‘Embalming – The Another Tale of Frankenstein’ by Nobuhiro Watsuki; chapters 1-5

This manga is running in Jump SQ, and is based on two oneshots that were published in Jump the Revolution in 2005 and 2006. Nobuhiro Watsuki’s previous works are ‘Rurouni Kenshin’, ‘Gun Blaze West’ and ‘Busou Renkin’… so he is a Jump veteran, but a relatively unpredictable one.

I have to be honest at this point: I’m a huge fan of Watsuki’s, and I have been following Embalming since the release of the first oneshot in 2005. I’ve been holding back with a review here because I wanted to be fair and objective… if that’s even possible for reviews. But now is the perfect moment for a first assessment, because the first story-arch is over, and the story shifts to a set of different characters – apparantly, ‘Embalming’ is trying a different kind of structure, with no definite “good guy” main character. That’s exciting, isn’t it?

Brief updates: Muddy 12; Psyren 14-17; Shiki 3-4

Before diving into the other series, I’d like to mention briefly that Muddy’s ending was decent. It ended on a cheerful note, which makes it easier to accept its premature ending. I really hope Shou Aimoto will get another chance eventually, and be more lucky.

Now for ‘Psyren’ and ‘Shiki’, possibly with spoilers.

Next month’s Jump SQ oneshots!

The month of April is going to give us some potentially interesting manga oneshots, in Jump SQ and in its spin-off special, Jump SQ II (which will go on sale in mid April, sporting a collaboration between Hiroyuki Takei of Shaman King fame, and Stan Lee. The Stan Lee!).

But first the Jump SQ oneshots.

‘Sachie-chan Guu!!’ by Akira Toriyama (story) and Masakazu Katsura (artwork).

Aaand…

‘Luck Stealer’ by Hajime Kazu; chapters 1-2

This time, a manga by an established author. Hajime Kazu has been a mangaka for over ten years and has already published series in Weekly Jump, although I don’t think any of his her manga were ever published in the west.

[Edit: I have been informed that Hajime Kazu is female. Wikipedia agrees. I can't believe she'd blame me for getting confused by the name, though...]

‘Luck Stealer’ currently running in Jump SQ (so it’s a monthly series). A oneshot was published in Jump the Revolution in 2005, and another (?) in the Akamaru Jump (winter edition) that year. I did not read the Akamaru Jump oneshot, but I read the JtR oneshot. Since both the oneshot and the two chapters tell independent episodes, I won’t really talk about their plot here anyway, but only speak of the premise. Which I like.

Brief opinions: ‘Psyren’ ch. 10; ‘Shiki’ ch. 2

Definitely spoiler. Read at your own risk.

‘Shiki’ by Ryu Fujisaki and Fuyumi Ono; chapters 00-01

‘Shiki’ started in the 01/2008 issue of Jump SQ. It’s a manga adaptation of a series of horror novels by Fuyumi Ono. Ryu Fujisaki, author of Houshin Engi, is the one behind the artwork. There are only two chapters out – a prologue and a first chapter – but it’s a monthly series and these two chapters actually amount to around 130 pages of manga. That should be enough to form a first opinion, I feel. But to be honest, I’m not really sure about ‘Shiki’ yet. I will keep reading, because I’m curious what it will develop into, but I can’t say I’m in love.