Manga Review: Himeyuka & Rozione's Story by Sumomo Yumeka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: 2010

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Won't you share a scribble-covered dream with me?

Intent on being an independent young woman, high schooler Himeyuka lives on her own in an unremarkable apartment complex in a corner of the city. But one day, she discovers her ordinary building has turned into something extraordinary! Her beloved "castle" is covered in childish scribbles-both inside and out! And waiting for her at the end of this rainbow-colored mess...is the perpetrator of the crime-a little boy named Rozione, who seems to know quite a bit about Himeyuka, though she has no idea who he is. Is he really just someone's lost child, or is there a greater mystery behind his appearance?

In this collection, Sumomo Yumeka presents four charming, melancholy vignettes that explore the trickling of time and the machinations of the heart.

Review:

I picked up this little one-shot volume by chance, thinking it looked cute. And it was; cute, a little thoughtful.

The first story is about a girl wanting to move on from her past childhood, wanting to grow up, only for a childhood toy of hers to haunt her, trying to show her love. I thought this story was very cute and warmhearted. Her toy was a sweetheart, and the ending left me very happy.

The second story is about an arranged marriage between yakuza families, with the girl already in love. This story was predictable, but I still thought it was pretty cute. There was some time taken to show the girl’s feelings for the guy, and I liked that.

The third story was about a witch needing a human’s tears to increase her power. This story, I think, was a little underdeveloped, as I had hard time really growing close to the characters, and the ending could have been more. But it was still a cute story.

The last story was about a robot world and the people who own them, and people who reincarnate as themselves over and over again. It was kind of an odd story, and I don’t think the world or the ideas presented were very clear, or maybe there just wasn’t enough time to fully develop them. The whole idea left me a little confused, unsure how it really worked. It had potential, and it wasn’t a bad story, but it just wasn’t very clear.

This was a pretty good collection of stories; I enjoyed most of them. The art was very pretty. I’m glad I picked it up.

Manga Review: Time Killers: Short Story Collection by Kazue Kato

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5 (maybe 4)

Publisher: Shonen Jump Advanced (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2, 2014

Volumes: 1.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Explore fantastic realms of imagination in this stunning collection of short stories by Kazue Kato, creator of the smash hit manga series, Blue Exorcist! With Kato's amazing and distinctive art leaping from the page, Time Killers includes her first work, Boku to Usagi (Rabbit and I) and features the stories and character designs that would become her breakthrough series, Blue Exorcist. Take off on a flight of fantasy with Time Killers!

Review:

I have not read Blue Exorcist, although I’ve almost picked it up a few times, so I had no idea what I was getting with this book. But I was intrigued, and I like one-shot stories.

First of all, there are color-pages in this book, and it’s printed on glossy paper, so it’s a rather pretty book.

The first story is the author’s first work, so it’s much weaker, particularly in the artwork. It was an interesting story, though, about an assassin and an aspiring doctor. After that is a bunny and human bodyguard team protecting a tomato farmer. There are several very short stories, but several of them are memorable. Including one about a princess and her complicated clothing, a sad story about an Indian, one about a thug father and his daughter (the ending of which was particularly adorable), and one about a guy who wishes for so many things he forgets what’s important. There are some really sweet characters, as well as some adorable sidekick/mascot characters.

The last two stories are the longest, one about a nerd who falls for a classmate, only for aliens (very cute, tiny aliens) to try to destroy the Earth. And the last one is about demons and exorcists, a demon learning to kill another demon in order to save the girl who cared for him (which apparently people say is like an earlier work compared to Blue Exorcist).

These are humorous, and sweet stories, some are sad, some have mascot-like characters. The art is definitely better by the end. I also enjoyed the explanation from the author of how she got from the first story to now with Blue Exorcist. I was surprised by how much I liked it, and now plan to either read or watch Blue Exorcist.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, and Erik Jansen from MediaLab PR. Thank you so, so much!

Novel Review: Unite Me (Shatter Me, #1.5, #2.5) by Tahereh Mafi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Paranormal Dystopian Romance Novellas

Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins)

Release Date: February 4th, 2014

Spoilers?: Some.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Perfect for fans of Tahereh Mafi’s New York Times bestselling Shatter Me trilogy, this book collects her two companion novellas, Fracture Me and Destroy Me, in print for the first time ever. It also features an exclusive look into Juliette’s journal and a preview of Ignite Me, the hotly anticipated final novel of the series.

Destroy Me tells the events between Shatter Me and Unravel Me from Warner’s point of view. Even though Juliette shot him in order to escape, Warner can’t stop thinking about her—and he’ll do anything to get her back. But when the Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment arrives, he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner cannot allow.

Fracture Me is told from Adam’s perspective and bridges the gap between Unravel Me and Ignite Me. As the Omega Point rebels prepare to fight the Sector 45 soldiers, Adam's more focused on the safety of Juliette, Kenji, and his brother. The Reestablishment will do anything to crush the resistance . . . including killing everyone Adam cares about.

The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent and The Hunger Games. This captivating story, which combines the best of dystopian and paranormal, was praised as “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love” by Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

The Cover:

The cover on this book is both the covers for the novellas, Destroy Me and Fracture Me, one on the front and one on the back. I love them, honestly. They're gorgeous, much like the others in the series, and I love that the eye is closed instead of open. It's just all-around beautiful.

Quotes:

• "Torture is not torture when there’s any hope of relief.” (Destroy Me, pg. 33)
• "Love is a heartless bastard.” (Destroy Me, pg. 102)
• "I have a heart, says science, but I am monster, says society. […] But sometimes I think—sometimes I wonder—if I were monster—surely, I would feel it by now?” (Juliette’s Journal, pg. 190)

Review:

I’m so glad that publishers seem to be collecting short stories and releasing them in a paper book edition. Not only because I don’t like reading stories on my computer, but also because it’s nice having a complete physical edition. Especially since I got to read Warner (and Adam’s) short story before reading the final book in the series.

Firstly, Mafi’s writing still just impresses me, I love it. She portrayed Warner really well, and she really pulled off Adam, no matter how much I didn’t like him. Then we got to read some of Juliette’s journal, and I just love being in her head. Her voice is so well done.

So, the first short story in this is Destroy Me, Warner’s. I was intrigued by him in the first book, and liking him in the second (and starting to vote for him for Juliette), so reading this was really nice. It gave a really nice insight into his head, seeing his relationship with his father, as well as seeing how he really feels for Juliette. And you really get to see the full extent of his feelings for her here, and it’s honestly really nice. He sees her in such a nice way, falling for her so honestly. It made me like him a lot more, and I liked seeing his actual reasons behind his actions.

Then there was Fracture Me, Adam’s story. I liked Adam in the first book, and still rather liked him in the second (although was starting to catch on to some things…). But now I just think he’s a rather asshole. I’m really surprised by this, but he really looks down on Juliette, and Kenji, thinking that he’s the only useful one around, the smart one, and that he has to take care of everyone. It was a little condescending toward Juliette at times, and that really got on my nerves. Then there’s the fact that, when he’s stressed, he takes it out on the people around him.

Plus, it became really apparent to me how differently the two look at Juliette. Warner believes in her, even if he’s a little misguided at times. He truly sees her, and cares for her. Adam, on the other hand, has some kind of reverse hero-worship for her (meaning that he has to be her hero and save and protect her, like she’s fragile and naive). And then, near the end of the story, he pretty much completely turns his back on her. It really kind of pissed me off. (Kenji, on the other hand, was sweet and responsible the entire time. He’s the best.)

I’m surprise by how much my feelings changed from reading this, and am now really glad that I did read it.

The last was an extra, a short excerpt of Juliette’s journal. I generally just love being inside Juliette’s head, love her way of looking at things, the writing style used for her voice, so I rather loved this. It was nice getting an excerpt of what was going on in her head earlier on during her isolation. Sad, but really nice. 

I am really glad that this was released in paperback, and that I picked it up. It was really, really good. I’m supremely impressed, and now even more excited to read the final book.