The Manga Critic’s 2010 Holiday Gift Guide

This year’s gift guide is aimed squarely at all the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, babysitters, and older cousins who’d like to share their love of manga with a younger reader, but aren’t entirely sure what’s appropriate for elementary or middle school students. Below, I’ve highlighted a variety of titles for kids fourteen and under, dividing the list into two broad categories: elementary school readers (roughly ages 4-10) and tweens/young teens (roughly ages 10-14). I’ve focused primarily on short series — five volumes or fewer — that are in print, complete, and readily available through major retailers such as Amazon; whenever possible, I’ve identified value-priced editions of older series. If you have questions about the content or reading level of any of the titles listed below, please don’t hesitate to ask. And if you have your own recommendations, feel free to share them in the comments below.

FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL READERS

HAPPY HAPPY CLOVER
By Sayuri Tatsuyama • VIZ • 5 volumes • $7.99/volume

If Beatrix Potter had been a manga-ka instead of a proper Edwardian lady, she might have produced something like Happy Happy Clover, a charming series about a spunky rabbit and her woodland friends. Like Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, Clover has an insatiable curiosity that frequently gets her into trouble, whether she’s looking for the tastiest berries in the forest or trying to steal a carrot from a farmer’s field. Each story has a moral to impart — look before you leap, listen to your elders — but is never didactic or condescending to the reader. Button-cute artwork and gentle humor make this a great choice for young readers. –Originally reviewed at Good Comics for Kids, 12/8/09

LEAVE IT TO PET! THE MISADVENTURES OF A RECYCLED SUPER-ROBOT
By Kenji Sonishi • VIZ • 4 volumes • $7.99/volume

The premise of Leave it to PET! sounds like something dreamed up by a well-meaning group of educators: make recycling seem fun and exciting by writing a comic book about a super-powered robot who began his life as a plastic juice bottle. Though recycling does play a minor part in the ongoing story, Leave it to PET! is actually fun and subversive, as its robot hero turns out to be an inept goofball whose super powers have a tendency to make situations much worse. The jokey script is nicely complemented by bold, simple artwork that’s easy for first-time manga readers to follow — no surprise, given that Leave it to PET! is drawn by Neko Ramen creator Kenji Sonishi. –Originally reviewed at Good Comics for Kids, 12/8/09

MEGA MAN MEGAMIX
By Hitoshi Ariga • UDON Entertainment • 3 volumes • $12.99/volume

I almost never recommend manga based on video games or toys; in too many cases, the comic feels like a lengthy advertisement masquerading as a story. UDON Entertainment’s all-ages Mega Man Megamix is a pleasant exception, a collection of short, fun adventures that draw their inspiration from the popular CAPCOM games but work well on their own terms. The premise may remind older readers of Astro Boy, as it involves a super-powered robot working alongside his human creator. The stories place more emphasis on action and humor than Tezuka’s iconic series, however, while Hitoshi Ariga’s artwork has a more contemporary flavor, suggesting the influence of Akira Toriyama, rather than Walt Disney. A great choice for reluctant readers, especially young male sci-fi fans.

NINJA BASEBALL KYUMA!
By Shunshin Maeda • UDON Entertainment • 3 volumes • $7.99/volume

In this goofy sports comedy, a ninja-in-training is recruited to play baseball for the worst team in a suburban youth league. Kyuma has a terrific throwing arm and a swing to die for, but he has a lot to learn about the game, not least because he interprets every play as an overtly hostile act — and responds according to his martial arts training. The Moonstars’ transformation from Bad News Bears to New York Yankees is gradual enough to seem plausible to even the most seasoned Little League veterans, while the story’s good-natured slapstick and appealing characters are bound to please a variety of grade school audiences, whether or not they’re interested in baseball.

ONE FINE DAY
By Sirial • Yen Press • 3 volumes • $12.99/volume

This whimsical series focuses on a trio of animals who live with an inexperienced magician. To say that nothing happens is a bit of an overstatement, though it is fair to say that the action doesn’t quite rise to the level of plot: the animals bake cookies with their master, do errands at the library and the drugstore, and attempt to hang laundry on the line. If One Fine Day is uneventful from a grown-up’s perspective, it succeeds in creating a playful, inviting atmosphere in which almost anything can — and does — happen: furniture comes to life, chicks parachute from windows. Loose, sketchy artwork and adorable character designs complete the picture. –Originally reviewed at The Manga Critic, 1/24/10

SUGAR PRINCESS: SKATING TO WIN
By Hisaya Nakajo • VIZ • 2 volumes • $8.99/volume

This two-volume series reads like a manga version of The Cutting Edge, pairing a naïve but talented new skater with a jaded champion. Maya is the newbie; though she’s never had a lesson, she’s a quick study, learning complicated jumps and turns from watching TV. Shun, her partner, lost his sister to cancer and can’t stomach the thought of skating with anyone else. Their oil-and-water chemistry undergoes a predictable metamorphosis as they begin preparing for a high-stakes competition that will decide whether their local rink stays open or closes for good. If the story teeters on the brink of implausibility, the characters seem grounded in reality as they juggle schoolwork and training, find the money for costumes and coaches’ fees, and cope with stage fright. Hisaya Nakajo’s clean, simple layouts make the story easy to follow, even for readers unfamiliar with manga’s right-to-left orientation, and her button-cute characters are sure to appeal to young female readers. –Originally reviewed at Good Comics for Kids, 1/23/09

TARO AND THE MAGIC PENCIL
By Sango Morimoto • VIZ • 1 volume • $7.99

Taro and the Magic Pencil falls somewhere between graphic novel and chapter book, using the occasional panel, word balloon, or sound effect to tell the story of a young artist who’s drawn into the cartoon world he created — think Harold and the Magic Crayon meets Dr. Slump. The cute, energetic artwork and appealing script are nicely augmented by a variety of activities, from connect-the-dots to mazes, making Taro and the Magic Pencil a great book for occupying kids during a car ride or plane trip. And if Taro proves a hit with your family, take note: two more Taro books — Taro and the Terror of Eats Street (no, that’s not a typo) and Taro and the Carnival of Doom — will be released next year. –Originally reviewed at Good Comics for Kids, 10/28/10

FOR TWEENS AND YOUNG TEENS

THE ART OF NARUTO: UZUMAKI
By Masashi Kisimoto • VIZ • 1 volume • $19.99

If there’s a Naruto fan in your household, chances are The Art of Naruto: Uzumaki hovers near the top of her wish list. This smart-looking coffee table book includes over 100 pages of full-color images culled from Weekly Shonen Jump, where Naruto has been a fixture since 1999. These reproductions are complemented by an assortment of extras: an appendix describing the inspiration for each illustration, a refreshingly candid interview with manga-ka Masashi Kisimoto, and a step-by-step explanation of how Kisimoto creates a cover. With no character guides or precis of the main story arcs, newcomers won’t glean much useful information from reading Uzumaki, but die-hard fans will be thrilled to find copies under their Hanukkah bushes and Christmas trees this holiday season — assuming, of course, they don’t already own it. –Originally reviewed at PopCultureShock, 10/14/07

CARDCAPTOR SAKURA
By CLAMP • Dark Horse • 1 volume (ongoing) • $19.99

Thanks to Dark Horse, this engaging fantasy-adventure for tween girls is now available again in a brand-new, value-priced edition that looks a like a million bucks. (For readers who missed Cardcaptor Sakura when it was initially released in 2000, the story focuses on plucky fourth-grader Sakura Kinomoto, who inadvertently releases the seal on a set of magical cards. Sakura must then retrieve and subdue the cards, each of which can assume an animate form.) The slightly larger trim size gives CLAMP’s intricate designs a little more breathing room on the page, while a gallery of nearly two dozen full-color, glossy plates showcases the series’ original cover art and intricate costumes. Better still, the new edition presents the story in much larger bites than the previous one, minimizing the total number of volumes to buy.

THE CUTE BOOK
By Aranzi Aronzo • Vertical, Inc. • 1 volume • $12.95

Who are Aranzi Aronzo? Contrary to their website’s introductory page, they are not globetrotting, tambourine-playing salarymen of Norwegian and Vietnamese extraction, but two sisters from Osaka who have made careers of peddling cute-but-edgy products. Their empire includes retail stores in Tokyo and Taipei, a booming online business, and a series of craft books that are equal parts manga and DIY manifesto. The Cute Book, the first of eleven Aranzi titles that Vertical has adapted for Western audiences, features step-by-step instructions for fashioning critters out of materials easily obtained at your local art supply store. The true measure of any how-to book is the ease of the instructions, and The Cute Book scores big points for its user-friendliness. Throughout the book, directions are supplemented with traceable patterns, photographs, and clear illustrations demonstrating a variety of useful knots and stitches. For less experienced crafters, the authors have included needle-less shortcuts, enabling tweens to complete the projects without adult supervision or assistance. –Originally reviewed at PopCultureShock on 9/12/07

DRAGON GIRL
By Toru Fujieda • Yen Press • 1 volume (ongoing) • $19.99/volume

Meet Rinna Aizen. She’s determined to follow in her father’s footsteps, enrolling at the same high school he attended, and joining the onedan, or cheering squad. There’s just one problem: the captain doesn’t want girls on the team, even though Rinna has the infectious enthusiasm and booming voice for leading class cheers. Rinna won’t take no for an answer, however, and campaigns for a spot on the squad. As irresistible and silly as a Sweet Valley High novel, Dragon Girl offers tween and teen girls just the right mixture of comedy, social intrigue, and PG-rated romance with a sprinkling of female empowerment. Volume one, released last month, is an omnibus collecting the first three volumes of the Japanese edition; volume two, which will arrive in stores in February 2011, completes the story.

THE DREAMING: THE COLLECTION
By Queenie Chan • Tokyopop • 1 volume • $19.99

Originally released as three separate volumes, this tween-friendly ghost story unfolds at a boarding school in the Australian outback. When students beginning vanishing into the wilderness, new arrivals Jeannie and Amber Malkin investigate, only to uncover a string of similar disappearances throughout the school’s checkered history. Queenie Chan’s artwork is the real star of The Dreaming, creating a suitably Gothic atmosphere for this supernatural mash-up of mystery, urban legend, and aboriginal folklore. Tokyopop’s new omnibus edition includes some nice extras — a new side story, full-color plates, a lengthy interview with the creator — and costs nearly $10 less than purchasing the three individual volumes. Parents concerned about violent content can rest assured that Chan’s work is much more suggestive than explicit. –Originally reviewed at Good Comics for Kids, 9/8/10

HOLLOW FIELDS OMNIBUS
By Madeline Rosca • Seven Seas • 1 volume • $14.99

Nine-year-old Lucy Snow is bound for the genteel halls of Saint Galbat’s Academy for Young Ladies, but bad directions from a stranger lead her instead to Hollow Fields, a.k.a. Miss Weaver’s Academy for the Scientifically Gifted and Ethically Unfettered. Though Lucy’s gut instinct is to flee, she enrolls at Miss Weaver’s school—after all, the tuition is free and her private room has its own bath. What Lucy discovers is that Miss Weaver has been culling the student body, sending the slackers to a detention center from which no one has returned. Looking at Madeline Rosca’s crisp character designs and steampunk setting, it’s easy to see why Hollow Fields nabbed an International Manga Award in 2007: her art is the real deal. The story’s brisk pace and macabre sense of humor are pluses, too. –Originally reviewed at PopCultureShock on 7/12/07; updated at The Manga Critic on 2/19/10

NIGHTSCHOOL: THE WEIRN BOOKS
By Svetlana Chmakova • Yen Press • 4 volumes • $12.99/volume

At first glance, Nightschool looks the product of a teen focus group, a mash-up of Twilight, Harry Potter, and a dozen other fantasy series starring vampires and wizards. A closer look, however, reveals that Svetlana Chmakova has fashioned an engrossing supernatural mystery from elements of domestic drama, horror, and humor: an eye-of-newt solution comes with a “may contain peanuts” warning, a beleaguered headmaster finds an ingenious solution for including vampires in the high school yearbook. (They don’t show up on film.) Chmakova doesn’t skimp on the action, either, staging scenes of nocturnal combat with great aplomb. Perhaps most exciting thing about Nightschool is seeing the degree to which her storytelling has evolved since she burst on the scene in 2005; though Chmakova’s trademark style is immediately recognizable, the layouts are looser and more dynamic than Dramacon‘s, playing a more integral role in advancing the plot. –Originally reviewed at The Manga Critic on 2/19/10

TOTO! THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURE
By Yuko Osada • Del Rey • 5 volumes • $10.95/volume

Equal parts One Piece and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Toto! is a high-spirited adventure that proves good shonen manga needn’t run to forty or fifty volumes to reach a satisfying conclusion. The story focuses on Kakashi, a dim but energetic teen who stows away on a zeppelin, only to be rudely ejected by the sky pirates who hijack it. Kakashi soon meets a feisty teen named Dorothy who attends St. Kansas Academy, practices “tornado” senjutsu (a martial art involving spinning kicks), and plans to visit Emerald City. As Kakashi and Dorothy follow the Yellow Brick Road — here played by an old railway line — they acquire traveling companions, each modeled on one of Baum’s iconic characters: Noil, a kind but cowardly soldier who aspires to be a comedian; Dam, a big, blustering army officer with a metal arm; Paisley, the Northern Investigator for the W.I.T.C.H. organization; and Toto, a seemingly helpless puppy who turns out to be the product of a military experiment. Terrific cartooning and imaginative use of Baum’s original story make Toto! a great choice for younger shonen fans who prefer their stories heavier on humor than violent conflict. –Originally reviewed at The Manga Critic, 9/16/10

Looking for additional suggestions? Daniella Orihuela-Gruber has been compiling of list of manga-themed gift guides at her site All About Manga; click here to view the index. I also compiled a gift list in 2009; click here to review last year’s guide.