manga review

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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: “Hirayasumi: Vol. 8, by Keigo Shinzō

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

Natsumi and her friends decide to go on a summer road trip and bring along a new person, Orui, who is a bit quirky and struggles to integrate with the activities.

It’s nice to see them all developing as the summer ends, but I didn’t expect such a sharp cliffhanger at the end of this. And not a silly one, it’s pretty serious. Uncharacteristically serious for this series so far. I mean, this has never felt like it would go to very dark places, but who knows? I’ve been blindsided by slice of life before. Hiroto’s maturity is still well balanced with his optimism, which keeps him as just a delight to read. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 17, by Kenichi Kondō

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

Now, we are in the final stage against Yin Jiao with one graduate left to face the god’s wrath. But even if they prevail, there are still greater threats around our main cast.

I have to wonder how the stakes will rise higher than “defeat a god’ but let’s go for it! I love this series! Tama’s backstory and association with the same curse that afflicted Ai, as well as Ai’s family history with the entity, is a great story. I love this deep dive into all the lore around this god. Now, the focus shifts to the spirits stealing bodies and going after the spirit that took Yayoi’s mother. These characters are so entertaining and I can’t wait to see what happens next. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Boy’s Abyss” Vol. 12, by Ryo Minenami

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

Reiji and Esemori end their visit, but after, Reiji runs into Nago. Ms. Shiba finally realizes Yuko is unstable and is using Reiji’s older brother to interfere in the family even further.

The more we learn about Reiji’s family, the more I think he should change his name and vanish from all these people’s lives. Start over fresh somewhere else where nobody knows him. Every adult around this kid is sus, and even his friends suck. This poor kid man… He deserves so much better. I still wonder if this will turn around in some way because while I am curious enough to read this and it’s not BAD, it’s just circling around all this depression. 3.8 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Firefly Wedding” Vol. 5, by Oreco Tachibana

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

Satoko tries to convince the most popular prostitute on the island, Asagiri, to allow her contract to be bought out since she has turned down every offer so far. While running her errands for Asagiri, Satoko spends more time with Shinpei.

Their relationship is odd but sweet. Shinpei is still his cute/psychotic self, and we get more glimpses into Satoko’s past, where her sister still sucks. It also sucks that we’re still stuck on this island, but it was sweet to have Shinpei and Satoko get closer, hanging out and doing random things. Shinpei is still low-key terrifying, though. 4 out of 5

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Lenni Reviews: “Asadora!” Vol. 9, by Naoki Urasawa

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

Not 21 years old, Asa has founded a private airline: “Asada Asa Trading Company.” She is both manager and pilot. In her rare downtime, she has been meeting with an American deserter from the Vietnam War.

I do love how Asa fits into these major historical events happening around the world. Kinda gives me Forrest Gump vibes, but here we have sea monsters, secret societies, daring plane fights, and American spies. Absolutely fantastic. Asa’s character scratches the same part of my brain as Colette; just a decent, hardworking person doing their best. Granted, Asa is clearly dealing with much more danger. This series is a lot of fun and has a decent amount of intrigue and humor to keep things interesting. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “After God” Vol. 8, by Sumi Eno

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

Tokinaga talks with Toda, who was with the Ahf-Azu but now wants to leave the group and save his sisters from being used by the terrorists.

The experiments on Orokapi – who is inside Akio – are super interesting, and the role of the IPO’s? Awesome. This volume drops a ton of info, and it’s really cool. I love a good lore dump/plot-heavy volume. I do worry that too many moving parts are happening: Toda’s sisters, whatever Tokinaga is doing, IPOs melting, the dog backpacks

Yes, really….

I do enjoy the wimsy randomly thrown in here and there. This is a very unique story so far. 3.9 out of 5.

 

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Lenni Reviews: “Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite” Vol. 6, by Julietta Suzuki

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

A newbie vampire’s vlog goes viral, prompting a flood of foreign vampires coming to Japan and attacking random people. Lord Rinya, who manages the vampires in Japan, has a devious plan to get things under control, but his main goal is to have Hina for himself.

Not to overspoil things, but it is so cool to see Hina assert her authority and power while still being a gigantic nerd. I just adore that dichotomy. Lethal goofballs are so much fun. One minute she’d be fangirling over her favorite character’s voice actor (who is a fucking creep) and the next she’s commanding a room full of vampires. And it’s nice to see the vampires being a threat to humans instead of last time, where being hit by a truck wasn’t even that big of a deal for a person. It feels like there are some real stakes this time – pun not intended. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Tsumiki Ogami’s Not-So-Ordinary Life” Vol. 4, by Miyu Morishita

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

It’s time for the Cultural Festival, and their class decides to do a cosplay cafe.

This volume has more of Tsumiki’s family, where we learn that while she’s upbeat and positive now, she hasn’t always had the easiest time of it. This is still a fun read; nothing is really dark. There’s some humor mixed in, some nice character moments with Mokuri, all in all, some very cozy slice of life antics that leave you with a smile and a curitosity to know more about all the different types of creatures. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mao” Vol. 23 by Rumiko Takahashi

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

Natsuno confronts Yurako about Sana’s death and Daigo reveals more Goku Clan secrets.

Yup, revealing even more horrid things the Goko Clan got up to. Holy hell, what an awful group. Fantastic and interesting story, but terrifying. After that, we go back to a sort of villain of the week vibe, but the revelation about those who have survived the Goku Clan is lingering in the background. It may be a bit of a spoiler to say it reminded me of Highlander, and pairing that with the fact that Shiranui is still handling dangerous Goku Clan weapons like Halloween candy, I bet things are gonna get wild. 4.5 out of 5.

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