Manga loot

[rachelmanija]

Yesterday I attended ConDor in San Diego, and had the pleasure of having dinner with and visiting a manga shop with yhlee, sartorias, seajules, and tcastleb -- the latter a new acquaintance. She has an e-book out about a hot queer romance between a man and a telepathic lizard alien, which she delightfully promoted by giving out cards with teeny plastic lizards. (I made mine scale the vast heights of my water bottle.) It sounds sort of like the good version of Touched by Venom.

At the manga store, I spotted entire bookshelves of $1 manga. Apparently a maniacal gleam came into my eyes at this magic combination of two things dear to my heart, "manga" and "really good deal." All I know is that I had to be forcibly pried from the store, and then, emerging from my frenzy, I noticed that some time had passed. Here's what I got.

Full price:

Kaori Yuki's second Angel Sanctuary art book, in English. (I have the first.) Exquisite, sensual full-color art of boys with wings and swords, angels and Lucifer, steampunk skeletal angel wings, that sort of thing. Plus an interview.

XxxHolic # 11, by CLAMP. Gorgeous art almost entirely in blacks and whites, and a story which started slow but has now gained great momentum and pathos.

Pumpkin Scissors # 2, by Ryotaro Iwanaga. I reviewed the first volume not long ago.

ONE DOLLAR MANGA:

Qwan # 4, by Aki Shimizu. Folkloric creatures and a demon-eating boy.

Please Save My Earth # 14, by Saki Hiwatari. Older reincarnation manga; I don't much like the art but have been collecting it because people say the story is excellent.

Tower of the Future # 1, by Saki Hiwatari. Possibly metafictional manga by the same mangaka about a boy who writes fantasy.

Land of the Blindfolded # 8, by Sakura Tsukuba. Poignant and sweet series about high school kids with powers, somewhat along the lines of Fruits Basket.

Oyayubehime Infinity # 1 and 2, by Toru Fujieda. Reincarnation series, possibly recommended by oyceter.

Project 240Z X challengers: The Fated Z Plan: Fairlady Z / 240Z: The Legend of the Most Successful Sports Car in the World.

The true story of the first Japanese sports car to become an international success. This sounds just like the bento manga, but about the Nissan Fairlady Z aka the Datsun 240Z. It has loving panels depicting engine parts, and men gazing at cars thinking, "This is it... This is the car I've been waiting for. This... is a Datsun!"

ONE DOLLAR MANHWA:

Your Lover # 1, by Seungwon Han. A Korean romance "inspired by the historical real-life passion of Parisian painter Marie Laurencin and French poet Guillaume Apollinaire." Features tragic accidents, gorgeous celebrities, and the younger brother of a dead fiance who looks just like him.

ReaLies # 1 by Lee Si Young. I'm not sure what this is. It might be sf, or might be realistic fiction using sf metaphors. The dialogue seemed interesting, and it was a dollar...

Has anyone read any of these? Opinions?

Comments

[elsiey.livejournal.com]

Holy shit... YOU GOT MANGA FOR ONE DOLLAR?!?! @$#^%^*&^&$! *faints from overdose of excitement*

@.@ Please, please tell me the name, address, and phone number of this store. I shall send virtual cookies your way. yes, i'm not above bribing. XD

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Rising Sun Creations
www.rsc-online.com

[carpe_noir.livejournal.com]

That would explain why Doe and I couldn't get a hold of you to take you to the Kristin Hersh show!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Yeah, too bad. Though at least I was having fun elsewhere! How was the show?

[carpe_noir.livejournal.com]

Good! McCabe's is so quiet that there aren't distracting noises, which is so rare these days. She was also using some effects on the acoustic guitar and it really gave the songs a lot more depth than your typical "girl with guitar" sound.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I read ReaLies some time ago, liked it but didn't love it, and the answer to your question* is "yes." :)


* It might be sf, or might be realistic fiction using sf metaphors

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Qwan is awesome, though I suspect Vol 4 will just leave you going "Huh? That boy needs a hug, though..." if you haven't read the first 3 volumes. I read the first few volumes of Land of the Blindfolded...nice, but didn't hold me.

I long to have the new Pumpkin Scissors and xXxHolic...

[heyoka.livejournal.com]

...you were in town and I missed it?!? Argh.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

It was completely spur-of-the-moment, or I would have emailed. I did look hopefully for you at the con, though.

[heyoka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I tend to not get off my ass for the local stuff outside of Comic-Con. (also, $$ :P) Well, poo. Some other time, then, by golly!

(heck, if Operation Wheels is a success, next year I could come up to LA to see you ;) )

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

ONE DOLLAR MANGA?

*seethes with envy*

[oyceter]

ONE DOLLAR MANGA? Wah!!

Also, you got the second Angel Sanctuary artbook! I think that's the one with the interview in which Yuki Kaori says the Cain/Riff relationship is strictly a platonic relationship between a boy and his butler as all her readers burst into incredulous laughter.

I have a fondness of Oyayubihime Infinity and its take on reincarnation tropes, though in the end it wasn't as awesome as it could have been. Still, I like the earlier volumes and how they focus on the sisters.

[eredien]

I have read all of "Please Save my Earth," and while I don't have any quibbles with the art apart from some of the alien characters looking similar, the story is amazing. And what a flow chart!

[mscongeniality.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love 'Land of the Blindfolded'. Great series that not enough people pick up on.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

For future reference, please don't spoil the endings of stories, even in the relatively mild manner that you did. I've reposted the non-spoilery portions of your comment below:

Oyayubehime Infinity is an interesting manga, especially because the main heroine is much more cynical than the norm. There's also a side character that's hilarious-she's a sempai who doesn't take shit from anyone. The reincarnated lovers are done well, but I was disappointed by the end of the series because it changed back into really cliched shoujo tropes.

[Deleted spoilers]

But it's an enjoyble short read-I think it's only 5 volumes long.

[re-weird.livejournal.com]

Oh! I'm sorry about that, I wasn't thinking at all.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I love Tower of the Future. The manga/meta thing is very short-lived, though, and I don't think continues beyond the first chapter or so before it moves on to the Real Plot, which is more reincarnation fun as she is so fond of.

Do you ever buy Japanese manga or just English? Because Book Off has a huge selection of $1 manga in Japanese, though their English sections are always more expensive.