Mao

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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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Lenni Reviews: “Mao” Vol. 22, by Rumiko Takahashi

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

After dealing with the doll maker, Nanoka encounters a possessed woman whom she tries to deal with on her own, but is helped by Yurako, sparking jealousy. Meanwhile, Byoki reveals more about Sana’s death.

Nanoka isn’t just a bit jealous; she’s pushing too hard to be as strong as Yurako and putting herself in danger to do so. And again, the more we learn about the Goku Clan, the more awful they are. What they put Yurako and Sana through is so sad. It’s genuinely getting to the point where I’m wondering if they did any decent things. They’re almost comically evil and I don’t really care to learn anymore about them. It’s for the best if we get to the endgame and defeat them for good. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mao” Vol. 21, by Rumiko Takahashi

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

Mao and Nanoka help with some cursed objects and investigate a missing children’s case while the Goku Clan is still sniffing around.

While I do enjoy the villain-of-the-week sort of volumes, this one wasn’t as good as the others. I’d like some more forward momentum in the overarching story with whatever the Goku Clan is ultimately planning. It’s okay but something about this volume felt kinda bland and only exists to introduce some more cursed items. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni reviews: “Mao” Vol. 20, by Rumiko Takahashi

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

Soma is sent to kill, allowing the beast inside him to grow stronger and Mao is sent to investigate the mysterious deaths of suspects in police custody who are involved in a pending corruption case.

The two best parts of this volume are Nanoka learning and using more of her abilities and Mao finally getting to talk to Yurako. It’s faced paced and feels clipped a bit short, if that makes sense. Everything moves quickly from one point to another and the whole experience felt like connections between events were taken out or skipped over. It’s still fun but not as fun as other volumes. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mao” Vol. 19, by Rumiko Takahashi

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

Nanoka and Mao have to rescue a woman from being sacrificed to a water god, then go to investigate a gathering of ayakashi that may have been sent by Yurako, revealing a strange situation involving Daigo and Natsuno’s souls.

Every time I learn something about the Goku clan and the things they’ve done, the more I dislike them. They just do worse and worse things so maybe it’s for the best that Mao isn’t associated with them anymore. Other than that, good to see Nanoka getting more confident in her abilities. It can get stale having the one main character swoop in and do everything in one go like Fist of the North Star. I look forward to all of our cast using their abilities together in interesting ways. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mao” Vol. 18, by Rumiko Takahashi

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

As the hunt for the Box of Monstrosity continues, tensions come to a head in the Hosho family due to a rivalry between Kagari and her older sister, Ayame. Their conflict draws in Mao and Nanoka to face Kagari and her poisoned needles.

The multiple adventures in this volume are cool. In addition to what’s in the summary, there’s also a cursed village suffering a drought caused by the Goku clan. I am loving the powers Nanoka is developing and her involvement in more battles. But, with so many stories going on, I wonder how or if all these people will factor in to the final battle against the Goku. Will Ayame assist in some form? That’d be cool She’s kind of a bitch but no nonsense. I like her. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mao” Vol. 17, by Rumiko Takahashi

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

The Goku Clan is assassinating people on the search for another one of their lost relics: the Box of Monstrosity. Mao must lure out Shiranui in order to stop the deaths and he learns more about Sana and Natsuno’s secret.

Wow, the Goku Clan is a mess. It’s starting to feel more like what horrors DIDN’T they commit rather than what they did. This volume goes back and forth between the main narrative of Mao finding out Sana, which is normal but a little jarring this time around. Not bad but noticeabe. Plus the box is really creepy and a different sord of challenge so, I was more interested in that and I want to see how they all deal with it. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mao” Vol. 16, by Rumiko Takahashi

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

Mao tries to reach Daigo, who is only an empty shell manipulated by the Goko Clan and Byoki. they also assist in the case of a missing girl and a string of mysterious fires followed by robberies.

The missing girl case allows us to see more of Hyakka, his abilities, and other similar fire wielders. I won’t spoil any details but it’s a well done story that doesn’t feel like filler whatsoever as whatever is going on with Daigo takes a pause. I found this story interesting with some cool powers that I’m sure will come into play as the main plot progresses and makes Hyakka a cool character. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mao” Vol. 15, by Rumiko Takahashi

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

Mao faces the man who has been using a fire breathing mask to bully his village. But Sasuga has been sent to claim the mask as an addition to the Goku Clan’s arsenal. Mao is determined to destroy it rather than let Shiranui have it but he must defeat Sasuga first.

Whatever went down the night Mao was accused of murder continues to twist and turn into something much more complicated than we thought 15 volumes ago. Clearly there’s some messed up stuff going on and as the cast expands, we’re getting bits of information along with some interesting powers and personalities. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Mao” Vol. 14, by Rumiko Takahashi

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

Nanaoka is making progress wielding her sword and while she can be of help to Mao as she wishes, there are still some enemies that are beyond her abilities.

It feels like we’re back to a villain of the week format which I like since I get to see more types of spirits and meet new characters. It’s all to likely set up for the big showdown with the Goku clan as there’s a lot of info about what elements balance and defeat the others. Its still a cool series and I’m enjoying it! 4 out of 5.

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