review

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Lenni Reviews: “The Climber” Vol. 1, by Shin’ichi Sakamoto, JiroĢ„ Nitta, Yoshio Nabeta & Hiroshi Takano

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

New student Buntaro Mori is a quiet loner who everyone pegs as a troublemaker until he shows skills at climbing.

I’m not that into sports manga, but I was honestly intrigued by the idea of competitive climbing. As this volume stands, it’s pretty much exactly like other shonen manga where the protagonist shows unusual prowess at a thing but is cocky and doesn’t want to learn things from the professionals, the protagonist has some tragedy/taruma, the rival… All the ingredients in this common recipe. Common but not boring. The art is able to make things appropriately dramatic and I can see continuing this series. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Vagabond” Definitive Edition Vol. 5, by Takehiko Inoue

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

Takezo faces Kohei, Master of Chain and Sickle.

While we learn Kohei’s backstory, we also learn about Kojiro, a deaf child raised by Jisai. Kojiro’s growth into a skilled swordsman takes up the bulk of this volume. It seems he’s destined from birth to wield a sword, but like a lot of stories in this genre, that’s a tragic fate. This had to be my favorite of the series so far. It’s everything I love about this genre, despite including some SA. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Colette Decides to Die” Vol. 6, by Alto Yukimura

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

Menthe is unwell, and Colette tries to save her. Colette also journeys with Hadies to the Frozen Wastes, where she may confess her feelings.

I haven’t been mentioning much about the inclusion of the gods. Dionysus and Hermes have great chemistry, and while Colette is being her usual inspiring self and her romance with Hadies is progressing, spending time with those two was a nice aside. In the back of my mind, I am concerned about the inevitable conflict between Colette’s drive to be an apotheary and being in a relationship with a god who will inevitably outlive her. We shall see! 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rooster Fighter” Vol. 9, by Shu Sakuratani

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

Elizabeth, Keisuke, and Keiji are still searching for the Righteous Master to save Keizan while being pursued by a demon who wants to capture them.

This volume has some great lore as we finally get to meet the Righteous Master, and the demon hunting them gives us some fun action scenes. This is also a far more serious installment with only tiny bits of humor. The focus is on the brothers and more information about Righteous Eggs. I can feel the impending training arc coming up, but that’s still fun to see. You almost forget this is the demon fighting chickens series since it’s a good story. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Way of the Househusband” Vol. 15, by Kousuke Oono

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

In this volume, our favorite house husband:

  • Help sell some crepes
  • Visits an old friend’s grave
  • Helps procure gifts for Mother’s Day
  • Helps Yuriko find a good deal
  • Goes clam-digging
  • Miku has a bad day
  • Searches for some specific pickles

I can empathize with the pickle adventure. When you find a product that you like, there’s just no substitute. It is nice to see more characters roped into this madness. Everyone just rolls with it, I love it. It’s actually uplifting to read some of these since fewer people are being judgmental of Tatsu. This is pretty rapid-fire, with some small plotlines running through it, but it’s still so much fun.

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Lenni Reviews: “Steel of the Celestial Shadows” Vol. 9, by Daruma Matsuura

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

In Yumiko Village, Aki’s hometown, one of the 12 Divine Generals, Toki: The Rooster, targets Aki.

Toki is a scary villain. I think in general, enemies that can puppet your loved ones and allies against you are creepy. We also get to see the time when Toki and Bokutake trained together, and this makes up a big chunk of the volume, bookended by Toki’s attack. She is genuinely terrifying, and I’m a little annoyed that there’s a cliffhanger (spoilers?) without a plan to stop her. Sure it’s the classic “evil child” trope, but it is effective. 4.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rainbows After Storms” Vol. 8, by Luka Kobachi

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

As our couple enjoys the school’s sports festival, Chidori is hesitant to be more physical in her relationship with Nanoha. They are also approaching graduation, after which Chidori has plans, but Nanoha does not.

Trying to balance spending time with each other, yet be there for their friends who still don’t know about them, is the main conflict in the manga. It’s all super cute and still light-hearted. Very fluffy slice of life that just makes you smile. It does still make me wonder if they will hide this secret throughout the entire series. I still can’t see this series getting all that dark, but there has to be some sort of payoff for all this sneaking around. 4 out of 5.Ā 

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Lenni Reviews: “Centuria” Vol. 1, by Tōru Kuramori

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

All Julian has ever known is the brutal life of a slave. When he attempts to escape, he stows away on a slave ship in cursed waters. Julian encounters kindness and horror, resulting in his body being infused with the power of a hundred lives by a goddess and a newborn baby in his care.

It’s been a while since I dug into some high fantasy that’s not romance or slice of life. That being said, this is a pretty interesting yet standard-ish start to a dark fantasy. We’ve set up the small core cast and established some rules of this world and I would love to read more and get to know these characters more. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Sleeping on Paper Boats” Vol. 2, by Teki Yatsuda

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

Kei and Yoichi reunite after some time apart, helping to heal each other’s deep wounds and hopefully move forward towards a brighter future.

While the word “maudlin” is a perfect way to describe this book and what our couple goes through, I am happy to report it’s a wade through the muck to reach the light. In the end, it’s beautiful and not that explicit at all. If you’re looking for a m/m romance that focuses deeply on the characters overcoming what has weighed them down, this is a nice story that rewards the heartache you may feel. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Man Who Defies the World of BL” Vol. 3, by Konkichi

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

In this volume, the tropes of paranormal, sports festival, cats, and punk characters are explored.

Our main character is kinda interested in Ayato’s budding romance, but other than that, I think my issue isn’t that he’s a straight guy dodging BL tropes; it’s that, in general, he’s detached from everything going on around him. I get this overall “blah” feeling. If he doesn’t care, why should I? 2 out of 5.

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