Manga Review: Spell of Desire, Volume 5, by Tomu Ohmi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Volumes: 5

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kaoruko Mochizuki runs an herb shop in a small seaside town. One day, a mysterious man dressed in black named Kaname Hibiki enters her shop and reveals that Kaoruko is actually a witch. And what’s more, Kaoruko needs Kaname to help control her awakening power!

With the reawakening of the Witch Queen, Kaoruko and Kaname are called back to the coven. As his punishment for betraying the Witch Queen and falling in love with Kaoruko, Kaname has his five senses, and even his memories of Kaoruko, stripped from him. Unable to fight against such a powerful spell, the two are in despair, but they discover that Kaoruko, who has received the blessing of a white witch, may be the only one capable of breaking that spell!

Review:

We finally get to meet the witch queen. And she’s kind of terrible. She had her reasons, which we’re shown later, but I’m still not a big fan. By meeting her, though, and with what we know and learn about Kaoruko’s grandmother, we get a better view of who Kaoruko is and how she came to be this way.

There’s a big final trial in this volume to see how strong Kaoruko really is, and how strong her and Kaname’s love really is. I like how Kaoruko stood up for what she wanted and fought back, and how she did what she had to do in order to get what was important to her.

While I am not in love with Kaoruko and Kaname as a couple, their chemistry just hasn’t really hit me, but I do believe in them, and that they believe in them. I liked how they came out of what happened to them, how they fought and loved each other through it.

The ending was nice. It felt fitting and deserving after everything, and I think it worked well for Kaoruko and Kaname. It wasn’t my favorite series, but I enjoyed it.

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

Manga Review: Spell of Desire, Volume 3, by Tomu Ohmi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: February 2015

Volumes: 5

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kaoruko Mochizuki runs an herb shop in a small seaside town. One day, a mysterious man dressed in black named Kaname Hibiki enters her shop and reveals that Kaoruko is actually a witch. And what’s more, Kaoruko needs Kaname to help control her awakening power!

When it becomes known that Kaoruko has received the power of the Witch Queen, she and Kaname are ordered to appear before the coven of the Black Witches. There, Kaoruko discovers that she must become a Black Witch in order to control her rampaging powers. But that means she will be offered up to an incubus—who presents himself as Kaname as he closes in on her!

Review:

This series just doesn’t stand out to me as much as some. Her first series didn’t either, though. This one might be better, a little.

Kaoruko and Kaname finally get to the mature stuff in this volume, and I guess that’s nice. I do like that their relationship is progressing, and that they’re not resisting it. That’s appreciated. But at the same time, this puts Kaname’s spot in the coven in a bad place. Now he’s lost his position, though it’s not official until the queen comes back. I like that Kaoruko intends to fight that, though, and get stronger so that she can.

I don’t really like the black witches. They’re mean, and I don’t think Kaoruko fits in with them and their beliefs. She’s trying though, and I give her props for that.

I want to finish this series, see how it ends, and I hope I like. It’s not on the top of my list, though.

Manga Review: Spell of Desire, Volume 2, by Tomu Ohmi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 4, 2014

Volumes: 5

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kaoruko Mochizuki runs an herb shop in a small seaside town. One day, a mysterious man dressed in black named Kaname Hibiki enters her shop and reveals that Kaoruko is actually a witch. And what's more, Kaoruko needs Kaname to help control her awakening power!

The only thing that can keep Kaoruko's powers in check is a kiss from Kaname, but she can't help but be drawn to him! While Kaname struggles with his own growing attraction to Kaoruko, he suspects that Kaoruko's volatile powers will bring unwanted attention from the Black Witches Coven with dangerous consequences for her!

Review:

Midnight Secretary left me unsure of continuing Ohmi’s works, and the first volume of this series didn’t grab me immediately. But this volume was actually a step up, I’m happy to report.

I think the attraction between the couple has a hard time grabbing me, but it’s starting to work here. Kaname is starting to accept his feelings for Kaoruko, just as she is for him. That’s one thing that bothered me in the previous series, and I’m hoping it continues into the next one.

Then there’s the witch plot line that is getting surprisingly serious, and troublesome for the two. Kaoruko is surprisingly strong (with her powers, specifically), and since this causes problems for her and Kaname, who is trying to protect her, we get to meet some other witches. I’m a little wary of them, and unsure if I like the general direction they’re going, but I’m interested.

This series is not at the top of my list, but I want to read more, to see where it goes next. I’m intrigued enough to see this through.

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