Manga Review: Kare First Love, Volume 10, by Kaho Miyasaka

Rating (Out of 5): ~1.5

Publisher: Shojo (VIZ Media)

Release Date: December, 2006

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: Yes.

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

Volume: 1. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Four-eyed high-schooler Karin has never thought of herself as the glamorous type, so why is this hot guy on the subway taking pictures of her? Does he actually like her or is he just some kind of subway perv? Things get complicated when the most popular girl in Karin's school, Yuka, starts showing an interest in Kiriya (yes, that picture-taking guy on the subway) and sees Karin as her rival! Can Karin build up her self-esteem (and ditch her glasses) enough to stand up to jealous Yuka--and experience first love?

What Will I Miss?:

• I suppose I did enjoy the drama, at least for quite a bit of the time. I like drama, and sometimes you're just in the mood for the over-the-top stuff that this is. I don't think I'm going to miss anything else.

Review:

I was, um, kind of extremely disappointed with this volume. I really wanted to like it, I was really hoping it would be good. And it wasn’t.

I think my biggest problem is that I just don’t believe in Karin and Kiriya. They’re cute together, I guess, they have fun and get along sometimes. They have disagreements and move past them. They’ve matured, some, since the beginning. I just don’t believe they’re ready or mature enough. I mean, their story ends with a proposal and a wedding and everyone happy, which I guess is what people wanted, maybe? I didn’t want that. I wanted them to separate, grow a whole lot in themselves and their place in the world, and then maybe go back to each other. I mean, in this volume, they take a trip together and then Karin gets depressed when he leaves her alone for a couple of hours. That doesn’t show me that she knows who she is or how to be sufficient on her own.

I just don’t think they’re ready to be together forever, to devote themselves to the other person for the rest of their lives and yada yada yada. I don’t believe that they’re mature enough, or that that was the right ending for them. I can’t say I was surprised, though, because that was obviously where the story was going.

I think that’s really all I had to say about this volume. It upset and disappointed me, and I’m glad I read it but I’m also glad that it’s done.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

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

Publisher: Little, Brown (Poppy)

Spoilers?: Minor (Although things are perhaps hinted at)

Goodreads Synopsis:

 Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Review:

So, I’m a little disappointed, and upset, about this book. (Which is all my fault, really, not the book's.) I was expecting it to be amazing; I was hoping it would be amazing. Everyone else seems to have liked it, and it really did seem like my type of book. But I wasn’t as impressed, or in love, as I thought I would be. It was good, but it just wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.

It’s about Hadley, who is taking a plane over to Europe, where she is to be the bridesmaid at her father’s wedding. She’s still upset with her father because of the divorce, and she hasn’t seen him in a year, and so is unhappy about having to go. But then she misses her plane, and is almost late to the wedding, but that’s okay because she ends up meeting this boy on the plane.

So, I did like Hadley. I liked reading about her, and I found that I related to her rather well. (Particularly with her dad. With how she felt about her dad after, not at the beginning.) And I just generally liked her thoughts on things. It was fun, being in her head.

And I liked her and Oliver. Oliver was fun, and sweet, and they were cute together. And I think I was expecting something else, or something? Because some of it seemed more, on Hadley’s part, like when you meet someone, or just really talk to someone, for the first time, and you expect something more. But then again, I feels like that was purposeful, and so when she found out that he was feeling the same, that they both felt that deeper connection between them, it was even more special. Because she really liked him, but she was unsure because they’d barely known each other, and it was nice to find out that he liked her, too. Because I do feel like there was a connection between them, and there really was some good chemistry between the two. (I liked there conversations, especially. And there was even some good kissing. And, bonus, this isn’t a story where they’re from different places, and so how will it ever work out?, because they live within the same vicinity, and are only going to visit the same place.)

Hadley’s parents, too, are awesome. Her mom is sweet, and her dad, while what he did at first was very uncool, was still totally awesome. I was a little afraid at first, but she had a really nice talk with him, and it was so heartwarming, and even the woman he’s marrying is nice. I was afraid at the start of the book that, since it’s only over a twenty-four hour period, it would only show her time with Oliver, and them talking and getting things out, even though that seemed like a long time to be on a plane. But it wasn’t. She went to the wedding, and found him again, and several things happened, so we actually get to see the things work out.

I did really like this book. It was cute, and fun, and deep, and it was told really well, what with going to past memories and then to the present. But I think some of my lackluster feelings for it, is because I put off reading it. I wanted to read it really bad, so I put it off to read some other things (you know, for motivation), and then when I finally got to it, I tried to prolong my reading, to savor it, and instead, I think I lessened the excitement, the experience of it. I’m upset about this, because I was really excited for it, and I think I could have been more excited for it while reading it as well.

The ending was good, too. It was very sweet for all of the characters, and pretty much everything worked out very well, and I liked it. It was sweet and cute and mostly fluffy, but it also had depth, and relate-able/good characters, who I liked. It was really well done, and I am looking forward to reading more of Smith’s books in the future.

Manga Review: V.B. Rose, Volume 11, by Banri Hidaka

5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Tokyopop

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ageha gets the job of a lifetime - making her sister's wedding dress. Ageha loves making handbags and other accessories, so when one of her sister's dress makers hurts his hand she jumps right in to help! And thus begins Ageha's adventures at the fashionable Velvet Blue Rose.

On a whim, Ageha asks how Yukari and Mitsuya first met, leading to a heart-pounding and hilarious story! And as close as they are now, it's hard to imagine that these two friends started off on the worst possible foot. But, boy, was Yukari extra-cute back in the day. Plus, the history of Mitsuya's long relationship with Tsuyu is finally revealed...but is it too late to make amends!

Review:

I've read all of the books in this series that was released before Tokyopop closed down. I don't want to talk too much about Tokyopop closing, because I want to talk about the book. But I am still upset about it, I haven't gotten over it yet. Even if I was upset at them for some of the things that they did, I still bought several of their manga, and I followed a couple series very closely. V.B. Rose is one of them that I'd been buying since around the time that they started releasing them. The series didn't have me at the first volume; it took a couple, but once it had me, I was always super excited to get the next one. It's a very cute, funny, shojo series. And I love it.

It has my kind of humor, so that I'm always laughing at it, and I love the characters. I've read the two other series of Hidaka's that have been released over here, or at least the other two that CMX released before closing. And I liked them as well. I'm not going to go too into them either, since I might still review them, but I really liked I Hate You More Than Anyone, and am still upset at not getting to finish it. But I have high hopes for it, because we see the main characters in V.B. Rose every once in a while.

I am super bummed at not getting to finish this series, as I love it so much, and I want to know what happens so bad, and there are only a couple of books left in the series.

Anyway. In this volume, most of it is about how Yukari and Mitsuya met. They've known each other for a long time, and it was nice to finally see how they came to be so close. And it was especially funny. After reading all the books, I'm attached to the characters, and it has my type of humor, so the chapters could be about pretty much anything and I would love it.

In the beginning, Ageha asks how long they've been together, and they both protest at the way she asks. There's some bickering, and then Mitsuya tells her how they met, so it goes to a flashback. This takes up about three chapters. Yukari is very adorable as a little kid. And he's so mean to Mitsuya when he first talks to him, by ignoring him and then later hitting him. He's mean through most of it, until Mitsuya goes to the studio and sees him working, where he's loud and aggressive, which is contradictory to his delicate image. And we get to see Yukari's father, who looks like an older version of himself, and who is very fun and hyper-active, and we see more of Ririko, his step-mother.

Yukari and Mitsuya work on some dresses, and they fight and then make up, and then it's back to Ageha and Mitsuya talking in the present. I liked seeing how different they both are, how much they've grown, and especially how older, more manly, Yukari looks. Anyway, Ageha swoons over them, and then Yukari gets a bit upset that Mitsuya told her all that.

In the last two chapters, we see Tsuyu, the bead maker, and Mitsuya's background. Why they are the way they are to each other, and what happened between them. Some of it, at least.

Tsuyu and Mitsuya were close and liked each other, and were getting closer, when Tsuyu has to move in with her father. So she has to reject him, and Tsuyu feels terrible about it, and Mitsuya's still hurt from it. It's terribly upsetting, and they've never really talked about it. And the volume ends with Ageha freaking out on Mitsuya and smacking him as she tells him that Tsuyu has to go to an arranged marriage meeting, and then Mitsuya passes out because he hasn't been feeling well.

There's also a cute scene between Ageha and Yukari. Within the last couple volumes, there haven't been too many chapters for just them, which I was looking forward to seeing more of. I love them both and I love them together and I want more of them together. More swoon-worthy, cute scenes. Although Yukari can be full of swoon all on his own.

There are other characters that we didn't get to see in this volume, but that I will mention because of my lack of volumes to come. Like Mamoru, Ageha's friend, and her brother, Nat-chan, who kind of loves Ageha. And Sakura, Yukari's little brother, who looks like a little Yukari, is practically cuteness made into a little boy. And Kana-san, who is a little rough around the edges, and a little distant, but I like her nonetheless.

I love this series. I want more of this series. I miss this series, so much. This is the main series that I'm upset about after Tokyopop closed, especially because the release dates were already pretty tentative and spread out. Now I won't even be able to find out what happens next. I really want another company to pick up this series, or any of Banri Hidaka's other series'. She makes such good characters, and stories, and her artwork is so pretty. It's very elegant, gentle.

I don't know if I'm going to go back and review some of the previous volumes. Probably not, but I might review volume 12. And I will probably be reviewing some of the other series that Tokyopop left hanging, as well as some of the other companies that closed recently.