Manga Review – Avril Lavigne’s Make 5 Wishes

Avril Lavigne’s ‘Make 5 Wishes’

Publisher: Random House/Del Rey Manga
Story by: Camilla d’Errico and Joshua Dysart
Concept by: Camilla d’Errico
Script by: Joshua Dysart
Art by: Camilla d’Errico
Rating: T 13 +
Genre: Shoujo

Reviewed by Julie Gray
Review originally published March 31, 2007

“No. Not invisible. Being invisible would’ve been cool. I just wasn’t worth noticing”…

Yes, this is a manga starring Avril Lavigne. Whatever your thoughts may be about the music artist/movie star and now manga star, one thing is undeniable; Avril Lavigne seems to be everywhere.

So what does a pop star want with a manga title? Well, as it turns out, ‘Make 5 Wishes’ is great reading and the art work is just divine.

The story begins with a lonely girl named Hana who is going through a tough time when she doesn’t fit in at school. Hana’s life revolves around a virtual reality where she assumes different identities to avoid the loneliness of rejection. Hana stumbles upon a website that claims to be able to make people’s wishes come true. With Hana’s inability to feel anything other than loneliness and depression, the website reaches out to her through her despair and Hana, excited by the prospect of having all of her wishes come true, clicks away.

Camilla d’Errico brings the characters to life with an unmistakable innocence in her art work, it really works well in this manga. The likeness in her drawings of Avril Lavigne is quite impressive.

Once the mysterious parcel arrives, Hana’s life unexpectedly takes a turn for the better but it’s very short lived. Throughout the manga, you feel like you can relate to Hana’s pain but at the same time, there seems to be an annoying feeling nagging away at you – the feeling of knowing the difference between what seems like the right thing to do and what clearly isn’t. Hana seems to have issues differentiating between right and wrong and Avril’s character poses as the ‘righteous’ side of Hana’s psyche, desperately trying to guide her towards making the right decision. In the end, it’s Avril versus the Demon which is a neat little story twist.

At times the dialogue in this manga seems a little too mature to be aimed at 13 year olds and some of the interactions between Hana, her parents and the imaginary ‘Avril Lavigne’ just didn’t seem to synch very well. Perhaps Hana is extremely mature for her age but I felt that it was difficult to relate to her youth when the complexities of her life seemed a little too far fetched to be believable at the age of 13.

The plot, the characters and the general flow of the manga all work well but the artwork in this manga really gives it something special. The glossy, full colour pages are a joy to behold. I was quite unsure of what to think of the manga at first, but now I am very much looking forward to reading the next installment of this series. And regardless of Avril’s real word superstar status, in this manga, Hana is the true starlet.

Avril Lavigne’s Make 5 Wishes comes complete with sketches by the artist and information about the artist, author and Avril Lavigne. If you’re really keen to take a look at this series, you can do so by visiting Del Rey’s website here.

Art Work: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Overall Rating: 8/10

You may view the original published article here.

Manga Review – Basilisk Volume Two: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls

Basilisk Volume Two: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls

Publisher: Random House/Del Rey Manga
Author: Masaki Segawa
Original Story by: Futaro Yamada
Rating: M 18+ Mature Content
Genre: Seinen/Action/Martial Arts

Reviewed by Julie Gray
Review originally published December 17, 2006

“Love and Death…”

This manga is a love story but this is no ordinary love story, not by a long shot. Set in feudal Japan in the time of Ieyasu Tokugawa’s rule as Shogun, this manga tells the story of two feuding ninja clans; the Kouga and the Iga. What makes the story so interesting is that the leaders of these two clans have fallen in love even though their respective clans are now at war.

Basilisk was originally a novel written by Futaro Yamada who passed away in 2001. Leaving behind the legacy of a great story, we are now able to read all about the trials and tribulations of the Kouga and Iga ninja clans in manga format!

The presentation of this manga is really beautifully done. The cover is exceptionally striking with incredible detail and color. What we really liked about the animation in the manga is how much it matches the characters in the anime. The style of the drawing is very unique with the male characters drawn with stronger lines to represent strength and the female characters are drawn with a lot more subtlety and grace.

The two main characters in this manga are obviously the focus of the story but it’s the inter-relationships between all of the other characters that really give the story momentum and direction. Without a strong character base, this manga would be just another love story and the characters in this manga are so wonderfully developed. The story itself is also emotionally charged from the very first page and we get the feeling that the struggle between the two ninja clans is nothing compared to the fate that awaits the two ninja leaders; Gennosuke-sama and Oboro-sama. That is enough to keep us interested and wanting more.

The power struggle between Oboro-sama and Tenzen is also a sub-plot that’s interesting enough to mention. At times we couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if Tenzen was suddenly given an opportunity to be rid of Oboro-sama. It’s obvious early on that Tenzen is capable of carrying out ruthless tactics to beat the Kouga and we’re pretty sure that he views the relationship between Oboro-sama and Gennosuke-sama as an abomination and a disgrace to the Iga ninja clan. This is another character we’re very keen to see more of.

The struggle between life and death, the honor and pride of the ninja clans and the forces of good versus evil make for an incredibly interesting manga. Once we started reading, we just couldn’t put it down and we can’t wait for the next installments to arrive.

Will the star-struck lovers pull through this battle to the death or will Gennosuke-sama pull away and avenge the deaths of his village and clan? It’s nail biting stuff. Until the next book arrives, you can visit the Del Rey website here.

You may view the original published review here.

Manga Review – Suzuka: Volume One

Suzuka Volume 1

Publisher: Random House/Del Rey Manga
Author: Kouji Seo
Rating: M 18+
Genre: Seinen

Reviewed by Julie Gray
Review originally published November 28, 2006

“She’s so cool!”

Suzuka Volume 1 is a manga all about a schoolboy’s crush on a girl that is way out of his league. At first, we thought this manga would be a little risqué and nothing much else. As we read through the manga, we realized that although the manga is based around one boy and his almost obsessive crush on a girl he doesn’t know, the characters are quite likeable and the story works well.

We really do enjoy reviewing the first volumes in any manga series. There’s something very cool about being able to enter into unknown territory when you begin to read something new. The first volume of Suzuka was definitely not what we expected and is also the first M 18+ rated manga we have reviewed this year. Although the manga shows a little nudity, it’s not entirely unwarranted and does add to the story in ways that would probably leave the storyline a little flat if it was omitted.

Nudity aside, the characters portrayed in the manga are interesting enough to keep reading. The two main characters are Suzuka, the namesake of the manga, and the boy who falls for her, Yamato. Right from the beginning, Yamato is infatuated with Suzuka and at first; you’re not quite sure how this infatuation with Suzuka is going to develop. After Yamato sees her for the first time, he finds himself constantly thinking about her and then, without warning, he is suddenly face to face with the girl of his dreams. The only problem is that Yamato has only recently arrived at his new home, which just happens to be an all-girls’ boarding house. And when Suzuka finally shows up, Yamato finds himself in, shall we say, a rather compromising position with one of the other girls in the house.

The storyline seems to heat up pretty quickly and one can only feel sorry for poor little Yamato, surrounded by so many attractive young girls. As it turns out, Yamato only has eyes for Suzuka except Suzuka wants absolutely nothing to do with him! On top of that, two of the more precocious characters in the manga, raunchy and risqué Saotome and her clumsy sidekick Megumi, are bored with life and manage to find Yamato interesting enough to tease at the worst of times.

The characters work great in this manga and it’s obvious from the beginning that Suzuka and Yamato seem very ill matched. As the manga progresses, we get to see a little more of Suzuka’s personality and we also begin to understand some of the pressures she is under as she faces her worst fear; losing the championship title in high jump. In the most round-a-bout way possible, Suzuka and Yamato somehow end up going shopping together and Yamato begins to doubt his feelings for Suzuka after experiencing her personality first hand.

To throw a spanner in the works, Yamato’s childhood friend, Hattori, happens to show up on the scene and there is an instant tension between them as Yamato begins to feel a little jealousy towards Hattori. We’re dying to see how the character relationships develop and we think that this manga series is shaping up to be something quite fun to read.

The characters are strong and well developed, especially Suzuka, who seems to be an odd character to figure out. And that’s all the more reason why Yamato finds himself so intrigued by her. We’re intrigued too and we hope the Suzuka manga series continues on the same wild and whacky path it’s on now.

Suzuka: Volume 1 includes extensive translation notes, a note from the author and some neat additional ‘Four Panel Theatre’ storyboards in-between chapters. If you want to check out this manga, the Del Rey website is here. There is also a sneak preview of Suzuka: Volume Two included in the manga in original Japanese.

You may view the original published review here. 

Art Work: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Overall Rating: 8/10