Manga Review: Stupid Love Comedy by Syusyusyu Sakurai

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: June 2018

Volumes: 1 Omnibus (3 single volumes).

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Suzu Sakura is a lazy author who can't keep a deadline, is twenty-four hours late to meetings, and falls asleep in the middle of crunch time-you name it! It seems like no one can keep her in line, but then she gets a new editor. Hasegawa's a super-mega HOTTIE, but his temper runs just as hot. Though he scolds her endlessly and they're quickly driving each other up the wall, will something bloom between this odd couple...?!An inside look at the manga industry, full of laughs and a little heartache!

Review:

Any complete collection of shojo series like this are pretty much instant buys for me. I like getting a binge-worthy dose of shojo in one go. And usually they're pretty good.

Sakura is a mangaka, and her editor has just changed to Hasegawa, who's hot but also strict and rather disinterested in her antics. We get to follow Sakura as she struggles to meet deadlines and falls asleep at all hours and runs off to do crazy things when she should be working. She's very dramatic and puts on personalities and odd acts to be purposely overly dramatic. She gets an assistant for the first time, and we all see her experience moments of intense, inspired work. And then we also get to see Hasegawa check in with her fully knowing that she's going to be passed out and behind in work.

I thought this was going to be more of a romance, but instead it's more of a tell-all on being a mangaka. We follow the process of making a manga more than we follow any romance, as a lot of this is taken from Syusyusyu's personal experience, of course with some dramatization and fictionalizing.

Some of her antics were just ridiculous, but I did like seeing Hasegawa grow to support her and believe in her manga. I also liked Shimada, her assistant. He was fun, and was a very good fit for Sakura.

While this was a fun series to read, I wish there had been more romance. This might be different had I gone into the series with different expectations, but I thought there was actually going to be a romance, and there were a couple hints regarding Sakura and Hasegawa, but it never went anywhere. Nothing even happened regarding chemistry or flirting or any kind of romance. It was disappointing to me.

Aside from that, though, this was a fun series to read. I liked Sakura's character for the most part.

Manga Review: The Secret Sakura Shares by Akira Hagio

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: December 2015

Volumes: 1 Omnibus/2 Singles

Spoilers?: No.

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

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Aoi Narinomiya, the last daughter of a prestigious family, discovers that her grandfather has gone missing, leaving her to carry an astronomical debt, both she and her dog, Sakura, are inches away from finding themselves on the street. When her enigmatic classmate Kei Katsuragi shows up on her doorstep to repossess everything her family once owned, Aoi makes a desperate plea for Kei to take in her beloved Sakura--maybe she could at least be spared...?

It seems, though, that Kei is far less interested in owning a dog than he is in calling a pedigreed kitty his own, and Aoi soon finds herself playing the part of the young man's prized pet! Disturbingly, it turns out to be a comfortable and reassuring life that Aoi feels she hastoo quickly settled into, but could Kei have ulterior motives that go beyond just "owning" her?

Review:

I was pleasantly surprised with this book.

When Aoi is left with a large debt, she’s taken in with her dog as a pet to Kei. But instead of it being a slave-like life, she’s taken care of like a real pet—groomed, pampered, treated with love and care. Even if she protests it and feels like she doesn’t do enough, Kei wants her there and he likes having her as his “pet”.

While I do think that Aoi should have spoken up, tried to do more if she wanted to, I liked their relationship. I think that Kei treated her well, and that they had good chemistry. I like how he protected her, even pretending to be gay for appearances.

This was a sweet shojo series, relatively sweet and romantic without any real physical stuff, with a simple plot. I enjoyed it a lot, and hope more like it are picked up. I also liked how it was released in omnibus format, all in one volume. Very pretty, and easy to collect.

Manga Review: High School Debut 3-in-1 Vol. 5 (13-14-15) by Kazune Kawahara

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: February 3, 2015

Volumes: 15 Volumes/5 Omnibus

Spoilers?: Not really.

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

Volume: Omn. 1. Omn. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A bargain omnibus edition of the bestselling romantic comedy—final omnibus volume includes all-new material (previously unpublished Volumes 14 and 15 of the series)! Hapless Haruna needs help finding a boyfriend! After failing to win the eye of any guy in high school, Haruna enlists the help of cute upperclassman Yoh to coach her on how to make herself more appealing to the male spec ies. Yoh agrees, with one catch: Haruna had better not fall for him!

Yoh faces a difficult choice—should he go to university all the way in Tokyo or stay near Haruna? Haruna wants to support Yoh’s decision no matter what, but will her high school romance end with his graduation? Don’t miss the series finale, plus previously unpublished stories from volumes 14 and 15 of the High School Debut series!

Review:

There was no doubt that I would be picking this book up, since it had two volumes not previously released. But it had been so long since I read the series (I read it originally back when it was first released), that I had to reread the series. And the series is pretty much as adorable as I remembered, but I might even have liked it more this time.

This series is about Haruna and Yoh’s relationship. Haruna is oblivious to everything, but also very straightforward about her feelings and what’s going on. She can’t lie even a little bit, and Yoh reads her extremely well. Yoh is very quiet and conserved and hates talking about feelings, but I find it adorable when he does, and he gets all red in the face. He’s a sweetheart in hiding. I might have liked some more intimate happenings in their relationship, but what happened worked for them.

One thing that really stood out to me was their loyalty to each other. Even when other people were trying to get in the way, and then when they were long-distance, they stuck with each other. They talked and made sure to be honest and there for each other. Neither of them even thought of someone else—that’s how much they love each other. And that happens so little, that I really appreciated it.

I would also like to point out that Haruna decides where to go to college based on where Yoh goes. And that bothers me not even a little. First of all, Haruna pushes Yoh to go there even if they’ll be apart, because she knows it’s best for him. That takes maturity. And then Haruna tries super hard to get in there as well because she wants to be with Yoh, but she’s also going to school with a career in mind. It’s not all based on Yoh. And I was more than happy about that. I think this is one of the few times I’ve seen this done well. And given that they are still so strong together after time apart, shows that they're in it together.

Now, as to the two extra volumes. Volume thirteen, as far as I can tell, is exactly the same as the single volume. But then there are two volumes with completely new content. Most of them show the time when Haruna and Yoh are separated, showing the times they get to see each other, and showing Haruna trying extra hard to get into the same school. There are some hardships, but I love the way they’re handled. At the end, there are a couple spin-offs, including one about Asami and Fumi. Originally, I wasn’t a huge fan of Asami (because she’s a bit of jerk), but I think she redeemed herself at the end, at least regarding her relationship with Fumi.

I would have liked to see more of the side characters, like Mami and Asaoka getting a romance or a story of some kind, but that’s okay. This is Haruna’s story, so it makes sense. 

If you enjoyed this series, I would definitely recommend picking up this book. It has more than enough content to make it worth it.

Manga Review: Tokyo Mew Mew, Omnibus 3, by Reiko Yoshida and Mia Ikumi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Kodansha Comics (Previously Tokyopop)

Release Date: 2012

Volumes: 7; 3 omnibus

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 2. a la Mode.

Goodreads Synopsis:

CAT-ASTROPHE!

Tokyo Mew Mew - the crime-fighting collection of girls imbued with the power of cat DNA  - face their greatest battle ever to save their beloved city of Tokyo. Arch-villian Deep Blue reveals a startling secret, and Ichigo and Masaya reveal their true feelings to each other. Will they survive long enough to celebrate their love? Find out in the thrilling conclusion to Tokyo Mew Mew! This omnibus edition contains volumes 5, 6, and 7 of Tokyo Mew Mew!

Includes special extras after the story!

FINAL VOLUME!

Review:

So. Um. This series was… yea.

I didn’t dislike it, for sure. But I also definitely didn’t love it. I wanted to, though, and thought I would like it more. Sadly, I didn’t.

I did like the story, and the character’s weren’t too bad. I wanted to read to the end, to see how it all wrapped up. The ending was a little cheesy, and seemed to work a little too well, but it was all right. The romance was actually all right, for the most part. I wanted to see how it all concluded.

I’ve watched about half of the anime at this point (it’s taken me, like, five plus years, but still), and I think it’s done better than the manga, though. The characters are given more time to develop, especially the minor-characters. It also seems less immature, and more cute magic-girl. So, better.

The writing here was immature and exaggerated. I’m not sure if the translations aren’t as good as Kodansha’s more recent series, but I think it might just be the author’s writing.

The characters are also hugely immature. Ichigo is immature and whiny and exaggerated. Ichigo freaks out over everything. She falls in love with Aoyama pretty much immediately, with no reason given, even after they start hanging out. There’s no real chemistry between them, at least to me. I think mostly, though, it was very one-dimensional. There wasn’t any real development or reasons or chemistry. It was very surface-level, all the way through the series.

There were hints of chemistry between Ichigo and Ryo, but that kind of fizzled by the end of the series. The other Mews were pretty much ignored for the entire series. They were given no development, very-little-to-no background, and seemed pretty much useless without Ichigo during the fighting. It was ridiculous, and a bit annoying. The fight scenes were hard to follow, too.

Honestly, I’m disappointed. I was expecting it to be a little immature and exaggerated, but not this much. I was expecting more development. I’m glad that I picked it up, and that I finished the series so I could finally see how it ends. I might go finish the anime now, though, since I know it has more development than this did. I do still want to pick up the Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode omnibus, as well. I read the first volume way back when and really enjoyed it.

I would probably recommend this to a middle-school and elementary age girly person. I think I would have liked it more at that age, in particular.