Library Wars: Love and War Volume 1 by Kiiro Yumi YP FIC YUMI

The government of Japan has set up the Media Betterment Committee to police all forms of media for appropriateness.  In response the Library Defense Force is formed to defend books and freedom of choice for all people.  A war of words soon leads to a battle of arms.  Iku Kasahara was inspired by a chance encounter with an officer of the LDF to join the fight. Now she trains her hardest to make her mystery mentor proud by being the first female member of the LDF, but is undercut at every turn by her hard driving drill instructor Dojo.  But sometimes she sees a softer side of Dojo, what does it mean and where is she supposed to find the Genealogy books?

Of course I had to read a shojo manga about heroic librarians.  And while I may be biased, I think this one has a lot to offer shojo fans.  The characters and romantic plot are somewhat typical, but the setting is fun and very unique.  I love the focus on the devotion to preserve knowledge and art (any librarian’s true calling!).  The passion the character’s feel adds a level of humanity to the book.  These people have a truly noble goal and it made me like them a great deal more than the average shojo cast.  I look forward to further volumes where we can hopefully see more actual conflict between the LDF and the MBC.  Check it out if you love libraries and/or shojo.

P.S.  this is a very realistic account of library life.  We fight wars and fall in love with each other all the time for reals ya’ll.

Will Super Villains be on the Final” Liberty Vocational Volume 1 by Naomi Novik Illustrated by Yishan Li

Leah Taymore is just trying to make it through her first day at college without getting expelled. Liberty Vocational is the premiere college for training super heroes, but Leah isn’t so sure she can hack it. She has an amazing power (the power to manipulate atoms, the very building block of all creation!!!), but hasn’t quite mastered it yet. Meanwhile, there are dastardly deeds afoot as the world’s worst super villain is hiding on campus as the new ethics teacher! And worst of all, she totally has a super crush on an older boy and he doesn’t notice her at all!

This is a nice fun and light manga that will certainly appeal to shojo fans. I don’t think most fans of traditional super hero fare will be interested in this one, because the super heroing is done mainly for humor and there isn’t any ‘action’ in the traditional sense. It’s always weird seeing something like super heroes in shojo, because super heroes are usually bulky and muscular and shojo is filled with rail thin pretty boys with gorgeous hair. In fact the author originally wanted Leah to be drawn tall and muscular and her empathy friend Yuzuna to be plump, but the artist let her know that shojo has certain rules. I have to say that’s a little disappointing. I think the book would stand out more if the creators had been braver and taken risks. However, the jokes play out well, the main character is fun and likeable, a super hero school is a fun idea (if not terribly original by this point), and it should please the shojo die hards.

A Perfect Day for Love Letters by George Asakura YP FIC ASAKURA

Five manga stories of anonymous love letters and the bonds that are formed from them. A young librarian hunts in books for hidden love letters from an unlikely source, a girl finds a love letter from the toughest guy in school, anonymous love letters help a troubled young woman confront the past, a girl tries to solve the mystery of a love letter with several suspects, and a mailman sends love letters to help a blind woman come back to life.

This is pretty straight forward shojo (romance comics) fare. Boys and girls that seem to hate each other at first fall in love, love seem impossible but overcomes the odds, love is the most important thing ever!!!, etc. The art is good with a straightforward style that will be familiar to any manga fan, but not exceptional. None of the characters are very deep, because they are only around for one comic a piece. That being said, even though this is a straight forward shojo manga that doesn’t do much new, it is still a really good read. The stories all move very quickly, but they don’t feel rushed. Shojo fans should find themselves liking these characters and rooting for them. What makes it work best is that if you don’t like a particular story it’s over fast! So while it will be unlikey to win over any shojo haters, the shojo fans should dig it!