Manga Review: Sankarea: Undying Love, Volume 7, by Mitsuru Hattori

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: June 2014

Volumes: 11

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 6. 8.

Goodreads Synopsis:

WELCOME TO THE ZOMBIE HOLY LAND

Looking to cure Bub's condition, Chihiro and company have finally arrived at ZoMA HQ. There, they are greeted by ZoMA's chief, Salva Arnschent Kurumiya, along with his adorable zombie daughter, Rosarie. This place has been called the zombie "holy land" but with cute girls like these to tickle Chihiro's fancy, could this be a bit of zombie "paradise"? Meanwhile, the Chief has taken an interest in Rea and conducts a series of tests to probe her unique zombie state. Is Rea's rare condition the key to suppressing the "turbid period"?

Review:

I don’t know what it is with manga lately, but the last few that I’ve read have left me with a horrible cliffhanger. This one probably being the second worst one.

In the last volume, Sankarea had decided to go to Zoma with Darin, to let the scientists test her. Chihiro protests, but decides to go with her when she won’t relent. The lab is on an island, and the scientists immediately latch onto Sankarea, wanting to find out what’s different about her, and they have some surprising discoveries.

We’re introduced to Darin’s creepy father, which explains some of why she’s the way she is. We also meet a girl zombie, who is utterly creepy.

And then we’re brought to the end of the volume, which has two surprising twists. The one with Sankarea has me very interested, because if it worked, that would be a very big development. But the one with Chihiro is horrible, if it actually happened. I was seriously not expecting either of these things to happen, especially so fast.

It has me really eager to get my hands on the next volume, though.

Manga Review: Sherlock Bones, Volume 1, by Yuma Ando and Yuki Sato

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: September 2013

Volumes: 7

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

DEDUCTIVE DOG DETECTIVE

When Takeru adopts his new pet, he's in for a surprise—the dog is none other than the reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective. What's more, this "Sherdog" has decided that Takeru is the reincarnation of his long-time assistant, Dr. Watson. Takeru may think Sherdog (or he himself) is crazy, but with no one else able to communicate with Holmes, he's roped into becoming the canine's assistant all the same. Using his exceptional sleuthing skills, Holmes uncovers clues to solve the trickiest crimes.

Review:

When I found out that this series was only seven volumes long, I jumped on board. I’d been feeling the need to read a manga mystery, and maybe that’s just cause it’s been so long since I watched Case Closed (or Detective Conan). Which means that, invariably, I will be comparing this to Case Closed. But I just love that series, and it’s one of the only manga mysteries I’ve read/watched.

This sounded like a cute series, a new take on Sherlock Holmes. And the artwork is very pretty, which is always a grab for me.

It is a cute series, what with Sherlock reincarnated as a dog and talking only to Watson, now known as Takeru, a boy in high school. We get a mystery pretty early on, which goes through the whole volume. It’s a bit dark, and the artstyle changes to construe the psychotic urges form the murderer, and it’s also emotional for Takeru. There’s a hint of romance, and I do hope that grows throughout the series.

This was a very good first volume. The mystery was good, if a little obvious from the beginning, but overall pretty impressive. I look forward to reading more.