Showing posts with label Haikasoru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haikasoru. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Review: THE BATTLE ROYALE SLAM BOOK

THE BATTLE ROYALE SLAM BOOK
VIZ MEDIA/Haikasoru – @VIZMedia; @haikasoru

EDITORS: Nick Mamatas and Masumi Washington
COVER: Tomer Hanuka
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6599-6; paperback, (April 2014)
192pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S., $19.99 CAN, £9.99 U.K.

The Battle Royale Slam Book: Essays on the Cult Classic by Koushun Takami is a collection of essays about the world of Battle Royale.  Battle Royale is a Japanese horror novel written by Koushun Takami.  Originally completed in 1996, Battle Royale was not published until 1999 by Ohta Shuppan, but it went on to become a surprise bestseller.  In 2000, the novel became a manga which Koushun Takami co-wrote with artist Masayuki Taguchi, who drew the manga.  A controversial film adaptation directed by Kinji Fukasaku was also released in 2000.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the publication of Battle Royale the novel, Haikasoru (the fiction imprint of VIZ Media) published The Battle Royale Slam Book.  This original paperback release is a collection of essays by writers of popular fiction on the impact of the novel, the two film adaptations, and the Battle Royale manga on pop culture.  The essays also discuss the controversy and continuing social debate that has surrounded the novel ever since its first release.  The Battle Royale Slam Book is offered in print and also in digital editions as an eBook for $7.99 (U.S. / CAN), available for the Amazon Kindle and through Apple’s iBooks Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Book Store, and the Kobo eBooks Store.

Nick Mamatas, co-editor of The Battle Royale Slam Book, and 16 other authors offer an array of opinions on Battle Royale and about the enduring power of the acknowledged cult classic.  New York Times best-selling author John Skipp (The Light at the End) connects the novel to his childhood.  Cassie Cuinn talks about girl power.  Sam Hamm, who wrote the screenplay for the 1989 film, Batman (directed by Tim Burton), speculates on the survival chances of Hollywood cinema’s leading teen icons in a battle royale.  Jason S. Riddler (Blood and Sawdust) discusses the novel in the context of the popularity of professional wrestling.  Douglas F. Warrick closes out the book with an essay on Zen.

In order to enjoy and understand The Battle Royale Slam Book, the reader needs to be familiar with Battle Royale the novel or its adaptations.  I saw the film six years ago via a DVD available through Netflix.  The manga adaptation was collected in 15 graphic novel volumes, which were published by TOKYOPOP during the middle of the previous decade.  I read TOKYOPOP’s Battle Royale Ultimate Edition Vol. 1, which collected the first three manga volumes in one hardcover edition.  So I understand much of the context or what is being discussed in The Battle Royale Slam Book, although I have not as yet read the novel.

I think the best essay is the introduction to the book, “Blood in the Classroom, Blood on the Page: Will ‘Battle Royale’ Ever Be on the Test,” written by Nick Mamatas.  Basically, this piece is “what becomes a cult novel most.”  Mamatas discusses other controversial novels (such as Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies) that eventually end up on high school and collegiate reading lists, which, in a way, serves to take away the edginess these works originally had.  I agree with a terrific instructor I had in college:  controversial novels with something meaningful to say about the human condition end up becoming children’s literature.  It is almost as if adults believe that turning such books into juvenile fiction can rob these works of their power to affect change.  I liked how much Mamatas’ essay engaged me and made me think, rather than just be passive, reading for amusement; I read the essay twice and picked through it a third time.

Two other essays also grappled with my imagination.  John Skipp’s “Death for Kids” uses his experience as the child of a U.S. government employee in late 1960s Argentina as the launching point for his essay.  The harrowing personal tale he tells should already be a memoir.

Before it was published, Battle Royale was entered into the 1997 Japan Grand Prix Horror Novel competition.  It did not win any prizes, as it was eventually rejected in the final round due to its content.  Japanese literary critic and editor, Masao Higashi, was there in the competition as a judge.  Higashi’s essay “‘Battle Royale:’ The Fight the Night Before” talks about his thoughts on the novel and why he voted the way he did.

Anyone who has experienced Battle Royale and/or its adaptations will find that The Battle Royale Slam Book is a collection of insightful essays.  Even those who normally don’t read essays will find the essays here worth reading.

A-

www.haikasoru.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.



Sunday, May 11, 2014

Graphic Novel Review ALL YOU NEED IS KILL (OGN)

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL GN
VIZ MEDIA/Haikasoru – @VIZMedia; @haikasoru

STORY: Hiroshi Sakurazaka
SCRIPT ADAPTATION: Nick Mamatas
ART: Lee Ferguson
COLORS: Fajar Buana
LETTERS: Zack Turner
EDITOR: Joel Enos
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6081-6; paperback, (May 2014)
96pp, Color, $14.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN

There is a new Tom Cruise movie arriving in theatres in the coming weeks.  This movie is entitled Edge of Tomorrow, and it is based on the novel, All You Need is Kill. Bestselling author John Scalzi (author of Old Man’s War), called All You Need is Kill “science fiction for the adrenaline junkie.” 

First published in 2004, All You Need is Kill is a Japanese science fiction novel written by author Hiroshi Sakurazaka.  Back in July 2009, All You Need is Kill and The Lord of the Sands of Time (by author Issui Ogawa) were the first two novels published by Haikasoru, a science fiction imprint of North American manga publisher, VIZ Media.

In the past few years, VIZ Media has been producing original graphic novels based on various media properties (Hello Kitty, Ben 10 – for example).  Now, its Haikasoru imprint is publishing an original English-language graphic novel of Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s All You Need is Kill.

All You Need is Kill: Official Graphic Novel Adaptation is created by Nick Mamatas (script adaptation of the novel), Lee Ferguson (artist), Fajar Buana (colors), and Zack Turner (letters).  The story focuses on Keiji Kiriya, a Japanese soldier of the 301st division of the United Defense Forces (UDF).  Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor, which is called a “Jacket,” and then, sent out to kill the alien invaders called “Mimics.”

Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again.  However, he is not only starting to remember the previous iterations of his fight, but he is also learning more about the enemy and how to fight them.  After one particular rebirth, Keiji gets a message from a mysterious ally, Rita Vrataski – the American female soldier known only as the Full Metal Bitch.  And she may have a way to stop the Mimics.

Of course, All You Need is Kill is a fantastic title for a book, for a manga, and even for a movie.  Yes, producers of the Tom Cruise movie, All You Need is Kill is an even better title than Edge of Tomorrow, which is itself a cool title.

What about the quality of this original graphic novel?  It is a fantastic read.  When VIZ Media first sent me a copy for review, I did not expect much from it, after giving the book a cursory glance.  What surprised me the most is that the graphic novel is not like any other comic book on the market and shelves today.  And it is not Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers.  If I had to compare it to anything I would compare it to Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film, Full Metal Jacket.

Like Full Metal Jacket, All You Need is Kill the graphic novel tackles the absurdity of the war machine – from training soldiers and equipping them to sending them into battle.  At the same time, writer Nick Mamatas finds space in cutting the original text to present Keiji’s training method for survival as something that is plausible.  Basically Mamatas has adapted the novel into a graphic novel that does not seem like a collection of plot points and a narrative stream of the original novel’s best action scenes.  It is a complete comic book story with a good plot and well-developed characters and settings.

Artist Lee Ferguson draws the story in a spare style that establishes mood, captures the sense of desperation, highlights the absurdities, and clearly tells the story.  Fajar Buana’s colors depict the bloody horror of war, and some of the coloring also captures that otherworldly sense which classic science fiction has.

After enjoying this truly fine science fiction original graphic novel, I really want to read the original prose novel.  Readers looking for imaginative alien invasion science fiction will realize All You Need is Kill.

A

www.haikasoru.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.


Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for May 7 2014

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

MAR140991 ADVENTURE TIME FLIP SIDE #5 MAIN CVRS $3.99
MAR141430 ALL YOU NEED IS KILL GN VOL 01 (MR) $14.99
FEB141307 ANDROID ANGELS GN $14.95
MAR141405 ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #20 CVR A CRYSTAL $3.99
MAR141406 ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #20 CVR B WALSH $3.99
FEB140932 B & V FRIENDS DOUBLE DIGEST #238 $3.99
FEB141582 BAR MAID #5 A CVR NUNES (MR) $3.50
FEB141583 BAR MAID #5 B CVR QUALANO (MR) $3.50
FEB141584 BAR MAID #5 C CVR FRANCHESCO (MR) $3.50
FEB141320 BENITO MAMBO DLX HC $34.95
JAN141126 BLACK BAT #10 $3.99
JAN141127 BLACK BAT #10 TAN SUBSCRIPTION CVR $3.99
MAR141444 BLEACH 3IN1 TP VOL 08 $14.99
MAR140886 CALIBAN #2 (MR) $3.99
MAR140888 CALIBAN #2 TERROR CVR (MR) $3.99
MAR140887 CALIBAN #2 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
MAR141031 CHAOS #1 BLANK AUTHENTIX CVR $3.99
MAR141028 CHAOS #1 CVR A SEELEY $3.99
MAR141029 CHAOS #1 CVR B LUPACCHINO $3.99
MAR141027 CHAOS #1 MAIN CVR CAMPBELL $3.99
MAR141445 CLAYMORE GN VOL 24 $9.99
FEB141297 CLOCKWORK GAME GN $19.95
FEB141281 COMPLETE PEANUTS HC VOL 21 1991-1992 $29.99
MAR141166 COMPLETE PEANUTS TP VOL 01 1950-1952 $22.99
MAR140926 CRITTER (ONGOING) #20 $1.00
MAR140876 CROSSED BADLANDS #53 (MR) $3.99
MAR140879 CROSSED BADLANDS #53 FATAL FANTASY CVR (MR) $3.99
MAR140878 CROSSED BADLANDS #53 TORTURE CVR (MR) $3.99
MAR140877 CROSSED BADLANDS #53 WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
FEB141112 DARWINS DIARIES GN VOL 02 DEATH OF BEAST $13.95
OCT131001 DAY MEN PEN & INK #1 $9.99
FEB148400 DEAD LETTERS #1 (2ND PTG) $3.99
MAR140955 DEAD LETTERS #2 $3.99
JAN131129 DF UNCANNY X-MEN #1 CGC GRADED 9.8 $99.99
JAN131130 DF UNCANNY X-MEN #2 CGC GRADED 9.8 $99.99
NOV131064 DF WALKING DEAD #115 MIDNIGHT RELEASE CGC GRADED $99.99
FEB141121 EPIC #1 $3.99
MAR140869 FATHOM KIANI VOL 3 #3 DIRECT MARKET CVR A $3.99
MAR140870 FATHOM KIANI VOL 3 #3 DIRECT MARKET CVR B $3.99
JAN140836 FEMINIST BUT GN COMICS ABOUT WOMEN $20.00
MAR141003 GARFIELD #25 $4.99
FEB140898 GET FUZZY TREASURY TP JERKTASTIC PARK $18.99
MAR141505 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #97 A CVR REI (AOFD) (MR) $2.99
MAR141506 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #97 B CVR CAFARO (AOFD) (MR) $2.99
MAR141507 GFT GRIMM FAIRY TALES #97 C CVR GARZA (AOFD) (MR) $2.99
MAR140900 GOD IS DEAD #12 (MR) $3.99
MAR140901 GOD IS DEAD #12 CARNAGE WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99
MAR140902 GOD IS DEAD #12 END OF DAYS CVR (MR) $3.99
MAR140903 GOD IS DEAD #12 ICONIC CVR (MR) $3.99
MAR141366 HEY MISTER COME HELL OR HIGHWATER PANTS GN (MR) $14.95
MAR141449 HIGH SCHOOL DEBUT 3IN1 TP VOL 02 $14.99
FEB141630 KLINGON ART OF WAR HC $25.99
FEB141028 LIBERATOR EARTH CRISIS #2 (MR) $3.99
FEB141117 LUCKY LUKE TP VOL 45 TYING THE KNOT $11.95
MAR141447 MIDNIGHT SECRETARY GN VOL 05 (MR) $9.99
NOV130983 MISS FURY #10 CVR A TAN $3.99
NOV130984 MISS FURY #10 CVR B SYAF $3.99
NOV130985 MISS FURY #10 CVR C WORLEY $3.99
NOV130986 MISS FURY #10 CVR D CALERO $3.99
MAR141443 NARUTO 3IN1 TP VOL 08 $14.99
JAN140956 NECROMANTICAL #1 $3.99
MAR141442 NISEKOI FALSE LOVE GN VOL 03 $9.99
MAR141450 OTOMEN GN VOL 18 $9.99
FEB141119 PANDORA BOX GN VOL 04 GREED (MR) $11.95
MAR141451 PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE GN VOL 02 $10.99
MAR141311 POKEMON ADVENTURES GN VOL 22 RUBY SAPPHIRE $9.99
MAR141438 PSYREN GN VOL 16 $9.99
MAR141452 RANMA 1/2 2IN1 TP VOL 02 $14.99
JAN141107 RED SONJA #9 FRISON CVR $3.99
JAN141108 RED SONJA #9 HANS CVR $3.99
MAR140970 REVELATIONS #5 (MR) $3.99
FEB141018 REX ZOMBIE KILLER #4 $3.50
MAR141410 SHADOWMAN TP VOL 04 FEAR BLOOD SHADOWS $14.99
JAN140966 SHAHRAZAD #5 $3.50
MAR141300 SIXTH GUN #40 $3.99
MAR141448 STROBE EDGE GN VOL 10 $9.99
JAN140837 SUGAR BOOGER #2 $5.95
MAR140964 SUICIDE RISK #13 $3.99
JAN141152 THE LONE RANGER #24 $3.99
FEB141120 THORGAL GN VOL 15 CAGE $11.95
MAR141052 TUROK DINOSAUR HUNTER #4 $3.99
FEB148375 USAGI YOJIMBO TP VOL 03 WANDERERS ROAD $16.99
MAR141446 VAMPIRE KNIGHT TP VOL 18 $9.99
MAR141095 VAMPIRELLA SOUTHERN GOTHIC TP $19.99
FEB141321 WHITE LAMA HC (MR) $39.95
MAR140952 WOODS #1 MAIN CVRS $3.99
FEB140937 WORLD OF ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #39 $3.99
JAN141284 WWE ONGOING #4 $3.99

MAGAZINES
MAR141601 COMIC SHOP NEWS #1403 PI
FEB141632 DC BATMAN AUTOMOBILIA FIG COLL MAG #32 LEGENDS OF THE DARK K $20.00
FEB141636 DC SUPERHERO CHESS FIG COLL MAG #57 ATROCITUS BLACK BISHOP $16.00
FEB141661 DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #472 $9.99
MAR141610 FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #265 HOBBIT CVR $9.99
FEB141647 ILLUSTRATORS MAGAZINE #6 $24.99
JAN141532 MARVEL CHESS FIG COLL MAG #6 CAPTAIN AMERICA WHITE KING $16.00
FEB141638 MARVEL CHESS FIG COLL MAG #7 RED SKULL BLACK KING $16.00
NOV131455 MEGAMI FEB 2014 $16.60
NOV131456 NEWTYPE FEB 2014 $16.00
FEB141666 SCREAM MAGAZINE #23 (MR) $8.99

BOOKS
FEB140897 COMPLETE CUL DE SAC SC BOXED SET $75.00
MAR141574 DOC SAVAGE NEW ADV SC VOL 07 PHANTOM LAGOON $24.95
DEC131415 DOCTOR WHO WHENS THE DOCTOR SC $7.99
FEB141621 EIJI TSUBURAYA MASTER OF MONSTERS SC $29.95
JAN141512 GODZILLA LIGHT & SOUND MINIATURE BOOK KIT $12.95
MAR141349 WEAPONS MASS DIPLOMACY GN $24.95


Saturday, September 29, 2012

Book Review: Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots

METAL GEAR SOLID: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS
VIZ MEDIA/Haikasoru - @VIZMedia; @haikasoru

AUTHOR: Project Itoh
TRANSLATION: Nathan Collins
COVER: Yoji Shinkawa with Kam Li (designer)
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4001-6; paperback, Rated “T” for “Teen”
364pp, B&W, $15.99 U.S., $18.99 CAN, £9.99 UK

Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots is a novel tie-in to the 2004 Playstation 3 video game, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Guns of the Patriots is an entry in the stealth video games series, Metal Gear, which was created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. The novel is written by Project Itoh, which was the penname of the late Japanese science fiction author, Satoshi Ito (Genocidal Organ).

Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots is the latest episode in the bullet-ridden adventures of Solid Snake, the legendary infiltrator and saboteur. A crack soldier, Solid Snake (or simply, “Snake”) is part of a worldwide nanotechnology network known as the Sons of the Patriots (SOP). The SOP system is a network that controls soldiers via the nanomachines inside their bodies. Time is running out for Snake because he is a clone, and he will soon succumb to the FOXDIE virus (which is programmed to selectively kill specific people). Before he dies, however, Snake will end up spreading the disease to nearly everyone he encounters, in essence becoming a walking biological weapon.

Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots is set in a time when the world economy relies on continuous war. This war is fought by private military corporations (PMCs), which outnumber government military forces. PMC soldiers are equipped with nanomachines that enhance their abilities on the battlefield, and are thus controlled by the SOP system. Snake’s enemy, Liquid Ocelot (or simply “Liquid”), is preparing to hijack the SOP network, and whoever controls SOP controls the world. With the help of Dr. Hal “Otacon” Emmerich (who is also this story’s narrator) and a host of old friends and “frenemies,” Snakes races around the world from jungle to desert and from the frozen tundra to the ocean to stop Liquid.

Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots is a light novel, a style of Japanese novel apparently aimed at middle school and high school students, but Guns of the Patriots will interest older readers. This video game tie-in is military science fiction and alternate history fiction. At least as far as I can remember, it’s the best military science fiction combination alternate history book that I’ve read to date. I certainly enjoyed it more than my first military/alternate history sci-fi experience, S.M. Stirling’s perplexing Marching Through Georgia.

Rather than offering some mere action novel, author Project Itoh presents a blend of character drama and political commentary. The author even explains why the idea of equality is actually the cause of war, death, and destruction. Don’t get me wrong: there are some good action set pieces here, and Nathan Collins’ translation deftly captures Itoh’s multiple flavors of battle action. However, Itoh’s novel is a critical look at war, from the perspectives of global economics, international politics, history, technology, culture, and society. This is all played out as character drama with a group of characters in the present and with another group of characters that only exist in the back story or in the novel’s past (many of them dead) whose actions are of perpetual consequence.

When I asked my VIZ Media representative for a copy of this book for review, I did so because something told me that it would be an interesting read. Maybe, it was just a lucky guess, but I was right. Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots is solid, indeed.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


Friday, March 23, 2012

VIZ Media Presents "The Navidad Incident"

VIZ MEDIA’S HAIKASORU IMPRINT RELEASES AWARD WINNING NOVEL THE NAVIDAD INCIDENT: THE DOWNFALL OF MATIAS GUILI

A Modern Classic Of Magical Realism And Political Satire That Reinvents Myths Of 20th Century Japan

VIZ Media’s Haikasoru imprint has announced the release today of author Natsuki Ikezawa’s surrealistic novel, THE NAVIDAD INCIDENT: THE DOWNFALL OF MATIAS GUILI. The book is published by the company’s Haikasoru imprint and carries an MSRP of $24.99 U.S. / $28.99 CAN / £16.99 UK. An eBook edition is also available on the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, the Barnes & Noble’s Nook Books Store, and the Sony Reader™ Store.

Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences, and is the first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.

In this sweeping magical-realist epic set in the fictional south sea island Republic of Navidad, Ikezawa gives his imagination free rein to reinvent the myths of the twentieth century Japan. The story takes off as a delegation of Japanese war veterans pays an official visit to the ex-World War II colony, only to see the Japanese flag burst into flames. The following day, the tour bus and its passengers simply vanish. The locals exchange absurd rumors – the bus was last seen attending Catholic mass, the bus must have skipped across the lagoon – but the president suspects a covert guerrilla organization is trying to undermine his connections with Japan. Can the real answers to the mystery be found, or will the president have to be content with the surreal answers?

“Natsuki Ikezawa crafts an engrossing story that combines charmingly surreal set pieces, traditional fantasy tropes such as ghosts, with a story of international politics,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru Editor. “We invite readers to take the journey to the mysterious nation of Navidad and uncover the truth behind these unexplained occurrences in this newest release from Haikasoru!”

Author Natsuki Ikezawa was born in Hokkaido, Japan in 1945 and was formerly enrolled at Saitama University before leaving to become a poet and author. Presently, he writes fiction and literary criticism and is also an active public speaker. Several of his works including STILL LIVES and A BURDEN OF FLOWERS have been published in English. In 1993, THE NAVIDAD INCIDENT: THE DOWNFALL OF MATIAS GUILI was the winner of the prestigious Tanizaki Jun’ichiro Prize.

To read an excerpt of THE NAVIDAD INCIDENT, please visit: http://www.scribd.com/doc/84566677/The-Navidad-Incident-The-Downfall-of-Matias-Guili

To enter to win a copy of THE NAVIDAD INCIDENT, please visit: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/18397-the-navidad-incident-the-downfall-of-matias-guili

For more information on THE NAVIDAD INCIDENT and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at http://www.haikasoru.com/.


Monday, March 12, 2012

Book Review: MM9

MM9
VIZ MEDIA/Haikasoru

AUTHOR: Hiroshi Yamamoto
TRANSLATION: Nathan Collins
COVER: Izumi Evers
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4089-4; paperback, Rated “T” for “Teen”
256pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S., $16.99 CAN, £9.99 UK

Hiroshi Yamamoto began his career as a video game writer, designer, and developer. As a fiction writer, he created the Ghost Hunter series and gained acclaim for his science fiction novel, God Never Sleeps. 2010 saw the publication of his novel, The Stories of Ibis, in English. In January 2012, Haikasoru, an imprint of VIZ Media, published a second Yamamoto novel in English.

Originally released in Japan in 2007, MM9 is a science fiction novel composed of five interconnected short stories. MM9 follows the challenging labor of a Japanese unit that fights giant monsters called “kaiju.” The kaiju are monsters/creatures of the Godzilla, 50-Foot Woman, and giant plant variety.

MMD is an acronym for Monsterological Measures Department, a special unit under the Meteorological Agency. The MMD is a special anti-monster unit in Japan that deals with “natural disasters of a high ‘monster magnitude.’” “Monster magnitude” is a measure and designation related to the size of a monster and how much damage it can cause with MM9 being the most powerful and most dangerous kaiju.

The stories follow the members of the MMD as they fight various kaiju. There is Ryo Haida, a top member of the MMD’s Mobile Unit, and Sakura Fujisawa, a soft-hearted young woman and a specialist of Mobile Unit, Vehicles and Transportation, and she’s actually a whiz at driving to avoid monsters. Yojiro Muromachi, Mobile Unit, Director, keeps these two in line and on the job. Yuri Anno is the resident astrophysicist, but she sometimes feels out of place. Department Chief Shoichi Kurihama sweats the details and the small stuff, but when he really needs to be in control, he’s the ultimate take-charge guy who can manage a crisis as well as anyone.

In the opening story, “Crisis! Kaiju Alert!,” a sea-based kaiju threatens Japan, but nothing about the way this kaiju moves or its composition makes sense. The MMD will have to solve this mystery in time to save the coast of Japan. In “Danger! Girl at Large!,” meet Princess, the girl who is taller than a five-story building… and growing. Is she really a kaiju or a science experiment? Sakura will put her life on the line to get all the answers. In “Menace! Attack of the Flying Kaiju,” Ryo Haida and his date, Eiko Hamaguchi, find their night-out interrupted by a radioactive, flying kaiju with Tokyo on its mind.

A TV camera crew follows the MMD in “Scoop! Twenty-Four Hours with the MMD!.” All is quite, but a plant menace may turn a documentary special into a disaster movie. In “Arrival! The Colossal Kaiju of the Apocalypse!,” meet the kaiju with an ages-old mystery of history behind it. And it may also be the end of the world as we know it.

In the eight years that I have written reviews for the Comic Book Bin, publishers have sent me copies of their manga titles for review. Sometimes, they also send copies of the light novels they publish.

I was surprised to find that the MM9 novel is not like other light novels, if it can be labeled a light novel, at all. Middle and high school students that already read novels can comprehend this, but while MM9’s subject matter is light (giant monsters), Yamamoto executes it in an inventive manner, which shows that he clearly intends on engaging adult readers.

Hiroshi Yamamoto’s novel shares elements and ideas similar to the Men in Black film franchise and Warren Ellis and John Cassaday’s Planetary. MM9 is a high concept like the former and a deeper excursion into subgenres like the latter. This is not just a novel about giant monsters and the characters that fight them. This is also science fantasy; in the sense that Yamamoto takes fantasy, mythology, and real-life faith and belief systems and builds a scientific structure in which the natural and supernatural are not opposites, but are related. They are part of the human condition and part of our history.

MM9 is smarter than you think, because you might think an author would not put so much thought into a novel about a special agency that fights giant monsters. On a scale of 1 to 10, MM9 won’t even settle for 9.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


Friday, January 20, 2012

Japanese Science Ficiton Novel, MM9, Also an eBook

NATURAL DISASTERS OF HIGH “MONSTER MAGNITUDE” THREATEN JAPAN IN MM9, NEW FROM VIZ MEDIA’S HAIKASORU IMPRINT

Special Team Of Scientists Must Save Japan In A Gripping New Novel From The Author Of THE STORIES OF IBIS

VIZ Media’s Haikasoru imprint brings a fantastic new tale of science fiction and giant monsters to North American readers with the release of Hiroshi Yamamoto’s novel MM9, available now. The release will carry an MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN. An eBook edition is also available on the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, the Barnes & Noble’s Nook Books Store, and the Sony Reader™ Store for $8.99.

Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences, and is the first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.

The Japan of MM9 is beset by natural disasters all the time: typhoons, earthquakes...and giant monster attacks. A special anti-monster unit called the Meteorological Agency Monsterological Measures Department (MMD) has been formed to deal with natural disasters of high “monster magnitude.” The work is challenging, the public is hostile, and the monsters are hungry, but the MMD crew has science, teamwork...and a legendary secret weapon on their side. Together, will try and save Japan, and the universe!

“Hiroshi Yamamoto takes on the perennial Japanese science fiction theme—the giant monsters known as kaiju,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru Editor. “The B-movie monsters we know and love are basically treated like meteorological disasters along the lines of hurricanes or earthquakes by the MMD, who measures the “monster magnitude” of the various threats and uses both science and folkloric knowledge to try to save Japan from constant repeated attack. Yamamoto knows his science as well as pop culture—MM9 is both a loving parody of Japanese icons like Ultraman and Godzilla, but gives an intriguing and wild answer to the question of how such enormous creatures could exist without the laws of physics kicking it. The book was very popular in Japan, and the cinematic nature of Yamamoto’s storytelling made it easy for Japanese television to adapt into an action-adventure- science fiction TV show.”

Hiroshi Yamamoto was born in 1956 in Kyoto, Japan. He began his career as a writer and game designer with the game development company Group SNE in 1987. He gained initial popularity with titles such as February at the Edge of Time and the Ghost Hunter series. His first hardcover science fiction release, God Never Keeps Silent, became a sensation among readers and was nominated for the Japan SF Award. Other novels include Day of Judgment and The Unseen Sorrow of Winter and THE STORIES OF IBIS (which is published in North America by VIZ Media’s Haikasoru). Aside from his work as a writer, Yamamoto is also active in various literary organizations as an editor of classic science fiction anthologies and as president of To-Gakkai, a group of tongue-in-cheek "experts" on the occult.

For more information on MM9 and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at http://www.haikasoru.com/.


Monday, November 28, 2011

Ryu Mitsuse's "Ten Billion Days" Available for Kindle and Nook

JOURNEY ON A COSMIC ADVENTURE BLENDING PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, HUMAN EVOLUTION AND THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE IN TEN BILLION DAYS AND ONE HUNDRED BILLION NIGHTS

New Novel From VIZ Media’s Haikasoru Imprint Called The Greatest Japanese Science Fiction Novel Of All Time

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, has announced the availability of the acclaimed novel, TEN BILLION DAYS AND ONE HUNDRED BILLION NIGHTS, by author Ryu Mitsuse. The hardcover book is published by the company’s Haikasoru imprint and carries an MSRP of $25.99 U.S. / $29.99 CAN. The eBook edition is also available on the Amazon Kindle, the Nook, and Apple’s iBooks Store for $9.99.

Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences, and is the first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.

In TEN BILLION DAYS AND ONE HUNDRED BILLION NIGHTS, the philosopher Plato, in his exploration of the ruins of the fabled city of Atlantis, travels through time and space to determine the secret history of the human race, encountering Christ, the Buddha, and other iconic religious figures on the way. This celebrated novel of philosophy and the future has been named the greatest Japanese science fiction novel of all time.

“TEN BILLION DAYS AND ONE HUNDRED BILLION NIGHTS won the title of the greatest Japanese science fiction title ever written in a 2006 poll by Science Fiction magazine,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru’s Editor. “The novel, which comes with a striking glow-in-the-dark dust jacket, delivers a cosmic adventure in the style of Arthur C. Clarke, covering the evolution of humanity, the lives of some of history’s most iconic religious figures, a future techno-dystopia, and the very death of the universe itself. Originally published in 1967, author Ryu Mitsuse revised the novel in later years and republished it in 1973. We’re truly honored to finally release this masterpiece to North American readers.”

Born in Tokyo in 1928, Ryu Mitsuse graduated from Tokyo University of Education with a degree in the sciences, after which he took up the study of philosophy. He debuted with “Sunny Sea 1979” in 1962, and his work—which often combines Eastern philosophy and hard science fiction—includes Tasogare ni kaeru (Returns in the Twilight) and Ushinawareta toshi no kiroku (The Chronicle of a Lost City). Mitsuse made SF history when his short story “The Sunset, 2217 A.D.” was translated into English for inclusion in Best Science Fiction for 1972. With artist Keiko Takemiya, he created the manga Andromeda Stories. Ryu Mitsuse died in 1999.

For more information on TEN BILLION DAYS AND ONE HUNDRED BILLION NIGHTS and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit http://www.haikasoru.com/.


Thursday, March 17, 2011

Rocket Girls: The Last Planet Now on Shelves

VIZ MEDIA’S HAIKASORU IMPRINT LAUNCHES A NEW OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD ADVENTURE WITH ROCKET GIRLS: THE LAST PLANET
 
Latest Paperback Novel Brings The Next Exciting Space Mission In The ROCKET GIRLS Series To North American Readers

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the release today of author Housuke Nojiri’s science fiction adventure, ROCKET GIRLS: THE LAST PLANET. The new paperback edition is the second in the ROCKET GIRLS series, is published under the company’s Haikasoru imprint, and carries an MSRP of $13.99 U.S. / $15.99 CAN.

Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences. The imprint is the first to launch in North America with a dedicated focus on Japanese science fiction.

When the Rocket Girls accidentally splash down in the pond of Yukari Morita's old school, it looks as though their experiment is ruined. Luckily, the geeky Akane is there to save the day. Fitting the profile – she's intelligent, enthusiastic, and petite – Akane is soon recruited by the Solomon Space Association. Yukari and Akane are then given the biggest Rocket Girl mission yet: to do what NASA astronauts cannot and save a probe headed to the minor planet Pluto and the very edge of the solar system.

“We’re very excited to announce the release of the latest installment of the ROCKET GIRLS series from the award-winning author Housuke Nojiri,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru editor. “It’s the perfect combination of hard science fiction and teenage hijinks—a novel that harkens back to the Golden Age of science fiction while being hip and fresh. We’ve heard from so many fans about the original ROCKET GIRLS, and look forward to readers jumping on board to find out what happens when the Girls help out, and butt heads with, no less than NASA itself.”

Author Housuke Nojiri was born in Mie, Japan, in 1961. After working in instrumentation control, CAD programming, and game design, he published his first work, The Blind Spot of Veis, based on the video game Creguian, in 1992. He gained further popularity with subsequent works the Creguian series and also for the ROCKET GIRLS series. In 2002, he published USURPER OF THE SUN (also available from Haikasoru), which ushered in a new era of space science fiction in Japan. After first appearing as a series of short stories, USURPER won the prestigious Seiun Award for the best Japanese science fiction novel of 2002. His other notable works include Pendulum of Pinieru and Fuwa-Fuwa no Izumi.

For more information on ROCKET GIRLS: THE LAST PLANET and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at http://www.haikasoru.com/.


Friday, November 19, 2010

VIZ Media Releases New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novels



VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES NOVEMBER HAIKASORU IMPRINT RELEASES
 
The Hard Science Fiction THE OUROBOROS WAVE And Fantasy DRAGON SWORD AND WIND CHILD Are Perfect for Holiday Gifting
 
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, releases today a pair of riveting novels under its Haikasoru imprint– the philosophical hard science fiction title THE OUROBOROS WAVE by Jyouji Hayashi, and the paperback edition of the hit heroic fantasy DRAGON SWORD AND WIND CHILD by Noriko Ogiwara.

Haikasoru is a unique imprint with a dedicated focus on publishing some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy for English-speaking audiences.

THE OUROBOROS WAVE by Jyouji Hayashi; Price: $14.99 U.S. / CAN $19.99 • Available Now!

Ninety years from now, a satellite detects a nearby black hole scientists dub Kali for the Hindu goddess of destruction. As human society expands to Mars and beyond, the generations-long project to harness the power of the black hole pits the retrograde humans of Earth against the imminently rational men and women of the Artificial Accretion Disk Development association. While conflicts simmer, a mystery within Kali itself tests the limits of intelligence—that of both human and machine.

Jyouji Hiyashi was born in Hokkaido in 1962. Having worked as a clinical laboratory technician, Jyouji Hiyashi debuted as a writer in 1995 with his cowritten Dai Nihon Teikoku Oushu Dengeki Sakusen. His popularity grew with the Shonetsu no Hatou series and the Heitai Gensui Oushu Senki series – both military fiction backed by real historical perspectives. Beginning in 2000, he consecutively released Kioku Osen, Shinryakusha no Heiwa, and Ankoku Taiyo no Mezame, stories that combine scientific speculation and sociological investigations. He continues to write and act as a flag-bearer for a new generation of hard SF.

DRAGON SWORD AND WIND CHILD by Noriko Ogiwara; Price: $13.99 U.S. / CAN $18.99 • Available Now!

The forces of the God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness have waged a ruthless war across the land of Toyoashihara for generations. But for fifteen-year-old Saya, the war is far away—until the day she discovers that she is the reincarnation of the Water Maiden and a princess of the Children of the Dark. Raised to love the Light and detest the Dark, Saya must come to terms with her heritage even as she tumbles into the very heart of the conflict that is destroying her country. The Light and Dark both seek to claim her, for she is the only mortal who can awaken the legendary Dragon Sword, the fearsome weapon destined to bring an end to the war. Can Saya make the dreadful choice between the Light and Dark, or is she doomed—like all the Water Maidens who came before her…?

Noriko Ogiwara was inspired to write by the classic Western children's books she read as she was growing up. Dragon Sword and Wind Child is her first book, part of the award winning Magatama Trilogy. The second book of the Magatama Trilogy, Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince will be also available from Haikasoru in May 2011. Her other books include The Good Witch of the West and Fuujin Hisho. Ms. Ogiwara makes her home in Japan.

For more information on Haikasoru, please visit the dedicated website at http://www.haikasoru.com/.

Monday, July 19, 2010

VIZ Media Announces Three Sci-Fi Novels

VIZ MEDIA DELIVERS SIZZLING SUMMER READING WITH THREE NEW HAIKASORU RELEASES

The Best In Critically Acclaimed Japanese Science Fiction And Fantasy Continues To Shine In New Releases From VIZ Media’s Haikasoru Imprint

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, will deliver out-of-this-world summer science fiction and fantasy reading with the release of three new novels under its Haikasoru imprint this summer – HARMONY by Project Itoh, ROCKET GIRLS by Housuke Nojiri and SUMMER, FIREWORKS, AND MY CORPSE by Otsuichi.

Haikasoru is a unique imprint with a dedicated focus on publishing some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy for English-speaking audiences.

HARMONY by Project Itoh Price: $14.99 U.S. / CAN $19.99 • Available July 20th

In the distant future, Utopia has finally been achieved thanks to medical nanotechnology and a powerful ethic of social welfare and mutual consideration. But this perfect world isn't that perfect, and three young girls stand up to totalitarian kindness and super-medicine by attempting suicide via starvation. It doesn't work, but one of the girls – Tuan Kirie – grows up to be a member of the World Health Organization. As a crisis threatens the harmony of the new world, Tuan rediscovers another member of her suicide pact, and together they must help save the planet ... from itself.

Keikaku (Project) Itoh was born in Tokyo in 1974 and graduated from Musashino Art University. In 2007, he debuted with Genocidal Organs and took first prize in the "Best SF of 2007" in Japan’s SF Magazine. Itoh is also the author of Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots, a Japanese-language novel based on the popular video game series. After a long battle with cancer, Itoh passed away in March 2009. He wrote HARMONY while in the hospital receiving treatment for the disease.

ROCKET GIRLS by Housuke Nojiri Price: $13.99 U.S. / CAN $18.99 • Available September 21st

Yukari Morita is a high school girl on a quest to find her missing father. While searching for him in the Solomon Islands, she receives the offer of a lifetime. She'll receive the help she needs to find her father, and all she must do in return is become the world's youngest, lightest astronaut. Yukari and her half sister Matsuri, both petite, are the perfect crew and payload for the Solomon Space Association's rocket launches, or they will be once they complete some rigorous and sometimes dangerous training.

Housuke Nojiri was born in Mie, Japan, in 1961. After working in instrumentation control, CAD programming and video game design, he published his first work in 1992, The Blind Spot of Veis, based on the video game Creguian. He gained further popularity with his subsequent works including the Creguian series and the Rocket Girl series. In 2002, he published USURPER OF THE SUN (published in English by Haikasoru in 2009) and ushered in a new era of science fiction in Japan. After first appearing as a series of short stories, USURPER went on to win the prestigious Seiun Award for Best Japanese Science Fiction Novel of 2002. Nojiri’s other works include Pendulum of Pinieru and Fuwa-Fuwa no Izumi.

SUMMER, FIREWORKS, AND MY CORPSE by Otsuichi Price: $14.99 U.S. / CAN $19.99 Available September 21st

Two short novels, including the title story and Black Fairy Tale, plus a bonus short story. Summer is the simple story of a nine-year-old girl who dies while on summer vacation. While her youthful killers try to hide her body, she tells us the story--from the point of view of her dead body--of the children's attempt to get away with murder. Black Fairy Tale is classic J-horror: a young girl loses an eye in an accident but receives a transplant. Now she can see again, but what she sees out of her new left eye is the experiences and memories of its previous owner. Its previous deceased owner.

Born 1978 in Fukuoka, Japan, Otsuichi won the Sixth Jump Short Fiction/Nonfiction Prize when he was seventeen with his debut story "Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse." Now recognized as one of the most talented young fantasy/horror writers in Japan, his other English-language works include the short story collection Calling You and the Honkaku Mystery Prize-winning novel Goth.

For more information on Haikasoru, please visit the dedicated website at http://www.haikasoru.com/.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

VIZ Media Adds Four Novels to Haikasoru Imprint

VIZ Media announces the upcoming release of four new science fiction novels under its Haikasoru imprint:


SLUM ONLINE, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, and THE STORIES OF IBIS, by Hiroshi Yamamoto, will hit stores on April 20th.

LOUPS-GAROUS, by Natsuhiko Kyogoku, and THE NEXT CONTINENT, by Issui Ogawa, will be released on May 18th.