Maison Ikkoku Reviewed at The Sci Fi Catholic

Because of a recent fight with my coblogger Snuffles the Dragon, which I lost, I was forced to read and review an entire fifteen-volume series of manga, Maison Ikkoku, by Rumiko Takahashi.

So if you're interested in comics from across the Pacific, I have a review for you.

I cannot recall any other books over which I have laughed out loud or cried out loud so frequently. Once, I had to drop the book because I was laughing so hard I couldn't read. Another time, I had to drop the book because I was sobbing so hard I couldn't read. Takahashi's artistic skill is marginal; she tends to overuse certain formulas; her work features frequent low humor and fanservice; yet for all that, or because of it, Rumiko Takahashi has an almost freakish ability to convey powerful emotion. By the middle of volume 8, my nerves were frazzled and remained so until the end. I haven't recovered from reading this series and don't expect to for a few days. [more...]