Manga Review: Dreamin' Sun, Volume 1, by Ichigo Takano

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Seven Seas

Release Date: May 2017

Volumes: 10.

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

While loitering in the park, Shimana Kameko, who intended to run away from home and skipped school, meets a suspicious man in a kimono. This man, who had been locked out of his house, offers Shimana a place to stay. However, he requests she fulfill three conditions in exchange for her tenancy?!

Review:

I really enjoyed Orange, so I was eager to pick this one up. I'm a little unsure now, though.

This felt very much like an older shojo series, with a teenage girl who ends up living with a group of boys. I haven't read a series like that in a while, but Shimana is not the best protagonist.

Shimana runs away from home, because her father has a new kid with his new wife and she doesn't feel like she fits in anymore. It honestly feels like she's throwing a fit. In her angst, she stumbles upon an older guy, who's hungover and locked out of his house. She gets roped into getting the key from one of her classmates, along with a few other conditions in order to live there with them for cheap.

Mostly, Shimana is whiny. She's an angsty, whiny teenager. Meh. She ends up living with Asahi, who's a smart, cute guy from her school, and Zen, who is more of a loud dork. I'm actually a fan of both of them so far; I'm leaning toward Zen, but Asahi is a good guy, too.

We also meet Miku, an older woman who's slightly crazy, but I think will be a good influence on Shimana. There's some hints of a deeper meaning behind their landlord's job and his connection to Shimana, but I'm not too worried.

This was an interesting first volume, and it got better by the end. The art style looked like an earlier kind from Orange. I'll probably keep reading.

Teaser Tuesday[262]: The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions, #1) by Michelle Hodkin

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 -----------------------------------------------

The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions, #1) by Michelle Hodkin

Genre: YA Supernatural

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: November 7th, 2017

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.

Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.

And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.

They’re right.

Excerpt:

“It's.. I'm—

Triggered. Triggered is the word for it, much as I hate to admit.” (Hardback, pg. 156)

What are you reading?

Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 23, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2017

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 22. 24.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?!
Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won t want to miss out on Shonen Jump's laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series!
It's hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.
On Marika s wedding day, Raku bursts in just before the couple seals their vows. Will Raku and the gang manage to rescue Marika from her mother s minions? And when they return to their ordinary lives, how will the whole adventure affect Kosaki and Chitoge s feelings for Raku?"

Review:

This series is very clearly nearing it's end, as two characters get some kind of closure for their crushes. I've liked most of the characters in this series, but some of the romantic feelings never worked for me. Quite a few of them, actually—particularly the ones in this volume.

(Aside from the end of the date between Raku and Chitoge, of course. That was rather adorable.)

Haru has particularly been very meh to me, both as a character and a romantic option. She's just seemed like a younger version of her sister, who is better and got more character development.

The main things that's bothered me about Tsugumi, on the other hand, is how strong she's always portrayed (supposedly, at least—but let's not get into that), and yet she's always embarrassing and hurting herself around Raku, being “forced” to rely on him. It's just unnecessary and annoying.

On the bright side of this, we also got a bit of time between Ruri and Shu, whom I actually like together. I really like when Shu gets serious, since it barely happens and it's always done so pointedly and so well, like at the end here.

This was a good volume for side-romance endings. I'm looking forward to getting to the more important ones and seeing what happens there.

Manga Review: Haikyu!!, Volume 14, by Haruichi Furudate

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2017

Volumes: 28+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 13. 15.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shoyo Hinata is out to prove that in volleyball you don't need to be tall to fly!
Ever since he saw the legendary player known as "the Little Giant" compete at the national volleyball finals, Shoyo Hinata has been aiming to be the best volleyball player ever! He decides to join the team at the high school the Little Giant went to—and then surpass him. Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else?

It’s the middle of the quarterfinal round of the Spring Tournament qualifiers, and Karasuno’s captain, Daichi Sawamura, is injured! With their most reliable player out of the game, the only one who can replace him is...Chikara Ennoshita?! This volume also includes the bonus one-shot chapter “Nisekyu!!”—a collaboration with the author of Nisekoi!

Review:

Daichi is out of the Wakunan game, and it shows how much each of them depends on each other. Aside from that, we get to see Shoyo do some crazy fast moves on the court. It's impressive, and yet he still doesn't think he's on level with the Little Giant.

Aside from that, it's sweet to see how badly all of them want to try and do better, for each other and the team and for themselves. How they give each other the chance to try again and again, even if they mess up. And how, even when one team loses, we get to see them mourn it and feel determined to do better next time and to try again.

At the end of the volume, we get a fun little cross-over chapter with Nisekoi, and that was great. It was fun to see how well they worked together, and the camaraderie that formed, even when Nisekoi has a much more exaggerated style of action/fighting. It was fun.

I love this series. I'm looking forward to reading more.

Manga Review: The Ancient Magus' Bride, Volume 6, by Kore Yamazaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Seven Seas

Release Date: January 2017

Volumes: 8+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Path Not Chosen

Chise is gradually learning to understand both human nature and the whims of the fae, as well as how to balance them and walk her own path. Suddenly, she receives a mysterious letter from bustling London. What could an alchemist's apprentice want from her...?

Find out in this long-awaited sixth volume, in a dark fairy tale romance between the human and the inhuman!

Reads from right to left in the traditional Japanese format.

Review:

In the first half of this volume, it's nearing Christmas. Chise meets Alice in town to go shopping for their partners, something neither has really done before. In this, we get some odd awkwardness, and we get to see Alice's backstory. It's rather sweet, seeing their growing friendship and their feelings for their partners in how they want to do good for them.

After that, Chise chooses to help a girl find her missing brother, only to end up having to find Elias as well. It's nice to see how their relationship is progressing, how they're slowly growing to want to be around each other and miss each other, and how they're growing to understand those feelings.

This is a sweet little series, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Also, I got this with the extra little booklet. I don't see why they couldn't have just put it into the volume, since it was so tiny; but it was still a sweet little extra.

Manga Review: Toriko, Volume 38, by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2017

Volumes: 43.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 37. 39.

Goodreads Synopsis:

 Toriko is a Gourmet Hunter out to eat the world!

In a savage world ruled by the pursuit of the most delicious foods, it’s either eat or be eaten! While searching for the tastiest foods imaginable, Gourmet Hunter Toriko travels the world with his bottomless stomach, facing every beast in his way.

Jiro prepares for the most sobering fight of his life after he learns the Nitro’s true plan—reviving Acacia and permanently killing Neo! But for that plan to happen, they need Acacia to eat God. There’s just one problem...Acacia's incomplete Gourmet Cell Demon splits into seven pieces and scatters all over the Gourmet World, threatening to destroy all life on the planet even before the Gourmet Eclipse begins!

Review:

I found this series more enjoyable when I first started it. It was just weird and entertaining then. Now it's serious and that only makes it weird. The whole recipe thing, all the weird creatures that are food and have weird names... It just doesn't make any sense to me anymore, and now it's just making me confused, and a little bored. I'm finding it harder to care, I suppose.

Komatsu meets the boys' mother and helps them in this volume. He also gets eaten by this creature and has to overcome? Several of the group volunteer to go fight certain sea creatures in order to get the materials to make these invincible cooking tools, only to later find out that time goes by faster there—so even though it's a few days where Komatsu is, the guys go through years.

I just... I have a hard time taking this series serious, and it's harder to find it funny when the characters are so serious. And this whole sea creature thing just seems unnecessary.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Teaser Tuesday[261]: Renegades (Renegades, #1) by Marissa Meyer

Renegades (Renegades, #1) by Marissa Meyer

Genre: YA Sci-fi

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan)

Release Date: November 7, 2017

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

Excerpt:

“'Are you looking forward to having a new teammate starting today?'

Adrian blinked.” (Hardback, pg. 195)

What are you reading right now?

Manga Review: Black Clover, Volume 8, by Yuki Tabata

Rating (Out of 5): ~3
Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)
Release Date: August 2017
Volumes: 13+
Spoilers?: No.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.
Volume: 1. 5. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

 In a world of magic, Asta, a boy with anti-magic powers, will do whatever it takes to become the Wizard King!

Asta is a young boy who dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the kingdom. Only one problem—he can't use any magic! Luckily for Asta, he receives the incredibly rare five-leaf clover grimoire that gives him the power of anti-magic. Can someone who can't use magic really become the Wizard King? One thing's for sure—Asta will never give up!

As Asta and the Black Bulls continue their search for the magic stone in the Underwater temple, they are blindsided by Vetto of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. Can the rowdy Black Bulls work together to take down this fearsome foe?

Review:

We're in the middle of a big battle as we start the volume. It actually looks a bit like a massacre. This beast of a man is fighting and killing people, and of course Asta and his team are working to defeat him. They're fighting hard, no matter what is thrown at them.

Asta's unrelentless power, how he never gives up no matter how beat up he gets, is ridiculous. And rather unbelievable, honestly. It reminds me a bit of Ganta from Deadman Wonderland, which is not particularly good. Asta isn't as annoying as him, but he is more unrealistic/unbelievable. Asta should literally be unable to move, and yet he keeps fighting.

This volume was full of fighting, and it was just meh for me. This series is a bit more iffy and weak to me, than others like it.


A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Volume 23, by Shinobu Ohtaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Sunday (VIZ Media)

Release Date: April 2017

Volumes: 37.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 22. 24.

Goodreads Synopsis:

An epic dungeon-busting adventure inspired by One Thousand and One Nights!

Deep within the desert lie the mysterious Dungeons, vast stores of riches there for the taking by anyone lucky enough to find them and brave enough to venture into the depths from where few have ever returned. Plucky young adventurer Aladdin means to find the Dungeons and their secrets, but Aladdin may be just as mysterious as the treasures he seeks.

Aladdin tells the story of the fallen Alma Tran. In the distant past, in another world, humanity struggled to survive an onslaught of monsters, but once united against them, human sorcerers became as bad as the enemies they once fought. Solomon himself struggled to lead humanity up out of the darkness it had created, but with every victory comes sacrifice…

Review:

We continue the back story of the world in this volume. I'm actually quite surprised by how long this arc is lasting; it goes through this whole volume and ends in a cliffhanger.

There's a lot of fighting in this volume; there are a couple of small fights, then a big one starts between the resistance magicians and between the other species. They still can't seem to agree on being equal between species, but above that, they want a king to follow, and Soloman refuses to be that for a long time. Finally, he's forced to agree to being King Soloman, just before they go into the final battle between the church and the resistance. Though this all leads to the cliffhanger, where they are tricked into thinking they're safe. (Dun-dun-DUN!)

These volumes are actually kind of boring and long to me? I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time getting into this series. I don't mind it, and I like some of the character development and humor, but a lot of it just doesn't hit me. It's just meh.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kiss Him, Not Me, Volume 8, by Junko

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: December 2016

Volumes: 13+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 7. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kae reporting! After Nanashima makes a shocking move to declare his feelings, I just don't know what to think. He's always been hot-blooded, but where do we stand now?

There's a more important man to worry about, though...my dad! He's been away for a long time, and my new look-and new friends-take him by surprise. He doesn't know what to think now that his little girl is so popular, so he sets out to do some research of his own.

It's also a rocky time with Shinomiya-kun when he finds out his parents are moving back to Norway?! He's our precious friend, but even his feelings for me could grow cold when I'm creeped out by his cold-blooded pet, Thor. I've got to make this right! will the guys and I be able to convince him to stay?

Review:

I took a bit of a break, but this series is still really fun.

In this volume, we get the fall out from when Nana accidentally pushed himself on Kae. It freaks her out, and it's very understandable. I liked seeing how it was handled, by both of them, and seeing Igarashi's acknowledgment of what it meant for progress.

After that, we get to meet Kae's overprotective father, which is mostly just fun.

The latter half of the volume is taken up with Shinomiya. He's always been a bit of loner, he's been bullied, and now he's supposed to be moving away. I did like the interaction about his iguana, and the meaning behind all of that. While I was not surprised by the ending, it did feel a little anticlimactic, to me. After all the build up, his parents were just fine with it, which seemed odd to me.

Igarashi is still my favorite, and I want more of him. But other than that, this was a fun volume.

Manga Review: Don't Rub Yourself Against My Ass by Sakira

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: June Manga/801

Release Date: October 2016

Volumes: 1.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: June Manga. RightStuf.

Goodreads Synopsis:

DON'T RUB YOURSELF AGAINST MY ASS GN
Ten years ago, Detective Jin saved Anri from a kidnapping. Anri has grown up and wants to show his gratitude to the one person who's ever cared about him in an ass loving way. Featuring heated sexual tensions aroused from a dominating young master and a bara uke detective with some fun time sex toys.
In My Ass Is In Love, Kenji enjoys solo anal masturbation and can't cum without it. One day he's caught by his brother's best friend, Yuta who wants to join in while sporting a massive hard-on. In the Last Trap comes Liz, the innocent flower with a charismatic secret side to him. He may look like a fragile uke but is actually a devilish seme with some hardcore S&M tendencies!

Review:

I was not super impressed with this.

I got it by backing the kickstarter, and I'm glad I did that. The quality of the book is good, and I like that there's a dust cover and a color page. But yaoi books seem very hit or miss with me, so I'm not too surprised.

There's a lot of sexy times, some force and tying up and toys. One of the characters is a bit whiny. I didn't really care for any of the characters, or the plot line, honestly.

It was an okay read, and the artwork was nice. Most of the sex was all right, too, but some of the forcefulness of it seemed a little iffy.

Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!!, Volume 14, by Go Ikeyamada

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2017

Volumes: 15.

Spoilers?: Yes.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 13. 15.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Kobayashi twins discover that cross-dressing as each other leads to trouble and true love!

The Kobayashi twins, Megumu and Mitsuru, were named after historical figures, but only Megumu has grown up with a taste for history. So when Mitsuru is in danger of losing his weekends to extra history classes, he convinces his sister to swap clothes with him and ace his tests! After all, how hard can it be for them to play each other?

The earthquake is over, but the aftermath is still devastating the region. Mitsuru and Azusa try to put the power of the Tokugawa Group to good use while others, including Megumu and her mom, rush to Sendai to look for their missing loved ones. Megumu wants to hold on to hope, but Aoi still isn’t picking up his phone…

Review:

All but the last chapter is focused on Megumu and Aoi. The reunion happens pretty fast, and then we get to see what actually happened during the tsunami. After that, Aoi gets to meet his little half-brother, and accept what happened with his mother and what she did. It's very emotional for all of them. It is nice to see Aoi's family grow, though.

At one point, there's this super cheesy moment where Mitsuru and Azusa take control at Azusa's father's business, because he flounders a moment. Just bleh.

After that, we see Mitsuru and Azusa helping out with the wreckage. I do admit that I like seeing the realistic aspect of the aftermath, with people helping with all the horror. Mitsuru and Azusa get to help an older lady clean up her home. Mitsuru and Megumu's dad is also away while helping with everything, getting people to safety and helping clean up. It's a sweet scene when he gets to return home to their mother.

Megumu and Aoi also get officially married, though they're waiting to do the actual ceremony. This is not surprising to anyone, I'm sure. By the end of the volume it seems like everything is almost done wrapping up. The next and final one will probably be all over-done happy endings.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Bleach, Volume 68, by Tite Kubo

Rating (Out of 5): ~2.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2016

Volumes: 74.

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1-2-3. 66. 69.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Ordinary Peace
The Quincy invaders, led by Yhwach, continue their march through the Soul Society's royal palace. Yhwach's goal is to take down the Soul King and destroy the Soul Society once and for all. But Ichigo and his allies have a secret weapon that could turn the battle in their favor.

Review:

I have clearly not been following this series. I don't know about 90% of the characters that we see here, and I have no idea what it going on with the plot line.

So, Ichigo and his group are fighting Yhwach, who is connected to Ichigo and controlling him, without Ichigo even being aware. At the same time, there's a group, I believe on Ichigo's side, who are being affected by this fight with resulting earthquakes. Then there's another group, who is releasing some guy that Ichigo previously fought and locked up. And in the midst, I think we figure out where Uryu has been for however long he's been missing?

It's very complicated, and messy, and constantly going back and forth. And while I have very little idea what all of this is really about, or who any of these people are, it was a little interesting to read. Or at least, it wasn't boring to follow.

I'm definitely lost on this series, though, overall.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!