What Manga are you reading?

[shooraijin]

Over five years after I first started reading this manga

True devotion. But, as you say, flying trains!

[MangaRocks!]

Read a bunch of new stuff again~!




Cardcaptor Sakura "Honey Milk" Extras chapters 1-2 (complete): It took a bit of digging to find the first of these two chapters (hint for anyone else who wants to read them: chapter 1 can only be found in English on the translator's website, buried in the one-shots section ), but it was worth it, because both chapters were completely adorable. <3 <3 Basically, Sakura is a bit sick in the first one and Syaoran Xiaolang is in the second, and both of them get cheered up by a drink of warm milk with honey (the first one given to Sakura by her brother Touya, and the second to Syaoran Xiaolang by Sakura herself). <3




Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc chapters 1-5 (so far): This is the brand-new sequel to the Cardcaptor Sakura manga, and wow, it's excellent! Sakura and Syaoran Xiaolang together are just too adorable <3 <3 , and whoa, these new cards are serious business... (Also: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Ohhh, so Touya still has some kind of power {just a different kind now, not the kind he gave to Yuki/Yue}? WHAT IS GOING ON I MUST KNOW ) Absolutely recommended, and can't wait for more! <3




Futari no Renai Shoka chapters 1-14 (complete): This was an adorable 2-volume short series about people who love books and each other. <3 The interesting thing about it (other than the books part, which is perfect , as well as the fact that it's apparently seinen!) is that it basically ends up being a kind of love at first sight for the two leads (who happen to be a young-adult woman and a teenage guy, at least at the start {there are several timeskips}), but it's far more of a 'real connection' thing than a looks thing, so it feels like it could actually happen, even if everything does develop quite speedily in that regard. The bonus to this is that there's no unnecessary drama to the romance whatsoever; and very little plot-wise, either (even with the estranged parents!)-- just people working out their issues and learning to love. (Oh, and speaking of there being no unnecessary drama, I also *really* like the fact that there is literally zero drama/disapproval/anyone actually caring at all-- from any character, young or old!-- about either the age difference between the MC's or the {younger} guy's actual age in the first place, mostly because they're being responsible about it {indeed, nothing even happens despite them eventually living together because they're waiting on intimacy until they get married, etc.}.) So, yeah, this was a great little read, and recommended for whenever you have a need for a good short romance.




House Of Five Leaves, a.k.a. Saraiya Goyou, volumes 1-8 (complete): I had both this series and its anime adaptation on my plan-to-read/-watch lists for a while, but when it was recently announced that the anime was about to be taken down due to an expiring license, I had to quick marathon that first. Thus, I ended up reading the source manga afterwards (which is not my usual order of doing things, LOL, though I do make exceptions sometimes ); and while at the time I thought that the anime was great, it turns out that it really wasn't as great as it could have been had the manga been fully adapted. See, while what they did cover in the anime was excellently adapted (basically panel for panel!), they unfortunately ended up cutting out an entire plot thread + a *ton* of character context/background/development for 'Yaichi' and Masa (+ Masa's family), as well as Jin, Otake, Matsu, and even Yagi! + completely changed the ending (which is not only a lot better in the manga, but a lot more emotionally gripping and fulfilling, too). So, yeah, the manga at least is absolutely recommended.




King Of Thorn, a.k.a. Ibara no Ou, volumes 1-6 (complete): This was actually one of the very first reading recommendations I received here a few years back; however, for some reason I'd never gotten around to reading it (...um, whoops! ), so I figured I'd finally better get on that, LOL. And ohhh my goodness, I totally wish I'd gotten around to it sooner! It's such a great sci-fi-flavored survival thriller, hooking me right from the start and never letting go (also helped by the fact that since it's only 6 volumes, the pacing is really tight {in a good way}). SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Though I do have to note that despite all my inner-romantic instincts I was really desperately trying *not* to ship Marco and Kasumi-- because I thought for sure that Marco was going to die the whole time and didn't want to be heartbroken/disappointed -- but I failed spectacularly, LOL (yep, I just couldn't help shipping them. Hard!). <3 ...I actually didn't need to worry about it at all, though. I also liked how there was no magic reset button or anything of the sort-- all the stuff that had happened, and all of SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the changes that had been made to the world and the people, all of that remained; and the one time a person was truly SPOILER: Highlight text to read: resurrected, another's SPOILER: Highlight text to read: life had to be given in exchange. Absolutely recommended!




Koe no Katachi original one-shot + series chapters 1-62 (complete): Wow... this was tough to read at times (especially the first few chapters). Its brutally honest depictions of bullying as well as the personalities and circumstances of all the people involved felt so utterly real that some of it was uncomfortable to even get through-- but I mean that as a compliment. And some of the characters do get a 'redemptive' phase, which is really good as well. That ending, though... well, normally I hate open endings like that (and this one's *really* open-- for both SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 'couples' as well as one last resolution {you're left to wonder how that particular one went as opposed to showing it like the others were shown}, etc.), but... somehow it actually kinda felt right for this series (much as I'd prefer it to be otherwise ). So, yeah, recommended.




Lien no Tou yori one-shot (complete): This is a slightly-sci-fi one-shot set in a post-apocalyptic world where most humans have lived underground for a while, but are soon to return to the surface (...the world was very well-realized for a one-shot). The story revolves around a piano-playing robot (basically a sentient android, although only one or maybe two characters have a clue about his sentience by the end) and a girl who is among those set to return to the surface soon (and she doesn't want to leave)... It was quite emotive-- indeed, more than I had really expected it to be-- and really just a great one-shot in general.




Ojojojo chapters 1-38 (so far): I just happened to run across this as being a very-high-rated title on one of the reading sites, and decided to give it a shot based on its genres/reviews... and I'm so glad I did, because ohhh my goodness this is fantastic! <3 It's a 4-koma, but while it's definitely funny, it's not static at all-- it actually has some great little character arcs and development and relationship growth, because it's basically a romance right from the start; and even though it might not seem at first like it's moving along quickly, it actually is (and it has one of the most satisfying confession scenes I've seen in a while, too! ) The female MC is an ojou-type (literally-- she's ridiculously rich, and flaunts it, too {...for a reason, actually, but that'd be spoilers }) who openly admits that she finds it hard to say what she's actually feeling (so she usually just ends up saying the opposite instead ), and the male MC is an ever-so-slightly-eccentric quiet-type who doesn't often show what he's thinking and is delightfully easygoing (to the point that he'll quite willingly go along with anything and everything she says and does)-- and then there's the side characters... oh man this series is so cute and so much fun. <3 100% recommended!!




Ouji one-shot by Kiichi Hotta (complete): This is a one-shot by the mangaka of Kimi to Boku. It was partly amusing and partly sweet (at first), but then (rather unexpectedly for this author-- Hotta-sensei certainly utilizes melancholy in KtB. on occasion in between its humor and adorableness, but that's nothing like this ) it just stabs you in the heart (although in a rather beautiful way, if you know what I mean ). As such, it obviously has a bittersweet ending; but it was definitely worth the read nonetheless.




Petshop Of Horrors vol.'s 1-10 (complete): Well, I actually wasn't sure if I was going to like this series after how dark the first chapter was, but then the second chapter was bittersweetly beautiful, and the first volume only got better from there; so by the time I'd finished said volume (which actually ended on a positive note!), I was well and truly hooked. This series' blend of horror (both physical and psychological), moral lessons, and sweetness was pretty good (although it takes itself a bit less seriously than I expected a bit more often than I expected , and I think it got a little sidetracked by the end, too; but oh well ). Bonus points for the wuxia reference followed by the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "all Chinese people can do this" line (which literally made me LOL ). As for content warnings: There's a fair amount of swearing; there's the occasional somewhat-gruesome ends that some of the people bring upon themselves (either by disregarding the pet-buying contracts or by attacking the Count himself); there's a rather heavy-handed 'environmental' (i.e. Earth and creatures above humanity ) message at times; reincarnation is assumed to happen (at least for some); some descendants of the Incas want to reconvert their supposedly-mostly-Christian nation back to the 'old gods' (by force if necessary, though they do soften that opinion a bit by the end of the chapter) ; there's a couple of topless shots (twice from creatures-- a mermaid and some type of parasite-- and the rest from some posters in the background); there are like 2-3 (very minor) one-off bi and trans characters; and in the third chapter of volume 3, the Count and another guy appear to start seducing each other, 'kiss,' and look like they're about to go further (they don't), though of course in reality the 'other guy' is actually an extremely rare (and illegal ) creature who was trying to literally SPOILER: Highlight text to read: eat (!) the Count, and the Count in turn was just trying to get possession of said creature (while being prepared and perfectly willing to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: lose a limb or two in the process... ). There's also quite a bond between the two (male) main characters (the Count and Leon)-- indeed, it's kind of an open question (as well as a bit of a running in-joke ) as to just what exactly that bond entails-- but nothing is ever definitively stated or shown one way or the other, so you can basically just read into it whatever you want (...also, the Count not only isn't human but in fact comes from a race of beings that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: apparently reproduce via parthenogenesis regardless of whether they're 'male' or 'female', so luckily even if you do possibly read something into it, there's still nothing SPOILER: Highlight text to read: sexual about it in the end regardless ). Anyway, the content aside... IMO this series was good but not great (except when it came to adorable little Chris, the Count's fantastically alluring character/outfit design, and the creatures' personalities, of course <3 ), and as such I certainly don't regret reading it, so yeah.




Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu chapters 1-10 (so far): This is another series where I had ended up watching the anime adaptation first; however, while there was actually quite a bit that was cut in S1 of the anime from even just what occurs in the first few chapters (from little but still significant things like several extra references to the titular "lovers' suicide" that provide a bit more context for it all the way to big things like whole entire stretches of Yotarou's 'training'), in return, you got *exquisite* full performances of the actual skits and a focus more on Kiku and Sukeroku rather than Yotarou. And the second season is apparently going to focus back on Yotarou again, so depending on how that goes, the adaptation could actually still be pretty much 100% perfect (if not even better! ). <3 So both the manga and anime are great (and recommended).




And Ten no Ryuu Chi no Sakura chapters 1-15 (complete): Hmm... well, this is basically a short romance with dragons (really pretty ones, at that ). On the good side, the art is nice, there's the aforementioned dragons , and I laughed hysterically at the entire SPOILER: Highlight text to read: dance bit near the end ; on the not-so-good side, however, the 'school' aspect is way too overemphasized , the romance is rushed (and not in a good *or* realistic way), there's no depth to it at all in any category (world, characters, romance, or story), and it's predictable. ...All that said, however, it did leave me with a smile on my face at the end, so I guess I didn't really mind reading it anyway; but I wouldn't really recommend it out (there are *far* better short romance series out there, one of which I commented on earlier in this very post {!}, so... yeah *shrug*).

[the_wolfs_howl]

Silver spoon chapters 119-120

OMG ARAKAWA-SAN FINALLY DREW A SPOILER: Highlight text to read: kissing scene! <3 I guess I haven't read all of her earlier stuff, but there weren't any in FMA, so I was actually wondering if she was even capable of doing it That was really sweet, while also being hilarious. Exactly what I would expect from my favorite mangaka

[LecktheTech]

Been reading the Korean webcomic Girls The Wild's. Interesting, and amusing(for the most part). Also, I see absolutely no reason for it to be marked as ecchi.

[the_wolfs_howl]

HaruXKiyo chapter 12

Ugh, this translation sometimes makes it almost impossible to understand what anyone's saying... >_< But it's nice to see the plot growing thicker.

[MangaRocks!]

HaruXKiyo chapter 12

Ugh, this translation sometimes makes it almost impossible to understand what anyone's saying... >_< But it's nice to see the plot growing thicker.

^ I feel your pain, LOL. Sent you a PM about translations that are actually readable (and, as a bonus, complete through to the very end of the series!).

[MangaRocks!]

...Aaaaand as usual once again, I have not posted updates on the continuing series I've been reading for a good few months, so as usual once again, massive post on those incoming...




Akagami no Shirayuki-hime chapters 80-81:

I laughed so hard at the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "fly into your arms" bit from both Zen and Kiki, ROTFL!!! And Obi being BA, as usual~ ...Oh man, though, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Zen totally knows they're still lying... and the twins' older brother (who is apparently the mastermind behind all this) is quite a nasty piece of work indeed. ...And ohhh crap, that twist just turned everything on its ear! SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I had a bad feeling at the end of the former of these two chapters that the twins were going to go ahead and do whatever awful thing their (downright evil) brother had ordered even though they obviously didn't want to; however, in reality they're actually trying to break free from him, and now think they have to kill him to stop him. So now I have a bad feeling about this in another way (gah I don't want either of them to die in the attempt!)...




Amatsuki chapter 105:

OH. MY. GOSH. This chapter was downright chilling (in a good way!). *shiver* SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Between the literally crazy doctor dude and the reveal of the *real* experiments... Can't wait for more!




Are You Alice? volumes 8-12 (end):

(My review of the first 7 volumes~) Ohhh man... the true, full, intertwining backstory(/ies) of Lewis Carroll, the Liddells, and Dinah the cat in the real world... </3 And the backstory for SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the White Rabbit is just as heartbreaking, despite him supposedly being an entirely fictional being (not originally human, like everyone else {and even that little revelation is also tremendously sad in and of itself, given that all those said humans have basically been confirmed to have attempted suicide...! })... </3 Also: Holy crap, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the March Hare actually survived!!! Another interesting twist with these last few volumes is the constant back-and-forth question of whether the world of the story is actually 'real' or not, as pretty much every single one of the MC's in the real world (aside from Dinah, a.k.a. the Cheshire Cat) SPOILER: Highlight text to read: went completely and utterly insane (along with all the killings/suicides) , so you're never really sure until SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the whole attempted-suicide reveal + the reveal that all the people came from different, scattered time periods that it indeed *was* real. As for the ending: It was actually both sadder and happier than I expected (for instance, I never expected to be sad over SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the death of Jack The Ripper, of all people! -- that was brilliantly done!), but let's just say that the people who *did* survive were pleasant surprises , and it was definitely worth the read in the end.




Baccano! novels 8-22 (so far):

Yes, these have now been licensed by my #1 favorite publisher Yen Press <3 , and yes, I am buying each volume from them just as quickly as they're released ; however, I'd already read the first 7 volumes, and now that the 8th/9th books were *finally* fan-translated, I couldn't let all the rest of the already-translated volumes just sit there... And ohhh my goodness-- the way Narita-sensei somehow interweaves things together in an ever-expanding way while also tightening the threads (something he does in all of his works) is just genius. For example: A seemingly small scene from the very first book propels an entire group of characters together in the 10th (!); and stuff from the 1700's has extremely high repercussions in the 2000's. (*VERY SPOILERY* detail on some of that: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: It's actually pretty subtle {for him, that is, LOL }, but if you pay close enough attention, you'll figure out that not only did that really disgustingly sick cult nearly kill Elmer {obviously-- though that also chillingly explains why Elmer is 'empty' + doesn't care about harm to himself at all + views others' happiness [whether good or evil] as his own...! } and that they were the ones who *did* kill Huey's mother {not quite so obvious, except in hindsight}-- you'll also quite chillingly realize that it was *Fermet* {!!!!!} who started it all by stealing the drug formula from Begg and distributing it + his own beyond-horrific acts upon poor Czes being suspiciously reminiscent of that disgusting cult's + it turning out that he actually purposefully *founded* said cult + murdering poor Monica {thereby setting off Huey, and all the *insanely* high number of repercussions from *that*} O_____O ... and, thus, essentially being the main bad guy (or at least the main cause of the majority of the evil) of the entire series-- for over 300 in-universe years-- *despite being dead for most of it*!!! O__________________O {......Until we find out that he actually wasn't, precisely, thanks to homunculus/clone bodies... }) Also: Not sure if that hint about Fermet using the same phrase the 'demon' always does was just a red herring or actually significant... after all, it was revealed that there *are* multiple other 'demons' (and they can even talk across time! ). Speaking of which: OH. MY. GOSH, we *finally* got a little insight into both Ronnie's past and his thought process, and it's *awesome!* Oh, and it has only been just barely hinted (indeed, it takes some real dot-connecting on the reader's part to figure it out), but I am literally willing to bet real money that Huey's *ultimate* goal with his experiments is to unlock the secret of time-travel! (We'll see how right I am within the next few 2000's-era volumes~ ) Finally, on an unrelated note: HOLY HECK, CLAIRE JUST SAID THAT FIRO COULD BEAT HIM?????!!!!!!!!! Now *that's* a mindblowing twist/reveal... At this point (volume 22) the story is very near the end of the 1930's arc (leaving just the seemingly-final 2000's-era for Narita-sensei to write after the 1930's are done), and literally every character and every plot point is coming to a massive head (in *both* of those last two eras-- as the most recent 2000's book, which was written just before the 1934 books, ended on quite the cliffhanger of that sort as well ). So, yeah, it's all connected, and it's awesome. Narita-sensei is just too good. <3




Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc chapters 6-7:

Hmm... obviously the new SPOILER: Highlight text to read: transfer student is suspicious, but I can't tell whether they're actually going to go down that route or just leave it as a red herring. Also, I'm starting to get really concerned about whatever it is that Syaoran Xiaolang and Eriol can't tell Sakura yet, since they both seem quite concerned themselves...




The Case Study Of Vanitas chapters 10-13:

Ch. 10: ...Okay, so if I'm reading this correctly, it seems that Charlatan SPOILER: Highlight text to read: isn't three different forms, it's three different personas... interesting. And gah, I knew this would have to happen at some point SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (that is, Vanitas ending someone's life instead of restoring them), but I do feel bad for Noé. Ch. 11: That "like he'd given up on something"-look line, though-- that was precisely it; Vanitas had that exact look when he said that he SPOILER: Highlight text to read: killed the girl (even though he didn't really murder her, precisely; he just put her out of her misery by her own wishes...) The end of this chapter was sweet, though. (...But oh dear, that promise + that sorrowful narration-from-hindsight on top... ) Ch. 12: LOL, Vanitas being his hilariously trollish self once again. (And bwahaha, poor Luca... ) I also LOL'd at Noé's discussion with Domi about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Vanitas' blood. Wow, though, Vanitas' line about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: having no interest in the sort of person who'd fall for him... And ch. 13: Ohhh snap, these reveals... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Yikes-- I knew there was something fishy going on, but I honestly didn't expect that... And while I'm not necessarily sure how I feel about the introduction of a SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 'church' anti-vampire unit (though I do sort-of understand why it was included), this mangaka hasn't let me down yet , so for now I'll just trust that it'll be written well.




Cheese In The Trap chapters 203-234:

Aw, In-Ho was kinda adorable at that point in his life, haha. <3 I literally LOL'd at him trying to figure out Jung's machinations and then when realizing that Jung hadn't actually said that he'd go, thought "LOL I like it" with a slightly-evil grin, bwahaha~ The ending to their fight in the present was kinda heartbreaking, though (with the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 'first and last time' bit about the dinner...) I was very pleased that Sul gently but firmly asked Jung to explain the reason he hates In-Ho, and Jung actually did, indeed opening up to the point of actually finally revealing his fear of his own 'weirdness' (as it's put-- sociopathy is what it really is; but it was quite an interesting new little wrinkle in his character that even *he* is a little afraid of his own particular affliction... ) Aw man, though, that flashback to Sul's childhood (and the reason for her fear of hospitals, among other things)... As for Jung's father: Ohohoho man, Jung's finally calling him out on the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 'surveillance...' And yeah, all that combined with the flashbacks + his treatment of In-Ho when the latter finally swallowed his pride and came to see him... dude is messed up (though with the way Jung turned out, I'm not at all surprised about his father being messed up, too...). And wow, that flashback (where Jung and Sul were thinking/feeling exactly the same things, realizing they were more similar than different, etc.) was so interesting...! (And that's the end of S3; starting S4:) Wow, Sul is handling this situation with jerk-dude nearly as masterfully as Jung -- and it seems that he finally is beginning to get his well-earned payback (just like stalker-boy did). I am slightly annoyed at Bora (though it's her own fault, since if she *already knew* that Eun-Taek liked her, she should have just accepted him back then in the first place...! But I get that she had issues before, and was only finally ready now. And, actually, this stuff is usually handled quite well and interestingly in this series, so I'm fully expecting it to be resolved soon {and I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to like the result, as well! } ).




Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun chapters 81-83:

Bwahaha, Waka's otome game knowledge... And I think 82 was just the volume extras? But sooo worth it nonetheless. And as for 83: BWAHAHA, the drama club's improv was priceless!!




Haikyuu!! chapters 223-234:

Haha, that was actually perfect. <3 (Loved how Nishinoya SPOILER: Highlight text to read: actually got it right away once Kageyama said what the problem was more directly, and was instantly no longer offended. <3 ) ...Of course, Kageyama then ended up *truly* offending most everyone else, LOL... ...But throughout both of the next two chapters, that got quite well sorted out, and now it looks like they all finally achieved a good balance in that regard. <3 Also: Ohohoho, the strategy was quite good... And Sulking Nishinoya is priceless~ ...And now we're finally to the nationals themselves! (LOL at poor Tsukki having to 'babysit' Kageyama and Hinata's run {and him being so scary that they actually obeyed, ROTFL}! ) Seeing a small bit of development for the 3rd-year manager was quite nice, too. And as for the first opponent: While SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Karasuno was off to a poor start, that was expected... and the next chapter was both really amusing and pretty epic (both Yamaguchi getting to shine once again <3 , and Kageyama's SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "Recalibration: Complete!" moment).




Joou no Hana chapter 14A:

Oh my gosh, Izumi-sensei, stop playing with my heart! (...Actually, don't, since the emotional stuff is really good, too {along with all the good plot}. I'm just kidding because my feelings have been twisted all over the place these last few chapters {not that I'm complaining. ...Much~}. ) Seriously, though... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I couldn't believe it when the beginning of this chapter showed that Seitetsu was actually still alive (again!), since I was *sure* that he was going to be definitively dead at the end of the previous chapter. I've already genuinely teared up twice thanks to this guy's seeming deaths (and Aki's love for him, and his utter loyalty-- indeed, itself love-- to her, etc. etc. etc.), don't you dare make me tear up a third time! (I want a happy ending, darn it! ...Even though that wouldn't be a happy ending for Hakusei, but it's not like that's likely, either, so...) *shakes fist* I need more~~~




Kimi ni Todoke: From Me To You vol. 24:

This was a nice, (mostly) laid-back volume, with lots of cute stuff about Shouta and Sawako's 1-year-of-dating anniversary, a few more apparent hints of possible Ayane x Pin at some point in the future, and some really sweet stuff with Chizu and Ryu. <3 <3 The end was a bit melancholy though SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (so it looks like they really are going to go the long-distance-relationship route, then?)...




Koudai-ke no Hitobito chapters 32-41:

ROTFL at the MC SPOILER: Highlight text to read: imagining that her fiancée is going to confess that he's a cyborg! Seriously, though, him explaining about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: his telepathy and her acceptance/delayed reaction(s)/etc. were golden. (And oh my gosh the wedding... ) Also, it was nice to see the progress with Shigeko and Kouhei, and while SPOILER: Highlight text to read: her trying to explain about her telepathy didn't go well , I'm quite hopeful it'll work out in the end.




Liselotte & Witch's Forest vol.'s 1-2:

The fan translation (such as it was, LOL... ) for this had stopped long ago, but good old Yen Press picked it up , and I just picked up the first two volumes. Not only does the translation actually make sense now, LOL , I'm also now even more invested. (Wow, though, it sure got dark in a hurry {not that that's a bad thing}. I mean, I already knew that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Enrich/Engetsu wasn't quite human anymore, but yikes... )




March Comes In Like A Lion, a.k.a. 3-gatsu no Lion, special + chapters 115-126:

Oh man, just go ahead and squeeze my heart again, would you? Anyway: LOLOL, still with the 'prospects...' And OH MY GOSH the chapter with the dog(s) was *extremely* adorable~!!! <3 <3 Oh, and I was almost crying I was laughing so hard at Raidou + the others' reactions to Akari and Rei x Hina... And this new 9-dan was fun, too, since he tries to make things as interesting and long as possible, for 'research purposes...' Although, when it comes to trying to making things as interesting and long as possible, nothing beats the 'grim reaper,' who does it simply out of sheer respect and fun (for him, LOL! ). Speaking of which: Rei's match with the 'grim reaper' (including the interaction with Smith's match next to them + even the camerapeople!) was creepy, cute, and downright hysterical all at the same time!! <3 And I'm not gonna lie, I'm *totally* shipping Shimada with Akari now <3 (poor guy deserves some happiness, and hey, that bit with his stomach finally feeling good for the first time in ages after eating her cooking is probs foreshadowing, right? RIGHT?? ). Ahhh, this series is amazing~




Mikado no Shihou chapter 4:

I laughed so hard at the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "Huh? It's ME?!?!?!" response by the supposed fortune-teller... I also loved the fact that the MC was berating herself for thinking about whether or not she liked the emperor while they're in a life-or-death situation, LOL. Just more cute fluff~




Natsume's Book Of Friends vol. 19:

LOL, they're both scrawny. And I laughed so hard when they all started getting scared after Natsume mentioned what he had seen... Also: The one with the 'rock-washer' was so beautiful~ <3 <3 And the one after that gave another little glimpse of Reiko, too. <3 Gahhh this series is so good~




Noragami vol.'s 16-17:

Ohhh man... this arc is really not good for my heart...... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Between Kazuma finally stinging Veena for the first time as he goes completely off the deep end (resolved to do quite literally *anything* to save her ) </3 , all the death flags for both of them </3 , and Takemikazuchi's surprisingly heart-twisting backstory, this really got me. ...Also, on a sidenote, I just ran across the big fan theory about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Yato possibly being Tsukuyomi, and holy crap, it makes so much sense it's amazing (especially when SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Tsukuyomi's supposed backstory and powers were explained). I always figured there would be some other twist to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Yato's character-- there certainly seemed to be hints to that effect-- so that combined with the evidence presented lead me to believe that that theory is indeed actually on the right track. (Guess we'll find out soon enough~! )




Oresama Teacher vol.'s 19-20:

Ohhh man, that reveal about Hayasaka's family situation... Amnesia subplots can be pretty cliché if they're not handled carefully, but of course there's no need to worry about that with this mangaka-- indeed, this actually turned out to be one of the best uses of it I've seen in any medium , and its cause even explains his unusually-high level of denseness at times (quite cleverly, too, I might add)! Also: Yay, we finally get to know Hayasaka's first name!! And there was some super sweet stuff after the heaviness, too~ <3 <3 Oh, and the twist with the long-obscured photo in his wallet was downright *fantastic*-- it took me *completely* by surprise (I was sooo sure that it was going to turn out to be SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Mafuyu, but the reveal that it's actually SPOILER: Highlight text to read: *him* was even better! ) And oh wow, I love how the perspective of the whole thing with Miyabi's motives and all that was twisted again~ (Ah, and so it was SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Runa who was the 'witch' in that little fairy tale...) And oh my gosh, the whole thing with the pigeon... ROTFL!!! Finally: AHHHHHHHHH OKUBO AND MINATO CONFESSED TO EACH OTHER (in a sequence that was both really hilarious and also extremely sweet all at the same time! <3 <3 ) AND ARE ACTUALLY A COUPLE NOW (FINALLY!!), OH MY GOODNESS THIS MANGAKA *CAN* CANONIZE COUPLES-- YEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!! ...Speaking of which: I'd kinda doubted that there would ever be an official pairing for Mafuyu, but I'd always really hoped that if there was, it would be with Hayasaka rather than Mr. Jerk, LOL ; yet I hadn't dared to actively wish for it to really occur. However, after these volumes, I now just can't help but actively ship Mafuyu and Hayasaka...! (I mean, seriously: There was that hug; and then OMGOSH, she actually said in her 'penpal' letter that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Hayasaka could be called her boyfriend (!!!) ; and then her using his first name and telling him how pretty his hair is <3 <3 ; and then to top it all off, ohhhhh man, that moment when Hayasaka *finally* SPOILER: Highlight text to read: allowed himself to realize both that Mafuyu is 'Super Bun' *AND* that she actually *DID* come when he called...!! <3 <3 <3 Is this real? Can I really ship this with a hope of resolution?? Halp! ) ...So, yeah, this was pretty awesome, LOL. Can't wait for more~!




Pandora Hearts: ~Caucus Race~ novel #2:

Gahhh, I'm so conflicted about this... See, the first of these novels (which-- minus a several-page mini-chapter of manga in each volume-- were written by a completely different author than the original mangaka of the original, awesome P.H. manga series) was essentially just bad fanfiction, unfortunately , and the latter half of this second volume is the same... *HOWEVER,* the *FIRST* half of this volume was actually downright fantastic-- since not only is that section actually decently written, it's all about Elliot and Leo! <3 <3 And while it is absolutely wonderful (and really just downright sweet ) to see more SPOILER: Highlight text to read: of them just being them before everything that goes down later, yet of course it also just twists the knife yet again, LOL. It's a good hurt, though. Also: In the mini-manga (which happens to be an extra scene from that story), Leo's one genuine, stunningly sunny smile, so rarely seen, just about slayed me. So, yeah, it was *absolutely* worth it for the whole Elliot and Leo story + etc. alone... but *only* for that.




Skip-Beat! vol. 37:

Ohhhhh man, this volume... The whole thing with SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Kyouko's mother was just brutal... And then that entire sequence with Ren at the end-- SPOILER: Highlight text to read: that was so sweet <3 ; plus, I *think* that Kyouko might just *finally* have figured out that he's the 'fairy,' LOL (at least, I hope that's what that meant)!




Takane to Hana chapter 23:

Oh my gosh this was so amusing. And Takane's little cousin is just too priceless...




Until Death Do Us Part omnibus vol. 13 (Japanese volumes 25-26) (end):

It was quite (evilly) clever how the baddie interacted with (read: manipulated) his women into doing his bidding by taking some of their wishes into account. Other than that, well, this was the finale, so there was plenty of action to spare, LOL. In all seriousness, though, yes SPOILER: Highlight text to read: that kiss and the wedding were nice and all, but the last chapter seemed really rushed-- it just felt like a quick wrap-up after a low-key cancel or something... Oh well...




And Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii chapters 12.5 + 13:

Gah... my heart~ <3 And ohohoho, so they're finally going on a 'real' date? Wonder how *that's* going to go...

[MangaRocks!]

...Aaaaand here's the *new* stuff I've read over the past few months! (It's kind-of a mixed bag this time, though-- some of this stuff was absolutely *great,* and some of it... very much *wasn't,* LOL. So please note which was which~! )




Bungou Stray Dogs chapters 1-48 (so far):

I'd had this on my plan-to-read list for a while, but the anime finally gave me the push I needed to read it sooner rather than later, and I'm *so* glad it did, because I am officially 120% hooked! I won't go into a synopsis because that's plenty easy enough to find, plus I'd already commented on a lot of the story beats in the anime discussions ; however, I will note that the art is great <3 , the pacing is much tighter and better than the anime, and there's slightly less of the stuff with the siblings. (Plus, there's even an all-text short story that explains Akutagawa's obsession with Dazai!) And, of course, it also goes further story-wise, including Atsushi's full backstory and the current (even-more-intense!) Dostoyevsky arc. (And then there are the novels, too, which provide even more backstory and character development, and which I'm super excited to read next!) Simply put, not only is the manga better than the anime, it's an *excellent* series in and of itself! Definitely recommended (whether you've seen the anime or not)!




Chouritsu Soukou Zyklus;Code chapter 1 (DROPPED):

Ugh... and here I thought from the synopsis that this was basically going to be tailor-made just for me, with musical instruments having bodies and wills and choosing their players + the MC's going around fixing them, etc.-- but it didn't turn out that way at all, unfortunately. Let's just leave it at the fact that I dropped it after chapter one and do *not* recommend it.




Horimiya volumes 1-5 (so far):

Oh. My. Gosh! I am absolutely *loving* this! The relationship between the MC's is great (and I just downright adore Miyamura {and his friend Tooru, too-- oh my gosh, I almost died laughing when Tooru tried to cover for Miyamura's SPOILER: Highlight text to read: tattoos during the school trip!! }). And there are slightly darker undertones at times, too, which imbues a nice little bit of realism into the fun (for example, Miyamura's piercings were SPOILER: Highlight text to read: actually a form of self-harm for him ; and, given the bullying and his own mental state, if that one kid hadn't reached out to him when he was younger, he most likely would've been on the track to suicide...! And Hori's family situation is a bit messed-up, too ). So, yeah, it's a really great mix of serious and amusing/cute, and I'm really enjoying it so far.




JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood omnibus volumes 1-3 (japanese volumes 1-5, complete):

So, I know the JoJo franchise is A Really Big Deal, and several people here whose opinions I respect seem to enjoy it quite a bit, so I had put all the Parts of the manga on my to-read-list, and decided to start from the beginning (Part 1). But even knowing going into this that pretty much everyone says this particular installment of JoJo is the least... er... entertaining of the lot, and even though I've heard great things about the later installments, I do have to say that this was not very encouraging in terms of making me want to continue, LOL... It was kinda dumb and uninteresting; it seemed to try to take itself a little too seriously for about the first half or so; the excessively explanatory 'narration' was super corny (and not in an in-joke way, at least as far as I could tell); and the animal cruelty was downright unforgivable. Oh, and it was quite graphic at times, as well (and not in an amusing way, either). So, yeah, not the best introduction to the series, that's for sure. Someone please convince me that it does indeed get better later on...??




Kuro by Soumatou, all chapters (complete):

I just randomly ran across this, decided to read it based on the synopsis + reviews, and am glad I did, because I loved it! It had just the right balance of adorableness and horror, delusion and (supernatural) reality... and just enough info about the world to let you get some sort of grasp on what humanity is now dealing with without getting into a bunch of faux-sciencey details that would detract from the main core of the story, which is the relationship of Coco (the girl) and Kuro (the not-cat) (and a few other human characters thrown in for good measure), all attempting to live relatively peaceful lives in a creepy and dangerous world. It was *great.*




Noragami: Awase Kagami special chapters 1-2 (complete):

This was a little flashback side-story. Nothing essential, but good nonetheless.




Platinum End chapters 1-2 (DROPPED):

...Um, *yikes.* This is the newest manga by duo Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (the creators of Death Note and Bakuman.), and it's the first manga by this duo that was not only *not* great, but actually downright *bad* (and an instant drop). This is due to three things: First, this particular series' *seriously* messed-up theology (and I'm usually pretty tolerant with that, so you know it's pretty darn messed up if I find it hard to take...); second, the fact that literally *none* of the characters are likeable in the least; and the third and final straw was the rather shocking inclusion of a certain scene that I had absolutely no need to see (...uh, basically it was a really loathsome guy using his powers to force every cute girl he could find to believe that they're in love with him and then literally attempting to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: have sex with like 14 of these poor, essentially-mind-contolled women at once-- quite vividly. {Yuck!}). ...Yeah. I really have no idea what happened with the creators there , but I suppose they eventually had to do a bad series at some point...? Obviously, stay the heck away from this. (...But *do* go read Death Note and Bakuman. if you haven't already, because they're actually great. Unlike this one. )




And Skip! Yamada-kun oneshot (complete):

...Well, that was depressing? And kinda pointless?? *shrug* Don't bother with this.

[SincerelyAnomymous]

FLCL Omnibus

I finished it! I pretty much enjoyed it more than the original anime. Maybe because it was easier to keep up with and understand, plus it also kept balance on multiple characters.

Some of the plot deviations were nice and made it fresh, but my only problem was the ending, which seemed like a massive detour from what the original anime ending was. It kind of lessened the impact of Naoto's character development towards accepting he is still just a kid and that he should stop trying to be so mature.

Anyways, it was still a fun read and I appreciate they kept the over the top spirit. The art style was also its same quirkiness I love, but it had a unique flavor to it. Regardless, the guy who made this did a fantastic job! =)

[Mouse2010]

Noragami volume 17. I am a little nervous about this story arc. I have trouble seeing it come to a "good" ending. The manga has gotten its characters out of some tight spots before, but I am particularly concerned both for Bishamon and Kazuma right now.

The Ancient Magus' Bride volume 6. Er, I'm actually only halfway through this. I think it's funny that I am pretty much constantly on the fence about this manga, but I always buy the next volume when I see it. Those gorgeous full-color pages, though! I swear, that's what keeps me coming back. Halfway through this volume, it's been pretty fluffy, but it looks like a new story arc is about to start.

[the_wolfs_howl]

D.Gray-Man chapter 224

At least...I guess it was a chapter???? It was so short....

HaruXKiyo chapter 13

I have issues with the whole concept of "controlling your girlfriend," so I hope that's just a matter of translation :/ Other than that, this chapter was hilarious - especially when Mineta gave Koharu his glasses! And I must say, Mineta looks rather dashing without them :3 I also snorted over how the girls had taken to pushing their glasses up all studiously. I have determined that I push my glasses up in the "strong and silent studious character" way too XD

[Mouse2010]

A Bride's Story Volume 8. I think I liked this better than the last installment. I am increasingly caught up in Pariya's story. I hope things go well with her intended, but I am a little astounded at the sheer amount of needlework that she has to do. Wow.

I don't know what the author has planned for this series, but I kind of wish she'd skip a few years to when Karluk is mature, because I would really like to see some scenes with Amir and adult Karluk.

[MangaRocks!]

Read a bunch of new-to-me manga recently!



Atsui Hibi short story collection (4 chapters, complete):

This was actually the only thing I hadn't yet read from Yuki Midorikawa (who is the mangaka of Natsume's Book Of Friends as well as a number of short series and one-shots, all of which I've reviewed here before ). I believe this is one of her earlier one-shot collections, and while that does show a little, it's still good (as it would be, coming from her, LOL!). The titular first chapter was a bit surprising in how dark the one kid's family situation was, but that certainly made for an interesting change of pace. The second chapter was a sweetly melancholy one about an artist whose work just sort of... seeps out of him, but he'd been having issues expressing it. The third chapter is actually a sequel to the first one, this time focusing on the relationships. And the fourth and final chapter is the only one that's actually kinda mediocre, but still not awful or anything (indeed, I don't think that's even possible for this mangaka, LOL, no matter how early the work! ). So, yeah, decent reads.




Basara volumes 1-27 (complete):

Wow, this manga was intense. (I mean that as a compliment, though! ) Pay no mind to the slightly-too-fast-pace of the first volume, because everything after that is gold. Both the characters and the plot are more complex than they first seem; there's a lot of political machinations going on (although pretty much all of it is due to severe personal and familial dysfunction ... which is actually pretty realistic, TBH); even most of the characters that you initially hate turn out to have depth (and are definitely understandable-- indeed, so much so that some of the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: deaths of characters you thought were 'enemies' are surprisingly moving ), and minus like two obviously evil characters that you don't even hardly see much of, most everyone is just doing what they think they have to do to get to their desired future within the context of their own personal philosophies (and both the main protagonist and main seeming-antagonist end up doing terrible things at times for those causes; however, both also learn and change a heck of a lot for the better throughout the course of the story because of that as well, which makes it all the more gripping). And there are some good plot twists, too; I did not expect a lot of the events. Plus, despite-- or, rather, really because of-- the war, this manga also ends up making a very strong case against hatred and killing and for love and the sanctity of life. <3

...That said, there is a fair amount of content to be aware of: It's pretty violent for shoujo, LOL-- I mean, there *is* a war on, after all -- though there's nothing too graphic; there is a tiny bit of nudity (though *not* for fanservice); one character's orientation is a bit... vague (he says he likes women, and he obviously does; and reacts understandably vehemently when any men come on to him... yet he also did apparently love one man as well {who was himself 100% straight and had no idea, though, so nothing came of it}); and there is rather more than a bit of sex (several obvious {but tasteful} 'after' panels + five partial scenes, and thankfully none of them are graphic; however, while one of these is the usual female-and-male- SPOILER: Highlight text to read: MC's-finally-get-together scene and another is a woman trying to basically train a guy out of the trauma he had associated with the act (though they do like each other, too) , three of them are pretty brutal in terms of circumstance-- one involves a slave boy being cruelly abused {in every possible way} by his male master, another involves a guy offering himself to another guy under duress in order to protect someone he cares about from being raped instead {which is as horrifying to the character being protected as it is to the reader, but thankfully it's more discussed than actually shown}, and a girl is raped by her own father). So, yeah, this manga doesn't play around.

TL;DR: If you can handle those several brief scenes (which all have legitimate character and plot purposes, and the bad ones of which are not approved of by anyone in the story, anyway), this is an epic, excellent classic.




Bokura ga Ita, a.k.a. We Were There , volumes 1-16 (complete):

Ugh... why, why was this (supposedly) so popular......?! The art aside (it definitely isn't the best; for example, faces aren't drawn in unless it's the MC's and they're in the foreground, and sometimes not even then, LOL...! ), it *starts out* decently enough-- not only does the guy have a lot going on mentally (due to the double betrayal-and-tragedy he went through plus a very big mistake he made besides), the girl confesses her crush quite soon but immediately rejects his casual offer to go out because if they go out she wants their feelings to be mutual first; etc. And it takes a *VERY* surprising turn halfway through-- SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the main guy actually disappeared a little while after he went to Tokyo, which makes the next few volumes almost a mystery as it's revealed what happened; and for that plus various other reasons (which were seemingly foreshadowed both well in advance and also after the actual timeskip) it very much looks like the main girl and the best friend will actually be endgame instead (to the point where they're planning to move in together and the girl is seriously considering marrying him)... and goodness knows the poor guy deserves it!-- which I was actually fairly impressed by, at first... however, then the mangaka just didn't have the guts to go through with that to its natural conclusion (...look, the main dude made his choice, bad as it was {though it wasn't like he had the greatest track record in that area anyway... }, and in real life he and everyone else would've just had to live with it and move on. Also, it's not realistic for the girl to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: still not be over him even after five years; I mean, I know that some people do only really fall in love once and that love never fades, but that's usually with older couples who have been together for decades or whatever, not your first teen love who disappeared off the face of the planet after knowing them for barely a year {which BTW was a really jerk move not just because it was in and of itself [obviously! ], but also coming from him especially, since he actually had something similar happen to him [only that time the character actually died], so he should know how awful that non-closure would have felt!}... and thus the best friend just ends up cruelly used, because of course SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the original two end up back together heedless of even the slightest drop of realism or consequences {seriously, what the genuine heck?!! }), so in the end this just bitterly disappointed me. ...No, even 'bitterly disappointed' is too nice a phrase-- the more I thought about it, the more ticked off and actually downright disgusted I became. To sum it up, the plot just ends up being one huge flies-in-the-face-of-consequences cop-out-- so I really regret reading it now... please don't bother wasting your time on this.




Koi Kaze chapters 1-35 (complete):

...Uh, yeah... this is that incest one. And it's neither the best nor most realistic work I've read that deals with that topic. Indeed, both of those titles actually go to the surprisingly excellent "Deepening The Scar" one-shot by Yuki Midorikawa, which is both beautifully sensitive and bittersweetly realistic-- in that while the love the formerly-estranged siblings come to share in that work is very tender and real, and neither of them can help it, it's precisely *because* of that that they do the right thing, separating for good and making sure that nothing comes of it at all. In fact, that one-shot by Midorikawa-sensei is the *only* work that deals with the topic that I can openheartedly recommend to just about anyone, because of that perfect combination of sensitivity, realism, and upholding of the commitment to doing the right thing even when it hurts. ...On the other hand, Koi Kaze (which is what I'm supposed to be commenting on ) is nearly the exact opposite-- not only do the siblings here refuse to abide by their own rules of separation, they eventually do SPOILER: Highlight text to read: actually sleep together and formally 'commit' to each other besides (the brother tells their mother that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: he's never going to marry-- although not why, for obvious reasons ), despite the fact that this is going to basically ruin both of their lives if it ever gets out (aside from the one coworker who already did accidentally find out and was rightfully very disgusted by it, but decided to keep her mouth shut for whatever reason). So... yeah, I'm kinda conflicted about this series. It's not like it was *badly* done, necessarily, it's just not... well, realistic, in that sense; and if it's going to deal with such a heavy topic, IMO it really should be-- showing the eventual consequences of their actions instead of just a seemingly-happy SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "I love you" to each other at the end. So I don't really recommend this (...but I *would* really recommend "Deepening The Scar" instead, obviously ).




Mob Psycho 100 chapters 1-98.5 (so far):

Welp, I already raved about how awesome I thought the anime was (second section of the linked post), so I'll just get on to the manga-specific comments here. First things first: Well, if I hadn't watched the anime beforehand, the (purposeful) art style might have been a bit of a shock, LOL; and even prepared for it, it was still almost hilariously ugly for a while (though that's actually kind of the point), but it did steadily improve over time (indeed, some of the later spreads are really quite impressive). As for the story: There's a little extra humor (LOOOOOL the Body Improvement Club members' 'stats' are hysterical!! ), and there's also some surprisingly darker (and even more epic!) stuff later on, but that's not a bad thing at all-- plus, said stuff actually brought about my favorite quote of the entire series so far (yes, even more than Reigen's monologue to the Claw people!), and it's Mob who says it: "Any person can change. That's why there are no worthless people." <3 <3 And speaking of Mob: He really does grow as a person throughout (as do the minor characters, as well, who also become surprisingly awesome in and of themselves). <3 Oh, and even better, the expectation-subversions don't stop after the point where the anime did-- there have already been several more, and one in particular had me right on the edge of my seat until the subversion was revealed. So, yeah, definitely go watch the anime and then definitely read this afterward!




Princess Jellyfish, a.k.a. Kuragehime, chapters 1-81 (so far), via Crunchy:

I'd always heard that this josei was excellent, and I can now personally confirm that it indeed is! Every character is college-age or older; the main cast of female otaku are both amusing and great; the downright-criminally gorgeous, ( + very straight, and for good reasons ) crossdressing Kuranosuke is a fantastic character who is super fun <3 (seriously, I *adore* him! ); and his older brother isn't bad, either. Also, the loose-lipped (...uh, in more ways than one ) chauffeur is hilarious, too. As for the story: The central conflict-- saving the otaku girls' home-- works wonderfully well, and the starting-a-business-from-scratch + fashion-design aspects (used to raise money for the property's survival) is really cool, too (especially since it's with a *very* unique inspiration ). Oh, and the mangaka's little omake about herself and her family (and later also her assistants, etc.) is unexpectedly hilarious. Really looking forward to seeing what happens next~!




A combined, interwoven reading of xxxHOLiC volumes 1-19 (complete) + Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE volumes 1-28 (complete) in volume publishing order, since that's essentially how they were intended to be read (...plus their sequels, as well-- but first things first! ):

xxxHOLiC is a supernatural Slice Of Life that is overflowing with atmosphere, wisdom, deep yet sad kindness, and occasionally my own tears <3 <3 ; and Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE is CLAMP's alternate-multiverse + timey-wimey-paradox crossover-fic with a heavy dash of blood and feels. And these really do work best when reading them in tandem (indeed, by the time it gets towards the end of both series, I think you'd be fairly confused if you *didn't* read them that way, LOL! I didn't mind this at all, though). And while I may have rated Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE a 9 and xxxHOLiC a 10-- a seemingly-small difference-- xxxHOLiC actually ended up being my favorite of the two by a surprisingly large margin (and it's certainly the better, wiser, and more beautiful work by any standard). Still, while (IMO) one is the clear masterpiece of the two, both were excellent and gripping reads, and if you know/like anything about CLAMP they (as well as their respective sequels) should definitely be on your to-read list. Speaking of which...




And the aforementioned sequels, Tsubasa: WoRLD CHRoNiCLE - Niraikanai-hen volumes 1-3 (complete) and xxxHOLiC Rei chapters 1-54 (so far, as it's actually still ongoing!):

xxxHOLiC Rei occurs very near the end of the original xxxHOLiC series (before the last chapter's SPOILER: Highlight text to read: timeskip); and, of course, just like the first series, the already-finished Tsubasa: WoRLD CHRoNiCLE - Niraikanai-hen occurs during and thus intertwines with Rei (though by the point at which they're up to now Rei is taking place afterwards, since WoRLD CHRoNiCLE - Niraikanai-hen is already done while Rei is still currently ongoing). And IMO both are equally as excellent as their first series-- WoRLD CHRoNiCLE - Niraikanai-hen features one new world on SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Syaoran, Kurogane, & Fai's new journey, which was really quite interesting; and xxxHOLiC Rei continues its wonderful self during SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Watanuki's time as the shop manager with one new overarching mystery in the background (and it already made me cry again, just like the original series did <3 -- which is not a complaint at all!). Very much looking forward to more!




...Oh, and I *also* read the xxxHOLiC novel, ...AnotherHOLiC, which (while storyboarded by CLAMP) was actually written by NisiOisiN (complete):

Some of the dialogue exchanges in this were downright hilarious. That said, Yuuko seems to be painted a bit more meanly here than she really was; however, Watanuki always was a bit of an unreliable narrator (at least, until just near the point where SPOILER: Highlight text to read: he made his choice to take over the shop; though there were some glimpses of his true feelings during things like the eye-replacing incident and, particularly, during and after his near-death experience and his subsequent knowledge of what had been done to save him, etc.)... and there was also one very clever little explanation as to why he might be an unreliable narrator in the first place (at least when it comes to Doumeki). So, in all, it was a good little read; not the masterpieces that IMO both of the xxxHOLiC manga are, but decent (and occasionally hilarious) enough side-stories.

[GeneD]

A combined, interwoven reading of xxxHOLiC volumes 1-19 (complete) + Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE volumes 1-28 (complete) in volume publishing order, since that's essentially how they were intended to be read

Oh that is interesting. xxxHolic's always been on my radar (Tsubasa not so much) but I knew there was crossover, so I'm definitely saving that reading order for one day when I want to tackle some CLAMP works.Thanks for posting it.

I'm actually just stopping by to say that Helck by Nanaki Nanao is good. Parphrased from the myanimelist summary: "Soon after the last Demon King was defeated, the Demon Empire started a contest to choose a successor. But the favourite to win was no other than a human, The Hero Helck, whose motive to become the Demon King was to defeat his own race. What are Helck's true motives to participate in the contest and defeat the human kingdom? It's up to one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Empire, Red Vamirio, to discover and unfold Helck's true intentions."

The story soon develops past this basic premise though, delving into Helck's backstory and the history of human vs demon conflict. BTW, there's nothing that makes the characters from the Empire "demonic" other than being from different "fantasy races" and fantasy magic, though humans can and do use magic too. There's some nice twists to the usual fantasy epic/war story and I've ended up caring about a lot of the characters as well. It has a kind of FMA vibe, swinging rather well between funny/sweet and serious.

Other stuff I've been reading:

Ojojojo: a 4-koma about the relationship between a quiet, outcast boy and a rich girl who's arrogant personality causes her to be shunned by her classmates. It's a cute read, with a good amount of story and character growth for a 4-koma, nice for if you want a quick, light break.

Gon: the (textless) adventures of a tiny dinosaur and the animals around him. The art is phenominal and the story episodic, but I like it less than I expected because Gon can be a bully sometimes, so my enjoyment varies from story to story.

[SierraLea]

Hi, I'm back after an absence of several years, but I got bored with just fanfiction and decided to come back here. Anyway, I started reading a series called A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori. It is an excellent story based in nineteenth century Asia and Europe, if anyone else would like to try it.

[Mouse2010]

Hi, I'm back after an absence of several years, but I got bored with just fanfiction and decided to come back here. Anyway, I started reading a series called A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori. It is an excellent story based in nineteenth century Asia and Europe, if anyone else would like to try it.

Welcome back! We could use more posters!

I've been reading that one, too! Recently read volume 8, I think. The artwork is amazing.

[SierraLea]

There's an eighth volume? I can't find it at my library! Do you know if there's somewhere online I could read it?

[Mouse2010]

There's an eighth volume? I can't find it at my library! Do you know if there's somewhere online I could read it?

Volume 8 came out in September. (Looks like volume 9 is not due until next September, if you're curious.) But unfortunately I don't know anywhere to access it online. It seems to be only published in hardcover. Does your library offer interlibrary loan? You might be able to get it that way.

[SierraLea]

I'm rereading Bleach now. I found out from fanfiction that there's an arc involving the Quincy after the Aizen arc and decided to go back to the start to get the whole story.

[Kaori]

Yume no Moribito (complete at 4 vols.): finally got through reading this.

I'm glad I finished it, I'm just going to be honest right away and say I feel hesitant to recommend this manga mainly because of the age difference between the two leads.

The plot is, there's a girl who is put to sleep permanently as a sacrifice to seal away a bunch of harmful spirits (butterflies), but before she is put to sleep she meets a young man who is in his teens at the time, they form a connection, and then after she is sacrificed (put to sleep) he spends every day for the next eight years binding the harmful spirits inside her so that someday he can wake her up again. He wakes her up again in the very first chapter IIRC, so then the rest of the story is about her growing up mentally to match her physical age, working through the psychological issues she has due to her experience of abandonment as a child, and learning to purify the butterfly spirits inside her, as well as the characters dealing with some external conflict in the form of some enemies who want to put her back to sleep.

So the girl is 16 or 18, I can't recall which but I think 16, and when she first wakes up her mind is still that of a young girl. The story is definitely at its creepiest at that time while she hasn't yet mentally matured to her physical age, but even when she has reached the maturity level of her real age, it is still the story of a relationship between a girl who is 16 or 18 and a man who is about 10 years older. So I just want to say that that kind of thing IRL is never appropriate and I don't condone that aspect of the story.

However, other than the age difference I did like this manga and don't regret reading it to the end; in particular, in the last volume I thought it had some really valuable and beautiful things to say about how it is necessary in relationships for there to be mutual support and to not just selfishly take from the other person without giving anything back. The female lead had a very strong spiritual power that was distinct from the male lead and what he was able to do, and more importantly towards the end there was a lot of emphasis on the way the two leads mutually helped and supported each other: the male lead by literally rescuing Yume from being locked away by herself in darkness (when she was put to sleep), and Yume by loving and accepting a part of the male lead (his ability to read people's emotions by touching them) which caused him to be rejected by other people SPOILER: Highlight text to read: she also had a role in helping him overcome the grief of his father's death. A similar dynamic of mutual support being the healthy foundation of a relationship also comes up in the relationship between two minor characters.

Other than that, the reader can easily guess that Sensei's (the male lead) spending every day for eight years of his life binding butterflies at a rate of one or two per day in order to wake Yume up again was because he cares for her deeply, so to maintain at least a semblance of tension in the relationship, there's an aspect of the plot that is a definitely there as a plot device, which is Sensei's having this thing where he tends to help people only until they are strong enough to live by themselves and then kicks them out, and he also says things along those lines to the female lead. There was, however, a decent explanation for it at the end which made sense in context of the world and the background the author had created: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: After purifying all of the butterflies, it was necessary for Yume to go off by herself and scatter the purified butterflies through the world so that their energy could dissipate. So in the end I felt that although it was obviously a plot device which was there to keep the story from completely dissolving into sentimental mush, I can at least accept that it does make sense and is reasonable within the context of the story.

[the_wolfs_howl]

The Heroic Legend of Arslan chapters 36-46

Got caught up on this again. Ahhhh, I love this manga. It's so full of detail and politicking and court intrigue and intense war strategies and brutal battles that don't sugar-coat anything...and yet it still has that hilarious Arakawa flair that I can't get enough of

HaruXKiyo chapter 14

Well, that was...surprisingly easy when it came down to it. I'm glad they worked out their differences in the end, though.

[MangaRocks!]

Read a bunch more new-to-me series these past few months~!




Ayakashi Hisen chapters 1-31 (so far):

...Er, well, this is one of those series that-- with its premise (including the whole SPOILER: Highlight text to read: past lives thing)-- *could* have been great, but... *isn't.* It starts out well enough (one of the baddies was actually quite cleverly hidden {only catching it by looking back at said character's actions in hindsight}, some of the ghosts in the beginning are truly scary {in a good way}, and yes, the main male lead is really adorable); however, unfortunately, the pacing is *very* fast, the story uses several tropes that I absolutely *despise* (and not well, either... ugh ), and the main female lead is... not the least bit intelligent/logical. At all. If all those issues had not been present, this would have been good; as it is, though, I unfortunately would *not* recommend it.




Bread & Butter chapters 1-5 via the usual methods and 6-20 via raws + text translations (so far):

Well, the beginning of this series *is* a tad cliché with the MC deciding to get married because she has no real skills other than teaching and she was basically forced to leave from that job-- to the logical mind there are certainly several other things she could do instead -- but with the omiai service she tried having failed her, the guy she sets her sights on (and rather flippantly asks to marry, though to her surprise he actually agrees {due to some past relationship baggage of his own}) has a pretty great personality , as does the hilarious older-lady regular customer of his bread shop , and all the characters are adults (and have had previous relationships-- yes, even including the MC), so despite having to suspend my disbelief a little in the very beginning, so far it has actually ended up being quite cute and good overall. (Besides, after the first chapter, the MC's family is informed and they {rightly!} go varying shades of concerned/ballistic about the whole situation , and do force the MC to start really seriously thinking things through, so that definitely helps. Also, it's not like the MC's get married right away or anything {indeed, her parents haven't even agreed to the *engagement* yet, no less an actual wedding}; so they do essentially date first. And the guy's finances are cleverly explained, too.) Enjoying this so far~




Donten ni Warau, a.k.a. Laughing Under The Clouds, chapters 1-29 (complete), plus what has currently been translated of its epilogue-plus-extra-backstory series Donten ni Warau Gaiden chapters 1-13 (so far) *and* its mid-prequel series Rengoku ni Warau chapters 1-19 (so far):
Oh man, this series. I really like the art (the character designs in particular); the three brothers' relationship is amusing and sweet (and-- once things hit the fan later on-- extremely touching because of just how deep it is <3 ); and plot-wise I was already interested even with just their 'surface' job, no less the hidden one. I also like how the past 'cycles' are integrated into the storyline right away-- indeed, the second and third chapters cleverly skip back about 600 years to their ancestors {or, well, to be more precise, one character who's an ancestor and two others whose fates are forever bound} who were also adorable and awesome ), which also explains what they're *really* going to be up against in the 'present' (though some of those criminals are already plenty dangerous enough in and of themselves, LOL). And about midway through, the series delivers a punch to the gut that works wonders even though I'd guessed it coming... and then holy crap, that twist later on is great! ...And then, of course, there's another gut-punch... ...but the end makes everything worth it (they really do shine like the sun~~~!). <3 Also, IMO the Gaiden should actually just be counted (and read) as a part of the main series, because its epilogues and extra backstories really help to both give even more beautiful closure and also flesh out a few more things character-wise. As for the the mid-prequel Rengoku ni Warau (using that term because the several-chapter right-within-the-original-series prequel was set 600 years prior {two Orochi cycles back}, whereas RnW is set during the next Orochi cycle, which is 300 years prior), well... that one is actually a tad jarring at first, because the Kumous who were alive at that time were extremely unlikable until about chapter 9 or so (though there is a reason-- hence a point at which they *do* start being likable-- but still... ). Luckily, however, the main MC pretty much makes up for that , and it's still worth the read. So all 3 are recommended!




Gakuen Alice, a.k.a. Alice Academy, chapters 1-180 (complete):

This was an old rec that I finally got around to just now. It wasn't quite what I was expecting-- for one, it took a little while to get used to the tone (some of it was a bit too slapstick-comedy {in a rather odd way}, yet some is also surprisingly dark {turns out that the 'school' is essentially a strict mini-dictatorship of a resource-/power-exploiting facility-- ostensibly for the government but later revealed really for one character's personal benefit, featuring near-complete seclusion from the outside world [including non-powered loved ones], actual [and quite severe] physical and psychological abuse by the aforementioned one character and his [equally-abused] proxies, and even forcing some of the kids via hostage blackmail to be literal SPOILER: Highlight text to read: child soldiers and even outright murderers-- with the added bonus of making them do so despite SPOILER: Highlight text to read: some of their own powers literally killing them bit by bit as they use them (!) [luckily there is a resistance movement, but due to the evil character's actually-decently-explained amount of real-world power and influence, they have to be very careful, so it takes a while for them to reveal themselves and their plans]}... and some of it requires a bit higher suspension of disbelief than usual, too ). As for content warnings: The secondary MC is very difficult to like at times (until quite a ways through), even once his behavior is understandable/explained-- for one thing, he is a bit of a harasser , though he *is* only 10 years old in the beginning, and, y'know, kids bullying those they like and all that-- still, it's there; there are a few pheromone-users who-- while straight-- either don't mind, can't control, or have a 'do-what-they-must' attitude when it comes to which gender(s) their powers affect, even if it's the same as their own (and that does involve a male/male kiss in one instance, though entirely unwanted by both parties ); there is one semi-minor male character who is obviously gay, one semi-minor female character who is almost certainly lesbian, and another female character who is either les or bi (though that last one is also almost certainly asexual, if the epilogue omake are any indication), though not much happens 'onscreen' (some very minor innuendo and a few face-kisses with the guy, and one quick kiss on the mouth with the second girl). Also, the MC's parents were a student-teacher couple, and neither had left the school yet when that relationship occurs. Now, while that usually doesn't bother me except in certain circumstances (this is just fiction, after all), this particular instance did feel a bit weirder. It's quite a long flashback that shows their history, so there's a lot of detail put into it, which normally would make it work better (narratively speaking)... however, in this case, while it's certainly understandable from the student's perspective, there's not quite enough put into the teacher's. That is, you know that he knows how she feels, and, as he should, he does try valiantly to both ignore it and direct it somewhere else; yet there's not enough development of/insight into his own feelings to make it really feel inevitable when he finally breaks down and confesses in return (though they are a very sweet couple once he does, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: as unfortunately brief as that lasts). Another couple of reasons why it feels a bit weirder than usual is that they *first* meet far earlier than the norm (i.e., she's not a teen yet then , though clearly there was nothing inappropriate even thought of at that time-- she is around 17 when the relationship actually occurs); and it's kinda supposed to be in contrast with the aforementioned evil character's actually-very-creepy and actually-very-unhealthy interest in her , which kinda works (because we already know that that snake is all sorts of horrible, whereas the teacher is 100% protective and loving {and does try to do the right thing-- well, mostly }), but also kinda doesn't (...for the obvious reason, LOL ). I think it would've worked a little better if SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the dad had lived, so we could've gotten more of his perspective of it, but then about half the plot would've been drastically different, LOL, so oh well...? ...Anyway, as for the all-important ending: While the series ends on a good note and most things are given decent enough closure, it does stop just before SPOILER: Highlight text to read: they enter the timestream to look for the Imai siblings, so unless you try to dig up the fanbooks' few little epilogue illustrations + omakes + translations (which are good, but not as easy to find as you might expect), you won't know how that ends up. TL;DR: There are definitely better super-power series (and series in general, of course), but I ended up being surprisingly emotionally invested by the end, so I guess it was a decent one-time read.




Iris Zero chapters 1-39 (so far):

...And speaking of better super-power series: HOLY CRAP THIS IS GREAT! For one, despite the rather-more-cutesy-than-usual art style, this series doesn't hesitate to tackle tough topics, such as severe (including physical) bullying, abuse, guilt, self-harm, and even attempted murder and suicide-- yet, somehow, it never seems too dark, and still remains very positive in the end ; it *very* nicely sidesteps some common cliché's (the MC does *not* discover any hidden/locked power later on-- he really is an 'Iris Zero'-- and that is *not* a status anyone in that world wants to have; neither of the two characters who are 'childhood friends' are in love with each other {which, despite how much I actually *like* that trope playing out to a good conclusion, is a bit cliché [though oddly enough it's a cliché despite it not really happening very often... okay I don't even know what I'm saying anymore there, LOL-- just that I like how it's written in this case ]}; it *looks* like the MC is going to have a typical harem set up around him at first, but then it's very quickly shown that {other than the one main girl, of course, who *is* interested in him} the others have likely/potential partners of their own, so there's no harem at all; the girl who seems SPOILER: Highlight text to read: totally oblivious to her best friend's feelings towards the MC {even when the others try to explain, LOL } actually knew all along; the MC also knows SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the main girl's feelings all along, and the talk they have about it is very different {in a very good way!} than usual; etc. etc. etc.); it basically features an ensemble cast (while there is the one 'main' MC that the series is titled after, it really ends up being more like 6 MC's, and I quite like how that's written, too); and, to top it all off, there are some mystery/detective elements, which are also not utilized in a traditional way, and which thus end up being really interesting in and of themselves. (Oh, and the omake are hilarious. ) So, yeah, I am absolutely loving this series right now, and can't wait for more!




Ristorante Paradiso vol. 1 (complete) + its expansion Gente vol.'s 1-3 (complete):

Watched the anime first... and, well, this was something, LOL. ...In all seriousness, I already knew both the premise and the whole thing with the mother before I went into it, so that helped with the suspension of disbelief a little. And while the main romance is quite speedy in the beginning (even more so in contrast to the low-key pace of the rest of it), and there’s not a lot for it to be based on (at least at first) , it’s rather sweet all the same (...y'know, despite her thinking he was still married and all beforehand , and then coming on to him like crazy the instant she discovered he actually wasn’t, poor guy {though she did apologize and calm down afterwards, and thus it mellowed out considerably and became much more understated, which IMHO works a lot better with the tone overall}). Also, some of the backstories are actually surprisingly messed-up, considering the generally mellow attitude of the series overall (see the owner + Gigi’s combined backstory and Claudio’s past trauma, for instance... ), and the sheer number of bad relationships (and the 'resolution' to each of them) is a tad disconcerting. After reading the manga (Ristorante Paradiso's 1 volume + Gente's 3 volumes), I can say that while the anime actually improved upon most (though not all) of the source material that it covered (to my great surprise), there is still a lot that it either skimmed through or even skipped entirely (such as all the development for Vito and his wife, Teo and Vanna, Marzio, and Gigi), so I guess the anime and both manga should be watched and read in tandem if you decide to try it. In all, I definitely wouldn't say it's a great series, but I guess I didn't mind the watch/read (once, anyway).




Tanaka-kun Is Always Listless chapters 1-62 (so far):

This is another one where I watched the anime first, and I have to say that (to my pleasant surprise) the anime was an *excellent* adaptation of what it covered. Best of all, the extra stuff that *wasn't* covered is just as hilarious and heartwarming , which means I can continue to read this lovely 4-koma whenever I want to read something feel-good~!




And Tegamibachi: Letter Bee volumes 1-20 (complete):

I'd put this on my plan-to-read list a long time ago due to its synopsis + hearing good things, and I just finally got around to reading it (after it was completed, LOL)... and I'm glad I did! I loved the art, the setting, the characters, and all the stuff about 'heart.' (I even liked the bad creatures' design-- which is really saying something, considering that I loathe all bugs in real life, LOL!) And the whole thing with the letters (which ties into 'heart') is really touching. <3 Basically, in terms of plot and tone, I guess it's kinda like a cross between The City Of Ember, Kingdom Hearts, and the old wild west post office , with a little Natsume's Book Of Friends-type slightly-melancholy-healing mixed in at times due to the letters... in other words, great! ...Now, as for content, there is unfortunately rather more (female) nudity than at all necessary (*mostly* barbie-doll, but nipples can occasionally be seen), and much of it is clearly of the unneeded-fanservice variety, so that unfortunately puts a bit of a dent into my rating of it ; however, if you can handle that, the story itself is certainly very good (and very touching <3 ).

[SierraLea]

I just finished the first volume of Spy Goddess. Gotta say, I was not impressed.

[Kaori]

Ayakashi Hisen chapters 1-31 (so far):

...Er, well, this is one of those series that-- with its premise (including the whole SPOILER: Highlight text to read: past lives thing)-- *could* have been great, but... *isn't.* It starts out well enough (one of the baddies was actually quite cleverly hidden {only catching it by looking back at said character's actions in hindsight}, some of the ghosts in the beginning are truly scary {in a good way}, and yes, the main male lead is really adorable); however, unfortunately, the pacing is *very* fast, the story uses several tropes that I absolutely *despise* (and not well, either... ugh ), and the main female lead is... not the least bit intelligent/logical. At all. If all those issues had not been present, this would have been good; as it is, though, I unfortunately would *not* recommend it.

Sorry about that. Looking back at my own notes from when I read it, I had noted that it was not particularly literary or extremely well-written; probably I just had a vague memory of having enjoyed some aspect of it (e.g. the fact that it is a shojo manga with a male lead who is actually nice), so I ended up using the word "good" without stopping to recall whether the plot was well-written or not.

[MangaRocks!]

^ @Kaori: Oh gosh, no worries, LOL!

[Kaori]

Finished reading volumes 2-3 of Aozora Yell, manga about a girl who is learning to play trumpet in the brass band and her relationship with a boy in the baseball team, in Japanese. (I think I mentioned in an earlier post when I reread v. 1 in Japanese?) This took me through the last of the chapters I had read in English and into some new territory.

The two leads have a relationship of mutual encouragement (in Japanese senaka-oshi, giving someone a push on the back, i.e. encouragement that pushes someone to do something) which is very Japanese and which I really enjoy. It reminds me strongly of some non-romantic relationships of mutual encouragement that I have had (or have) with actual Japanese people in real life, so that sort of feeling has some really positive associations for me.

Volume 2 ends with ends with Tsubasa (female lead) finally being able to play in rehearsals but then SPOILER: Highlight text to read: messing up in the final rehearsal before the set performance (the first one of the year) and becoming so nervous that she can’t play at all in the actual performance (even though the teacher, who is incredibly strict, didn’t tell her not to and no one else said anything either).

Volume 3 This volume had Daisuke-kun (male lead) filling in for an injured upperclassman in the match two rounds before Koushien. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: However, they lose due to a mistake that he makes in the ninth inning, and Tsubasa, trying to encourage him, starts just playing her trumpet on her own, causing annoyance to everyone and causing her to be harshly scolded by the teacher.

So the end of volume 3 is a bit of a downer (actually, so is volume 2).

Well, of course I have only read 3 volumes of this 19-volume series, so I don’t know how the whole plot is overall, but I am kind of glad that the female lead doesn’t become super-skilled right away nor does the baseball team go to Koushien in their freshman year, nor does the manga pretend that a first-year can rival the third-years in skill. So I respect that fact that this manga takes into account the reality that there is a skill difference that comes with age and experience.

Also, it is kind of nice in a feel-good sort of way that each volume ends with some sort of encouraging phrase. For example, volume 3 had a rather sad ending, with the beautiful stars in the night sky dissolving into black because they were blurred by the characters’ tears, but even after that the very final thing we were left with was “Surely tomorrow the weather will be clear.”

Summary: It is a nice, feel-good manga about the two leads mutually encouraging each other in their respective club activities as the female lead learns to play trumpet as an absolute beginner and the male lead plays baseball (which he was already skilled in). As of volume 3 the female lead is just starting to realize that she has feelings for the male lead, so the manga takes its time and allows the characters to develop a solid friendship first of all.

I do not own any more volumes of this right now, so although I could go online and rent more volumes, probably next up is more of Imuri, since I do have another three volumes or so lying around that I haven't read yet.

[Kaori]

I miss the days when forums were a more active means of communication.

Just finished reading Imuri v. 7.

This is one of those SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the character systematically has everything taken away from him kind of stories. How deep and far back certain characters' scheming goes continues to be impressive in its way. This volume again had quite a few upheavals in it (though not on the political or national scale at this point, but in individuals' lives), and also the atrocities that we learn about in this volume were particularly soul-shattering and horrifying. However, because it has started to seem like there is at least one soul-shattering, utterly horrifying atrocity in every volume, and often multiple ones, as a reader I am starting to get compassion burn-out and feel a bit callous to it (events are at the times over-the-top melodramatic, so that also has something to do with it, i.e. when things are too overdone then they cease to have the desired effect).

Also we get introduced to a lot more of the native customs and lifestyle of the simple and rustic Imuri (the people group for whom the manga is named). In the Japanese they have a very thick fictional country bumpkin accent which is rather hard for me to understand.

And on the note of those newly-introduced villagers, here's a prediction:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: So, the main character, Dulk, is a teenager (16?) and in this volume he runs into a younger girl (12?) who, when he asks her name, gets angry and says not to ask her name since they are not romantic partners (apparently the Imuri only tell their names to people with whom they are very close). Based on the way they interact, for example her indignation in saying "We're not lovers, so don't ask my name!", the blush on her face and the smirk on Dulk's when he subsequently overhears her name being called, I'm betting my virtual money that they are going to become romantic partners later in the series when she is a bit older, because I have seen this pattern of a young man meeting a woman who is younger and not completely grown up yet, having a relationship of protecting or rescuing her, and then later end up in a romantic relationship with her, in multiple manga in the past, and the interactions in v. 7 and the ones I saw flipping through the next volume a bit have that trope written all over them. If not, then it's probably going to be "this person falls in love with the hero but then gets killed" trope. This manga doesn't seem to be on the road to a warm and fuzzy happy ending, so I suppose the latter is also pretty likely.

On an unrelated note, starting with volume 8 the Japanese editions have some color pages in the middle of them (at least, v. 8-9 do; that's all I have right now). The result is not particularly spectacular, though, so if these ever come out in English sans the color, no one would be missing very much.

Preview of my future manga reading:

I currently own only up to v. 9 of Imuri, though I kind of suspect once I read to the end of that I will probably want to get my hands on more right away.

Other than that, I have all of the Space Pirate Captain Harlock manga in Japanese. If I finish reading those, then that will get me through almost all of the manga that I own but haven't read yet.

[MangaRocks!]

I miss the days when forums were a more active means of communication.

Me too.



Read some more new-to-me series over the past number of months:



Cat Street chapters 1-36 (complete):

This was great! The theme of giving troubled/outcast/otherwise-different kids a place of their own to belong to (and hopefully heal + integrate into society in a positive way for all involved) is really good; almost all of the characters that you at first might expect to be stereotypes actually aren't really; and, best of all, in terms of the romance, the one that you think is going to be the token unrequited onlooker-- who you're most wishing but least expecting to ever get with the MC-- actually *wins* (for once)!! So yeah, I quite enjoyed this short series.




Chihayafuru chapters 1-49 (so far):

See my review of the anime for my comments on both the source here as well as its adaptation.




Darren Shan, a.k.a. Cirque du Freak, volumes 1-12 (complete):

This was another *really* old rec that I finally just got around to now. And... well, it was... uh, interesting......? (Before I go further, please note that while I am extremely cautious about judging a story based solely upon an adaptation of it {due to the rather sad ratio of actual proper faithful adaptations I have experienced compared to the number that are not even close to being good representations of their source }-- I hadn't read the original Saga Of Darren Shan source novels, and I certainly won't now -- from what I've heard, this supposedly is a fairly faithful adaptation, minus a few cuts due to the limitations of chapter and volume length that the mangaka had to work under; so I think I can be at least mostly confident in my opinions of the story itself. And now that the disclaimer is out of the way...) This was a really odd mix of having a seemingly-juvenile intended audience yet displaying unflinching cruelty, a (very) few and (very) rare little nuggets of wisdom yet much 'cultural' and character stupidity , a couple of interesting concepts yet heavily flawed execution, and so on. As for the different races: It seemed like the author was going for vampire species that blend the traits we think of as 'normal' with "Our Vampires Are Different," but the 'different' bits are totally random and don't seem to have any real rhyme or reason (no less any real explanation) for being that way. And the origins of all the rest of the different races/'freaks'/whatever (including people like Evra) are also poorly explained (if at all), as is the magic (not explained whatsoever), and even what 'higher power' exactly sets the rules on foreseers and why SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Mr. Tiny is 'the only one allowed to meddle.' And as for the rest of the story: The "...But I Didn't Know 'X' Was Just About To Happen...' narrating device-- which is almost never used correctly, and this was far from an exception to that rule, sadly enough-- would have been annoying even if it had only been used once, but it was used *multiple* times, only compounding the problem; the body count of actual named characters (not just Red Shirts) is depressingly high (and also just plain *depressing,* due to their unwarranted cruelty); the motivation for the (obviously very, VERY broken, but not even in an understandable way) sort-of-main-antagonist is literally "You called me evil, so I'll do these 100% PURE EVIL things to prove... that I'm not actually evil!!!" (......Riiiiight... ); said antagonist's plans are both needlessly and downright absurdly overcomplicated; the plotting-- which, minus only one of the many 'reveals,' is *very* predictable-- bounces all over the place; oh, and I pretty much hate the ending! (Seriously, what the heck??? I mean, I guess the little SPOILER: Highlight text to read: meta 'twist' was 'cute' and all, but holy inconsistency, Batman... when your entire story is building up to the theme of SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "creating the future with your own hands," completely negating everyone else's choices without their consent-- and not even for any supposedly good reason, but merely to save the lives of yourself and your (still-almost-certainly-psychopathic, no less-- that personality/those tendencies won't just magically disappear just because the situation didn't precisely trigger it this time, and for goodness' sake, Crepsley even *still* pegged him as evil!) 'best friend'-- leaving everything else (all the pain, death, and the rest of it) to happen exactly the same, just forcing two other poor unfortunate souls into those same 'roles' instead (...welp, too bad for them, I guess??)-- is not only completely and utterly unheroic (and leaves a very bitter aftertaste), but also completely throws that theme you were building up to right out the window (and into a flaming pit of stakes below )! (Oh, and it also created a massive paradox for good measure, but of course there's no way *that* was ever gonna be addressed, given the 'quality' of the plot writing here... ) Way to make your own story crash and burn! ...Actually, I don't really know why I even bothered to finish the thing, to be honest. So, yeah, this wasn't good. My apologies to whoever recommended this to me back in the day, but while I have no hard feelings about it, I really would *NOT* recommend this to anyone else, LOL...




Dreamin' Sun, a.k.a. Yumemiru Taiyou, volume 1 (so far):

This is a previous series by Ichigo Takano, the mangaka of the *fantastic* Orange (and currently-on-hiatus-but-also-great-so-far ReCollection), so I knew it had to at least be *good.* And oh man, it already is-- it's quite funny. The female MC has a bit of a sharp tongue ; there's quite a cascade of one-sided love, but somehow it actually doesn't feel forced; and I'm already interested in seeing what this apparent family history the 'landlord' has. So, yeah, looking forward to reading the rest of this.




From Maid To Mother, a.k.a. Maid kara Haha ni Narimashita, chapters 1-15 (so far):
OH MY GOODNESS, THIS IS SUCH A WONDERFUL HIDDEN GEM!! <3 <3 <3 The female MC is smart, emotionally strong, very capable (in a realistic way), utilizes the burden/gift of the memories of her past life (which has essentially doubled her life experience) to logical effect, and is clearly a wonderful mother to her adopted daughter. <3 The male MC (who is the most powerful magician in the land) is *extremely* socially impaired , but really sweet. And the side-characters are adorable, too. Plus, the series is *MUCH* more about family (and the really neat world and magic system {and adorableness, of course }) than it is about romance (in fact, ATM the MC doesn't even really want to have anything to do with love in her current life, due to the trauma she went through with it in her past life), and there are literally no bad options there anyway should it eventually head in that direction, so wow is this a win-win! *Absolutely* recommended!




Fruits Basket Another chapters 1-7 (so far):

This is a short sequel series to my #1 favorite manga of all time, Fruits Basket. And while it's certainly not the masterpiece of the original (nor was I expecting it to be), it's still quite enjoyable so far. In a reversal of the previous series, this time it's the MC who was a victim of both physical and psychological abuse (though she is valiantly attempting to overcome the effects of this) and the Sohmas are the ones who are trying to help her, which is kind-of a neat full-circle sort of deal. It's also pretty amusing how obvious the kids are, in terms of whose they are. So, yeah, this looks like it'll be a nice little spinoff epilogue, and I look forward to reading the rest of it.




The Haruhi Suzumiya: Random Numbers short story novel (complete):

This was really cute. Enough said~




Kids On The Slope, a.k.a. Sakamichi no Apollon, chapters 1-45 + the epilogue "Bonus Track" volume (complete):

See my review of the anime for my comments on both the source here as well as its adaptation.




Koi wa Ameagari no You ni chapters 1-46 (so far):

This... has quite an age-gap, LOL. (Like, a really big one, not just the around-10-or-so years that seem to be fairly common {and which don't bother me at all}. Nope, this one is almost 30. ) That said, even though it's an unrealistic situation, it's actually not treated lightly-- not only does the manager valiantly try to persuade the MC to give up (despite his pushover nature), and explain the possible social consequences (some of which have already occurred), but that whole situation is starkly contrasted by the college-age playboy chef, who is in fact a genuine creep (with stepsister issues, to boot)-- plus, on the manager's part, there's literally nothing besides a few thoughts that are understandable that one might have in that situation (quickly smothered), bafflement, embarrassment, and kindness; and there's not even a *hint* of anything that could be more than that until 40 chapters in, and even then it's mostly just gratefulness that someone finally accepts who he is. Oh, and the (going-to-be) side couple (who have no age gap at all, LOL) is kinda adorable. Also, the art is quite unique-- not only are there actual varied body types/character designs, but it's also got this indescribable blend of both old-school and new-school aesthetics that is really pretty. The only content warning (aside from the massive age gap, of course, though as I said literally nothing at all has happened there yet aside from one fake date and a hug) are two... uh... fantasies-- one by the female MC about the older guy, and one by the creeper chef about the female MC (though both scenes are quite brief, and neither character acts on what they're imagining). Not sure I could really recommend this out easily (for obvious reasons), but it's certainly an interesting read so far.




My Neighbor Seki, a.k.a. Tonari no Seki-kun, volumes 1-9 (so far):

The anime did a fantastic job of bringing this to life , but of course all the chapters that weren't adapted are great, too. One thing that's so cute to see in the manga that they didn't have time to get around to in the anime is that the two MC's (and even Maeda!) interact more and more as it goes on; and when Seki's mother shows up, it's priceless, LOL. (Also, oh my gosh, Seki's dad-- best reveal ever, ROTFL!!! ) So, yeah, recommended.




Nihonmatsu Kyoudai to Mokuzou Keikoku no Bouken chapters 1-2 (so far):

This is the newest series by Satoshi Mizukami, the creator of Spirit Circle, The Lucifer And Biscuit Hammer, and Sengoku Youko (among other things). And... well, while all 3 of those aforementioned series are either pure excellence or outright masterpieces, this new series actually hasn't really grown on me just yet (and I certainly wouldn't recommend it as someone's first introduction to Mizukami-sensei's work). That said, I can already see the connections to his previous works (all of his main series take place in the same multiverse, with a certain mechanic that enables characters' appearances to... well, appear again elsewhere {that's the best way I can put it without spoilers }); and (as far as I've seen) this mangaka has always, always twisted expected tropes on their heads in some way-- usually once the characters, world, and those tropes have been thoroughly established (at which point Stuff Goes Down™ and things get serious and epic). This is only a mere 2 chapters in ATM, and thus is obviously still very much in its setup phase; and while the comedy is a little more outrageous than usual , given all the other things I've read from this guy so far, I still absolutely trust this mangaka to make something great, so I'm in this for the long haul. (My recommendation is still to read his other stuff first though. )




Shiki by Ryuu Fujisaki and Fuyumi Ono, chapters 1-42 (complete):

This series is easily the best vampire story I've read, and one of the better horror ones overall, too! Even though the reader knows the main cause for the stuff going on, the villagers obviously don't, despite some knowing it's an 'epidemic' of some sort, so watching the entire situation slowly drive the villagers violently insane is both horrifying and absolutely fascinating-- especially since several people begin to suspect vampirism very early on (and some even dig up a grave to prove it to themselves)-- but that only ends up making things worse. This is a classic horror story-- minus one single character who plays no major part, there's literally no 'moral high ground' on either side; the humans end up doing the exact same just-as-horrific stuff to the shiki as the shiki do to them (some even taking a sick pleasure in doing so). In other words, both the shiki and the humans are 'monsters'-- which, again, is very classic horror. You're supposed to come away from this tragedy with understanding-yet-revulsion in equal measure for both sides, and it succeeds admirably. This is perfect Halloween fare, or for any time you feel like reading a great horror. Recommended.



And Yona Of The Dawn, a.k.a. Akatsuki no Yona, chapters 1-148 (so far):

This is a pseudohistorical fantasy series with quite a lot of action (fighting, I mean ). And not only does it start out fairly good, but once it gets to the later volumes-- where more backstory and politics appear, plus you finally get more of a sense of the king's motivations-- it becomes great. I am so darn invested in Princess Yona and her group of dragon and human companions (+ that slow-burn romance! <3 ), and in how they all continue to build a better future for their country! Recommended.

[Kaori]

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni chapters 1-46 (so far)

Did I ever mention this manga on CAA? I think I didn't, because I was hesitant to even mention it because of the huge age difference. (I also find the fact that it's a superior/subordinate relationship troubling.)

I read 5 chapters of it, about 2 years ago apparently, and I remember it being really well-written, in a way where the pictures are used very effectively at times to communicate things without words, and also humorous.

A lot of times if I just read a few chapters at the beginning of a series and then stop, I sort of just forget about it as it just sort of fades into the hazy background of all the other manga I have ever read (I have read a LOT of manga), but for some reason when I felt like reading manga this one kept repeatedly coming to mind as something that was memorable and I enjoyed and would kind of wish to read more of.

I think probably the reason I never read more was partly due to my decision to stop reading scanslations and only read manga that I legitimately own or have access to and partly because of some feelings of discomfort/guilt over the age difference and skeptically thinking to myself, "This is a male fantasy!" (that a young, beautiful high school girl would have feelings for a man in his forties).

But if you vouch for it and if the actual ramifications of a relationship with that kind of age difference are taken seriously, then I will put it on my radar as something I should continue reading someday (probably not for a while, though, as right now my main options are Renta! or physically importing it, either of which is kind of expensive compared to used manga in Japan).

[MangaRocks!]

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni chapters 1-46 (so far)

Did I ever mention this manga on CAA? I think I didn't, because I was hesitant to even mention it because of the huge age difference. (I also find the fact that it's a superior/subordinate relationship troubling.)

I read 5 chapters of it, about 2 years ago apparently, and I remember it being really well-written, in a way where the pictures are used very effectively at times to communicate things without words, and also humorous.

A lot of times if I just read a few chapters at the beginning of a series and then stop, I sort of just forget about it as it just sort of fades into the hazy background of all the other manga I have ever read (I have read a LOT of manga), but for some reason when I felt like reading manga this one kept repeatedly coming to mind as something that was memorable and I enjoyed and would kind of wish to read more of.

I think probably the reason I never read more was partly due to my decision to stop reading scanslations and only read manga that I legitimately own or have access to and partly because of some feelings of discomfort/guilt over the age difference and skeptically thinking to myself, "This is a male fantasy!" (that a young, beautiful high school girl would have feelings for a man in his forties).

But if you vouch for it and if the actual ramifications of a relationship with that kind of age difference are taken seriously, then I will put it on my radar as something I should continue reading someday (probably not for a while, though, as right now my main options are Renta! or physically importing it, either of which is kind of expensive compared to used manga in Japan).

Yeah, I found its art style + the way things are shown/laid out to really be something memorable. As for the gap, it's not like it's *super* delved into, but every character that finds out who the MC likes is (rightfully) completely suspicious/incredulous; also, the manager explains what would probably happen, and the one time they do have a (kinda) date, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: people are not-so-quietly whispering about it being 'compensated dating' and such, so it's not like there wouldn't be some social consequences. At the moment, however (40-some chapters in), they've just kinda settled into a 'sorta-friends' relationship (they're not actually dating or anything {yet}), and the guy still seems to be trying to keep it that way, so yeah. Even if they finally do get together in the end, it seems like it'll probably be a long time from now, LOL. (And you could always just root for the side-couple instead... ) Anyway, as mentioned in the review, it's not something I'd easily recommend out, but there's just something about it that's interesting to me, so... YMMV?