Oishinbo: Sake by Tetsu Kariya

Every time I read Oishinbo, I wish that it was translated and published in English in chronological order like most manga. Having them published by subject means that the overarching plot becomes jumbled and impossible to follow. That said, having them published by subject means that it’s possible to quickly and easily learn about one aspect of Japanese cuisine.

Like the title says, Oishinbo: Sake is all about sake. Sake is actually a generic word for alcohol, what this book focuses on is mostly nihonshu (Japanese alcohol), with one story on champagne. There are six stories in this book and they basically focus on how a lot of sake in Japan is fake sake (diluted with alcohol and additives) which tastes completely different from real sake. And that real sake pairs wonderfully with food and can hold its own against the finest wines.

While most of the stories are short, there is one six-part story called “The Power of Sake” that goes into detail on how sake is made, how to differentiate between the different types of sake, and the sake scene in Japan (at the time it was written - this manga is really old so things probably have changed a lot by now). There is an abundance of information here and I wish that I read this earlier.

As someone who wasn’t fond of nihonshu when I lived in Japan, I wonder if my dislike of the strong alcohol taste was because I wasn’t drinking the real stuff. As a student, our class parties would take place at restaurants with all-you-can-drink options, which I guess makes it natural that they would only serve the cheaper nihonshu.

I would definitely recommend this book (and entire series) to anyone who loves Japanese food! The style of drawing is slightly different from the regular shoujo and shounen manga around today, but the stories are interesting and information-packed. I only managed to read the first few volumes in Japanese, so if I see other English translations, I’m gonna borrow them even though the big storyline won’t make sense.

Disney Manga: Tangled by Shiori Kanaki

You all should know that I'm a huge Disney fan. I mean, it's what I watched growing up and I still love the movies. And of course I loved Tangled (listening to the Chinese version of I See the Light as I write this review). So when I saw this manga up for review on NetGalley, I immediately requested it.

The manga is pretty much what you expect. The story is very faithful to the movie, so if you've watched the movie, you know what's going to happen (and if you haven't watched the movie, then what have you been doing??)

The only thing that I found a bit off were the bits that featured songs. And that part where Rapunzel is struggling with her feelings after leaving the castle. The scenes work great in the movie, but they're a bit awkward in manga form.

And as for whether you'd like this manga version, I think most of it depends on what you think of the style. It's pretty much like what you see on the cover, but here's a screenshot:

It's pretty close to the Disney original, but the eyes are a bit bigger and the features are softer. I think it looks pretty nice on Rapunzel, but it looks a bit off on Flynn/Eugene.

There's not much that's new here, so it's really for the super fans rather than people looking to see what Rapunzel is all about (again, what have you been doing?). I would recommend this for the die hard fans who love manga.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Manga

It would be impossible to look at this and not request a review copy. Luckily, my request was granted, so I didn't have to wonder what the manga version of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas looks like.

And double luckily, it's a really good adaptation! Most of the original character design had been kept (I like the way manga looks, but big sparkly manga eyes would not have been good for this). And it does have that manga-vibe, due to the font and the panelling plus backgrounds.

If you liked the movie, you'll probably like this manga adaptation. It's faithful but does have the vibe of manga to it.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

Oishinbo: Japanese Cuisine by Tetsu Kariya

Found this in the NLB and immediately got it because I haven't read Oishinbo in English before! The only time I read it, it was in Japanese, and at a manga cafe when I was staying the night, so I didn't make it very far.

Anyway, Oishinbo is a really famous manga in Japan, and it's all about food! Sadly, it's now on hiatus (probably permanent) because the author made a misstep when talking about food from Fukushima.

The plot of Oishinbo is roughly like this: Tozai News wants to create an "ultimate menu" and Yamaoka Shiro and Kurita Yuko (the new girl) are in charge. Yamaoka is fairly lazy, but quite a genius with regards to food. He also has a huge feud with his uber famous father, which results in his dad going to work on the rival "Supreme menu" for the Teito times. Oh, and along the way Yamaoka and Kurita fall in love, get married and have a kid.

But it's mostly about the food. Really.

But to be honest, the plot doesn't really matter because the English translation is an 'a la carte' which means that they ignored the main plot and just translated a bunch of chapters around a theme. In this case, Washoku (Japanese cuisine).

While I enjoyed the plot (I read a few of the chapters in order, so I knew the basics - there is a summary though), the main star is clearly the food. This can be a textbook for Japanese cuisine, though the Japanese manga contains 111 volumes! (Incidentally, that makes it the 8th longest manga ever released)

This particular volume talks about dashi, basic knife skills, the right to be a chef, the pinnacle of technique (cooking sashimi), the soul of hospitality, the ultimate etiquette (chopsticks), the tea master and the strawberry, a real feast (the spirit of gochisou), the principles of Japanese cuisine and tea.

If you're a fan of Japanese food, you'll definitely want to read this. Though it may be a good idea to read this with Japanese food within reach, because this is going to make you hungry.

Manga Classics: Pride and Prejudice Adapted by Stacy King

A little while ago, I reviewed the manga version of Les Miserables. And now, I'm reviewing Pride and Prejudice! Since Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite books, my expectations for this manga was very high.

Luckily, the book did not disappoint. It's roughly the same length as Les Miserables, which means that compared to Les Miserables, a lot less material was cut out. For that, I'm thankful, because it's the detail in Pride and Prejudice that I love.

At first, I was a bit hesitant about the style of the book (it's very shojo manga-ish) because I had this nagging feeling that these were Japanese characters with wigs on them. I think it's the face. The face looks Japanese to me, but the hair is very foreign. Somehow, I didn't really have this issue with Les Miserables. Actually, compared to Les Miserables, the style of Pride and Prejudice feels much, much girlier.

But, once I got over that, I really enjoyed this book. There are loads of things to love, such as how perfectly Darcy fits the tsundere character. And because I'm very influenced by the movies/tv series, I actually think that Darcy here shows quite a lot of emotion. Or at least, the book itself makes him seem much more emotionless (and he certainly did not blush as much in the movie/tv series).

All in all, I really enjoyed this manga as well. Take a look at the artwork for yourself, and if you like it (and you liked the original book), you should definitely consider getting a copy.

Artwork preview (Click to see the closeups!):

The famous scene

Mrs. Bennet is kira-kira

Bennet girls

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

Les Miserables Manga Adapted by Crystal Silvermoon and Stacey King

A while back, I finally read Les Miserables (link leads to review). And now, I find that there's a manga version! I'm so happy that I was able to get a review copy.

Now, if you remember my review of the original book, you'll recall that I didn't like Cosette and Maurius, and that's because they were shallow characters. Especially in comparison with Valjean, who's practically a saint.

I'm happy to say that I liked the manga, just like how I liked the movie better (although the manga didn't sing). Why? Because most of the parts that were cut out were the parts that involved the "characterisation" of Cosette and Marius, which made it much easier for me to overlook their faults.

But wait, you say, Les Miserables is a brick of a book, didn't they cut out too much? Uh, I can't really argue with you there. I would have liked it to be a two-volume series, because I really wanted more of Fantine's and the bishop's story to be told, as well as Jean Valjean's life as mayor.

As for the art. The art is really shojo manga-ish. I like it, but it's purely a matter of personal preference. Have a look at the review images, which Manga Classics kindly sent over, if you like them, you'll probably like the book since style can make or break a manga.

Recognise these scenes? 

The uber-famous start to Les Miserables!

I feel like Fantine looks a bit like Azmaria from Chrono Crusade.

My overall verdict? I liked it! Sure it was short, but the fact that it's short helped masked the parts of the original book that I didn't like (Cosette and Marius), while keeping the overall story intact. I find it to be a fairly accurate abridged retelling of the story.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this manga from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

Kagen no Tsuki (下弦の月) by Ai Yazawa

最近、"下弦の月"というマンガを読みました。このマンガは短いですが、とても面白いです。そして、意味が深いです。絵もとてもきれいです。私は"下弦の月"が大好きです。えと…私は日本語で書きません！でも、このマンガを読んでください。さあ、英語で書きましょう！

I first saw this in my school's AV room, since it's been made into a movie. I was really intrigued by the blurb so I decided that the fastest way was to simply read the manga. And wow, it's really great! Plus, it feels good to finish a series! The three I'm currently reading are still on-going (not that I'm complaining)

Hmm, how should I summarise the book without giving anything away? Well, let's see, the protagonist of the book is Hotaru, who meets an amnesiac ghost and developes a friendship with her. Well, after that, the book is mainly about the girls trying to help the ghost they dub Eve. All Eve remembers is that she's going to meet her boyfriend Adam (see why they chose that name?). What happens is a well-written detective story, although the reader knows from the start who Eve really is.

What I loved about the book was, simply put, the story. It's simple but captivating. It also explores the notion of identity, although I suppose you could say that since it's Eve has amnesia, they can't avoid the issue. But there is this plot device, that made me wonder - what makes us us? Is it our memories, or is it what we dub our personality?

The characters were also while done. While I'm still a bit sceptical about why a bunch of school children (like Primary School age) were having romances (but it was very slight!), I think that they were well characterised. All of them were distinctive, and their individual quirks didn't appear forced on them. The "older" characters were also well done, although I would have liked to see more of Tomoki. I didn't really see how he was suited to Eve. There was a very sweet flashback, but still, I really wanted more backstory.

On the other hand, the romance between Adam and Eve was quite sweet if slightly sad. I don't know if Adam is meant to be the "bad guy" but I thought this story was very sad. Actually, thinking about it, I think we're supposed to feel sympathy for Adam. The last chapter made it very clear, because it was the one chapter where we're shown his point of view.

All in all, this is a very short but good manga. I managed to finish it in 2 days and the only reason why I took so long was because I could only read it in school (and I can't read during my lessons....)

In My Mailbox #1

I don't normally do this meme (well, this is the first time I'm doing it) but I was so excited about the books I bought yesterday that I wanted to share them. To introduce the meme, In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. For some reason, I had the impression it was on a Wednesday but turns out it's on a Sunday(:

You see, I went to Book Off yesterday and to my surprise, they have a very nice English books collection. It's not very big (it's about 3 shelves), but I found so many books that I wanted to buy. Thankfully, poor students don't have enough cash and so practice restraint (however unwillingly). So, the books I bought, from left to right: 

(nihonjin no shiranai nihongo) - The Japanese the Japanese don't know 2. It's a really cute manga, and one of the few I can more or less understand. Plus, it's also a Japanese lesson in an entertaining package. 

The cheapest book of the lot, it only cost me 105 yen. I've heard good things about it, and it's supposed to be fairly easy to understand. 

Goodreads recommended me this book. I think. I'm not sure, but it's in my to-read list. Unfortunately, the library in Singapore didn't have it (I think it was perpetually on loan), which is why, despite the chorus of "restraint! No money!" I had to buy this book. 

Last but not least, The Princess Bride. I remember that Aunty Florence lent me this a long time ago (was it 3 or 4 years ago?) and I loved it. I can't wait to re-read it.

I still have quite some books that I haven't read/am reading, so reviews of all these books will come much much later.

Wild One (manga) by Kiyo Fujiwara

I have finished another manga! Or to be more exact, one of the mangas that I'm reading has finished (some, like Detective Conan, aren't).

Wild Ones is so good(: It's about Sachie, who after her mom dies, finds out that she's from a Yakuza family. This manga romanticises the Yakuza world, but I don't care. It's so nice~~

Sachie justs wants to be ordinary, but she finds it impossible, especially with her caretaker Rakuto, who happens to be the most popular boy in school. And due to his selective dissemination of information, they all happen to think that she's a rich ojou-sama (princess/young lady). So the series is quite comedic, since she's trying to adapt to this new family while keeping it a secret from her friends.

And of course, there's the romance angle. Although, Sachie and Rakuto are just about the most oblivious people ever. Actually, Sachie is more oblivious. Rakuto knows, but he doesn't dare to tell her, unlike Azuma, who also likes Sachie. But as the story progresses, they gradually start to be aware of each other's feelings towards the other. And yes, the story remains clean throughout.

Sachie and Rakuto

But to me, the ending is the sweetest and most touching part. Because the Yakuza are discriminated (a very big part of the story), Sachie has managed to live a normal life for 3 years. And while I wouldn't mind if the manga ended like that, but it was so much better that the manga addressed the issue. I was very close to tears when Sachie -spoiler alert- ran out of school because of a bad flashback, but at least there were smiles all around at the end.

This story is about 56 chapters long, so it's quite short. I finished this within 2 or 3 days, and while reading other books as well, so I think this is good as an introduction to manga without being overwhelming. And of course, this is a shoujo (young girl) manga, so if you're a sucker for romance stories, you should really read this.

Merely Mystery Reading Challenge - Detective Conan

From Left to Right: Kaito Kid (who has his own manga), Heiji, Conan

To prove how "serious" I am about the challenges, I'm participating in it in my first official review post of the year. (Plus, I more or less finished it first).

Detective Conan (Meitantei Conan) is a wonderful manga written by Gosho Aoyama, and if you read my Matantei Loki review, you'll know I called it "deceptively cute", because behind the (relatively) cute graphics are some seriously brutal murders.

Although the manga is mostly episodic in nature, it's held together by one overarching plot: Shinichi Kudo, having been turned into a small child (now called Edogawa Conan, after Arthur Conan Doyle), is after those who responsible - The Black Organisation. In order to track them, he has to help his crush/girlfriend's father Kogoro Mouri's detective agency, in hope of gathering relevant information.

After reading all 802 chapters of the manga currently out (it's still a work-in-progress), I guess I've learnt some very morbid stuff, mainly to do with how people die. Hmm... and the other huge fans I know are my brother (that's my fault), and two little girls at Church (I had nothing to do with this). But I guess it just turns you into a detective-otaku, rather than a wannabe murderer, unless you have the inclination. I think.

But seriously speaking, this very long read has very lovable characters. Many many lovable characters. Although to me, the most notable thing is how likable the girl characters are. Because I don't read many shoujou manga, I tend to dislike the Mary-Sue-esque girls found in the manga/anime, like Sakuno in Prince of Tennis (A Mary-Sue, incidentally, is one of those annoyingly perfect girls).

If you're a newbie to the series (as I was about one month ago), the many characters are daunting. But no worries, the best resource is Detective Conan World Wiki. It's also a measure of how fanatical fans are. This wiki (which is far Superior to the wiki page), details the character histories, manga histories and even has the different theories about the Black Organisation (there are some larger, unsolved mysteries). And they notice every detail, to quote:

"It is unclear at this point if Scar Akai is the real Shuichi Akai or an imposter. So far, the commentary in the manga sidebars assumes Scar Akai is the real Shuichi Akai; however, the commentary has been purposefully misleading in past arcs."

I don't know about your fandom, but this one (Proud member of the Conan fandom here), will look at clues outside the manga-universe into the non-canon clues.

So yes, this is (to me), one of the best detective manga's ever. The 800+ chapters flew past, and I didn't really notice the passage of time (I average about 50-100 chapters a day). In the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge, I would put this as a Locked Room Mystery, since many of the mysteries appear impossible to the police/reader, although a second reading reveals clues that substantiate the logical explanations.

Notable Quotes:

"One Truth Prevails" (Conan/Shinichi)

Need more? A very entertaining fanfiction: It's Raining Men, Hallelujah can tide you over till the next chapter appears.

Matantei Loki

I took my JLPT N4 (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) today and quite naturally, as soon as I got home, I went to read. Manga. To be even more specific, I finished the series Matantei Loki (Mythical Detective Loki).

Matantei Loki is basically about the Norse gods, with Loki the trickster god finding himself human and having to vanquish evil spirits. Along the way, other gods appear, some (unwillingly) to help and some to kill him. And ever present are the Norns, who know the past, present and future.

Despite my rather boring and insufficient description, you really have to read this manga. It's funny, exciting and best of all, all the girl characters are likeable. If you have heard me rant in person, you'll know that I can't stand a lot of girl characters in manga (like all those in Prince of Tennis), because their characterisation is terrible. Here, there is no such thing. This alone should convince you to read it.

Just a small warning. The first few mysteries are particularly gruesome. Like Detective Conan, Matantei Loki is deceptively cute, with the graphics masking the rather bloody (and I mean it literally) mysteries. If this was a live-action, it would definitely be at least NC-16, if only for the body count.

Other than the blood, it's actually a really tame manga, without most of the perverted things that occur in most other stories.

And if you can't find it in a bookshop or library, never fear, sites like mangaeden.com have the series for you to view online.

Maximum Ride, the Manga 2

I managed to go to the library, although weirdly, I didn't actually have much "school books" to go and find and borrow.... But I did manage to find quite a lot of books that I've been intending to read.

One of them is the Maximum ride manga. It's drawn by a Korean mangaka, so the illustrations are good. The story, as I've mentioned before, is true to the book, so I'm really happy.

The second book is quite cool, since there's a character makeover in it. There's actually not much to say, since I can't really talk about the graphics (because I don't have the suitable vocab for it), and the story, well, James Patterson is a good writer, and I've always enjoyed the series.

Well, I am a bit disturbed by the latter Maximum Ride novels which are beginning to be OOC for me, although that may be because I've been away from the fandom for so long. An 'evil' Angel, even though it's been hinted at from the start, is still creepy.

And Fang can't die! (A rather big spoiler for the novel Fang: A Maximum Ride novel). And he can't leave Max either (fangirl at heart)

But still.... I'll be reading the stories. But I'm probably making a gradual switch to Anthony Horowitz (sp?), since I really love the Alex Rider series. I want to read and watch I Am Number Four now(:

Hamlet: The Manga Version

I was in the school library today, desperately looking for Literature books for my -doomed- EE, when I came across a Manga version of Shakespeare's Hamlet. While I did know that it existed, I've never read it before. So, when given the choice between Richard IV and Hamlet, I decided to go for Hamlet. Now I know where all the quotes are from. Even "Alas poor Yorick!" Shakespeare really is one of the most quoted authors of all time!

And while initially, it seemed a bit awkward, that faded really fast. The graphics are really good, and I actually understood the plot! Having learnt that Shakespeare is meant to be seen, not just read, I think the manga gives a good telling of the Bard's play.

Although, it was a little bit weird that the play was set in 2107, in a high-tech world. But it didn't give any thematic concerns and it was really fun to read.(:

Go and read it! (And the whole series!)

A nice mix of books(:

I managed to go to the library of Saturday (Yay! The first Library Visit of the year!), partly to 'stock up' on books and partly to find books/research for school (basically my BM IA and my EE). While I had a fairly fruitful time borrowing books, it didn't go so well with the school-related stuff (although I did manage to borrow 14+1 books in the end; the plus one is for the book I renewed, since I still haven't been able to buy my new EE book).

So far, I've managed to read one book a day(: So, since all of them are good, I'll do quick mini-reviews here(:

One book I really enjoyed was Maximum Ride the Manga. It's drawn by a Korean, so the art is well-drawn, not at all like the "wanna-be" style that characterises (at least to me), so many manga adaptations. And the book also follows the plot pretty closely, leaving on a nice cliff-hanger. It's a good thing I've already read the series. The good news is that Lil'est sis enjoyed the book, which means that there is an unlikely chance that she might read the book too~

Another light fiction I read was The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson. I really like Eva Ibbotson's books, and I wasn't disappointed by this one too. It's about a Republican Austrian Princess, and her unlikely romance with a Self-made English Millionaire. I really enjoyed the 'reveal' scene, where everyone (except the nobility), finds out that she's the princess; her descent down the stairs was very well written.

After reading such light fiction, I went on to read The Last Jihad, by Joel Rosenberg (who also, if you can remember, wrote Epicentre). It's a really interesting read, since it 'predicted' 9/11 before 9/11. The story is taut and very suspenseful, and like the reviews said, it's totally believable. I think it's a better 'end times' (not really though) story than others like the Left Behind series.

But since I can't always read for fun, I decided to read one of the EE research books I borrowed, about Graham Greene. I just found out today that my school has a Graham Greene room(: But, I also realised that in the National Library (at least the Jurong East Branch), I can probably do an EE on Terry Pratchet's Discworld and find more material than Graham Greene and Shusaku Endo put together. Anyway, the book was Graham Greene, A Life in Letters, and compiles some of his (numerous) letters into one very thick volume to give the reader an idea of Graham Greene, who although was Catholic, had a fairly lot of lovers. But the book did help me understand a little more about his book that I'm analysing (and even talked, for a little bit, about Shusaku Endo), and gave me some quotes I can probably use in my EE. (:

Last (so far), I read The Lake Of Dreams by Kim Edwards, who also wrote The Memory Keepers Daughter, another really enjoyable read. I read it mainly because I helped Aunty Florence collect it on Sunday, and I wanted to finish it before I went for the next lesson(: Sometimes, when a writer has a really good first novel (see the totally random change in topic?), the second novel doesn't compare; but gladly, this isn't the case. The book is sensitive and well written, with a very believable twist/reveal at the end (you can see that having believable twists is important for me). And although the author mentioned Japan (the protagonist lived there), it was done quite believably (except for the part where the Lucy, the protagonist, has stayed in Japan for a long time with Yoshi but doesn't know much about the language except 'I've turned off the gas', and the frequency of earthquakes, although I'm probably wrong about this). But overall, the book, although thick, was very engrossing.

I'm so glad the books I've read so far are good, I can't wait for the others ^_^