In the early noughties there was a sudden surge of interest in manga in the USA, resulting in several publishing houses establishing their own lines of manga in English translation. Some have fared better than others – and now, one of the best-established of them all, Del Rey Manga, has recently celebrated five successful years in manga publishing.

Del Rey, thanks to their relationship with Kodansha, have brought us a rich variety of titles and mangaka – although it will be interesting to watch what happens now as Kodansha have recently established their own US publishing base.

As a dyed-in-the-wool CLAMP fan, I was very happy to see Del Rey license the (then) new series ‘Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle’ and its crossover/linked manga ‘xxxHOLIC.’ And when the first volumes appeared in 2004, it was especially pleasing to see the care that had been taken with these titles, setting a high standard that, by and large, Del Rey have maintained. From helpful explanations about honorifics to the fascinating Translator’s Notes at the end of each volume, with illuminating Japanese cultural references, not to mention previews of the next volume in the original language, Del Rey were offering something a little different, even a little more scholarly (but in a good way!) than Viz and Tokyopop (their main rivals in the field.) Another massive hit has been ‘Negima!’ by Ken Akamatsu; the story of ten-year-old wizard schoolteacher and his harem class of fourteen-year-old schoolgirls is ongoing and still selling extremely well. Their latest hot property is Hiro Mashima’s immensely likeable ‘Fairy Tail’ (and, yes, his art is still reminiscent of Oda’s art for ‘One Piece’ but not in a bad way.)

As the five years have passed, there have been more jewels revealed in the collection: most notably ‘Genshiken,’ ‘Mushishi, ‘School Rumble’ and ‘Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei’ – and the classic SF series ‘Parasyte.’

And then Del Rey have given us the invaluable Character Guides: two for ‘Tsubasa’ so far and one for ‘xxxHOLIC’ (just out) as well as the ‘Genshiken Official Book.’ Filled with interviews, character information and facts as well as brand new material, these guides are useful for newcomers to the series and feed the addiction for existing fans. In France, a recent development from Pika has been to issue the last three volumes of ‘Tsubasa’ each in a box-set with the three episodes of ‘Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelations’ on DVD (subbed, not dubbed) from Kaze; one wonders if Del Rey might consider a similar project?

Criticisms? Well yes, I do have a few, even though I applaud Del Rey for the overall high quality of their translations and presentation (the lettering is usually easy to read, another bonus.) But there have been some weak – yes, even depressingly bad – titles amongst the jewels. Several of the shojo titles have left me scratching my head and wondering ‘why?’ Especially when Kodansha’s mangaka have won awards for shojo titles such as ‘Guru Guru Pon Chan’ And I’ve been less than impressed with their ventures into OEL manga; although ‘Yokaiden’ by Nina Matsumoto is a notable exception, with pleasing art and a theme rooted in Japanese folklore, that’s well worth investigating. The cinemanga titles such as ‘Ben 10: Alien Force’ and ‘Secret Saturdays’ (linking up with Cartoon Network) have impressed my kids at school, but may be seen by some purists as selling out. I’d love to be able comment knowledgeably on the recent X-Men and Wolverine manga, but, unfortunately, I haven’t yet seen them.  

And now Kodansha Ltd, celebrating its centennial anniversary in Japan, has just begun to issue its own English editions, Kodansha Comics, via Random House the home of Del Rey Manga. The first volumes of ‘Akira’ and ‘The Ghost in the Shell’ have just been released – or ‘re-published’ according to the publicity. The word on the street says that, rather disappointingly, they seem to be the flipped versions previously available from Dark Horse.

So what can we look forward to in the next few months from Del Rey Manga?
Later in November, comes ‘Moyasimon’ by Masayuki Ishikawa
‘Tadayasu is a new, fresh-faced university student hiding a bizarre secret: He can see germs with the naked eye. Between the machinations of an eccentric professor determined to unlock the power of the microbial world and the doomed agricultural experiments of his fellow students, will Tadayasu ever find the cool college atmosphere he so desires?’

The final volumes of ‘Samurai Deeper Kyo’ bu Akimine Kamijyo. Volumes 35/36 in December, followed by 37/38 in June 2010, Del Rey having taken over the license from Tokyopop.

And to please anyone with an eye for bishonen – or who enjoyed the anime R1 series – ‘Nighthead Genesis’ #1 with art with You Higuri.

At a time when other manga publishers in the US (apart from Viz and Yen Press) are cutting back on their output, Del Rey Manga must be doing something right to be continuing to issue on average eight titles a month. I’ve found much to enjoy in their output; I hope they can continue to keep up their high standards.

To conclude on a lighter note – and at the considerable risk of provoking the ire of Answerman from ANN – here are some lists!

Five Titles Suitable for – and tried and tested by –  older Juniors (10+)
1/ Kitchen Princess: includes recipes and loved by boys and girls alike – truly addictive! (10 volumes: complete, yet with a light novel to come.)
2/ Sugar Sugar Rune: an imaginative, touching and unusual take by Moyoco Anno on the shojo theme of magical girls. (8 volumes: complete)    
3/ Shugo Chara: ongoing magical girl fantasy – a huge hit in Japan, with a charming anime spin-off.
4/ Dragon Eye: a shonen fantasy fighting adventure.  
5/ Bakugan Battle Brawlers: from the Cinemanga collection

My ‘Five to Avoid’ Titles (please argue with me on this one! It’s only personal taste…)
1/ Gakuen Prince: you’ll either love or loathe this tale of predatory, sex-obsessed high school girls and their prey. Guess which camp I fell into?  
2/ Q-Ko-Chan: The Earth Invader Girl: a massive disappointment from Hajime Ueda, the mangaka of FLCL; what was that all about, then?
3/ Le Chevalier d’Eon – deviates significantly from the anime, a (non) triumph of style and large bosoms over coherent plot and…well, anything, really. Only for true enthusiasts.
4/ Pichi Pichi Pitch: singing mermaids;  but which one is which? Impossible to tell them apart… or care…
5/ Gacha Gacha: fan service, obviously not intended for me to enjoy, but some plot would have been nice… 

http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/manga/index.pperl

When I began reading the Kenichi Sonoda’s Gunsmith Cats not long ago, I was almost immediately struck by the similarities between it and Rei Hiroe’s Black Lagoon. Both are action packed guns blazing stories but what I particularly noticed and enjoyed was the focus on the tough, independent female characters who feature prominently in both works.

Gunsmith Cats’ Rally Vincent is a bounty hunter, sanctioned by the police to capture and bring in alive any criminals who are on the run from the law. This of course means that unlike Revy from Black Lagoon (a mercenary for hire) she has to watch her trigger finger, and more than once her quarry has escaped due to her professional obligation (as well as her personal judgement) not to fire. Rally is tough, she is uncompromising and relentless in her pursuit of justice for all, but especially for herself and her friends. The America of Gunsmith Cats is by no means a black and white world, but there are lines which the good guys will not cross but the bad guys will happily trample over. Rally might bend or sneakily rip the odd page from the rulebook when no-one is looking, but Revy tosses it straight in the nearest trash can with a look of disgust and Balalaika grins as she sets it on fire. In Black Lagoon there is hardly any such thing as a good or a bad guy. Roanapur and indeed the entire world which Revy & Co. inhabit is a murky grey sludge, even the different shades of grey can barely be discerned and are liable to change with the winds at any moment.

Both Revy and Rally are ace gunslingers, pulling off moves with their pistols which would leave olympic sharpshooters scratching their heads. While quick to pull her gun should the situation dictate, Rally has a responsible attitude towards guns and in one particular scene where she is haunted by the demons of her past after being injected with a new drug ‘French Connection 2′ style by the villainous Goldie (more on her later) she reveals that she is an advocate of the “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” school of thought. It is obvious though from the fascination and love she has for firearms that she does not view them simply as a tool. The ability to possess and use guns is very important to Rally as shown when she has her licence temporarily suspended, and when she holds back from shooting a foe precisely because the drugs in her system could get her licence revoked. This kind of thinking is at one point admonished and labelled as cowardly by probably the most grey character in Gunsmith Cats (being neither hero nor villain) Bean Bandit. His view is that Rally should, like him, follow her own moral code rather than the law.

This school of thought is far closer to Revy’s position, though she generally keeps her cards close to her chest with regards to how she feels about any situation which doesn’t require violence. While often openly hostile to the people closest to her even to the point of pulling a gun on fellow Lagoon Company partner Rock over an argument, like Rally she does still use her skills to defend her friends (even against business interests, as is seen when she is ready to shoot Russian gang boss Balalaika when she threatens to do the same to Rock) proving she is not as mercenary as first glances might indicate, and still has a certain bias towards those she knows and to some extent, trusts.

Balalaika herself makes for an interesting comparison to Gunsmith Cats’ archvillainess Goldie Musou. Both are powerful women in a men’s world, heading up criminal gangs where they are in the position of power over most men. With this power and isolation though, comes a sense of sadism and even reckless abandon in both characters. Unlike Rally or even Revy, Goldie and Balalaika’s moral compasses have entirely ceased to function, and they do what they do primarily for their own amusement and love of the power they exercise over others. Balalaika’s domineering personality is satisfied by her continual and often unprovoked warfare with other underworld elements, a taste for which she developed while fighting in Afghanistan. Goldie however is driven by more materialistic sexual desires, and from her point of view her feud with Rally is an amusing (if particularly violent) game. She doesn’t want to kill her at all, rather to posses her for her own. Due to her mercenary outlook and the fact that the two rarely come up against one another, Revy can and does work with Balalaika, although uneasily.

The supporting casts of each story are a little different. While both Revy and Rally’s worlds are full of colourful characters, Rally tends to be at the centre of her group of friends and acquaintances, the strongest and most capable among them. Rally’s friends Minnie-May, Becky and Misty are all capable women in their own right, their skills at explosives, intelligence gathering and breaking and entering respectively complimenting each other. The same cannot be said of Black Lagoon’s extended cast. Characters such as Eda the gun-running nun, Jane the counterfeiter and Shen-Hua the bounty hunter more often than not find themselves in opposition to or competition with Revy, or forced through circumstance into grudging alliances. Such are the different worlds they inhabit. There is room for trust and friendship in Rally’s life, far less so in Revy’s. It is fair to presume that personal circumstances are as much to blame for these differences as the places in which they live.

The thing the women of Gunsmith Cats & Black Lagoon value most is their freedom to do as they please, but each woman’s idea of how far they should be able to take this freedom (especially where the lives of other people are concerned) differs greatly. Some might say that their passions, thoughts and actions (love of cars, guns, power or sex) are more male due both to the writers and the target audience, but I would suggest that anyone, male or female, who finds themselves on occasion despairing at the portrayal of women in manga and anime check out both of these titles. There may not be a Revy for every cute, naïve and helpless girl in the world of manga… But that wouldn’t be a fair fight now, would it?

Tsugami Ohba’s, and Takeshi Obata’s, ‘Death Note’ is a synthesis of a brilliantly dislikeable protagonist and a wonderful exploration of what Moral Philosophy, the philosophy of morality, has been trying to grapple with since its inception: just what is justice? ‘Death Note’ is complemented by a brilliant battle between good and bad. So who is good and who is bad in ‘Death Note’?

As Nargis said “Death Note is one of those animes [or mangas] where you can’t sit on the fence, you have to pick a side. Some see Light as a hero, others as a villain; it all really depends on your point of view.” So is Light justified in his belief that he is creating a better sense of justice for humanity? Or alternately is L justified in his belief that protecting the status quo, in regards to justice as it currently is in the Japan of ‘Death Note’, right?

Who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad’?

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