manga reviews

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Lenni Reviews: “Hello, Melancholic!” Vol. 2, by Yayoi Ohsawa

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It’s time for the community festival but Hibiki’s hand injury won’t heal in time. So, Minato comes up with a solution so they can still perform. After the show, Minato discovers Chika and Sakiko have a deeper relationship than she’d assumed.

A good chunk of this volume is dedicated to how Chika and Sakiko got together and the nature of their relationship but we also get Minato and Hibiki on a date. Hibiki wants to find out if Minato has any feelings for her or not. There’s a little forward momentum but I’m guessing the big plot points will happen in the next volume. The date is cute and the other couple’s story has some interesting elements to is. This one is spicy but not overly explicit. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Our Colors” by Gengoroh Tagame & Anne Ishii (Translator)

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Sora, an aspiring artists, is in the closet with a crush on one of his classmates and his childhood friend, Nao, has an obvious crush on him. The pressure of hiding who he is from everyone he knows sends him to a strange little cafe where Amamiya, an older man who is not in the closet, gives him a safe haven where he can be himself.

This is really touching and I won’t even lie that this feels like Tagame wrote this as something very personal and important to him. An out gay artist born in 1960’s Japan, it feels like he reaching out to gay youths to say the things he needed to hear when he was younger and the LGBT kids need to hear today. It’s overall positive but bittersweet. Highly recommended if you’re looking for good gay comics. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl” Vol. 1, by Azusa Banjo

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Midou is one of the most popular boys in his school and his close childhood friend Hiura is considered quiet and glum in comparison. Hiura is also the only one who knows Midou’s secret passion for makeup and allows Midou to practice his skills on him. Midou completely changes Hiura from a plain quiet boy into a beautiful young girl. So beautiful in fact, Midou’s feelings towards Hiura change when Hiura feels more comfortable in the female clothing.

This is absolutely adorable. I like how progressive and understanding everyone is around Midou and Hiura. Not very realistic but in this case, it gives space in the story for the main two to workout their relationship and figure things out.

Since this is about make up mostly (and a bit of fashion) I wish more of this was in color so we get the full effect as readers. But I understand that’s expensive to print and a lot of work. I’ll take the color pages we get. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Gigant” Vol. 5, by Hiroya Oku

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The three “Gods of Destruction” have descended on Tokyo and Chiho is released from government detention to help battle them.

The cat is fully out of the bag now. Chiho is famous worldwide but she keeps her relationship with Rei a secret. The fame completely changes her life and attracts people who want to take advantage of her. Meanwhile, a similar group of heroes in America are in trouble with a demon on the loose despite the ETE website supposedly shut down.

I’m not surprised at the dramatic turn in Chiho’s life and it’s good to see her (mostly) happy. This is clearly moving in the direction of other super beings teaming up with Chiho to beat the demons and I look forward to the reveal of how that all happens. Fanservice and sex scenes aside, this is an interesting adventure. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Catch These Hands!” Vol. 2, by Murata

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Since Soramori got Takebe to go out with her after a bet, Soramori keeps trying to find things they can to together as a proper couple. However, it seems Takebe is just going along with this because she lost that bet meanwhile Soramori has genuine feelings for her.

This volume is Soramori trying different activities to try and bring them closer together. The progression of their relationship here feels natural to me. It’s a bit slow but they’re still in the phase where they’re getting to know each other. They have a nice dynamic that’s pretty entertaining to watch. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Love Nest” Vol. 1, Yuu Minaduki

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+.

Nursing a broken heart, Masato takes a friend’s offer to move into his second home. What his friend neglected to mention is someone else is living there; an older man, Asahi. As they get used to living together, they become closet; first as friends then possibly more if Masato can work through the pain of the past.

This is a sweet story about two people in need of healing who find each other and manage to find love again. The end is a little abrupt but it’s nice as has just enough smexy times to be believable. A worthy addition to your yaoi library. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Yakuza Lover” Vol. 6, by Nozomi Mino

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

In this volume, Choko makes one final desperate attempt to have Oya for herself and a childhood friend of Yuri’s reappears in her life and is now a police officer.

This volume gives another drop of the complications of dating a yakuza by bringing in a cop and I don’t know why I’d forgotten Yuri’s been trying to keep this relationship a secret but Jin (the cop) is probably gonna blab. He doesn’t seem like Oya’s threats would work for long. I hope this is finally something that brings in an interesting conflict that isn’t instantly solved. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe” Vol. 1 by Hirohiko Araki

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

In this spin-off from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, manga artist Rohan Kishibe stumbles into the wrong side of a confessional and hears the confession of a stranger who went through some insane supernatural events, leading to an even stranger adventure to find more inspiration for his art.

This was a fun read despite the fact I don’t know a single thing about the original series. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be so bonkers and over the top but it absolutely is. I do feel like I’m missing something since I wasn’t ever interested in the original series but I guess I’ll have to check it out. This was cool but confusingly insane. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Komi Can’t Communicate” Vol. 20, by Tomohito Oda

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

Komi’s, Tadano, and their friends go on a skiing trip but unforeseen events, Tadano and Manbagi get left behind at a rest stop and have no place to stay. They end up at a hotel with only one bed available. There is also a story to parallel this where Komi’s parents as teenagers go on a ski trip.

Although the premise implies a bunch of awkward romantic shenanigans, this volume keeps it’s lighthearted, almost too pure for this world tone. It may not be believable for everyone to be so nice all the time but it works so well here and I’d like it to stay that way. I don’t want this series to end up drowning in too much angst. It’s like a precious innocent that needs to be protected. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Love in Focus Complete Collection” by Yoko Nogiri

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Mako loves photography so much, her childhood friend, Kei, suggests she takes a chance on attending a high school with a prestigious photography club. She ends up moving into a dorm with Kei and his classmates; kicking off a love triangle.

This is a cute manga that is worth checking out if you like young adult romance manga. Mako is a sweet character to follow; she’s just earnest and wants to enjoy photography and the other boys around her have different enough personalities that you really wonder who Mako should end up with. I won’t spoil it but, I found it to be a satisfying choice and ending. There’s some slice of life elements as well to break things up and while a tad rushed, it was fun to read and you could polish it off in a quiet afternoon. 3.9 out of 5.

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