Manga: Our Blood Oath by Kazu Kakazu

Our Blood Oath by Kakazu Kazu is a fairly new shounen manga from Shounen Jump! As good as the story is though, it is only a oneshot. That's right, folks, this is also a short-lived manga series like Guardian of the Witch by Sakano Asahi and Time Paradox Ghostwriter by Ichima Kenji. They all have amazing stories that could very well keep going in a serial but unfortunately, they don't last. 

Manga: The Water Dragon's Bride by Rei Toma

One of ShojoBeat's newest titles, The Water Dragon's Bride by Toma Rei is a cute little historical fiction, fantasy, shoujo manga about a girl sent back in time/another world. Arisa Asahi is spirited away when she was young into the pond in her backyard. She wakes up underwater in the presence of a strange man, so ethereal looking he doesn’t even seem human, which is reasonable considering he isn’t! 

Manga: Planet Ladder by Yuri Narushima

I am going to be completely honest... I have never heard of this series before. I have read nearly every single title put out by TokyoPOP, my local library growing up having purchased a lot of them for their readers, but never had this one. I borrowed this from another library, very nice library it is but a very small manga section so far. Anyways, they have mostly newer manga, considering it is a newer library, they don't have many from the 2000s era of TokyoPOP manga, before they went bankrupt. So this series stood out to me, took me by surprise.

Paper vs Screen: The Garden of Words by Makoto Shinkai

Happy anniversary! Whose you may ask? Well this blog is officially a year old today! Gods, I didn't think I would be able to chug through six months, much less a year! I honestly feel very accomplished. My book review vlog may have lasted nearly ten years but the uploads were inconsistent, there was no set schedule so I actually am really proud of myself for being able to keep on top of things and stick to a schedule despite everything that has been going on with 2020. And thanks to all who have continued to support me through the last year! I hope that I will be writing this blog for many years to come because despite this seeming to be tedious, I really like writing and being able to share my interests and thoughts with those who are the same as I. I also might be updating the schedule and try to spread out posting more throughout the week, but I'll see how things go. Now, we are going to go back in time for a bit, to the very first review that I did on this blog, but... with a little twist!

Manga: Crimson Hero by Mitsuba Takahashi

As the first review of the new year, I thought a throwback was in order! This is one of Shoujo Beat's older series, Crimson Hero by Takahashi Mitsuba. It's one of Shoujo Beat's only manga series to have been left discontinued, with only localizing fourteen volumes out of the full twenty. This is in desperate need of a pick-me-up. 

Manga: Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare by Yuhki Kamatani

Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare by Kamatani Yuhki is a very renowned series, it caught many peoples' attention when it had first released. It had caught my attention too. I read the first volume in a Barnes & Nobles when it first came out and then I could never find the rest of the series so I could finish reading it. My library just recently got the full series so now was my chance!

Kaname Tasuku is the new kid in school and is a closet gay. A friend of his scrolled through his phone and found gay porn on it and he is almost outed. He says some hurtful things that are offensive to other gays and himself so that he won't be outed. That same day, Tasuku contemplates committing suicide but then sees someone else jump out a window! Running over to the building he finds the Drop-In Center, full of all different kinds of people that help Tasuku.

Manga: Caterpillar Girl and Bad Texter Boy by Sanzo

Truthfully, this is a slightly strange story. Caterpillar Girl and Bad Texter Boy by Sanzo revolves around these two teenagers, childhood friends, Kikuo Suzume and Kuchinashi Akane. Suzume was in love with Akane or "Aa-chan" is how he is known in the manga. She confessed her feelings to him one day and he rejected her due to his own low self esteem. Then, Suzume goes missing...

Manga: Time Paradox Ghostwriter by Kenji Ichima

Time Paradox Ghostwriter by Ichima Kenji is a short-lived manga series, only fourteen chapters long, that in all actuality is not really all that memorable. I finished this manga the week the last chapter was released in the Shounen Jump app, so it has been a little while and honestly it has taken me a long time to get the motivation to write this review. Just like Guardian of the Witch by Sakano Asahi, this was a very short story that the mangaka could've played around with more and extended the story. The story was very plain and basic, but if you're looking for a quick read, this is something you might enjoy.

Manga: The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai

This has been a long time coming! The Promised Neverland by Shirai Kaiu has finally ended! I had started reading this amazing story since last year and let me tell you... this is not your typical shounen manga. This manga centers around a plethora of characters but more focuses on the main three: Ray, Emma and Norman. 

 

They are residents at the Grace Field House, an orphanage that actually treats the children well: keeping them well-fed, clothed, giving them an education, and allowing them play-time. Their caretaker, who they refer to as "Mama," is Isabella, the only adult in their lives. The only rule that is enforced is that the children are not allowed past the fence, dictating the orphanage's grounds. The children are all adopted out by the time they turn 12-years-old, no older, and thus life goes on. But... considering that this is a shounen manga, not everything is as it seems...

Manga: Guardian of the Witch by Asahi Sakano

This series, Guardian of the Witch by Sakano Asahi, had a lot of promise and potential. It was good in the beginning, but the story tapered off somewhat until its abrupt ending. Our focus this time is on Fafner, a guardian knight kind of guy, and Manasfa, the witch. Fafner is the one who guards Manasfa and it is his duty, when the time comes, to kill her...

Manga: Miracle Girls by Nami Akimoto

Miracle Girls by Akimoto Nami is an old shoujo manga from the '90s when computers were a new thing in the world. Originally, this was published by TokyoPOP and has now been long out of print and in need of a rescue. I think it would be appropriate for Kodansha to pick this up due to the fact that their Japan office is the one who distributed it in the first place, and they can fix it up like they did to Sailor Moon. 

The story revolves around identical twins with psychic powers and their journey in high school trying to juggle their powers and love lives.

Manga: 7 Seeds by Yumi Tamura

As you guys know from the last two weeks, I have become obsessed with 7 Seeds by Tamura Yumi-sensei. I got into the series due to the anime being recommended to me on Netflix and I though "why not?" After the fact that I found out it was by Tamura-sensei, the anime art is so polished I had no idea until I googled the series, I wanted to read the manga...

Manga: Magical x Miracle by Yuzu Mizutani

Here I am trying to delve into manga again... unfortunately, this is a manga long out of print in the US when TokyoPOP went out of business way back when. Magical x Miracle by Mizutani Yuzu is definitely worth a read! I was one of my first manga series to read when I was young. A bunch of TokyoPOP manga that are out of print are! This was before the rest of the manga companies gained steam, when TokyoPOP was one of the only manga publishers in America!

Anime: My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi (Season 1)

The anime that's taken the nation by storm, My Hero Academia has become such a phenomenon here in the US since it's release and it doesn't seem like it's going to be slowing down any time soon. Originally the hype put me off of this series myself. It just isn't interesting to me when something is really hyped up to the extreme, I usually wait a while so that people calm down then get into reading and watching it. Season four of this series has come out but I'm still only watching season two, if I catch up that's great, but that's not my goal. Moving on, this review will be focusing on season one since I haven't finished season two just yet. 

Manga: Kitchen Princess by Natsumi Ando

Kitchen Princess by Ando Natsumi is a really cute shoujo manga centered around cooking. This is a classic for me, it was originally published by DelRey, I believe, in America and after DelRey shut down, it was rescued by Kodansha, who published it in Japan. It is 10 volumes long, originally DelRey's publishing, but now it is available as a 4 volume omnibus series with Kodansha. There is a light novel that accompanies it but unfortunately Kodansha hasn't rescued that yet, I'm hoping that they will. Although, I'm really glad they brought this series back, it caused a spark in me, leading me to love flan! 

Manga: $100 is too Cheap by Kazune Yamamoto

$100 is too Cheap by Yamamoto Kazune is a oneshot set in the  midwest, following a bounty hunter named Petey, and despite what the name may portray Petey is a girl. She teams up with a boy named Suna who is a mystery solver and bartender. This one is really an interesting story and definitely one worth checking out. Although the mystery aspect of the story was easy to figure out if you were paying attention, it's still a cute mystery to watch unravel. 

Manga: 0x0 Memories by Kozue Takeuchi

Another oneshot manga that never came over to the US, 0x0 Memories by Takeuchi Kozue is a shoujo manga about a young girl, Tsuda Rei, who lost her memories from a hit to the head with a soccer ball. This is a really good manga, I enjoyed the story and it was a cute little short that could definitely be published under the Shojo Beat imprint. 

Manga: "Suki" to Ienai by Yukino Miyawaki

This is going to be one of my shorter reviews due to the fact that this is a oneshot manga, originally sold in a book with two other oneshot manga. It is also only available to read off of a manga piracy website, due to the fact that it hasn't been brought over to the US. "Suki" to Ienai by Miyawaki Yukino is a shoujo manga about a girl, Shina, who is in love with her adoptive brother, Kiri, who does not know that he is adopted. 

Manga: +Anima by Natsumi Mukai

This is an oldie but a goodie! This is an amazing manga and I wish there was more to it. +Anima by Mukai Natsumi revolves around a group of four kids, ages varying from 10 to 17, traveling around the country trying to survive and find others like them. They are called +Anima, humans that can take on the qualities of one specific animal but only one part of them can take on the quality. The placement of the change doesn't move, the placement stays but the +Anima can change the one part of themselves from animal to human and back again. 

Manga: Red River by Chie Shinohara

One of my absolute favorite series makes its debut on my blog, Red River by Shinohara Chie! I cannot stress enough how much I love this manga. The series had a long run, ending with 28 volumes. It is a historical fiction manga dating back to the B.C. era in the Hittite Empire during King Suppiluliuma’s rule, really near the end of his rule. Many of the events that happen within the manga are actual events that was recorded in history, which I personally think is amazing. This manga, I believe, is the first of its kind. I have never see another manga to use this time period in this location, most mangaka write about Japanese history due to the fact that it’s what they know. You don’t normally get to read western history in manga unless it’s about Egypt, but this is not a story centered around Egypt, it is about the Hittite Empire during the peak of its reign.