Category: Manga

 

By Ashly Raiti & Irene Flores

(TokyoPop) ISBN 1-59816-266-7

Coming firmly from Buffy the Vampire Slayer territory, this book introduces us to Maeve, a beautiful if somewhat reluctant trainee succubus, sent from her own demon realm to Earth to hone her seducing and damning skills at Barlow High School. Naturally she feels lost, alone and a little confused at first, but soon sets her sights on the sharp but low-achieving Aiden and tries to live up to expectations. No help at all comes from his peculiar and obnoxious girl-friend who adds extra meaning to the phrase “from Hell”.

As you’d imagine, she quickly realises that the politics, intrigues and machinations of a modern secondary school are far trickier to survive than even the netherworld, but even so, a rival faction at home have a spy dogging her footsteps to make her life even more complicated…

This engaging spin on the school-days genre from two of the finalists in the “Rising Stars of Manga” competition is slick and witty whilst adhering to the expected conventions of a highly successful sub-strait of teen fiction. A word of caution for blokes though, this has a 13+ advisory, so if you’re looking for skin and cheap thrills you’d be better off with Red Sonja or Girls Aloud.

© 2005 Ashly Raiti & Irene Flores and TOKYOPOP Inc. All Rights Reserved

By Hinako Ashihara

(TokyoPop) ISBN 1591823455

This is the charming, if eccentric, tale of Aya, a young girl who has seemingly lost the power to dance after an accident at a ballet contest. Her life finally turns around after she sees the boy Akira dance with the COOL ballet troupe. Revitalised, she makes joining COOL her life’s ambition, and nothing, not even the fact that COOL is an all-male company, is going to stop her.

Aimed at a young teen audience, Forbidden Dance is replete with the school angst and success pressure that dominates this branch of manga fiction, but the energy, power and enthusiasm of Hinako Ashihara’s story-telling elevates the tale above the crush of its peers. As Aya’s story progresses the ending is never a foregone conclusion and even the most jaded reader must wonder “what next?”

In a crowded and conservative market, it’s good to see quality story-telling in varied settings, and most fans would probably benefit from giving this book a chance.

© 2003 Hinako Ashihara. All Rights Reserved.