Sara Campbell Comic Reviews

While this comic is concentrated on Canada’s racial landscape, the parallels to America’s problems and influence on Canada’s politics makes this an important book for any library in North America. This book deals with some difficult truths and invites readers to examine their own practices, which can be difficult but necessary reflection to undertake. Beautifully illustrated backmatter and additional materials add to the richness of the topics included.

There is quite a lot of story packed into these 200 pages! Akasaka knows how to lay out and pace a story while not being overwhelming. This volume also contains a lot of insights about the Japanese entertainment industry, which I found very interesting. While including plenty of content, Akasaka also devotes decent amount of time to developing a few side characters, especially Kana. Aqua and Ruby are the perfect foils of each other, and readers are bound to have a favorite twin they want to see have more page time. Aqua is fairly dark and twisty as he plots his revenge, but he still has a soft spot for his sister, while Ruby is bright and optimistic about life, and determined to use her reincarnation to its fullest.

This volume focuses quite a lot on Aqua and Ruby takes a bit of a backseat while she and her Idol group-mate try to figure out their identity as a pair. Readers who like the bubblier twin might feel like she gets the short end of page time while we actually get a bit more of Aqua's cast-mates from the show. There is less of a focus overall on the entertainment industry and hardly any focus on the kids going to school, but we do get a bit more insight into how far Aqua is willing to go to learn more about Ai and her mysterious past. There is suicidal ideation and an attempt in this volume, so readers who need a content warning should be aware before jumping into this volume.

The age difference in this relationship turns things a little upside down. Normally with these types of narratives, the man is older and the female is much younger. I can’t quite place whether Amir feels a sense of romantic love at this point or if she is more of a mother figure to Karluk. Either way, she does care about him, and the family treats her well, so those portions of the arranged marriage trope are not present. The beauty of this series, other than the art, comes in the historical look into the marriages and the culture of the nineteenth century nomadic people that are somewhere between China and Russia. The one flaw for me with this story is that it moves at a pretty slow pace and doesn't give a whole lot of reason to keep reading. If the reader doesn't care about Amir's family trying to reclaim her, they might not be to keen on continuing the series.

This volume has a little bit less of the slice-of-life feel as all of the chapters build upon the previous in some way. I want to know more about how Amir was raised. Her entire family, aside from her older brother, seems completely heartless and mean. Her brother at least understands some of the necessities of their societal set up, but he cares for Amir and wants her to be happy. How did these two escape becoming jaded and fierce like the rest of the family? Mori's beautiful illustration really shines in this volume as we explore “cloth preparations” - embroidered fine linens that girls work on for their unmarried lives and take with them as a dowry. The embroidery patterns showcased are works of art themselves, and Mori beautifully captures them in her detailed style.

The refreshing thing about this story is that neither of the leads are extremely embarrassed or shy. Hotaru is willing to try new things and go on dates even though she's skeptic of the whole process, but there isn't the normal shyness that is a large part of romance titles. That being said, the speed at which Hananoi gets intense is a little off-putting. He is head-over-heels, I'll-sacrifice-myself-for-you type of love within minutes. After he cools off a little bit, he's a thoughtful person and treats Hotaru with a lot of respect, which is really good to see. Other than the creep-factor at the beginning, this is a pretty sweet romance title that I'll probably give a few more volumes to see if it piques my interest more.

This is a nice romance story with some interesting elements through in because of Shiori's background. She's sheltered, she's alien, and she loves Ichiro's manga. Ichiro is a solidly nice guy who isn't trying to take advantage of anyone, and he wants to help Shiori experience the world as she set out to do. Shiori definitely could have done worse with coming to Earth and finding someone to lead her through her self-discovery journey. This is a decent start to a series that might get more interesting or nuanced later on.

Lizel is naturally good at everything and wins everyone over so easily that I’m wondering just what the conflict is going to be. It was very quickly brushed aside that Lizel was not in his home, and he decided to treat this whole thing as a vacation, yet had to seek employment immediately.  There were quite a few narrative jumps and things that didn’t quite make sense. For instance, while adventuring, Lizel finds teddy bears in treasure chests and somehow knows his buyer thinks very highly of such an item. Not only is he right, but they become best-noblemen-buddies because of the care in wrapping Lizel did. Even in summary, this sounds strange.

The second volume has some more world-building by introducing a few more kingdoms and giving some background on why Blue might be special. We're also introduced to a few more characters and reunited with some from volume one, but not in the way Blue wanted to be. The narration jumps around a bit roughly and gives this volume a slight disjointed feel, unlike the first volume’s smooth storytelling. This is still an enjoyable volume to read and is akin to Witch Hat Atelier in its beautiful illustrative detail and A Girl from the Other Side in its dark atmosphere.

The first thing that drew me into this BL manga was the beautifully designed cover and dazzling art. The character designs for Sirius and Ombre and gorgeous. Ombre is the perfectly quintessential brooding male, constantly scowling, lead while Sirius is the typical innocent, pretty boy. Sirius can sometimes lack definition, however. Soutome's beautiful details also extend to the forest scene surrounding her characters. Illustrations aside, Ombre and Sirius are both sympathetic characters battling a lifetime of hurt, and seeing them come together to heal is satisfying. There are a few unfortunate time jumps that skip over interesting points in the narration but this is potentially due to forcing this into a single volume.  Fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope will appreciate this single-volume payoff.

This lovely, slice-of-life Iyashikei manga accomplishes exactly what it’s supposed to: as long as the reader likes cats, they are sure to put this book down and feel better. These types of books are great for after stressful days.  Fukumaru is so adorable that you can’t help but want him to be happy and loved.  Some of there adventures are very much what real cat owners experience - like the cat trying to follow you everywhere, or buying fun toys and the cat loves the box more. There are some serious notes, though, as Kanda's wife appears at the beginning of the story, so adopting Fukumaru is probably part of Kanda's grieving process. Even with tackling these tougher topics, readers are still sure to fall in love with Fukumaru and feel better after finishing this volume.

This story is told in two formats: short chapters that are loosely connected with an overarching story, and yonkoma: 4-panel comic strips. The yonkoma provide some comic relief peppered throughout the chapters, which usually deliver emotional punches. Sakurai knows how to grab onto the cat-lover’s soul and mix in some touching or devastating tributes that resonate with anyone who has lost an important loved one. Just with volume 1, there are plenty of moments that cat owners will recognize and relate to with their furry family members, as I related to this moment with Fukumaru's war against his own reflection.

This story center around a suicide, but there are some horror elements that I wasn't expecting. The conversation between the eight students plays out like a "whodunnit" of trying to figure out who the student is, with lots of questions being posed, hypotheses, and tracking down of any clue that might help them. The subject matter might also be something to consider when purchasing/recommending this story since it does include teen suicide. In this first volume, the students talk about the suicide, and you hear the adults on the phone call, one of them pleading with the student to "think it over" and not jump. While it doesn't make light of suicide as a topic, so far, there is no conversation about what could have been done to prevent it in the first place.

There is a bit more focus on the person who committed suicide in this volume, as well as a fuzzy depiction of the moment it happened. The publisher has included the National Suicide Prevention Hotline number at the front of the book, which I very much appreciate. There are more elements of horror in this volume but for the most part, this has more psychological thriller elements than horror. Keeping in mind how different Japanese society views suicide compared to America, this series will need to come with a warning other than the Hotline, just in case readers have any suicidal ideations.

While some readers might be eager to believe Akihito has gotten to the bottom of who is behind this entire mystery, I feel there has to be more to it since there are four more students still left in the school at the end of this volume. There's only one more volume to bring everything together, so I'm looking forward to how this mystery will resolve. There is still a lot of conversation about suicide and suicidal ideation, and this volume also adds in teen prostitution to the list of trigger warnings. Nothing is explicitly shown, but more so we get a reason why a teen could turn to prostitution for survival.

This is a decently satisfying ending to a pretty crazy mystery story. As with many manga mysteries I've read, there are pretty big clues throughout the story, so most readers will probably have most of the ending worked out by the time it gets here. There is one pretty big reveal that isn't as telegraphed, so readers might have that to be a little surprised about. It is nicer that this is a short series that doesn't feel very drawn out or full of fluff. As readers get more of the backstory throughout the series, there is some potential for re-readability so they can read from the beginning knowing who everyone is at the onset.

This story was incredibly cute, and the first time I’ve read a visual story that includes Sign Language. The mangaka illustrates Sign Language very clearly and fluidly, but admits that it's difficult to capture the entire conversation. The conversations are also written out though, so readers won't have difficulty following along when Yuki and others are signing. At this point, Itsuomi is pretty aloof, so it’s hard to have a real solid opinion on him, but Yuki is very sweet and relatable. Readers will easily connect with Yuki as she sorts out her feelings for Itsuomi.

Itsuomi has been an aloof but nice guy this whole time, so let’s hope this business with Emma doesn’t ruin that image! There is a shortage of decent guys in romance manga that don’t have something wrong or some sort of attitude about them, so I’d for once like the guy to just be a bit aloof and that’s the end of the list! The diner owner warns Rin that Itsuomi gets involved in girls if he's curious about them, but he loses interest and leaves them, which is kind of what we see with Emma. Here's hoping he's learned his lesson and he's not just "curious" about Yuki and he actually lets himself fall in love!

The romance in this book is still exceedingly adorable, and there's so much to like about Yuki as a character. Itsuomi is still a little bland and stand-offish, which makes me side with Yuki about her mistrust of his attraction. Morishita isn't the best for writing male characters, but I still have some hope that Itsuomi will get some depth in later volumes. Morishita is doing well, I think, in representing the unique struggles of being deaf, including misunderstandings in communication that can lead to some interesting situations. Reading lips isn't perfect, especially in a language like Japanese where a lot of words are close in pronunciation. Some of these situations are a little hard to translate, but the team is doing their best and providing helpful notes in the back to explain what's really going on in the original language.

This deceptively simple manga packs an emotional punch that is poignant and hits on a sensitive subject for many in our world. As global events are ever-present and violence is continuously part of our every-day life, many people have real fears of bringing another life into this world. This manga would also be an interesting tool to spark discussion about how historical moments impact and cascade outward and impact people across the globe; Sara didn't know and had no interaction with Malala, so why was she so deeply moved by what happened to her? Having students examine that level of empathy and impact would lead to some interesting discussions.

This first volume is full of set up with the relationship between Geppo and Subaru, establishing their history together and many bait-and-switch moments. Readers will think they have the men figured out but will be left constantly guessing. We meet several interesting side characters in the beginning that are left by the wayside, so hopefully they have a chance to resurface eventually as the narrative continues. The character designs and illustrations are beautiful, and this series has a particularly attractive cover that will draw readers in.

This story is super sweet, and the shy affection the girls have towards each other whispers of a more serious relationship in future volumes.  Kaeda is a pretty shallow character, so hopefully her air-headedness gets developed more as well.  The main thing this story has on other romances is the setting being in a high school aquarium (which is apparently a real aquarium in Japan).

​This manga has a great story and a really interesting world, but the pacing of the story is off.  There are portions that go really quickly, as in several important things happening within a few panels, but without the fun montage music to go along with it.  This story is a little shorter than other manga, at 144 pages instead of the traditional 200, so there could have been some room somewhere in there to iron out the pacing.  Aside from that, this is a story worth following.  This is a good yuri that doesn’t go straight into the characters sleeping with each other, so it can be a positive addition to libraries looking to bolster LGBTQ+ stories.

After a pretty slow start, the second volume does pick up and provide some more compelling reasons to keep reading. In the first volume, there was some hint about the sinisterness behind the witch school, but volume two confirms it and gives enough little tastes to make the reader want to keep going. Volume two also has some much-needed backstory content, and I especially enjoyed learning more about the headmistress of the witch school. The volumes are still a little short for my taste, so I feel like I've just gotten into the story and the volume is over. I do wish there was some more insight into the revenge plot the witches are so keen on, which has only been hinted at so far and really needs to be explored more. This could still be a good series for libraries looking for some LGBTQ+ representation on their shelves.

The mangaka explains in the end that this was supposed to only be two volumes and it ended up being three, but there could have definitely been more volumes. There was some serious rushing in this volume to get everything done. A lot of major things are glossed over, including how the demon started a war, how the countries decided it was the witches, and how quickly the witch hunts begin (all of that was about 2 pages). I still don’t fully understand what’s happening with the headmistress of the school and her motivations. The ending puts a nice tidy bow on everything but creates some paradoxes that are not really explored for the sake of getting the characters to a happier place and ending the volume quickly. Overall, this series was interesting and had a nice yuri love story, but it's really marred by a narrative that kind of jumped all over the place and didn't spend a lot of time in any one area.

This is a pretty sweet, honest look at a difficult time in a lot of kids' lives when pressures to have romantic feelings and express crushes are at a high, and this book might help some kids understand that not only is it okay to be ace, but it's also okay to not feel pressured to reciprocate romantic feelings for others. Jay's classmate Mark is the kind of supportive and non-judgmental person I wish more kids could have in their lives because he's helpful, respectful, and validates Jay's feelings and emotions. Jay's struggle with acne is definitely something many readers will relate to and gives this book broad reach as a middle grade graphic novel.

This is another high-stakes sports entry that would appeal to fans of Haikyu!! or Prince of Tennis, but, so far, there’s much less humor than Haikyu!!. Eijun is a typical sports star who thinks he’s amazing but needs to get dropped down a peg or two in high school. Eijun has some natural talent as a pitcher but lacks some breadth that the training will provide, so that's definitely where this series will focus at least for the next few volumes. We met some of the supporting cast for this series in the first volume, and there are some really interesting folks that will help round out the pages when we're not focusing on Eijun and his journey. This is a pretty decent entry into sports manga that will be entertaining for readers.

I thought that this was actually a really interesting story. I’m not sure how accurate it is to the way movies are made in Japan, but it does have insight into the film industry itself.  I really want to see more about how this talent/blur of reality affects Yonagi, and not just in ways that make it difficult for her to find a job.  In one of the practices set forth by Sumiji, he has her play an extra in Edo-period Japan where she has to watch a child killed by a soldier for disrupting the Shogun's day, and she becomes so immersed in the scene that she really becomes a villager in the Edo period.  It will be fun seeing the different situations Yonagi gets into while she's learning how to act. Also, I really appreciated the art by Shiro Usazaki, except for the one fly-away hair on the top of Yonagi's head that I really just want to clip.  Everything else is great.  The scenery is very detailed, and characters are nuanced and distinct.

While this title does have some pretty violent moments, it balances out with some sort of cute, funny moments as well. Tatsumi starts training with two of the Night Raiders in this volume, and it seems that he will apprentice with everyone before he is considered a fully fledged member. Some of these training sequences are comical and a little cutesy. The overall premise and world building in this first volume is done very well. The pacing was also on point as there was never a dull moment, despite some moments of exposition, in this volume.

As soon as I finished reading this manga, I couldn’t figure out what all the fuss was about. People point to Akira as being so inspirational and launching genres. Someone even compared it to the Japanese version of Watchmen in terms of its influence. However, I’m coming to this well after the series was published, and I’m seeing the fruits of Otomo’s labor. I’m not seeing how ground-breaking it is because the ground has already been well and truly broken by the time I’m getting into manga. It has an interesting story in a post-apocalyptic world that reminds me very much of the video games I'd play on Nintendo that were set in the decimated world of the post-war 1990s. Akira is pretty close to our time frame right now, so it's fun sort of fun to read a story published 30 years ago that thought the "future" was going to be so different.

For me, this was a much stronger volume than the first. We heard less from Kaneda, who is pretty much the worst for all his stupid, sexist dialogue. There is also a little more in this volume in terms of strong female characters, which were pretty much non-existent in volume 1. Kei has some pretty awesome moments of being strong and kicking some military butt. The strongest of the other gifted children is definitely Kiyoko, the little girl. And there’s also a lady at the head of Kei’s organization who is currently shrouded in mystery but definitely had the air of being powerful.

Otomo has packed this third volume with just as much action as the other two, and this time, with a healthy dose of this unexplained magical power these children have. With that said, there are a few deaths on page in this volume that aren't just background soldier characters. We also get more of one of the strongest and coolest characters in the series: Chiyoko. This lady runs around in an apron, shooting people and blowing things up, but she's a lady of few words. She helps Kei and Kaneda keep Akira safe, and uses a lot of weapons in the process. This volume is a much smaller entry to the series than all the rest in this Kodansha edition, but that was probably done purposefully to leave it on one of the biggest and most satisfying cliffhangers I've ever seen.

There is nothing of this volume in the Akira film, so readers who have seen the film will be shocked and glued to this volume. The different factions are a little bit confusing because many of the people are drawn very similarly. Ryu kinda lets him self go in this one, and he's starting to look very similar to the Colonel. There are some pretty interesting dudes introduced inside the Great Tokyo Empire who are working directly for Tetsuo, but most of them don't have names. They are pretty distinct though, so they are a little easier to keep track of. Some of the former military people also look incredibly similar to one another, so any sort of recognition readers should have for these characters from previous volumes is probably going to be minimal.

This volume was still full of lots of action like the rest of this series, but there was also a priority on tying up loose ends, as the series is nearing its close. There was also still plenty of violence, blood, and death on page for those readers who have come to expect that from this series. This volume also does provide some very small explanations (finally) about the strange powers these certain individuals have, but don't look for anything to be completely neat and bow-wrapped. There's a lot of inference and guessing still even with these explanations. The story is still extremely immersive and enthralling to the point where 400 pages fly by effortlessly.

Overall, this was a satisfying end to a very intense series, and now I have this fundamental work under my belt to see where it influenced so many other works of Japanese and American science-fiction.

These Squid-Games type books are very popular at the moment, and this series is gaining in popularity despite it first being published in 2011. This story is particularly well done as Aso is really paying attention to the details. The different games the characters have to play are twisted, but the creation took a lot of thought. I also appreciate that Arisu has found a place to shine as he can figure out solutions to puzzles and high-pressure situations, but he isn’t immune to fear and has to work on that before his special analytical mind is able to solve the situation.

Aso is really pulling out the emotional stops with this volume, and readers would do well to remember not to have favorite characters in a battle royale type storyline. This volume also leans more into the mature rating that the series was given as there is an attempted sexual assault, and the psychological horror and violence is much more intense. As with the first volume, Aso is not afraid to show characters die, bleed, or be tortured right on the page.

In this volume, Aso balances the intensity and narrative flow with interspersing backstory of different side characters while moving the plot forward with intense action. There's also some reprieve from the violence with a side story involving an unknown character that shows Aso's strength in character development. Some sexual violence in this volume continues to keep this elevated as an Adult title, and the level of violence and intensity of psychological turmoil remains as high in this volume as previous entries.

As readers may suspect from anything with the name "Alice" in the title, our main is in a fantastical world and must figure out the rules of her new surrounding and survive to the best of her ability. This is a cute story that mirrors some of the struggles of the classic Alice in Wonderland tale while adding a fresh layer of conflict for our Alice to work through and a dash of angst that isn't too over-the-top for younger audiences. There are some heartbreaking moments with Alice's uncle traumatically ousting her. Between that, the cultural context of Japanese citizenry not mandatorily attending high school, and a few exchanges between Alice and her new boss needing some emotional maturity, this title would be best suited for upper elementary where readers will fully appreciate Alice's predicament.

I went into this story thinking it was going to be more of a cutsy, magical girl story based on the description, but it was much darker than I anticipated and it reminded me more of Princess Mononoke than Tokyo Mew Mew. There are some really heartbreaking moments in this story for Alpi in terms of the choices she has to make, but also how hard her "job" is on her body. This falls more in line with a darker fantasy story and, while still good for elementary audiences, is not as carefree and has something to say about making difficult choices, living in harmony with our environment, and helping one another.

The humor and over-the-top reactions in this series continue to be my favorite. Mimi is definitely one to act first, think later, which nearly has consequences in this volume. Raimondo, Prince Renato’s advisor, is so serious and such a good balance to Mimi’s bombastic personality. Having the two of them flit about Renato like the angel/devil combo is wonderful, even though it's more like impulsive/sensible side of his conscience. This is a romance story at its core, but there is a lot of humor and a strong female lead that will appeal to young readers.

This volume continues to endear Mimi and her almost ingénue qualities despite other volumes where she kicks butt. In this volume, she's very naïve and somewhat needs saving, giving Renato a chance to be her hero for a change. Renato also has some pure and tender moments, which continue to show how wonderful and gentlemanly he is. If readers want a funny, sugary-sweet romance, this is the one for them.

The comedy keeps on coming in this volume with Mimi’s family being the stars this time around. There is a little bit of seemingly needless back and forth as we were just at Mimi's home, but now we have to go back with Renato. Nevertheless, there are some great moments in this volume. Mimi’s adorable little brother steals the show with some beautiful one-liners and heartfelt chibi eyes that will be sure to melt readers. Momoyo and Nagato keep us in suspense even more with the build up between the two leads. The pay off is going to be sweet. ​

There is so much that Nguyen gets right about the teen experience and what should be happening within friendships, conversations between parents and children, and so much more. This may seem like an innocuous story about some theater kids, but there is a lot of depth to this simple story about putting on a community theater play.

There is quite a bit of violence and gore in this manga, but it also lays bare the cycle of slaughter and consumption that humans participate on a daily basis as we raise and consume animals for our nourishment. This is eye opening and says a lot about being thankful for the life we take in consuming an animal, and there is also opportunity for discussion about the disconnect between consumers and buying meat in the supermarket or from a restaurant without understanding or paying mind to where it came from. However, this story moves beyond and loses the plot a bit with scenes of bestiality. The back 1/3 of volume one develops hastily into a larger society with tumbling world-building that goes much too fast, almost like it was rushing to keep readers engaged before they cancelled the series. It develops into something else entirely different than the commentary on consumption where it began.

While I really enjoyed this story, the thoughts of the main characters, especially Nino, is extremely repetitive and distracting from the overall story.  I won't go through and count how many times Nino repeats Momo's name, but it is extensive.  Other than that, I really enjoyed Nino's struggle with keeping herself together, and the tension built up between her an Yuzu.  I’m willing to read more volumes to see if the repetition lessens as Nino works through her issues.  I also throughouly enjoyed the art style of this manga as it was detailed and fluid throughout.  Drawing characters making music on a page is difficult, but I think it was done really well.

I like that this story is bucking the tradition (slightly) of having everyone be naturally amazing.  Nino is putting in work in this volume to better herself and become a stronger singer.  She has natural talent, but no one is born an absolutely perfect singer.  Meanwhile, there's Yuzu and other songwriters being perfect and writing hits even though they're still in high school and they've had no formal training in composition.  There are times when the narrative is a little hard to follow because so much of it is happening within the thoughts of characters.  The characters are in school, but the focus is definitely not on any sort of scholarly achievement or studying, which is slightly refreshing and different from most high-school aged manga set in a real world.

This story is a typical shojo, complete with some sort of complication not allowing the love interests to get involved right away (even though they both really want to). Since the mangaka intended for this story to be about the trials of youth, not just romance, this story has an added element of Futaba trying to figure out her friendships and what type of person she wants to be. Kou is cold and rude, like many men of shōjo, but of course there’s going to be a reason for his transformation that we won’t find out for a few more volumes. Sakisaka is a fantastic illustrator, and this has surely made more readers into fans of her work. The mangaka even notes in one of her letters to the reader how much time she spends on characters, and that characters with shiny hair take the longest because of the amount of detail that goes into them.

This story is cute and touches on some themes of high school that seem to be universal.  There is a drive for acceptance from their peers and to make lasting memories, to make the most out of high school.  Futaba and Kou are also exploring what kind of people they are and who they want to become as adults.  I enjoyed the retreat setting and the challenges it forced the characters through because we got some really great development from our supporting characters in this volume.  The art continues to be classic and beautiful.  The nature scenes in this volume are particularly enjoyable.

The whole conversation with Yumi seemed very plopped in the middle, and it was only there for the sake of Futaba figuring out what she wanted to do with Yuri.  In the end, Futaba decided against what Yumi had told her, so the whole section wasn't helpful at only distracted from the main storyline.  More time could have been spent on Futaba and Yuri discussing how they will continue to be friends or how they won't let a boy come between them, but there may be more of that in future volumes.  At this point, I am at a loss as to why either lady would like Kou because he is brash and rude, and there haven't been as many moments showing Kou's caring side.  Hopefully, we will get more into developing him in the next volume.  The illustrations continue to be a high point in this series, with much detail spent on each character and their environment.

There are a lot of stories that begin with sick patients becoming reborn into their favorite media, but this one loses out on being a little too ambiguous as to whether it’s a separate world or actually the game or not. Takuto and Atou spend a lot of precious page time trying to figure out whether it's a video game or not. The back of the book summary says it’s within the video game, but the story can't seem to make up its mind one way or the other. If a choice was made one way or another, then we could spend time and cognitive effort focusi

There is a LOT of world-building in this volume, so it can come on kind of strong and dense. I stopped at about halfway through the book to go back to the beginning and read some of the initial set-up, and it made a lot more sense the second time around. Once I got fully into the world and the really intricate world, I started to enjoy the main characters and antagonists that have decided to make Sano's life harder. There are whiffs of other shōnen manga stories in here, especially My Hero Academia with the antics of school children, but there's definitely a lot of action and comedy that pulls from influences like Naruto and Dragonball.

This story is a little weirder than the creator’s other series, Saint Young Men, so this would probably only appeal to readers who love the other series. There is a colorful cast of characters here yet again, and some of them make this reading more enjoyable, but they aren’t enough for me to keep reading. Other readers who enjoy this quirky sense of humor will most likely attach themselves to one of these lovable odd-balls or want to stick it out to see what else Rec will need to do to get out of everyone's debt.

What started out as a somewhat carefree, kind of slice-of-life buddy adventure ended as a bit of a mystery with some twists along the way. There’s a dash of food-manga for posterity, highlighting traditional Irish dishes Aria cooks for herself and Gwyn, and some beautiful illustrations to round it all out. There's enough intrigue here to pique readers' interest, but it's also very cute and full of heart. Everything so far is sweet and rather innocent, though it's hard to say if it will get darker later based on the small crumbs of mystery we have so far. Aika mixes beautiful scenery illustrations, delicious-looking food, and some cutesy reactions every so often for Gwyn and Aria.

This story was an absolute joy to read, and I was actually disappointed when I reached the last page and there were no more. Asa is a fairly strange and outgoing little girl. The only drawback for me was when they take on the side mission to get everyone some rice balls. Asa emerges from the shipping container hell-bent on finding her family, but she almost forgets about finding them when she sees people waiting to be rescued. The urgency for finding her family is almost non-existent after that, and it’s more like they’ll get there when they get there.

Reading a straight summary of this story really reflects how off the wall it all sort of is, but it really makes sense as you’re reading it. Some of it reads like an action movie, some of it like a crime drama, and all of it is pretty outlandish. The reading experience is really immersive, and all these little threads of storylines are seamlessly woven together. Not every mystery is solved at the end of this volume, again, so there’s plenty to look forward to in volume 3.

The monster who has been popping up periodically in the other volumes is front and center in this one, but there is still a lot more to this story than the creature. Asa is somehow such a wonderful character, despite (or because of?) her infinite amount of sass. There are so many threads in this story that are not clearly woven together yet, but they add to the richness of the overall world Urasawa is building. The desperate elements will probably come together at some point. For now, we have a couple of hanging threads: Asa’s two friends dream of being movie stars, and there is this budding conflict that one wants Asa to solve because she's been scouted and the other hasn't; and, Asa's siblings have a rivalry with another family that often leads to fist fights.

This story doesn't make a ton of sense in a summary like this, and its appeal is lost until you open the book and get sucked into the story. This is true of many of Urasawa's narratives - they are very slow-burn and require a lot of build-up. Urasawa likes to introduce various narrative threads that weave together after several volumes, and that is true of Asadora as well. In this fourth volume, some of the pieces are starting to come together, and we get even more glimpses of the Monster than the last volume. Asa, now a young adult, is extremely level-headed and likable, and often has a better grasp of what's going on than the adults around her. Urasawa's beautifully detailed illustrations also add to the appeal of this story. His characters are so expressive and sometime cartoony, which contrasts with the heavy-lined backgrounds, but coupled together, it works so wonderfully.

Each of our three heroines find themselves in a terrible position, mostly pretty unsavory. The series has been rated for older teen, and this volume is where we start to get into some of those situations that would elevate the series away from younger readers.  Also, these darker situations are more in line with Urasawa's other series, which are usually much more focused on the dregs of humanity. At the moment, the three stories are still pretty disparate, but the payoff for sticking through Urasawa's stories to their full development is usually well worth the wait.

Urasawa is the master at weaving many threads together in such an entertaining way. This volume gives a little more on the progress of Asa's friends as she's saved the day -- and the Olympics. It's nice to have these reprieves from the action, but it's also nice to see how some of these storylines are coming together, especially the ones with Asa's gal friends and their alternative dreams. The two gals come clean about the secret lives they've been leading, but Asa doesn't return the favor. That will be an interesting revalation when it does happen! I also enjoyed the weaving of the 1964 Olympics with Sho's storyline as Urasawa continues to blend fact and fiction.

The epic showdown is finally upon us between Asa and the monster, but Shota getting into the mix with his story line. Urasawa takes some twists and turns inspiration from his previous works, like Pluto, to heighten the intensity and reward longtime readers and fans of his work. Shota's plot line and his descent is in direct contrast to Asa's courageousness and relative success in her heroic story line. I was rooting for Shota to resist the entire time knowing he wouldn't, but I also was excitedly surprised to see the direction Urasawa took it in

This story was super cute and fun even though there are a ton of reincarnation stories out there, but I totally might be biased as a librarian reading this. There wasn't enough time to really know our gal as a college girl, but Myne is supremely adorable. She has very cutsy, chiby proportions, and her tantrums about how inaccessible books are are all pretty precious. The escence of this reminds me of A Witch's Printing Office with a person transported to another world resorting to making their own books, but this story came without the fan-service and problematic story elements. Myne's new family is poor, but resourceful and overall cheerful, likable people.

Myne's struggles are so cute and disheartening at the same time. For all the books she read in her previous life, she has a lot of problems remembering the early forms of writing in order to get her hands on a full-length book. She has such passion for reading and books but such a long road ahead of her, especially because she has to learn a new writing system. She does use Japanese on her clay tablets, but that means nobody but her will be able to read it. I appreciate the attention to detail, and think the pacing of this is really well done. Some readers might be frustrated with how long it's going to take Myne to get to her books, but I think it's a realistic depiction given what she needs to accomplish.

This series continues to be extremely cute, and Myne is a wonderful character. She has so many ideas and knows so much more than others around her, but her physical limitations are her equalizer - she has to rely on Lutz for a lot of things, and their friendship is really heartwarming. There are some massive hurdles to Myne's plan to make books, and sometimes she becomes discouraged, but overall, she's navigating this other world and not giving up on her dream. This volume does provide some more world-building for us as Myne and Lutz get to go to other parts of the city and learn about merchants.

While I can see why this series is popular, I don't know how much it is for me, since this story is mainly about school, students, and the student-teacher bond.  Koro-Sensei is nearly the perfect teacher who gives his entire heart and soul to his students, As a teacher, it's hard to not read this and feel some sense of guilt, like if you're not flying at Mach 20 to New York to analyze baseball players to better connect with your students, then you're not doing enough as a teacher.  Aside from my personal hang ups, Koro-Sensei was endearing and funny at times.  The students to which time was dedicated in this volume are well developed, and I appreciated the nuanced reasons for why they all ended up in Class 3-E.

There are some crude jokes and fan service at Ms. Vitch’s expense, including her continuing to accost Nagisa by shoving his face into her boobs. This running gag is most likely meant as a cheap way to destroy any credibility and encourage the audience instantly hate Ms. Vitch, making her a direct foil for the overly caring Koro-sensei. The joke doesn’t age particularly well and comes off more as an assault, so it’s a shame that this is the way the contrast between the two adult characters was made. Outside of that unfortunate joke, this volume provided a little more development of the students within 3-E, and gave some context to the power struggle between the teachers and the principal at the school.

This story is full of food puns and wise cracks at the expense of our titular characters, and there are plenty of jokes for all ages, including the adults who might be reading this with their kids. Only one pun receives an editorial note, and its explanation may still require readers to know the difference between nuts and legumes. Humor aside, the chemistry and camaraderie between Peanut and Jelly is as wholesome as Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc. -- friends supporting each other through lofty goals and working through difficult challenges as they arise. Perry's bright animation-style illustrations give characters lots of energy throughout and heighten the overall silliness without crossing into caricature.

This series continues to be cute and show its characters and readers with inclusivity.  I'm generally glad these side stories brought Beckett the closure he deserved with his crush.  I also think it's fitting that Sasha's love of cute things ends up serving him and his compatriots really well in the mystery of the Halloween monster.  We get a needed but admittedly short glimpse of the background of the two stage managers just as they are about to graduate and leave the theater with the rest of the Backstagers. I am a little disappointed that this is the end of the series because I want more of the magic world behind and in the theater, and I want more Jory+Hunter and Beckett+Bailey.

This is absolutely over the top in a good way. Baki is full of outlandish fight scenes with elaborate and unbelievable power-ups and abilities that absolutely couldn't exist in real life. Baki himself is an overpowered and rather dopey, doe-eyed main character who has apparently seen some things but has still retained his innocence.

Itagaki blends character backstory in between brutal fight sequences to balance world-building in a way that creates suspense for the fights overall. We slowly learn about this scary opponent as Itagaki doles out information to make him creepier as the fight goes on, ramping up our concern for Baki’s safety. There are also some nice tid-bits throughout this volume of Baki’s past and we get a taste for why Baki is putting himself through all these fights. However, some of the wonderful side characters from volume one are completely absent in this volume.

Overall, there wasn't anything super different or impressive about this storyline that sets it apart from other music manga, but the story was low-stakes and good for someone getting into the genre.

Throughout, there is much exploration on the difference between mentally sane and insane.  This theme is visited in the flashbacks to Arkham himself, and in Batman's task in the asylum.  Threaded throughout that discussion is a meditation on mortality.  And, deep underneath the layers of Joker's madness and antics is a string of religious symbolism that tethers the mad to the world.

I'm going back and forth a bit for my personal rating because I think the title got a little over-hyped for me.  I enjoyed the story and the mystery that is built in this first volume.  I really like the cliff-hanger and can't wait to get ahold of the second volume.  I think there is a lot of potential to draw parallels to this dichotomous society and the racism that pervades U.S. culture.  But, I didn't find myself liking the story nearly as much as I thought I would given how much I've seen others rave about it.  The illustrations are a bit too simple for my taste, and a bit rough in some instances.  It seems like there are certain panels that are features, and Itagaki spends a lot of time on them, then there are other panels where characters are moving and they're drawn rather roughly.  I'm definitely interested enough to keep reading, so maybe successive volumes will change my mind.

Much of what happens with each of these characters revolves around them fighting their animal nature, and yet these characters could be humans and be having the same struggles (except for fighting the urge to eat other students).  Through this, Itagaki is able to comment on human nature skillfully, and it isn't always a pretty picture.  There is also some great truth behind the Drama Club members - that most of them have some sort of trauma in their past that they use to fuel their performances.  We don't learn what happened to Louis or Legoshi, as well as many of the other characters, but I'm sure this will come up again in future volumes.

There are some serious issues being discussed and dealt with in this series, especially this volume, and the use of animals helps the author really delve into the heart of these issues without calling out any specific group. Legoshi talks about his depression to several friends, and they give him less than stellar advice that he knows is not helpful. Legoshi coming to terms with his nature as a carnivore makes him examine feelings that could very well be racism or toxic masculinity in a world with no animals. I also appreciated seeing the world outside of the school, as to this point, it seemed as though they were attending school in the middle of nothing. I do feel like the murder that starts out the series has been relatively forgotten, perhaps because it happens frequently? Hopefully, we will get to find out which carnivore(s) is eating their classmates.

In this volume, we get another example of how Itagaki uses the animal kingdom to shine a spotlight on some of the ridiculousness of the human world.  We learn how Haru and Louis meet - he shed his antlers and hid in the Garden Club shed, embarrassed for others to see him without his horns. Itagaki uses this natural process of deer shedding horns to show how ridiculous it is that we make fun of each other or put each other down for natural processes.  How often do boys get teased for their voice cracking as it lowers? How often do we point out something on someone's body that is completely natural, yet becomes a source of ridicule? It's these moments that keep me coming back and thinking about how silly humanity is sometimes.

This volume is decidedly more violent than the other volumes as Legoshi and Gohin attack the lions. Haru’s flashback also explores a little bit about her promiscuity and the power she gets from it, specifically the protection from other beasts who are less willing to devour her, or pity her for her small stature. If readers weren't uncomfortable before with the devouring/being devoured concept running rampant through this series, this one will definitely do it. There are a lot of sexual overtones to the boss lion inspecting Haru, even though he's inspecting her in order to eat her. While there isn’t any nudity per se, there are several scenes of Haru in compromising poses during this inspection.

To begin, this title seemed like a regressor to Beatrice/Chloe, but there's another twist that brings in another past life in Korea. The real-world connection comes much later in the volume, perhaps as a way to be different than other regressor titles. Instead, it hits as a bit jarring because it's a second stab at a previous life and becomes billed as Chloe having even more convenient background knowledge to help her in her current environment. Once the narrative begins to weave all of Chloe's talents, everything smooths out and makes me wish that there were hints to Korea at the beginning of the volume. On the positive side, Chloe is sweet, hardworking, and caring. There's most likely going to be a romance, but it's a slow burn that will build over multiple volumes.

I really enjoyed this retelling of Beauty and the Beast with the twists of having a different bad guy pulling the strings and the inclusion of otherworldly magic. Yuki sets up the main conflict perfectly in this first volume with little teases that will make readers start to theorize about what is really happening, but I suspect we will be completely off base by the end. Belle's switch from being a shut-in to standing up for herself is pretty sudden and could have used a little more of a solid reasoning. I also didn't care for her dedication to her father despite knowing how evil of a person he became to her, but I understand that type of loyalty is hard to shake for family members.

This volumes lays the groundwork for the romantic entanglement that probably every reader will see coming. So far, there's not much reason for Belle to be in love with Cyril other than seeing the way he is devoted to his Belle. It's also revealed that Cyril and (Old) Belle hadn't known each other for very long before the curse was set upon them, so that might work out for (New) Belle in the long run. The part I find most interesting in this story is the villainess and her power to collect faces of other ladies. This, to me, is a nice variation on the trope of bad guys fighting to stay young and vibrant. The illustrations are still absolutely beautiful and really heighten the enjoyment of this story.

This volume ramps up the romance that the author admits has been more so in the background thus far. Given how much this is taking from the original Beauty and the Beast narrative, I'm not surprised to find la Médium also has feelings for the prince the Beast used to be. Now, this guy has THREE women chasing after him, although one is incased in crystal (minor inconvenience). There is also some lovely development of the Idole character, Isolde, so I hope to get to know more of the castle folk in future volumes. Yuki has beautifully brought to life her rendition of this classic fairy tale, and has managed to invoke some strong emotional ties for me already in the first three volumes. I'm definitely hooked on this series, and other readers who like fantasy romances, like The Ancient Magus' Bride, might also enjoy this series.

For readers rooting for our Belle and Beast to get together in the end, they'll be happy to see that Princess Belle is kind of a jerk after all. Cyril definitely softens though, and is not so much a beast as a pathetic creature consigned to his fate. in previous volumes, he seemed to actually be in love with his Belle, but the shine is gone now and it's clear that she annoys him. But, with only one volume left, there's not a lot of room left to get those two together and take care of La Médium!

Perhaps in an effort to depart from the fairy tale source material, this ending takes a wild turn into surreal territory, mixes in time travel and celestial-ism, and, for me, sort of ruins the rest of the series. I'm not sure why there needed to be such a leap in the last 100 pages of this volume, but I really would have enjoyed the series more if it had been more of a retelling of the fairy tale. The explanation was extremely rushed and disjointed, as if Yuki was cramming a whole volume's worth of exposition and exploration into a chapter or two. I enjoyed the first four volumes, and Yuki's illustrations are gorgeous. Unfortunately, because the ending sought to weave itself throughout the series and explain, moments going back to the beginning, the ending left me highly dissatisfied, and I sort of wish I hadn't read the last half of this volume.

this is a heartbreaking and sweet story about two broken souls who will hopefulyl find some acceptance with each other despite their harsh upbringing. Haruichi sets good boundaries and seems to be hoping to round out Tsubaki’s education and life skills so that she’s not set up for failure later in life. There are a lot of positive moments of healing for both of them while they try to wrestle with the trauma they've been dealt by their families.

What begins as a silly miss-matched love story gives way to something much deeper. Fox must deal with some very difficult questions and sort through some complicated feelings of belonging. There are some emotional scars for Fox that his family and Rabbit help him consider. The main rabbit is very fuzzy and very fluffy, but there are other rabbits in this story that look more realistic. The difference is never fully explained. Is our main rabbit special in some way? Perhaps further volumes will expand on this as the characters are developed more. Readers who appreciate animal manga may enjoy this story, but its slower pace will require a patient reader. This manga is mostly told in yonkoma (4-panel comics) that are related to one another, but a few chapters stretch longer that single-page comics.

Guts is vey much an anti-hero. He is rude, doesn’t really care about anyone else, and is super gruff. He tells Puck that anyone who dies in the battles of other people are not worthy of living anyway, and it’s his basic mantra for dealing with difficult situations where innocents get hurt. He can absolves himself from guilt by telling himself they didn’t deserve to live, but I think it still eats away at him and makes him frustrated with his mission in life. There is a good amount of set up in this volume with just a dash of intrigue between the Apostles and Godhand, neither of which is explained in this opening volume.

This story is very cutsy, despite the gun violence and cat spectre, and it feels like a steam punk JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game). Theo is on a fetch quest for medicine (a fetch quest is when the main character must travel far and wide to obtain an unobtainable object to further the story).  He also tells his friend Hotch that he needs to get stronger to protect Mia, so that leans into the leveling up theory from RPGs.  The setting itself is sort of rushed - we don’t see much of Yellow Town before we get into the action. I would have liked to see more of it as Theo went about his life before he found Mia.  The art is beautiful and very detailed.  I felt very immersed in this fantasy land, even though we mostly see the inside of Theo's house.

Theo and Mia are so sweet together, and I'm glad it was addressed that they might be assaulted by bad guys the way they were setting up their tent right by the road and not keeping a watch. Where did these kids learn to travel?? The world Nicke has created is really interesting and beautiful. I appreciate the "logic" of it. Karatope is a city built on commerce, and Theo realizes his questions about a magician aren't going to lead to anyone because he's not thinking like a merchant. He changes tactics and gets results. Details like that make a world more real than if Theo was just led to the right person from the get-go.

Despite there being a moment of darkness when Mia loses control of her magic, this series is fairly wholesome and one that might appeal to middle grade audiences. Despite Nora being uncovered as a fraud, Theo and Mia still see him as someone worthy of saving, rather than leaving him to an unknown fate with his kidnappers. Hopefully, Nora becomes a new companion or someone important to their tasks because otherwise, the quest Theo and Mia have undertaken isn't really furthered by this volume.

Urasawa is one of my favorite mangaka because his stories are always super intricate, and you can never figure everything out until he wants you to have all of the pieces. The stories also tend to weave moments from history as well. In this case, Billy Bat brings in post-war Japan and efforts to rebuilt and stabilize the country. These setting details ground the work and make everything richer and more interesting. Urasawa also has a knack for creating interesting characters, especially some of the supporting cast. Kevin is a lovable idiot (he rarely knows what’s going on), but my favorite people in this first volume have been some of the side characters he encounters that are only around for a few pages or panels.

This first volume covers a lot of ground in the plot department and is a typical volume one of Shonen manga. A lot of characters are introduced, including ones from Asta and Yuno's childhood but also a fair amount of rivals and compatriots in the trials. Some of these side characters are not always fully clothed, including a witch who lazes about the Black Bulls headquarters in her underwear. Tabata also lays a lot of foundational world-building in this entry volume with the introduction of the magic system and the social strata magic-users recognize amongst each other. So far, there's nothing about this series that stands out from other shonen manga, but it may need time to develop given how packed this first entry was.

This story really needed some more set up. Why do we need this flower? There were some key pieces of information revealed in the book’s summary that weren’t all on the pages in the story. The crash is also extremely abrupt. Within a page, we go from cryo sleep to crash landed, and we learn more about How North got out of the wreckage through “flashbacks” that are incomplete - North continues to replay certain key events through her visor, which apparently records everything she sees. There was a lot of leaps at the very beginning that could have had more panels of illustration to explain everything. Despite the rocky start, the survival portion and race to the shuttle was very intense and not predictable. If the amount of detail was spent in the beginning to set up everything, this would be a fantastic story.

Rin’s training and journey for self-discovery is one part Run on Your New Legs, one part Medalist, with a dash of shonen battle manga training arc. She’s got the beginnings of a jealous bully even. Her coach is not as warm and cuddly as the coaches in Medalist, but her bubbly attitude and wealth of positivity is enough (once she very quickly gets over her sadness at the beginning). Shigematsu could stand to slow down and write the big feelings Rin must be feeling with a little more care instead of rushing the plot.

This is a bit of a departure from Endo's other works, somewhere in between Tista and Spy x Family, but it also gives me some remnants of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyers. The beginning half of this story on the Moon Kingdom was quite engrossing, but there was a huge tone shift when Kaguya gets to Earth and the planet is far more primitive than the futuristic society she's used to. I felt Kaguya's culture shock with her, which was a great bit of storytelling. Readers looking for the humor that Endo peppers throughout Spy x Family won't find much here as this story has more commentary on humanity and societies and how we treat one another, so there is less room for humor overall.

This is a very comforting read and a little more kid-friendly than A Bride’s Story. Khang and Rati are relatively the same age, and, so far, there’s no nudity. The whole story has a very slow, comforting pace that blends slice-of-life with iyashikei. The two mains are both good people with good hearts who want to help each other and other townsfolk, so the message of building community is strong and wholesome. This might appeal to romance readers who want something a little more laid back and without the usual comedy-of-errors storylines that abound in romance manga.

Cam's dad is aggressive and wants his son to use his abilities to get what he wants including winning Basketball games. The anger isn’t directly addressed. Dad reads as someone who peaked in high school but still rules in this small town. We don’t know what happened to Cam's mom. Dad’s ex-girlfriend is dating the Coach. Vibrant pop art helps distract from plot issues.

First off, the summary keeps saying Count Vlad Dracula, and I'm wondering if I missed something or if this is some sort of spoiler. The first volume set up our main character as a incarnation of Vlad the Impaler but didn't mention Dracula at all that I can recall, so either I skipped something or the main girl is a cross between Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. That aside, Sei has a problem with drawing two eyeballs at once, and constantly wants to have something covering the other eye, whether it's the Vlad's hair or something else obscuring. Not sure what was behind that choice, but it just became sort of a campy choice that pulled me away from the narrative after a while. Like, spot the contorted way Vlad was going to be positioned so that she didn't have two eyeballs exposed again.

I knew going into this book that it was supposed to be creepy and unsettling, but I probably still would have found the story creepy without the warning. For almost all of the book, everything seems perfectly normal and bland, but I was waiting for the other shoe to drop every time I turned the page. It finally happens at the end of the book, so this might completely surprise and jar some readers while entice others to continue into the next volume. I will personally want to read a few more volumes before considering it for my school library to see where the violence and creepiness leads. This first volume would be fine for high school audiences, but definitely not younger readers.

This volume mixes romance and sports manga and sprinkles some humor in for good measure. The pacing is a bit slower than some other popular romance titles, but the build-up to Chinatsu moving in is perfect. There is a false sense of security -- at first, readers might think they have the story figured out, but Miura creates a compelling narrative, and I honestly forgot to be looking for the twist! The awkwardness Taiki feels throughout the volume is palpable and will definitely resonate with teen readers. This would pair nicely with the humor and social awkwardness of Romantic Killer.

I should have seen this coming' but I honestly didn’t expect the school angle from this story. I really like Yukio being a foil for Rin, having the skills and patience to do the job right, while Rin likes to go in swords blazing and handles some of the tough demons.  There is also some mystery surrounding the headmaster of True Cross, and I doubt it’s going to be all good surprises in the end for Rin.  I think the art style also perfectly fits this story with lots of detail and beautiful scenes.  The exorcism school in True Cross Academy is beautiful, and I sort of want to go there and explore its mysteries.

This story in the first two volumes has really great pacing and keeps the pages turning without feeling overwhelming. I really like some of the new characters,including Ryuji, who wants to be an Aria and a Dragoon.  He has also sworn to defeat Satan because of the destruction wrought on his temple during the Blue Night, a catastrophic evening that coincided with Rin’s conception (the link is not currently clear). Because of this vow, he and Rin are competitors, but they also compliment each other’s skills. The detail of the art of the demons could be one of the reasons this has a higher reader rating, as they can be quite scary, but this is also a way for this title to stand out amongst so many other exorcism titles.

In this volume, we get a little deeper into the relationship between Rin and his brother Yukio.  Before True Cross Academy, Rin felt that he was protecting Yukio, but now, the roles have reversed.  In the first two volumes, Rin has been able to get by from sheer luck and relying on his flames, but it is evident with the introduction Shura that Rin is going to have some challenging times actually growing as a character and having to take his studies as a student seriously.  The other supporting characters were not as present in this volume, and I found myself missing Shiemi and the levity she brings to situations (although, this volume needed some of the seriousness it achieved).

This is probably the biggest narrative shift - that the main cast all knows now that Rin is the Son of Satan. I imagine we’ll have a knock out fight between him and Bon in the next volume because of Bon's history with the Blue Night.  Now that Rin has a deadline, this will move the story along and allow for him to actually learn a thing or two instead of just rushing into battle all the time and not being good at exorcism things. We have spent the last three volumes being asked to believe he is great at fighting and really strong, but how much intuitive ability are we supposed to believe?

Bon is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters, in part because of the complexity he possesses that isn’t yet present in the rest of the characters. His family is very complicated, and we are plopped right into the middle of family politics in this volume. I’m also still waiting for the shoe to drop between Bon and Rin.  There was a mild explosion between them in this volume but I’m sure more will come.

This volume felt like a filler volume as the Kyoto cast discussed the ramifications of their recent battles, then so much more bonus content than is normal.  The bonus about Kuro was cute, and really tugged at my heartstrings as a cat owner. Poor little guy is just hungry and wants to be treated with respect!  We are in the middle of a story arc, so I'm not sure why the mangaka decided that this was the "perfect" place for extra bonus content instead of more chapters to further the story.

So the fight between Bon and Rin that has been building for three volumes wasn’t what I was expecting, but I really should have seen it coming. I read enough manga that I should know by now that Bon was more upset his friend didn’t trust him, and thinks Rin didn’t value their friendship, rather than upset about Rin being the son of Satan.  The supporting cast is really starting to shine in these novels, especially Bon, Konekomaru, and Shiemi.  The one we haven't really seen much of that I would like developed more is Izumo.  After she lost her friend and established herself as too strong for any of her classmates, her progress has stalled.  Hopefully, we will get some volumes and a storyline dedicated to her as we have for the Kyoto batch.

We’ve almost reached the end of this arc with the Impure King, but of course Rin has to level up in some way. We get two interesting reveals here, one from Mephisto and one from Yukio, which I'm sure will be stretched on over several volumes.  Bon and Rin are back to being competitive friends and they work really well together in this volume.  We also finally get to see some attention to Kuro, the cutest character.  His agility and speed, plus resistance to the spores of the Impure King, make him essential to getting Bon and Rin into position.  The enemy turning into a city concept is something that can be seen throughout Japanese video games and other stories, so this element wasn't as strange to me as it could be to some readers.  The illustrations of the puss-bubbles and spores is satisfyingly horrible.

If we hadn't had so much filler a few volumes ago, the end of the Impure King might have landed at the end of a collected volume, and then Kuzo could have developed this arc of the Sea God a little more. It's an interesting little side story, and could have been a place where Rin and Yukio have some much-needed brother time, but that was not what happened here. Hopefully that will come in some later volumes.

The intrigue with the exorcist society keeps growing as more is revealed about the inner workings. It doesn’t seem like an entirely altruistic society just concerned with fighting satan and his minions, as there seems to be levels of evil that they are willing to work with. Rin seems to be slowly becoming a better, deeper character - first with Kuro the cat, and now with his classmate, Rin has been showing his softer side.  Overall though, this volume moved at a slower pace than the others.  Here's hoping that the next installment in this story arc will pick up the pace a bit.

This volume gets pretty heavy with a lot of conversation between the two sets of characters: Futaba and Taichi, and Masumi and Akiko. If you're a big Toma fan, you will probably be upset with how little he's in this volume, but if you're a Masumi fan, you're be delighted that she finally has some much-needed page-time. Both of these conversations - college/future and acceptance/happiness - are ones that lots of high school students are having and stressing over, and KAITO has some good advice for students and teens on both subjects.

I thought this was a great story for it being the typical love triangle frustration genre. Futaba is a very typical shy Japanese girl, and Taichi is the typical on-the-fringe Japanese boy. But somehow the stereotypes blend together pretty well to make a story that is easy to read. At the end of the day, I am driven by the connection I make with characters, and this volume got me caring about Futaba and Taichi. The art for this was detailed and easy to follow.

As this group gets closer in friendship and in romance, the story gets a little more interesting.  Futaba is still hopeless and shy, but it's clear she's working through something difficult.  Taichi is likewise working through a traumatic moment in which he failed to save a cat from being run over, and this has influenced him into being the kind of caring person who is always looking out for others.  Masumi is cold and the complete opposite of Taichi, having instead a care for only herself and her close friends and family.  I'm sure there is something from her life that has shaped her in this way, so hopefully we will get more of a reveal in future volumes.  As much as this volume focused on Toma's events, we didn't get as much of an insight into his character as the other mains this volume, so I'm also looking forward to learning more about him than what is on the surface.  The cliffhanger in this story is brutal, so have volume three ready to go for readers.

This volume is full of raw emotions and characters wrestling with some really difficult feelings.  KAITO beautifully crafts heartfelt moments, one of which is depicted on the cover of this volume.  I feel the pain and confusion Taichi is going through as he mourns more than anyone for the loss of Toma's future.  It will also be interesting to see in future volumes how Taichi comes to terms with the feelings others have for him that we as readers have known for some time.  While the characters definitely struggle with having feelings for someone of the same sex, KAITO's attention and care with his characters gives me hope that this series will be one to normalize those feelings.

​​There seemed to be quite a lot of build up in this volume that culminated in a shock with Futaba's unwitting admission.  This mangaka is really great at creating a storyline in each volume that pays off with a cliff hanger or big reveal within the last few pages.  This is sure to drive students crazy if the next volume isn't readily available, especially if they've become invested in Futaba as a character within the last few volumes.

Yagihara to this point has been an annoyance, and this volume gives a lot of insight and builds her as a three-dimensional character. Her ultimate motive is still the same as it’s always been, though, and that's to get closer to Toma.  She claims she would be fine with just being close friends with Toma before he graduates, but that remains to be seen.  Tai-Chan and Futaba's awkwardness continues into their relationship, as the two don't quite know how to be dating but still be at school.  Tai-Chan doesn't want to make his other friends jealous that he has a girlfriend, so they have to learn to balance time with friends and time with each other.  I'm slightly surprised with how quickly we got into this side of the "quadrangle" being "solve", as the relationship between Tai-Chan and Futaba seemed like the obvious one from the beginning. 

This story has been lauded as a book that really captures what it’s like to be a musician, but, as a musician, I’m not totally seeing it. There are some great descriptive phrases in the narrative voice, but capturing what it’s like to play music and be lost in what you’re creating through art is pretty difficult. The creepy ghoul and the fact that the musician is named Erik brings me back to The Phantom of the Opera since The Phantom’s real name is Erik, and he definitely haunts musicians with promises of improving their musicianship. The illustrations make use of very ethereal watercolors, which enhances the dark themes of the story. There are a few pages within the story that are beautifully composed with stunning coloring, and others that will seat into your brain and haunt you for days to come.

There is a lot of manga out of Japan that has the lessons of cooperation, friendship, trying your best, always being positive… this is definitely not one of them. This fits more in line with sports training from other countries, where super stars are encouraged to leave others behind, where they sacrifice friendships and their personal lives for the sake of their game. This isn’t the best message to be putting in front of impressionable young people, but darn it if this story isn’t engaging and addicting. This title has already done well with digital sales, so the print release is sure to be successful with teen readers.

This volume continues with the intensity laid down in volume one, even though most readers can probably surmise how the team will overall fair from the tournament. Kaneshiro manages to keep the suspense up despite the obvious. I really appreciated how the team had to come together and work together despite Ego continuously saying they need to stop that sort of cooperation in order to succeed. There is some suspension of disbelief needed though when the other teams reveal their strategies, and most of them have decided to push one person over the other ten, something that Ego sort of made it seem would get them eliminated. This is a great high-intensity sports manga that will keep readers flying through the pages.

The odds against Team Z are almost too high in this third volume, but that's part of the appeal of such a ludicrous premise such as this. In my heart, I know they have to win because Isagi is our main character, but Kaneshiro makes me believe up until the moment that Team Z can lose. Isagi also has to grow a lot in this volume as his team really struggles with being betrayed. He's still not the best player on the team, but he's getting better and he's also better about motivating others to do their best (which is exactly what Ego DOESN'T want). Maybe Isagi will be able to convince Ego that Japanese strikers can be amazing and still be great collaborative players.

It was really awesome to see Isagi bring his team together in volumes 3 and 4, and see how they figured out how to use everyone's unique talents, But, I'm also glad that Kaneshiro found a way to up the ante and derail Team Z's plans in an interesting way because too many matches of them winning as they did in volume 3 would have taken some of the high-stakes tension out of the volume. Some readers may have seen Kuon's betrayal coming, but I did not!

There are some surprises in this volume that make the first round of competition make a lot more sense, especially given how our main characters were in the "bottom" of a very difficult competition, and I was not looking forward to the amount of struggle the would have to go through to get to the top. I am also glad that the second round of competition is going to be set up a little differently than the first round, but sat to see some of Isagi's teammates are not going to be with him anymore. This does mean that some of the cool characters from other teams that we met throughout the last four volumes are going to be more important now, so that means that was work Kaneshiro spent wisely building up some of his side characters.

For me, this story started out really choppy and rough. It feels like there might have been a few missing panels or speech bubbles in times of transitions, so we instead move abruptly from place to place. Once Yatora decides to learn art, the reader is learning right along with him, so there are lots of pages with dense descriptions of style, tools, and methods. This will definitely be appealing for some, but the blocks of text aren’t as intriguing as other explainer manga I’ve read recently. I did appreciate the use of real art with artist credits instead of the mangaka having to illustrate everything in very different styles.

I checked out volume 2 just to make sure this series is not for me, and it isn’t. There’s still a lot of explanation in this volume, which might be appealing to readers who are interested in art or have a background in it, but for me, this is missing a little more substance in terms of character development. We get a little bit of Yatora as he tries to figure out his artistic voice, and as he has conversations with the adults in his life about going to art school, but the rest of the characters surrounding Yatora are underdeveloped and sort of blend together in personality.

This fun take on the Journey to the West mythology provides a familiar setting for ZENZO's artwork to shine.  Within a relatively few pages, ZENZO creates tension and builds enough of a connection with Goku where I already feel upset that Sanzo has betrayed his trust. Emotions are well conveyed throughout the illustrations, and I particularly liked the use of shading and screen tones to portray the different textures within the mountain setting.

Any kid who has moved, lost their friends, and/or experienced some culture shock will empathize with Lilico’s struggles to find her place in her new school and figure out where she belongs now. Misako draws on some familiar tropes of childhood friendship, falling out, and the need to fit in pushing us to make difficult choices. Each of these difficult topics is treated with compassion and care, and given weight, not dismissed as "childish" or insignificant as sometimes can happen with stories concerning growing up. The coloring is very soft and pastel throughout, which, coupled with the subject matter, provides a comforting quality to the story.

In this volume, there are more tropes typical to childhood stories -- sorting feelings, figuring out who you are -- but Emma has to work on her relationship with her family more than what we saw in the first volume with Lilico. Also, Emma has a lot of complicated emotions about how her family impacts her identity and being able to fully feel her range of emotions, especially as it relates to being able to fully express herself when she feels frustrated and unsupported by her family members. These difficult transitional periods are common amongst tween and teen readers, and I think a lot of them will relate to the struggles Emma is facing on and off the basketball court.

The sadness and despair from Reiji is palpable and gets more tragic the more we see and feel how trapped he is. Nagi’s situation is a much slower burn, taking almost the whole book to reveal why she feels the need to commit suicide. The pacing and character development for Reiji and Nagi is done very well, as my heart is broken for the both of them at the end of the book. This is obviously a story for mature readers, as the two discuss suicide a lot, have sex, and Nagi shows up naked repeatedly in Reiji’s head.

This story has a double appeal for teens. In essence, the story is about being comfortable with yourself and what you're passionate about, but there's another layer of making your mark in a digital world that so many of our students are engaged in right now. So many have their own channels, websites, etc., and want to become "internet famous." The series also tackles gender roles, but Ryū's struggles with self are very focused on his time at school and how other students treat him. The added conflict of wearing a gendered uniform will resonate with trans students who attend schools with gendered uniforms, but schools with uniforms isn't as common in North America. Rather, students might draw parallels with clothing in general as a form of gender expression. This title handles the struggles of transgender youth delicately and safely - the editor  went so far as to add a note about safely binding when Ryū reveals his binding on page.

Ryo's new coworker Mizuki is a wonderful addition to a cast that was lacking in some common sense and wisdom. She helps Ryo feel comfortable in his skin (and clothes), and challenges him to start thinking about who he might be attracted to. In volumes one and two, Ryo was mostly focused on being seen as a boy and not necessarily what his life would be like after that. Mizuki is another artist as well, and her calm confidence helps Ryo feel like his skills are worth something. Jin and the third boy from volume one are almost entirely absent from this volume, so Jin fans might be upset. The cliffhanger for this volume is absolutely brutal and might need to come with a trigger warning for some readers (forced outing), so the fallout from this volume is sure to be brutal in volume three.

Although it happened in a really crappy way, it is good to see Ryo finally being proud of who he is and embracing it with his classmates. I sincerely hope Chika knocks it off in the last volume and gets to a place where she accepts the journey Ryō was on. The major takeaway for me in this volume was just how much many societies (in this case, Japanese and the parallels I see in US society) are fixated on asking folks from the LGBTQ+ community about their bodies and sexual attractions, like they are entitled to this information, or, depending on the answer, it will help the person decide whether they fully support the LGTBQ+ person. The ending to this volume is perfect, and a lovely reminder to the cis-folk that these questions are invasive.

This is a gorgeously illustrated story with beautifully conceptualized panels that flow from one to another. The setting of this story is atop a wintry mountain, and Rita’s cozy winter gear is decorated with ornate pieces that are carefully drawn. The story is a little slower paced but much of that is because both characters are learning to trust and open up to one another, and the methodical pacing is perfect for the believability of their healing journey. BL fans who want a fantasy setting and don’t mind a very slow burn will appreciate this story.

Aibi is a complicated character, made so from her environment and the circumstances of her curse. It’s nice to see a protagonist who is a little bit twisty and not completely altruistic, but the switches from “good girl” to slightly manipulative are subtle and can be off-putting at times. The god of death gets cheated, actually, as Aibi steals the show in this first volume, so he gets relegated to more of a cookie-cutter shojo romance character instead of having more page time dedicated to his development. Hopefully, he has time to shine in further volumes.

This first volume didn't do much in the way of character development or world-building.  There is a significant amount of time spent on Dazai and his hair-brained schemes to commit suicide, including inviting an attractive young woman to join him in a lover's suicide.  The fixation on suicide may be difficult for students who are survivors of or have lost friends in this manner. Also, many of the main characters are styled after Japanese authors, and their special abilities are linked to the works they write, so this might not land with American audiences unfamiliar with Japanese literature.

This series is exploring the greater world of Bleach, but I don’t thing readers necessarily need to be familiar with Bleach in order to read this story. Nonetheless, there is a LOT going on in this volume. Kubo exposes readers to a whole group and bureaucratic system within a few pages without much exposition. Noel is the calm, collected foil to Ninny’s explosive, fiery personality, but we don’t get much else in terms of character development of these two ladies.

Overall, the world has an interesting premise, but I'm not entirely sure what the main point of the story is going to be.

Yamori is basically a little sheltered puppy.  He's had some challenges in life that he's not sure how to deal with.  He also hasn't had very many friends, and he’s never really had a crush before.  He seems to have very little attachment to life, and his depression and insomnia are very reminiscent of what many teens go through.  Yamori also stops going to school once he starts going around with Nazuna, which is a little more believable within the culture of Japan because High School is not mandatory.  In the US, there would be a lot of questions when Yamori stops showing up, and potentially the police would get involved.  This story seems like it will be mostly about Yamori learning to be a better human while he seeks to abandon his humanity.  It's a little darker than the normal paranormal romance, which might be a nice bridge for fans of Tokyo Ghoul and Black Butler.

The feel and premise of this story is very much like Death Note, with that dance back and forth between the Killer and law enforcement who are trying to break the case. Similarly with Death Note, the police find help in an outside source who isn't a police officer. The pacing of this story is much faster, however, with the story centered around Saeyama, the hunter, instead of the Curse Killers, and Saeyama may potentially break one case per volume. This is, overall, a pretty dark murder-mystery where the audience knows almost everything and just watches the cat-and-mouse game unfold, bringing some heightened levels of suspense depending on which characters they choose to root for.

Anyone familiar with Pilkey’s titles knows they are full of silliness but he has cracked the code on getting children excited about reading. There are some interesting choices about this manga, particularly that it’s read left to right like a Western graphic novel but the sound effects are left in Japanese Katakana with translations notes offered in the back (Pilkey explains they were integral to the art). Much of this version remains unchanged from the original, but Motojiro’s artistic interpretations may appeal to comics and manga readers with his extensive knowledge of panel composition, framing, and action sequencing. Overall, readers who love Pilkey will definitely be excited about this latest creation, and libraries will need multiple copies of the sturdiest binding they can find.

​Some things in this story definitely haven’t stood the test of time, especially the tech in the story (pagers, camcorders, VHS tapes), but the majority of this story is timeless. Sakura is a very relatable kid, especially to the elements that make her human, like having crushes and being good at a particular subject in school. Tomoyo is also a really sweet character who uses her family's riches to explore her burgeoning talent for clothing design, and who expresses more than j

Reading this now as an adult, I see so many things that as a kid didn't matter to me. Syaoran being in love with Yukito didn't phase me at all as a child, nor did some of the other romantic storylines in this series. The adventure is still as fun as it was when I was younger. Sakura having to figure out how to capture each card, and the fact that each battle is very different, is really entertaining. Sakura tries to use the same cards to capture everything, but in this volume, there are a few cards that don't want to be captured by battle, and Sakura has to think outside the box. I honestly can't remember how things end up with Sakura and Syaoran, so I'm excited to see how their rivalry progresses as Sakura captures more cards.

In each volume so far, we've been introduced to another magic-sensitive person who is somehow getting mixed up in the business with these Clow Cards. This volume's addition, Mizuki-san, is really intriguing. Unlike Syaoran, we didn't get much of her backstory, other than her relationship with Tōya, but that didn't explain her magical background or how her gift works. With Sakura having no magical training, it's understandable that other, stronger magic users will have to be involved to help her with her mission. Something else I enjoy about this series is the subtle big-brother protectiveness Tōya demonstrates. While little sisters are often annoying to older brothers (spoken as a little sister), Tōya is always looking out for Sakura and trying to keep her safe even if she doesn't notice it.

This volume has a beautifully bittersweet moment with Sakura and the old man since the audience is going to know a lot more than Sakura. I had some reservations and "stranger-danger" feelings while reading it, but the realization is so satisfying. The casting and execution of the play with Sakura's cast is amusing. We also see a major transition in this volume - Li starts to have feelings for Sakura instead of Yukito, but of course Sakura is still oblivious. This book has the nastiest of the cliffhangers thus far, so readers will definitely want to get right back into it with volume five.

As we get to the resolution of Sakura's collection of the Clow Cards, we see a lot of Clow Reed's prophecy points come to fruition. This is a nice, tidy way to have a story come together and have a sense of conclusion. But, just like other magical girl stories, like Sailor Moon, the peace is over far too quickly, and nobody can get used to their new lives with their new powers before some other big bad comes in and tries to mess everything up again. In the original publication, this volume was two separate ones and the second half was the beginning of "Master of the Clow" series, but in current publications, there is no distinction and no way of separately collecting the two series. This means the only natural stopping point for library shelves is right before the current "Clear Card" run, so you'll need all four omnibus volumes or all nine Collector's Editions.

There are so many mysteries in this volume that readers are sure to be emersed in figuring out the answers. Some are going to be obvious for older readers to figure out, but others will leave us on the hook until after this volume. Sakura has to contend with her new cards and transforming magic, but also new students at school who are all connected to the Clow Cards. Of course, Tomoyo is on hand to make Sakura new outfits for her new battles, so there are still a lot of beautiful illustrations and full-page spreads to captivate

​The first two volumes in this series have been favorably reviewed by professional publications, so I won't gush too much here.

With this volume, we’ve crossed over into the fantasy realm, with castles on the moon and evidence of "Selenites," moon inhabitants. Séraphin is caught between his father and the king, between helping the family he has and potentially rescuing the family he lost. He is convinced that his mother made it through the aether and is alive somewhere in the vastness of space, but his drive to find his mother puts the others in jeopardy.

This volume has plenty of action on every page, and I am thoroughly enjoying this Jules-Vernian story of aether ships and lost civilizations on other celestial bodies.  Seraphin is a very brave and strong main character, but right there next to him is Sophie, who is not going to let any boy push her around.  She's strong willed, a little short tempered, and quick-witted.  Then there's Hans, the comic relief who can't stop complaining about sharing his beer rations with other people.  The watercolor artwork is beautiful, and I appreciate the detailed schematics of the aetherships when they're included.  There are many different aetherships in this volume, and they are all elegant and beautiful with lovely steampunk elements.  This is a great adventure story that doesn't seem to have an end in sight.

Mars is a beautifully imagined world that readers can dive into if they just suspend disbelief and let themselves be engrossed by Alice’s illustrations. There is also a poignant criticism on the pitfalls of exploration - after discovery comes exploitation - and it is a sentiment that rings true throughout history. Alice once again leaves us with a stupendous cliffhanger, and the translation of volume five is not even on the horizon yet.

This entire volume is extremely cute, but it still delivers a ton of medical knowledge. There is something to be said about the continuity of reading Cells at Work: Code Black before this, which is all about reproduction, but it is definitely an adult title. This would be good for younger audiences based on the drawings, but there is still a bunch of medical terms (which are defined, of course), and the reader should have a basic understanding of where a baby comes from before picking this up. In California, where I'm based, basic Sex-Ed starts in 5th grade, so I'd suggest not putting this lower than whenever that starts in your state.

This was a surprisingly entertaining story, and, from what I can tell, fairly medically accurate. This was somewhat of an action-packed slice of life, if you take it from the perspective of these adventures being a day-in-the-life of blood cells. None of the chapters particularly build onto each other, and each is a separate battle with a new infection or bacteria, which leads me more to the slice of life designation.

This volume definitely tugged at the heartstrings a lot more than volume one. With baby Red Blood Cell-San, any parental and protective instincts are awakened in the reader as a mature bacterium goes after the tiny “child,” but she is saved by a pre-white blood cell... Could this be White Blood Cell-San? With the cancer cells, the topic hits close to home for anyone who has lost someone to cancer. The main cancer cell and White Blood Cell have a bit of a heartfelt moment of lament for his fate, and he tells White Blood Cell that he will return to kill him. Anyone with knowledge of cancer knows this rings eerily true.

Yet another outstanding volume in this explanatory manga series. Each chapter is pretty self-contained, but it's nice to see some of our major characters continue on and grow as characters. The chapter on the hair follicle is one of the best so far. Reader beware - you're going to feel feelings for skin cells. The bacteria enslaves these skin cells, and they've pretty much given up by the time White Blood Cell-san comes along. He gives them an inspiring talk that could definitely apply to everyday life, so readers can leave that chapter feeling uplifted after all that emotion.

If you want to feel bad about the choices you make living your adult life, read up! I’ve never smoked, but my heart hurt for all those poor Red Blood Cells basically dying from smoke inhalation. And the state they're in once they're sprayed with alcohol isn't much better! Even though it turned out alright for them in the end, the trials the red blood cells went through once they were doused with alcohol gave me pause. Although this is definitely for a mature audience, this is a great entry into the universe of Cells at Work!, where I've already learned so much about the body in general from the main series, and a lot about how babies survive in their infancy from Cells at Work!: Baby. Now, excuse me, while I go cut out artery-clogging foods and go take a walk.

The absurdities of this story is really the main reason for any of its charm. The art is a little rough, similarly to how Demon Slayer lacks the polish of many other manga. There’s really not a ton of character development, although several characters are given compelling reasons to act the way they do. There is quite a bit of violence and blood mixed within the few action sequences. There’s not much depth that can be expected out of this story, although I would submit No Guns Life manages to achieve a lot more richness with a main character who has a weapon for a head.

Despite this being overly violent and hormone fueled, Denji stumbles upon some really poignant life lessons in this volume. The pursuit of our dreams often makes us happier than actually attaining our dreams, and to learn that lesson with something fairly trivial speaks to how unadulterated Denji is despite everything that’s happened to him in his short life. There might be some powerful philosophical points, but this is also a gratuitously violent story that is redefining shōnen manga similarly to what Akira ​did. Folks will definitely be talking about this series for decades!

Ok so let's get the yuck out of the way first - yes, there's puke, and yes it's drawn with just as much detail as the rest of the story. Fujimoto is upping the ante every volume, so who knows where we're going from puke-kiss. The two end up back at Himeno's apartment and she does start to undress Denji, but he backs out as he doesn't want her to be his first. After the kind of peaceful morning and everyone getting back to work, Fujimoto kicks the action into overdrive with who is shot and potentially dead by the end of this volume. My heart literally started racing as more folks were getting shot, so anything getting that kind of emotional reaction might be worth reading through the yuck.

This is a very cute story and something I wasn't expected coupled with a hockey story.  The sport of hockey has an even more masculine veneer than football, so to have a main character who is gay and bakes pies flies in the face of that uber-masculine hockey player I think we all expect.  However, Bitty is an absolutely amazing character, and the way he explores his world and the people in it is sincere and heart-felt.  Each character in this book, including the supporting cast, is a full person with fears, hopes, dreams, and thoughts.  Yes, Bitty coming out to his teammates is a source of anxiety to him, but as he begins to share that part of himself with others, the acceptance in this story is something I would hope for anyone who has the courage to share their authentic selves.

Some readers might be extremely disappointed to find out that this is the last book in this series. Bitty is such a wonderful character, and the overall message of this book is of warmth and acceptance. While some might struggle to believe this could ever happen in a hockey team, that’s sort of the point.

I have been known to like that whole frenemies-to-lovers trope, but it doesn’t work as well in this story, mainly because there really isn’t much about Naruse that is likable to me. I’m definitely not a fan on non-consensual touching, but it seems Naruse is, and that doesn't sit well with me as an educator and as a person. I definitely wouldn't want a student seeing Naruse's actions, which often go without consequences, and decide this is a way to get a girl to like you. Body violations aside, the tension and development Yuki goes through during this volume is somewhat interesting, and she has a compelling amount of characterization in this first volume to make her an interesting character.

Yasmina is so full of energy, and reading this made me hungry for some fresh foods. She is very passionate about food and her family, and she expresses her love for her father in being able to cook for him. There is a bit of a criticism to cultures prioritizing convenience food rather than homemade with fresh ingredients, as well as the harm being done to the environment by large corporate farming. The "mystery" Yasmina must solve is fun and slightly gross. Most of the characters around Yasmina, including her dad, are not given a ton of depth or development. Still, this is an imaginative story with some interesting social commentary.

Seasoned readers of BL will clue in pretty quickly why Taesung didn't want Haebom to live with them, but less experienced readers might be along for the ride on this slow-burn romance. As Taesung begins to stand up for Haebom and show his protectiveness, the story becomes very sweet. Haebom's bullies are pretty one-dimensional and classic stereotypes, so there is a part of me that hopes we are done with them so they can be gone, but another part of me hopes that they can come back and have some more depth or development and not just be a trope. Bamwoo has put a lot of effort into Taesung and Haebom to make them relatable and likeable, but so far, other characters are only around to serve as plot points or decoration. Regardless, romance fans will enjoy the misunderstandings and revelations between the two leads as they finally understand and open up to each other about years of unrequited love.

This volume has a lot of set up and moves at a slower pace than most manga. There is a sense of urgency at the end in regards to Umi and Sora, so some readers who are invested in them might continue reading. There are moments where we peek into Ruka's past and her family life, which are great for her characterization, but otherwise, Ruka is an audience stand-in, meant to observe Umi and Sora and try to figure out how they're different. She could use some more personality in order to stand up to the two boys. There are also undertones of environmentalism throughout, but ultimately, readers leave this volume with possibly too many questions to keep interested in what's happening.

The first volume starts of a bit slow and slightly confusing because you are plopped into the middle of this built society on a floating island.  However, once the narration started, I was pulled in and didn't realize how quickly I was devouring this book.  The characters are interesting, and the author really takes you along on all their adventures.  The ending really got to me, and I can't wait to grab the second volume to see what the fall out is.  What originally drew me to this series, aside from a recommendation from a student, was the art style.  The covers all have these beautiful, textured watercolors that really grabbed me, and the art inside doesn't disappoint.  Scenes are full and lush and characters are nuanced.

There is still quite a bit of mystery surrounding the world of the Mud Whale, and the outsiders who come from a far-off nation, but this volume did give some nuggets of information that cleared up my confusion from volume one.  Our cast of characters is also getting a little more solid and developed from the first one, especially for Ouni, who was branded a trouble-maker quickly in volume one and not given much more depth.

Reading this really takes me back to high school when I originally read this series, although I'm not quite sure if I would buy it for my current collection. There is a lot of nudity, as Hideki finds Chi pretty much naked, and she doesn't understand shame, so she changes clothes quite frequently.  There is also lots of talk about sex and porn. At one point, Chi gets mixed up working at a peep show.  Aside from the nudity and adult conversations, this story is ultimately about finding your true love and loving someone for who they are.  The mystery of "The Other Chi" who shows up at odd times in Chi's visions, and the various people around Hideki who seem to know an awful lot about Chi, gives this story the needed depth.  As Chi learns more from her surroundings and from Hideki, what we as readers get is a primer on what it means to be human, and how special human beings are.

While there are still comedic moments in this volume, there are a lot more serious moments as the plot thickens about Chi's specialness, but we really don't get a whole lot of answers in this volume, just more questions. The series also starts to get into some of its quintessential questions about life with robots, why robots were made in the image of humans, and how humans treat these robots in comparison to other humans. There are quite a few moments of sexy fan-service with Chi in her underwear, a few shots of her topless. Since some of this series relates to how attractive huma

This volume continues the philosophical debate about persocoms being more human than machine. Ueda's marriage to a persocom brings up some painful things, like whether persocoms are better companions than humans, but another picture book Hideki picks up points out there are things persocoms can do that humans can't, but there are things humans can do that persocoms can't. There is some more intrigue in this volume as we get a little bit more revealed of Hideki's landlord, who has something to do with the Chobits experiment, and it seems the team of Hideki-Minoru-Dragonfly are close to revealing Chi's mysterious past and previous owner. This series is supremely engaging with these tidbits of mystery interlaced with a fairly difficult philosophical debate.

This is a wacky horror story that is nothing like Tokyo Ghoul, Ishida's more popular work. Readers looking for another rich world might be disappointed with the zany and rather slap-dash feel of this world. Within the first volume, there aren't many characters to invest in, as the two high schoolers aren't given a lot of page-time nor are they yet developed as two individual characters. Fans of Dandadan or other campy comedy-horrors might enjoy this story, but it probably won't enjoy as wide a readership as Tokyo Ghoul.

This character is from the Telltale Walking Dead games, so if you're a big fan of the show and don't know who she is, that's why. There's a good chance readers are not familiar with this small portion of TWD fandom, but it isn't necessary. Walden provides enough in flashbacks for the reader to understand Clementine. There might be some other characters from her past that I lost context on by not playing the game, but they're only on-page for a few panels. Regardless of the character's backstory, this is another entry into a crowded zombie-apocalyse genre, and there isn't a ton to make this story stand out from others. It might make a good addition to junior high and high school shelves where The Walking Dead is too mature.

While I really enjoyed volume one, the character work and backstory dive we got on Mrs. Clock in this volume made this a sophomore stand out. The stakes are considerably raised from where we began, and now I have a better grasp on what Cast is questing to become as a Striker. My level of adoration for Mrs. Clock being a smith is starting to match Cast's enthusiasm. The balance of world building and plot development in this volume was appreciated and helped answer a lot of questions that remained from volume one.

It’s not hard to see where the foundation of the romance elements in this story are coming from, and with the plethora of Hades/Persephone retellings in play right now because of the popularity of Lore Olympus, it’s nice to see something slightly different. The illustrations are very typical shōjo with lots of close ups on characters and plenty of flowers mixed in. Hades occasionally gets some beautiful clothing with some intricate detailing, and those panels are amazing.

The budding relationship between the Lord of the Underworld and our strong willed apothecary takes a few steps forward in this volume, but it’s still progressing at a glacial pace. It was also enjoyable to see the Celestial Realm and involve more gods from the pantheon, even if the goddesses were running Colette ragged with their demands. The story line overall has a slow and pleasant atmosphere, which makes the two-in-one volumes worth the investment for romance fans wanting a long-form story to sink their teeth into.

Some of the advice is specific to Japanese cosplay events and may not be as applicable, but the book is still a solid primer for creating costumes and getting into the cosplay culture. Another challenge with creating nonfiction content is that some of the websites listed will become defunct or not be available in North America, or will be links to Japanese websites without international shipping. Regardless, the sentiments are still consistent, such as finding some pre-made pieces versus hand-making all pieces, or researching costumer makers available to your local region. Despite the challenges of localizing something that's specifically made for a community in Japan, this title still provides insight into a popular community that readers in North America are interested in.

This was a fun adventure and a little bit different of an apocalypse story that has sort of worked into my brain and made me intensely curious for what other shenanigans the two can get into.

Creepy Cat, like many other cat protagonists in manga, is often hilarious, but at times can be a bit ghastly. This story has the right amount of horror to appeal to younger audiences and provide them with a bit of scary while not being completely nightmare-fuel. The format is narratively connected, mostly 4-panel (yonkoma) comics, which makes the overall storyline a bit choppy but lends the voicing to a juvenile, children's comic playfulness. Valent's art is drenched in dark colors to set the gothic mood, but there are plenty of pastels and whites to stay connected to black-and-white manga.

Fans of the Cyberpunk games and especially the hit Netflix Anime series will be delighted with this manga featuring some of their beloved characters. Rebecca and Pilar are both outlandish and boisterous characters, and the manga manages to capture their energy perfectly. There are some beautiful easter eggs hidden throughout for fans of the video game, including references to actual locations (with included map), but also nuggets referencing other science fiction properties. For the uninitiated, this manga is full of tons of hyper-violent, high stakes action with gun fights, car chases, blood and guts, mixed with hilarious moments as Rebecca and Pilar stumble their way through jobs.

The first chapter hooked me immediately with Allen's compelling fight against a terrifying human weapon. But, after that, the story got a little complicated as Allen joined the Black Order and the action started back up. The world-building and exposition was very quick, as was the introduction of several side characters who didn't get a lot of time to develop before many of them were sent on a mission to obtain Innocence. Hopefully, there will be time to sort out all of that important information, as I've heard nothing but good things about this series.

Now that we’ve landed on this storyline of chasing down material as being the main motivator, the action and plot development is a little more even than it was in volume one. Some of the action sequences in this volume were slightly hard to track, but within a few panels, everything gets figured out. Most of volume two is consumed with battling the akuma and Allen learning to fight a much more advanced enemy than he's ever fought before, which allowed for his character to develop slightly, but didn't leave much room for many others. Kanda is a dark-and-broody type with an interesting foundation of mystery in this volume.

As a consummate Fullmetal Alchemist fan, I'm constantly holding every Arakawa series up to that standard, and it's an unfair bar to set. I went into this series pleasantly surprised to be reading another fantasy series, but the twist halfway through this volume had me reeling... not so pleased at first, but with some space and reflection, I'm actually glad that Arakawa chose to make this an entirely different series from previous outings. The suspense and character development in the first volume has me invested enough to continue reading, even if this wasn't the fantasy action I was initially promised.

Now that the narrative is more or less settled after the shocking turn in volume one, things are starting to get interesting and Arakawa is able to establish the magic system with the daemons and their wielders in a bit more of a logical sense. The action in this volume is easy to follow as the daemons move in pairs and are often a foil or compliment to one another. There's a lot about this story that reminds me of Ceres: Celestial Legend with twins on competing sides of a celestial battle, so I'm getting very nostalgic with the storyline.

After a little more info dumping, we finally get some forward progress and a clear direction into where the story is going to go and potentially who some of the bad guys are. The powers the twins have still isn’t fully clear, but there’s enough groundwork to get the narrative rolling. This volume also has some more classic Arakawa humor as Yuru explores his new surroundings and figures out the “magic” of the strange world he now finds himself in.

There are already quite a lot of characters to keep track of in this story so far, and I hope readers are in for a few more. We also don't get a lot of information on the characters we've already met, so it can be challenging to keep everyone straight. There are a few flashes back and forth to the Kagemori compound to check in on Asa, but they're not illuminating enough, especially considering Jin Kagemori was chosen for the cover photo. This series is suffering slightly from balancing multiple perspectives and providing enough information to move the narrative forward.

Hayashida has some of the shakiest storylines, and Dai Dark is definitely up there. Does this need to be set in space? Not really! Perhaps the sci-fi setting will make a little more sense as the series progresses. In the first volume, there’s a lack of a major plot, and, rather, Sanko and Avakian are sort of moving around and trying to stay alive. Don’t expect any sort of explanation about Dark Flesh - what it is or how it works - as well as how Avakian is alive and how demons like Shimada exist. This is the type of free-for-all adventure that would appeal to fans of Naruto and One Piece - an adventure for the sake of drawing some cool stuff and having characters do cool things.

Just like volume one, this space adventure is over-the-top in a good way. Nothing really needs explanation even if it’s not inherently clear because Hayashida moves like everything is evident, and the reader is right along for the ride. The world-building is subtle and folded into the action, so there might be confusion at first, but if it's actually important, it'll get cleared up eventually. There is plenty, though, that the reader just has to go along with. There are definitely some silly moments mixed in amongst all the killing and fighting - there are quite a few butthole jokes and other moments of hilarity.

This is definitely one of those books where you’re just along for the ride and it turns out to be pretty entertaining. We find out that Sanko isn’t impervious, and we also get to learn more about Shimada’s powers, which are pretty extensive. The whole world is definitely gritty and gruesome, as their main goal is to collect people's bones after they kill them. The Light cult ends up not being as clean as they seem on the surface. I also appreciated the customization of Sanko's ship and seeing all the upgrades and modifications finally in place. It was an interesting transition, though, going from high-stakes near-death moments to checking out fun compartments.

This is a pretty wild story with a lot of inappropriate moments that would probably automatically exclude it from my school library. The first major inappropriate joke is within the first twenty pages, but the mangaka doubles down with a ghost obsessed with eating penises who is the main antagonist of this first volume. I can see how this story would be considered humorous, especially as we’re seeing more stories coming out that make sexual punch lines integral to the storyline, like Chainsaw Man. This story is also ridiculous for ridiculous' sake at some moments, like Undead Unluck, so it will appeal to readers of that over-the-top humorous style.

This story is definitely in the vein of The Hunger Games and other series that have students or teens fighting against each other to the death. As a reader, there's some of that thinking like, "this isn't really going to happen, they'll find ways around killing each other," just like in The Hunger Games, and it doesn't set in until the first murder that this is that type of story where death really will happen. These students are all probably between ages 15-16 (the age of first year high school students in Japan), but yet here they are being asked to commit murder. The actual action of murder doesn't happen on the page, since it's supposed to be conducted in secret, but there is no hiding the bloodied, murdered classmates. That appears on the page in all its gory nature. Students will definitely enjoy the violence and intrigue of the murder-mystery in this title.

At first glance, it's really hard to find anything redeeming about the Emperor, but as he warms up to Ari in later chapters, he starts to expose a softer side to himself. He puts up a brave front and constantly vocalizes how he doesn't like her, but he's very protective and visits Ari every day to make sure she is healthy and has everything she needs. In this first volume, his softness doesn't affect his rule at all, but it will be interesting to see how he changes as a ruler because of his love for his daughter - will he start to appreciate human life outside of his own family, or will he become more tyrannical in an effort to keep her as safe as possible?

This book was beautiful and haunting, especially the overt reminders of the destruction humans are working upon the earth every day. Tamarit uses a lot of Native imagery and other mythological influences in her story - Mother Earth is feminine and it is up to the women to restore her balance; the violence and exploitation are wholly masculine, and the imbalance among the two forces allow for destruction and destitution of the natural resources. The wolf spirit that follows the characters could have its origin in many Native American tribal origin stories where wolf spirits are often vital in creation mythos. Aside from these deeper meanings, Tamarit develops some interesting characters without using a lot of dialogue and instead relies on her illustrations and showing meaningful actions.

There is a good amount of mystery to this title that will keep readers hooked. Nak has some special power that isn’t fully explained. Caesar isn’t the creep he seems to be at the beginning of the story. While it's not explained, Caesar’s brother is destined to become king even though he’s blonde and the son of a concubine. We get a glimpse of Nak's childhood and her people, which seems different than the royal family in a castle that readers might expect. Her people are a group that the king of Belquat has tried to exterminate, which explains his absolute distain for Nak, and his outrage at her wearing her traditional clothing to dinner. There are so many starts to the storyline and hints at the world's complexity that it makes this volume one a great lead in to the rest of this series. This would be a good foil for Snow White with the Red Hair because of the role red hair plays in each title.

This volume is still setting up the world and its complexities between the two kingdoms.  There wasn't any hints of magic from the first volume, so it will be interesting how this power affects Nakaba and gets used.  I am interested to see how she uses this to her advantage, or if any of the royal family finds out and abuses her for her power.  While it is expected that Loki would not like Caesar, I am not as interested in the subplot of him planning against Caesar and the royal family.  We also get another character in this volume, another of Nakaba's companions, but he is very barely sprinkled in with no clear indication of how he's going to play into all of this.

Nakaba continues to be fairly weak and completely unsure of herself. She is growing to not trust Loki because of his plans against the Royal Family, but she has no back up plan to that. If she loses her last friend in the world, she’s got nothing else going for her in a foreign kingdom that has no love for her. I was happy for the inclusion of this knowledgeable stranger because we have had no information about the Arcana other than it’s super rare and people will try to manipulate Nakaba for it. I am hoping that Nakaba doesn't continue to be the weak, helpless female at the mercy of all the strong men around her, but I do know that some students love to read these stories, so hand to your hopeless romantics who love fantasies.

This is a very comforting, but slow-paced story. The chapter with Ritsuru and Gaku at past festivals was my favorite as the two friends are complete foils of each other, and we learn way more about those two characters than the rest of the chapters with the girls. My least favorite thing was the amount of fonts used. There were at least 6 different fonts - some of them were to express an emotion, some were assigned as the main speaking font for a specific character, and some were seemingly arbitrary. If every character had their own font and there was something else used to show excitement or other emotions, it would make a little more sense and probably not bother me as much, but it got to the point in this volume where it pulled me out of the story.

This is the slowest of slow burn storylines that could possibly lead to a romance between the two step siblings in future volumes, though it would be nice if this could be one of the rare stories that doesn't lead to a romantic entanglement. While their conversations were healthy and decent enough, not a lot happens to move the plot along. There is a little bit of character development of the two leads and some good interactions, but not much in the way of supporting characters or development of the world around them.

This haunting story is fully of wacky people, none of whom we spend enough time with in this volume. The pacing is incredibly fast but marred with some pacing issues, and the dialogue can be a little hard to follow, causing some confusion and narrative flow issues. Despite these drawbacks, there is a lot of suspense and intrigue created in this first volume, mixed with a fair amount of violence and bloodshed. Readers who enjoy fast-paced, action-packed stories mixed with a bit of horror will enjoy this story.

The pacing and action in this volume have definitely improved over volume one. The level of violence and people dying is pretty steady, with some of the most gruesome bits happening just off the page, but there are still plenty of bloody scenes happening right in full view to make this a grisly body horror title. This story is great for battle royale style fans, like if there was actually death to Blue Lock.

This book is literally laugh-out-loud funny. I haven't laughed this many times reading a manga since I read The Way of the Househusband vol 1. The fourth-wall breaks are really well done, but most of the humor comes from poking fun at the manga publishing industry. On the surface, this might seem like it would be a good bridge for comicbook readers to get into manga, but I think it would actually work the other way around. Comicbook readers won't have the prerequisite knowledge about other manga series or the publishing industry itself to truly appreciate the jokes. This volume's jokes are a lot more PG than most Deadpool comics.

This volume has some hilarious moments, not as many as the first, but still some decent one-liners and laugh-out-loud jokes. There are a lot of marvel heroes and villains in this volume, so this could definitely still serve as a nice cross-over between manga and comicbook fans. The ending is has the most meta fourth-wall break and really puts a nice Deadpool cherry on these two volumes arc. The bonus material is just as fun as the main storyline. The writer does mention that this is it for now, but he's open to further volumes depending on the reception of the first two, so hopefully fans enjoy this enough to support more volumes!

This story is very cerebral, so don't come looking for lots of action or to see people be killed. In fact, almost all of the killings thus far have been off-page. Rather, this story has panels full of inner monologue, and now that Light and L are in the same room for some of it, we get to witness their mental game of chess and read about every scenario they can imagine before they act. There is hardly a moment of down-time throughout the story - just when you think Light is going to get a little bit of a breather from L, another Kira shows up and throws everything into full gear yet again. But, because of all the internal monologue, the main storyline moves a little bit slower than some readers might be accustomed to. This is definitely for readers who enjoy intense stories that are methodical.

The conflicts Eliza goes through, as well as the social pressures Marjorie feels, are similar to the struggles many middle school students go through.  Eliza's struggle will hopefully encourage others to reach out for help, or to help others who might be going through some difficult times.  These heavy topics are mixed with a dose of friendly paranormal activity to lighten the mood in what would otherwise be a thoroughly sad story.

This is an interesting food manga, perhaps for those places where students want Food Wars. As Dungeons and Dragons is gaining renewed popularity, this would be a good one to have on hand for students looking for something that would tie into their campaigns. I appreciated the stat bonuses after each meal so readers can know just how beneficial each meal was for the adventurers. The story itself is your basic level-grinding adventure that is common in Isekai stories or lots of other dungeon crawlers, but the main way this one stands out is in its attention to the culinary aspects of dungeon adventures. In this, it is pretty thorough, and readers will see lots of different cooking techniques that just might get them interested in cooking in real life. Hand this one to the kid D&D campaigns who is always cooking for the party, or even the dungeon master themself.

This is another fun installment and definitely not a story to read while hungry. All the food resembles real food enough that it’s easy to think of what it could taste like, and some of it sounds pretty delicious. I also enjoyed that there was more to this volume than just the food. We get a little bit more info about Senshi and his innovativeness, as well as some heartbreak for him. Reading about the orcs was also pretty interesting since they have their own society within the dungeon, and they aren't all mindless monsters. On the third floor, there was a tavern/rest area type place, and I couldn't help but wonder how they got their supplies down that far for people to enjoy fresh food and drink.

While the appeal of this title has been the dungeon crawl and the meals the party consumes, it was refreshing and appreciated to have a trip down memory lane with Marcille and have a different narrative tenor come into the story. I hope to find out more about each character as the volumes progress. Laios also provides some wonderful comic relief with his singularly focused goal of trying all the monsters because it crosses with his low intelligence and gets him in some hot water in a hilarious way sometimes. There were still plenty of food-manga moments in this volume to satisfy those who like this series for that humor, so I appreciate when there is balance of world and character building to the series' signature cheekiness.

In this volume, the narrative style shifts in a good way. The charm of the series has been about the characters going through their adventure, both in the dungeon and culinarily, but now we are getting into a full adventure story with complicated characters and starting to see more of what motivates each of these folks other than reviving their fallen party member. There is a lot less humor in this volume and hardly any culinary exploits, so some readers might be disappointed in the shift, but I don't think Kui is abandoning those things all together. There were some necessary plot points and background pieces that had to be delivered in order to progress the overall storyline, and I appreciated every moment of it. I hope future volumes can be a little more balanced and there can be a hint of the trademark humor that makes this series so beloved, but I'm also understanding of how needed all of this volume was as well.

The story building behind just eating monsters is getting more intense and more interesting as volumes go on. Kabru starts sowing doubts about Laios and Falin being the most upstanding characters, so either this is from other people’s perspectives, or all is not right in the world of our protagonists. Chilchuck is staring to also have some depth and show feelings other than greed. There are quite a few other characters in this volume that haven’t popped up in quite some time, so we’re getting to the point where a character tree in the front of the book would be helpful. Some of these adventuring parties are getting quite large.

As with all secrets in manga, this one didn’t take too long to get out there. Laios is a trusting idiot who tells probably the one person he shouldn’t have what happened, and now Kabru, the busy-body loud mouth, knows and is going to tell a bunch of folks as well. This can’t end well for our hero party! Chilchuck also turns real quick from his convictions of last volume where he said he didn’t want to venture deeper, but seeing what’s happened has changed his plan and he’s ready to go deeper.

This volume has a lot of story packed into it with the development of our big bad and the drop of Senshi’s origin all in one, as well as a bit of a throwaway of Chilchick’s that he sneaks in as a way to get Senshi to open up about his. Senshi’s backstory is a payoff worth the wait as Chilchuck does a bit of deduction that turns out to be pretty accurate and whets the appetite for the full story. We are also slowly getting to know about Izutsumi through intrusive thoughts that she declines to share with her party, but they endear her to the reader.

There wasn’t as much forward progress in the storyline in this volume because of the silliness of the changeling mushrooms, but seeing all of the characters in different races brought the humor of the earlier volumes back to the forefront. This levity was needed as we have been getting some darker bits over the past few volumes. It was satisfying to see the expansion on Chilchuck’s past with his family after the throwaway line from the previous volume. Kabru also gets some development and depth when we learn about his past in his plea to the elves, which I appreciated.

This volume did some really fabulous work in sowing seeds of mistrust between Laios’ party and the Canaries, and now I, as a reader, have no idea who is actually on the correct path anymore. Kui has taken an unassuming food and adventure story and created lots of paths of doubt and disbelief, keeping the reader hooked and guessing all the while. At this point, we're at a sort of "Schrödinger's" plot point where both groups of characters could be on the correct path, so readers could be torn as to who to believe and who to root for moving forward.

This was a satisfying volume that really dove into the creation of the dungeon itself and how Sissel became distorted in his role (it still doesn’t clear up an earlier misconception about the party believing Sissel was female, but oh well). A lot of lingering questions were answered, and there was also ample time given to understand an humanize Sissel's struggle. Based on what happened in previous volumes, I’m still mistrusting of the dungeon itself and scared for how this is going to impact Laios, but I'm an optimistic reader and hope that everything will work out in the end for Laios and Falin.

This was a very intense volume with a lot of payoffs from the whole series coming together, so there wasn’t as much humor or food and recipe stuff going on in this one. Readers might be a bit frustrated in having all the information and knowing now how it’s all fitting together but the characters won't know all the pieces. Kui has done a fantastic job of building that reader suspense and getting us to a place where we have to keep reading to see if our predictions are going to be correct and if our favorite people are going to end up OK in the end.

This is a very intense volume with a lot of fighting and a bit of back and forth between all the different parties, but it's also nice to see how all of the different factions involved up until now feel about Laios. Kui is starting to tidy up storylines as we can tell the story is coming to an end. Even minor characters who haven't been around since volume one make an appearance again (and with a bit of background in case you've completely forgotten them, which is a nice touch). I can't say too much without giving away major spoilers, but this volume has some satisfying payouts for careful readers and a few conclusions to arcs that have been building for the last few volumes. Readers are going to feel the ending coming, which is always bittersweet.

The stakes in this volume are extremely high, but Kui still manages to make a decent portion of the story about food and sustenance. Despite knowing about the origin of the Golden Kingdom and Sissel, we now get to learn about the Winged Lion and the origins of magic in this world, which is fascinating and satisfying. Kui ties the Lion's backstory back to the central themes of the entire series in a wonderful way. At the end of this volume, it seems like all of Laios' plans are not going well, so readers are really going to want that final volume to get some closure to this great series.

This was a fitting conclusion to the series. Things that I wanted to happen did, and the curse on Laios ended up being pretty fitting in the end. There was a little bit of rushing through the epilogue. Most character arcs were given a satisfactory ending, but not everything was given sufficient panel space to feel complete or explored. Regardless, the ending encourages re-reads because the series is short, and knowing the conclusion makes me want to read from the beginning with my insight. This series is engaging, beautifully illustrated, full of heart, and has plenty of fodder for curricular tie-ins for school libraries.

This story has a really classic feel, both in art quality and plot. The illustrations are less polished than most manga around, but it adds an element of grittiness to the story, giving it more seriousness without the heightened age rating.  While the trope of hunting demons is pervasive in shonen manga, Tanjiro is certainly a character readers can sympathize with and root for.

There is quite a bit of blood in this volume, but the rough way this is drawn makes it so that what we see isn’t super gory. The narration is slightly choppy and flashbacks aren’t made apparent like normal manga (which usually incorporates a black gutter to indicate flashbacks).  I'd like to see more character development for Tanjiro and for his supporting characters.  So far, the characters around Tanjiro are there to move the plot along.  We get a little bit of development of the two demon-doctors, so I am hoping that we can get more in the next volume.

Something that became very apparent in this volume is that the magic/special abilities in this world hasn’t really been fully explained. Tanjiro has control over water, but it doesn’t seem to project from him - it’s all about breathing and can help control and give strength to his swing of his demon slayer katana. This volume has Tanjiro using quite a few of his different “forms” in the battle with the major demon inside the house. At that point, he has broken ribs, so his breathing is especially important. The way Tanjiro talks to himself during battles is one of the things that endears him to readers, and this volume is full of inner monologue. Zenitsu is a “love-him-or-hate-him” kind of character. At first, I thought he was extremely annoying, but the ending of this volume turned that all around, and he’s actually a pretty interesting character.

Something I appreciate, and may contribute to this seres' popularity, is how different all of the slayers really are that we've met so far. Tanjiro is noble, Zenitsu is a coward but can be extremely powerful, and now we have Inosuke, who seems fairly crazy but makes everything a little more interesting with his hot-headedness. There is someone here for everyone to get behind and root for. There is a bit of a shift in volume four, however. Until this point, the main reason to caution buying this title for younger audiences was the amount of blood and violence against demons. This volume adds creepy spiders and some mildly shocking violence against people. Several other slayers get caught up in the spider webs and have their bones broken from being moved in ways a human body cannot move, and there are quite a few human deaths in this volume.

If Zenitsu is your favorite character, this volume is going to be disappointing; he’s not in this one at all. However, we do get some other great things in this volume. Tanjiro takes us on a trip down memory lane as he recalls his father, some of the lessons he imparted on Tanjiro, and where the earrings Tanjiro wears comes from. One of the endearing things about this series is the balance of action and character development. This arc, known as the Natagumo Mountain Arc, is a little bit long because Gotouge mixes in different side stories or these moments of flashbacks that make the series rich and textured.

This volume has been pitched to me as “filler” in between two very dynamic story arcs, but I found it very fascinating and helpful to get some of this insight into the two warring societies. The "elements" Gotuge uses as the specialties for the types of Hashira are really interesting and non-traditional, so I'm excited to see how all of these different techniques work during battle sequences. There is a lot of light-hearted comedy as Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu train and recover their strength, and there we some bits of Zenitu’s horn dog self that come out as they train with girls.

This is the beginning of the lauded Mugen Train arc, which is the storyline of the movie that came out in 2021 and made a boatload of money, so students are really keen on reading this volume and volume eight. I enjoyed seeing each of the dreams of the slayers had because it was a different way to provide character development. Not all the dreams are happy - Rengoku relives the moment he told his father he obtained Hashira status to his father’s indifference, which was a clever way to give us Rengoku's backstory and still have it be something driving the plot forward.

This is the volume everyone has told me to get as it has the most payoff, and I can see why. There is a frenetic energy in this volume, and the emotional stakes are very high. Gotouge showcases other characters, especually Rengoku, the Flame Hashira, and there is a lot of great characterization and backstory sprinkled in throughout the fighting to keep the pace moving quickly. We also got a fair bit of insight into the workings of Kibutsuji's demon world, which really upped the stakes on just what the Demon Slayer Corpse is fighting against. The volume gave the biggest insight into Tanjiro's Hanafuda earrings and the power of his family, so readers are definitely going to be happy for a payoff of something that calls back to the first volume of the series.

As Tanjiro fights in this volume, he is starting to move away from his water breathing that has served him well for the last eight volumes, so it's interesting to see him developing his own method but also coming into his own with a unique style that may make him stronger in the long run. As they have with previous volumes, Gotouge has mixed some comedy with the seriousness of the storyline - none of the main three are convincing as ladies and their makeup is especially laughable to really play up how difficult it is for them to slip into these under-cover roles. After the tragedy of the previous volume, this change of pace may seem out of place, but this volume does reference to the seriousness of what happened in volume eight while still moving the overall storyline forward, and readers will appreciate what Gotouge does with all of it.

For the battle-manga fans out there, this series has become pretty much all battle, all the time. There are some moments where we get some insights, or some explanations or memories, of what is happening in the bodies of our Slayers or demons as they are evolving, but the pages are mostly full of beautifully drawn battle sequences and different sword or breathing techniques. I am enjoying seeing the evolution of Tanjiro - it's always nice to see a progression of a main character and not have them just be overpowered from the beginning. In this volume, we get to see him struggle a bit and have consequences of pushing himself too hard, too quickly. But, just like other volumes, the Slayers constantly work together and support each other.

This whole volume is, once again, all battle. There is a touching moment where we get Gyutaro and Daki’s backstory, and it's tragic, of course, because no one's backstory in Demon Slayer is anything but tragic. Gotouge is a master at creating backstories that make you feel something for characters even if they are demons that eat humans. There's also some splashes of cuteness with Nezuko and Tanjiro when Nezuko gives Tanjiro a piggy-back ride and she’s in her smaller state, so it's pretty adorable and slightly comical.

After many volumes of solid fighting, it's nice to have a bit of repireve and get a volume dedicated to building some more of the world. Gotouge clearly knows how to build characters, as we have had plenty of that mixed in with all of the fighting, but I have been very interested in knowing more about the Demon Slayer society behind all of these creatures running around. I hope to see and learn more about the sword smith society itself because, although we are in their village, this volume still focused mostly on the slayers and the Hashira that are in the village presently. There is some fan service in this volume as Kanr

We are back to wall-to-wall fighting in this volume after having a bit of a reprieve in volume 12, so readers who missed the action don't have to wait long to get back into it. There are several battles to go between in this one, and new fighters and fighting styles to keep the pacing fresh. Gotouge continues the pattern of mixing backstory with battles, so we do learn about our new characters, both demon and slayer, as they are battling one another. Fans of Nezuko will also be rewarded in this volume as she finally gets to engage in a bit more battling with her powered-up form we saw in featured on the cover of volume 11, and she stays in this form for the entirety of the volume. However, this more voluptuous form also sparks controversy as part of the only fan-service in the series next to the Love Hashira.

Gotouge continues the formula of breaking battles with backstories but brings some stereotype-questioning into this one with Kanroji. A hashira who has been bullied for not being feminine enough who also exudes feminine energy -- definitely sounds like a struggle that will resonate with some of our readers! Gotouge also loves to bring familial struggles into the backstories of slayers, and the Mist Hashira is another example of some family trauma that fueled a desire to become a demon slayer.

As a Nezuko fan, this volume had some wonderful payoff for me. I am so glad to see that she is given importance and weight. Tanjiro also gets some power up in this volume with the Hashira training, and he finally gets an amazing sword that will hopefully last and he won't break. Gotouge continues all the wonderful character development, this time with Giyu, who readers have been waiting to learn about since volume one. This has definitely been a slow burn that results in a satisfying payoff.

To me, this seemed early to start the "final battle" as there are twenty three volumes in the series, so this is going to be a long end-game with what promises to be a lot of action sequences for the next eight volumes. I'm not convinced that Tanjiro has done enough training to pull off a win against Muzan, so I wonder if this is going to be a Harry Potter situation where Tanjiro's friends and luck is going to get him through a difficult fight. The Hashira death in this volume was the most heartbreaking for me so far, so I appreciate the emotional build up Gotouge has created throughout the series and into this volume.

While I was emotionally upset from the previous volume and the deaths in the first round of fighting in the Infinity Castle, this volume shed some light via flashbacks, and there is some tremendous emotional payoff. There is also some resolution for folks who may still be harboring some emotional scarring from fights way back in volumes eight and nine. This volume did a lot to assuage my fears for Tanjiro's training as he mostly keeps up with Giyu, a Hashira. I am also starting to have an appreciation for Tanjiro's special form of breathing, even though the explanation of how he's learning it is a little wonky.

Even though readers probably hate Akaza at this point, Gotouge is, of course, going to make us all care about him with a flashback and building up his backstory in the middle of an intense fight. The same goes for Doma in his fight, and we are finally going to get some more information about Inosuke's backstory, eighteen volumes in! If that all wasn't enough, we're also getting a new technique and fighting style this late into the series, and it's a fascinating way to tie everything together that Tanjiro has learned to this point. This volume may need a content warning: there is mention of suicide and we do see a person hanging from a noose in the shadows.

The ending of the fight with Kanao and Inosuke was heartbreaking and beautiful, and a perfect end to the storyline of Shinobu's revenge, in my opinion. That was a payoff of several volumes of buildup, and shows how masterfully Gotouge can weave a battle for multiple stages. With the Upper Rank Demon #1, it was hard for me to conceive how a demon could be more powerful than the ones before him but yet not as powerful as Kibutsuji, but Gotouge did it by having a demon with breathing techniques.

Kokushibo's backstory ties several histories together, and it's fun to see the tapestry Gotouge has been weaving become a beautiful picture all together. This volume is another one adding to the extensive body count from this final fight, and I have to ask if this frontal assault was worth the heavy casualties. But if there was ever a series that disrespected and argued against plot armor, this is it! Humans fighting against supernaturally stronger beings should arguably have more casualties, and this story honors that power dynamic in a way other battle shōnen do not.

True to the formula, we must slip away during an intense battle and relive something of the past. This time, we've already seen the backstories of all the Hashira and demons involved, so I was wondering who's story we would see. Even after all of the character deaths we've seen throughout this series, there are still some emotional moments in this volume that somehow still deliver gut punches. The fighting remains intense and beautifully illustrated when we're not going down memory lane with Tanjiro, Learning about Yoriichi's life was also fascinating, so I really appreciated this inherited memory.

This was a very satisfying ending to a major build-up of fighting that happened over the last eight volumes. While this series was immensely popular and successful, Gotouge didn't try to stretch this out or prolong the battles for the sake of making more volumes - the final fight seemed a little bit long at times, but it also went by very quickly considering how many characters were in this large cast. There was more world to explore in this universe, and probably more development Tanjiro could have sustained before going against the big-bad, but there's also something satisfying for Tanjiro learning everything as it was needed and immediately being able to use it against the most powerful demons he's ever faced. While the hype is settling over this series, this is a story that is going to be powerful and impactful for years to come.

Choosing to set this series in the 90s was definitely interesting and will appeal to original fans of the game who will be along for the nostalgia. For current players, this is a chance to learn a bit of history and peak at what playing Magic used to be like. For people who have never played before, don’t worry. There are plenty of explainers and help text to guide you through so your can understand what the characters are saying as they play their matches. And there is plenty in this story besides playing Magic to appeal to manga readers. Volume one hints at a friendship and possibly a romance between our two leading characters.

There is an entire connected curriculum for the Digital Lizards of Doom universe that has been piloted in several schools, and has been met with initial success amongst elementary students. The curriculum includes prompts for reading questions, writing, and stoking students' curiosity. There are also connected activity pages, but some teachers have used these more as inspiration for creating their own materials. Check out their website for more information and to hear success stories.

This truly is a wacky adventure with tons of silliness that is bound to make kids laugh and giggle. There are some fun one-liners that bring internet culture in and are definitely references for the adults to enjoy (like the throwback to “I’m not you buddy, pal!”). The illustrations in this volume add more comics-style paneling into the mix, and there are some clever reasons given for why the illustration style changes (someone switched the graphics card on Pineapple Pete!). The fidelity to the bit (video games) is admirable and will encourage re-reads to pick up on all the little Easter eggs. This volume has a little sophomore slump in managing two plotlines between Dizzy's crew and Commander E.K.O. where the first volume kept the pace exhilarating throughout, but younger readers likely won't notice.

There is a lot to love about this well-researched, balanced story that brings together modern zoology with archaeology. There is definitely strong appeal for any readers who grew up with a fascination with dinosaurs, which is probably quite a lot of us. This story will definitely appeal to readers who grew up fascinated with dinosaurs, which is probably quite a few. Kinoshita balances the dino facts with some compelling human characters, though Suzume comes across as a little naive in this first volume. Hopefully, she gets a little more page time to develop later on. Each chapter ends with an article from Shin-ichi Fujiwara, an actual paleontologist who was the research consultant for the series, so there are plenty of tidbits and facts throughout to add interesting educational content through modern science and dinosaur information.

This volume gives a lot of characterization to Kaidou and insight into why he’s the grizzled grump that he is today. Suzume also got to do some maturing in this volume and didn’t get to succeed in everything, unlike volume one where her sparkly new ideas worked most of the time. We also got to see one of the most popular and ubiquitous dinos early into the series, but Kinoshita peppers in some lesser-known types and giving us fun facts with Fujiwara-san's guidance. This series has a great way of balancing out dinosaurs we already most likely know and love with dinos we've probably not heard about but totally want to know more about.

It’s nice to get more information about other keepers while learning more about dinosaurs at the same time. The new department head is very different from Kaidou, and he seems perfectly suited to oversee the types of dinosaurs he’s looking after. Kaidou has the perfect grumpy-but-cautious attitude for the dangerous carnivores, while Igarashi has a little more laid back, but still serious attitude that fits in with the more mellow stegosaurus and other dinos in his department.

This volume takes a bit of a departure from the others by injecting a bit of mystery and getting us outside of the dinosaur sanctuary. We get to see a little bit more of the surrounding area, which is Japan but is still a little bit different than real-life Japan owing to that Science has been allowed to do certain things in line with Jurassic Park. Suzume does shine when given a task like this, and her working with Kaidou makes me hopeful that she gets placed in his department at the end of her rotations!

This series was originally released by TOKYOPOP, but this version was re-released by ABDO in sturdy, library-bound hardcovers. The covers for these are reinforced and UV coated, providing extra protection for younger readers who are especially hard on books. These are very durable and should last longer that traditional paperback editions.

This book would be a great parallel read to George Takei's They Called Us Enemy because of the subject matter, but also be Kiku's journey follows the same path as George's - Tanforan to Topaz, Utah. While Takei's book came out as the camps at the U.S. border were being established, and thus didn't get to draw any comparisons, Displacement doesn't shy away from the opportunity to show the immigrant camps, and even sprinkles in throughout the book some of the rhetoric used by the Trump administration that echoes rhetoric used during World War II with Japanese Americans.

The teasing in this book often crosses the line into bullying, and Nagatoro even asks her self in the chapter breaks if she's gone too (although, chapter breaks are often character breaks and/or the mangaka giving some of their own thoughts). Some have pointed out nanashi's use of fonts and that Nagatoro often has Senpai's font, indicating that it might be a reflection of what's happening in his mind, rather than what Nagatoro is actually doing to him. However, this theory is yet unbacked by the mangaka, and it seems to me like a way of excusing bullying. There are also a few instances of non-consensual touching from Nagatoro to Senpai, and that's a big problem for me as a reader and as an educator. Some readers might feel like this is all in good fun, and I've heard the later volumes mellow out the bullying quite a lot, but I don't know that I found enough redeeming about this volume to continue on.

This story, while it involves magic and sorcerers and curses, is anything but a childhood fairytale. Caiman is a serious guy when it comes to killing sorcerers, and he’s definitely not shy about making them suffer as he extracts information out of them. The sorcerers are unfeeling about their victims, claiming that since they live in The Hole, their lives are already terrible, and they are there for being experimented on. Caiman does have a fondness for gyoza that gives the story a lighthearted break every now and then. While the premise and world built up in the first volume is interesting, there is some pretty excessive violence and gore that didn't jive with me (probably part of the point though).

As a library person, I appreciate that the mangaka's sources are cited in the front of the book. There are lots of science references throughout as Senku explains his process, but the science isn't so over-the-top or in-your-face as to be annoying -- it's simply part of the story.  Taiju acts as the audience surrogate by asking all the questions and giving Senku a chance to explain what he's working on. The only bothersome thing is the “big oaf” nickname Senku calls Taiju all the time, which is probably something lost in translation. This story is very fast pace and intriguing. Boichi's art style has a lot of think black lines, which is more reminiscent of comic art than manga. Nevertheless, the art style is beautiful, and action sequences are very clear and wonderful. The change in illustrated faces from normal to freak out is comical and very enjoyable.

This story gives a needed glimpse into the background of Senku.  Volume one focused much more on Taiju and his potential relationship with Yuzuriha, and Senku played a supporting character roll. I think Senku's dreams will definitely resonate with young readers, and it's important that they see being an astronaut requires a lot of commitment from them, even as children.  And, if there was any doubt about the role Science plays in this series, volume two dispels them.  I'm not an expert in Science by any means, but some basic Googling confirms that the formulas and components of reactions are correct, but the quickness of reactions themselves are exaggerated (which makes sense - would we be entertained watching characters sit around for pages waiting for something to happen?).  The interesting storyline coupled with this inclusion of Science makes this a no-brainer purchase for school libraries.

There are a lot more scientific reactions in this volume as Senku has to go through so much to make antibiotics in this stone age.  This volume is slightly frustrating with all of its fetch quests.  Senku draws out this map to get to the making of penicillin through sulfonamides, rather than through living organisms, so achieving all the steps in this chart is going to take a while.  It's highly unlikely he will get through all of this before Tsukasa finds him, but hopefully Senku's new friends will help with battling the extra-strong Tsukasa. Also, Senku banking on the assumption that an antibiotic is what’s going to help Ruri when he hasn't been allowed to examine her. This entire thing might be a waste if it doesn't help her, but the "magic" of needing to move a plot along has me inclined to Senku's guess panning out for him after all of this.

The beginning of the Dragonball universe is not at all the fighting series that became enshrined in pop culture. This story is whimsical and clearly made week-to-week. The first two parts of the 3-in-1 serve more like a prologue to the rest of the story, and it feels like the real adventure doesn’t begin until Goku starts his training with Muten Rōshi. This series also has a lot of bawdy humor with lewd jokes, innuendos, and no shortage of lecherous old men.There are quite a few instances of nudity throughout - Goku is a small child and drawn without great detail when he drops trou, but Bulma is topless and pantsless a few times and is a fully developed (though still cartoony) young woman. The moments are all treated as punchlines, so audiences (and collection developers) should remember that culturally, because nudity is not shameful in Japan, the humorous effects hits differently than when the manga gets exported.

The tournament was fun and the ending was satisfying, including watching the kids get their moral lessons out of it. The Red Ribbon Army is very much the quintessential 80s band of bad guys: the balled fists of fury, the energy of exacerbation at being stumped by so lowly a protagonist, the exaggeration of how much they should be winning but confused by how they are thwarted at every step, all that good stuff. I almost wanted to end every Goku-winning-scenario with an "I'll get you next time, Gadget - er, Goku!" Some of the issues from the first volume are downplayed or absent all together by this volume as Goku sets off on his own adventure, and he's his naivety and the problems that came with it are not as prevalent.

After sixteen volumes of bawdy humor and tournament fighting, plus fetch quests and training in martial arts, not to mention Goku being descended from a monkey, Toriyama flips the narrative on its head by changing Goku’s origin story. Holy Ret-con batman! As much as Dragon Ball was about fighting, Dragon Ball Z takes the fighting and turns it up to 11 by introducing increasingly more powerful foes for Goku to fight, and higher stakes for him to overcome. DBZ is also quintessentially what people think of when they think of Dragon Ball. While some of the charm and mythos of the overall story is lost, as well as the historical fights, from starting with what is essentially volume 17, there is a bit of a soft reset on the series where Toriyama allows for new readers to join in the fun and put behind them some of the humor that doesn't stand the test of time.

There is a lot going on in this first volume with tons of characters and plenty of escapades for Dai, so readers are sure to be hooked from the opening panels. Dai and his monster friends are super cute and pretty compelling from the beginning, so it's easy to care about them and what is going on with this isolated island. This is a little bit longer and larger volume that might deter some younger readers used to smaller texts, but chances are, once they get into the adventure, they’ll be flying through the pages without noticing. The chapters themselves are a manageable read, and there are several different adventures packed into one volume, so chunking the reading would also be easy for readers. This would be great for libraries looking for something more age-appropriate but as action-packed as Dragon Ball.

This classic manga feels very inspired by Dragon Ball, but without the bawdy humor that mars some of the earlier volumes of that series. Many of the same tropes exist here - mysterious wise sages come to offer training and advice, and young heroes face insurmountable odds. But Kawamata also shows emotional depth on more than one occasion and reminds readers that Arus is still a young child who grew up without the love of his parents. Kawamata and Fujiwara’s monsters also occasionally have emotional moments as they contemplate their actions and the benefits of blindly following a demon lord’s orders. A mark of a great story is getting lost in its pages and being sad when the volume is over — both of which happened during my reading experience.

The overall feeling of this entire story is very speculative and etherial, and even by the end, there's plenty left to ponder. Kajio doesn't give characters nor the reader many satisfying conclusions, which is part of the appeal of this story. Emanon's story to our protagonist begs the question of who we are to each other, among other philosophical quandaries. This story may not get wide readership with most avid manga fans, but it's a piece of speculative science fiction that deserves a spot in collections where readers are looking for something more cerebral and challenging.

The chapters/essays are very personal, and thus don't really get into discussing what we as society do to folks, or what we need to do to change. This might be a let down for some who are looking for a more philosophical conversation, but Hara is pretty up front about this book being a personal journey. Rather than be a critique on the society that led her to insecurities, this is more about sharing a story and connecting to others who might have similar struggles, and giving them permission to still love themselves despite constant messages that tell them they shouldn't.

There are quite a few fan service moments when the ladies try on clothes and they are frequently drawn with revealing tops, but that isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be based on what I've read about the series. There is some slapstick comedy as Murphy’s Law wrecks havoc on the two ladies, especially if they’re trying to do something actually helpful. The stories are ever so slightly related but mostly seems to be following a bit of the slice-of-life trope.

This moves fairly slowly in the first half (so volume 1), but the payoff at the end of volume 1 is absolutely worth the wait. Sanbe fleshes out even minor characters by providing lots of inner dialogue from many of his main characters. Lots of manga take the perspective of one character, but Sanbe isn’t about to let one character hog the spotlight. There is a lot of exploration into Satoru and what makes him act the way he does, and several characters have some poignant observations that could be commentaries on humans in general. The kid characters are extremely smart and perceptive, even though they're supposed to be eleven years old (but honestly, after my initial questioning of this, I forgot completely and just enjoyed the story).

So far, this series has managed to keep me on my toes. I have no idea who the murderer is in any realm, but I'm rooting for Satoru to come up on top and save everyone. Aside from the revival moments, this story is rooted in reality, and has some moments that could be very disturbing to viewers. This volume, in particular, has scenes of child abuse and a partially obscured dead body of a child. Sanbe treats both subjects with gravity and respect despite the awfulness of the subject matter.

There are a lot of really big moments in this volume as the story starts to come together to a conclusion. The killer is revealed, and it’s the biggest, most jarring moment since the main reveal of Satoru’s power in volume one. While the time jump and the reason for it seem completely plausible given how much of a thorn Satoru has become to the killer, I am a little upset by it and what it means for Satoru. But, unsettling is sort of the name of the game for Erased! There isn’t much space left for the storyline to conclude, so I’m guessing the next volume is going to be packed.

This startling conclusion is not the storyline I ever thought I wanted but it was immensely satisfying. At the end of the last volume with Satoru comes out of his coma, I was immensely dissatisfied that there wasn’t a clean ending to his time revisiting his childhood and that he couldn’t “revive” back to his adult self. However, after reading this volume, I am convinced that my ending would have been utter garbage. There could have been many different ways of ending the story before Satoru became an adult again through coma, but this final gasp of an arc to Satoru’s life was the cherry on top of a fabulous series.

While this volume isn't entirely necessary to the overall plot, it is nice to see how some of these characters continued on while Satoru was in a coma. I'm curious if a reading of this volume in between three and four would offer any more depth to the story, or is it necessary to read volume five first to appreciate these side stories afterwards. It would have been more satisfying if these things were woven into the main storyline, but Sanbe-san explains at the end of volume four that it was the story he didn't know he needed to tell. Nonetheless, it was fulfilling and a good read, but an interesting way to end a series that was otherwise fantastic.

This is a super fast-paced book, sometimes to its detriment. The beginning is beautiful and pauses in its moments of heartbreak to let the reader feel the gravity of the moment. After that, there is a ramp-up in the pacing leading to a hugely hurried ending that sets up nicely for a volume two, but may leave readers out of breath. Some of the time jumps are expertly achieved through Vuong's illustrations - including a calendar page to show the passing of time, or a glass with ice in it and again in the next panel with the ice all melted. There are definitely some elements that will remind readers of Disney films or even The Iron Giant​ if they've seen that classic. There are some wonderful moments in this story that will resonate with readers, but the ending is a little muddied considering how clean the rest of the story is.

Similarly to Horimiya, these two teens find themselves becoming vulnerable and real with someone outside of school, but there's more romance earlier on in this series. Horimiya also seemed a little more grounded, while Otogi and Toki have a little more whimsy to their personalities and fanciful character designs. The expressive character reactions bring in humorous elements and dramatic moments, heightening the comedy of this story.

This adorable book reads like a picture book with very scarce text outside of text boxes, and there are ridiculously cute illustrations of cats doing all sorts of fun activities. Occasionally, there’s a precious little puppy or other animals thrown in, but everything is fluffy and fuzzy. This is a lot longer than a traditional picture book, but it’s broken up in sections between the traveling section and the food section where there is a distinctive shift in narrative style. When Mufosand is sharing favorite dishes, it’s not really a story anymore. The traveling chapters are still short and manageable for younger readers, but it might be good to chunk this up and take chapter breaks.

There are many villainess and rebirth stories right now, but this one is interesting because it plays up the family dynamic between the. main character and her father more so than other titles. There's a good father-daughter relationship in The Abandoned Empress, but in this first volume, romance isn't as much on Juvelian's mind, so she's trying to focus on staying in her father's good graces and being societally irrelevant more than anything. Don't worry, there's some hints at a romantic love interest already and some other intrigue happening that won't let Juvelian fade to the shadows like she wants. There are some really beautiful color illustrations as showcased on this cover. Court dresses and lovely scenery abound on every page, and the men's outfits are just as beautiful.

It would be tempting not to include this book because of these difficult topics and the fear of what they might bring, but censoring a story as raw and real as this, with situations our students are unfortunately facing or have faced in their lives, means we would be telling them that their entire lives are not appropriate. This book makes us uncomfortable, and it's meant to. Gill's ending message is that he has done all the fighting and suffering so that his kids won't have to. If we shy away from the topics of this book, we may not be able to break the cycles that continue to subject children to this type of violence.

What a way to begin a series. Tension was immediately created from the first chapter with establishing a dark atmosphere and deception with Lady Bale. Camellia is forced into living a lie and the reader is along for this impossible life, waiting for the moment when everyone finds out the truth. There's a clear romantic interest set up as well, tantalizing readers for the reveal in that situation as well. The illustrations in this story are also very interesting. There are a lot of really beautiful panels drawn from interesting perspective that heighten tensions or show unique moments that I truly appreciated throughout the story.

Get ready to suspend some disbelief a little further because it’s not extremely clear why all of these gents want Camellius other than he’s pretty and they seem a little bored. Wade and Claude make it a bit of a competition, but Ian comes a bit out of nowhere with his obsession of Camellia/us based on what Kieran has conveyed of his sibling. Regardless, the romantic tension and build up hits differently in this series because many of the leads believe they are chasing a male, so this might scratch a little bit of an itch for BL readership as well as shōjo fans. The art is exceptionally beautiful with gorgeous coloring.

While we didn’t get much forward progress in the storyline in this volume, we did get to see Camellius dress as a woman, which compounded many of the male figures complexes and feelings for Camellius. We also learned Ian’s intentions. Camellia was put in a terrifying situation with a potential predator and only Claude saw the danger despite repeated warnings. Our lead character also got a few opportunities to stand up for themselves, which was gratifying. The many layers of Camellia switching gender via clothing aligns beautifully with the many switches in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, which would provide an interesting opportunity for readalikes.

This story was really compelling and enjoyable, particularly the use of the trope of the mentally unstable love interest (possibly "kichidere" or even "yandere"). The mental gymnastics and sparring that went back and forth between Satoko and Shinpei was an entertaining game of chicken that will either aggravate readers or have them giggling. There is one moment of attempted sexual assault when Satoko's captors threaten her before Shinpei steps in. Between that an some of the tėte-a-tėte, this might be better for older romance readers.

The tension mounts between Satoko and Shinpei as he falls more in love with her and she denies her growing attraction and reliance on him. Even though Shinpei is a very strange person, we learn about some of his redeeming qualities as his character is developed more in this volume. There is another attempted sexual assault on Satoko in this volume as she continues to be put in questionable situations.

This widely popular series in Japan is getting another localization in America (third time's a charm?), and it could be come the next Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Fist is very obviously from the 80s when many writers were exploring the possibilities of nuclear fall-out. There are some definite post-apocalyptic problems like others in the genre, like where are they getting all the fuel for their motorbikes? How is everyone so jacked when food is so scarce? But all of that really doesn't matter when you really get into the story and the action it contains. There is plenty of blood and guts for the voracious action readers and just enough of a storyline to be entertaining. The first volume ends in sort of a weird place, so readers will want the second one pretty quickly.

This story felt very incomplete, and might be more appealing to readers who are familiar with the original novel. This adaptation feels rushed and gives the basic information needed to get through the story, but doesn’t have much else. I kept thinking that there was another book before this that I was missing, especially because it felt like I was already supposed to know everything about the incident with Michael, Charlie's whole backstory, and what the significance of Freddy's was in the first place. There were moments between characters that were very shallow and felt unnecessary, leading me to believe there were probably chapters devoted to this in the book that weren't fully explored here.

Hata continues to hint that there is something different about Tsukasa, but we are nowhere near understanding what that is. The mystery, plus the absolute adorable nature of this story, is really keeping me entertained. Tsukasa and Nasa continue to have cute moments where both are blushing uncontrollably. They are starting to become more comfortable with each other as a couple, but that extends to hand holding and kissing at the moment. While Nasa may have thoughts of consummating the marriage, he gets far too nervous just kissing her or holding her as she sleeps to really get too far.

These two are still ridiculously cute, but Nasa does have thoughts every once in a while about getting fresh with Tsukasa, and that occasionally has an effect on him physically that he has to hide. The daughter who runs the bathhouse has a knack for catching Nasa at the worst time when he's having these moments or doing something that could be construed as pervy. There are a couple of shots that accentuate portions of Tsukasa’s body (specifically her butt and boobs, fully clothed though) as Nasa thinks about her wearing the underthings she picks out. We still have no clue about Tsukasa's secret, but this volume provides a small tidbit as she reads texts from a really old book in the study of Nasa's father. Hata seems more focused on building the relationship between Tsukasa and Nasa, and he lays these little hints in each volume to remind you that Tsukasa is not a normal girl. I can't wait to figure out what her secret is!

At this point, I’ve given up on finding out what is different about Tsukasa. It’s clear she’s really old and potentially ageless, but other than that, there haven’t been many clues. Tsukasa prefers the older, classic games, and believes the Sega Genesis to be one of the greatest consoles. Between Tsukasa and Aya, girl-gamers will find some validation in a positive portrayal of girls enjoying and being amazing at playing video games without there being any conversation or dialogue about them being girls and it being impossible for them to be actually good at games. Nasa and Tsukasa are also growing more bold with their affection, but it’s still pretty chaste considering they’re a married couple. Their little “adventures” are adorable and, for the most part, pretty wholesome.

Just when I thought this series couldn’t get any cuter, now there’s a kitten named Toast. And Nasa springs into action to take care of the kitten with the same level of savvy that he has for pretty much everything in his life. Nasa is giving a good name to everyone who has lots of practical smarts as an adult, and showing that going to college isn't the only way to gain that knowledge. Nasa's cousin adds another layer of humor on top of Chitose, Tsukasa's outrageous sister. The theme park is “coincidentally" very similar to Disneyland, so anyone who has been one of the Disney properties will appreciate this outing. Seeing the budding relationship of the two teachers was also pretty adorable. Hata just has a way about making everything so sweet.

This is still a very cute series and a pretty wholesome approach to love and getting to know another person, but we’re starting to get into a little more risqué territory with the different places to kiss. Mind you, our two chaste main characters still haven’t gotten the nerve to take clothes off in front of each other, so even the kissing in different places is relatively PG. While the trope of being embarrassed in front of your partner is pretty Japanese, some American readers will probably relate, but others might be frustrated that we're seven volumes in and kissing in public is still the craziest thing these two have done. I'm also slightly wondering if we're ever going to figure out who Tsukasa is. This volume doesn't have any of those little hints that Hata has been dropping to remind us that there's something different about her, so hopefully that hasn't been abandoned.

This is still such a sweet series that I'm starting to think this could be categorized as Iyashikei (manga that has a "healing" effect), because I feel so calm after reading one of these volumes. It's still gnawing at me that there's something different about Tsukasa, especially that it seems she has a very extended lifespan, so how or when we're going to deal with all that is still the biggest mystery of this series. I'm glad there was at least some slight progress with the introduction of Tsukasa's guardian.

This series is technically a shōnen, so it makes the joke of Nasa reading shōjo a little more hilarious. And we've also gotten to another milestone of many shōjo manga - a summer festival with folks in yukatas. Hata is, so far, including a lot of the same hallmarks of a romance story where the couple would be dating rather than married, so it's still clear Nasa and Tsukasa are still getting to know each other and fall more in love with each other. The couple is also getting a little more accustomed to physically showing affection for each other. Nothing lewd happens in panel, but there are moments when Nasa’s head drifts off panel toward parts south of Tsukasa’s neck.

I'm glad we're getting a few more side characters because the horn-dog who Kaname is getting a little bit old. Between Kaname and her sister, there are enough jokes about the newlyweds and cuddling. Nasa's cousin is an interesting foil - he's a bad boy who seems like a Yakuza, but he's also a little clueless, so having him along is fun. The camping trip was a good note to end on, and I hope there are finally some reveals headed our way about Tsukasa's mysterious past.

In this volume, Hata turns slightly away from the Slice of Life format in that all of the chapters have a building storyline. They're still fairly short, and everything is still pretty peaceful and low stakes, but the conversation with Tokiko and Nasa gave another hint towards her identity and the greater mystery we've been teased with the whole series. There seems to be a deeper story that Hata wants to write about this couple, but we haven't seen it yet.

I think we're finally getting close! Twelve volumes in is quite the long time for a payoff! But Hata has built up this storyline with a satisfying slow-burn, and spent so many volumes just showing the couple play house that readers (and myself) were satisfied not knowing Tsukasa's deep secret, but with this new, mysterious character and her proximity to Nasa, plus all the other little hints from her family, we've got to be close! That, or Hata is just really, really good at building up our expectations.  But we've definitely shied away from Slice of Life in favor of overall storylines, although the chapters are still very short still as they are in slice of life.

The beginning few chapters of this volume give bigger hints about the deeper story bubbling under the surface on this series. Even Nasa is starting to have some lucid dreams and other important information seep into his subconscious. We’re getting close to something big! But, Hata has to keep stretching it out, so there's plenty of innocuous content throughout the volume to keep this series as a sweet, innocent story about some love-birds.

This volume is a huge departure from the other volumes, and I absolutely adored it! I loved seeing Tsukasa in action with her fighting skills and being able to save Nasa, but I also appreciated the second half of this volume focusing on her as well and her difficulty with matching Nasa in affection. We spent a lot of time with Tsukasa in this volume and in signature Hata form, got some interesting breadcrumbs as to who she is, but also rooted for her as she was vulnerable and super cute with her husband. Hata continues to bate us with adorableness between these two lovebirds while getting us to stick around for something we know is going to be juicy and worth the payoff.

This story is pretty cute and fluffy. The chapters are related, so it’s not quite slice-of-life, but the storytelling feels very much like that genre. The overall story moves a little slowly and lacks some in substance, but that may pick up in later volumes. There are only a few bits of actual magic in this volume, so hopefully we’ll get to see more magic and learn how it works in this universe. I'd also like to see more about how Makoto is going to learn to be a witch. Aside from what she does in her normal school, Makoto doesn't study much magic and we don't see her learn much aside from the one spell Akane gives her.

The storyline is really interesting, with "action" like sequences for when Somo is cooking, and some really interesting characters and an already-present rivalry with Erina.  The inclusion of actual recipes for what Somo is cooking is a really nice touch, and provides a way for fans to connect on another level to the reading.  The artwork is also really beautiful and detailed; the illustrated food looks delicious.

Sanbe likes to have a supernatural element in his stories (like the revival power in Erased), and this story is no different. The bond Senri and Kazuto have elevates this from a normal murder-mystery and gives it that supernatural flare. For those looking for another home run like Erased, this might be a little disappointing. The characters are designed almost exactly like a few characters in Erased, so this might feel like another adventure in that story when it's completely different. Also, Senri is a tormented hero with his backstory and his actions as the book opens (he's engaging in some questionable means of acquiring money), so he might have mixed reception with readers. Some might not connect to him enough to care about him finding the killer, while others might enjoy his dark and twisty parts and become enthralled in his story.

There are so many stories being published right now that focus on the journey to "kill the Demon King" that it was refreshing to have a story that takes place once all of that is over and done with. Frieren’s longer life span allows us to peak into the hard-fought peace that so many adventure stories never delve into. This story has a very slow-burn introduction, and doesn't land on a main plot line until about halfway through, so this might lose some readers who are eager for some action. This would be good to hand to slice-of-life fans who want to break into a fantasy story and need something of a stepping-stone.

While this story started out after the main adventure quest that most stories would use as their main focus, Frieren doesn’t waste too much time getting involved in another quest with new companions. She seems to have learned a few things about valuing human life and respecting those who aren’t as long-lived as she, but she still often acts first and then thinks about how her actions look to those with less understanding than her. She doesn’t often explain her expertise in the moment, but she does open up to Fern and Stark a lot more than she did on her previous adventure with those companions. There is still plenty of reminiscing and connecting this journey to her previous one for Frieren, and the parallels of the previous journey develop a second set of characters for readers to connect to and care about, albeit with a tinge of sadness at their departure from the mortal plane.

This story is perfectly paced and has achieved balance between being laid back and being intense. Much of the characterization and development is still told through flashbacks, and we get a major one in this volume that shows a very young Frieren meeting her human master for the first time, and receiving the initial part of her training. There are still a few flashes to the heroes and their first journey to the North, which really provide depth to a seemingly cold heroine in Frieren. Fern really takes on a lot of Frieren's characteristics while battling, so I would really like to see her become her own fighter and not feel and sounds just like Frieren.

This is a pretty comfy read with some really methodical plot points and a much slower narrative structure than a lot of shōnen. This might deter some readers, but it’s exactly what I’ve continually asked for. So many adventure stories skip over training plot points, but this story includes even the most mundane passage of time. I also continue to enjoy the sprinkled flashbacks that tell us more about Frieren’s first adventure and her companions. Some of the ones in this volume really get at the heart of Himmel's feelings for Frieren as she's finally learning what some of his gestures meant in the present. Learning about her past adventure is becoming a little more heartbreaking with every flashback since we know Frieren has outlived them all.

Since there's a test element to this volume, we get a lot of side characters introduced really quickly, especially since Frieren and Fern are on different teams. Some of the more important side characters also get their backstories explained, and the different motivations everyone has for taking the exam is really interesting. Sadly for Stark fans, he's mostly left out of this volume. Instead, we get to see a lot more magic and learn more about how the magic in the world works. There are some interesting specialties amongst the candidates, some who will most likely cause some issue for Frieren, even with all of her knowledge and power.

There are some higher stakes in this volume, but it overall still manages to have a relaxed air to it all. There are some wonderful magic sequences, just as there was in the previous volume, so these challenges have been a great way for readers to understand how magic works in this world. The story is still peppered with flashbacks where we learn more about Frieren. Since starting the trials, there have been a few more about Frieren as an apprentice and meeting her master, so we're starting to get an idea of what Frieren was like before her studies, and just how much work she's put in to becoming as powerful as she is. As always, Abe's use of flashbacks are perfectly aligned with the main storyline, as we are learning crucial information about Frieren just in time to fear her powerful clone.

We're back to the feel and pace of the story before the trials for the mage test, and back to the silly odd jobs and equally silly spells Frieren gets because of them. This volume was a nice relaxing one after the tense, comparatively battle-heavy previous two. I am happy to see Fern and Stark going somewhere with the cute romantic tension, even if it's for a joke, but the ending of the novel lays some groundwork for the two of them to be possibly a little more than friends for reals. But, I don't anticipate anything anytime soon given the track record of slow, methodical pacing Yamada has had with everything else.

There are some great little jokes in this volume that showcase Yamada's subtle sense of humor, and the punchlines are ones that will resonate with readers who also might play Dungeons and Dragons. The ending arc of this volume sees a return of characters from the Mage First Class volumes, and the team up and ensuing fight not only brought more depth to the demon world but gave some satisfaction to furthering character arcs of these recurring supporting characters. The final chapter had a cameo of Denken, who is one of my favorites from the Mage test volumes, so I'm looking forward to seeing him in the upcoming adventure.

Macht is a truly interesting demon that is distinguished from other demons in this series because of how he approaches and thinks of humans. Macht’s ambivalence is a complete contrast to all the other monsters so far who are trying to conquer and kill as many humans as possible. This demon, though, is content to live in his palace of gold and be left alone. The philosophical conversations they have with him are quite intriguing, and can lead to some further discussion with students who are this far into the series.

Half of this volume is rimmed with black panels, which means it's a flashback, and I enjoyed the trip down memory lane to learn more about the fearsome Macht. We learned a bit about him and Denken in volume 9, and I am glad we got the full story and really saw what a futile effort it was to try and control him as the people of Weiss did in previous volumes. I also like Solitär as a character and like the distinctions in the type of anthological studies between her and Macht. Solitär wants to study why humans do what they do, and Macht wants to focus on the emotions of people, and neither fully understand everything correctly.

This volume offered a satisfying conclusion to the Macht & Weise arc, though Solitär's incessant chattering annoyed as much as it annoyed Frieren. What I missed the most from this volume was the signature flashbacks that gave us insight into Frieren's character and her previous advantures. While we had quite a lot in the previous volume, this volume seemed to be the balance or answer to it with hardly any at all.

Since we've only been able to see Frieren and her original party in flashbacks, this is an exciting opportunity to witness the dynamic in a longer, uninterrupted narrative. Within the flashbacks, we haven't had as much of a chance to get to know Eisen the Dwarf, so has opportunity to have more page time in this volume. As with volume 11, this ended on a huge cliffhanger, so Yamada-san really knows how to bate the readers into desperately needing the next volume.

There is a lot of sneaking and undercover type stuff in this volume. Yamada-sensei takes a moment to remind us that mages are vulnerable, including Frieren, to warriors if they get too close, which is why Stark is so important to the party. This is an important reminder since we have had many fights where Frieren has seemed unstoppable. The cliffhanger at the end of this volume promises some gratifying payoff in volume 14.

While today's readers might not find as much appeal out of a helpless girl surrounded by strong men, this will appeal to your romance readers who crave drama and difficult choices. Seiji is, as far as this volume shows, a good guy, so the struggle between all the different men, from Xi-Lang or Japan, will be bittersweet. The formula for all three series is identical, so I am interested to see what makes this series different than the original. Watase does mention in a letter in the volume that their struggling health will mean volumes will come out less frequently, so this might further frustrate readers who need to know what's going to happen to Suzu next.

This odd couple is pretty hysterical.  Gabriel is reminiscent of many teenagers in many countries - unmotivated, sleeping in late, messy.  Vigne reminds me slightly of Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury) in her unintentional do-goodiness.  This slice-of-life manga is slightly shorter than a normal volume, but the chapters still pack a hilarious punch despite their brevity.  The art style has all of these characters drawn adorably, despite that some of them are inherently good and others, not as much.

The art for this series is extremely unique and really makes this story for me. There are moments that remind me of playing a Borderlands game where everything has very dark outlines and a physics-defying aesthetic, but the characters themselves are styled and drawn with such outlandish expressions and over-exaggerated moves that make them pop off the page. I'm still intrigued by the main storyline and what's happening overall, but I find myself more reading for the art and seeing what amazing piece is coming next.

The art on this series continues to blow me away with beautifully original fight sequences and electric paneling that make every page extremely captivating. Even the most emotionally gripping moments become intense and hyper realized because of the dark lines, disproportionate characters, and distorted movement. All of it flows and works brilliantly to make a unique reading experience that captures punk rock on the page.

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1*, vol 2, vol 3

My favorite thing about this story is the art. Jess Taylor's illustrations are so fluid and beautifully colored that it's easy to get lost in the pages. Taylor's true self is a wonderful balance of sweetness and complimentary colors that it's absolutely understandable why she wouldn't feel comfortable as a boy. The pacing of the story is also extremely well done by Axelrod. The characters are fully fleshed-out with compelling backstories and motivations, including the supporting characters, who are often dumped in these one-off stories. I also enjoyed the play between Kat and Taylor, and how supportive Kat is of Taylor's discoveries. Axelrod strikes an enjoyable balance between this being a journey of self-discovery as well as a love story.

Volume one sets up many questions and introduces a lot of intriguing but haunting characters. The readers know more than Agawa from early on, so we're constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ninomiya expertly creates tension and slowly builds it throughout without fatiguing, and a lot of that is done through the illustrations. ​They're gritty and match the tone of the dark and ominous narrative. This is a long-form horror tale, so don't come looking for a quick resolution to this mystery. This would make a great addition for older teen and adult libraries looking for a more nuanced horror read in a sustained format.

I read this book around a week before writing this review, and I still don't know how to feel about it. On one hand, this somewhat feels like a new take on the magical girl trope with Chloe having to transform and have a special weapon, so I appreciate it for that element because the magical girl trope was a big part of my formative years reading manga. However, there are a lot of problematic moments of fan service and other inappropriateness - Kai continuously says he must be “inside” Chloe for the power to work; Chloe is a “Lolita” and looks like she's a teenager, and that’s part of her appeal to Kai; there are several problematic focal angles that highlight parts of Chloe’s body, often in the middle of action sequences.

This series has won several Eisner awards and, at its core, is about friendship and personal exploration.  There is humor and some British cultural references that students may not get. Obviously there is drug and alcohol use.  The art is cartoony but extremely enjoyable.  The storyline of the first volume really didn't impress me, even though I've had it recommended by several trusted friends.  I didn't gravitate towards either of the three ladies as being someone I could root for or see myself in, so I didn't care as much about what they were going through.  However, since I've heard so many good things, and since it's won awards, I'm going to give it another volume before I completely write-off the series.

At its core, this is a story about gender, but there’s a lot going on here. There are some unpleasant stereotypes employed between Eleanor embodying the "Angry Black lesbian" trope, and that boys are primitive, violent, messy, and smelly. Junebug, a high-energy nonbinary sweetheart, is sprinkled into scenes like seasoning instead of really having any substantive contributions to further the plot, which is a shame because they are one of my favorite characters in this story. Ash and Chloe have some really wonderful conversations about identity and accepting oneself that then carry over to Ash and a few other characters, and this is where the majority of character development is spent. The amount of time and care spent on Ash is wonderful, so I would really have been satisfied with a little bit more time invested in everyone else.

Hatono's self-discovery journey and mission to reinvent herself at a new school is a universal story that will be familiar with many readers. While Light Music Club in this form doesn’t necessarily exist in many North American high schools, English audiences will still connect with Hatono’s struggle of finding a footing at a new school and making connections within a new setting. Hatono's effort to make friends despite her introverted tendencies is very relatable.

This first volume sets up a wonderful romantic storyline but doesn’t sacrifice story development for it. There’s already a bit of romantic tension between Akihito and Haruki for readers to enjoy in the first volume, but the foundations for another in-band romance are definitely set up here. Not as much time and attention is paid to Akihito and Haruki and they are a little bit blended in my head presently, so hopefully future volumes will focus a bit on them and making them distinct. Uenoyama is sort of a typical suave, cold protagonist that is popular in Shōjo and Yaoi, but he’s showing signs already of softening up.

This story is beautiful and heartbreaking, but there a quite a lot of characters and relationships to keep track of. Avid readers and fans of the series have no problems, but this is definitely one of those that might be better consumed in a short time frame instead of spaced out. There are a lot of little details that Kizu weaves throughout the plot that pay off later, so a careful reader is rewarded in this series. There are also a lot of beautiful boys, so readers looking for a tragic but slightly wholesome boys-love series will also be rewarded! Be prepared for the tear-jerkers, though!

This is a decent single-volume pair of love stories that feature many gay main characters and relationships. Nijou, Toomi, and Kasumi are fairly unhappy, tortured young souls, and to some extent, these stories are about them finding some measure of happiness at last. There is a lot of brooding throughout and lots of inner monologues about feelings for other people, both romantically and personally, especially about self-esteem issues like being worthy of being loved. There are a few red flags with the relationship between Nijou and Toomi - Toomi at one point says he likes making and seeing Nijou cry. The biggest problem I had with these stories were the epilogues and the order of the stories. The main stories are first and then the epilogues for each are in the same order, giving it a sort of ABAB approach to storytelling.

This is a wholesome look at a first crush and some of the social pressures, perceived or real, that come from it. There is a slight undertone of non-acceptance if Nakamura came out as gay, but it takes a backseat to the fears Nakamura has of rejection from Hirose, which is a pretty universal feeling. There are a lot of situations that will resonate with readers who have ever had a crush, regardless of the gender, because of the relatable awkwardness that comes from not knowing how to act and/or not give yourself away.

This storyline draws heavily on RPG elements, especially within character development and world building.  As far as the first volume, none of the characters have names - they are identified by their class or job.  Goblin Slayer is sort of a nickname, but we don't know his real name.  The heroes can also have level and earn experience by taking on quests, and there is a main "NPC" character who doles out these quests and tries to warn under-leveled characters not to over-extend themselves.  This is a very mature title, but I have been assured that this volume is the most extreme of the series.  Regardless, I don't think I'll be reading more of this series if I have to buy it.

Much of this title is very intense and hyper-realistic, but grippingly engaging. Sugimoto and Asirpa are a fantastic duo - Asirpa is knowledgable about the natural world, while Sugimoto is exceedingly violent and keenly aware of the twistedness of his fellow man. The premise is slightly absurd, but Noda brings you in with this captivating tale and heartfelt motivation for Sugimoto that you can't help but be swept up immediately and along for the ride. The art is also extremely realistic with exquisitely detailed scenery in large panels and spreads that are beautiful to behold.

I loved the cultural richness of visiting Asirpa's village and learning more about the Ainu people in this volume. Asirpa is a fascinating character and steals most of the scenes she's in despite Sugimoto also being a compelling character. Noda has created some great tension by pitting Sugimoto's need to protect Asirpa against his need of her skills, as I predict he won't last long in the wilderness without her.

Of all the Fujimoto works I've consumed, this one affected me the most. There is an artistic tell to what is being filmed and edited versus what Yuta is seeing in real life, but it might not be obvious why that's important on the first read. Because of Yuta's editing and twists, this book will require re-reads and will either provide more clarity or more questions as to what's real and what's actually Yuta's edited reality. Fujimoto is playing with elements of the fantastique ​genre, which is one of my favorites, so this book really stands out to me in composition and form.

This first volume succeeds in transporting the reader to 1900s England and its society with strict moral codes. Dr. Pepperco leaves breadcrumbs very early on that Alice and Hanako might have a deepening relationship beyond friends or employer/employee, so it's not entirely a shock when the two become very close. However, their infatuation with each other is so sweet and pure that it's refreshing. This will definitely be a slow-burn, however, as by the end of the first volume, Alice makes it very clear that she cannot go down that path again with Hanako as she did with a previous servant, so this will definitely be a relationship that develops over several volumes. This is a beautiful lesbian relationship story that, like the time period, is fairly chaste.

This volume is a never-ending cycle of drinking and nakedness, with some peppering of diving and awkward situations between Iori and his cousins. While lots of ecchi titles focus on the sexualization and fan-servicing of women characters, this title has a lot of naked men (with censor bubbles across their crotch but not butts). One of Iori's cousins is overly sexualized while her sister is probably the most normal person there is in this over-the-top comedy.

This book suffered from adaptors and editors being possibly too close to the original source material, which feels like it is very vast and very difficult to adapt. As someone who hasn’t read anything from this universe, there were a lot of places where the narrative had some severe holes and was difficult to follow. Folks familiar with the TV shows, novels, and other parts of this universe will most likely be able to fill in the missing details, but new readers will likely be questioning why certain elements work the way they do, why characters already come in with weight they didn't earn, and questioning mechanics that weren't explained.

While this series has been really good at revealing information in a slow, intriguing manner, this volume has slowed to a crawl.  We get some information from the military in what has happened and why they're so intent on re-capturing Alice, but there's a lengthy scene of the characters bathing that seems unnecessary.  Yes, they've been crawling around in sewers and whatever else for several days, but the story reveals happening in the bathtub could have happened anywhere.  Alice's indicates that she is 12 years old, while Yukko is 17, and both are exposed from the waste up for most of the chapter. Genda-san is also naked, as public bathing is common in Japan, but his bits are covered with conveniently placed bathroom items. This scene feels a little more sexual than it should,

This is a fun story that asks for you to suspend all disbelief as disparate elements come together in one world - dinosaurs, the Wild West, advanced technology, and magic, to name a few.  I could have used just a touch more world building - what “valley” do they all keep referring to? Is this earth or a different planet? how are there dinosaurs here? As this is volume one, maybe some answers will come out in future volumes.  I'd also like to see how some of how outlaws get their nicknames.  I can assume that "Death" got his name because of how deadly he is, but what about the rest of them? The art is cartoony and brightly colored. The dinosaurs are interesting and seem to be modeled after real creatures, but they hall have different names. The one thing that bugged me is that the girl looks like a chimp, and the only clue as to why is in the publisher's description, a mention of the band Gorillaz.

The main theme of this series seems to be that Volleyball club is intense!  Many of the athletic feats Hinata and Kageyama perform are drawn with much exaggeration and in similar manners to battle manga.  Hinata is about a foot too short to do all the things he wants to, but he has some raw athletic ability, including some impressive speeds and jumping height. Hinata and Kageyama are polar opposites for each other, so there's definitely going to be some tension driving this series as they learn to be teammates together.

This compilation of short stories should really be named “The Misadventures of Hana-Chan,” because she keeps getting into dire situations and has to get out of them by some miracle or through the ingenuity of her friends. There is a lot of surrealism in the storyline and the art, which you can see on the cover with the cat with non-symmetrical eyes, and there are some interesting proportions on the characters. The stories were a little entertaining but mostly, they seem to be an exercise in surrealism. On the surface, these stories could be appealing to younger audiences, but the strangeness and lack of closure to any of the stories might just confuse younger readers.

This starts off with a really non-serious tone, as hit men and former Yakuza mobsters hang out in a bar with a bunch of friendly cats, but that changes after the first chapter. It becomes clear that this is really a dark and twisted tale of murder with a sprinkling of cats now and again. The story is also told very non-linearly, which might be difficult for some readers to follow. The narrative goes back and forth between Onodera's past on the police force, to the present where he's struggling to survive, to just before the story opens when he brings Dandy, Kajita's cat, to the Cat Bar. This one-volume story might be a good bridge between adventurous, true crime manga and cat manga, which can often be very lighthearted and silly.

Bright World is so imaginative and deeply developed through this story, and the summaries only scratch the surface of what's in this volume. Stanley's vibrant colors make this book a wonder to behold. There are a few instances of narrative hiccups where transitions could have been smoother, and I didn't care as much for the two tandem storylines of Bright World and the Mortal Realm happening on the same page, but it was a different way to show progression in each realm. This small choice only slightly detracted from my overall enjoyment of this story. There is also some beautiful representation in this story. Bright World is a beautiful, boldly colored world with heavy Latin folkloric influences. There are several panels of dialogue entirely in Spanish. Fawn/Paola/Amparo is nonbinary, and the topic comes up a few times throughout the story.

Heartbreak Hotel is an example of beautiful, simple illustrations with a very understated but hardworking color palette. Innocente carefully chooses colors specific to each character that matches the emotion and struggle each one is going through and helps transport the reader into their story. The concept of the hotel requires a lot of suspension of disbelief from the readers, but the characters are so sympathetic that it's easy to get engulfed in their struggle and wish for their journey to be healing.

One of the endorsement text on the back from Anime News Network likens this to Cells at Work!, and that is a great comparison. This story fits on the vein of explanation manga that has loads of scientific content and approaches a topic with lots of brevity but accurate dialogue. Most of these chapters are presented in more of a slice-of-life way than Cells as the stories don’t really build on or influence the next chapter, until we get to the last one, where there’s a mighty cliffhanger to encourage readers to reach for that next volume.

This is a pretty silly title, but a lot of the gags are taken from older titles or cartoons like the Looney Tunes or Inspector Gadget as she constantly hints that she's going to get Helck the next time. Vermillion tends to explode with fire emanating from her head when she’s angry, so there’s a running gag that the tower keeps getting shorter every time when she blows off another floor. This gag reminds me a lot of Inside Out. So there are a lot of recycled jokes that might be fresh for some readers, but it seems to me like a lot of borrowed material in place of originality. Most of the characters are pretty forgettable, and not a lot of time is spent with the other demon contestants until the final two chapters. This seems very much like the mangaka had some jokes to get through instead of characters to explore.

The first half of this story had so much promise.  I appreciated the speed at which details of Gabimaru's life were revealed.  Gabimaru and his executioner, Sagiri, are such an interesting pair. But, in what seems like a missed opportunity, we jump from the Shogunate making the deal to, "hey look, we're all already on the island!"  The mangaka is clearly setting up the story to be a type of Hunger Games where murderers are pitted against each other.  So why miss the opportunity to show the adventure of sailing to this supposedly hard to reach place, with potential for murderers to cause other shenanigans? My other major disappointment was that, of the two criminals we meet first on the island, both monologue the exact same evil plan: to eliminate the competition so they can take their time looking for the elixir.  Almost word for word!

This beautiful full color manga for all ages is encouraging and sweet. As the two work through the audition process, a lot of attention is given to idol culture and its impact on Japanese society, but enough explanation is given that young readers will be able to understand the differences between idols and pop stars in North America. There are beautiful illustrations of dancing and singing that are brought to life with a pastel color pallet and vibrant illustration style that make this manga engaging and energetic.

This mostly slice-of-life is sweet and affirming for anyone who has ever felt lost as an adult, had difficulty making friends, or has suffered from anxiety. Nat and Hiroto are both very grounded and relatable characters, and their problems and presented with authenticity and without judgment. The illustration style is a little looser and more relaxed. Much of the narration and exposition is given without text boxes or word balloons, which can present a slight challenge in determining what is Hiroto's inner monologue and what is narration. This might have limited appeal to teen readers since the main characters are both adults, but as the emotional situations Nat and Hiroto experience are not unfamiliar to teens, this might be a good title for social-emotional learning tie-ins.

BOOM lists this as young adult, but I think it could still be appealing to middle grade readers as well. The characters are in high school, but there's nothing too violent or inappropriate that wouldn't be suitable for middle graders.

There is a lot of humor and action throughout this comedy-of-errors story as Arakuni desperately tries to keep his friend safe and ticks off a lot of people around him while doing so. Honeko then sort of becomes the only person who seems to "understand" Arakuni as their class pretends to hate everything he does. There's a little bit of explanation for why Arakuni is good at fighting, but it's pretty thin, and the audience is expected to just go with it. Nigatsu slips in a few unfortunate moments of fan-service with indulgent shots of Honeko's cleavage or underwear, though one is an in-character and awkward moment for Arakuni. Occasionally, Nigatsu's illustrative perspective is a little off and character proportions are odd in favor of overemphasizing action or a punch line. This is in the vein of funny criminal stories like The Way of the Househusband and Sakamoto Days.

This was a very cute story that, I think, a lot of my students would relate to because they have very different sides of themselves when they go home, particularly with how many of my students become the caretaker for younger siblings when they leave school. I appreciate Miyamura's side of things as well. He doesn't want people to get the wrong impression of him because of his tattoos, but to him, they are works of art, not a sign of being "hardcore". The dress code at my school is pretty strict, so students are constantly having to take out piercings or cover tattoos while on campus, and I'm sure those studs go right back in their ears/noses/eyebrows when they leave for the day. The story is also a nice affirmation for their friendship that lets you be your true self.

The first two chapters of this story started as a monster-of-the-week capture story, and the narrative pace was a little inconsistent. However, once things became established in the third chapter and the mangaka settled on a storyline with a clear objective for our Hero in the Hood and an antagonist, everything became more interesting. Pacing was not fully resolved, and there is the authors have given into intrigue over character development, so we know very little about our Hero by the end of this volume. Still, this could be a good recommendation for readers who are interested in Japanese folklore and ghost stories, a subject that still fascinates modern Japanese readers.

​Gray continues the energy and suspense from the first volume, but at least this volume has a sneak peek at volume three that allows for some reprieve from the cliffhanger (maybe they heard me about volume one!). Gray also manages to simultaneously acknowledge that most readers probably know what's going to happen to Krypton while getting us to forget what's going to happen to Krypton. I'm seriously rooting for Zahn and Sera to be able to change the society and make the ruling class see the error of their ways, so I am eagerly awaiting the third volume to see what they can get done before the impending doom!

Zawadzki's illustrations beautifully depict the futuristic society of Krypton. Most of the world is set in a light blue with decadent gold accents. The places frequented by the lower caste are anchored in browns and darker, dingy colors. Action sequences are fluid and easy to follow.

This was a fantastic end to this series. The end was very frenetic and rushed, but it's likely this is from Gray leaning into the panic that would come with a world ending. I truly appreciated the very end, when it gets to the part we all know is going to happen. As a writer, it must be a challenge to fit a story into something with a fixed ending, but Gray worked some magic and still gave readers something unexpected.

The art in this is beautiful.  Yes, the people look stylized as they are on the cover and it seems strange, but there are so many beautiful pages with tons of color and swirls and I got distracted many times from the story by stopping to stare at a beautiful page (which, admittedly, is a huge part of the graphic novel medium, and if artists can't stop you at least once in a story, then why are they there?)

This is the beginnings of what could possibly be a great adventure story. However, this is definitely for a more patient reader. There are some series that get the protagonist right into the "job" they are going to be doing, but I have a feeling this Exam is going to take at least one more volume, if not more, and then there will probably be some training that Gon has to go through. This series is for a reader who wants to see the character develop, not something that is already established, like One-Punch Man. Better for fans of My Hero Academia where most of the series is the characters growing into their roles.