graphic novel review

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Lenni Reviews: “The Drifting Classroom: Perfect Edition” Vol. 2 by Kazuo Umezz

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

Sho and his remaining classmates and friends are still desperately trying to get people to stick together to survive. But while internal conflicts about, now disease threatens to wipe them all out.

Like I said in the first review, these characters are almost comically deranged. They seem eager to start killing each other for any reason they can find! It’s a wonder any characters are left for a book 2, in my opinion…

What sets this apart for me is the connection between Sho and his mother. She can somehow hear him from the future in random places and I wish this angle was explored more. But I guess that’s for the third volume. It’s hard to say I like this because it’s so violent and depressing but I do and I want to read more! 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Drifting Classroom: Perfect Edition” Vol. 1 by Kazuo Umezz

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Inexplicably, an entire school is thrown into the future along with everyone inside. Sho, his teachers, and his classmates must fight to survive in a deserted wasteland.

Yeah, this book gets Lord of the Flies real quick. It’s like nobody even tried to put up the pretense of acting sane and this book doesn’t hold back on the gore and tragedy. It’s pretty depressing. But it’s also very compelling. I will give a mild spoiler and say this is NOT the book for you if you don’t like reading about a lot of dead kids. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Plum Crazy! Tales of A Tiger-Striped Cat” Vol. 1 by Hoshino Natsumi

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Plum lives with Taku and his mom; who runs a dance studio out of their home. This volume has a new kitten come into the house and an impromptu visit to Taku’s school.


If you like adorable pets and slice of life manga, this is a great read. It’s calm and silly and really cute. There’s not really a lot to say because it’s not one of those high drama, action-packed sorts of books. It’s a light, cozy read. Much needed after reading the next few books I’ll be posting about… 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare” Vol. 4 by Yuhki Kamatani

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In this volume, we get some back story about Tchaiko and his life before coming to work with Someone-san; who also gets a bit of back story here. Also, Daichi and Saki make their wedding plans despite not being out to her parents yet and their relationship is still a secret.

I will admit I got a little misty-eyed but this was a great note to end the series on. Tchaiko gets some closure, we learn enough about Someone-san that you’re not left with that plot thread dangling into nothingness, and things are looking good for Tasuku’s future. I just wish Tasuku got a proper apology from Misora for what he pulled in the previous volume. I guess I can accept that Tasuku let it go… Kinda… Not really. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Komi Can’t Communicate” Vol. 4 by Tomohito Oda

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This volume goes through Komi’s summer vacation, return to school, and the Sports Festival.

If you like slice-of-life manga, that’s the core of this volume. Little things like Komi milling around on a hot day, cooking dinner for her family, and helping her friends with their summer assignments. Then we get the festival with a particularly competitive classmate. It’s all very lighthearted and cute – a breath of fresh air after some of the downers I’ve been reading lately. Only 89 friends to go for Komi! 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Heathen” Vol. 2 by Natasha Alterici

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*This book is recommended for mature readers.

Aydis charters a pirate ship to take her to the land of the gods but Odin has taken notice of her and is hunting her down.

And that’s about all I can say about this without spoiling some delicious plot points that I think you should enjoy for yourselves. There is some fantastic character development in this volume! We get pirate women and some mermaids here and it’s all amazing. Also, I am LOVING how Freyja is depicted in this story. Very confident in her own skin and unflinchingly honest about who she is without being hyper-sexualized as she does it.

And not to spoil too much but holy shit is Odin a dick! I mean, even I want to hunt him down… But this series is awesome! I do have to knock off some points for the borderline cruel cliffhanger. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Heathen” Vol. 1 by Natasha Alterici

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*This book is recommended for mature readers.

Aydis is cast out from her clan after getting caught for kissing another woman. Undaunted, she embarks on a quest to free an imprisoned valkyrie, Brynhild. What she thought would be just one great quest turns out to be an epic adventure filled with gods, spirits, and monsters.

I cannot get enough of this book. This is just an awesome fantasy comic. I love the mythology, the art, all the characters have personalities that bounce realistically off each other, there’s some fantastic representation across race, sexuality, and gender, the adventure is thrilling; it’s just freaking perfect. If you like your fantasy with a kick-ass main heroine, this is the book that serves this up beautifully. Absolutely check this one out! 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame” by Erin Williams

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*This book is recommended for mature readers.

This graphic memoir follows Erin Williams, a recovering alcoholic and three-time sexual assault victim, through her daily routine and the thoughts and memories that come to the surface.

I can respect this book as a blow by blow of one woman’s thoughts during her day because I, and likely others, look at strangers, makeup stories and/or get reminded of events in my past. I can even relate to the random biological thoughts; just all the stuff that pops into your head. It’s creatively done. But this is such a personal and visceral experience that I feel bad for judging it and have difficulty empathizing with it. It seems wrong to critique something so personal. The content made me uncomfortable and it should, to be honest. I can see this being triggering for sexual assault victims and the art can be a little wonky in some places. My brain had to take a minute to process what the image was trying to convey. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Seven Days: Monday–Sunday” by Venio Tachibana & Rihito Takarai

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

On a whim, high school third-year Yuzuru Shino asks out first-year Toji Seryo, who is notorious for only dating girls for one week then breaking up with them. But as the end of their deal draws near, they realize seven days may not be enough.

I like this manga. Simple, straightforward, happy ending, nice art, and not too graphic. Perfect if you’re in the mood for something slightly predictable (if you know anything about the genre,  you know what’s going to happen) but sweet nonetheless. Maybe a little more development with the boys would have helped understand them on a deeper level so you get more emotionally invested. But, I still enjoyed it. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Way of the Househusband” Vol. 2 by Kousuke Oono

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

Our favorite house husband, Tatsu, wants to get fit! After driving his wife crazy in the house with a hula-hoop, she suggests a fitness class. He also gets really into growing his own herbs and frequents a tag sale.

This manga is just good fun. I get that people may not like this because it’s so silly but the silliness is why I keep coming back and why I love it. Tatsu’s mobster looks are almost like “resting bitch face” making all of his unintentional shinanigans hilarious to me. All I need is more if Tatsu’s backstory and this will all be perfect! 4.5 out of 5.