Tears of a Lamb Volume Seven is a shojo manga by Banri Hidaka that was published in North America by CMX in 2009. The series is rated “T” for teens, and after reading this series, I agree with that rating. Personally, I would say that Tears of Lamb is appropriate for manga readers who are thirteen years of age and older.

Volume Seven is the final volume of the series, and it’s actually a rather quick read. This volume picks up exactly where Volume Six ended. Right at the start of the volume, Kei learns secrets concerning her friend, Kanzaki, and her cousin, Shinogu. These revelations help Kei to finally remember what happened on the day of the accident.

As this volume progresses, all of the layers of the story have finally been pulled back and revealed. While there are some aspects of the story that ended up being predictable, there were still some surprising details that are revealed over the course of this volume. By the end of the volume, Hidaka has basically wrapped up all the loose ends for the major characters. The only real “major” character who is an exception to this would be Shinogu.

I apologize for being rather vague, but providing any details here would only serve as spoilers and take away from the interest and surprise that a reader would have as they read the volume. However, I honestly believe that readers who have followed the story all the way from the beginning will be satisfied with how the series comes to a close.

When it came to the art in this volume, one thing that really stood out to me are the sections when Hidaka decided to have Kei wear her hair in braids. Not only did I think that this looked really good on the character, but Hidaka seemed to put a little more effort into the detail for the drawings when Kei’s hair is in the braids. Another thing that I appreciated seeing was Kanzaki actually looking sad and forlorn; throughout the series, he either looked frustrated, surprised, or indifferent. So seeing him in this emotional state added a little more to him as a character.

As I read the Tears of a Lamb series, I really enjoyed getting to follow the cast of characters and seeing how they evolved through all seven volumes. I found myself caring about these characters, and I also found myself rooting for Kei and Kanzaki.

Overall, I think that Tears of Lamb is a decent shojo manga series; however, I would have to say that Fruits Basket is just a little bit stronger.

I wrote this review after reading a copy of Tears of a Lamb Volume Seven that I checked out through the King County Library System.

At this time, Digital Manga has not announced any details concerning this upcoming release.

1. Sailor Moon Volume 3 by Naoko Takeuchi
2. Sailor Moon Volume 2 by Naoko Takeuchi
3. Naruto Volume 54 by Masashi Kishimoto
4. Twin Spica Volume 11 by Kou Yaginuma
5. One Piece Volume 60 by Eiichiro Oda
6. Black Bird Volume 12 by Kanoko Sakurakoji
7. Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Volume 8 by Naoyuki Kageyama
8. Rosario+ Vampire Season II Volume 7 by Akihisa Ikeda
9. Naruto Volume 53 by Masashi Kishimoto
10. Dengeki Daisy Volume 8 by Kyousuke Motomi

In addition, JManga has announced that it is holding a translation contest. Entrants can submit an English translation of an excerpt from Muto Masaya’s Young-kun four panel manga to the site by February 14, 2012. Translator William Flanagan will choose the winners of the contest; the winners will receive the digital version of Young-kun Volume 1 and 1000 points to use on JManga.

Two manga titles made it into the top ten list for 2012: A Bride’s Story Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori and Wandering Son Volume 1 by Takako Shimura.

In addition, five more manga titles were included in the “Great Graphic Novels for Teens” list: Gandhi: A Manga Biography by Kazuki Ebine, Blue Exorcist Volume 1 by Kazue Kato, Animal Land Volume 1 by Makoto Raiku, Kamisama Kiss Volumes 1 and 2 by Julietta Suzuki, and The Story of Saiunkoku Volumes 1 and 2 by Sai Yukino and Kairi Yura.

Each book on this list is recommended for readers ages 12-18; to be included on the list, the book must meet the criteria of being “both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens.”

The 2011 list included 15 Japanese manga titles, with only one of those titles being featured in the top ten. The 2010 list includes 19 Japanese manga, with three manga titles in the top ten. The 2009 list included nine manga titles, with three manga being in the top ten.

It’s interesting to note how much harder it seems to have become for manga to make this list, especially the top ten portion of it. Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but it does seem like this apparent decline seems to coincide with the trend of manga and anime companies going out of business. I certainly hope that next year will see an increase in manga representation on this list.

While the company has not given a release date for this title, it has stated that it will be published under their hetereosexual erotica imprint, Project-H.

At Full Moon GN 2
Black Butler GN 8
Black God GN 15
Cirque Du Freak GN 12: Sons of Destiny
Code Geass: Queen GN 4
Cross Game GN 6
Durarara!! GN 1
Fairy Tail GN 17
Highschool of the Dead GN 5
Kannagi GN 3
Pandora Hearts GN 8
Zombie-Loan GN 13

Chobits Volume Five is a manga written and illustrated by CLAMP. It was published in North America by Tokyopop in 2003. This series is rated “OT” for older teens who are sixteen and up, and I agree with this rating.

This volume opens with Hideki still looking for his missing Persocom, Chi; he is being aided in his search by Ueda, the manager of the bakery where Chi is an employee. During the search, Hideki runs into his co-worker Yumi, and learns that Ueda and Yumi know each other. Meanwhile, Hideki’s computer genius friend Minoru is aiding in the search using electronic means by acquiring information on users that use the custom Persocom boards. It turns out the owners of the boards owe Minoru a favor, so they let him access information that is usually confidential.

Hideki’s friend and neighbor, Shinbo, returns from his vacation to help Hideki with his search. After Minoru receives an image that could be a clue to Chi’s whereabouts, Hideki and Shinbo work together to track her down. When they locate Chi, they are surprised by what they see. After rescuing Chi, Hideki acquires a laptop Persocom named Kotoko, who is to be used as evidence against Chi’s abductor. And at the very end of the volume, Hideki pieces together how Ueda and Yumi know each other.

While a major focus of this volume is the search for Chi, there is still some room in the story for some minor character development. The characters who receive this emphasis are Ueda, Yumi, Chi, and even Hideki’s landlady, Ms. Hibiya.

While the art in this volume may be similar to what was seen in the previous volumes of the series, there is one panel that really stands out to me. On page 77, the entire page is a drawing of Chi as she faces her abductor. Instead of the innocent child-like look that Chi normally has, she looks very defiant and confident in herself. The lines, shadows, Chi’s expression and background all come together to create a very striking image.

Visually, there really isn’t any blatant nudity in this volume. However, there are some panels with Chi’s abductor that could be seen as having a sexual overtone to them.

As the story progresses in this volume, it’s obvious that the series is headed toward some major revelations and progressions in the plot. When I reached the end of this volume, I was eager to read the next volume to find out what happens next. If you’ve read the Chobits manga up to this point, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by this volume.

I wrote this review after checking out a copy of Chobits Volume Five through the King County Library System.

From now until January 30, 2012, if you download the free VIZ Manga App to your iOS device and register for a new account, you get a free volume 1 of your choice.

The first volume of Poor Poor Lips is currently scheduled to be published on the JManga website at the end of January 2012.