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Lenni Reviews: “After God” Vol. 3, by Sumi Eno

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

Just as Waka learns what god is inside her (Alura), things change when a mission ends in the deaths of several Institute members. In the chaos, a traitor is revealed.

This is a very twisty volume and by that I mean it has a bunch of twists in it. Not to spoil anything but there’s a lot of “this guy is really working for THIS guy” and “this guy is disguised as THIS guy” or this guy is dead, NOPE he’s not!” It’s not bad; it feels fast-paced and dripping with dramatic intrigue. If you’ve been waiting for a bunch of lore about Waka and Alura, that takes a back seat for a bit but it’s still action-packed. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fist of the North Star” Vol. 16, by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara 

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

Ken and Kaioh face off for the final time and we learn more backstory about how the successor to the Hokuto Shinken was ultimately chosen.

Yeah, we know Ken wins and now he’s the last of the bloodline. He takes in Ryu, Lord Raoh’s son, and the story goes back to defeating shitty bandits that take advantage of desperate people. Now, when I say “shitty” I don’t mean the narrative, I mean the characters themselves as they kill innocents on a whim and enslave children. And it’s always good to see jerks like that get their comeuppance. 3.9 out of 5 for the fantastic fight scenes in this volume.

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Lenni Reviews – Challenge Edition: “Tender Is the Flesh” by Agustina Bazterrica & Sarah Moses (Translator)

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If you’ve been on my blog for awhile, I do movie reviews on occasion and have a side thing of “Challenge Edition” where I watch extreme movies. Now that I know extreme books are a thing you know I have to do that, too.

This book is a dystopian world where a virus has rendered all animal meat inedible. A worldwide campaign is launched to acclimate everyone to accept eating humans instead; classifying them as “head” that as strictly regulated. Marcos runs a slaughterhouse and in addition to his wife leaving him and his elderly father losing his battle with dementia in a nursing home, he struggles with the realities of what he does for a living.

I totally get the allegory; treading a certain class like cattle, the mental gymnastics to justify this, the tole it takes on people to eat people, Marcos desperately trying to hold on to his sanity in a world where humans are just buying time before they end up on a plate, cruelty is normalized, and everything is permeated with an undercurrent of fear. The writing is great and that ending? Woof… But my suspension of disbelief was tested. Because I’m a writer, librarian, and general nerd; I know the little factoid that cannibalism in humans causes diseases and is not a viable replacement for traditional meat. I had to keep pushing that aside and plow on but it was worth it. It’s depressing because, not too spoilery but damnit Marcos:

This book is good, I loved the prose. And the graphic descriptions of the slaughter of humans for consumption will turn your stomach if you’re sensitive. But if you’re in the mood, this is a great book. 3.5 out of 5.

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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: “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” Vol. 16, by Haro Aso & Kōtarō Takata

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

The group heads to Mount Aso but their vehicle runs out of gas. Takemia and Izuna head off to find some and end up at the infamous Yamagami Family Manor.

This volume has a horror movie vibe, specifically in the killer family genre so, while I was blindsided by the included sex scene, this is going for a slasher movie tone and sexed up couples are a trope. I’m just not used to it in this series. Considering how everything’s been going, they worked in zombies as the threat again very well. It was easy to spot the cannon fodder characters and I’m glad we’re keeping the core cast I can rely on for now. You never know if the creator will change their mind about that but this was clearly not the volume he was gonna do it. 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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