I recently went to a convention and noticed in my little goodie bag, a fascinating piece of literature that should have been thought of earlier-a book with sneak peeks of different manga titles from TOKYOPOP, a popular import company that has changed the face of the manga industry.
Since, TOKYOPOP puts out 100’s of titles a month, those with a limited budget, may find it hard to decide which ones to read. Some are a given, some just aren’t really for me, but some are forgotten and shouldn’t be. That’s when these new preview books come in handy. Each preview book, which can also be bought in bookstores and other locations, contains approximately ten different titles to take a look at.
Already, several titles have peaked (pun intended) my interest. Confidential Confessions is a manga that deals with hard hitting issues teens face today, from teen prostitution, rape, HIV, stalkers, suicide, sexual harassment and in the small preview I read, the horrible addiction to cutting. I also learned that I like Escaflowne, which I thought would be too girlish for me, has a shonen version for us men to enjoy. Cool!
Zodiac P.I. is about a private investigator that uses astrology to solve crimes that joins with a gifted detective to solve crimes, was a surprise for me. I never heard of this new age CSI tale, but thanks to the Sneak Peeks, I want to check this series out!
King Hell seemed stupid to me at first, was actually an enjoyable read. It’s hilarious, like when a messenger from the next world prepares to take a dead man away, he mocks him and the dead man gives him the finger. Dragon Hunter looks cool, Samurai Deeper Kyo has a lot of action, Pet Shop of Horrors looks as good as the anime and Gravitation seems promising. Also, Demon Diary, a bout a girl who is learning to become a demon, looks funny and Reality Check was just too odd for me.
Other titles included, Shaolin Sisters, which could be the Charlie’s Angels of karate…oh and it has a good story, too and Rebound expands on the old Harlem Beat saga that I loved in college. Finally, Between the Sheets actually sounds like a fun look at love - a Sex in the City-type manga. Many of these tales I may have never given a second look and would have passed up on for more established books due to money constraints. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to review these titles before I went out and bought them.
One suggestion; I would rather have less titles, so I can have more of a preview from each tale. Some of the Sneak Peeks were too short to warrant a decision. I was left unsure and I just needed more. I’m not asking for the whole story; that’s stupid from an economic standpoint, but from the same standpoint, giving us a little more to go on could be the difference between a sale and us moving on to another.
Send comments and questions about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.