Wishlist Thursday[80]: Barakamon by Satsuki Yoshino

Barakamon 1 by Satsuki Yoshino

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: October 28, 2014

Volumes: 10+

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

First things first.........Visitors are supposed to come in through the front door!!
For a certain reason, a handsome, young calligrapher by the name of Seishuu Handa uproots himself and moves to an island on the westernmost edge of Japan. "Sensei," as he comes to be known, is a city boy through and through, and has never experienced rural life until now. And by the looks of it, he has much to learn! Luckily(?), he has a willing teacher in Naru, the energetic expert islander, to help show him the ropes. But can Sensei keep up with the plucky first-grader, or will he get schooled?! Here unfolds a heartfelt island comedy about a gruff on the outside, soft on the inside urbanite teacher and his new, unfailingly kind island neighbors!

Why?:

Despite the fact that Yen Press has been doing a very good job of advertising this series, it’s still flying pretty under the radar for me. And yet every time I come upon it, I pause and think that I should get it. The cover is quite adorable, and for some reason it just feels like a series I will enjoy. It sounds pretty cute, and the covers are very pretty. Yen Press’s prices are higher than I prefer to pay, but I still might pick this one up when I get the chance. I’m just getting a good feeling about it—not to mention that I’ve heard some pretty good things about it.

What about you? What are you looking forward to?

Manga Review: Inu x Boku SS, Volume 4, by Cocoa Fujiwara

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: July 22, 2014

Volumes: 11

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The elite and beautiful Ririchiyo Shirakiin has a bad habit--she can't help but lash out at people with her vicious tongue, all while hiding behind a mask of haughty cool. This attitude has a lot to do with people minding her business because of the Shirakiin family name, but it troubles Ririchiyo to no end. In search of independence and solitude, she moves to the Maison de Ayakashi, an apartment building full of wealthy tenants and with its own Secret Service. Ririchiyo is eager to be alone, but upon her arrival, she is greeted by Soushi, an SS agent arranged for her by her parents. Ririchiyo tries to turn Soushi away, but Soushi's dogged devotion to his new mistress will not be deterred. The threat against the residents of the Maison de Ayakashi are not to be taken lightly, after all. And despite his puppy-like demeanor, Soushi is not to be trifled with either...

Review:

I don’t even know what to say about this volume. I want to cry and rage and throw the book at the wall and re-read to try to understand all at the same time. I just don’t understand what happened or why it happened or what’s going to happen next.

I’m going to try very hard to not spoil anything, but I don’t know how to talk about it without… talking about it.

So it started out pretty good. There was some focus on Nobara and her relationship with Sorinozuka, which was nice. There were some humorous comics, which is always nice. The comedic element of this series is just gold, perfectly done, and truly hilarious.

Ririchiyo and Soushi went to her home, and we got to see some more of their relationship, and ohmygod they are so cute. Then something happened with Roromiya. Which just expanded into something worse. And then exploded into the worst thing ever and I don’t know how to handle it. And then slowed into something that purely has me confused.

I don’t understand. That’s all I can say at this point. I don’t understand what’s going to happen next, or how anything can be done about what happened. I actually want to cry, because my heart is breaking over what happened. But also my head is exploding and I don't know how to handle it.

So I don’t want to wait for the next volume. I want it right this instant, because I need to know what happens. Which means that the wait till it's release in October is going to be just horrible.

Sidenote: I love the cover on this volume. I'm not sure why it stands out so much more than the others to me, I'm not even sure if it's Roromiya, but I just think it's gorgeous.

Manga Review: Inu x Boku SS, Volume 3, by Cocoa Fujiwara

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: April 22, 2014

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: Some.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The residents of Ayakashi Hall decide to make a time capsule and bury it on the grounds, so everyone writes letters to their "future selves" to be included within. As Ririchiyo composes her letter, she reflects on her time with Soushi, realizing how much she has grown with the fox at her side. But when those heartfelt feelings are accidentally delivered not to her future self but to Soushi, Ririchiyo's budding social skills will be put to the test! Is she ready for a face-to-face confession of her true feelings?!

Review:

“There’s no solid evidence or binding power like there is with a romantic partner. Friendship is hard.”

This series just makes me smile. And laugh. It’s absolutely one of my favorites now, an automatic buy, one that I get excited about reading. And one that I could probably re-read several times and still laugh about.

The romance took a very nice turn in this volume—a huge step forward. There was a moment where Ririchiyo could have stereotypically chickened out, but instead she took the leap forward. And I am so very happy that she did that. It impresses me, and it makes me so very happy about everything going forward. The best parts of a romance, as far as I’m concerned, always seem to happen after the relationship starts.

I love Ririchiyo and Soushi. They are absolutely adorable and hiliarious together. Plus, the ways that Ririchiyo are good for Soushi (and vice versa) are so very good. I love how she realized what her feelings would mean to Soushi, and why she took the step forward. That’s so huge. It makes me so happy.

There aren’t many graphic scenes between them, during or after the big scene, but there are a lot of hints and touches. Just that makes me infinitely happy. And Soushi is so adorable with her. Also, their height differences, and how tiny Ririchiyo is compared to Soushi (like when he picks her up and holds her) is just so freakin' adorable. I love it.

I also really like Ririchiyo and Roromiya’s relationship. Their friendship is so nice, Roromiya handles her so straightforwardly, and so easily. It’s nice to see Ririchiyo growing in that way, as well.

Next there’s Roromiya and Watanuki. They are absolutely adorable. And Roromiya is still quite possibly my favorite character. I just love her—she steals every scene that she’s in. The romance between the two is still budding, and I’m really excited to see it bloom. Watanuki is just so sweet with her, so shy. Roromiya pushes him in just the right way. We got a whole chapter to them, and it was so sweet.

I absolutely love the humor in this series. It just has me laughing and grinning through the whole volume. There are a lot of little one-shot pages, and pranks, and just plain the characters bantering and playing with each other. Plus, how the humor mixes so smoothly with the serious scenes and the serious messages. It’s so well-done. For instance, several times throughout the volume, there were hints of something to come, which I’m assuming is in the next volume. I’m really intrigued by that. 

I’m in love with this series, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next volume.

Manga Review: Inu x Boku SS, Volume 2, by Cocoa Fujiwara

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: January 21st, 2014

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The elite and beautiful Ririchiyo Shirakiin has a bad habit--she can't help but lash out at people with her vicious tongue, all while hiding behind a mask of haughty cool. This attitude has a lot to do with people minding her business because of the Shirakiin family name, but it troubles Ririchiyo to no end. In search of independence and solitude, she moves to the Maison de Ayakashi, an apartment building full of wealthy tenants and with its own Secret Service. Ririchiyo is eager to be alone, but upon her arrival, she is greeted by Soushi, an SS agent arranged for her by her parents. Ririchiyo tries to turn Soushi away, but Soushi's dogged devotion to his new mistress will not be deterred. The threat against the residents of the Maison de Ayakashi are not to be taken lightly, after all. And despite his puppy-like demeanor, Soushi is not to be trifled with either...

Review:

I’ve always loved Roromiya. She’s adorably straight-faced, loves food, and says what she thinks when she thinks she should. She’s probably my favorite character. And that really proves true in this volume, when she forms a friendship with Watanuki and Ririchiyo. She pulls them together, even when they’re trying to be tough. They’re fantastic friends, and I really enjoyed reading their interactions while at school.

Aside from that, we get some background information for Soushi, a bit more than I thought would come so quickly. It gives a lot of depth for his character, and made me feel a bit bad for him. The poor guy; I love him. It also helped his and Ririchiyo’s relationship develop, though, and I hope it’ll only do more in the next volume. I’m not too sure where they’re going to go, or how fast they’ll go, but I’m hoping they won’t go too slow in the way of romance. I'm looking forward to it.

We also met Kagerou in this volume. I’m not going to spoil his part in any of this, though, because that would be major spoilers, and the surprise is the best part; it really makes his characters and his scenes.. He caused a huge amount of hilarity for me in the anime, and he did about the same in this book. He’s so odd, and he’s fantastic, really. He’s hilariously weird. And seeing his interactions with everyone, including Roromiya, who’s his bodyguard, is great. 

This is a great series. It’s adorable, and I love the characters; it’s very pretty, and the humor is fantastic. I’m really looking forward to getting the next volume.