Cover-to-Cover: Goong

Cover-to-Cover is a column where I’ll choose my favorite cover from a particular series. This time around it’s the first manhwa (Korean comic) I’ve ever read: Goong! Goong is a wonderful series that takes place in alternative version of modern Korea in which the monarchy still reigns over the country. Chae-Kyung, an ordinary 16-year-old girl, is arranged to be married to the cruel crown prince Shin because of a promise their grandfathers made long ago. As the two slowly learn to love each other, Chae-Kyung must adapt to the ways of the palace, while the threat of political turmoil is ever-present. With interesting characters, a great setting, and several well-balanced plot threads, Goong is an extremely addictive series. And while I’d probably still love Goong even if the characters were drawn as stick-figures, the series also benefits from having beautiful art. The character designs are sharp and attractive, while the costumes are detailed.  Thus, choosing a favorite cover for this series is going to be tough. Immediately when I thought of which cover I liked best, the cover of volume three came to mind. The characters are in a great pose, and the energy of the cover matches the dynamic between Shin and Chae-Kyung really well. Chae-Kyung’s face is also very cute. Meanwhile, another cover that stands out to me is volume eleven‘s.  While the pose Shin and Chae-Kyung are in is sort of cheesy, the colors are lovely and the characters are well-drawn. And yet, as I thought about which cover to choose, one volume’s cover kept coming back into my mind: volume four.

When I saw the cover of volume four online, I didn’t think anything of it. It wasn’t until I saw the image in person that I realized how pretty it is. I think I’m a sucker for poses like this one: Chae-Kyung is kneeling over to embrace a sitting Shin, and it comes across as sweeter than any of the series’ other covers.  What’s more, unlike several of the other covers that feature Chae-Kyung and Shin in modern clothing, volume four’s cover shows Chae-Kyung wearing traditional Korean attire worn by the female members of the royal family. I must admit, it took me awhile to warm up to the Korean costumes presented in the series – at first I thought they were kind of bulky and awkward. But since then they’ve grown on me, and the style has begun to suit Chae-Kyung as much as she is slowly beginning to become suited to her role as crown princess. Yet, even with as ornate as the cover of volume four, the couple here seems very quiet in comparison to the ‘spark’ they have on other covers, or even within the series itself. Even though Chae-Kyung and Shin constantly have trouble communicating their feelings for one another, it’s hard not to become swept up in the few tender moments they’ve had with each other. Volume four’s cover is probably the most intimate Goong has had yet – and that’s exactly why it’s my favorite cover.

Cover-to-Cover: Boys Over Flowers

Cover-to-Cover is a column where I’ll choose my favorite cover from a particular series. This time around I’ll be doing one of my favorite series ever: Boys Over Flowers a.k.a Hana Yori Dango. This Cover-to-Cover is an interesting one because it seems a lot harder than it actually is. With 37 volumes, there are so many covers to choose from that it’s difficult to know where to start. Right away I knew I wouldn’t be choosing any of the covers from the first fifteen volumes or so: the earliest covers feature Yoko Kamio’s artstyle before she perfected it, and I like her later artwork for the series much better. More than that, many of the series’ earliest covers look cluttered: they feature way too many characters who are all different sizes from one another, which I tend not to like. However, because many of the series’ later covers feature group images with the characters in proportion with each other, I actually really like these covers, especially volumes 19 and 36. I love the character’s poses on volume 19‘s cover: they all look very cool next to each other. With volume 36, I love that each guy is in a suit and is holding a flower, while Tsukushi is standing in the center. I love seeing Tsukushi with the F4 because of how much their relationship changes over the course of the series. At first, Tsukushi only looks at the F4 as a group of spoiled rich kids, but as she gets to know them she sees them as good friends, and realizes that they truly are boys more than they are flowers. Yet as much as I love seeing the group all together, what makes me even happier is seeing the series main couple, Tsukushi and Tsukasa, together.

There are several covers that feature Tsukushi and Tsukasa alone together. Volume 23 shows a very sweet Tsukushi and Tsukasa, while volume 20 features Tsukushi and a sleeping Tsukasa in the fall leaves. Even though I love the pose and the colors of volume 23’s cover, I’m not a fan of the way the characaters were drawn (I think Tsukasa’s neck looks way too thick). And while I love the seasonal imagery of volume 20’s cover, something about this cover doesn’t draw me to it. But if there’s one cover that makes me smile every time I see it, it has to be volume 26. I love the combination of the pink and yellow – the colors really suit the series and have a very energetic feel. More importantly, this cover captures Tsukushi and Tsukasa’s dynamic very well: she’s giving Tsukasa a hard time (and loving every minute of it) as she grabs onto his head while he looks on with a grumpy expression. And the fact that he’s giving her a piggyback ride is adorable. But I love more about volume 26 than just its cover: this volume is the start of probably my favorite storyline in the series. In volume 21, after Tsukasa’s mother threatens to have Tsukushi’s friends’ fathers fired unless she breaks up with him, Tsukushi and Tsukasa decide to go their separate ways. After realizing she can’t forget him, Tsukasa makes an earnest plea to make her happy and Tsukushi realizes that she’s still in love with him. Volume 26 follows the two as they learn to mesh as a couple, and it’s very fun and sweet to read. Right from it’s cover, volume 26 showcases the best Boys Over Flowers has to offer.

Cover-to-Cover: Dengeki Daisy

      Cover-to-Cover is a column where I’ll choose my favorite cover from a particular series. This time it’s one of my favorite recent series: Dengeki Daisy! Going into this, I knew choosing which cover I like most for Dengeki Daisy was going to be difficult because I love the series’ art. Kurosaki and Teru’s character designs are sharp and attractive, and even the manga’s black and white artwork is effectively cute yet sensual. Most importantly, with the exception of volume eight’s cover, every cover of the nine volumes Viz has released so far has featured the couple on it. This is especially appealing to me because I love covers with the main couple on them. I’ve already expressed my love for this couple before, so this made my decision even tougher. There were a few covers that stood out to me right away, especially volumes seven, three, six, and two. When I first saw the cover of volume seven,  I immediately loved it. I loved that Kurosaki was kissing Teru’s hand, and both of them are drawn really well. However, the reason I didn’t choose this cover was because Teru is crying. Even though I like the cover on it’s own, I prefer to see images of my favorite characters looking happy together.  The cover of volume three is cute because Teru is staring up at Kurosaki, who is holding her chin in his hand. I’m not as in love with the colors of this cover, however, not to mention I’m not crazy about the way Teru’s hair is drawn. Thus, even though I like both of these images they simply can’t hold up to the high standards of some of the series’ other covers.

       So it comes down to volumes two and six. Unlike my other Cover-to-Cover choices, this isn’t a case of which one is better, because both of them really capture the essence of both the characters and the series.  Volume two’s cover has Teru with an adorable expression on her face, and I love that it seems as though she just kind of naturally fell into Kurosaki’s arms. Volume six has Teru embracing Kurosaki from behind as he plays with her hair. Even though all of the covers feature daisies on them (for obvious reasons), the daisies suit this cover particularly well – it almost feels as though Kurosaki and Teru are sitting in a grassy field in a park somewhere. I love that Kurosaki is playing with her hair, and their expressions are just so loving I can’t help but smile. Most importantly, Teru and Kurosaki’s pose is pretty unique as a cover image, and I feel like they look like equals on this cover (which is interesting to note considering the fact that Kurosaki is supposed to be Teru’s protector, not to mention since he’s several years older than her). So as much as I love the cover of volume two, I’m gonna have to pick volume six’s cover image as my favorite cover for Dengeki Daisy. Just don’t tell volume two.

Cover-to-Cover: Sailor Moon

Cover-to-Cover is a column where I’ll choose my favorite cover from a particular series. This time, it’s the one and only Sailor Moon! This Cover-to-Cover is going to be a little different than my previous ones because the Sailor Moon manga has had the honor of being released not once, but twice in America. And while I own the original Tokyopop edition of the manga, there are many people who are just getting into the series through the Kodansha release. Not only that, but the re-releases are quite lovely, and I have a fondness for the simple yet elegant covers. Thus, I’ll be choosing my favorite cover from both the original release and Kodansha’s re-release.

Of the original eighteen volume release of the series, one thing that sticks out to me is how many of the covers are group images.  Several volumes are of all the Sailor Senshi, and these covers match the tone of the manga at its most serious moments. But I have to say, of all the covers in this release I probably like the image on volume eight the best. It’s simple but lovely – Usagi is giving the reader a pretty smile while gorgeous pink flowers surround her. I think I’m a sucker for covers that highlight nature and the passing of the seasons, so I guess it makes sense that this would be my cover choice. And while many of the manga covers feature the Senshi, this cover is of Usagi the girl, not Sailor Moon – and I think that’s part of the reason why I like it.

Now, choosing my favorite cover for the Kodansha release of the manga is going to be a lot harder. First of all, I have to say that it’s impressive how much Naoko Takeuchi’s artwork had improved by the time she drew the covers for this edition of the manga. The character’s faces seem rounder, and overall the covers have a softer (dare I say, more feminine?) feel that really suits Sailor Moon. The covers are also more simple, and many of them only highlight one Senshi. At first, I considered choosing volume four’s cover because Jupiter is my favorite Senshi (and because I love her pink and green color combination). But I’m going to cheat and choose a cover that Kodansha has not yet released yet: volume 12. I have a fondness for seeing Neo-Queen Serenity because she’s so regal and I’ve always loved her dress. But what really made me choose this cover is that Neo-Queen Serenity is with Chibi-Usa and Chibi-Chibi, and I’ve always liked seeing pictures of these characters as their future selves. Overall, though, I love all of the covers of the Kodansha release of the manga because of the use of white backgrounds, which allows the image to speak for itself. Sometimes less really is more.

Cover-to-Cover: Skip Beat!

Cover-to-Cover is a column where I’ll choose my favorite cover from a particular series. This time around it’s Skip Beat! The art in Skip Beat! isn’t exactly something I pay as much attention to as, say, Kyoko’s crazy ‘grudge’ ghouls or her relationship with Sho. However, one thing I appreciate about Skip Beat! is that each cover almost always reflects what’s going on during the storyline of that particular volume. For example, volume twelve’s cover is of Ren and Kyoko portraying Kazuki and Mizuki, who are characters from the drama they’re filming, while volume fifteen’s cover features Reino, Sho’s music rival, who had just been introduced to the story. But right away I knew exactly which cover I wanted to choose: volume seven.

First, I’ve made it clear that I prefer Kyoko and Sho as a couple over her and Ren, so it makes sense that I’d choose one of the few covers with Sho on it. The fact that I love Sho’s costume doesn’t hurt, either. Artistically speaking, I also like the pattern on the borders of the cover (which works well with the feather in Sho’s mouth).  But I think the main reason I like this cover so much is because I love the story arc that starts with this volume. In it, Kyoko acts in the promo for Sho’s album, and thus this is the first time she and Sho directly interact with one another after she enters show business. In the promo, Sho is a devil (hence the costume) who falls in love with an angel, and Kyoko, who is playing the angel’s best friend, must kill Sho. Sho realizes how good of an actress Kyoko has become and begins to see her as more than just his childhood friend, and this is apparent to everyone around him. His manager notices the way he stares at Kyoko while Pochi, who plays the angel who falls in love with him (and has a crush on him in real life) is jealous of their interactions. Because this was the point in the manga Kyoko and Sho’s chemistry first became apparent to me and eventually became my favorite story arc in the series, volume seven’s cover makes me think of all of the things I like about Skip Beat!

Cover-to-Cover: We Were There

Cover-to-Cover is a column where I’ll choose my favorite cover from a particular series. This time around I’ll be doing one of my favorite manga, We Were There. It took me awhile to get used to We Were There‘s artwork. At first, I thought it was unremarkable but didn’t care because I loved the series so much. Then upon coming across some of Yuki Obata’s lovely color pictures for the series, I began to fall in love with the manga’s art. So choosing a favorite cover for this series is a bit difficult because so many of the covers have such a joyous, dreamy feel to them. The first cover that stands out to me is volume four’s. I love that Nanami and Yano are huddled so close together in the snow; there’s a level of intimacy in this cover that is unmatched. Volume eight‘s cover contains what is probably my favorite moment in the series, Nanami standing on the train platform as he heads for Tokyo with his mother. Volume 11 features the couple right before a kiss, so it definitely wins in the romantic category. And as for the most daring cover, I’d have to say that belongs to volume 12, since it contains a simple picture of fireworks with no characters at all.  But if I have to choose just one cover, I think I’ll go with volume 13.

I’m sensing a theme here, because my last Cover-to-Cover pick Sand Chronicles also prominently featured beautiful autumn leaves. Nanami and Yano are adorably smiling – their smiles are almost cheesy, which I think works really well since Yano and Nanami at one point joke that they are a cheesy couple. I think this cover stands out to me because it’s brightly-colored and they just look so happy together, which is a huge contrast to the somber tone of the series at this point. Yano and Nanami see each other for the first time since he moved to Tokyo five years earlier, and he casually dismisses her (although it’s obvious he’s struggling with his feelings more than he lets on). Nanami feels as though she’s stuck at age seventeen for being unable to let go of Yano, causing her to turn down Takeuchi’s marriage proposal. Every character is suffering in some way or another, and the future seems bleak for Yano and Nanami’s relationship. Each volume of We Were There is harder  to read than the last, not only because the tone of the series is becoming sadder and sadder, but also because it’s frustrating to feel so bad for these characters who are very much unable (or unwilling) to fix their relationships. If anything, the cover of volume 13 serves as a reminder of the past; of times that will never come again –  for both the characters and the audience.

Cover-to-Cover: Sand Chronicles

Cover-to-Cover is a column where I choose my favorite cover from a particular manga series. This time around it’s Sand Chronicles. I remember when I first started reading Sand Chronicles in Shojo Beat. I remember thinking how distinct its art style was – it has a sort of rough, angular feel to it that sets it apart from a lot more ‘fluffy’ shojo art. Out of the all of the ten volumes of the series, my favorite cover is definitely volume 10’s. First of all, I love the color scheme of this cover. The autumn leaves in the background are a nice touch and really suit this series, which is so much about the passage of time and the beauty of the different seasons. And since I’m a girly-girl at heart, the fact that Daigo is covering Ann with a shawl and she’s holding a pretty bouquet of flowers makes me happy. It’s a really romantic cover, which is probably why I like it so much. The fact that Ann being in all-white (or beige) makes me think of a wedding doesn’t hurt either.

But I have to say, although volume 10 has the cover I like most, of all the volumes I probably care for its content the least. While I loved the side story about the childhood of Daigo, Fuji and Ann’s mothers in volume 9, I wasn’t so crazy about the story of Daigo’s teacher. Maybe its because for the final story of the series I would have preferred to focus on the main cast, and I just didn’t find his teacher to be so interesting. All the same, I still love Sand Chronicles volume 10 because I really love the series itself – its great to see little nods as to how Fuji and other members of the cast are doing. But if I had to name my favorite part of this volume, I’d have to say its the cover.

Cover-to-Cover: Itazura na Kiss

Cover-to-Cover is a column where I’ll choose my favorite cover from a particular series. I’m starting off with Kaoru Tada’s Itazura na Kiss, a series I’m really enjoying which is currently being released by DMP. I’ll be choosing among the six volumes that have been released so far, so let’s get started!

Of the volumes released so far for Itazura na Kiss, two jump out immediately in my mind: volumes three and six. Volume six’s cover makes me feel especially giddy, as it reveals that Naoki and Kotoko get married by presenting them in their wedding attire. The fact that Naoki and Kotoko are wed at the halfway point in the series is one of the reasons the manga became famous. However, as much as I flail over the cover image, I’m not a huge fan of covers that spoil major plot changes, simply because I am the type of person who will resist getting into a series once I know what happens in it.

As for volume three’s cover, there are many reasons why I love it. I especially am fond of the pastel colors used, giving the cover a ‘dreamy’ feel, which really suits the tone of the series. I also love the characters’ poses, and this is one of the few images of Naoki where he doesn’t look grumpy. And in comparison to volume six’s cover, volume three’s cover probably better represents the main couple’s relationship over the course of the series. So I think I’ll give the edge to Itazura na Kiss volume three, because the image and colors come together really well to capture the feel of this wonderful series.