Manga Review: Forget Me Not, Volume 7, by Mag Hsu and Nao Emoto

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: March 2017

Volumes: 7.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Serizawa is a twentysomething working at a divorce attorney's office. Walking home from work one day, he gets into an accident, and a woman carries him to an ambulance. Later, at the hospital, still bleary, he receives a phone call from the woman who saved his life. This person knows intimate details about him... but he's not sure who it is. Serizawa's gentle personality has drawn lots of girls to him since his childhood, but he's far from perfect. Was it someone he loved and lost? Or perhaps someone he wronged, to whom he failed to make amends?

Review:

 I think the reason I wasn't a big fan of the ending at first was because I held so little regard for each relationship we followed. I knew they all ended badly, and I wanted to know who the girl was from the beginning. I didn't care too much for his relationship with Sam-Soon, in particular.

A large portion of this volume concludes the Nana's plot line, and I really don't care for it. Serizawa learns from it, I suppose, but it's also a mess. It's not a good situation in any form.

Then we finally discover who the girl was who started all of this. And I think it's fitting, who it turns out to be and how it turns out. It has an effect on Serizawa that he needs to get closure on certain parts of his life, and on his decision to finally make a decision and do something about it. He's spent so much time letting conflicts build and miscommunication fester and letting moments pass where he should have said something. It is good to see him finally grow past that.

I suppose it makes sense which girl he ends up with in the end, as they did seem to have the more meaningful relationship, for both of them. And looking back on it, after some time to think, I don't mind that. It fits.

This was a messy series, but I did enjoy it, for the most part.

Manga Review: Forget Me Not, Volume 6, by Mag Hsu and Nao Emoto

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: January 2017

Volumes: 7.

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

COMMITTING TO LOVE
After plenty of twists and turns, Serizawa and Sam-soon finally start a real relationship. In order to become a man who can be her equal, Serizawa gets serious about finding a good job for the first time. He dives headfirst into his job search with the goal of eventually proposing to Sam-soon, but is he alone in worrying about their financial differences?

Review:

It feels a bit like we've forgotten the beginning plot of this series, and are now just reliving this guys bad dating history. It's quite depressing at this point.

Serizawa gets into a serious relationship with Sam-soon after all that mess, and they're practically living together. His downfall in this relationship is really that he's too timid and they're both too afraid to voice their worries and wants with each other. He pulls back because he's worried about becoming a burden on her and trying to find a job, and she starts thinking he doesn't want anything more with her.

It's a common conflict, and it's frustrating when it could so easily be fixed.

Their breakup is just sad. Also, seeing his struggles with finding a job is so real and stressful, I hate it.

After that, he finds a job at a nice, friendly company, in which he starts to form a friendship with the boss' daughter. Nana and Nana, a sweet innocent girl and a mean up-and-coming singer-songwriter. Serizawa is still getting over Sam-soon, and sweet Nana wants help with a plagiarism case for the other Nana, which is possibly going to lead to some trouble. I don't really know if either Nana is a good fit for Serizawa, but we'll see how this ends.

The next volume is the last, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this series finally wraps up.

Manga Review: Forget Me Not, Volume 5, by Mag Hsu and Nao Emoto

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: November 2016

Volumes: 7.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

COMING OF AGE
Still not fully healed from the wound of breaking up with Tsukushi and the shock of seeing Nobuta again, Serizawa starts an internship at a law firm. Through a mix-up over the phone, he becomes acquainted with a certain someone--a woman who otherwise wouldn't be in his reach! Will this chance encounter start Serizawa on the path to his first truly adult relationship?

Review:

In the first part of this volume, Serizawa is clearly floundering. He's recovering badly from the breakup, and when he tries to go out with friends and meet people, he ends up screwing that up quite badly. And so he turns to school, and starts studying seriously.

While interning, he meets an older woman, and she seems mature but is also just getting out of a bad relationship. She uses him, he uses her, and he ends up getting caught up in it more than he probably should. It seems to be going downhill, but then that cliffhanger gives mixed signals. Either way, I don't see this one lasting any more than the others.

This series is actually kind of hard to read at times. Serizawa makes some painfully bad decisions at times, and he's hard to take. He doesn't even mean to be hurtful or dumb about it, though, so at least he doesn't have bad intentions, most of the time.

I do want to see how this series end, and I want to see it wrap up. So I'm still reading.

Manga Review: Forget Me Not, Volume 4, by Mag Hsu and Nao Emoto

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: September 2016

Volumes: 7.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

LAST CHANCES, SECOND CHANCES
Serizawa started a relationship with Yamaguchi even though he was interested in Tsukushi. But after living in a confusing and vague love triangle, he can no longer suppress his feelings for his friend. Serizawa must now make a painful choice in order to truly face Tsukushi. Will he be able to start fresh, or will he lose both people he cares about?
As a young adult, Serizawa also struggles with memories of his childhood. And in a dark time, he meets someone from his past that he never thought he'd see again...

Review:

Finally, his messed up relationships with Yamaguchi and Tsukushi. He ends one and goes into the relationship he thought he wanted, only to find out it's not quite what he expected. He messes that up, too.

My favorite part of this volume, by far, was the strength that Yamaguchi showed when she yelled at him. That was a really strong scene, and I was impressed by it.

We get to see what Serizawa's parents were like in this volume, and what kind of influence that had on him. Seeing his mom devoted to a man who was never around, and eventually cheated. Some things make sense, after that.

In the last chapter, Serizawa is a mess. He's falling apart, and it's very obvious. We'll see what happens with that cliffhanger.

I'm really hooked on this series. It's very smart and realistic, the characters feel real and it's easy to grow attached even when you know things are going to end up bad. I'm interested to see where it goes next.

Manga Review: Forget Me Not, Volume 3, by Mag Hsu and Nao Emoto

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: July 2016

Volumes: 7.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Just friends?
Still carrying the heartbreak of his high school years, Serizawa begins college life. Here, he befriends a quirky classmate named Makino and she sets him on the path to find his very first college girlfriend, Yamaguchi. Supported by Makino, a romance blossoms between Serizawa and Yamaguchi, but is Serizawa s heart really with her or does it belong to someone else?
The bittersweet tale of romance and regret that inspired the TV drama!"

Review:

This love triangle is apparently a significant story, because it continues through the entirety of this volume, with a cliffhanger.

It’s hard to watch how this relationship grows, because it hurts all of them. They’re all lying to themselves, trying to get through this, trying to deny their real feelings. And I really like both of the girls, too. I feel like I can relate to Yamaguchi, at least on some level, but I also really like Makino and would want to be her friend. So it’s hard to see how this situation is going.

This series is turning out so much more interesting than I expected. After each volume, I’m immediately ready to pick up the next one. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Manga Review: Forget Me Not, Volume 2, by Mag Hsu and Nao Emoto

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: May 2016

Volumes: 7.

Spoilers?: Yes, with warning.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

AN EDUCATION IN LOVE

After helping his teacher Hermès overcome her stage fright, Serizawa has hope that love may someday blossom between them. But the dashing prince of the prep-school steps into the picture and may stand in the way of Serizawa’s relationship with Hermès. This prince-like boy says that he and Serizawa are two of a kind, but what does he mean by that and how does Hermès fit into everything?

Review:

I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed this volume, and how badly I want more.

We see how things conclude with the tutor in this volume, and it’s messy. He’s got a huge crush, and she’s got a boyfriend, not to mention their age/maturity difference. Things end on an okay note, because while he’s upset, he does what he can not to ruin things for her.

(Spoiler!) The surprise here, though, is that the male friend he makes at the cram school, also has a crush on him. This is handled very well, with a respectful response, and a solid friendship built. I was very happy to see this. (End Spoiler!)

Next, we meet two girls. The first one is always on the run, needing to get from one place to the next. She has an accent, she’s clumsy, she’s busy but also a lot of fun. Then the second one, who has a crush on Serizawa, and wants to go out with him. He doesn’t quite realize that he has two girls liking him, though. He’s a bit oblivious.

I hope things wrap up okay here, though. I’m really looking forward to reading the next one.

Manga Review: Forget Me Not, Volume 1, by Nao Emoto and Mag Hsu

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: March 2016

Volumes: 7+

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

LOVED AND LOST

After an accident on his scooter, Yusuke Serizawa awakes to find himself in a hospital bed. The cause of the accident—the sight of a familiar face that distracted him. However, it turns out that the person who distracted him was also the person who called the ambulance for him, and whoever it was won't reveal their identity. All Yusuke knows is that this person is a woman from his past—someone that he loved and possibly wronged. Now Yusuke must search his memories of the women in his life to discover the identity of his guardian angel. Will Yusuke be able to find the true identity of this woman and rekindle the flame of a past love or will this woman forever remain a mystery, lost to old memories?

Review:

I thought the description sounded really interesting to me, and yet I still didn’t expect this.

Yusuke, now in college (I think? Or around that age at least), gets distracted while on his bike and gets hit. He finds out that the woman who distracted him also called for the ambulance, and that she’s someone he hurt in his past, but she won't tell him who she is. But there were so many girls he hurt, he doesn’t know who it was. And so we go back in his memory, meeting each girl he hurt in middle and high school, and what happened and why she might be doing this to him now.

We meet a couple of the women in this volume, one girl who he was too embarrassed to be upfront about his feelings with when his classmates teased him. Another foreign girl who he dated, and the breakup was bad from his point-of-view. And finally a teacher, close in age, who he forms a relationship with and who he encourages to be more confident.

This volume took me by surprise, and I didn’t quite expect this. But it was a pleasant surprise. He was a jerk in the first story, and at other times, but he learned. I quite enjoyed this volume, and I look forward to reading the next one.

Wishlist Thursday[149]: Forget Me Not by Nao Emoto and Mag Hsu + Midnight Bites by Rachel Caine

Forget Me Not 1 by Nao Emoto and Mag Hsu

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: March 15, 2016

Volumes: 6+

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

Volume 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

LOVED AND LOST

After an accident on his scooter, Yusuke Serizawa awakes to find himself in a hospital bed. The cause of the accident—the sight of a familiar face that distracted him. However, it turns out that the person who distracted him was also the person who called the ambulance for him, and whoever it was won't reveal their identity. All Yusuke knows is that this person is a woman from his past—someone that he loved and possibly wronged. Now Yusuke must search his memories of the women in his life to discover the identity of his guardian angel. Will Yusuke be able to find the true identity of this woman and rekindle the flame of a past love or will this woman forever remain a mystery, lost to old memories?

Why?:

I’m intrigued by this series. The artwork looks pretty—always a plus—but the storyline sounds really interesting, too. Like a good shonen-shojo mix, some mystery and romance. I will be picking it up when I get the chance.

Special Mention:
Midnight Bites: Stories of the Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine out on March 1, 2016. I didn't even know this was a thing until just now, but I am so excited. As a huge fan of the Morganville Vampires series, of course I will be picking this up, and loving every minute of it

What’s on your list?