This copy of Zombie Loan was kindly provided by Yen Press

Note: The editors name has been removed from this post at their request. Usually i would not edit and remove a persons name when it’s a valid criticism, however after hearing their explanation i decided to make a one off exception. Regardless my comments on the editor being a slight fail stand.

About the Mangaka

The mangaka this time is rather unusual, since Peach-Pit is actually a female duo. Sendo Banri and Ebara Shibuko have had success after success, though they did go through three other group names, before settling for Peach Pit. Every piece of work they have done has gone on to become both a hit as a manga, and a hit as an anime. DearS, Rozen Maiden, and Zombie Loan have all been licensed, both in anime and manga format. Only Shugo Chara remains unlicensed. Their other work, is a a series of short comics called, Peach-Pit’s Three Titles Collaboration Comic, and mixes the characters from the three big manga, DearS, Rozen Maiden, and Zombie Loan. This is also unlicensed.

About the Manga

Volume three of this series picks up where volume two left us hanging, carrying on with the Butterfly arc.

Peach Pit’s art for the most part is exceptional, however I have noticed that in this and previous volumes, the side characters lack the detail and depth of the main ones. While this is true for most series, I think Peach Pit take it a bit to far.

I do however love the story they write, it’s strong and vibrant. The main characters are full of life (figuratively speaking, after all they’re zombies hehe). Their relationships are amazing to read, especially between Chika and Shito.

The anime failed to show the depth of their relationship, yet the manga pulls it off superbly in this volume. The other relationship that caught my eye was the Michiru and Yomi relationship.

Yen Press seem to have found a good paper medium, and while it isn’t the same as what’s in the Spiral series, or the With the Light series, it’s still a higher standard than you’ll find elsewhere, and yes it’s white

The white paper offsets the darker parts of the volume perfectly, and the contrast between the two is a great way of adding to the atmosphere the story builds.

Christine Schilling returns for the translation, and once again does a superb job of it. However the editor who did the lettering fails a little, in relation to Koyomi’s ‘dead mans’ tongue. While I understand the need to show she’s speaking with a totally different voice, the format use here (and in the earlier volume) makes it hard to read. A minor grievance true, but meh.

As always, Yen made my day by keeping honorifics and titles intact,

He also fails when it comes to dealing with the gutter problem. This was the first time I’ve seen so many gutter problems that could have been avoided. Centring the text in the speech bubbles is always great, except for where it’s going to run into the gutter. You need to consider the gutter, and adjust the text location accordingly. Even a small move to right would be an improvement, and result in less spine bending.

Thankfully Yen Press’s covers have always been a higher quality than the normal paper, and can take a bit more of a beating. Though personally I’d prefer to treat my manga as gently as possible

While it’s true this volume has a lot of action in it, that takes a back seat to something more important, character and relationship development. Rather than the development fuelling the action, it’s the other way around. The action is the catalyst for the development they go through.

Another thing I noticed about this series is that the similarities between this series, and others is rather creepy. Especially Ren from DearS and Shinku from Rozen Maiden.

Unlike volume two, this volume doesn’t end on a cliff hanger. It wraps up the main events tidily, though of course we have a tone of questions about the sub plots

There’s not much in the way of extras, though there are four panel omake’s at the end of the chapters, and a three page collaboration between DearS, Rozen Maiden and Zombie Loan.

This series remains on my Essential Read list, however it has slipped a bit in the rankings.

Where to Buy

As always the two places to buy Yen Press releases are the Book Depository, and Waterstones. Waterstones is the cheaper of the two stores at the minute, and also buy their stock from the official supplier. Where as Book Depository imports from the US.