Manga Review: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Volume 8, by Izumi Tsubaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: July 2017

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 7. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The air around shoujo manga-ka high school boy Nozaki rings loud with greetings between acquaintances old and new!


Mikoto Mikoshiba hides the fact that he works as a manga assistant, but Hirotaka Wakamatsu finally discovers his secret, and the two meet anew...?! Meanwhile, Wakamatsu meets Yuzuki Seo's older brother, Ryousuke, for the first time!! What will come of the psychological warfare that ensues?! Later, Masayuki Hori's true feelings for Yuu Kashima come bursting out!! And everyone at last gets to meet the youngest Nozaki sibling, Yumeko!!

Review:

There's a lot of inter-relationship drama in this volume. We get acknowledgment of who knows about Nozaki's manga and who helps with what, and who knows about it. As some of these things get cleared up and some of the puzzle pieces connect, there's some confusion and understanding.

Waka also gets to meet Seo's older brother in this volume, and there's some confusion regarding their relationships/dynamics with Seo, and then some horror and pity and understanding. Since Seo is one of my favorite characters, this was a lot of fun to read. Kashima is another favorite of mine, so having her involved, and then seeing her attempt to grow closer to Hori, is a lot of fun.

Waka also invites Nozaki's younger brother as a buffer on a group date. There's some misunderstandings here, as Waka is clearly seeming to forget the reason for going on a group date. Also, Nozaki's younger brother is quite a hit.

These volumes are so much fun. I've grown fond of all of the characters at this point, and it's fun to see them all interact and misunderstand each other and all the chaos that creates. It's great.

Manga Review: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Volume 7, by Izumi Tsubaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: May 2017

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 6. 8.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Is there love in the air, or has everyone just gone plain loony?!


Has Chiyo's affection for her brusque shoujo manga-ka beloved finally soured?! She's suddenly extorting Nozaki...and plotting his destruction in the tournament ball game...! The absurdity doesn't end there, as Wakamatsu confesses his love to Seo, the person he dislikes most...! Even Yukari starts an "adult" relationship with hilarious consequences...! Is no one safe from the crazy going around?!

Review:

In this volume, the main three attempt to stay in shape, for a short stint. We see how Seo is a hindrance to the basketball club. There's a lot of mangaka and editor issues, and Nozaki attempts to research what bullying is like—it doesn't really work well with Sakura, since she likes Nozaki too much.

I love all of the interactions in this series, to be fair, but I particularly love when Seo and Kashima show up. They're very different characters, and I love their reactions. They're definite scene stealers.

These volumes are a really nice break at times, and just what I need some days. They're so much fun to read.

Manga Review: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Volume 6, by Izumi Tsubaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: February 2017

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Hit shoujo manga-ka and high school boy Umetarou Nozaki will do just about anything to find ideas for his manga! He'll test his courage with horror games. He'll even play the role of the girl manager for a sports team! But will he get that romantic payoff at the end? Better yet, will Chiyo, whose passion spirals out of control when her beloved Nozaki is away?!

Review:

I love all of the ridiculous relationships and characters in this series. Nozaki is always doing crazy things as research for his manga, like when he drags Hori and Kashima to do a scare test by staying at school overnight, and when he experiments with doing a horror story by turning off the lights and playing a text-only video game with Sakura and Mikoshiba.

Then we see Sakura missing Nozaki during the break and going to visit him, in his parents' home. Nozaki and Seo attempt coaching basketball, and Kashima tries not to talk to Hori to get ready for a role. There's also a texting debacle starring Nozaki's younger brother, and I love seeing how utterly bad he is at it.

I am quite infatuated with this series now. I can't wait to read more, and might even have to try the anime.

Manga Review: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Volume 5, by Izumi Tsubaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: February 2017

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Umetarou Nozaki party heads for the sun and surf! When the group tags along for the drama club's training camp, summer fun runs amok, and seasonal gags abound, whether at the beach, at an inn, or even in the bath!! And if that's not enough drama, the story of the spring day Chiyo fell in love with a certain rather dense young man is finally told!

Review:

In this volume, we acknowledge that Sakura has done very little in terms of progress with Nozaki. She attempts a few different tactics, but it's debatable whether that does anything. Meanwhile, Nozaki continues trying to use his real life as research for his manga—for instance, at the beach. We see some ridiculous scenarios he sketches out that coincidentally play out in real life again.

I have moments where I don't remember which character is which, and which characters know who. But now that I know who the editors are, I quite love their interactions. We get to see Ken-san try to instruct Nozaki for a cover illustration here, and Maeno's unhelpful input.

Another good moment was the last chapter, where we get to see Sakura before she really knew Nozaki, but just crushed on him. How her friend attempts to help her confess—and we know how that turned out.

This series is so much fun. I'm glad I 'm catching up with it now, because I really want more.

Manga Review: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Volume 4, by Izumi Tsubaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: 2016

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

(Volume 1)To the eyes of classmate Chiyo Sakura, high school student Umetarou Nozaki--brawny of build and brusque of tongue--is a dreamboat! When Chiyo finally works up the courage to tell Nozaki how she feels about him, she knows rejection is on the table...but getting recruited as a mangaka's assistant?! Never in a million years! As Chiyo quickly discovers, Nozaki-kun, the boy of Chiyo's dreams, is a manga artist...a hugely popular shoujo manga artist, that is! But for someone who makes a living drawing sweet girly romances, Nozaki-kun is a little slow on the uptake when it comes to matters of the heart in reality. And so Chiyo's daily life of manga making and heartache begins!

Review:

So, in this volume, Nozaki tries to figure out how to do a good surprise, Wakamatsu is unknowingly in love with Seo's singing, Nozaki uses an accidental sleep-over as inspiration, and his little brother shows up a few times.

We also got a glimpse of background story in this volume, first when Nozaki first moved out on his own, and then when his editor switched to Miyamae. It's definitely a lot of fun seeing Nozaki's faults, given how everyone views him. For instance, when it is again pointed out that he doesn't understand space between characters, and tries using boxes to explain it all. It was also fun seeing how wary he was of Miyamae, because of how bad Maeno was; what a difference editors can make.

I don't know what happened, but this series has grown on me very suddenly, and now I want to catch up very badly.

Manga Review: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Volume 3, by Izumi Tsubaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: May 2016

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

To the eyes of classmate Chiyo Sakura, high school student Umetarou Nozaki--brawny of build and brusque of tongue--is a dreamboat! When Chiyo finally works up the courage to tell Nozaki how she feels about him, she knows rejection is on the table...but getting recruited as a mangaka's assistant?! Never in a million years! As Chiyo quickly discovers, Nozaki-kun, the boy of Chiyo's dreams, is a manga artist...a hugely popular shoujo manga artist, that is! But for someone who makes a living drawing sweet girly romances, Nozaki-kun is a little slow on the uptake when it comes to matters of the heart in reality. And so Chiyo's daily life of manga making and heartache begins!

Review:

After taking a break from this series, and reading more of her Oresama Teacher series, I think her humor has started growing on me again. This volume was a lot of fun, and just what I was looking for. I'm very behind, but I might have to catch up.

There's a rather big cast in this series, and I tend to forget who some of them are. We got a few chapters featuring side characters, like Nozaki's publishing team—his editor and his friends, like at a school reunion. Aside from that, there are some miscommunicated dating attempts, a visit to the glee club, a check in with the theater club. Chiyo finds her forgotten Valentine's chocolates for Nozaki, and Wakamatsu discovers and renames some tones.

I really do enjoy all of the time spent working on Nozaki's manga, and how crazy it can be. Seeing his flaws in that area is also quite funny. The other school antics are great, and all of the characters are so odd. It's a lot of fun to read.

I'm really looking forward to the next one now.

Manga Review: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Volume 2, by Izumi Tsubaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: February 2016

Volumes: 7+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A cast of real characters assembles around Nozaki-kun!

Umetarou Nozaki, a high school student leading a double life as an ultra-popular shoujo mangaka, is an extraordinary guy. But not to be outdone by Nozaki-kun, the people who hang out with him are pretty unique in their own rights too for some reason...and that's just one way of putting it...

With the main cast finally assembled, the romance and gags are turned up a notch in Volume 2 of this zany comedy!

Review:

Similarly to her Oresama Teacher series, this one is starting to collect so many characters I’m going to have a hard time following them all. I think either setting works well for her comedy gags, though, and it is definitely a reason to keep reading.

Lots and lots of gags and jokes on characters in this volume, of course. I do particularly enjoy when they’re related to Nozaki’s writing, like when he bases a character off a classmate, or when someone is roped into helping him.

I do enjoy this series, and I would like to keep reading. I’m just not loving it. I don’t find it hilarious, and I don’t laugh at all of the jokes. Most of them are just okay, but then there are ones I like a lot. I’m just iffy right now.

Though it is making me debate picking Oresama Teacher back up and continuing it.

Manga Review: Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 1, by Izumi Tsubaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: November 17, 2015

Volumes: 6+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

To the eyes of classmate Chiyo Sakura, high school student Umetarou Nozaki--brawny of build and brusque of tongue--is a dreamboat! When Chiyo finally works up the courage to tell Nozaki how she feels about him, she knows rejection is on the table...but getting recruited as a mangaka's assistant?! Never in a million years! As Chiyo quickly discovers, Nozaki-kun, the boy of Chiyo's dreams, is a manga artist...a hugely popular shoujo manga artist, that is! But for someone who makes a living drawing sweet girly romances, Nozaki-kun is a little slow on the uptake when it comes to matters of the heart in reality. And so Chiyo's daily life of manga making and heartache begins!

Review:

I’ve heard so much hype for this series, that of course I had to pick it up. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’ve enjoyed other Tsubaki series, and this sounded interesting. I didn’t know that it was going to be all 4-koma comic-strip-based, though.

This is definitely more comedy-based than I realized, but it is enjoyable. Chiyo tries to confess her love to Nozaki, only to find out that he’s a mangaka when he mistakes her for wanting to be his assistant. She gets roped into helping him with his manga, and meets new friends by other classmates who know Nozaki.

Nozaki is pretty straight-faced, oblivious, not expected to write shojo manga. Chiyo is a somewhat average girl. Mikorin is Nozaki’s friend, who tries to be cool but freaks out when being nice to people. We meet a couple other classmates, all of whom are odd and hilarious in their own ways. There are definitely a lot of antics going on, and a lot of jokes about each other.

This was a fun volume to read, funny and cute, and I do look forward to picking up the next one. I was expecting more of a shojo, but I’m happy with the comedy of it instead.

Wishlist Thursday[133]: Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun by Izumi Tsubaki

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun 1 by Izumi Tsubaki

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: November 17, 2015

Volumes: 6+

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

Volume 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

To the eyes of classmate Chiyo Sakura, high school student Umetarou Nozaki--brawny of build and brusque of tongue--is a dreamboat! When Chiyo finally works up the courage to tell Nozaki how she feels about him, she knows rejection is on the table...but getting recruited as a mangaka's assistant?! Never in a million years! As Chiyo quickly discovers, Nozaki-kun, the boy of Chiyo's dreams, is a manga artist...a hugely popular shoujo manga artist, that is! But for someone who makes a living drawing sweet girly romances, Nozaki-kun is a little slow on the uptake when it comes to matters of the heart in reality. And so Chiyo's daily life of manga making and heartache begins! 

Why?:

I have fallen behind on Oresama Teacher, but I did like Tsubaki's Magic Touch series. And given how much hype this series has had, with requests for it before it was even announced, I’m intrigued. I’m looking forward to reading it, and am optimistic about liking it. It looks good, and possibly more my type than Oresama Teacher has been.

Is this on your list?