Manga Review: A Witch's Printing Office, Volume 2, by Mochinchi and Yasuhiro Miyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: April 2020

Volumes: 4+

Spoilers?: Very light.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

 

Goodreads Synopsis:

 

 Mika never imagined her "Magic Market" would be so successful! However, as the massively popular book-buying event continues to expand after each iteration, some things are bound to get out of hand!!

 

Review:

 

We meet a couple of new characters in this volume. A princess who wants to run away from home, only to discover she's a fujoshi and has this in common with her mother. Also an evil demon who wants to have a booth at Magiket. Along the way, Mika also finds a new paper cutter, and forms an agreement with a dragon for his shed skin to make books with.

I don't really understand what the timeline of these books are. There appears to be two Magikets each book, which I think most conventions are once a year, so that seems like time is very fast here. Maybe that's mirroring video game sense of time?

It doesn't appear that Mika is getting very much closer to getting back home, but it also doesn't seem like the plot is focusing too much on that part. At least up until that ending, which might bring up some new progress next time.

I'm not a high-fantasy reader, but I don't mind this series. It has some good, funny moments, and I think it's getting better.

 

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

Manga Review: Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Volume 9, by Aya Megumu, Hiro Ainana, and Shri

Rating (Out of 5): ~2

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: May 2020

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 8.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Looking to deliver a letter from the Witch of the Forest of Illusions, Satou and his party decide to visit the village of the forest giants. He soon finds the villagers are still recovering from hydra attacks, including three children who were poisoned by the hydra's toxic breath. As Satou gets to work on brewing an antidote, Karina ponders how she can enlist the giants' assistance in ridding her hometown of the demonic presence that plagues it...

Review:

Satou and his harem group are joined by Karina as this volume starts. She's welcomed in relatively comfortably, aside from a bit of jealousy for her big breasts. She has a brooch that talks to her, and has a bad rep because of her family. They all continue along their journey, meeting new people and helping out different towns and peoples.

This book was terribly boring to me. There isn't a whole lot of action or showing happening, instead we're just informed with lots of text what is happening, the politics of the matter, how Satou knows things and what he's doing to fix all of these problems. If you're a big fan of high fantasy, this might be interesting. I am not, so this was very much not for me.

I also didn't really care for the characters, and Satou's “children” who are all relatively in love with him was a little uncomfortable to me, plus how Karina is portrayed because of her figure. Even the interactions between Satou and Karina felt rather one-dimensional to me.

I was not a fan, but this was not for me.

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

Manga Review: I'm a Behemoth, an S-Ranked Monster, but Mistaken for a Cat, I Live as an Elf Girl's Pet, Volume 1, by Taro Shinonome, Nozomi Ginyoku, and Mitsuki Yano

Rating (Out of 5): ~2

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: April 2020

Volumes: 4+

Spoilers?: Yes.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Syopsis:

You've got to be kitten me!
A proud knight, slain in battle, finds himself alive once more-reincarnated in the body of a fearsome behemoth. As if he wasn't confused enough by this turn of events, apparently behemoth cubs look exactly like adorable kittens?! Even if the rest of the world sees him as soft and cuddly, he has the honor of a noble warrior and the strength of an unstoppable S-ranked monster, both of which will be put to the test as he fights to protect the beautiful elf who has taken him as her pet!

Review:

Tama was a proud knight, but now he's been reincarnated as a highly powerful monster, only he looks like a tiny little kitten. When Aria, an elf girl, is going through a dungeon and stumbles upon him, she takes him home with her. Thus starts his life as her pet cat, and his devotion to protect her.

This was very weird.

Not even to mention the fact that Aria is objectified by every male in her vicinity, and how they're all jealous of this tiny kitten laying in her cleavage—which why. And how there's this knight who is obsessed with her and puts out an order to exterminate her cat in order to claim her as his bride—in a very Gaston-like fashion.

But then there's the fact that Aria gets aroused by Tama, in his little kitten form. This isn't even hinted at, it's very blatant and even discussed, since apparently they might be able to crossbreed, and she likes that.

I will say that I'm glad some of the time is spent on Aria fighting and getting higher level, and even on Tama's history. But there's also just so much sexualization, and Aria is leered at constantly. The sexual harassment is real in this series. She does also partake in that, though, since she kind of gropes Tama at one point.

There's a lot wrong with this volume. I'm mostly very confused on why this whole idea was chosen. I guess it's for a very specific audience? But somehow I didn't hate it, and I'm even more confused by that.

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

Manga Review: Woof Woof Story: I Told You to Turn Me Into a Pampered Pooch, Not Fenrir!, Volume 2, by Koikuchi Kiki, Inumajin, and Kochimo

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: May 2020

Volumes: 2+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1.

Goodreads Synopsis:

"That...wouldn't be anything like the fun pet life I wanted!!"
Now that Mary's fallen ill, Routa's pampered-pooch life is in jeopardy! In order to cure her once and for all, he'll need to do some actual work for a change! The medicinal flower he seeks, however, is guarded by a fearsome dragon, and he's got a lot of ground to cover if he wants to make it to its lair. Will he be able to overcome his trauma for the one he loves most, or is Mary doomed to relive this cycle of sickness every year?

Review:

Having missed the first volume, it was very unclear why certain characters treated Routa in certain ways. I slowly figured out that they didn't know what he was saying, which only made the way that Zenobia treats Routa as a pervert even more confusing.

I was relieved to discover that Routa's relationship with Mary, his owner of sorts, is actually very sweet. They have a special bond, kind of an oddly close one, even. But he truly just wants her to be okay, which is why he gives in to search for the herb she needs.

Routa being Fenrir is a bit underwhelming here. He wants a relaxing life, but helps when he's forced to. But his being Fenrir doesn't seem to include a crazy ability to be strong or intimidating, he's still kind of a dumb dog, whether he's acting it or not.

I'm guessing Routa is growing feelings for Zenobia, which is okay, but I really don't care for her. Characters that jump so quickly to violence by claiming someone is a pervert is a big annoyance to me. I'm very much over that plot device or use of comedy. It's just unnecessary.

Overall an okay volume. There's a good amount of fanservice that I don't care for, and I don't really care for the characters, but the plot wasn't bad and there was quite a bit of focus on it, so that helped.

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

Manga Review: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious, Volume 1, by Light Tuchihi, Koyuki, and Saori Toyota

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: January 2020

Volumes: 2+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ristarte summons a hero who excels in every area to assist her. He's everything she expected him to be except for one, tiny thing: this anxious hero can't do anything unless he's absolutely sure nothing can go wrong! The manga adaptation of the break-out hit is finally here!

Review:

Ristarte is a goddess, and they have to save worlds in order to grow and rank up. She gets to choose a new hero for a new, harder world that needs saving. Struggling to choose, suddenly she sees Seiya, who looks to be much too overpowered, and thus a perfect choice. Immediately upon summoning him, though, he declares that he needs to power up more, he's not ready yet.

The idea of this is quite interesting to me. Ristarte lives in a between-world place, where the time moves much faster than a normal world. Which means Seiya can spend a long time practicing and working out, when only ten minutes have passed in the other world. But when Seiya finally goes to the world to help, he starts getting thrown much crazier leveled enemies, and thus needs even more powering up. He's very cautious and has a need to be stronger than his enemy before even meeting them, so he does this a lot.

Ristarte is an okay character. She's a bit dramatic, though I think that works since Seiya is very straight-faced, and actually quite uncaring. He claims that he cares for the people he's saving, but he definitely doesn't seem caring for them from how he acts. He's very untrusting, too, though I found some of that quite funny.

The artwork is nice in this, and while there is some fanservice, it's mostly just large boobs and there isn't too much focus on it, or use of it in the plot. That was nice.

This was actually a pretty fun first volume.

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