dark fantasy

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Lenni Reviews: “The Tree of Death: Yomotsuhegui” Vol. 1, by Masasumi Kakizaki

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is for mature readers. Trigger warnings for SA and suicide.

Former police officer Nawa Kanetsugu is determined to avenge the deaths of his wife and daughter; a quest that’s landed him in prison. Upon release, he’s still on his mission and encounters a strange girl named Ren, a death god, who feeds him the fruit of the Yomotsuhegui. This turns him into an immortal and Ren tasks him with helping her hunt down other dangerous immortals.

This is a strong series opener; the sides/conflicts are established, the threat is made known, and we get a disgusting antagonist Sakase. It’s very adult with violence and gore aplenty, but it doesn’t feel gratuitous. It suits the dark story. There is little levity, and we aren’t sure Nawa is even on the “right” side of all the tragedy surrounding the fruit. The art here is perfect for this story with some fantastic body horror; viscerally detailed when the bloodier and monstrous elements are shown. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 14, by Kenichi Kondō

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

With all the sites claimed, Yayoi, Keitaro, and Eiko prepare for a showdown with Yin Jiao. Their plan is in place, but this vicious god has incredible strength.

Yeah, this turned out to be as intense as I thought it would be. The art for the spirits is still 10 out of 10 terrifying and interesting to look at when you get into the details of their designs. The fights are awesome! We’ve been building up to this for so many volumes, and so far, I feel it’s paying off. Yayoi is so fucking clever and Yin Jiao lives up to all the hype behind him. I don’t even wanna say much other than just go read this. It’s horror gold. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Kagurabachi” Vol. 3, by Takeru Hokazono

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

Chihiro is after the enchanted blade, Shinuchi, which is up for auction at The Rakuzaichi, a black market held by powerful underworld figures: The Sazanami Clan.

I wish this volume was longer because Chihiro is so damn interesting. I love seeing what he comes up with to solve his problems. No spoilers but the more he does with his powers, the more I want to see him explore and use them in battle. It’s so creative and I can’t wait to see what happens next. There’s a bit of levity but Chichiro is very much about his business and the forces he’s facing are nothing to understimate. 4 out of 5.

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Writing Update: It’s live! Fruit of the Dead: Season 1 Episode 3

The latest episode of this series is out!

“In part three of this series, our four lost souls face a ruthless Courier that pushes their abilities to the limit.* *Note, this story contains themes of abuse, suicide, prostitution, depression, and other mature themes. Trigger and content warnings apply”

Click here and select your preferred retailer. D2D is still working on some of them so, please check back. I didn’t want to wait on announcing it since I’m slow enough with writing updates as is.

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Happy Pride and Cover Reveal! FotD S1E3

I’m still getting used to this new design interface and it’s a pain in the ass but I think I’m getting the hang of it. I may tweak it (if the damn website lets me) but since there’s fire involved, I wanted a flames lookin’ cover.

What does this have to do with Pride? I don’t know. I’m just gonna be working on a lot of super LGBTQ+ stuff this month and getting it out to you as fast as I can. This episode should be out before the end of the week but I’ll keep you posted!

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Off Schedule Writing Update

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Happy Mother’s Day! If you’re into that thing. If not, happy I finished a project day!

The next part of Fruit of the Dead is finished and the rough draft is 2397 words. I absolutely have a ton of editing to do on it. I gave it a quick read through and there are things I need to add, details to expand on, etc. I have a much needed day off where I can do that and read a bunch of ARCs I’ve been dying to get to. I haven’t outlined the next bit yet but I have some ideas in mind. My book cover site has completely revamped and I no longer have access to edit the cover I’ve been using for this series. I did email them and support told me they could have it moved into the new editing software but it hasn’t happened yet. I really hope I don’t have to delay publishing the story when it’s ready or buy a new cover and have to go back and change it for the first two parts. It may not matter to others but, it’s important for me to have cover continuity. I hope they’re able to help me out soon so I can give this next part to you all.

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Lenni Reviews: “Choujin X” Vol. 8, by Sui Ishida

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

As the investigation of The Market continues, Palma Shishinegura (a choujin who can reanimate corpses) is captured by the Yamato Mori. Azuma and Tokio had very different feelings about being in the group and how their friendship will be affected by it.

This volume is kinda doofy. Not in a bad way but a lot of the throwaway bad guys are not to be taken seriously at all. While some plot does happen, this feels a little silly when they’re supposed be doing this important investigation so I got a bit of a feeling that this was filler. I do like that we may get more of Palma. Her powers are very cool and unique for what is essentially a necromancer. 3.5 out of 5.

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An Apology Treat!

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Since there was no new chapter update for June, I decided to make the prologue for First Brood 4: Emma public on my Patreon!! I’m almost done with the next chapter. It just needs a little more polish and it’ll be ready to post. Enjoy!!

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Lenni Reviews: “Ragna Crimson” Vol 9, by Daiki Kobayashi

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

The surviving Argentum Corps encounters the Solarian Church, which is trying to recruit Ragna to become a dragon scourge in exchange for bring the Silverware Princes back to life.

A lot of this volume is everyone regrouping and gearing up to take on whatever is left of Ultimatia’s dragons and eventually Ultimatia herself. I did find it cool that Crimson underestimated Ragna. Crimson is portrayed as this grand puppeteer and master manipulator so it’s good to see them off center. There’s all these pieces moving right now and I’m just watching the action happen. It’s not bad but I just don’t feel the same investment I used to in this series. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mao” Vol. 13, by Rumiko Takahashi

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

This volume reveals who killed Sana and what Yurako really is.

A lot of this is learning about Mei and why she works with Shiranui while the main group deals with a  corrupt industrialist (there are a lot of crappy elites in this series) and other than the overarching plot evolving Byoki, Nanoka’s abilities, and the secrets being kept in the background, I like watching Mao work and hearing about the various entities they battle. I like a nice mix of ‘villain of the week’ and long form story in my media and this series is doing that pretty well so far! 4 out of 5.

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