Bamboo

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By Mat K.

Hello boys and girls and welcome the Saint Patrick’s week. There’s not a whole lot going on in the manga department this week, but that is not to say there is nothing. There are a couple of new books that are definitely worth checking out. The first one up is Bunny Drop Volume 1 by Yumi Unita. The story goes a thirty year-old bachelor named Daikichi has to go to his grandfather’s funeral. He’s floored when he finds out gramps had an illegitimate child with a younger lover. While the whole family is shocked, the rest of the family seems to be embarrassed and not want anything to do with the poor silent girl. In a fit of angry spontaneity, Daikichi decides to take her in himself! But will living with this overgrown teenager of a man help Rin come out of her shell? And won’t this turn of events spell doom for Daikichi’s love life? Drama and wackyness ensue. This is definitely a side-step from your typical manga formula.

The next book on the chopping board is the second book by the creator of “Not ...
... Simple”, Natsume Ono. Her new book “Ristorante Paradiso” is a tale about a mother/daughter reunion, a burgeoning romance, and a little restaurant in Rome. In exchange for playing “the daughter of an old friend,” Olga offers Nicoletta a place to live and an apprenticeship at the restaurant. Nicoletta fits in well among the vibrant personalities at Casetta Dell’Orso. She gets along particularly well with the kindly headwaiter, Claudio, a divorced man who, after years, has still never taken off his wedding ring. As Nicoletta’s feelings for Claudio become complicated, she finds a sympathetic ear in Olga, leading the estranged pair to form a friendship neither expected. But as they grow closer, the pressure exerted by the secret they share becomes too much to bear. In a very unique art style that more closely resembles American independent comics rather than typical manga, Ono has a knack for intense story writing.

And last in the list of interesting new releases is Dorohedoro by Q-Hayashida, which I’m thinking might not be his actual name. Unless it is but just spelled “Kyu” and not “Q”. But I digress. In this story a man named Caiman was not lucky. A sorcerer cursed him with a reptile head and left him with no memory of his life before the transformation. Adding to the mystery, there’s a specter of a man living inside him. But Caiman has one key advantage: he’s now completely immune to magic. Along with his best friend, Nikaido, Caiman is hunting down sorcerers in the Hole, searching for the one who can undo his curse and killing the rest. But when En, the head Sorcerer of the sorcerers, gets word of a lizard-man slaughtering sorcerers, he sends a crew of “cleaners” into the Hole, igniting a war between two worlds.

Anyway, I know that’s a lot to digest, and for those who are wondering where the “Bamboo” came from in the title, Bamboo Blade Volume 4 comes in this week. And so does The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya Volume 5. Anyway, see you next time!

Ja Ne!