Manga Mentions 6.08

Manga is still my favorite thing to read in all the off-moments of the day. There's nothing like enjoying a few pages when I have a spare ten minutes here and there! Here's what I finished this month.

Ninin ga Shinobuden Vol 3: I'm still enjoying this completely crazy series, which continues to remind me of a MAD Magazine parody of ninja shows! This volume introduces Izumi, the master of an all-girl ninja academy near Onsokumaru's school, and keeps the pervy humor going strong (the suggestive shadows while Shinobu plays with her pet elephant are priceless!).

Hikaru no Go Vol 12: This volume finally starts looking into the character of Sai (the ancient Go master who possesses Hikaru) a little more, since he begs to play a special game with Akira's dad, who discovers their imaginary handicap scheme. I'm hoping future volumes will have more character development and a bit fewer straight Go playing scenes!

Video Girl Ai Vol 6: I took a break from this series for a while, but it was easy to get back into the story with this volume. Yota runs into a childhood friend named Natsumi, who ends up helping him in a big battle with Ai's enemy video girl who is determined to erase her! (All the VCR talk is funny - I wonder how they would write this series today?)

Dr. Slump Vol 15: This hilarious series is coming to a close, so I'm glad there were finally a few more funny Peeping Tom moments for Senbei! Suddenly, the doctor is a daddy with the birth of baby Turbo, who has a quick alien abduction that allows him to speak and fly. Suppaman also makes a brief funny appearance!

Nodame Cantabile Vol 5: This volume mostly covers the big S Orchestra costumed concert, so there are lots of wordless pages where the reader has to imagine hearing the classic music being played (it's definitely helpful to know the pieces, or to watch the drama, first!). There's also a great bonus story about Chiaki's childhood, which is much more dramatic than I expected!