*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

This volume contains three stories:

Prodigy: Orochi follows a baby through his life to see how things will turn out and try to help him.
Home: Orochi goes with a man who left his home village and returns after many years.
Key: Orochi gets a new apartment to observe the people who live there.

While these premises seem simple, Umezz makes each one disturbing. This has such a Tales from the Crypt vibe and I love it. The second story has to be based on that Twilight Zone episode with the evil boy with powers and the third is a play on The Boy Who Cried Wolf. These are not criticisms, they’re cool retellings with their own style. This collection is good even though there’s some clunky dialog here and there. 4.5 out of 5.

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July 3, 2022July 6, 2022 atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 5, by Rie Aruga

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While Tsumugi is back home helping to take care of her sick father, she meets Kaede and her boyfriend Keigo. They want to get married but Keigo wants to build Kaede a barrier free house, as Kaede is in a wheelchair. Despite their past relationship, Tsumugi connects them with Ikeda who inexplicably turns the job down.

I love how much perspective we get from the disabled characters. It’s so important to see the myriad of reasons why someone could need a wheelchair and how hard it is to know you won’t get better. All the help you’re getting feels hopeless and you want to give up. This series oozes with empathy and care. I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5.

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June 30, 2022June 29, 2022 atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “The Elusive Samurai” Vol. 1, by Yūsei Matsui

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Hojo Tokiyuki is the last survivor of his family, the Kamakura shogunate, after they were betrayed and slaughtered. Along with other survivors or the massacre, Hojo goes on a journey to train and become strong enough to reclaim the throne.

Don’t let the cutesy art fool you. This is bloody and the art can make the characters look distorted and scary when it needs to. That being said, this is one hello of a start for a series. Hojo is young but strong and you get the sense of how strong he will become.

It feels a little rushed and the priest character is teetering closer to annoying than quirky. I wouldn’t complain if he was reigned it. A LOT.

This is focused more on action so we haven’t gotten attached to anyone more than initial interest so far but I do want to continue to the next volume. 3.9 out of 5.

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June 29, 2022June 29, 2022 atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 4, by Rie Aruga

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Itsuki feels he can’t be a burden to Tsugumi and breaks up with her, allowing Koreda to swoop in as her support. But Tsugumi can’t seem to catch a break as she must leave Tokyo and go back to her parents due to a medical emergency.

Geez, just throw everything at this poor woman all at once. But, this volume shows how strong she is and Tsugumi keeps moving forward and doing what she needs to do. I think Koreda is being an opportunist no matter how nice he’s being. In my opinion, he should have let Tsugumi process the breakup before immediately taking Itsuki’s place. But, nobody is really terrible in this series. Even Tsugumi’s parents are sympathetic in their own way. I think things are portrayed realistically and that’s important for this subject matter. 4.9 out of 5.

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June 26, 2022June 24, 2022 atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Gigant” Vol. 3, by Hiroya Oku

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With Rei in danger, Chiho decides to come out of hiding and defeat the creature attacking Tokyo. Now the connection between the E.T.E. website and these insane events are public knowledge as well as Chiho’s identity and abilities.

This series is bananas. It’s madness and I’m somehow completely okay with that. I’m invested in Chiho and how she’s going to factor into these weird requests to the E.T.E. and we see there are other giants like her in other countries. So, there’s some moves happening that we don’t know about and I am here for the ride! 3.7 out of 5 because we’re getting more sex scenes than I’d like. I kept skipping them to get back to the story.

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June 25, 2022June 24, 2022 atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Mizuno and Chayama” by Yuhta Nishio

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Mizuno has to put on a happy face as her father is the mayoral candidate in their small town, Chayama is the daughter of a wealthy family and heir to a tea company that rivals Mizuno’s father. As their families are at odd, they must keep their relationship a secret.

This volume follows them through high school as they fall in love and struggle with the pressures of their familial obligations and small town life Chayama is frequently bullied while Mizuno is put on a pedestal due to her father’s status. It’s a pretty good story but jumps around at the end but it is a tense read. It’s not explicit but there are some suggestive scenes; done tastefully in my opinion. They make a cute couple and the art suits the overall tone. A worthwhile addition to the yuri genre and I’d suggest it for older teens due to to those suggestive scenes. It’s less graphic than what they’re watching on the CW these days. 3.9 out of 5.

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June 24, 2022June 22, 2022 atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 3, by Rie Aruga

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Tsugumi is recovering from her accident and while her parents come to help take care of her, her parents insist Itsuki is unable to properly care for their daughter and beg him to break up with her.

A mild nitpick here that’s slight spoilers: Nagawa (the aide) who helps Itsuki is a former nurse and we find this out when Itsuki needs a DRF (don’t click if you can’t handle poop) when he ends up in the hospital. She tells the doctors “Yeah, I was a nurse. I can do it.” Can you just do that in a hospital? Just say that and the doctors say “Well, if you say so, go ahead?” Without any proof? I dunno, that made me pause…

Other than that, this volume amps up how disability can put extra pressure on a relationship; the stress, pain, and embarrassment… Especially when you remember being able bodied and needing all this help. I like how this series is handling it. Nothing feels like it’s checking off a box on a list. It reminds me of With the Light. 5 out of 5.

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June 23, 2022June 21, 2022 atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Gigant” Vol. 2, by Hiroya Oku

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This manga is recommended for mature readers.

While Chiho gets used to her powers, Rei finally gets up the nerve to ask her to be his girlfriend. Meanwhile, the E.T.E. (Enjoy The End) website continues to send strange and horrific events to Tokyo; including a giant that arrives the same day Rei is in the city with his parents.

Most of this volume is Rei and Chiho dating and the action is a cliffhanger at the end. While mundane, it is a chance to get to know Chiho, which I think is important because both in and out of this universe, people sex workers are human beings deserving of respect. However, this could have been done with less downtime and less sex scenes. I get that Rei is a horny young man but I don’t need to see every time he gets laid. I’m here for the giant woman punching giant monsters. 3 out of 5.

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June 22, 2022June 21, 2022 atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Cat + Gamer” Volume 1, by Wataru Nadatani

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Riko Kozakura doesn’t socialize with anyone at work, preferring to take care of her duties and go straight home to game. When a security guard at the office finds a stray kitten, she is compelled to take him home. But she doesn’t know anything about cats so she must level up her pet owner skills.

This is another cute cat slice of life manga with the hook of a gamer for an owner. It’s unique that Riko sees learning about her new friend as leveling up a character like in her RPGs. She clearly cares for him so it’s not her brain disconnecting to her gamer space, it’s leveraging her interests to focus her energy. Just adorable. 4.5 out of 5.

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June 19, 2022June 20, 2022 atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “I Want to be a Wall” Vol. 1, by Honami Shirono

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Yuriko and Gakurota appear to be like any other newlywed couple but behind the scenes, Yuriko is asexual who loves yaoi and Gakurota is gay; hiding his unrequited love for his childhood friend who also happens to be the gardener for the house they live in.

Other than Gakurota’s feelings, this is pretty low angst and more slice of life. Yuriko still tries to be a good wife, and Gakurota tries to be a good husband despite them not being in love at all. You don’t see many asexual characters around and Yuriko is funny and likable. They both settle in to life together, attempting to share interests and be a “normal” couple. I wonder how this will play out in future volumes; if it will stay as breezy as it is now or take a darker turn. But I want to read more! 4 out of 5.

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