Manga Review: The Young Master's Revenge, Volume 4, by Meca Tanaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: December 2018

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love’s revenge can be sweet.

When Leo was a young boy, he had his pride torn to shreds by Tenma, a girl from a wealthy background who was always getting him into trouble. Now, years after his father’s successful clothing business has made him the heir to a fortune, he searches out Tenma to enact a dastardly plan—he’ll get his revenge by making her fall in love with him!

Leo has been trying to get the down-to-earth Tenma to fall in love with him, but she’s remained immune to his advances. The Rose King and President Tojo are meddling to stop Leo and Tenma from becoming a couple, and it’s up to Tenma to set things right.

Review:

The final volume of the series, meaning that Leo has to undo all of his messy revenge tactics in order to actually be with Tenma, since he's given her such a misguided impression of his intentions and feelings.

This couple is actually pretty cute. Tenma doesn't quite know how to deal with her feelings or what they mean, and Leo has to readjust his thought of his feelings, because he's so used to trying to be cruel instead of sweet. But when they finally figure it out, it's pretty dang cute.

This didn't feel rushed at all, and I even like the time skip at the end. It felt pretty fitting and really sweet. This was a really fun, sweet shojo series to read, and I'm really glad I followed it to the end.

Manga Review: The Young Master's Revenge, Volume 3, by Meca Tanaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2018

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love’s revenge can be sweet.

When Leo was a young boy, he had his pride torn to shreds by Tenma, a girl from a wealthy background who was always getting him into trouble. Now, years after his father’s successful clothing business has made him the heir to a fortune, he searches out Tenma to enact a dastardly plan—he’ll get his revenge by making her fall in love with him!

Leo has been trying to get the down-to-earth Tenma to fall in love with him, but she’s remained immune to his advances. In his dreams, Leo meets a younger version of himself who guides him into his past to reveal his true feelings for Tenma. But even with the purest of motives, can Leo ever win her heart?

Review:

Leo has fully realized his feelings for Tenma, just as her family shows up to take her away. While she's mostly been oblivious to the romantic tension up till now, when she's forced away from Leo, she starts to realize her own feelings.

Aside from the romantic tension, though, Tenma gets to take a stand for her own life, decide what she wants to do with herself, and then she gets to try to make her own living. Live by herself, of her own choosing, and the hardships that come with it. Though, really, Leo has more issues with this than Tenma does.

This is a cute series. I like seeing Tenma become aware of herself, and then see her come into her own as she has to live on her own and work for what she wants. That's always a plot line I enjoy.

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

Manga Review: The Young Master's Revenge, Volume 2, by Meca Tanaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: June 2018

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love’s revenge can be sweet.

When Leo was a young boy, he had his pride torn to shreds by Tenma, a girl from a wealthy background who was always getting him into trouble. Now, years after his father’s successful clothing business has made him the heir to a fortune, he searches out Tenma to enact a dastardly plan—he’ll get his revenge by making her fall in love with him!

Leo has been trying to get the down-to-earth Tenma to fall in love with him, but she remains immune to his advances. When they transfer from the ritzy Genbu Academy to Suzaku Public High School, Prince Barazono issues a challenge that forces Leo to confront his true feelings!

Review:

Tenma discovers that there are public schools, and that she doesn't have to work so hard to afford the private school she's been going to, and immediately transfers. She doesn't quite understand the difference at first, or the rivalry between the private and public schools, since they have to share some field land.

Tenma is rather oblivious to her surroundings, naive, and she doesn't value herself very much. This is something that Leo is trying to fix, to make her aware of, even if he supposedly wants to do the opposite. Of course, Leo ends up saving her a lot, but Tenma has this tenacity about her, this unabashed determination, that equals them out, I think. Though now Leo has a rival who is trying to make him understand/accept his own feelings.

This series is cheesy and cutesy, and it's fun to read.

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

Manga Review: The Young Master's Revenge, Volume 1, by Meca Tanaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: March 6, 2018

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: As much as the description.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love's revenge can be sweet.

When Leo was a young boy, he had his pride torn to shreds by Tenma, a girl from a wealthy background who was always getting him into trouble. Now, years after his father's successful clothing business has made him the heir to a fortune, he searches out Tenma to enact a dastardly plan--he'll get his revenge by making her fall in love with him!

Review:

Now that Leo has grown up and achieved success—through his parents' business—he moves back to Japan in order to enact his revenge on the girl that “tormented” him. Only, Tenma didn't really torment him—she dragged him into her crazy adventures, she was generally careless and often got them in trouble or into embarrassing situations, but she also thought she was his friend. Back then, she was the rich girl he was forced to befriend.

But now, she's poor and struggling to even find a place to stay, and has seemingly endless enthusiasm and naivety. So Leo takes her in, instead. Supposedly because he decides that he doesn't want anyone else using her or tormenting her, because she's going to fall in love with him and he's going to break her heart.

It's quite a weak plan, honestly, given how much he does to help Tenma instead. I do appreciate that, when Tenma realizes what's happening, she doesn't get upset, she only wants to work harder to be his friend. It's quite sweet, really.

The plot reminds me of Komomo Confisserie, a little bit, only the male protagonist here is much sweeter, and doesn't really bully the main girl at all. But in both series, it's still obvious he actually likes her.

This was a really fun first volume, and I liked the way things have developed and progressed already. Tenma is a lot of fun, and I really like her optimism and determination. I'm looking forward to reading more.

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

Manga Review: Pearl Pink, Volume 4, by Meca Tanaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Tokyopop

Release Date: 2008

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Our little heroine's passed the gauntlet of auditions and been given the chance to star in a new television drama. The real drama takes off from there! Explosions, fighting...and a kissing scene? With Tamako growing closer to Kanji every day, she may be forced to choose between her career and her relationship. As the curtain on Pearl Pink comes to a close, is a happy ending in store for Tamako and Kanji?

Review:

This series was kind of just average for me. The art is definitely her earlier work, but it’s not bad.

The romance is definitely slow going, not taken seriously for most of the series. The ending for the couple, though, was cute, and fitting for them. I do like that the acting part of the series was taken more seriously than some, and that they had to work for it and try their best. The family element, particularly between Tamako and her mother, was sweet and given a nice amount of attention. I liked how seriously that was taken, between them and publicly.

This was a cute series, and I liked reading it. But it was slow at times and a little boring. I did like the ending a lot, though, and I'm glad I picked it up.

Manga Review: Meteor Prince, Volume 2, by Meca Tanaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: April 7, 2015

Volumes: 2

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Hako Natsuno’s bad luck hasn’t improved, but her alien boyfriend, Io, takes everything in stride, even when his feelings for her cause him to be repeatedly struck by lightning. The two have barely started dating when a naked alien girl arrives on Earth and says she is Io’s true mate. Hako really does have the worst luck!

Review:

I’m honestly impressed with how much character and story development there is in such a short series. There’s depth, time for the characters to grow, no rushing. A lot of story in such a short time. I’m really happy with this series. Plus, it’s super cute.

There’s a lot of innocence between Io and Hako, even as they’re growing closer, and Io is wanting to get married at some point. We meet Hako’s family, we meet Io’s brother and Io’s fiancé. The two date a lot. Io goes under a change in order to stay with Hako, and then Hako’s is forced into a position because of her love for him. I don’t want to spoil what happens, but while it’s sad, the ending is super cute.

The artwork is so pretty and the characters are so fun; the romance is adorable and sweet. This short series just plain makes me happy, and I’m so glad it was licensed. I hope we get more from this author, because this one was great.

Manga Review: Meteor Prince, Volume 1, by Meca Tanaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 6, 2015

Volumes: 2

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Strange accidents always seem to happen around Hako Natsuno--so much so that she's been dubbed "The Queen of Bad Luck." It's hardly surprising then that a naked alien prince falls from the sky to tell her that out of all the girls in the universe, he's come to Earth to mate with her. Does this mean Hako's luck has changed, or--?

Review:

I knew I was going to love it, just by the cover and a brief glimpse of the description. And I was right.

This. Was. Adorable.

Io literally crash lands on Earth from another planet, goes directly to Hako, and claims that she’s his soulmate, and they must mate. Hako, who has all her life had perpetually bad luck, doesn’t know how to take this.

Io is adorable; very happy go lucky, eager to make Hako fall in love with him, when he realizes that’s how things work on Earth. Hako is trying very hard not to fall for it, because everyone who gets close to her gets hurt, because of her bad luck.

This volume is very happy go lucky, very fluffy, but there’s also a few hints of something darker in Io, which gets shown later in the volume, and there's actual depth to Hako's feelings. Quite a bit was revealed in this volume, which I was surprised by. But none of it was rushed; it flowed perfectly, and the characters are all very easy to like. The way that the two fall for each other, all the cute moments between them, are very well done, and add up to a nice flow for their feelings.

The art is also very pretty, and now I’m hoping to find more of her English-released series.

I am really excited for the second, and final, volume. I know I’ll just eat it up.

I did want to mention a comparison/recommendation. Beast Master. (Maybe also Flower in a Storm?) It has a similar new-to-the-world element, and is just as cute as this one.

Wishlist Thursday[90]: Meteor Prince by Meca Tanaka

Meteor Prince 1 by Meca Tanaka

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 6, 2015

Volumes: 2

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Strange accidents always seem to happen around Hako Natsuno--so much so that she's been dubbed "The Queen of Bad Luck." It's hardly surprising then that a naked alien prince falls from the sky to tell her that out of all the girls in the universe, he's come to Earth to mate with her. Does this mean Hako's luck has changed, or--?

Why?:

I am super excited for this series. Not even for the fact that at this point I’ve been picking up all shojo series released, or that it’s Shojo Beat, but that it looks so adorable. The cover is so cute, the art looks super pretty, and the premise sounds really good. And it’s so short! I can’t wait for this book.

What are you looking forward to? Does this look good or not?