Drunken Dream and Cactus

[badtzphoto]

7b. 1 volume of The Drunken Dream and other stories.




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manga updates

Written and illustrated by Moto Hagio

From Fantagraphics
Forty years ago, the legendary manga artist Moto Hagio reinvented the shōjo (girls' comics) genre with an ongoing series of whip-smart, psychologically complex, and tenderly poetic stories. Here, now, in English for the very first time, as the debut release in Fantagraphics Books' ambitious manga line of graphic novels, are ten of the very best of these tales.

The work in A Drunken Dream and Other Stories spans Hagio's entire career, from 1970's "Bianca" to 2007's "The Willow Tree," and includes the mind-bending, full-color title story; the famously heartbreaking "Iguana Girl"; and the haunting "The Child Who Comes Home" - as well as "Autumn Journey," "Girl on Porch With Puppy," the eerie conjoined-twins shocker "Hanshin: Half-God," "Angel Mimic," and one of the saddest of all romance stories, "Marié, Ten Years Later."

Some points:
- Borrowed from local public library
- Very nicely done - except for 2 typos: "you're" when it should be "your" and another one that I can't remember and too lazy to find it :) It's not like the whole chapter is missing like some other book!
- I'm afraid I didn't like much of the shorts, until the last 4 stories each are 50 pages long, I like these better. I'm glad that I have a chance to read it, though.

Bottom line, check out for yourself.


7c. 1 volume of Cactus's Secret (サボテンの秘密, Saboten no Himitsu).




wiki
Manga Updates

Art and Story by Nana Haruta

From Viz
Miku Yamada has a longtime crush on classmate Kyohei Fujioka. But no matter how many times she tries to show him how she feels, clueless Kyohei just doesn't get it. Frustrated, Miku gives up on him, only to have him start calling her "Cactus" for being prickly when he's around. Will Kyohei ever figure out Cactus's secret?
Miku decides to try telling Kyohei her feelings by giving him chocolates for Valentine's Day. But Kyohei, unaware that he's the object of her affection, offers himself up as a practice partner for her love confession. Can Miku get through to him that he's the one she loves?

Some points:
- borrowed from interlib loan.
- I like Miku at first but violent comic isn't for me. I can understand her frustration, but would acting it out on Fujioka help her cause? Maybe that's her personality.
- I do like her 2 friends, though and the fact that's she's very smart.
- It's way better than Fall in love like a comic, though
- Since it's a short series, I'll borrow the rest :)

Bottom line, fluffy with strong, smart, and violent heroine.

Continuing series: Manga

• Children of the Sea 3-4

Rambling

• It looks like Kodansha is yanking the rest of The Twelve Kingdoms from Tokyopop - #4 is the last one - wonderful: news from Tokyopop. Sob!!!
• Another short read list this week because I've been knitting!