Quick reviews: Three action titles

It’s February, it’s gray and cold, you just want to stay inside all day. What this season calls for is some action manga to get the blood pumping. Below the cut are mini-reviews of three action-packed titles from Tokyopop, none of which will drain off too much precious brainpower. All are $9.99; age ratings are at the end of each review. Enjoy!

Rose Hip Zero, by Tohru Fujisawa: Guilty pleasure. This is one of those improbable but highly enjoyable shoot-em-ups that doesn’t trouble the reader with deep meanings or even excessive plausibility. Officer Kyoji Kido is the baddest cop on the juvie beat, so bad that he stops a speeding vehicle by blasting the tire off with a single shot while standing in an upper-story window. Kido quit the anti-terror squad when the terrorists blew up a building with his sister inside. Now his old boss wants him back as partner to their new secret weapon—a 14-year-old girl who is not only a better shot than Kido but also a skilled acrobat. Mixed feelings and lots of shooting result! The art is nothing special, and there’s a lot of filler, but the action sequences are clean and easy to follow. Qualitywise, Tokyopop has tried a little harder with this book, with a six-page color opening section and decent paper. You might want to put a brown paper wrapper over the cover if you’re reading it on the train, though. (OT, 16+)

Daphne in the Brilliant Blue, by Shiki Satoshi: More of the same, but not quite as well done. The heroine is Ai Mayuzumi, whose father owns a factory that makes water jetbikes—and she tests them all out. We get to witness lots of demonstrations of her jetbike-riding skillz, which probably work better as anime than they do on the printed page. (This book “inspired” the anime of the same name.) As it is, the action is a bit confusing. So is the plot. Everyone lives in an undersea city, a city whose builders seem to have been inordinately fond of the Guggenheim Museum, as both the police station and the local club are exact replicas. Some group of guys is trying to force everyone up to the surface, which has been hopelessly contaminated (yes, there’s an environmental fable in here somewhere), and a group of girls is after them. Ai keeps getting mixed up in it all and having to rescue herself and others by slaloming through the air in her jetbike. Also, there is no one named Daphne in this book. Tokyopop didn’t waste any extra money on high production values with this one; the first few pages, which were obviously originally in color, are rendered in fuzzy black and white, and in several spots the word balloons are cut off at the edge of the page. Still, if you like lots of action and the occasional low-angle panty shot of a woman kicking butt, this book’s for you. Bonus points: it’s a single volume, so the investment is minimal, although it reads like a prequel. (OT, 16+)

Ra-I, by Sanami Matoh: Another one-shot, this is a quick read that tries to be hard-boiled but doesn’t quite make it. Set in New York City, it’s the tale of private detective Al Foster whose Sam Spade-ish existence is suddenly invaded by Rai Spencer, a 13-year-old child prodigy with telekinetic powers, and his vixenish sister Rei. There’s action aplenty as bad guys try to kidnap Rei, Rai helps a man who is forced to participate in a jewel theft, and Al and Rai battle rivals for their respective girlfriends. The plot is clichéd and full of holes, but there’s something likeable about Al and Rai, and the action kept me turning the pages. Matoh gives everyone the same face, but the characters and personalities are distinct and she has a nice touch with composition and backgrounds. Unfortunately, Tokyopop didn’t give this book a lot of love. The cover is unattractive (hot pink, turquoise and orange—ack!) and there are some typos and awkward translations. The print and paper quality are poor, and the first few pages, which were color in the Japanese version, are grayed out to the point of unreadablity Hard-core Fake fans will probably enjoy this the most, despite the lack of BL. (T, 13+)

These reviews are based on complimentary copies provided by the publisher.