When I told my two teens that I could get one manga by using my awesome powers at GeekMom, they both said, "Library Wars! Library Wars! Library Wars!" We had been checking them out from the library before, but it's a popular series and we often had to wait. Viz Media graciously gave me seven volumes, and then I had to wait for my kids to go through them again before me. Library Wars: Love & War, written and drawn by Kiiro Yumi, is based on the original (non-manga) series by Hiro Arikawa. I did short updates on the series through Comic Book Corner awhile back, but decided it deserved a longer review. It's that good.

Several years ago I read a lot of manga, my kids too, and they even got their friends to pick up some (Fruits Basket drove many parents crazy in our circle). In the last couple of years, nothing. I'd flip through some books in the library, but nothing caught my attention. Then I saw Library Wars, and liked the title. I was in the most peaceful place in town with sweet librarians eager to help me with anything, and here was a story with "war" and "librarians" together? Then I remembered a past conversation I had right after 9/11:

ME (at the library counter): Can I see what books I checked out last month, I can't remember the title of one and I wanted to recommend it to-
LIBRARIAN: We don't keep those records.
ME: What? But I've done this before.
LIBRARIAN: We used to, but the recently passed Patriot Act allows the government to search through all your library records and use the evidence against you. So we decided not to keep those records anymore.
ME: Oh...rock on.

I took Library Wars home. In this futuristic dystopia, the Japanese government is censoring and destroying books and media that they don't like, and arresting or killing anyone who gets in their way. Libraries are the last defense of intellectual freedom, and librarians have the weapons and training to do this job well. Librarians will fight to the death to allow you to read a book. Who knew guns and the Dewey decimal system got along so well? ROCK ON!

However, this overarching plot is really just the backdrop to what the series is really about: romantic comedy. I'm serious. Amidst the drama of shoot outs and harsh interrogations, are love and laughs. I enjoy seeing the same characters in one page doing fierce Kung Fu training, and the next scene organizing a new collection of magazines for waiting patrons. They do all the jobs of a real librarian, and also have to be able to take down a target within seconds.

The main character is Iku Kasahara, an impulsive, tall, soft-hearted, tough, fast, not-too-bright, outgoing girl. As a young girl, she had a run-in with the Media Betterment Committee (the censorship arm of the government) but a member of the Library Task Force saved her book from being destroyed. The memory of the man's dedication to the cause made her want to become a librarian. She is now an adult, and working her way up the ranks, hoping some day to meet her "Prince" who had saved her way back when (his image in her mind is fuzzy). Yeah, the "prince" thing has been done in countless girl-themed stories, but it's used more for comedy fodder here because everyone in the force knows who it is except our main character – and they tease him mercilessly about it.

There are several reason why this manga stands out from the crowd and gets thumbs up all around my house:
–The main character is a girl taller than her romantic interest. How many times do you see that anywhere? Atsushi Dojo is the captain of this team. He's a cutie, and their constant fighting (both verbal and physical) is amusing.
–The use of fonts (if you're not into fonts the way I am, you won't understand, and if you are, yay!) is effective and often hilarious.
–The unexpected romantic interest storyline ended great (and unexpectedly).
–The side character girl, Asako Shibazaki, is the smartest one in the series.
–The art is clear and the characters are distinct.
–The plot actually gets better! We're all interested to see what happens next: both in the romance and the serious task force side.

If you've never given manga a chance, check this one out.