Manga Review: Requiem of the Rose King, Volume 4, by Aya Kanno

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: May 10, 2016

Volumes: 5+

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Richard, the ambitious third son of the House of York, believes he is cursed, damned from birth to eternal darkness. But is it truly fate that sets him on the path to personal destruction? Or his own tormented longings? Based on an early draft of Shakespeare’s Richard III, Aya Kanno’s dark fantasy finds the man who could be king standing between worlds, between classes, between good and evil.

An uprising draws King Edward, with Richard at his side, to battle. The aftermath could result in a new king. But who will take the throne? If Richard has anything to say about it, it will be neither of his brothers.

Review:

This series just gets better and better with every volume, and at this point, if you’re not following it, you should be.

I love the depth and the thoughtful way of everything, it’s beautiful and impressive. I don’t even know the stories that this series is from, and it doesn’t matter. I’m still so caught up in the story. It’s beautiful.

There’s a couple fun scenes where Anne grows closer to Richard, where we see that they might be able to have a real relationship. But there’s underlying darkness from their families the entire time, and that finally ruins their progression.

There are a couple of marriages being arranged, Elizabeth is still working through her plan of revenge and getting closer to it, Margaret is also progressing on hers. The Earl of Warwick finally moves forward with his plans to dethrone Edward, though he gets a little stuck at one point. And we finally see Richard reach a conclusion, and see that he’s going to be pushing forward with his own new plans, though he finally has an ally in Catesby.

I love this series, and I’m addicted. I’m patiently waiting the next one.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Ultraman, Volume 4, by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 17, 2016

Volumes: 7+

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Decades ago, a being known as the Giant of Light joined together with Shin Hayata of the Science Special Search Party to save Earth from an invasion of terrifying monsters called Kaiju. Now, many years later, those dark days are fading into memory, and the world is at peace. But in the shadows a new threat is growing, a danger that can only be faced by a new kind of hero—a new kind of ULTRAMAN…

Earth’s alien enemies are brutal and unforgiving, but Shinjiro is having a tough time coming to terms with the way Dan Moroboshi kills them without hesitation. Perhaps just as disturbing is the new Ultraman suit Moroboshi is wearing. While Shinjiro deals with this, a secret plan to awaken Shinjiro’s Ultraman Factor is set in motion, and singer Rena Sayama’s life is in danger…

Review:

Since I haven’t read the previous volumes, I was very lost with this volume. But intrigued.

Shinjiro is having a hard time agreeing to be Ultraman, and we see him struggle and finally come to a decision about it. Meanwhile, the aliens are invading and planning an attack in the background, and they make it on popstar Rena at our cliffhanger.

If I was a bigger fan of sci-fi, I would enjoy this series a lot more. Because I can tell there’s quite a bit of work put into the world and the creatures and the ultraman suit. This was a very fast volume, and I didn’t mind it at all, though. 

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Maid-sama!, Volume 7 & 8, by Hiro Fujiwara

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 3, 2016

Volumes: 18.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1&2. 5&6. 9&10.

Goodreads Synopsis:

As if being class president of a predominantly male high school isn’t hard enough, Misaki Ayuzawa has a major secret—she works at a maid café after school! How is she supposed to keep her image of being ultrasmart, strong and overachieving intact once school heartthrob Takumi Usui discovers her double life?!

Misaki secretly participates in the maid café’seating contest to save a coworker from keeping a promise that she never should’ve made in the first place. Then things unexpectedly heat up when a game called Love Trial forces Misaki to participate in various festival games with Usui-while holding hands!

Review:

We’ve finally caught up with where Tokyopop stopped, which means the next volume will be all new stuff. I’m very excited for that. But this volume was still a refresh, since it’s been so long.

I’d pretty much forgotten how far Misaki and Usui had gone in their relationship. Aw. It makes me so happy to see again. They’re so flipping sweet together, I love it. And now that they’re still new in the relationship, they’re both all embarrassed and unsure, particularly Misaki. But Usui is being more sweet than normal, more gentle, but also acting like something is bothering him.

Hinata is a sweetheart, but I feel bad for him. The poor guy just doesn’t have a chance. Aside from that, I enjoy seeing Kanou and Yukimura. I love Yukimura as a character, he’s a total sweetheart, and I think his friendship with Kanou is great for them both. I have to admit, though, that I see the yaoi moments between them. I doubt it’ll ever be a real thing, but I want it to happen. I like seeing so much of Aoi, as well.

Meeting Misaki’s mother was nice, and it was good to get that perspective on her. I think her sister is fantastic, as well. I love her blasé way of looking at things.

This was a very fun volume to reread. I can’t wait to finally see what happens with the election, and how their relationship moves forward next.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!