dystopian fiction

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Lenni Reviews: “Mujina into the Deep” Vol. 1, by Inio Asano

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

In this dystopian world, there exists a class of people called Mujina, who have given up their human rights, live off the grid, and usually end up as assassins. Terumi Morgan is coasting through life as a middle-aged man who just wants to watch his smut in his spare time. When he ends up with COVID, he sees an off the books doctor where he ends up involved with a Mujina called Ubume.

So… This is wild. Human rights are not a given in this world; they can be abdicated or revoked based on certain criteria and violence is rampant. I so appreciate the creativity but a lot of information was thrown at me and I feel like I need to know more before I decide if the world building is good or now. My main interest is in Ubeme and her story; not so much in Terumi. Terumi seems tangential at this point but we’ll see if he gets more involved later. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “You Must Take Part in Revolution: A Graphic Novel” by Badiucao & Melissa Chan

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

I did NOT intend this to be so damn relatable to the real world right now just… UGH!

In a techno-authoritarian China, three young rebels meet at a protest: Maggie, Andy, and Olivia. As things spiral, Maggie becomes more violent and after a failed attack, the three are separated; Maggie is in prison, Olivia flees to Taiwan, and Andy just tries to get through his life. Fast forward to 2035, society is even more restrictive prompting a series of events that bring the three on a crash course to reuniting.

This is certainly not an uplifting read but I feel a lot of the more mainstream fictional discourse around standing up against oppression is romanticized in a way. Like in Star Wars, The Matrix, or The Hunger Games; there is a sense of glory and heroism to the story but this is dirty, crude, bloody, and just depressing. Fighting the system changes people and not in the best of ways. The 2035 setting is fictional but the real-life events this book references ground the book into grim reality. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fist of the North Star” Vol. 15, by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara

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

Lord Kaioh tricks Hyo into believing Ken killed his intended bride, Sayaka; sending him on a bloody path to get revenge.

I was hoping the deception would amount to more but Hyo just *POOF* gets his memory back and it’s over. That really could have been something that took over a whole story arc but nope. It’s a blip of a stepping stone to get Ken ultimate power to face Kaioh. I feel like I say that a lot for this series; plot threads that could have been compelling if explored longer truncated so Ken can punch more things. Despite this, Ken and Kaioh’s battle was well done. It’s entertaining and drawn very well. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fool Night” Vol. 3, by Kasumi Yasuda

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

The killer spiriflor, Ivy, is still on the loose and Kamiya is willing to risk anything to stop her. Meanwhile to cracks in the system are revealed and the Anti-transfloration movement is picking up steam in the face of rampant poverty.

It figures that when a society jumps to harvesting humans to turn into plants for air would also have extreme poverty, wealth disparity, and exploitation of the working class with all the exorbitant taxes and fees to do anything. Ivy is out for revenge and so is Kamiya, which makes for an interesting fight between them. I do want to see more of Kamiya’s abilities, which were used great in this volume but I find it funny that (spoilers) they tried to fire him. Yeah, just put up a LinkedIn post looking for another person who can talk to the spiriflors. I’m sure they’ll be lining up for ya. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Battle Royale: Enforcers” Vol. 2, by Koushun Takami & Yukai Asada

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

In this volume, more characters are revealed as are more rules to the game as the battle for survival creeps into it’s first night.

When I saw the fanservice naked woman, I had immediate concerns that this series was going to devolve into the uncomfortable sex scenes that were present in the first manga series. I’m no prude; you can tell by the absolute genre madness of my reviews but being unwillingly ridden so hard you bleed out from a bullet would was just gross. Spoilers for that, I guess. This volume is 90% talking and getting to know some of the character’s back stories before being thrown into this game. It felt odd reading this and wondering when the carnage will start for my entertainment but usually, you get this level of ‘development’ spread out over time; usually before a character dies. A recent example would be Alice in Borderland. This one, however, felt like it was one big chunk. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fist of the North Star” Vol. 14, by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara

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

The Asura recognize Ken’s techniques from when Rao, The Supreme Ruler of Terror, had visited them and they have more information about where Ken and Rao came from.

With all the plot twists in this volume, it felt like I needed to stretch after reading it. I still get left with the feeling that other characters are being neglected or killed off to give Ken a chance to punch more things. It’s okay, bloody battles are plentiful which at least keeps up the pace so it doesn’t feel like a slog to read. 2.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” Vol. 15, by Haro Aso & Kōtarō Takata

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

Our group heads to Hashima where Shizuka notices that Akira has accomplished an interesting item on his list: “Meet the woman of my dreams.” This realization causes heavy awkwardness in the group that threatens to split them up for good.

There’s also funny asides to “Kensho in Borderland” and making a zombie movie.

The dolphin thing was kinda cute and I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say Akira and Shizuka are adorable together. I do wonder what the next step will be since that’s worked itself out. I would like to see more progress towards a possible vaccine and crossing things of the list rather than add even more people to this growing cast. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Battle Royale: Enforcers” Vol. 1, by Koushun Takami & Yukai Asada

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

After a two decade ban, Program 68 is restarted and the newest crop of ill-fated kids are Daito Academy’s Class F. Now, they will be forced to kill their fellow classmates in order to be the last one standing.

Now, it’s more understandable to have the info dump at the beginning of the story because the games in universe haven’t been a thing in a long time and it’s been awhile since the original series came out. Other than being some creepy masterminds making this decision, we don’t know why this class was chosen to bring this program back but I’m sure the reason will come out later on.

Our cast is the typical school student collection: the idealistic lead, bitchy girls, uncommonly good at killing quiet guy, etc. But it doesn’t waste time getting to the bloodshed. I’m sure we’ll get to know the students better as the series goes; probably right before they’re brutally killed. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fist of the North Star” Vol. 13, by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara

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

Jask has taken Rio across the sea to the Land of the Asuras; a land so violent and obsessed with battle only 1% of the men make it to adulthood.

The Asuras are like some super fucked up Spartans but, as usual, Ken is able to deal with them pretty easily. I do like exploring more countries and areas but this far into the series, the cycle of show up, trash talk, bash bad guy isn’t as interesting. Particularly in this volume because Ken is so overpowered. The Asuras as a concept were interesting but otherwise, this volume was just okay. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fist of the North Star” Vol. 12, by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara

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

A warrior of honor, Jako, is forced to face Ken on behalf of an evil despot who holds Jako’s people hostage.

There’s a real odd cycle of the story picking a background character to die so Ken can have more motivation. I believe it’s super lazy to fridge all these characters for Ken’s benefit. He’s plenty powerful as he is. I never feel like he’d in danger and twelve volumes deep, we shouldn’t have to re-up his resolve with the blood of more interesting characters. He’s the most boring part of this volume. 3 out of 5.

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