite warriors who have very strong antibodies against the virus and are sent out to destroy the deadly Dracules.

‘Dragon Eye’ looks at first glance like a typical shonen, a little reminiscent of ‘D. Gray-Man’ (which is no bad thing), bursting with fights, warrior codes, and monsters. But a well-told, complex and involving story unfolds as Leila and the other new recruits are rescued from a deadly Dracule attack by a feisty blue-haired boy called Issa Kazuma. His secret is the Dragon Eye in his forehead, which lends him tremendous power whilst at the same time slowly destroying all that is human in his body. And, despite his youth, he’s the captain of Squad Zero to which Leila is assigned. Add in a third new squad member, Sosei Yukimura, out to exact revenge on Issa for killing his twin sister and an intriguing scenario is established, full of potential for future conflict. What is Issa’s secret?

Del Rey manga are still by far the best when it comes to helpful notes, explanations of Japanese life and culture and the pitfalls of translating (especially when it comes to jokes and puns). Colour plates are often included at the front (a real bonus in the case of CLAMP artwork).The list started very strongly indeed with the two ongoing CLAMP crossover titles ‘Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle’ and ‘xxxHolic’. Other successes include Ken Akamatsu’s ‘Negima!’, historical ninja feud story ‘Basilisk’(seinen), Fuyumi Soryo’s ‘ES’ (josei) and Moyoco Anno’s charming yet gently subversive modern fairy tale ‘Sugar Sugar Rune’ (children of all ages!). And Oh! great’s subversive and manically brilliant ‘Air Gear’ is as crazy and inventive as ever.

However I have to confess that I’m not so thrilled by some of their more recent acquisitions: ‘Psycho Busters’ and ‘Shiki Tsukai’ are distinctly underwhelming so far and ‘Pastel’ and ‘Gacha Gacha Revolution’ are yawningly predictable in the ‘teen boy sees/squeezes/accidentally falls against teen girl’s boobies’ department. With so many titles like these in the list, it would be good to see a yaoi and/or yuri title or two. Thank goodness the dreary (and confusing) mermaid saga ‘Pichi Pichi Pitch’ has finished at last (without colour it was almost impossible to tell one mermaid from another), although ninja teen romcom ‘Kagetora’ lumbers on. Sf thriller ‘Alive’ and the classic horror ‘Parasyte’ are much stronger contenders. Shojo magical tale ‘Shugo Chara’ from Peach-pit is currently being made into an anime and the genuinely funny high school ‘School Rumble’ is still going strong. So I’m hoping for more titles of the quality and range of ‘Mushishi’ and ‘xxxHolic’ as the list continues to evolve and expand, making a strong start to 2008, overall, with much to look forward to later in the year.