Matt’s Short Manga Reviews, edition 3a.
Because I’m the Goddess #3, Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs #2, & Read or Dream #3

So, with the number of images and links I was using, and then also pushing it a bit further by cramming 6 reviews into one post, it looks like Wordpress was having a few difficulties. No matter how I tried to fix it, nothing worked. So, we split the post in half and try again. Short manga reviews redux, this time with pretty pictures and links that work!

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Because I’m the Goddess, Vol. 3 (of 3)
Published by: Tokyopop
Writer & Artist: Shamneko

192 (172) pages
Vintage: 2004. US edition April 2007.
Translation: Mike Kiefl
Adaptation: Jamie S. Rich
Retouch & Lettering: Star Print Brokers
Production Artist: Michael Paolilli
Graphic Design: Christian Lownds
Editor: Luis Reyes
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, Ages 16+

Prevously reviewed: vols. 1 & 2
Rating: still 1 out of 5

What’s up:

Is it all bad? No. There was a decent concept buried in here somewhere, the ending is semi-sweet, and at the very least, the title does in fact come to a conclusion that thankfully doesn’t leave anything open for a hypothetical sequel. We’re done here.

The pacing is obviously rushed. We went from gathering one “gift” each (or every other) chapter to the convenient ploy made for time’s sake: “but now the bad guys have all the rest”. The climactic battle wasn’t, it seemed like a lot of character reveals at the end were of the “oh, by the way” variety without any precedent or foreshadowing in the previous volumes, and at least one character was introduced just so he could die. Sloppy storytelling all around.

Still, the series found some redemption in the last 20 pages or so. The end fits. I’m not recommending this manga by any stretch, but if you were already caught by the first volume, than go ahead and finish it up.

buy it from TRSI

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Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, vol. 2
Published by: Viz Media
Writer & Artist: Yukiya Sakuragi

216 (202) pages.
Vintage: 2004. US edition February 2007
Translation: Hidemi Hachitori, Honyaku Center Inc.
Adaptation: Ian Reid & John Werry, Honyaku Center Inc.
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Kelle Hahn
Cover & Interior Design: Hidemi Sahara
Editor: Ian Robertson
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, ages 16+ (may contain sexual themes)

Previously reviewed: vol. 1
Rating: upgraded, 3 out of 5

What’s Up:

I shouldn’t like this one as much as I do, but there it is. While of course dogs are the theme of the comic, it seems that the owners (current and potential) are obviously the focus. Volume two shows how our heroine, Suguri, is being integrated as a staff member at Woofles Pet Store, and how the manager Teppei is starting to push her to be more than just housekeeper and dogwatcher there. Suguri is challenged to make her first sale — any sale. But since she really does like each of the pups in her care, can she find it in herself to sell them?

Our main canines, Noa and Lupin, are also given an opportunity to help out, each according to their personality.

Much like the first comic, chapters seem to alternate between character building episodes featuring the staff of Woofles (our MCs) and introducing a new person and their problems. Almost always these characters have the sorts of problems that can be solved by a cute little dog, and over the course of a single chapter, but I guess that’s how this title is going to run. Sometimes the puppy is there to take the place of a recently departed pet, sometimes the little critters just seem to fill a need that the customer didn’t even know was there. While a tad formulaic, the manga hasn’t become predictable yet, in that each new situation is genuinely different from all the other shaggy-dog-stories that have proceeded it. And our ongoing A-plot — with Suguri developing from a sheltered naif to something as yet unrevealed but still with a deep and abiding love for dogs — is enough to build the frame story by increments even if individual chapters aren’t quite up to snuff.

This is a niche comic, but dog owners are a pretty big niche. I don’t know if anything dramatic or suspenseful will happen in this title, but it works even as a slice-of-life comic with a gimmick, and it’s a damn fine gimmick. 3 marks, out of 5.

Volume 2 and Volume 3, releasing 19 June, are available from TRSI

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Read or Dream, vol. 3
Published by: Viz Media
Writer: Hideyuki Kurata
Artist: Ran Ayanaga

208 (196) pages
Vintage: 2002. US editions MONTH 2007
Translation: JN Productions
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Mark McMurray
Design: Amy Martin
Editor: Shaenon K. Garrity
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen

Previously Reviewed: Read or Die, Read or Dream vols. 1 & 2
Rating: still 3 out of 5

What’s up:

While the first half of the book is more forgettable comedy using the spectacular latent power of the Paper Sisters as merely a theme of sorts for a series of generic, slightly fantastic tales (think Twilight Zone episodes, but cut back to 7 minutes each and drawn as comedy manga) it is the later third of the book that really picks up on the promise of the anime version, to give fans the manga they really wanted two books ago.

Riffing on the plot of the show (where the sisters are hired as bodyguards for an author’s promotional tour) but re-mixing some of the characters, making Anita (the youngest sister) the focus, and building on what little continuity there is to be had from the previous two Read or Dream manga volumes, we finally have a story to read about.

If volume four can take this ball and run with it, I might just upgrade the rating a point. As it is, this one is still just a modest manga title primarily for fans of the TV show, not necessarily for the public at large.

Volume 3 and Volume 4 (of 4), releasing 1 May, are available from TRSI