fantasy graphic novel

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Lenni Reviews: “Red and the Wolves: A Graphic Novel” by Cherry Zong

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

Red is a talented hunter tasked with protecting her Grandmother and helping to exorcize the Nawa in the dying forest around them. On a hunt, she meets Sil, a wolf girl who got caught in a trap. They become friends, but the threat of the rot spreading through the land still looms, and Red is plunged into a more serious threat than she could have imagined.

Far be it from me to turn town a witch fantasy comic. This one is beautiful and fun with some exciting moments, but as an avid reader, the twist wasn’t as shocking to me as it would be to someone less experienced in the genre. The lore and characters are so well done, and I am SO happy this was towards 400 pages. The story had plenty of time to breathe and is so well paced. The art style handles action, sprawling fantasy settings, and quiet moments with ease, and I highly recommend it. 4.8 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Colette Decides to Die” Vol. 3, by Alto Yukimura

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

Dionysus makes an appearance as he’s one of many afflicted with a cold that’s going around. As thanks for treatment, he invites Hades and Colette to a banquet to get closer.

In addition to the banquet, we see more of Colette being an amazing apocathary and how deep her connection to the vilage goes. Again, this is one of those series where the romance and fantasy are great but Colette’s pure hearted and earnest dedication drives this story and is a pleasure to read. Seriously, the budding romance between Hades and Colette is such an afterthought in my mind. I could have the whole series just be about her and be totally fine with it. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “I’m the Grim Reaper” Vol. 3, by Graveweaver

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

As a result of interrupting an attempted robbery, Scarlet is revealed to be a reaper in order to save Chase’s life. They cut a deal, but Satan – as he says – always gets what he wants.

This volume dives heavily into the morals of what makes a sinner worthy of reaping, which kinda shows why Chase is marked. Even with his backstory, he’s a bit too keen on knocking people off. No wonder his ass got fired. This brought to mind The Good Place and what standards send souls where they need to go. Yeah, Scarlet has to kill at least one sinner to save herself from being sent to hell, but Chase’s “we’re gonna cleanse the world of evil” spiel is dangerous. They still make a great team and the battles are well done. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite” Vol. 3, by Julietta Suzuki

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

Kyuta is still hiding his vampire status from his friends and when he and Hoshino luck into tickets for a hot spring, he sees it as a chance to come out.

Again, the super serious and super silly in this volume is jarring. Spoilers for this volume, but Hina and Amanatsu get hit by a fucking truck. But like the stalker, it was just kinda handwaved away, and we’re off to a cosplay photoshoot. Yes, it’s adorable and fun, watching Hina and Amanatsu do their little crush thing is cute, but excuse me? They were hit by a TRUCK. How can I take threats seriously in this series if that’s just not a bother? Hina I get is a vampire, but the volume has a time jump to when Amanatsu is just all better now! There could have been some interesting things to explore while he healed up with all these other supernatural people around him, but nope. It’s odd. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite” Vol. 2, by Julietta Suzuki

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

Victor is sent by Hina’s father as a new bodyguard, and he inserts himself into her life and invades Amanatsu’s space. Meanwhile, Hina helps with a school club at the school festival, where a creepy guy shows up who can resist Hina’s commands.

It’s interesting that this series keeps this weird levity along with some danger. But, you don’t need vampires to make some creep putting his hands on Hina and becoming obsessed with her, and I don’t think the levity offsets just how off-putting that was for me. The guy is a powerful stalker who doesn’t like the word no, the type of person that features in a lot of true crime stories too often to carry the fun parts of the comic with me when I finished it. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Colette Decides to Die” Vol. 2, by Alto Yukimura

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

When Apollo decides to go on vacation, Colette volunteers to fill in as healer to the gods in his absence.

In this volume, we also get Charon’s backstory, which is so sad. For all its whimsy, this series gets dark sometimes. I have to admit, I’m totally about the hardworking, sweet characters that are super genuine and are actually rewarded for their efforts. I’m not even into the possible romance. I can watch Colette just do her thing: healing people and expanding her apothecary skills. It’s also a way to learn about the world they live in and the unique take on the Greek Gods, even if some of them just kinda drop in and vanish within a few pages. I feel like if we’re going to include them, just go for it and give them some real “screen” time. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Steel of the Celestial Shadows” Vol. 6, by Daruma Matsuura

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

Konosuke, Aki, and Bokutake face off against the gambler: Rabbit Eyed Tenroku.

This volume also includes Tenroku’s backstory of suffering through famine (this was pretty fucked up…) and Konosuke’s powers finally manifest. It’s a little spoilery but I enjoy the idea of having luck so good that it destroys everyone around you. Very Twilight Zone. There’s plenty of plot to chew on with Konosuke and Tsuki’s powers. What hooked me about this series was their relationship and I hope these new revelations don’t negatively impact what they’ve built so far. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Tokyo Fears Rhapsody” Vol. 2, by Akira Sugito

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

Hachiro is as enamored with the human world as ever and is trying to make a human friend.

Okay, it was way more entertaining for me to see Hachiro and Kosuke showing a bunch of elderly tourists around than is probably should have been. Even though this can get dark with bloody fights and such but the calm and funny moments are so endearing. I guess I have a weakness for lovable goodballs like Hachiro. While there is absolutely a bigger threat – not like in Villain’s Day Off where the invasion doesn’t seem to be taken very seriously – the parts with Hachiro are so much fun! Overall, it’s well balanced and I can’t wait to read more. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Lumine” Vol. 3, by Emma Krogell

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After the failed kidnapping attempt, Lumine and Kody are recovering from their injuries. But they are still being hunted and Lumine’s secret of being a werewolf, thought to be an extinct species, may be exposed.

This volume has plenty of sweet moments and some bloody fights. Somehow, this manages to handle the cute and the gory equally well. It’s nice to see Kody grow closer to Lumine. He still has that same aloof demeanor he developed clearly as a defense mechanism. I am so glad that the Calla and the bullies plot is wrapped up because it makes more space for the bigger mystery behind the werewolves and Lumine’s parents not being around. Not to mention whatever is going on with Kody’s magic. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Merry Witches’ Life” Vol. 2, by Menota

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While Zoe is working very hard on their magic, a human finds out their secret and a writer comes to visit the town. While he claims to be doing research for a book, he’s hiding a secret of his own.

While the majority of this is slice of life and adding new characters, there’s an escalation and a bunch of lore like Zoe’s childhood and more about the ghosts hanging around Clay. There’s also more information about the magical parts of this world and while interesting, it feels like one big set up. It’s getting all the ducks in a row for perhaps something bigger? I suppose we’ll see. 3 out of 5.

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