graphic novel

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Lenni Reviews: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 5, by Kazune Kawahara

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

The closing of the school festival is a fireworks show, an ideal setting for Sae to confess her feelings.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say if you’re familiar with this genre at all and you’ve read through this series so far, (spoilers) that you know they’ve both had feelings for each other the whole time, right? So, with everything out in the open, where do we go from here? Will there be more drama, will we have more flashbacks to their past, or will we just bask in their awkward cuteness? I dunno about the flashbacks but it’s all sweet enough either way to enjoy this volume and look forward to the next. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Centuria” Vol. 2, by Tohru Kuramori

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

After washing ashore with Diana, Julian is taken in by Angvall and Titi, acquires a job, and is living the peaceful life he’d hoped for the baby. But a prophecy about the king’s death brings trouble, threatening Julian’s idyllic found family.

I love how this series has these awesome human characters and these horrid abominations of nature.

It’s a credit to the artist and the style, in my opinion, to handle both and impact my senses in such a way that I’m both cringing and smiling. So far, the characters are so interesting, the prophecy and powers are cool, and I can see so much potential for some epic dark fantasy fun as this goes on. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Hirayasumi” Vol. 9, by Keigo Shinzō

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

After Natsumi’s call from the roof, she’s recovering from a broken wrist as the rest of our cast continues to make some progress in their relationships.

This series just keeps being awesome and wholesome. Shin and Yamada are hanging out, Hiroto actually makes friends with Ishikawa, the Art Festival takes place, and Yomogi finally takes a break. The series scared the crap outta me by ending the last volume with Nastumi falling off a fucking roof, but it made it up to me by being so cozy in this volume. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Special One” Vol. 11, by Momoko Koda

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

Emika and Kanato have been dating for 4 months, and despite being madly in love, they still don’t quite communicate properly.

This volume also goes back to Sahoko and Kouta (finally). In my opinion, the confession between them towards the end is kinda flat. It did not feel natural to the characters, more like it was to entertain the reader rather than make sense for who we watched them grow into. Kinda like Friends, where a character will do something to make the studio audience laugh. It’s okay but I was a little let down. Still happy for the good ending, though. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Choujin X” Vol. 12, by Sui Ishida

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

The Yamato Mori are still battling through the Tower of Mourning, and during the fight, Azuma loses complete control. Tokio faces Zora and must decide whether or not to take the mark.

Since killing Zora would kill anyone with her blood (this is not a spoiler for this volume; it was revealed in the last one), they were going to have to make a decision about carrying on with the battle and sacrificing them, or come up with something else. I won’t spoil what they come to, but I will say that it fits with Tokio’s character. I am so interested in what happens next. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 4, by Kazune Kawahara

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

Sae decides to confess to Koki at the school festival, but it all goes wrong, and Koki ends up comforting another girl.

This dragged, going back and forth with trying to find the right moment to confess while prepping for the school festival, and we’re no closer to that by the end of the volume. It felt like we were just circling, and that could have been summed up in a couple of pages, not an entire volume. I’m not a fan of stretching out something like this so long, and I don’t feel like the story moved forward. I feel meh about the whole volume. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “On and Off: Work-Life Imbalance” Vol. 3, by Shinnosuke Kanazawa

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

Amata knows he should reveal the truth, that he’s the Lolita Aki has been hanging out with, but he doesn’t want to lose this budding friendship.

Since this is a light-hearted slice of life, I doubt the outcome of this confession will be a shock to you if you’re familiar with the genre at all. I do, however, wish to spoil the fact that Mitsu, the local stray cat, is adorable, and I am totally okay with her not only having her dedicated moments but playing a role in Amata and Aki’s friendship, especially now that everything is out in the open. It’s just cute, wholesome, and fun to read. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Tsumiki Ogami’s Not-So-Ordinary Life” Vol. 6, by Miyu Morishita

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

Tsumiki and Yutaka start their student council duties, where they meet Student Council President: Raizen, a lightning dragon with a strict temperament. They prepare for the last event of the year – the Sports Festival – and then they head into the Christmas season.

We still get tiny glimpses of how lonely Yutaka’s past was, and while it does show how far he’s come, I feel like I need more. I’m so ready for a long flashback session where maybe Tsumiki meets more old classmates of his? Eh, even if we never get that, the slice of life with mythical creatures is still entertaining and heartwarming at times. I enjoy wondering what they’ll get up to next. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Witchcraft” by Sole Otero & Andrea Rosenberg

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

The María sisters wield powerful magic, and as they live through the ages, they have a profound effect on the people around them. 

First off, I adore the art style. It’s beautiful and takes full advantage of the page layouts to evoke this mystical feeling. It can be confusing sometimes, but overall, it’s cool. Since it’s not told in chronological order, it didn’t feel like some of these stories ended; they just stopped. As if a scene was cut. It’s still worthwhile to check out if you like enigmatic witch stories. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Brittle Joints” by Maria Sweeney

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

As a child, Maria Sweeney was diagnosed with Bruck Syndrome. This memoir reflects on growing up with it.

A good chunk of this novel deals with trying to get any relief in a system that isn’t very helpful or empathetic. These stories are so important, and it’s imperative for the people with conditions like this to tell their stories themselves. Since this is a graphic novel, it can show things a regular biography could struggle to convey, since the use of color can augment the author’s words in a graphic novel. I love opening my mind up to more experiences and understanding things I’d never thought about before. Highly recommended. 4.9 out of 5.

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