Basilisk Vol. 1
The first of Delrey's mature output and a very swanky debut it is. Certainly worthy of the $14 price tag; they've really done themselves proud with the presentation. And Delrey already does a pretty damn good job with their stuff as it is. The manga itself is quite a little surprise, too. After the setup of the two warring ninja clans, ten verse ten etc. I was ready to expect quite an obvious, by-the-numbers action manga. Rather craftily, Basilisk subverts this and offers a lot of cool surprises. The sense of foreboding as the Iga clan operate behind the unsuspecting Oboro (new leader of the Iga clan) and her fiancé Gennosuke (new leader of the Kouga clan) is fun and brutal, and the countless special moves of the each ninja creates an exciting unpredictability in each fight. Of course, taking a more critical tone, this could also be labeled as laziness on Segawa's part, but the energy and creativity with which they're rendered is worthy of better. The artwork is where I'm unsure. It's not terrible by any means, but the use of photography as backgrounds really bothers me and there's something kind of grotesque about all the characters - even the 'normal' ones. This is more stylistic than technically bad, so I'm going to give it a chance to grow on me. Definitely an interesting start, at least.
Nana Vol. 3
Urgh, the more I read Nana the more I become addicted. It's inevitable, silly of me to think otherwise. Paradise Kiss disappointed me quite a bit, especially after enjoying the scanslation of Kagen no Tsuki (Last Quarter) so much, but Nana has rebuilt my faith in Ai Yawaza and then some. As a dude, I can't pinpoint what it is. As a big gay, it's somewhat easier. But I wouldn't say it's that obvious. In many ways I still don't like the art style, with character necks and fingers still giving me the creeps, but the self-awareness and the strange honesty with the characters is so disarming and entertaining to read. The advent of an actual Sachiko character had me lol'ing in a rather grand way. The translation is also starting to grow on me, though I still worry about the heavy use of vernacular dating it badly. Ah well, I guess Nana is always going to be a product of its time with the fashion and stuff anyway.
xxxHOLiC Vol. 7
The artwork in this volume stuck out as especially gorgeous for some reason. Perhaps after the busy, (intentionally) repulsive interiors of Basilisk, xxxHOLiC's clean, eloquent layout seemed all the more beautiful. My attitudes toward CLAMP artwork have always been incredibly mixed, but both this and Tsubasa have really sold me on their versatility. Story-wise, volume seven is decent, though not comparable to the previous volume (which was a big fav of mine). We still haven't got a solid recurring plotline developing, but Domeki and Watanuki get some great character development this time around and it sustains the book nicely. Wakanuki's blindness mirrors Tsubasa's Syaoran/Fujitaka quite interestingly, but I'm unsure of how direct it is beyond the visual simularities. Part of me hopes that the crossover between the two titles explodes into something more vital and exciting, but bigger part of me wants xxxHOLiC to be its own manga and continue to be fantastic without Tsubasa's ever-looming shadow.
Naruto Vols. 30 - 32 (Japanese)
My first experience with importing tankobon. It turned out to be totally painless and not especially costly using amazon.co.jp. I think it worked out to about £5 per volume including P&P, and that's technically £2 less than the standard cost of translated manga here. Obviously they're in Japanese, but the abundance of translated Naruto on the Internet is almost silly. I actually had choice over which translator to use.
Physically speaking, they're really nicely made. Each has a slipcover with colour artwork and then the actual book underneath has a red-ink variation. I was a wee bit disappointed to find no colour pages inside, but considering the pittance they actually cost it's to be expected. 
Having Kishimoto's modern line work as a hardcopy in my hands was worth it alone. Size-wise they're probably a centimeter smaller on each dimension than the American standard, and the print quality is as good, if not better than most American versions. There's lots of nifty Shonen Jump inserts for you to leaf through, too, which adds to the 'genuine' experience. If you've got the spare cash and the inclination, I'd recommend it. Apparently Yesasia is a good place to buy from as well as Amazon Japan, but I can't personally vouch for the former.
Still reading: Monster Vol. 3 (savouring it, expect proper review soon), Tsubasa Vols 8 & 9 (finally catching up with the release schedule) and Lone Wolf and Cub (my reading of which will be eternal and I love it).
Seeing as I bought a whole buggerload of manga recently, much of which is quite old stuff, I thought I'd take the opportunity to change the review format a wee bit. God bless timesaving measures during exam season, eh?
Love Roma Vol. 1
This title has always caught my eye but I'd never been inclined to actually buy it, until a recent whim decided otherwise. What attracted me initially were the unconventional illustrative style (it seeming quite rigid and blocky at first glance while being really expressive) and the general sense of 'different' about it. As it goes, this superficial assessment was right on the nose and I love Love Roma all the more for it. Completely dismissing the aggravating standards of romance manga, Love Roma goes straight for the solar plexus (of love) and produces some hilarious character situations in the process. Its two leads are the opposite of what you might expect: Hoshino, the boy, is entirely without mystery and honest to a fault and Negishi, the girl, has average looks and a stubborn streak. The two collide with a kind of charm that just shouldn't work but does, and Love Roma is all the more the addictive oddity for it. Delrey gets yet another tick and I have yet another series to spend my non-existent comic budget on.
Death Note Vols. 1 - 3
I know, I'm a little slow on the uptake with this title, but I spent the longest time ignoring the scanslation fandom and merely admiring the pretty covers. Similarly to Love Roma, I picked up the first three of volumes on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. Even with the slow start (an expected factor of manga) Death Note builds into a seriously compelling mix of detective and fantasy. I really love the underlying darkness about it, too; it's rarely overdone but its presence is ever looming. Light Yagami's (a Viz-assigned name) gradual descent into madness is also fantastically done, with his supposedly high sense of morality ultimately working against him as he delves deeper and deeper into his crusade of justice. The battle of wits between he and L, master detective, acts another strong point and pushes the plot along at a slow, but intense pace. The dialogue sometimes felt slightly silted and wooden, which could be a poor translation job from Viz or a more fundamental problem with Ohba's writing. Still, once the plot gets rolling it becomes less important. Obata's artwork is stunning as well - definitely a contender for best artwork in a manga series.
Naruto Vol. 10
With Viz's painfully drawn-out release, the English licensed version of everyone's favourite ninja manga acts more as a pleasant history lesson rather than required reading for me. And after Viz's idiotic and inconsistent translation it's better served as a hardcopy for Kishimoto's artwork than a complete manga experience. I sometimes wonder why I don't just buy the Japanese version, print off fan-translations and slip them in the front cover of each. It would probably honour the original work more. Still, volume ten of Naruto provides one of the best old-school fights between Gaara and Rock Lee, with Kishimoto showing his fun take on the Dragonball standard of multiple power levels. The artwork relating to Gaara's sand is especially noteworthy, with its own menacing personality eerily present. You could possibly find another purchase justification in the occasional notes from Kishimoto between chapters, which are often insightful and entertaining. Even though there's not much sign of Viz getting a grip, I'd say this volume is still worth your $7.99.
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