Manga Review: Kiss Him, Not Me!, Volume 10, by Junko

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: April 2017

Volumes: 14.

Spoilers?: Light.

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Volume: 1. 9. 11.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Hey, Kae here! After confronting my feelings and Mutsumi-senpai reassuring me to take my time, things have calmed down again.

Shima-chan and I are super pumped to meet the voice actors of our beloved Akane and Master. But at the event, something shocking happens. It turns out that Akane is none other than my childhood friend, Tah-kun!
Though we haven't seen each other in forever, he transfers to my school and asks for my support. I don't see why he can't join in on the fun! The others don't seem too happy, though. Before long, I'm worried, too, because Tah-kun is weak and gets sick almost every day.

I'm ready to do whatever it takes to help a friend, but why does everyone else seem so wary of him? Even Mutsumi-senpai is on guard! Is there something I don't know about Tah-kun?

Review:

Given how far in the series we are, I don't really appreciate them throwing in a new guy character, a supposed childhood friend of Kae's. He's her favorite voice actor, and for some reason she never realized it. And then he conveniently gets transferred to her class.

At this point, it's a little annoying, and seems a little unnecessary, but okay, sure.

Aside from my annoyance at this, it also makes sense that he's evil. I do appreciate, at least, that they were both big kids growing up, and did seem actually close. Kae still tries to protect him, and then they throw in the surprise of him fattening her back up. He's under the ideal that they didn't like her when she was big, and are solely shallow.

It is another point of contention, how she so easily goes from being tiny to huge—but I'm going to let that go, and be interested to see how they all react in the next one, instead. There's really only one way this could go, so I'm probably not going to be surprised, but still.

I do wish this series dealt with these issues better, though.

Manga Review: My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Volume 3, by Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court, and Kohei Horikoshi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 2019

Volumes: 6+

Spoilers?: No.

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Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Not everyone needs a license to fight for justice!

In a superpowered society, there is nothing ordinary about evil anymore. Heroes, trained and licensed to protect and defend the public against supervillains, stand above all the rest. Not everyone can be a hero, however, and there are those who would use their powers to serve the people without legal sanction. But do they fight for justice in the shadows, or for reasons known only to themselves? Whatever they fight for, they are called...vigilantes.

Review:

The plot doesn't move too much forward in this volume; instead we meet a new character, and Koichi's mother comes for a visit.

Koichi meets Makoto at school, and she turns out to be a reporter. This could be trouble for Koichi, given that he's an undercover vigilante. Koichi decides to help her out, despite all this, and then when his mother shows up, there's some drama, and a life or death situation. This takes up most of the volume. Pop shows up a few times, and we meet a new narcissistic hero.

It was an all right volume, not too exciting for me, and the plot line didn't feel very necessary to me. At the end, we got to see some extras with the heroes from the original series. That was a little interesting, as well.

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

Manga Review: Baseball Heaven by Ellie Mamahara

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Blu Manga

Release Date: 2010

Volumes: 1.

Spoilers?: No.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Ogata is a shortstop for the baseball team, the Tokyo Elephants. A new rookie pitcher named Uno is popular among the team. But for some reason, Uno is cold only to Ogata. Ogata is worried that it's his sexual orientation that is keeping Uno away. So one day Ogata decides to confront Uno. But what he finds out from Uno is completely different from what he expected.

Review:

The artwork was more average in this story, pretty in some panels and more okay in others. The expressions and faces were just average to me. The story line and the characters didn’t really stand out for me, and I found it a little slow-going at points; it did drag on with open endings for several chapters, and that annoyed me a little. Not much in the way of smut, and the romance was slow and just a little meh.

Otherwise, it was okay, and a little cute.

Manga Review: We Never Learn, Volume 1, by Taishi Tsutsui

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: December 2018

Volumes: 11+

Spoilers?: No.

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Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

When studious Nariyuki tutors two supergeniuses who are total dunces in their favorite subjects, he’ll get a crash course in love!

Nariyuki Yuiga comes from an impoverished family, so he’s eager to secure a full scholarship to college when he graduates high school. His principal agrees, with one stipulation—he must tutor the two smartest girls at the school and make sure they get into their target colleges! Rizu is a science genius who wants to study liberal arts. Fumino is effortlessly good at literature, but math makes her head spin. Nariyuki is stuck between a rock and a hard place, but who can complain about tutoring a couple of cute girls?

Nariyuki is facing the chance of a lifetime if he can just make sure that Fumino and Rizu excel and get into the schools they want to attend. He comes prepared to tutor them, but he isn’t prepared for burgeoning high school romance! Sparks begin to fly, no matter how much Nariyuki tries to avoid it—and things get even more complicated when a third girl joins the study group!

Review:

Nariyuki excels at most school subjects, and is trying hard to be the top student so he can get the recommendation he needs. And yet there's one girl in each subject that just beats him. He isn't bothered by this so much as impressed, and worried that he won't get the recommendation he needs to go to the school he wants.

The principal finally tells him he'll get it, but he has to tutor these girls to get it, because while they excel in one subject, they're terrible in another, and determined to work in that area instead.

It feels rather hopeless to him at first, but the girls have less hope than he does. They don't think they'll ever be taught, but when they explain why this is important to them, he becomes determined to help them.

Thus starts a study group harem. I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. It was an okay first volume, but it didn't really stand out to me, and the characters were just okay. Eh so far.

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

Novel Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: 2010

Spoilers?: Yes.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—"Cupid Day"—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night.

However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

Before I Fall is now a major motion picture Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, and Kian Lawley. Named to numerous state reading lists, the novel was also recognized as a Best Book of the Year by Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, The Daily Beast, NPR, and Publishers Weekly.

The Cover:

I really like this cover. It's simple, and shows a lot without being too obvious. It gives the right feel for the book, I think.

Review:

For some reason, I didn't expect this. I feel like, I should have heard more about that ending.

Sam is a very I'm-better-than-everyone kind of character in the beginning of this book, as she's part of the popular crowd, and she has fought her way to be there and learned from Lindsay that that's how she should act. But when her and her friends get in a car accident on the way home from a party one night, she wakes up and has to relive that day, over and over again. Slowly, she starts to learn that her actions have consequences, and sometimes she needs to think about someone other than herself.

I didn't realize this was going to be a martyr story, with a religious influence. I will say that the religious part isn't apparent for most of the story, aside from the reason behind that ending. I will admit that, in a way, it makes sense. She had to learn to sacrifice herself, for other people, for a purpose. But also... it just makes me so unhappy. I don't like that ending, not one bit. It just seems so unfair, and it makes me sad for all of them. It also makes me wonder if it was worth it, because will the other characters actually change and be better after that? Will it have mattered?

I liked the friendships she kind of formed along the way, on some of her tries. I really liked her family, they were awesome. I feel like I wanted to get to know Elody more, see her story and how she grows. And I loved Kent. I loved Kent a whole lot and that ending just makes me so sad for him, and I just wanted to reach in and hug him. He's such a sweetheart. I loved how he wanted to be her hero, that's just the sweetest thing in the world.

I was impressed by the complexity of her friends. She's friends with the popular, mean girls of the school. Lindsay is the main one. They're harsh at times, they antagonize and bully people sometimes. There are a few characters whom they're particularly awful to, and it's only worse when we find out what started it. A main theme in the book is that sometimes you do something without thinking about it, without thinking that it will last and other people will follow, and that ends up being a defining moment that shouldn't have happened. But, despite these awful characteristics, we also see the good points in these girls. They're still best friends, and they have their moments, and they're still good to each other. Lindsay isn't a one-dimensional mean girl, she's also Sam's best friend. I was surprised by the complexity of this, and even after finishing the book, I appreciate that and remember it. You can want to hate the girls, but they're not evil, they're not all bad, or only bad.

This book gave me a lot of conflicting feelings, especially because of the ending. I both really liked this book, and really disliked it.

I'm just going to leave it at that, I think.

Manga Review: Natsume's Book of Friends, Volume 22, by Yuki Midorikawa

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: October 2018

Volumes: 23+

Spoilers?: Light/No.

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Volume: 1. 21. 23.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Takashi Natsume has always been aware of the supernatural world, but after he inherits a magical book from his grandmother, the supernatural world is aware of him!

Takashi Natsume can see the spirits and demons that hide from the rest of humanity. He has always been set apart from other people because of his gift, drifting from relative to relative, never fitting in. Now he's a troubled high school student who has come to live in the small town where his grandmother grew up. And there he discovers that he has inherited more than just the Sight from the mysterious Reiko.

Natsume and his friends are visiting an old inn to see a yokai exhibition, but a sudden storm extends their visit into an overnight stay. All should be well, since the inn has a charmed door curtain that welcomes good spirits and keeps out the bad. But tonight of all nights, they forget to put it out! Can Natsume and his friends protect the inn without endangering the friendly local yokai?!

Review:

We explore a lot of other characters in this volume. We start with Natsume on a trip with Tanuma and Taki, who discover some yokai in a museum-like building. But after that, Nyanko-sensei stumbles upon a little boy for a chapter. Natsume's friend Nishimura starts seeing two Natsume's, without realizing one is a fake. It starts ominous, but it's never quite as bad as you'd think in this series. We also got a chapter with Reiko, how she formed a friendship and took some names in her notebook.

This series is subtle, soft, and thoughtful. It's easy and gentle, not too serious or dangerous, but a little ominous at times. We get to know other characters, and more about Natsume, in each volume, and I enjoy following him in this series. Natsume's a sweetheart. It's nice that we get to explore the side characters, and their relationship with Natsume, more as the series continues.

Manga Review: Red Riding Hood and the Big Sad Wolf!, Volume 1, by Hachoujou Arata

Rating (Out of 5): ~2.5

Publisher: Seven Seas

Release Date: 2017

Volumes: 2.

Spoilers?: No.

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Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A kind-hearted wolf's life is turned upside down when he encounters Red Riding Hood, a gleeful pyromaniac who burns his house down and then falls in love with him.

Review:

I had rather big hopes for this series. It sounded so good. And it had such potential.

We meet the sad wolf first, as red riding hood is burning down his house. This was awful of her, and then we learn that she's a cruel sadist. She's pissed off some hunters, who are mimics of each other, and quite awful at their one job. We also meet a crow and rabbit later in the volume.

I really like the idea of this, the role reversal of little red and the wolf. And even learning that she was a sadist didn't bother me. But then the volume just turned into stupid jokes, and picking on the wolf for the fun of it. It's just random harassment, and episodic chapters, when I expected something completely different.

By the end of the volume, I just wasn't really caring anymore. I'm disappointed.

Manga Review: After Hours, Volume 2, by Yuhta Nishio

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: June 2018

Volumes: 3.

Spoilers?: No.

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Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

There’s always something going on at night. Sooner or later, you’ll find your scene.

Emi Ashiana is 24, unemployed and not really sure what she wants to do with her life. When a friend invites her to a dance club, Emi doesn’t expect much. But what she finds will change her world!

Review:

Kei's DJ group have agreed to put on this huge rave-like show, in which they set up everything. Kei and Emi get to figure out how to set up the venue and everything that goes with that.

Amidst all the party planning, there's also some relationship drama. Kei and Emi have been spending all of their time together, but they haven't made it official. And Emi hasn't tied up all of her other loose ends, either. They both have to make some decisions as they realize this, and confront each other about their feelings.

This volume didn't really hit me, I think. I just wasn't feeling it as much, though I'm not sure why. Kei is trying to plan everything and make sure it all goes well. Emi is trying to help, and also realizing that she needs to figure out her living situation for good.

I'm happy with how all of that turns out. Emi and Kei are sweet together, and even though it's rather fast, I think they're a good couple. The next volume is the last, and I look forward to seeing how it all goes.

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

Manga Review: Fruits Basket Another, Volume 2, by Natsuki Takaya

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: November 2018

Volumes: 3+

Spoilers?: No.

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Volume: 1.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fan-favorite Fruits Basket is back with more Sohma-filled adventures! Except this time, it's set in the same world, years later. Find out more in this new volume!
School's no longer an endless pit of anxiety and solitary lunches for Sawa thanks to the Sohmas. She's joined the student council and made new friends who don't abandon her no matter how painfully awkward or useless she is-they don't even get angry when she screws up or starts blabbering gibberish! Though social interactions are still daunting, people don't seem to be as scary anymore-at least, until another Sohma appears?!

Review:

While I do like that Takaya has decided to visit this world again, I think this series is just not what people would like of a continuation. Because it's obvious that the characters are just a cheap imitation of the original cast. They're their kids, who all look very similar to their parents, and have the same kind of dynamic, and then we have an outside female protagonist with self-esteem issues. All of it is very familiar, and yet not as good.

We only get the ghost impressions of their parents, mentions and near-misses, but we never get to see them. And instead we're following their kids, and we get to see how the originals might have turned out, with a better upbringing. Which is the thing that makes these kids different—the original cast grew up and overcame things, and they learned how to be better people than their own parents. These kids have nice upbringings and an actually, healthily close family—for the most part, I believe.

We get to meet a few more characters in this volume—Ayame's kids, we get to see more of Momiji's kids and Hatori's, and then we meet Akira's son. There's an ominous shadow over everything, but I don't think it's leading to anything actually bad, this time.

This series is sweet, and I get it, but I honestly just want to see the original cast, all grown up and happy together. Thankfully this series is supposed to be short, at least.

Manga Review: Yotsuba&!, Volume 14, by Kiyohiko Azuma

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: November 2018

Volumes: 14+

Spoilers?: No.

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Volume: 1. 13.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Everyone's favorite green-haired five-year-old is back! And this time, Yotsuba's expanding her horizons by taking a trip to the big city with her dad! The giant amusement park of Tokyo--with all its trains to ride, neighborhoods to explore, and fancy lunches to eat--promises heartwarmingly hilarious adventures in this long-awaited volume!

Review:

These releases are rather slow, but it means that each new volume ends up being a surprise. I'm not expecting them, so they're a delightful surprise when they get here. This was a nice big volume, too.

Yotsuba figures out how to make necklaces as the volume starts, and then she decides that she's a princess. It's very cute, as she dresses up and expects people to automatically know (and some do). We meet Yotsuba's aunt in this volume, as they meet downtown in Yotsuba's dad's fancy car, and go to a fancy buffet to eat. She also sees aliens in the park.

I love the pure, simple, childish humor in this series. When Yotsuba decides something, or thinks somethings real, or asks questions, the people around her just go along with it, for the most part. They humor her, they tease her without her realizing, they have fun with it; and sometimes, they teach her things.

It's very sweet and adorable, and just such a delight. I love this series. It was also nice to meet a new character, to see more of Yotsuba's family.