Kai-Ming Cha Comic Reviews

What it comes down to, ultimately, is that we are really lucky, as western readers of manga, to be on this side of the market. Just think of all the garbage that we don't have to wade through - urologist manga, or really phreaky moe. At this point, with the amount of manga that's saturating bookstores and comic shops alike, a book like Missile Happy volume 1, is a subtle reminder that there is still good stuff to mine from the stashes of old Japan.

The Battle Royale manga has been a popular read across the board, hence the new packaging that TokyoPop hopes will draw in the next generation of readers. However, artwork aside, TokyoPop would have done well to tweak the adaptation, if just to freshen up the content and generate excitement over this new edition.

Aside from that, Milky and Kujiradou don't create the best story - it's disjointed and torn between being a rock-star fantasy, an alien-bad-girl's rebellion, and a sci-fi mystery. At its heart, it's a story of hybrids and getting into the mix - a suitable theme for OEL manga. But it's Love's punk-rock character, the vulnerable bad-ass who doesn't give a sh*t but can't help doing the right thing, that never get's tired. And neither do her clothes.

Because it's marketed under TokyoPop's steamier BLU imprint, I have to assume that Voice or Noise gets sexier. My guess is that once junior high-schooler Shinchiro, who is the age of consent in Japan (15 years-old), gets into high-school, his clothes will start coming off, and his relationship with Narusawa will become less affectionate and more physical. So far, the confusion on both parts (on Shinchiro's side as he becomes more aware of the animal life around him and his part in the animal world; on Narusawa's side in regards to his feelings toward Shinchiro) dominates volume one. Many of the emotions get muddled and I sometimes wonder if it's due to Enjin's limited (but growing) visual vocabulary. Certain backgrounds are missing as well as scenes - scenes that could have cleared up the sentiment of both characters. Since this is only volume one, and Enjin's first manga series, we'll have to wait and see.