YA graphic novels

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Lenni Reviews: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 1, by Kazune Kawahara

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

Sae and Koki have been friends since they were kids but now that they’re older, their dynamic has changed from her always having to protect him from teasing to Koki being the most popular boy in school. Sae realizes how attractive he is and has developed feelings for him.

This is another light hearted high school romance with really likeable characters. It’s a soft start with – spoiler-ish I guess – no real villainous character. It’s more about these kids not ready to confess their feelings and Saw working through having to share her friend with so many other people. The softness of the art style is relaxing and flows well with the cozy plot. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Special One” Vol. 9, by Momoko Koda

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

Sahoko and Kata go on a trip with Emiko tagging along, wishing Kanato could be there with her.

It starts off with the trip but the standout here is Emiko freaking out about being intimate with Kanato but she’s a virgin. These two are gonna rot my teeth they’re so sweet. They still have a few misunderstandings but it’s nowhere near as bad as when they first were trying to get together. It’s an entire volume about how lovey-dovey they are and while sweet, it’s very slice of life. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “I Wanna Do Bad Things with You” Vol. 4, by Yutaka

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

When Soshi falls ill during their study session, Kei goads Mamori into taking care of him. Unsure of herself, Mamori asks Ichika – Soshi’s intended fiancee – to assist her and they all end up staying over to study for the upcoming exams.

In addition to the study session and sleep-over shenanigans, we get some back story on Mamori’s mother and more of Soshi and Koichi’s father; who both suck. The dad just needs a mustache to twirl and the mom is a dismissive, unsupportive, absentee parent. This makes Mamori and Soushi’s friendship a breath of fresh air. They’re just the right amount of clueless and innocent to keep me entertained and empathize with them. I’m attached enough to them to be so glad they have each other since their parents are so terrible. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi” Vol. 1, by Yuri Sonoda

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

Maruru lived with a nice family until he chased a flock of sparrows and got lost. Now living on the streets, he runs into Hachi, who eventually takes the housecat under his wing to survive as strays together.

While adorable and heartwarming at times, it’s also heartwrenching. Stray cats don’t have easy lives and while this doesn’t pull a Watership Down and shock us with blood and gore; their lives are still rough and have a ton of risk. They struggle to find food and clean water, to stay warm in the winter, have turf disputes, and rely on the rare kind person who will help them out. The volume does a good job at getting you connected to the characters. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna leave some cat food on the porch. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Sakura, Saku” Vol. 6, by Io Sakisaka

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

Saku remembers when she met Iryu as a child and he is starting to have feelings for her. At the school festival, Saku plans to spend time with Haruki but Iryu also wants to see her.

Oh, we’re fully in love triangle mode now. Iyru and Haruki are wasting no time pursuing Saku, who is mildly annoying with her passivity and milk toast reactions. She’s just going along with whatever each guy is doing at the moment. I like her but I’m hoping she’ll be a little more active in all this in the future. The boys clearly have no issue with this. 3.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rainbows After Storms” Vol. 2, by Luka Kobachi

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

Nanoha and Chidori’s relationship is still a secret from their friends and Chidori thinks back on her past love.

This volume continues the very light, slice-of-life tone. Just a bunch of cute moments of their relationship as they study, hang out, etc. Since we still don’t have any particular stakes, it’s a cozy read where the reader can just enjoy seeing these girls be happy with each other and live life. I appreciate the positivity after some of the depressing stuff I’ve been reading (you’ll see those reviews soon) but it can get repetitive. Every chapter starts with how they’re keeping their relationship a secret; as if each one was serialized in separate issues so it could be picked up in any spot. It’s not as enjoyable when it’s all put together, though. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rainbows After Storms” Vol. 1, by Luka Kobachi

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

High school students Nanoha and Chidori are dating but they keep their relationship secret; only known to their classmates as best friends.

This is very slice of life, especially when compared to the same setting for yaoi manga. It’s just so cute and sweet. Not a bit of smut to be found. It gets repetitive because each little story starts out with “we’re dating and keeping it a secret” and there are no obvious stakes to them keeping their relationship a secret. It doesn’t seem like their friends are homophobic or anything. Everything is very lighthearted and calm; a lot of blushing and meaningful glances. It’s decent but maybe a little more depth to it would make me like it more. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rainbow Days” Vol. 13, by Minami Mizuno

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

Natsuki and Anna are finally at the school festival together but will he finally be able to tell her how he feels before the day is over?

Now that they’re together, we’re in the “figure out how to couple” stage and move on to other possible pairings in the series as they all head into summer vacation. These bits of slice of life scenes was so much better than it has been in the previous volumes. There’s something about the energy here that’s more entertaining and interesting. We’ll see if we get more pairings to follow in the future but I’m cool with we just get more of these teen shenanigans for a bit. 3.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Insomniacs After School” Vol. 8, by Makoto Ojiro

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

After the festival, Magari picks up her late-night radio streams again, confessing about the health issues she’s been dealing with most of her life. The previous astronomy club member, Shiromaru, gets more involved in helping Magari and Nakami start nighttime observations for the new club.

Kurashiki Sensei is so deadpan, I love it. Most of this is Magari and Nakami spending a supervised overnight at school for some stargazing but a storm blocks the skies. It’s very sweet and good to see them happy together doing what they love. It’s just a pure moment. We still don’t know what seems to be the deeper issue with Shiomaru, who clearly had more going on with the previous astronomy club that she’s still hiding. I doubt it will be very heavy or dark since that would be a major departure from the tone of this series so far. I honestly hope Magari having a heart condition is as dark as this series gets. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Let’s Do It Already!” Vol. 3, by Aki Kusaka

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

Keiichiro has a packed summer schedule and Yuri manages to get a summer job just so she could see him more often. But when they attend an overnight study camp, through a series of misadventures, they end up in the same bed.

I’m glad the feelings between these two are genuine. There’s wacky moments and to me it’s a little much for Yuri to keep going so far for just a scrap of Keiichiro’s attention in his absurdly packed schedule but he clearly cares about her and is trying to do what he feels he can within the confines of his family’s demands. It’s sweet and nice to see with the other series I’m reading where one partner has deeper issues or ulterior motives. 3 out of 5.

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