Matt’s Capsule Manga Reviews, Edition 5:
Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, vol. 3, Disney’s Kilala Princess, vol. 2, 50 Things We Love About Japan

I don’t post nearly enough reviews. Let’s make use of the short form and knock out reviews for a couple of sequels, and a little trifle (as in, a sweet small dessert) that is worth noting but not quite suitable for a full review.

##

Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, vol. 3
Published by: Viz Media
Writer & Artist: Yukiya Sakuragi

216 (198) pages.
Vintage: 2004. US edition June 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, vol. 2
Rating: upgraded, 4 out of 5

What’s up:

Cute dogs, Cute lead characters, more puppies per volume than a kennel club registry, and oh my gods is that a sustained plot line? Can this series get better?

OK, so it’s not Greek tragedy or anything, but after two volumes of short vignettes (even the “long” episodes in past volumes were only 4 or 5 chapters, really nothing deeper than “boy meets dog”), in volume 3 we get a plot-chew-toy we can finally sink our teeth into. About two-thirds of this book is devoted to a single storyline, featuring cute little toy poodle puppies.

I hate poodles.

But I’m still upping my rating — this comic is more than just the cute puppies. Through the story arc in volume 3, we get introduced to another breed, apricot poodles, and are shown how trends and popular demand can make the pet business into something a little dark. The little poodles, with their rare colouration (and given a spiffy haircut) are suddenly so popular that not only is there great demand, but a few folks willing to do unscrupulous things to make a yen or ten thousand off of the surge in demand. In it’s own cute and perhaps simplistic way the book tackles a moral issue (are dogs merely “things” that are bought and sold?) and tries to bring a few other perspectives to the table, as opposed to just the dog-lovers’ answer.

The simmering b-plot — the ongoing struggle of Suguri to make it on her own in the big city — not only takes a couple of strides forward but is woven into the main plot. Suguri is going to try and get her own place, and not rely so much on Tippei for everything from a job, to meals and a roof for both her and Lupin — so she gives into some gentle persuasion from Kentaro and a couple of his not-so-nice friends and tries working at a Hostess Bar. Fortunately it’s the same place where her friend Chizuru works, so she has a little support as she tries to find her footing in the new environment. It’s at her night job that she meets a girl who seems very sweet on the outside, but is a little bit more mercenary than Chizuru and Suguri. With the prices that the trendy poodle pups can command, and a whole bunch of fawning customers willing to buy whatever gifts a popular hostess might want for her birthday, it isn’t long before Suguri’s jobs at the club and at Woofles pet store overlap.

This volume isn’t so dark that there isn’t a happy ending. Of course the little pups make it through OK, and even end up in a home where they are appreciated and loved, but the path from store window to happy home is a little more twisted this time, a complication that is certainly welcome.

##

Volume 3 and Volume 4 (shipping 21 August) of Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs are available from TRSI.
And have you seen the cover for the next one? I’m tempted to submit it to Cute Overload. (…not that I browse over to Cute Overload on a regular… [*cough*])

##

Disney’s Kilala Princess, vol. 2
Published by: Tokyopop
Writer: Rika Tanaka
Artist: Nao Kodaka

96 (84) pages.
Vintage: May 2007
English Adaptation: Kathy Schilling
Retouch & Lettering: Star Print Brokers
Production Artist: Courtney Geter
Cover Design: Monalisa De Asis
Editor: Hope Donovan
Publisher’s Rating: Ages 8-12

Previously reviewed: vol. 1
Rating: still 3 out of 5

What’s up:

With the help of the Seven Dwarves (yes, those seven) and Snow White (yes, that Snow White) Kilala and Rei manage to defeat the Evil Queen, acquire the means to find Kilala’s kidnapped friend Erika, and rush back to the “real” world to save her before it’s too late. And so begins the second half of the book…

The Disney tie-in is a fine gimmick, for what it is (i.e. cheap ploy to sell books) but the new characters that Tanaka created are what drew me into the story, at least far enough to spend six bucks on the second volume. The plot gets surprisingly complex before we end volume two on a bit of a cliffhanger. I expected the chaste, sweet romance — but here it is as a plot point, not just an eventual goal for our young heroine. In other books she might have pined away in silence for volumes, eventually getting closer to her beau, and not confessed until the final chapter. As it turns out, the pair may be split apart and there is only one night (and a dance, naturally) for the two to share.

Of course, to find out what happens after the dance, and why it was so easy to find Erika, the lost friend, after the flashy kidnapping in volume one, we all get to wait four months for the third installment.

I have to wonder if the the writer and artist had the idea first, and then had to sell it to Kodansha, who then had to pitch it to Disney. I suppose it’s much more likely that Tokyo Mickey had the idea, and then went looking for the manga-ka to make a cheap knock-off in the ol’ Princess line, but there is a surprising amount of heart here.
Kilala is a fairy tale by-the-numbers, nothing really original, but even a plain tale will be a pleasure, if it is a plain tale well told.

##

Volume 2 and Volume 3 (shipping 11 September) of Disney’s Kilala Princess are available from TRSI.

##

50 Things We Love About Japan
Published by: Japanime
Written by Edo Kurosawa
Illustrated by Atsuhisa Okura

112 (104) pages.
Original Language: English
Orientation: Left to right
Vintage: March 2007
Editor: Glenn Kardy
Art Directors: Mari Oyama & Shinobu Sendai
Design Editor: Hiroko Takahashi
Publisher’s Rating: None given. Suitable for all ages.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Synopsis: 50 things… about Japan… that they love.

Review: Intended, obviously, as a gift book that folks buy for friends and relations, it’s the thought here that counts.

The illustrations are quite nice, actually, a departure from traditional manga and with a subtlety that both a traditional painted cel and newer photoshop colouring techniques lack. Okura uses coloured pencils in a way that, on the finished page, looks almost like a cross between wax crayon and an airbrush (except that every tone and shade is carefully placed, and confined by the pencil lines). The “50 things” are by no means encyclopedic, and likely reflect the author’s personal choices, but there’s everything from rice balls to sumo to Godzilla represented, so I guess it’s as broad a selection as one might expect from a 100 page picture book. If occasionally it verges on stereotype, I think that’s unavoidable given the short length and the starting premise.

The book measures just 5 inches square, and the writing seems aimed at grown otaku, as opposed to their children — if this were a kids book, the words would be smaller and the pages much larger. The fans on your gift list would rather have gift cards, or cash (and when and *why* did giving cash ever go out of style?) but if you’re the sort who must give a hand-selected object — well, this is pretty nice. And it’s the thought that counts.

##

50 Things We Love About Japan should be available from Amazon.com — in 4 to 6 weeks. It took me about that long to get my copy, but through other sources, and after the order was cancelled once. I guess if you can find one, that makes these little buggers collectible. (should be worth all of 5 bucks on the secondary market…) The better bet is to order direct from the publisher.