Book Reviews

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Lenni Reviews: “Firefly Wedding” Vol. 8, by Oreco Tachibana

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

Satoko’s father lands on Goddess Island with the Kirigaya family soldiers to eliminate Shinpei and exposes the true reason she ended up on that island.

Even though Kotaro got his side of the story, this volume spends most of it’s time really hammering home how hopeless Satoko’s situation is. Her mother sucks, her father sucks, her sister sucks, and her health sucks. It does try to give her sister one decent deed to even her out, but she’s still a dick. How shitty to things have to be for a methodical, ruthless killer to be the best person in your life? Because Shinpei isn’t going to give up on Satoko even it she’s off that island. 4 out of 5.

 

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Lenni Reviews: “The Seaside Where Dragon Boys Dwell” Vol. 1, by Asato Shima

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

After her father’s death, Mizuka moves in with her uncle to a town know for Dragon Folk. Her uncle has another boy boarding with him, a Dragon Born named Tenshin and despite her cheerful efforts. he remains aloof and cold.

This is really about two outsiders finding a place where they can be comfortable together. We have a bit of lore about the dragon children but the core of this is Mizuka and Tenshin becoming a little found family with her uncle, Yoshinaru, who is a goofy, well meaning scientist. The art is beautiful and creative in the way it shows the dragon transformations and how they fit into the modern world. It’s sweet so far and I look forward to see what else is explored here. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mad Dog Morgan” by Adam Lawson, Brian Christgau & Maxi Dall’o

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is suggested for mature readers.

Mitchell “Mad Dog” Morgan is an indie wrestler hoping to make it big, but ends up at rock bottom. Drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he ends up squatting in a creepy house across the street from Hilda, a paraplegic who’s wrestling dreams were shattered by her mother’s addiction and is aware of the entities in that house.

The idea of a down-on-his-luck drunken wrestler punching demons in a haunted house sounds like old-school Sam Raimi, and I am so on board. I love the art; it’s very good at the squelching, gross parts. While this is gory good fun, the story feels unfocused and doesn’t smoothly merge in a way that felt satisfying to me. I thought Hilda would play a bigger role given we spend so much time on her backstory. I wouldn’t mind a follow-up to flesh things out a bit more. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Horror Picture Book: A Bad Book” by Miyuki Miyabe & Hisanori Yoshida

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

A Book of Bad Things tempts a young girl to open its pages.

Out of the three, this one is the least scary. They all have fantastic art:

But this book leans more into “creepy cute” than scary. Also, I can’t really see these as more than a seasonal coffee table set rather than something I’d return to and read over and over. They all would make for gorgeous displays or collectables. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Boy’s Abyss” Vol. 15, by Ryo Minenami

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

Reiji finds a sickly Chako armed with a knife and ready to jump off a bridge after she’d run away from home. After he talks her down, the pair of them run into some unexpected help.

Fucking FINALLY, some halfway decent adults are involved: Saki (Esemori’s ex) and Detective Ishibashi. But of course, this couldn’t last because despair is the name of the game in this series. Reiji, I believe, not only does he not want help; he feels he doesn’t deserve it. So, when it’s on a platter in front of him, he won’t take it.

Understatement of the year there, detective. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Horror Picture Book: Looking at Me” by Soshichi Tonari & Junji Ito

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

A young boy sees faces in everything. When he tries to tell his parents, they take notice of him.

I mean… When you involve Junji Ito, you’re gonna get some creepy imagery. One thing I like about this is the slow escalation. The faces are subtle at first, but they get more prominent as the story goes on. It’s all pretty menacing except for this guy:

He made me laugh, so he’s alright. 3 out of 5

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Lenni Reviews: “Horror Picture Book: Is It There or Not” by Natsuhiko Kyogoku & Naoko Machida

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

A young boy moves in with his grandmother and starts seeing scary things in her old house.

The art is beautiful but it’s exactly what it says on the tin: a picture book. So other than how lovely it is and how amusingly unhelpful the grandmother is,

there isnt much to say about the plot or the characters. Its unsettling but not really scary. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Marriage Toxin” Vol. 15, by Joumyaku & Mizuki Yoda

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

Ureshino asks Gero for help with her company, which reveals a terrifying enemy: The Puppet Master, someone Gero already knows.

The business part takes up a lot of time, but it sets up the reveal of this nightmare:

Who also gives us some kid Gero flashbacks. The last couple of volumes have really gone in heavy on a grander mystery behind all the marriage talk, and while I don’t need this series to get super serious, it’s interesting. And if it keeps being this good, I have no problem going with the flow. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Shinobi Undercover” Vol. 3, by Ippon Takegushi & Santa Mitarashi

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

After guarding Aoi on a school trip, Yodaka joins an infiltration mission and faces the fugitive ninjas Ban and Kawasemi.

I’m glad this is mostly action. The teen drama stuff is fun, but lingering in the background is why Aoi would need such protection in the first place. And, like Marriage Toxin, this series doesn’t let you forget that these people are dangerous. It’s not all fun and games. The dichotomy keeps things interesting. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Man and His Cat” Vol. 15, by Umi Sakurai

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Fukumaru tries to get Kanda to understand that the reason why he desperately needs to go outside is that he’d spotted his long-lost brother.

A good chunk of this is Kobayashi getting his grumpy father-in-law to warm up to him by just refusing to be anything other than cheerful and friendly. What’s great about this series is it stays upbeat and cozy, even when it broaches darker subjects; meaning that it’s inevitable that the father-in-law will face the immutable fact of this universe: a cat will find you and it will make you love it. 4 out of 5.

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