PopSyndicate.com

Three mangas that are wildly different. One is just okay, one is an interesting exercise in franchise branching out, and one is not to be missed.

You know what’s popular right now? Bleach. You know what else is popular? Zombies. Anybody else having a ah-hah moment? Well, tough, because Tite Kubo already wrote a series called Zombie Powder, and though there isn’t a single zombie in issue one, it’s friggin’ Tite Kubo, which means you? Are gonna love it.

So, there’s this guy named Gamma Akutabi who kinda looks like Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. He meets a kid, Elwood, who is a thief and a knife thrower, and circumstance tosses them together on the hunt for these famous Rings of the Dead that, when brought together, make the all-powerful Zombie Powder. What’s so all-powerful about Zombie Powder, you ask? Well, it can make a person immortal, or bring someone back from the dead. Pretty friggin’ powerful. So Gamma and Elwood are on a hunt for some rings, and they run across a guy who just happens to look like Aizen. His name is C.T. Smith, and he’s Gamma’s partner who is as deadly with guns as Gamma is with his tricked out sword. There’s not a whole lot of plot description here, because in the end, there isn’t a lot of actual plot. What there is plenty of in Zombie Powder is good, dirty fighting in a vaguely western-esque setting with some characters who were obviously prototypes for the characters in Bleach. So, if you’re caught up on Bleach and you want a little more fun from the man who can arguably be called the shonen master of manga, then go buy Zombie Powder and enjoy.

To those of us in the home viewing audience, Grissom and his merry band of mad smart crime solvers are rock stars of the police procedural drama. Tokyopop takes the concept and applies it to a new audience - the manga crowd. Though I am a ridiculous fan of both CSI and manga, I never really thought I was the rule as opposed to the exception, but here we have solid forensic evidence that proves the rule.

The manga plucks a teenage sleuth from Los Vegas and enrolls her in an intern program for aspiring CSIs. She isn’t alone; there are five eager would-be’s in all, and they don’t have to wait long before their first assignment. A girl from their high school turns up dead, and the perp has a mind for details… kind of like a CSI. So what’s a girl to do? Follow the crime, naturally, using her love of forensics and the training she’s getting at the hands of some of our fav cast members. Though the mystery is more manga than television show (as is our adorable girl investigator), there is some science to the tale, and in the world of CSI, that’s what counts. I’d like to say I enjoyed the mystery, but it didn’t follow the best rule of procedural stories, which is to make sure the audience has enough information to solve the crime on their own. Whether they figure it out or not isn’t the issue here; it’s an aspect of holding certain info back until the last moment, making it so no one could possibly do their own detective work. This is where the manga disappointed me, though all in all, it was fairly enjoyable. Sleuth gal Kiyomi treats the CSI team as if they were stars on a television show, going so far as to squeal and flip out a little when she gets one-on-one time with Catherine Willows, which I found both amusing (I’m a fan of Catherine too!) and a wee bit jarring, though that was a minor detail. Otherwise, a fun enough read; I’d be a little tempted by a second volume.

Mogumi Plus Senki tells the tale of Yuuki, a kid with a special problem - he’s got disaster attraction disorder. But that’s not all - he’s actually the reincarnation of Momotaro, a Japanese folklore hero. Yuuki bears a demon curse that will kill him on his eighteenth birthday - unless he breaks the curse first. How does an accident prone reincarnated Peach Boy break a demon curse? He befriends demons by granting their wishes. Sounds like a tall order, but Yuuki has three pals who are also reincarnated on his side - his mythological servants, Yukishiro, Masahiko, and Sawa.

This manga aims for cute, silly adventure, and for the most part, it succeeds. The three minions have animal sides and a fondness for fisticuffs, but we learn, through Yuuki’s adventures with various demons, that the answer isn’t always a fight - sometimes it’s quick thinking and a little kindness. Mogumi Plus Senki is a good title for the younger crowd, and though it’s easily the weakest of the three.

0