Maximum Ride

I'll admit it. I'm not a big reader if the books don't have pictures. So, it's safe to say I wasn't familiar with James Patterson's original work at all. Adapted into left-to-right manga form by Narae Lee, it's hard to judge the piece without knowing much about the source material. As far as manga goes however, I liked it. The art is really well done, and you get a nice feel for the characters early on.

Read it.

Night School

Here's another one I can't quite get a feel of yet. So far, the story's about a secret night school inhabited by...monsters? Wizards, maybe? I'm not sure. The setting, and even some of the dialogue remind me a bit of Buffy (which isn't a bad thing by any means).

Read it.

Pig Bride

Don't let the stupid title fool you. This manga's pretty decent. Stealing a page from the Ranma script, Pig Bride is about a boy and girl that meet once early in life, only to see each other several years later and find out that their parents arranged for them to get married. It's pretty wacky and gag-heavy.

Read it.

Sarasah

Very shojo, but has a great plot. It's about a girl that's obsessed with a boy (and waaay vocal about it), who obviously doesn't return the interest. I really enjoy the way the main character's written. She seems a bit scarily clingy, but you can't help but feel sorry for her.

Read it.

One Fine Day

Good lord. Does this even have a plot? The art is interesting, but the whole thing reads like a children's book. And not even a good one.

BURN IT

Jack Frost

Three pages in, the "main character" gets decapitated. Luckily, it doesn't seem to deter her much. It's actually a pretty funny bit that runs through the chapter. The violence even spikes from there with some really badass panels. I can't wait to see what happens to Noh-A Joo in the next volume!

MUST HAVE

Soul Eater

I can't really recommend this manga yet. This one suffers from the same problem I see with a lot of series, the first part of the story is REALLY weak. I just couldn't find myself caring about the characters or plot at all. It's a story about a girl and her sometimes-human scythe that are trying to track down the soul of a witch so he can become a more better sometimes-human scythe. Why? I have no clue. Maybe when that gets pointed out I'll care about this one.

Skip it.

Nabari No Ou

Saying this book is like a more modern Naruto wouldn't be too far off. Yes, it has ninjas. Yes, the main character has some crazy secret power. But he's not nearly as annoying as Naruto is, and the series itself has a much heavier/serious tone. So far, so good.

Read it.

Sumomomo Momomo

How could you not love something with a title as adorable as this? Easy, you can't. It's a great comic-action title. I may be gay, but I think I'm in love with Momoko Kuzuryuu. Bitch is CRAZY.

MUST HAVE

Bamboo Blade

If you liked Hikaru No Go, you should enjoy this as well. It's the same type of niche-title, only with bamboo swords instead of go stones. It has a nice blend of comedy and drama.

Read it.

Higurashi

This took me completely by surprise. I thought it was going to be just another slice-of-life comedy, but it quickly turned into a flat-out murder mystery. Hopefully, the story can keep that balance in future issues.

Read it.

Yen Plus Extras

Since the book is so jam-packed with comics, there really aren't any extras to speak of. There's a few editor notes and some congratulatory sketches from each artist before each manga, but not much else. And you know what? THANK YOU YEN PLUS. I get so sick of having to weed through the 6 pages of Yu-Gi-Oh card info in Shonen Jump every month, it's nice to have a little more bang for my buck.

Il Palazzo's Final Thoughts

I was afraid with the heavier price, that I wouldn't like most of the manga in this new book. I was pleasantly surprised, especially by the non-Japanese manga. My only real gripe was that everything seemed tossed together. There was no real intro for each series, they just kind of toss you in. Hopefully, they'll have recaps or something in future issues for the ADD-inclined like myself. All-in-all though, I would definitely say it's very nice to finally have a GOOD alternative to Shonen Jump. Keep it up, Yen Plus!