Manga Review: Kigurumi Guardians, Volume 3, by Lily Hoshino

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: December 2017

Volumes: 3 (Hiatus)

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lily Hoshino, the beloved artist behind Mawaru Penguindrum, offers her cute and twisted take on the magical girl genre. You probably never thought Sailor Moon needed more hot older guys in full-body mascot costumes, but Kigurumi Guardians will bring you around!

Hakka's second year of middle school was dull as it could be, until a suspicious cow mascot ("kigurumi") shows up in her room, holding a sign that reads, "My Name Is Ginger." But this isn't (just?) a stalker, it's a magical being that's come to convince Hakka (and her friends) to become Guardians, and save the world! Hakka is understandably confused, until she's suddenly attacked, and a beautiful young man leaps in to save her. Can this handsome knight and the weird kigurumi be... one and the same?

Review:

The beginning of this volume concludes Nobara's plot. The girls on her choir team don't like her, and then when they're used against her, Nobara has to face some realities. After that, we get to know Satsuki better. He has a rather lonely home life, which is helped with Fennel being there.

Aside from that, there was a fun chapter where they all go out shopping together, and we get to see their more casual dynamics. All of this leading up to the cliffhanger, as we're starting to learn that Hakka might be more powerful than she realizes.

I really like the dynamics of the characters. Each couple fits together really well, and I like how the kigurumi are there for their person how they need to be. I really like Satsuki and Fennel, in particular. I enjoy the humor, and the main plot is intriguing, though a little odd. My only wish were that the three main characters were older, because they really act like they should be in high school, and when I'm reminded of the age difference it bugs me. But it also bugs me that it doesn't feel like there should be such a huge gap.

That cliffhanger is rude, and it looks like it's going to be a long while for the next volume, still. I'm not sure why, though, if the authors sick or something, or if it's being discontinued? I hope not, because I really enjoy this series.

Manga Review: Liselotte & Witch's Forest, Volume 5, by Natsuki Takaya

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: July 2017

Volumes: 5 (Hiatus)

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In her exile to the east of the east of the east, Liselotte's rambunctious house attempts to coexist with the witch's forest. Hoping to break down the seal Vergue has cast, Anna ventures out on her own to pay the witch a visit. Despite a being hurt by humans in the past, can Anna convince Vergue to give people another chance, and to live among them again? Meanwhile, Lise is shocked by a familiar looking visitor surveying the nearby village...

Review:

There's a tentative relationship between Engetsu and Liselotte. Lise is trying hard with her unrelenting optimism, but Engetsu doesn't know her anymore. It's fun to see them getting to know each other, though. Lise tries so hard, with so much enthusiasm. Engetsu doesn't understand it, but he's starting to tease her, which is fun.

Engetsu tries to treat Lise here, show her something she's always wanted to be a part of. It doesn't go quite as either of them planned, though.

We also get to see some progress made with Vergue. He's headstrong and stubborn, and showed up first to ruin and get his revenge. Lise is starting to grow on him, though, and her mixed with Anna's smart wiles is forcing him to man up a bit. I am very intrigued by this change in Anna—I like it.

Near the end we get some more hints for Lise's brother—and we meet a new character. We've heard a lot about this one, but it should be interesting to see if she throws in some trouble.

And of course now this series is on Hiatus. I'm quite fond of it so far, and I hope she continues it soon.

Manga Review: I.N.V.U., Volume 1, by Kim Kang Won

Rating (Out of 5): ~3 (maybe 2.5)

Publisher: Tokyopop

Volumes: 5 (Hiatus)

Spoilers?: Some.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Powells. RightStuf! (Mostly Out-of-Print)

Goodreads Synopsis:

When 16-year-old Sey's mom departs suddenly for Europe, she leaves Sey with a new family, the Kangs. This "family" is supposed to be normal, but when her foster brother turns out to be a sister, Sey begins to think that her new home is weirder than her old one. She looks for a job so she can get her own place and escape her crazy life, but the more time she spends with her new sibling, the more she discovers that their lives are intertwined.

Review:

Generally, as a rule, I try to avoid all Tokyopop books, unless I am absolutely sure that all of the volumes were released and shouldn’t be hard to get or I already read some of it at one point. None of that applied to this series, but I still got the first two volumes, because they were such a good price. And I’ll probably get the other three, if I can find them at a good price, just so I have all that was released.

I was not overly impressed with this volume, but it was alright. I was also thinking it focused on more than Sey, but I guess it’s okay that it doesn’t.

Sey, the main character, is forced to move in with this other, seemingly normal, family when her mother decides to move to Italy to work on her novel for five years. But the family she moves in with's son is actually their daughter, but the mother has suppressed amnesia after a car accident where her son died. Sey decides to get a job, and this guy from her school, Siho, hooks her up, and he’s supposedly dangerous, but seems pretty nice. And Sey and Terry/Hali (the son/daughter) both have a close relationship with Mr. Cho, Sey’s teacher.

I don’t mind Sey, she’s not bad, and is kind of entertaining. I want to know more about her friends, but that’s alright. Terry/Hali seems alright, I guess, if a little angsty (even if she does have reason, having to pretend to be her brother and all). Siho seems alright.

My biggest problem with the story is all the point of view changes. They are not smooth at all. We’ll be with one character, doing one thing, then suddenly be in someone else’s head for a page or two before going back to the main character, but then sometimes it will show us someone else, when it would usually be in their head, only we’ll still be in the main characters'. It’s just really stilted, and bothersome to me. 

The art’s pretty good. The story is alright, if a bit angsty, it’s not exaggerated, and it’s interesting. I have the next volume, so I will be reading it, and it will depend on how that goes whether or not I’ll want the third volume badly or not.