Review: My Girlfriend's a Geek (Novel, V2.0) by Pentabu

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Yen Press

Spoilers?: Very light.

Volumes: 2

Goodreads Synopsis:

It was two years ago that I met Y-ko.
She was my boss at the job I was working at the time.
I was a student, and I had no idea what I was doing.
After a time, we ended up becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.
It turned out she was a "fujoshi."
Not only that, but a "hidden fujoshi," one who didn't show any inkling of the sort around other people...
But as a general rule, she never hides it around me.
In fact...
It seems more like she's intent on dragging me down that path with her.
...And I'll be honest.
It's slowly but surely seeping into me.

Review:

This one was just as good as the first.

I still really enjoy the main characters, they’re really entertaining and cute together.

In this book, there’s a lot of the same type of things happening, with Y-ko pushing Sebas into everything anime/manga, which I still think is funny. Also, Y-ko went to meet Sebas’ parents, and Sebas proposed. Both of which were really adorable. And there were a couple of really sweet, actually romantic scenes that stuck out to me, one in which the phrase ‘I love you’ is used, and the other where he proposes.

I just find the characters really fun to watch/read. Y-ko is the type that kind of ignores, or tries to push away, romantic things, emotional things, and focuses a lot on her anime/manga. And Sebas doesn’t really mind, he loves her for it. It’s obvious that they love each other, in my opinion. And it’s just so sweet to see.

I think one of the reasons I have really warm feelings for this series, the novels in particular, is because it reminds me of my trip to Japan. I read the first one while I was there, and some things they do remind me of things I saw and did while there, and it just gives me warm feelings inside now.

For some reason, the writing took me a bit to get back into. It’s still very exaggerated, but I got used to it. It’s told in journal/blog style, and it’s really easy to get through. A very fast read, especially because it’s such a short book.

I simply enjoyed this series, and am a bit sad for it to be all over, but not crushed, although it might be one that I have to skim through every once in a while.

Sidenote: I love the covers. I didn’t think there was much of a difference between this one and the first until I really looked at it, and that just made me love it even more. The first one had the boys’ hand on top with white handcuffs, and this one has the girls’ on top with white handcuffs and the moving and color change of the text, but she also has a ring on her finger. It’s so simple and fitting, and I just find it adorable.

Review: My Girlfriend's a Geek (Novel, V1.0) by Pentabu

Rating (Out of 5): ~4 (Maybe ~4.5)

Publisher: Yen Press

Spoilers?: No. (There really isn't much to spoil, actually.)

Goodreads Synopsis:

This blog is a record of battle as dictated by a man with a fujoshi girlfriend.
Okay, that was a lie. I'm not fighting at all.
The war is purely one-sided. Each day I am dragged further and further into the world of otaku.
I cannot be held responsible for any damages incurred by reading this blog
and falling into the same predicament.
There is much otaku talk contained within, so please follow your directions carefully, and do not exceed your recommended dosage.

Review:

I finally got around to reading this. I think it took me so long because of the journal style, which I do enjoy, but seems to slow me down for some reason. But I only had a few books with me in Japan, and this was one, and I got through it pretty fast.

It is different from the manga, which isn’t much of a surprise. The story is the same, but this time is strictly in his head, and showing how he took everything that happened between him and Y-ko. There’s more to the story, too. Pretty much all of the book focuses on their relationship and her crazy antics, which are entertaining. But there was also a lot more romance, and cute scenes between them, which I enjoyed. There wasn’t… heavy romance or anything, just hints as to what was going to happen, but I liked it nonetheless.

There was also more… chemistry shown. More cute moments and closeness between them than was given in the manga. And it showed more of them at the beginning, how their relationship grew before they actually became a couple. It was nice to see all of that, which I hadn’t noticed too much lack of in the manga, but now that I kind of do. They were cuter and sweeter in the novel, much more than I was expecting.

I still like their characters. He is sweet and caring, and takes all of Y-ko’s antics. She’s enjoys bothering him and making him do things for her, which he complains a bit about, but overall enjoys doing for her. They work together well. He’s happy with her, very content to stay with her, which is obvious, and she’s happy as well.

(I think that, seeing all of the happy couples around me, including the family I stayed with, and then reading this book and seeing how well they work together, just… made me happy. A bit envious, to be sure. It just… fills me with happy feelings, I guess?)

The writing is a bit exaggerated, which at first annoyed me, but grew on me about half-way through. I don’t think it was all that more exaggerated than the manga, just that seeing it only written and not in manga-form wasn’t as good, and I didn’t like it much at first. (I don’t know if it got better, or I got used to it. Maybe a little of both. Either way, I enjoyed it.) I was glad, though, that it grew on me, because I wanted to like it.

This was just… really good. Better than I was expecting, and even than was hinted it would be at the beginning. I was pleasantly surprised. If you liked the manga (or didn’t read it, whatever;) then you should really pick this up. And I’m pretty sure there is another book to go with it, which I am definitely planning to pick up the first chance I get.


Happy Reading and Happy Birthday (to me and anyone else)!

Manga Review: My Girlfriend's a Geek, Volume 5, by Pentabu and Rize Shinba

Rating (Out of 5): ~4/4.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Volumes: 5

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dating a "rotten" girl geek is no easy feat, as Taiga knows well. But after overcoming some of the strangest hurdles and learning to accept Yuiko's fangirl tendencies, he's over the moon now that their comical but loving relationship is stronger than ever! But when the fanfic he's been diligently writing for Yuiko brings Taiga some sudden and unwelcome Internet notoriety, will he be able to withstand the onslaught of a zillion Yuikos, or will he run away screaming from his happy ending?!
 

Review:

When I got this volume, I didn't know that it was the last one. And now that I've finished it, I'm super bummed that there aren't any more to come. I will probably have to go read the novels now, since I already have the first one.

I really like this series, it's so cute, and that didn't change any in this volume. I love reading about geeks, and anime ones are even better. And, I find all of the anime-lingo and pranks and things so funny. Part of it is probably also that I could see myself doing some of the things that Yuiko does to Taiga (well, if I was more of an extrovert, but I'm not, so...), with maybe a bit of exaggeration. But it's still fun.

Anyway, in the first chapter, Taiga is at Kouji's house. (And I don't think I've expressed my love for Kouji yet. But, that might be because it mostly became apparent in this volume. But, just so you know, I think I love him. He's kind of monotone, doesn't show much emotion, and just goes along with whatever is going on. He's fantastic.) Along with his little sister, Akari, and their friend Hotta. Hotta has an obvious crush on Akari, and she wants to dress them all up, but Kouji will only let her do it to Hotta, who goes along with it just fine. We were told in earlier volumes that Akari's family doesn't know about her cosplaying, but we find out that she actually meant they didn't know why she was doing these things, not that they aren't aware of her doing them. Kouji, for example, just thinks that she likes making weird clothes.

Anyway, it was funny seeing Akari mess around with Hotta, and Kouji ignoring it (even with headphones, which he is prepared with), and Taiga freaking out about all of it. And then Akari puts flowers around Kouji and Taiga after they fall asleep, and send it to Yuiko, who is having lunch with Masa-nee, at a host-type of cafe. We met Masa-nee in the previous volume, I think. She's the girl who's having problems with her boyfriend after he found out she's a fan of yaoi. So we get to hear about her problems with her boyfriend, see her newest fight with him, and how that's working out. They're ridiculous, but they seem to be working it out.

And then Yuiko forces Taiga to put the fanfic she's making him write onto Masa-nee's website. Which introduces two new characters.

The second chapter focuses on them. They are two college students, two years apart, Youhei and Koharu (yea, two males). Youhei is the one that finds the fanfic, and he's a huge fan of yaoi, and he even writes some of it. Koharu is not a fan, but is forced into it because he is staying with Youhei, who keeps forcing him to help. I want to know if there's something going on between them, because there are several scenes that make it seem like there are (the voice acting one in particular), but nothing ever really happens. But anyway, they are so cute. I love them, and it's a little disappointing that we don't get to see more of them.

Next, we see Yuiko and Akari shopping, and getting some more books. They run into Taiga and Kouji, quite literally, and we are reminded that Yuiko is still in-the-closet with her otaku-ness. This is hard to believe, since she's so open with Taiga about it, but it was enjoyable seeing her embarrassed and worried that Kouji knew about her obsession now. They all go to lunch, where Kouji and Akari discuss things, and Kouji is very straight-forward about what he saw, and just goes along with things and asks questions (this is the chapter that my love for him really shined through, just to let you know), and the girls have fun with it all. Taiga gets embarrassed about it all so easily. At first, I was thinking that his over-exaggerated reactions were for fun, and some of it probably is, but I'm thinking now that it's just his character.

And we find out that Yuiko's birthday is coming up, and Taiga completely forgot about it. Akari thinks it's hilarious how he denies that, but he has no idea what to get her. And so he tells her that he will make whatever wish she has come true. Akari thinks this is even more hilarious, and we should all know that something unfortunate is going to come out of it, because of the things that Yuiko likes.

This goes into the next chapter, and Yuiko decides that she wants him to wear his high school uniform for her, so has his mom send it to him. And she wears a sailor uniform for him (of which she has several). He thinks it's weird, but then actually kind of enjoys it, and it's mostly just fun. And it's becoming apparent that Yuiko is having a hard time with growing older, which is funny, because she doesn't seem so old. But I guess it's kind of hard to tell with only the art?

Also, we see Milan still has feelings for Yuiko, and isn't quite giving up, even when she avoids him as much as she can. I think this is interesting, and it's nice seeing Taiga's reaction, but I usually find these kind of situations interesting. Unless it's used too much, but it seems to be used not enough in this series.

I kind of loved this series, and am upset to see that it's over. I like Taiga ad Yuiko, as well as all of the other characters. They're all great. And the ending was pretty good, not that I wouldn't have liked more. I would have liked some more love-y scenes, as there weren't many and they were always interrupted by Yuiko's fan-dom, but that's alright. It was good enough and definitely enjoyable without it. And I am definitely going to have to read the novels now, so that I can have more of them.

Manga Review: My Girlfriend's A Geek Volume 4 by Rize Shinba and Pentabu

 3.5 of 5 Stars

 Publisher: Yen Press

Goodreads Synopsis:

Taiga is a college student who's always scraping by. All he wants is a part-time job and a cute girlfriend. So when he spies a 'help wanted' sign outside an office and a hot girl inside, he takes the job, no questions asked. And everything goes well, prompting him to steel his courage and ask Yuiko, a full-time employee at the office, out on date. And when she asks him if it's okay that she's a 'fujoshi', or rabid female fan of boys' love, he tells her it's fine out of sheer excitement. But poor Taiga has no idea of how much trouble he's just got himself into!

Review:

This is a very adorable series. I think Yuiko and Taiga's relationship is very cute, and their banter is very entertaining. I just generally like reading stuff when there's an otaku like character, and that's the main reason I started reading it in the beginning.

In the first chapter, Yuiko gets sick and pesters Taiga to read her some dojinshi, which he doesn't do. In the three chapters following that, Taiga is continuing to tutor a middle school boy, which he's hiding from Yuiko because of her uke-seme yaoi fetish, and so Yuiko starts thinking that he's cheating on her. I understand why she thinks that, and the fall out of it I enjoyed reading. They didn't have some dramatic fight, they talked it out and he explained things, and then the fight was over. It was nice seeing Yuiko worried about something like that, mainly because she's usually pushing him to do things for her.

The last chapter was about a fujoshi friend of Yuiko's who is having problems with her boyfriend after he finds a yaoi book of hers. It bothers me that he was totally disgusted by it, but I guess some people are actually like that? The two of them talking about it was entertaining, and the end of the chapter has me curious as to whether there's going to be more of them in chapters to come. It sounds like there's still a problem there, so I hope there is.

So, I still like this series. I like Taiga and Yuiko, and I really enjoyed their little fight in this one. I'm continuing the series and I hope it gets even better. And hopefully I'll finish the book that the manga is based off of soon.