Sara Campbell Comic Reviews

This volume is mainly a large battle between the two sides that has been building up for several volumes since Konosuke has been hot on their tail for a while, and the payoff is sweet. The spell casting is fun to see and it’s rewarding to watch Konosuke finally be able to use some of the abilities he has been learning along his journey. Bokutake's background is tragic, as have most of the character backstories so far, but not as dark and gruesome as some of the others in previous volumes.

The first thing that drew me into this BL manga was the beautifully designed cover and dazzling art. The character designs for Sirius and Ombre and gorgeous. Ombre is the perfectly quintessential brooding male, constantly scowling, lead while Sirius is the typical innocent, pretty boy. Sirius can sometimes lack definition, however. Soutome's beautiful details also extend to the forest scene surrounding her characters. Illustrations aside, Ombre and Sirius are both sympathetic characters battling a lifetime of hurt, and seeing them come together to heal is satisfying. There are a few unfortunate time jumps that skip over interesting points in the narration but this is potentially due to forcing this into a single volume.  Fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope will appreciate this single-volume payoff.

If readers enjoy being frustrated with delayed gratification, this is definitely the story for them. The constant back and forth of will they / won’t they get divorced and/or confess is very tense! There are also plenty of comedic interruptions every time something gets too serious, much to Erden and reader’s disappointment. Letitia is extremely clever, and she takes on a slightly villainess roll in towards the demons by creating superb schemes based on her life in Korea that trick them for all their worth.

For the die hard fan who had read through this series and knows the exact placement for each of these stories, this exploration gives wonderful insight for some pivotal moments. If readers have forgotten these side characters or moments, there’s not a lot of context or explanation provided to ground them in the main storyline. Given how popular this series is, this is still a solid purchase for libraries.Sara's Rating: 8/10Suitability Level: Grades 10-12Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3, vol 4, vol 5, vol 6, vol 7, vol 8, vol 9, vol 10, vol 11, vol 12, vol 13Publisher: IZE PressPublication Date: Dec 30, 2025ISBN: 9798400904646​ (Paperback)​Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manhwa, Dungeon, Action Adventure, Magic, IZE Press

While we didn’t get much forward progress in the storyline in this volume, we did get to see Camellius dress as a woman, which compounded many of the male figures complexes and feelings for Camellius. We also learned Ian’s intentions. Camellia was put in a terrifying situation with a potential predator and only Claude saw the danger despite repeated warnings. Our lead character also got a few opportunities to stand up for themselves, which was gratifying. The many layers of Camellia switching gender via clothing aligns beautifully with the many switches in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, which would provide an interesting opportunity for readalikes.

this is a heartbreaking and sweet story about two broken souls who will hopefulyl find some acceptance with each other despite their harsh upbringing. Haruichi sets good boundaries and seems to be hoping to round out Tsubaki’s education and life skills so that she’s not set up for failure later in life. There are a lot of positive moments of healing for both of them while they try to wrestle with the trauma they've been dealt by their families.

In previous volumes, this series tackled heavy topics like body issues, eating disorders, and self-esteem. In this volume, the creators wade into the topics of LGBTQ+ issues, particularly gendered fashion, gender roles, and transgender issues. Some of it is subtle, like calling out gendered shoes and asking why women's shoes are impractical and painful compared to men's shoes that are comfortable and sensible. The creators use the mermaid culture of this fantasy world to ask these questions that one could say is examining humanity, or it could just be a fantasy world.

In this volume, we get to see Heinrey and Navier's relationship deepen as Navier finally starts opening up to her new husband. There might even be some moments to garner sympathy for Rashta after everything terrible she's done all series. There are still many political machinations going on, this time in two different courts, so it's quite a lot to keep track of with these large breaks between installments in the series. This is still beautifully illustrated and colored, and wonderfully entertaining for those readers who enjoy political intrigue as a main plot device.

At times, the narration of this gorgeous narrative is choppy and requires some re-reading to discover where the jumps are leading you. The moments surrounding Wangi in particular can be a bit disjointed. Additionally, the motive of the narration himself is unclear. Despite the disconnects, the art in this graphic novel is absolutely gorgeous. The panel layout conveys the enormity of the animals as well as the under water environments, and several pages have sweeping progressions of partial splashes that show this grandeur. The water colors are beautifully blended, and Valenza's color palette is well chosen for the environments Kristantina wished to convey with her inks.

This manga starts off a little bit confusing with the switch between Erina and Alvis' points of view, but once the main problem is established, the narrative perspective settles and it becomes much easier to follow. The beginning also uses quite a few well-known tropes, such as broken engagement, false accusations, engagements rearranged, but something refreshing is that this fantasy is told from the male perspective instead of the wronged female lead or from the reincarnated/isekai'd person's perspective. By the end of this volume, Alvis is a much more interesting character, and I'm excited to see the bond between him and Erina develop.

This volume focuses more on Amelia and develops her character and personality more than previous volumes. We see her grow and struggle as a companion to Akira while she tries to find her usefulness as a party member to a person who is very powerful. I appreciate Amelia trying to find her place, as this is something I have tried to figure out for a few volumes. There is a bit of "food manga" asides in this volume as Amelia  prepare delicious-looking meals for herself, Crow, and Night. The ending of this volume is quite a nasty cliffhanger, so I, and other readers enjoying this series, am eager to read the next volume.

In this final volume of the story, Akabane is hard pressed to tie up many storylines, and this is doe through may wild twists and turns that I didn't fully see coming. One in particular that I didn't anticipate but I enjoyed was Misaki's villain origin story. This series is short and sweet, ad it doesn't waste time with a lot of filler or unnecessary monsters, but it also doesn't full explore concepts or build out the world fully. There are some side characters that were introduced that are unfortunately never seen again. However, what this series excels at is taking many tropes and stereotypes and playing with expectations.

All of the skills and courage Mio has learned along the way has led to this moment where she is standing up for herself and what she wants, and I am so happy to see the pay off of her journey. Some of the back and forth with Chika is a little less satisfying as they are now out in the open about their relationship and he’s not respecting her feelings as much as he could be, so hopefully we see some more healthy relationship habits at the conclusion of the series in the next volume. There is a LOT to wrap up in one volume!

This first volume covers a lot of ground in the plot department and is a typical volume one of Shonen manga. A lot of characters are introduced, including ones from Asta and Yuno's childhood but also a fair amount of rivals and compatriots in the trials. Some of these side characters are not always fully clothed, including a witch who lazes about the Black Bulls headquarters in her underwear. Tabata also lays a lot of foundational world-building in this entry volume with the introduction of the magic system and the social strata magic-users recognize amongst each other. So far, there's nothing about this series that stands out from other shonen manga, but it may need time to develop given how packed this first entry was.

While  Sookyuk’s station in the palace is horrifying, creators Haga and Jiyoung do well to hint at the king’s pedophilia and not blatantly putting anything on the page, giving us just enough to be sickened and provide enough to prove Sookyuk’s desperation and motivation. Sookyuk and Wolfgang are complex and have their clear reasons for readers to compassionately care for them and want to continue reading their journey. Both characters have complex backstories that are well developed in this first volume, and the motivations driving both to want a better kingdom is compelling. It is clear from this first volume that a lot of thought and care has been put into developing these characters and their relationship.

This graphic novelization of the show follows the plot moment for moment and attempts to capture the intensity of what is portrayed on screen. As this a black and white medium, the true darkness and grittiness of some of the scenes doesn’t fully come through on the white backgrounds Osawa uses throughout each of the locations, but the detailed illustrations of armor, creatures, and settings make this a stunning piece to read. This is fun to revisit for fans of the show, but it can also be a way for readers to experience the storyline if they don’t have access to Disney+.

Aside from a few advanced vocabulary words, these tales are broken down for younger audiences and are fast paced to be engaging. The included tales are shocking, funny, and important to the overall ethos of the goddess Artemis. There are many foundational tales that establish her temperament as a goddess and showcase her treatment of mortals, especially how she interacted and felt about mortal men, and other tales that showed her tumultuous relationship with the goddess Hera.

There are some beautiful meta-moments on drawing and realizations from Coco about the importance of everything she’s learned so far that are bringing this story into some heartwarming full-circle moments for the readers. There was no Qilfrey in this volume to the disappointment of probably many fans and myself, but we did get a touch of Olruggio backstory that would be wonderful to explore in much greater depth.

Get ready to suspend some disbelief a little further because it’s not extremely clear why all of these gents want Camellius other than he’s pretty and they seem a little bored. Wade and Claude make it a bit of a competition, but Ian comes a bit out of nowhere with his obsession of Camellia/us based on what Kieran has conveyed of his sibling. Regardless, the romantic tension and build up hits differently in this series because many of the leads believe they are chasing a male, so this might scratch a little bit of an itch for BL readership as well as shōjo fans. The art is exceptionally beautiful with gorgeous coloring.

The story itself is a little bit outlandish, but that is to be expected from a writer like Boichi who embraces craziness and mixes comedy with dark humor. While there is fanservice in this story, for some characters it is a feature of their personality rather than the gratuitousness of someof Boichi's other works. In that this is a story about the criminal underworld, there are female characters being sexually assaulted, which may be too intense for some readers. In keeping with Japanese decency laws, nothing is explicit on the page, but it is extremely clear what has happened.

The body image issues are back but Abigail isn’t so sure of herself this time. The struggle to maintain a positive sense of self-worth will definitely hit home with readers. Some days, it's harder than others remain confident and not give in to the negative comments. This volume reminds us that even those who seem assured may be struggling, and we should be positive to everyone. Abigail also turns fashion of this world upside down yet again and does something scandalous, which is always great. We're also into the miscommunication trope of shōjo manga, so be prepared, readers!

This volume begins with quite a bit of action and some much deserved backstory for Amelia who, until this point, has been traveling with Akira for unknown reasons other than just helping a person who seems like they could defeat the Demon King. Now that she has a little more development, we need to see a bit more time devoted to Akira's classmates to make them fully individual people.

The artwork of this series is very soft and full of beautiful people, especially beautiful young men. All of the clothing is elaborate and filled with billowing, puffy dresses, and there are tons of flowers everywhere, especially once a character like Wisteria is on the scene. There is opportunity for the storyline to get lost in its shōjo tropes, but the creators instead use some well loved tropes to their advantage to fill their pages with gorgeous artwork and an endearing story.

There was a lot of food preparation in this volume and tons of discussion around how to properly butcher and serve fish. Despite this being a monster, the culinary properties of the zanas were the same as many other fish. Melphie and Lord Aristide have some very touching moments as their romance is deepening, and there is and some light teasing that will delight shōjo fans. We also delve into the backstory of Lord Aristide a bit more, and I’m very excited to finally learn more about him. This volume does not fail to deliver on the continued themes of this series of food manga, romance manga, with a dash of comedy.

This volume provides some great comedy and humor surrounding capitalism. I was thoroughly entertained by Letitia's use of financial scams from her experiences in South Korea, particularly how common some of the scams were with what is happening in the United States. Pulling these into the demon world makes for some interesting content for perhaps older readers who have been exposed to these types of marketing and sales pitches, but they could also be conversation starters for younger readers and good exposure for the ludicrous things people try once they become involved in financial planning and decisions later in life.

This volume feels like a sprint to the end compared to the pace of some of the previous volumes. We cover quite a lot of narrative ground in a very short amount of time, and certain pieces are not given time to marinate before the characters have moved on to the next piece. In the beginning of this volume, We move through an entire kingdom in the span of a few panels where we had a few volumes dedicated to other kingdoms. This, unfortunately, happens towards the end of a manga series either due to the series being cancelled or to the mangaka's failing health, so I hope that the latter is not the case here. Regardless of the pacing issues, I am relieved to finally have some answers for Yuri’s past and to see what has been driving him for this entire series.

In order to contextualize these real historical moments, Nanbo creates characters and grounds them in each chapter and provides an audience stand-in for us to follow and sympathize with. There are fast facts peppered throughout and other explanations of details for readers, which may pull them out of the narrative as these footnotes happen within the panels, so I suggest waiting until a proper pause to go back and read the notes to avoid chopping the narration. This is written from a Japanese perspective, and the final chapter provides a refreshing and varied look at world events, especially given the climate this is being published into. There are many opportunities for use in classroom discussions and parring with anchor texts, especially using individual chapters along with primary sources in study of history.

The illustrations in this series were always beautiful, but the level of detail and coloring in this volume have reached a new level. The clothing design in this and stunning details on make up and hair is what truly made this volume stand out above the others. Junepurrr provided one heck of a sympathetic backstory for Raizo, but it's not enough to excuse the despicable things he's doing in the present. This is definitely one complicated villain! And, in previous volumes, there has been a reason to have two camps: Team Kyro and Team Aaron. After this volume, there can only be one camp moving forward. The storytelling in this volume has stepped up significantly.

Yukiko has one speed in her post-accident life — I’m amazing, keep up. Her boundless confidence brushes the line of being a punchline, but Mamakari keeps it ever so slightly on this side of being totally silly.  This volume has some emotionally poignant moments as Yukiko discovers a bit more about herself pre-acciedent, and not all of it is as bad as we have been led to believe. The newly introduced character from the marketing firm is quite enjoyable and a bit of fresh air that Yukiko needed to keep the bit from getting stale.

This single-volume story has wonderful pacing and drew me in from the very beginning. It became clear very quickly that there were multiple levels of a mystery to be sorted out and that many things were not as they originally seemed. There is a steady amount of character development for the child inspector and both of the potential parents he is investigating. Horoyama creates a whirlwind of emotions for the characters that had me feeling mixed emotions right up until the twist ending.

The energy and illustrations in this volume are of high quality, but this manga might feel dated very quickly because of the need to keep Yua “trendy.” She uses phrases like “lit” and “no cap" which are already going out of style as soon as this reaches our libraries. Yua is a “gyaru”, and the choice to translate this to “gal” is an interesting one because it just sounds like they’re calling her a girl rather than a specific type of subculture that makes more sense in Japan. There is some sweetness to the friendship between Yua and Otakura, and this is the part that will have appeal to some teen readers.

The comedy keeps on coming in this volume with Mimi’s family being the stars this time around. There is a little bit of seemingly needless back and forth as we were just at Mimi's home, but now we have to go back with Renato. Nevertheless, there are some great moments in this volume. Mimi’s adorable little brother steals the show with some beautiful one-liners and heartfelt chibi eyes that will be sure to melt readers. Momoyo and Nagato keep us in suspense even more with the build up between the two leads. The pay off is going to be sweet. ​

Despite the complicated manner in which these two must become family, Yuta describes the process very positively, and the entire book is filled with adorable chibi illustrations to lighten what otherwise might be a dreary or overwhelming topic. This narrative is presented in a matter-of-fact manner, providing information and insight for others to understand the perspective of Japanese culture and the hurdles presented to gay couples just hoping to exist and find belonging in the society.

In this final volume of the main story, some of the characters are still treated as throwaways rather than getting any sort of wrap up to their importance or interactions with Jinwoo, especially some of the other monarchs, in favor of giving more time with the King of Dragons. The final ending is also quite rushed and puts everything in a pretty tidy bow, but still leaves some questions unanswered.  There could be room for more to be explored in other related spin-off series. Or, online information leads me to believe that the light novels do a better job of fully explaining the ending without rushing the conclusion.

Mischievous students are going to do what mischievous students do best, right? Plot against all the best laid plans of their teachers and still end up in the biggest wad of trouble they can, then have to be rescued after doing massive amounts of property damage. Volume six continues to deliver on the action of this series and makes things even more ludicrous than some of the previous entries because, of course we're not going to involve the adults who work at the school who have never steered us wrong. As an adult reader, this one made me laugh. As a student reading this, the premise will probably make much more sense.

​The art throughout this volume is very beautiful. The coloring is bright and vibrant, especially the vibrant greens that pop in a world full of dark hues. Within a few pages, the Mundt creates an environment where you feel Camille’s high stakes and the pressure of her family’s expectations. Her cousin takes a bit of a back seat in the second half of the volume to make way for Camille’s journey of self-discovery, which is necessary but it’s an unfortunate punishment for a fun character. Hopefully, we see more of her in volume two.

CoryxKenshin and Mikell start this story with violent action, not world building. While people get ripped apart, the focus is on the importance of working together and the need to trust each other to survive. In this dystopia, we learn what is at stake along with Jabari. There are hints of relying on technology being problematic. The art has a Western influence. Extra lines during monster fight scenes make those panels darker while also blurring reality and blurring the lines between monsters and humans. This story is perfect for fans of Blue Exorcist.

So many answers and payoffs are finally happening in this penultimate volume! Some of the answers may not be fully satisfying, but at least the story is starting to knit itself together. The action sequences are still enjoyable and very cinematic. However, the major detractor of the series continues to be the disposable female characters. As this is all about Jinwoo and his journey, every other side character is on the sidelines, including his potential love interest. That side story has been completely abandoned, and Hunter Cha is all but forgotten.

In volume two, this series starts to step away from some of the other series in the same vein and becomes its own storyline. We find out pieces of why Erden thinks he’s ugly, but the mystery grows more intriguing. Letitia’s wit is on full display in this volume, and I love every moment of Erden being supportive and impressed by his wife. The supporting characters are all amazing, including the three grannies of Halstead castle and my favorite, Letitia’s dragon, that she swoops away from Erden. The dragon behaves more like a cat than anything else, which means fans of cat manga will feel right at home.

This is very cute and Felia is infectiously bubbly and optimistic. She has an uncanny ability to come out on top and read every social situation correctly. She's constantly prepared, which might be a little too convenient at times, but it's also refreshing to see every scheme of every bully fall flat on its face. She's quick witted as well, so her banter and come-backs are biting and have just the right amount of sting to them that they don't come off as overly rude. This is a cute romance that doesn't have many of the frustrating slow-burn aspects of many manga romances.

This volume is full of action but it also showcases Ichi’s creativity. Thanks to the different trials that he has to go through, we really get to see that he’s not all just action and sword. There are many funny moments between all of the witches, but it seems Desscaras has that permanent look of disappointment/ embarrassment that is featured on the cover. Despite being in her care, Ichi is constantly putting Desscaras in a position to be embarrassed in front of her colleague witches (in a funny way for all of us readers)

Volume two is even more hilarious than volume one. Much of the focus is on Mogari and Korekishi’s plight, so unfortunately Tamon and Kaoru take a little bit of a backseat in this one. Neoshoco does have a flair for introducing funny characters with something interesting about them, so this means we get a stoic ASB president who is a paranormal fanboy with lots of internal monologue, and Mogari's family member who acts like an excited tourist. These bits of comedy are beautifully executed, though this volume could have done with a little bit more paranormal activity.

To begin, this title seemed like a regressor to Beatrice/Chloe, but there's another twist that brings in another past life in Korea. The real-world connection comes much later in the volume, perhaps as a way to be different than other regressor titles. Instead, it hits as a bit jarring because it's a second stab at a previous life and becomes billed as Chloe having even more convenient background knowledge to help her in her current environment. Once the narrative begins to weave all of Chloe's talents, everything smooths out and makes me wish that there were hints to Korea at the beginning of the volume. On the positive side, Chloe is sweet, hardworking, and caring. There's most likely going to be a romance, but it's a slow burn that will build over multiple volumes.

Fujimaru consistently illustrates Akemi as an over-the-top villain with outlandish facial expressions conveying her childish anger and temper tantrums. In this volume, she finally gets her satisfying comeuppance as all of her amateur schemes come crashing down around her. I’d feel a little more sympathetic for her and the terrible situation she was forced into if she wasn’t just a horrible person.

Thanks to Hana's frequent mess ups, this manga is full of hilarity. Hana herself is energetic and good-natured, always trying to do her best but often failing miserably. Hana's fellow maid, Iris, is a bit more serious and does everything with an air of importance, making her a great foil for Iris' carefree effervescence. There are moments in between chapters dedicated to skating knowledge where readers can learn about board construction, trick names and history, as well as the characters. This slice-of-life can be a stand-alone as a single volume, or libraries can continue to purchase the series when volume two hits shelves in November of 2026.

This book has humor, action, and a powerful female character early on. The instant trust and dependence between Alma and Hikaru begets hilarity and creates some precarious situations as one can imagine from high tech being affixed to a sweater. There isn’t a big lore dump in this first volume, so things are still a bit confusing but explained enough to keep the story flowing. The full color illustrations and the cinematic panels capture the full experience of the anime adaptation of Mecha-Ude. The tease within the last few pages hints at much larger stakes to come in volume two if readers stick around to see it unfold.

The reborn trope and coming from an abusive family is nothing new, but having common items show up is different and interesting. Erden Halstead is an intriguing character, and the mystery of his curse has me hooked into reading more to discover the origin and nature of his affliction. As the title suggests, the mask may not be needed, but we aren't sure why in this first volume. The first half has some comedic moments, but the second half settles this story more into a fantasy epic with mythical creatures, castles, battles, and more.

There are a few poignant and well conveyed moments of Maxi’s anxiety, depression, and self-doubt that make this comic powerful in showcasing mental disorders. Riftan often doesn't pry or delve deeper with Maxi, but there are a few instances in this volume when he does, and it is heartbreaking. In between the action where Riftan is showing off his temper and the carnal urges where he can't keep his hands to himself, the two are starting to form a relationship on a intellectual level that I hope continues to evolve in the next volumes.

This title continues to take all of the perceived gender stereotypes of magical girl manga and society and play with them as much as possible with a lot of humorous moments. The lore dump of magical system is mostly fine except for the rather confusing Life Box, which Sakura is told must be guarded at all times. Then, they find out his is missing but they don’t seem to be in that much of a hurry to go find and retrieve it.

Tenroku is given nearly an entire volume of dedicated backstory exploration and character development, and I appreciate all of it. This level of dedication to building empathy for side characters and villains reminds me of the time and dedication spent to all characters in Demon Slayer. Matauura is an amazing storyteller who ​can makes readers care for even the most despicable villain. This type of storytelling does detract slightly from the main quest, so we don't get to see as much of Tsuki in this volume.

Things are coming to a head in the battle between the Monarchs and the Rulers even though not all of the Monarchs have come at Jinwoo at once, which means there’s an even bigger battle to come.  We’re starting to see some payoffs from many volumes ago, which is always satisfying. However, I’m disappointed overall that the female characters all seem to be throwaways. We haven’t seen Hunter Cha for many volumes, and she shows up here for a throwaway moment only to be discarded quickly.

Rashta continues to be her irritating and terrible self, though Sovieshu might be starting to see some of her horrible tendencies. The big wedding is finally here for Navier, including all the wonderful anticipation that comes with it for readers — Navier’s gorgeous wedding gown and her ball gown to follow were exactly what I had hoped for with a series that emphasizes beautiful dresses and fine details on clothing. Plus, Navier and Heinrey finally become intimate more than the simple hands brushing that we've seen so far, including some

The beginning of this volume starts off with a flash back and some insight on Jeff, which is helpful and appreciated but slightly jarring considering the wall of text exposition we’re given and the place we left off in the first volume. Once it becomes clear the mangaka are diving into character work, these scenes are heartbreaking and emotional. Later, when Victoria gets into her teaching moments, it's clear she cares for Nonna, and her relationship is very sweet and uplifting. This volume is a roller-coaster of emotionally poignant scenes between family.

Yumeko continues to exude positivity and self-confidence, and it thankfully spreads to another person in this volume. The comedic moments are often elaborate and accentuated with boisterous illustrations. The mystery takes a bit of a backseat in favor of furthering Yumeko's career plot points and the interpersonal relationships around the office, and we only get a few more intriguing bits at the very end to serve as cliffhangers to lead us into the next volume.

After the big lore dump of last volume, get ready for more! This one gets into the age old struggle for power between the monarchs and rulers, and because of the similarities of the terms, it was a bit I had to read twice. There are some consequential decisions in this one that make me wish this really was a was a video game where I could play out the different choices and see which one really is the “correct” choice, but the power of good storytelling in this volume is I don’t know what the consequences are for Jinwoo, and I'm excited to see the outcomes.

These three witches are delightfully funny, witty, and inquisitive, while the colors of this story appealed to the pastel lover that I am. Readers will most likely have a favorite (mine's aqua-haired Clover), and will no doubt have a or moment that they can relate to -- being parented by a sibling, having feelings of not fitting in, or learning to be responsible. There are also some tender moments as the sisters figure out their sibling dynamic and relationship with each other.. This is beautifully and brightly illustrated with some imaginative adventures that will appeal to fans of magic, mermaids, and mysteries.

There are already quite a lot of characters to keep track of in this story so far, and I hope readers are in for a few more. We also don't get a lot of information on the characters we've already met, so it can be challenging to keep everyone straight. There are a few flashes back and forth to the Kagemori compound to check in on Asa, but they're not illuminating enough, especially considering Jin Kagemori was chosen for the cover photo. This series is suffering slightly from balancing multiple perspectives and providing enough information to move the narrative forward.

The narrative structure of this first volume feels very convoluted. The flow feels like the pieces were pulverized in a blender before put together in the volume. There are few transitions to clue readers into the next section or to let us know we’re seeing a flashback, so navigating is confusing. The art, however, is phenomenal. The nights are illustrated with large, full panel details to give a sense of their scale. Gao and Jin have a sort of choreographed dance to execute their powers, and the illustrations are gorgeous. But, there are some unfortunate moments of fan service, such as strange female body poses to capture both posterior and chest, or Gao's mother's chest inexplicably enlarging with every page.

This volume continues to endear Mimi and her almost ingénue qualities despite other volumes where she kicks butt. In this volume, she's very naïve and somewhat needs saving, giving Renato a chance to be her hero for a change. Renato also has some pure and tender moments, which continue to show how wonderful and gentlemanly he is. If readers want a funny, sugary-sweet romance, this is the one for them.

There’s a lot of cuteness and dumb luck that gets Irumi where he is, which is not only inside a dangerous demon school, but friends and lording over some pretty powerful demons. This volume has a lot of silliness throughout, and plenty of demons making fools of themselves. The humor and outlandish ways Iruma continues to escape danger would definitely be appealing to young readers.

It's clear by volume two that Yako intends to take care of Nanao and that she is much shafe in her new home than what we saw in volume one with the Byakurenji clan, which warms my heart. However, Yako is still mysterious, and there is some misunderstandings between Nanao and Yako, which are guaranteed to keep readers invested.The chemistry between Yako and Nanao is a little steamier as they are already a little physical by volume two, so readers who have been frustrated by the slow pace of other romance series will be pleasantly surprised here. Pages are full of gorgeously detailed clothing, scenery, and tender moments between the two leads.

Itagaki blends character backstory in between brutal fight sequences to balance world-building in a way that creates suspense for the fights overall. We slowly learn about this scary opponent as Itagaki doles out information to make him creepier as the fight goes on, ramping up our concern for Baki’s safety. There are also some nice tid-bits throughout this volume of Baki’s past and we get a taste for why Baki is putting himself through all these fights. However, some of the wonderful side characters from volume one are completely absent in this volume.

Through this orb, we as readers are going to learn a lot about human interaction. Already in volume one, we are being invited to examine human frailty, the value of life, and the cycle of life and death. While the switch between the Arctic and March is a bit jarring, the connection eventually makes a lot of sense, and the cut actually fits together satisfyingly if suspend disbelief long enough to see how the stories relate to one another. This first volume was very intriguing, but definitely more philosophical with touches of action and adventure.

This behind-the-scenes tell-all provides intimate details about George’s struggles to get people to believe in the epic many of us readers know and love. I appreciated reading the different versions of the script and loved watching these be depicted panel-by-panel as the creators assumed their readers would understand the differences to the final movie. The narration and dialogue partner together to create a blend of showing and telling that make this feel less like watching a documentary.

This larger format, 10"+ sized manga is the perfect way to appreciate Sheng's gorgeously detailed illustrations and intense fighting throughout volume one. From the very first page, Sheng draws the reader in with a dark, viral moment that resonates with readers who are often caught in a cycle of scrollable content on their own devices. These reels often start off innocuous, just as Yan's did. Once we are hooked with this dark setting, Sheng doesn't let up with twist after twist of beautifully realized and choreographed fights. The mystery builds steadily and new characters are introduced skillfully and brought in with distinguished personalities, movements, and voicing. From start to finish, this was a wild, entertaining, beautiful ride, and the ending promises even more outlandish fun to come.

Aibi is a complicated character, made so from her environment and the circumstances of her curse. It’s nice to see a protagonist who is a little bit twisty and not completely altruistic, but the switches from “good girl” to slightly manipulative are subtle and can be off-putting at times. The god of death gets cheated, actually, as Aibi steals the show in this first volume, so he gets relegated to more of a cookie-cutter shojo romance character instead of having more page time dedicated to his development. Hopefully, he has time to shine in further volumes.

For readers who have been with this series since the beginning, there is a certain amount of suspense in this volume as we are nearing several key moments for dear Penelope. The creators have done a decent job of keeping the narrative tension high throughout this volume and providing ample opportunity for readers to be rooting for our dear protagonist (couldn't be heroine, could it?), but tragically, we are reminded of the title of the book a few times over the course of this volume -- that all of Penelope's scheming and best laid plans may all be for nothing, especially because she is her own worst enemy at times.

Rin’s training and journey for self-discovery is one part Run on Your New Legs, one part Medalist, with a dash of shonen battle manga training arc. She’s got the beginnings of a jealous bully even. Her coach is not as warm and cuddly as the coaches in Medalist, but her bubbly attitude and wealth of positivity is enough (once she very quickly gets over her sadness at the beginning). Shigematsu could stand to slow down and write the big feelings Rin must be feeling with a little more care instead of rushing the plot.

More elements of the Snow White tale, along with other classic fairy tale tropes, have come into play here, which was a nice reminder that this story is ultimately a retelling. The last few volumes have focused more on the relationships between the characters and less on the fairy tales, so the tropes didn't feel overplayed. There is also a touching moment with Abigail where we get another look at her past life that reinforces some of the painful things we already knew. The scenes will resonate with readers as Abigail works through her doubt and self-worth.

There is quite a bit of violence and gore in this manga, but it also lays bare the cycle of slaughter and consumption that humans participate on a daily basis as we raise and consume animals for our nourishment. This is eye opening and says a lot about being thankful for the life we take in consuming an animal, and there is also opportunity for discussion about the disconnect between consumers and buying meat in the supermarket or from a restaurant without understanding or paying mind to where it came from. However, this story moves beyond and loses the plot a bit with scenes of bestiality. The back 1/3 of volume one develops hastily into a larger society with tumbling world-building that goes much too fast, almost like it was rushing to keep readers engaged before they cancelled the series. It develops into something else entirely different than the commentary on consumption where it began.

While there is a slight through line of story to these chapters, mostly this first volume is told in semi-slice-of-life format with reoccurring characters being the thing tying everything together. Readers to get to know Chojo better as time goes on, and the ways he tries to get out of doing his police work are kind of hilarious. Deep down, Chojo does care about the public around his precinct, even if he is a grade-a jerk while doing it. Each chapter adds another funny character to the mix who will pop in and out of the station. I wonder if that’s a trend that will continue because that will be quite a cast of characters to keep up with.

This story is part culinary manga, with fine details about food preparation, preserving, seasonings, and descriptors of flavor and taste, but it's also part relationship and romance manga, where the two leads showcase open communication and flirtatiousness that makes me smile. There have been many stories recently with the trope of rescuing a young lady from a less-than-ideal home life, whisking her away to a better situation where she can heal and thrive, and it's a storyline I will read over and over again. This story brings Delicious in Dungeon together with elements of My Happy Marriage, and as a fan of both series, I'm here for more delectable sounding monster dishes and wholesome romance content.

Unlike some other stories where the protagonist starts out overpowered and stays that way, it seems that Natsuo will need to train and find her footing in this new world of MMA competition. Natsuo is also not a sweet and likeable main character to start out. She’s a bit of a bully and rough around the edges. This might be an instance where the side characters are more in line for being readers' favorites for the moment until we see more of what makes Natsuo tick. While many sports stories exist showing characters training to get stronger, this one takes a different approach in having Natsuo start out seeking a challenge and craving failure.

These powerful personal narratives present fascinating and honest portrayals of what everyday life is like for people whose brains process information differently, and the care in which Monzusu conveys their stories is commendable. Not only is this a beautiful collection for readers to be able to empathize with the daily life of other people, there's a chance that readers may see themselves in the life experience of one of these nine people and be motivated to talk to a medical professional about their special brains. This book is definitely something that all teen and adult libraries should consider purchasing.

This classic manga feels very inspired by Dragon Ball, but without the bawdy humor that mars some of the earlier volumes of that series. Many of the same tropes exist here - mysterious wise sages come to offer training and advice, and young heroes face insurmountable odds. But Kawamata also shows emotional depth on more than one occasion and reminds readers that Arus is still a young child who grew up without the love of his parents. Kawamata and Fujiwara’s monsters also occasionally have emotional moments as they contemplate their actions and the benefits of blindly following a demon lord’s orders. A mark of a great story is getting lost in its pages and being sad when the volume is over — both of which happened during my reading experience.

At first, the premise seems convoluted and a fairly in depth — the prologue to set up the soul’s journey is nearly a full chapter without clear explanation as to why we are receiving so much exposition. But the payoff is worth it for those who stick around. Not only is the art beautiful throughout, the stories are touching and skillfully crafted. There are fantastical creatures and magical moments seamlessly woven into every day life, but the fantasy sits in compliment to stories that have much deeper, human connections. The mangaka expresses and explores grief on many levels and touches upon some intimate human fears and emotions, such as belonging, loss, and family.

If readers are looking for a wholesome, slow burn romance with adorable doggos as central characters, this is definitely one to consider. Within a few chapters, we get Tsuba and Monjuro's inner monologue as commentary to the slowness with which Chiharu and Kiyotaka should see more of each other. Tsuba's adoption story is heartwarming and a wonderful way to round out this relatively short first volume. Here's hoping volume two provides us with insight into how Monjuro and Kiyotaka came to be in each other's lives.

The first half of this volume is an intense battle with many “power ups” as ghouls break out their kagune against each other. Ishida provides a nice balance in this volume with Rize's backstory and focusing on the CCG's investigations and inner workings. There's also a moment bouncing back to Anteiku Cafe so we can see how the ghouls recovered from their devastating fight. The story pacing is good once again even if this volume doesn't have quite as much depth philosophically as some of the other volumes. There are some some moments that defy expectations and allow for some discussion, such as the definition of beauty, and continuing the conversation of good vs. evil.

This is a fantastic full circle moment for readers who have been on this journey from the beginning because we finally get to go back to where it all began and confront the powerful monster that kicked this all off. It's nice to see how much Jinwoo himself has leveled over the volumes considering how weak he was when he first walked through this duneon. This volume provides a lot of interesting answers and insights into how Jinwoo came into the power that he has and why the "system" has developed into what it is.

What a dark, twisted, but poignant story. This story says a lot without saying much at all. There’s sparse dialogue throughout, and the illustrations are haunting.  There are dark lines and lots of maddening scribbles conveying the chaotic hopelessness. The older man makes the story very tense, which could serve as fodder for discussion with readers. The symbolism is rich in this story, and this one would be good to discuss with a literature class, especially one that specializes in dystopian literature.

The connection between Keito and Fujinaga in this first volume is beautiful and inspiring. Keito notes that Fujinaga is patient and always repeats when he accidentally looks away or forgets to show Keito his lips. This sweet moment caused me to reflect on times I have not been patient in my life and makes me want to do better next time. These empathy-building moments are extremely important for readers. Also, the illustrations of Fujinaga signing and becoming lost in the moment, especially when his story takes life -- those pages were transformative. The illustrations were beautifully realized and fluid. I hope we can all create a human connection that personal and meaningful. This was a great beginning to a beautiful story, and one worthy of inclusion because of its captivating moments AND its disability representation.

This silly collection of short stories is full of juvenile humor, and it made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. Hikawa's author’s note at the beginning of each chapter gives a bit of context for each story or gives reason why it was included in the volume. Because it’s a collection of short stories, this reads like slice of life and doesn’t have a connected storyline. This makes it a perfect fit for younger audiences who have shorter attention spans or who can’t always read these volumes in order.

Seasoned readers of BL will clue in pretty quickly why Taesung didn't want Haebom to live with them, but less experienced readers might be along for the ride on this slow-burn romance. As Taesung begins to stand up for Haebom and show his protectiveness, the story becomes very sweet. Haebom's bullies are pretty one-dimensional and classic stereotypes, so there is a part of me that hopes we are done with them so they can be gone, but another part of me hopes that they can come back and have some more depth or development and not just be a trope. Bamwoo has put a lot of effort into Taesung and Haebom to make them relatable and likeable, but so far, other characters are only around to serve as plot points or decoration. Regardless, romance fans will enjoy the misunderstandings and revelations between the two leads as they finally understand and open up to each other about years of unrequited love.

Some of the advice is specific to Japanese cosplay events and may not be as applicable, but the book is still a solid primer for creating costumes and getting into the cosplay culture. Another challenge with creating nonfiction content is that some of the websites listed will become defunct or not be available in North America, or will be links to Japanese websites without international shipping. Regardless, the sentiments are still consistent, such as finding some pre-made pieces versus hand-making all pieces, or researching costumer makers available to your local region. Despite the challenges of localizing something that's specifically made for a community in Japan, this title still provides insight into a popular community that readers in North America are interested in.

Despite getting a second chance at life, Bianca does not come back as a perfectly reformed character, and she still has plenty of rough around the edges. She's tough, and potentially hard to love. There are some very real and relatable moments in this first volume, as well as some beautiful examples of honest conversations between two adult people building a life together who obviously have some hurt to overcome. Bianca is a flawed main character who doesn't have it all figured out, but readers will still want to root for her to succeed this time around.

Aria has so many schemes and irons in the fire at one time that this series would definitely benefit from reading all the volumes close together. This is a binge series, not a slow sipper. In addition to the intricate plots, there are references to characters or actions from previous volumes that are carried over into the next volume, and a lot of minor characters become important down the line. Some readers might be frustrated with how Aria is developing and her use of the hourglass, but it's also an interesting mechanic that makes this villainess story a little unique compared to others in the vein.

This volume services a bit like a prologue for the first half as we delve into the background of Luca and set up the world of the Branch-hexed soldiers that all serve a holy order to protect the powerful and treasure-filled Spire. Sora mixes world-building within the outbursts of war to keep the pacing of the story steady, so readers learn much about the magic and the history of the conflict Luca finds himself caught up in. This series has the battles and violence of Vinland Saga, the mercenary and magical adventure storyline of Almark, and the the mysterious Outsiders from The Girl from the Otherside all mixed in to create a magical war story with a touch of mystery.

There are elements of mystery sprinkled throughout what is otherwise a comedy starring the one woman show, Yumeko. She had confidence pouring off of her, but those around her don’t share in her outlook on life. Other characters make rude comments behind Yumeko’s back, making this a heartbreaking but realistic depiction of the hardships of being a plus-sized person unable to escape the negativity regardless of the positivity one might exude. There are aspects about this story that may be refreshingly positive for readers as they find comfort in Yumeko's attitude despite the world around her, but others might find the chatter annoying or distracting.

This truly is a wacky adventure with tons of silliness that is bound to make kids laugh and giggle. There are some fun one-liners that bring internet culture in and are definitely references for the adults to enjoy (like the throwback to “I’m not you buddy, pal!”). The illustrations in this volume add more comics-style paneling into the mix, and there are some clever reasons given for why the illustration style changes (someone switched the graphics card on Pineapple Pete!). The fidelity to the bit (video games) is admirable and will encourage re-reads to pick up on all the little Easter eggs. This volume has a little sophomore slump in managing two plotlines between Dizzy's crew and Commander E.K.O. where the first volume kept the pace exhilarating throughout, but younger readers likely won't notice.

This is absolutely over the top in a good way. Baki is full of outlandish fight scenes with elaborate and unbelievable power-ups and abilities that absolutely couldn't exist in real life. Baki himself is an overpowered and rather dopey, doe-eyed main character who has apparently seen some things but has still retained his innocence.

There are many things to love about this story so far. the art is beautiful — I loved all of the detail and development of the village lore, especially the inserts after each chapter that made this tribe feel real and bits that connected their history to customs rooted in the real world. Kelí, however, was a little annoying as a main character and couldn’t learn his lesson regardless of how many times he was presented with it.

In this volume, there are more tropes typical to childhood stories -- sorting feelings, figuring out who you are -- but Emma has to work on her relationship with her family more than what we saw in the first volume with Lilico. Also, Emma has a lot of complicated emotions about how her family impacts her identity and being able to fully feel her range of emotions, especially as it relates to being able to fully express herself when she feels frustrated and unsupported by her family members. These difficult transitional periods are common amongst tween and teen readers, and I think a lot of them will relate to the struggles Emma is facing on and off the basketball court.

Now Rintaro has to sort out his feelings and navigate his shyness while keeping his cool around his friends, but he definitely has his tells. This volume spends more time inside Chidori and with other students aside from the core group. We also finally start to learn more about Rintaro’s dad as Rintaro begins to take an interest in baking, and there are hints that volume five will incorporate the quintessential summer festival trope popular to shojo manga.

Hime is larger than life and over the top in her reactions and protectiveness of Akira that bring humor to this title. Despite the theatrics, there are some deeper, touching moments and introspective dialogue that invite the reader to examine gender expression, especially in the importance of clothing and how that contributes to others' perception of us. Takase's illustrations rely on heavy outlining and can be comical at times, but character designs are adorably done.

Villainess stories are very popular at this moment, and here's another entry in the reverse-harem trope where Luciana, at this point in time, not particularly liked by all of the love interests. What I enjoyed about this take on the reincarnation story is that the main character's advanced knowledge of the game seems to fail her very quickly, and unexpected things happen or characters behave in ways that she does not anticipate. This keeps the narrative fresh and doesn't make her as overpowered as other entries in the regressor field of stories. The art in this story is also fantastic and extremely detailed.

We got some nice time with the boys in this volume, and we’re starting to get some distinct personality between the three of them. There were also some sweet moments with Rintaro’s mom, and a great delve into Rintaro's past that gave him some extra depth. Rintaro taking lead to bring the two groups together is adorable, and I think it will resonate with readers who are navigating their own social situations. The illustrations continue to be beautiful and immensely detailed, particularly the many close ups of emotive characters.

There is an entire connected curriculum for the Digital Lizards of Doom universe that has been piloted in several schools, and has been met with initial success amongst elementary students. The curriculum includes prompts for reading questions, writing, and stoking students' curiosity. There are also connected activity pages, but some teachers have used these more as inspiration for creating their own materials. Check out their website for more information and to hear success stories.

As it begins, this is a story about a young girl trying to find her grandma and learning who her grandma really is, but this deceptively deep story is so much more than that. Hidden within a fantastical adventure with complex magical creatures are two young girls struggling with their families and the pressures they face from their familial expectations. Readers can draw their own real-life parallels -- pressures to choose the right career path and college, pressure to choose a pathway in school at a younger and younger age, and so on. Lu and Ren also have disagreements but come back together in healthy and supportive ways that model good communication and positive friendship. To top all of this off, the animals are adorable and colorful, perfect for fans of O'Neill's The Tea Dragon Society who might be slightly older now.

This story is full of food puns and wise cracks at the expense of our titular characters, and there are plenty of jokes for all ages, including the adults who might be reading this with their kids. Only one pun receives an editorial note, and its explanation may still require readers to know the difference between nuts and legumes. Humor aside, the chemistry and camaraderie between Peanut and Jelly is as wholesome as Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc. -- friends supporting each other through lofty goals and working through difficult challenges as they arise. Perry's bright animation-style illustrations give characters lots of energy throughout and heighten the overall silliness without crossing into caricature.

Any kid who has moved, lost their friends, and/or experienced some culture shock will empathize with Lilico’s struggles to find her place in her new school and figure out where she belongs now. Misako draws on some familiar tropes of childhood friendship, falling out, and the need to fit in pushing us to make difficult choices. Each of these difficult topics is treated with compassion and care, and given weight, not dismissed as "childish" or insignificant as sometimes can happen with stories concerning growing up. The coloring is very soft and pastel throughout, which, coupled with the subject matter, provides a comforting quality to the story.

The humor and over-the-top reactions in this series continue to be my favorite. Mimi is definitely one to act first, think later, which nearly has consequences in this volume. Raimondo, Prince Renato’s advisor, is so serious and such a good balance to Mimi’s bombastic personality. Having the two of them flit about Renato like the angel/devil combo is wonderful, even though it's more like impulsive/sensible side of his conscience. This is a romance story at its core, but there is a lot of humor and a strong female lead that will appeal to young readers.

What I love about this series is just how much we get in each volume without feeling overwhelmed or rushed. Mo9Rang has mastered a pacing that keeps everything flowing by introducing one major crisis at a time to focus the tension on while developing character relationships. There are still through-lines and ongoing story points that carry from volume to volume, but readers are able to move at a decent pace as Mo9Rang gives each thing weight and a seriousness that these topics deserve.

This fun take on the Journey to the West mythology provides a familiar setting for ZENZO's artwork to shine.  Within a relatively few pages, ZENZO creates tension and builds enough of a connection with Goku where I already feel upset that Sanzo has betrayed his trust. Emotions are well conveyed throughout the illustrations, and I particularly liked the use of shading and screen tones to portray the different textures within the mountain setting.

The overall premise of this story has a pretty funny set up, though I was a little concerned this was going to be a slice of life on repeat when the first two chapters were almost identical. Chiba did change up the formula significantly and introduced new elements in the following chapters, but similar through lines and call backs kept the laughs flowing and helped the absurdity. There is a lot of uncensored violence and mild cussing throughout that might make this better for high school audiences.

This series is full of beautiful illustrations, and the coloring is fantastic. The story has also gripped my heart with the many attractive characters on all sides vying for everyone's attention. Clove can be a damsel in distress at times despite her intellectual side that we saw in the first volume, and Kyro is actually starting to show he cares a little bit despite his continual protests that she's his enemy. I'm intrigued by the interactions we got between their dragons and hope we can see more of that in volume three.

According to online discourse, the author and the adapter rushed the ending of the story given the backlash from fans, which led to unevenness of this volume. For eight volumes, this series has been calculated and steady, but this volume was a sprint to the finish and left a lot of things unsettled. It's truly a shame because we were robbed of the intended conclusion. What we got instead was some convenient answers and attempts at tidying up loose ends while leaving many characters out in the cold. Some of the illustrations are still beautiful and the coloring is still very pretty, but the volume suffered overall and there aren't as many gorgeous scenes or thoughtful details compared to the rest of the series. I still adore the series overall despite the ending being a bit of a low note.

Rintaro has lots of page time to try to figure out his feelings and how to be respectful to friends of someone important to him, but it comes at a cost of his own friends. Hopefully the next volume gives him a chance to figure out how to balance both sides or give the boys from Chidori some more page time. This volume gave a lot of space to Subaru and developed her character heavily, which was appreciated. There were still plenty of closer ups and lovely facial details over many panels, though many characters have extremely long necks.

Hayan continues to be epically strong and awesome, while pretty much everyone else in her life is letting her down. So much of this volume focuses on Euntae and his past, which was tragic, sad, and left me with some mixed emotions. I’m appreciative of the deep dive we finally got on him because he’s been a bit of an enigma, but it also left me feeling more like Hayan has no one to trust. This series is riveting, violent, a little creepy, and so much more. I am hooked on rooting for Hayan as the over-powered hero, and invested in learning more about all of these powerful vampires she has to take down.

After some intense fighting, this is a great volume full of world-building and character development where we are introduced to several other side characters who are interesting and will definitely make things even more complicated for Kaneki. To drive things home even more how despicable ghouls can be, they offer up Kaneki to this absolute creep, Shu, who will no doubt give readers the heeby-geebies. Once again, I am absolutely enjoying the play of morality and the dance Ishida is doing making readers question who really is good because, aside from Kaneki, every character is morally bankrupt in this story.

This deceptively simple manga packs an emotional punch that is poignant and hits on a sensitive subject for many in our world. As global events are ever-present and violence is continuously part of our every-day life, many people have real fears of bringing another life into this world. This manga would also be an interesting tool to spark discussion about how historical moments impact and cascade outward and impact people across the globe; Sara didn't know and had no interaction with Malala, so why was she so deeply moved by what happened to her? Having students examine that level of empathy and impact would lead to some interesting discussions.

Other than Sorawo being a thrill seeker, it's not entirely clear in this first volume what keeps her going back to the Otherside for exploration. Hopefully, she gets a bit more of a motivation or explanation in later volumes. Toriko has a solid reason to enter into such a creepy place and to continue risking her life, but I'm not as convinced Sorawo is just an adrenaline junkie. Nevertheless, if readers are looking for a story full of horrific monsters with a touch of yuri undertones, this series will be right up their alley. The monsters so far have been well drawn and just scary enough, but I'm sure as the two continue their journeys, there were be even more nightmare-fuel waiting for them.

This beautiful full color manga for all ages is encouraging and sweet. As the two work through the audition process, a lot of attention is given to idol culture and its impact on Japanese society, but enough explanation is given that young readers will be able to understand the differences between idols and pop stars in North America. There are beautiful illustrations of dancing and singing that are brought to life with a pastel color pallet and vibrant illustration style that make this manga engaging and energetic.

As much as Tia has steeled herself against loving any of the many boys who have vied for her heart, it pains me to see her walled off from even Ross, who is trying so hard to protect her and be there for her every step of the way. The twists in this volume regarding Jieun and Tia’s mother were satisfying payoffs to have after waiting so long. INA is finally starting to see some of the hard work of tying together storylines that have been laid down throughout the series, and I'm eagerly anticipating the culmination of everything coming together at the end.

There are some beautifully subtle story points Ishida uses in singular panels that express so much meaning, and the storytelling and suspense that’s being built through those moments is masterful. The visual imagery is powerfully conveyed, like one panel showing a wedding ring on a finger to hint to the audience that a character might have had have a whole family waiting for them. While this volume has a lot of fighting going on, there are so many other things happening as well thanks to the complexity of the investigators and the struggle of morality Kaneki is going through. As readers, do we know who the true "good guys" are? The investigators are not really portrayed as altruistic characters, nor are these ghouls fully evil, so the struggle all around is masterfully executed.

Perhaps in an effort to depart from the fairy tale source material, this ending takes a wild turn into surreal territory, mixes in time travel and celestial-ism, and, for me, sort of ruins the rest of the series. I'm not sure why there needed to be such a leap in the last 100 pages of this volume, but I really would have enjoyed the series more if it had been more of a retelling of the fairy tale. The explanation was extremely rushed and disjointed, as if Yuki was cramming a whole volume's worth of exposition and exploration into a chapter or two. I enjoyed the first four volumes, and Yuki's illustrations are gorgeous. Unfortunately, because the ending sought to weave itself throughout the series and explain, moments going back to the beginning, the ending left me highly dissatisfied, and I sort of wish I hadn't read the last half of this volume.

Getting to see Loid in action is always a treat, and the build-up of intensity in this volume is particularly well executed. The tense cliffhanger ending will absolutely frustrated readers and have them reaching for the next volume as soon as it's available. I personally enjoy when Yor and Twilight are opposed to one another because of the suspense Endo draws into their scenes. Yor's insecurities in this volume with her relationship and being perceived by others are hilarious and adorable, particularly as an adult, but some teen readers might relate to what she's going through.

Now that we’ve landed on this storyline of chasing down material as being the main motivator, the action and plot development is a little more even than it was in volume one. Some of the action sequences in this volume were slightly hard to track, but within a few panels, everything gets figured out. Most of volume two is consumed with battling the akuma and Allen learning to fight a much more advanced enemy than he's ever fought before, which allowed for his character to develop slightly, but didn't leave much room for many others. Kanda is a dark-and-broody type with an interesting foundation of mystery in this volume.

This wacky story is told with intermixed manga and light novel style chapters that show the mangaka’s original musings and ideas for Mizuchi’s origin. These short stories also provide different perspectives and ways for readers to interact with 9banta’s world and characters. Everyone character so far has a larger-than-life personality and is drawn exaggeratedly to match. The illustrations in this manga are unique and full of interesting, heavy line work with bold coloring instead of screen tone shading. The limited page count did leave me wanting more, so I'm hoping volume two provides more illustrated chapters.

So much happens in this volume, and we learn so many important details about several important houses, Tia’s father and mother, more interesting tidbits of history, and some consequential moments between main characters! Everything is coming to a boiling point and the tension is exciting! There are still some loose ends to figure out, but this beautiful series ramping up towards an interesting conclusion.

There are a lot of stories that begin with sick patients becoming reborn into their favorite media, but this one loses out on being a little too ambiguous as to whether it’s a separate world or actually the game or not. Takuto and Atou spend a lot of precious page time trying to figure out whether it's a video game or not. The back of the book summary says it’s within the video game, but the story can't seem to make up its mind one way or the other. If a choice was made one way or another, then we could spend time and cognitive effort focusi

This short and sweet romance develops over three chapters and thus moves very quickly. Everything seems fine at the end of chapter one, but chapter two swerves and Sayuri's doubts keep the narrative interesting and relatable. The final chapter provides some closure and leans into a few romance manga tropes, which readers will probably forgive for the overall good feelings engendered. There are a few chaste scenes of adult content which elevate this from the publisher's recommended 13+ age rating. This is otherwise a simple yet satisfying sapphic romance.

There are a lot of exorcism manga on the market at present, and there wasn't anything particularly stand-out about volume one to make this memorable. Instead, there were a ridiculous amount of fan-servicy panty shots, and disproportional female characters. Many of them have small heads and comically large chests or extremely long legs (coming from a Sailor Moon fan, that's saying something). The illustrations were enough to take me out of the story several times and make it overall unenjoyable. Online, fans of the series say it improves, but I didn't love the premise enough to excuse the artwork and continue.

This story started off with several very strong chapters, particularly the flashbacks where we learn about how Zoe and Clive met. By the middle of this volume, the pace slows significantly, and it starts to feel like a slice of life novel. Zoe and Eliza are not adept at learning magic, and I’m afraid to think what will become of Clive while Zoe is learning. There is a little undercurrent established with some tension between Zoe and another character, and that created some interest throughout the book, but there's a bit too much meandering — is it about the magic? Is it about the three ladies dealing with their grief? Is it about the people in the village? Is it a romance? Is it a mystery? There are a lot of individual threads established in a relatively short amount of time, so nothing gets enough time to fully develop.

This absolutely hilarious take on fan culture might be an introductory course for some, but for other readers who may be otaku themselves, this comedy may be like looking into a mirror. There are a lot of otaku-specific vocabulary words used, but everything is explained so as not to leave anyone out. The otaku-obsession level is on full blast from beginning to end with little reprieve, which will work for some readers but might exhaust others. The art is adorably beautiful with plenty of pretty folks of all walks of life for all readers to stan for th

Similarly to Horimiya, these two teens find themselves becoming vulnerable and real with someone outside of school, but there's more romance earlier on in this series. Horimiya also seemed a little more grounded, while Otogi and Toki have a little more whimsy to their personalities and fanciful character designs. The expressive character reactions bring in humorous elements and dramatic moments, heightening the comedy of this story.

This is an adorable story complete with cute chibi style illustrations to heighten the overall cute and romantic tone of the story, but it's also informative. After each chapter, Chi gives explanations for clinical and community-based terms to help provide context and understanding for readers, particularly where cultural differences occur. These helpful vignettes not only create opportunity for readers to gain knowledge, they are an opportunity for readers to see themselves and gain needed vocabulary. The interactions between Husband-kun and Bride-kun are so lovely and genuine that you can't help but be glad that the two end up together. The theme of love and acceptance makes this story feel like a warm hug.

The mangaka has really done their homework in terms of encapsulating some American divisive discourse, and parts of this volume were starting to give me anxiety from the tension. There are uncensored f-bombs throughout, and the mangaka doesn’t hold back -- there’s racism (though, thankfully censored n-words), and a brutal school shooting in this volume. There is a lot here to cause readers anxiety, but there is something to be said about art imitating life in this series. I hope this series causes readers to reflect if they feel uncomfortable, and causes discussions to arise about how we can treat living creatures all over with more respect and dignity. Hats off for moving me and causing me emotional responses.

This borderline slice-of-life story tackles many fears and dilemmas of young adults trying to figure it all out. They are faced with challenges of finding partners in a world that is increasingly online, and where there are more demands and commitments of their scarce free time. This title succeeds in creating four distinct female characters with their own unique voicing in addition to their personal struggles and situations they've been placed in. Their stories weave together when they come home and share common space. Their interactions are sweet, and it reminds readers that romantic love is not the only type of relationship that's important.

We're continuing the intense battles from the last volume, and there are also some twists in this volume that I absolutely did not see coming! Thirteen volumes in and Shirahama can still surprise me. The entire dilemma with Cuestas breaks my heart, and I love how Shirahama continues to use him as the prime example for the struggle of witches keeping magic a secret. The conflicts between the Brimmed Hats and the Pointed Hats remains brutally intense in this volume with the clash between Qilfrey and Cuestas' "friend", and I cannot wait for volume 14 so we can resolve the cliffhanger from this volume.

The pacing and action in this volume have definitely improved over volume one. The level of violence and people dying is pretty steady, with some of the most gruesome bits happening just off the page, but there are still plenty of bloody scenes happening right in full view to make this a grisly body horror title. This story is great for battle royale style fans, like if there was actually death to Blue Lock.

This series is always interesting for learning about different insects and powers that are brought in as inspiration for this large cast of characters, and it’s fascinating to see them paired up in fights. The one detractor has been the fight scenes because the panels full of zoom lines with some colors to indicate which character is involved in that motion, and then a few panels later we see the fall out of all the zipping around.

Though it’s nice to focus on a Romanov story outside of Princess Anastasia, the pacing of this story marred the overall delivery. There beginning was methodical and set a slower development of scene and relationship between the two leads, but the second half became a sprint of information overload and reveals that hardly lets the absorption of information happen before another important fact is cresting and threatening to overwhelm. There's a three-year time jump that sets off a deluge of information and action. If that transition were a bit smoother, this story would have been better overall.

What started out as a somewhat carefree, kind of slice-of-life buddy adventure ended as a bit of a mystery with some twists along the way. There’s a dash of food-manga for posterity, highlighting traditional Irish dishes Aria cooks for herself and Gwyn, and some beautiful illustrations to round it all out. There's enough intrigue here to pique readers' interest, but it's also very cute and full of heart. Everything so far is sweet and rather innocent, though it's hard to say if it will get darker later based on the small crumbs of mystery we have so far. Aika mixes beautiful scenery illustrations, delicious-looking food, and some cutesy reactions every so often for Gwyn and Aria.

This is the fitting conclusion that brings closure to the blips of memories we've been seeing throughout the story and ties everything together with some satisfying time manipulation. The emotional stakes are also high, but this is a satisfying way to bring everyone to a climax and end it all in a tidy three-volume arc.

Overall, this is a very fluffy, fun story where the magic and cleverness of youth will most likely win out in the most dangerous of situations, and everyone will feel good at the end of the day. There is a bit of an air of Sherlock Holmes-esque cleverness to figuring out the mystery, where several of the boys draw conclusions that the audience couldn't possibly have followed until it was all pointed out, but that's part of the charm. The five main boy characters, having a rule to embrace their boyish nature, are whimsical and rakish at times. Expect everything be visually appealing and drawn perfectly, especially the abundance of beautiful male characters running about, but this definitely more of a dessert story than anything to expect any sort of substance from.

This is one of the most action-packed volumes of the series, and we finally get to see many of the characters get into the fray who have been talked about as being amazing or powerful and scary. Shirahama manages to still pack in plenty moments calling the entire structure of the witch and magic society into question as characters doubt the secrecy of magic while people suffer and are exposed to danger. Especially of note here was the separation of magic and healing between the witches and doctors.

This volume has some payoffs and beautiful ah-ha moments as we finally get explanations for how special Miyo is. Special thanks goes to Hazuki, Kudo’s sister, for explaining the dynamic between Kudo and Miyo and finally getting things through Kudo's thick skull because the two of them would be lost and helpless without her. There may be long periods of time between volumes in this series, so if you have die-hard readers waiting patiently, do them a favor and make sure the next volume is on your purchase list as soon as possible.

In this volume, Aso balances the intensity and narrative flow with interspersing backstory of different side characters while moving the plot forward with intense action. There's also some reprieve from the violence with a side story involving an unknown character that shows Aso's strength in character development. Some sexual violence in this volume continues to keep this elevated as an Adult title, and the level of violence and intensity of psychological turmoil remains as high in this volume as previous entries.

It was so satisfying to see Mio take charge and create a plan that protected other unhumans, rather than continue to be a helpless girl in constant need of saving. While she was still a bit of a damsel in distress for a moment, she still used her powers to protect people and was able to show her strength in front of a powerful king. She's learning and growing! Fumikawa also shows some emotional range in this volume, as it also has some difficult moments with a bit of torture and cruelty.

There’s a weaving of fantasy with reality that reminds readers that we’re reading about children, but usually the fantasy setting is whimsical and beautiful. In this case, the fantasy world is dreary and terrible, symbolic of the hurt in Gu Won's heart. Sa Rang is a breath of joyful air who teaches Go Won to be happy despite the pain his family puts him through through. This story is an emotional roller-coaster that will appeal to fans who enjoy complicated, slow-burn romance stories. The last moments of volume one have some jarring bits that might throw readers and may completely change their perception of the whole story if they aren’t familiar with the Netflix show or don't know where volume two intends to take us.

This deceptively complex, emotionally rich series continues to build upon the themes and layers of character development from previous volumes by providing ample opportunities for Abigail and Sabrian to be fully realized characters. We get a few beautiful moments between Blanche and Abigail as well, though not nearly enough page time for Blanche in this volume. Sabrian's other family members also come into this one to complicate things -- his older brother, who is probably up to something, and the shadow of his mother threatens the final few pages, leaving readers on a menacing cliffhanger.

This is a very emotionally gripping and surprising story, and it's captivating and satisfying for many readers. Pages are filled with fight scenes but they're not overly gratuitous; Hokazono has made me care about characters within two volumes only to rip them from me and make me upset; and there's a sprinkle of comedic relief to keep it a little refreshing. The one thing that has disappointed me this volume is that the quality of the illustrations has suffered compared to volume one. There were some gorgeous moments with Chihiro's introduction and the magic of the enchanted swords, but we really didn't get very much of that this volume. Instead, we are leaning more towards the rough, sparse illustrations of Chainsaw Man that kind of irk me. Most shōnen fans at this point in time will probably be just fine, so if you have readers enjoying the series, keep on supplying them with more volumes.

This is a fairly dark series considering the creators' other work is Death Note — there is a lot of time spent on Mirai contemplating suicide and the worth of his own life, as well as the value in taking the lives of others to further one's own ambition. The angels in this story are not the altruistic creatures one would expect from religious mythology; they also have their own goals and seem to be using their human candidates to further them. The major detractor in this story so far is the pacing, which struggled to strike a balance between emotionally tense scenes and getting us information-heavy lore to set up the competition for the God seat.

The first chapter hooked me immediately with Allen's compelling fight against a terrifying human weapon. But, after that, the story got a little complicated as Allen joined the Black Order and the action started back up. The world-building and exposition was very quick, as was the introduction of several side characters who didn't get a lot of time to develop before many of them were sent on a mission to obtain Innocence. Hopefully, there will be time to sort out all of that important information, as I've heard nothing but good things about this series.

This trip into Haretake’s background has enriched this storyline and finally revealed our big-bad's full motivation, but it has also shed some much needed light on the world and set the high stakes for Tsuki’s situation. Konosuke understands the gravity of what he has stepped into, and to some extend, so does the reader. The mystical world has become much wider than a man with a strange curse against metal with weird people chasing after him, though the allure Tsuki first saw as Konosuke as her source of protection is still a bit of a mystery. Matsuura has beautiful illustrations and world building for those who can stick through the complicated names and the layers it's taken to set this stage.

The ghoul hunters themselves don’t feel like altruistic “good guys” making this story a great example of examining true protagonists and antagonists that don’t fit the traditional stereotypes. One of the ghoul hunters is as creepy as the ghouls and relishes in the kill nearly as much, so the philosophical discussions continue in this volume about motivation, humanity, and right vs. wrong/good vs. evil. There could be some great morality conversations and connections with other literary works, like Crime and Punishment or A Picture of Dorian Gray.

The first two chapters of this story started as a monster-of-the-week capture story, and the narrative pace was a little inconsistent. However, once things became established in the third chapter and the mangaka settled on a storyline with a clear objective for our Hero in the Hood and an antagonist, everything became more interesting. Pacing was not fully resolved, and there is the authors have given into intrigue over character development, so we know very little about our Hero by the end of this volume. Still, this could be a good recommendation for readers who are interested in Japanese folklore and ghost stories, a subject that still fascinates modern Japanese readers.

This haunting story is fully of wacky people, none of whom we spend enough time with in this volume. The pacing is incredibly fast but marred with some pacing issues, and the dialogue can be a little hard to follow, causing some confusion and narrative flow issues. Despite these drawbacks, there is a lot of suspense and intrigue created in this first volume, mixed with a fair amount of violence and bloodshed. Readers who enjoy fast-paced, action-packed stories mixed with a bit of horror will enjoy this story.

The first two-thirds of this reads like a traditional short story compilation from Ito -- it just happens to be set in the same place with the same main character. Towards the end, Ito brings everything together and gives a reason why the town seems to be cursed with the spiral, and the explanation divulges from creepy, horror stories into speculative strangeness. The story itself seemingly spirals into itself into a maddening conclusion that makes little sense and may be unsatisfying, but it's completely on brand for other Ito stories that often have no discernible moral, no happy ending, no riding off into the sunset as the monster-of-the-week has been destroyed. It also wouldn't be Ito if there wasn't one obligatory nudity story, which is entirely non-sexual and just adds to the overall body-horror aspects of his work.

After a little more info dumping, we finally get some forward progress and a clear direction into where the story is going to go and potentially who some of the bad guys are. The powers the twins have still isn’t fully clear, but there’s enough groundwork to get the narrative rolling. This volume also has some more classic Arakawa humor as Yuru explores his new surroundings and figures out the “magic” of the strange world he now finds himself in.

This story was really compelling and enjoyable, particularly the use of the trope of the mentally unstable love interest (possibly "kichidere" or even "yandere"). The mental gymnastics and sparring that went back and forth between Satoko and Shinpei was an entertaining game of chicken that will either aggravate readers or have them giggling. There is one moment of attempted sexual assault when Satoko's captors threaten her before Shinpei steps in. Between that an some of the tėte-a-tėte, this might be better for older romance readers.

While this is a horror story at it's core is a monster story, there are a lot of deeper themes swirling around that make this text a rich reading experience and ripe for use in literary text sets. As the story quotes Kafka's Metamorphosis and Hesse's Demian, the core of the story wrestles with some quintessential questions about the essence of humanity and others that explore the spectrum of good and evil. Everyone seems to be morally gray, and Ishida presents enough information along the way to show how complicated and intriguing every character can be.

This is a heavy book dealing with some difficult questions, and it does so in a realm that not many other books occupy at the moment. This series could be the basis for a lot of great conversation on gender, stereotyping, and relationships that would resonate with teen readers. There are a few moments as Hinase works through their feelings and Ritsu is shown in her underwear that it gets a little up close and personal, but this isn’t done in a fan-service or ecchi way — Hinase is legitimately struggling with some intensity of attraction and identity. This title approaches gender topics with care and weight, not with comedy or punchlines.

The passage of time passage is shown very minutely, as I’m not sure there’s an actual sun on the snow sea. Everything is very white-washed and there is no distinction between night and day, so it's hard to tell how long Kaina and Ririha spend in climbing down the tree spire. Likewise, it's hard to know how long Ririha's men spend searching for her and fighting off the more well-equipped soldiers on their full-sized ships. Despite this disorientation, there is a lot of action in this volume. Large panels of majestic battle moments fill this volume as Takemoto demonstrates his skills as an artist.

Since we've only been able to see Frieren and her original party in flashbacks, this is an exciting opportunity to witness the dynamic in a longer, uninterrupted narrative. Within the flashbacks, we haven't had as much of a chance to get to know Eisen the Dwarf, so has opportunity to have more page time in this volume. As with volume 11, this ended on a huge cliffhanger, so Yamada-san really knows how to bate the readers into desperately needing the next volume.

As readers have most likely been going along with Penelope's plan to dump all of her time and energy into one guy in what is supposed to be a reverse harem, this volume reminds readers that there is, in fact, more than one love interest, and Callisto has come to play. Penelope still has to do so much scheming and maneuvering even though she's so close, but the security she's been building around herself is really called into question. The creators have done a great job in this volume of keeping us on our toes and craving more from every interaction,

It’s not often you see a manga about something so specific as a cleaning service, and this one definitely gets into the details about cleaning garments. But there’s something else happening with this lost memory story that only really gets interesting, even sinister, in the last few pages of this volume. There is an excessive fixation on Kinme’s breasts and backside that mar a story that started out relatively sweet and intrigued me with the tinge of mystery lingering at the end. I'm willing to give volume two a try to see if the fan service diminishes, but also to figure out just what happened to this poor girl's memories.

Creepy Cat, like many other cat protagonists in manga, is often hilarious, but at times can be a bit ghastly. This story has the right amount of horror to appeal to younger audiences and provide them with a bit of scary while not being completely nightmare-fuel. The format is narratively connected, mostly 4-panel (yonkoma) comics, which makes the overall storyline a bit choppy but lends the voicing to a juvenile, children's comic playfulness. Valent's art is drenched in dark colors to set the gothic mood, but there are plenty of pastels and whites to stay connected to black-and-white manga.

Now that the narrative is more or less settled after the shocking turn in volume one, things are starting to get interesting and Arakawa is able to establish the magic system with the daemons and their wielders in a bit more of a logical sense. The action in this volume is easy to follow as the daemons move in pairs and are often a foil or compliment to one another. There's a lot about this story that reminds me of Ceres: Celestial Legend with twins on competing sides of a celestial battle, so I'm getting very nostalgic with the storyline.

Aso is really pulling out the emotional stops with this volume, and readers would do well to remember not to have favorite characters in a battle royale type storyline. This volume also leans more into the mature rating that the series was given as there is an attempted sexual assault, and the psychological horror and violence is much more intense. As with the first volume, Aso is not afraid to show characters die, bleed, or be tortured right on the page.

The art on this series continues to blow me away with beautifully original fight sequences and electric paneling that make every page extremely captivating. Even the most emotionally gripping moments become intense and hyper realized because of the dark lines, disproportionate characters, and distorted movement. All of it flows and works brilliantly to make a unique reading experience that captures punk rock on the page.

This started as a fun tet-a-tet between the two of them, but quickly became a reinforcement of gender stereotypes. Amane is helpless to do cooking or cleaning without Shiina, and her offer to clean his apartment for him felt a bit like Amane tricking her into it with his learned helplessness. Here’s to hoping he has absorbed some of what she taught him while organizing and he can keep his apartment clean without having to have her come over. At this point, I can see why Amane would have feelings for Shiina, but I don’t see why Shiina would reciprocate other than Amane is the only guy who can have a conversation with her without falling madly in love at first sight.

There are finally some beautiful moments of emotional payoff that we have been waiting volumes to see! Some of my favorites include: Soveishu having to eat his humble crow to grovel and beg for forgiveness only for Navier to tell him he’s an idiot; Rashta spurning Navier’s advice and having tons of things blow up in her face; and Navier having some happiness with Heinrey. Because of all the misfortune all series, I am always waiting for a shoe to drop as I read, especially when Navier is happy or getting her way, but I’m hoping Navier just gets to bask in some pettiness for a moment.

As the pressure to figure out Daijin’s plan ramps up, the suspense builds in this story, and the emotional stakes are very high. This volume gets intense and leaves on a gut-wrenching moment, particularly for those who haven’t seen the movie and know what all of this is leading up to. Some of the conflict brewing in Souta is lost in this format compared to the movie version, but there’s still plenty to grapple with in the manga. This story has the distinction of being one of the few that actually brings me to tears.

This story is overall pretty wholesome, and there's most likely going to be more to this office romance even if Fuyutsuki starts off not really having feelings for Himuro. There are adorable moments where Tonogaya works in winter humor as Himuro's powers are on display, so it's apparent that the mangaka is enjoying the illustration work and adding seasonal easter-eggs for the readers. The main storyline moves at a glacial pace as this is a slice-of-life, so readers should be ready to be in this for the long haul.

The epic showdown is finally upon us between Asa and the monster, but Shota getting into the mix with his story line. Urasawa takes some twists and turns inspiration from his previous works, like Pluto, to heighten the intensity and reward longtime readers and fans of his work. Shota's plot line and his descent is in direct contrast to Asa's courageousness and relative success in her heroic story line. I was rooting for Shota to resist the entire time knowing he wouldn't, but I also was excitedly surprised to see the direction Urasawa took it in

The budding relationship between the Lord of the Underworld and our strong willed apothecary takes a few steps forward in this volume, but it’s still progressing at a glacial pace. It was also enjoyable to see the Celestial Realm and involve more gods from the pantheon, even if the goddesses were running Colette ragged with their demands. The story line overall has a slow and pleasant atmosphere, which makes the two-in-one volumes worth the investment for romance fans wanting a long-form story to sink their teeth into.

We're still getting Harry Potter vibes off this volume, only now we're on to the Tri Wizard Tournament. This volume also comes complete with bullies going after our lovable hero who is not as talented as those around him. Colette is shaping up to be one of my favorites and definitely gives off Hermione vibes with how quick-witted she is. The artwork around the spell-casting is beautiful and fantastical!

This adorable book reads like a picture book with very scarce text outside of text boxes, and there are ridiculously cute illustrations of cats doing all sorts of fun activities. Occasionally, there’s a precious little puppy or other animals thrown in, but everything is fluffy and fuzzy. This is a lot longer than a traditional picture book, but it’s broken up in sections between the traveling section and the food section where there is a distinctive shift in narrative style. When Mufosand is sharing favorite dishes, it’s not really a story anymore. The traveling chapters are still short and manageable for younger readers, but it might be good to chunk this up and take chapter breaks.

While Sarasa is positive and cheerful to a fault, there are some moments of character development in this first volume that are excellently executed, particularly of one of the professors whose backstory is explored brilliantly. This manga will appeal to readers who are themselves thespians or fans of the theatrical arts, including those who are interested in set and costume designs. The "twist" ending of this volume may come as a shock to some readers, but will be a narrative payoff for those who paid attention to Sarasa's vignettes throughout the volume, and it very well could hook readers who were only casually interested until that point.

I loved the cultural richness of visiting Asirpa's village and learning more about the Ainu people in this volume. Asirpa is a fascinating character and steals most of the scenes she's in despite Sugimoto also being a compelling character. Noda has created some great tension by pitting Sugimoto's need to protect Asirpa against his need of her skills, as I predict he won't last long in the wilderness without her.

The mysteries come fast in this one as Mao Mao settles into her new living situation. We meet a few new supporting characters but don’t get a lot of page time with them owing to Mao Mao having more mysteries to solve. The aged maid of Sir Jinshi is cute and funny, so hopefully we see more of her interactions with Mao Mao and the young lord. There are some humorous pokes at Jinshi’s overt sexuality and how much he can’t control his attractiveness, as well as a few references to a well-endowed lady who doesn’t like Mao Mao very much. Mao Mao is clearly comfortable in her own sexuality and expressing sensuousness after being around courtesans for most of her young life, but these moments, as well as the complexities of some of Mao Mao’s mysteries, make the series better for high school libraries overall.

As the back-mater indicates, this volume served as a bit of a prologue to the rest of the series, setting up the backstories of the two girls named Nana who we will see in the rest of the series. Because of that, this volume felt more like two short stories put into one. Regardless, the stories are still compelling, and Yazawa is a master at developing characters in a short period of time. This series has been central in an age-relevancy debate for some time, sometimes finding a home in high school libraries while other times seeming too mature. There are some heavier topics of sexuality, drug use, and some sexual situations with brief nudity. While the story is rich and has beautifully developed characters, some schools may find the subject matter too mature for their high school audiences.

Occasionally, it's refreshing to find characters who are not instantly skilled at everything and to see that they'll need to grind their way through something. There are so many storylines where reborn characters are given everything they need and they just have to discover their skills. Poor Scarlet here had her booty handed to her! This volume was definitely more comical than the first, but Graveweaver still hooked me with the development of Scarlet in this volume. The mystery around the Red Spades in this volume is supremely intriguing, so hopefully we get to find out more about them in volume 3.

After sixteen volumes of bawdy humor and tournament fighting, plus fetch quests and training in martial arts, not to mention Goku being descended from a monkey, Toriyama flips the narrative on its head by changing Goku’s origin story. Holy Ret-con batman! As much as Dragon Ball was about fighting, Dragon Ball Z takes the fighting and turns it up to 11 by introducing increasingly more powerful foes for Goku to fight, and higher stakes for him to overcome. DBZ is also quintessentially what people think of when they think of Dragon Ball. While some of the charm and mythos of the overall story is lost, as well as the historical fights, from starting with what is essentially volume 17, there is a bit of a soft reset on the series where Toriyama allows for new readers to join in the fun and put behind them some of the humor that doesn't stand the test of time.

I love to see Nina becoming more confident and accepting more of an authoritative role with her princess responsibilities. There's no way she can know if she's becoming more like "Alisha", having never met the princess, but with nurturing and acceptance, she is realizing that she doesn't have to cower and she can assume the power that comes with being a princess. How, with any good political drama, there is still some pitfalls and vipers waiting for our heroine, so she has to be careful! Romance fans are definitely going to be frustrated by Nina's decisions at the end of this volume, and are going to want volume 3 on hand to figure out how things get resolve (or don't)!

While most of this volume was backstory into Haretake and not focused on moving forward with Konosuke or Tsuki, I'm actually excited to learn so much about the antagonist and pleasantly surprised at how in depth we're getting and how soon. Normally, this level of deep dive is saved for the closing of the series when you're meant to build empathy for the bad guy right before he's run through or something. Matsuura continues to impress me with the level of commitment given to building each character and providing a rich contribution to the world at the same time.

The overall feeling of this entire story is very speculative and etherial, and even by the end, there's plenty left to ponder. Kajio doesn't give characters nor the reader many satisfying conclusions, which is part of the appeal of this story. Emanon's story to our protagonist begs the question of who we are to each other, among other philosophical quandaries. This story may not get wide readership with most avid manga fans, but it's a piece of speculative science fiction that deserves a spot in collections where readers are looking for something more cerebral and challenging.

With all of the festivities going on, there are plenty of opportunities to see all of our favorite characters dressed up in beautiful outfits, and we even get to meet some new folks and see their finest attire. There are some humorous moments with some great comedic timing that had me smiling and chuckling. All these new princesses around seem like an easy out for Tia once again, but they really complicate her situation further, and it's intriguing to see that her feelings are not as clear cut as she once thought.

The creative team is back for another beautifully illustrated and colored adventure for our lovely heroine, and this time they got to bring some other amazing DC characters with them. The only knock I have for this fun adventure is how hard-headed Ashley is and how many times she makes the same mistake, but that also seems very on brand for a young teenager. Otherwise, this is a great, fast-paced superhero adventure to especially hand to fans who want to see girls getting into the mix of a male-dominated superhero world.

Through these stories, Higa explores a subject that many Okinawans don’t always want to discuss — the war that cost so many lives of soldiers and civilians — and also touches on the island’s sense of identity with the American military base that exists there today. Through the yuta priestess, Higa is showcasing some of the traditional beliefs of the island and encapsulating them, as well as contrasting the traditionalism to the modernism of the island's inhabitants and the current conflict with the base. At first glance, some of these stories seem simplistic, but there is plenty of content for deeper discussion with manga groups or literature classes.

Much of this title is very intense and hyper-realistic, but grippingly engaging. Sugimoto and Asirpa are a fantastic duo - Asirpa is knowledgable about the natural world, while Sugimoto is exceedingly violent and keenly aware of the twistedness of his fellow man. The premise is slightly absurd, but Noda brings you in with this captivating tale and heartfelt motivation for Sugimoto that you can't help but be swept up immediately and along for the ride. The art is also extremely realistic with exquisitely detailed scenery in large panels and spreads that are beautiful to behold.

Cam's dad is aggressive and wants his son to use his abilities to get what he wants including winning Basketball games. The anger isn’t directly addressed. Dad reads as someone who peaked in high school but still rules in this small town. We don’t know what happened to Cam's mom. Dad’s ex-girlfriend is dating the Coach. Vibrant pop art helps distract from plot issues.

As a consummate Fullmetal Alchemist fan, I'm constantly holding every Arakawa series up to that standard, and it's an unfair bar to set. I went into this series pleasantly surprised to be reading another fantasy series, but the twist halfway through this volume had me reeling... not so pleased at first, but with some space and reflection, I'm actually glad that Arakawa chose to make this an entirely different series from previous outings. The suspense and character development in the first volume has me invested enough to continue reading, even if this wasn't the fantasy action I was initially promised.

Maxi clearly needs some healing and a lot of time to deal with her trauma. Her delicate and sympathetic nature makes her a relatable character, but also one that readers will want to reach in and wrap in a hug. This is a great candidate for a New Adult section despite the publisher rating of 16+ because a good amount of the plot is spent on the two sneaking away to continue their marital duties, as Maxi refers to it. The scenes themselves are mostly covered or blocked so there isn't nudity in this volume, but things are pretty heated for most of the story. The illustrations themselves are beautifully colored and full of gorgeous fantasy details -- lovely dresses, elaborate castles, and, of course, handsome knights running around everywhere.

What starts off as a silly book with a really fluffy plot about anime and fandom ended up having a twinge of mysteriousness and intrigue as well. There are definitely some humorous moments between Kyuta and Hina caused by Hina's obsession with her favorite character, and some meta moments as readers consume the manga and can probably see themselves and their behavior reflected in Hina's actions. This is a cute, silly story for those who want to laugh and decompress, with a hint of something deeper running underneath to keep up the intrigue.

This is a humorous storyline with no shortage of video game vocabulary. Rakuro is an over-the-top player, albeit a little overpowered with his level of knowledge, but there are plenty of high school video game players like this with extensive knowledge who have put in thousands of hours into different games despite their short lifespans. This title is fast-paced with lots of action and fighting, but Katarina still has a couple of good character moments and a hopeless romantic already for readers who need character-driven storylines.

What a way to begin a series. Tension was immediately created from the first chapter with establishing a dark atmosphere and deception with Lady Bale. Camellia is forced into living a lie and the reader is along for this impossible life, waiting for the moment when everyone finds out the truth. There's a clear romantic interest set up as well, tantalizing readers for the reveal in that situation as well. The illustrations in this story are also very interesting. There are a lot of really beautiful panels drawn from interesting perspective that heighten tensions or show unique moments that I truly appreciated throughout the story.

As with the flashbacks into Loid’s past, this volume had lots of action and a gripping pace that kept everything intense and exciting. This volume heavily focused on Anya and her classmates, as well as the new characters introduced from the Red Circus. There was very little of the rest of the cast, so Loid and Yor fans might be disappointed. However, Anya fans, such as myself, will be delighted to see her be able to use her powers to gain some notoriety and status amongst her classmates!

There are a lot of intense fight scenes in this volume, which are great for the pacing of the story, but it can be challenging at times to keep track of Suchan as he zips around the pages and does everything at top speeds. The creative team masterfully build the tension in each situation and has given the readers enough clues that our hero team doesn't have, so the heightened tension is satisfyingly frustrating and keeps the pages turning just as much as the action. The characters do have some alcoholic drinks to celebrate and there is a moment where Suchan believes he's going to get lucky, but he's tricked instead, so this is still a title I recommend for older teen audiences.

Our two protagonists are not having a great time of things now that the world is being destroyed, but I'm on board with Pigeon's plan to rise up and use his new found power to show the gods they can't just keep taking from helpless people. I'm also tremendously scared for Soluna and all the people she's around, so the this powerhouse creative team has done an excellent job getting me to buy into the plights of both characters. This is one series I eagerly anticipate every week when I go to the local comicbook shop, and I'm so thankful that the next issue is already waiting for me.

While I really enjoyed volume one, the character work and backstory dive we got on Mrs. Clock in this volume made this a sophomore stand out. The stakes are considerably raised from where we began, and now I have a better grasp on what Cast is questing to become as a Striker. My level of adoration for Mrs. Clock being a smith is starting to match Cast's enthusiasm. The balance of world building and plot development in this volume was appreciated and helped answer a lot of questions that remained from volume one.

Watching Maomao piece together the bits of the puzzles is very much like watching Sherlock unravel a mystery where everything becomes quite plain as it is spelled out, but it’s all very bailing up front. In this case, there are a few more hints and flashbacks to guide readers along Maomao’s thoughts, but there is very little to work out the entire case until Maomao explains the entire thing for the big reveal. This heightened suspense could frustrate some readers who like to have a little more stake in the mystery thro

This volume takes a bit of a departure from the others by injecting a bit of mystery and getting us outside of the dinosaur sanctuary. We get to see a little bit more of the surrounding area, which is Japan but is still a little bit different than real-life Japan owing to that Science has been allowed to do certain things in line with Jurassic Park. Suzume does shine when given a task like this, and her working with Kaidou makes me hopeful that she gets placed in his department at the end of her rotations!

It’s not hard to see where the foundation of the romance elements in this story are coming from, and with the plethora of Hades/Persephone retellings in play right now because of the popularity of Lore Olympus, it’s nice to see something slightly different. The illustrations are very typical shōjo with lots of close ups on characters and plenty of flowers mixed in. Hades occasionally gets some beautiful clothing with some intricate detailing, and those panels are amazing.

Readers who were looking forward to Navier and Heinrey finally being together are going to be so happy to have this volume in their hands. However, just when we all thought Navier’s power struggles were going to be over with her in a new kingdom, we find out she now has to contend with another queen. It makes sense that Navier has to start over with another High Society, and of course there are more political intrigues and court dramas to be had! This all keeps everything interesting since there's no rest in this new kingdom for our favorite queen!

This volume offered a satisfying conclusion to the Macht & Weise arc, though Solitär's incessant chattering annoyed as much as it annoyed Frieren. What I missed the most from this volume was the signature flashbacks that gave us insight into Frieren's character and her previous advantures. While we had quite a lot in the previous volume, this volume seemed to be the balance or answer to it with hardly any at all.

This story is rather sweet and has an innocent tone, is very reminiscent of The Girl from the Other Side in the relationship between the golem and Somali. In this first volume, it isn't quiet clear what gender Somali is, and and it's not a necessary part of the story. The golem is more a robot than an actual spirit, and probably genderless as well. Since we are being told the story through the perspective of the robot, it would make more sense that concepts of gender would be a little more complicated or unnecessary. The golem experiences joy and wonder through Somali's eyes, which heightens the purity and innocence of Somali's viewpoint, and contrasts with some of the darker overtones of the world they travel through.

Until we get to a place in life where bullying is beyond us, these heartworming stories of rising above the opinions of others and overcoming massive obstacles will continue to inspire and serve as a much needed tonic for readers who will undoubtedly see themselves amongst the characters. Sori is fascinating and strong beyond her years with a beautiful presence that holds others up around her, but when she needs help herself, you can't help but want to reach into the pages and give her a hug. The art style wasn't my favorite -- it leaned less on shading and subtly in favor of solid cell coloring and less intricate backgrounds. But, the story made up for the less interesting art as I waited with overwhelming anticipation for Sori and Dongsoon to find the next letter.

There are a lot of intricate things about this world and its set up that Dokja is privy to because of his knowledge and his special Fourth Wall skill that allows him to have even more insight. Because of this, readers just have to be along for the ride as things get explained quickly and sort of drink from the firehose with the amount of world-building happening in this volume. The art is electric and the overall premise is pretty intriguing, so if you can hang on through all of the explanations, this fast-pace title has a lot of pay-off.

I’m glad we got more content with July and that he’s coming with because that makes the romance part of the story even more complicated! He’s also another grumpy character who will definitely butt heads with Yuri, but based on what we learned from his backstory, there’s potential to see him grow as a softy as well. This series is really satisfying lots of wants for those of us who have grown up on animated classic movies, so it has the potential to circulate well amongst young romance readers who want fantasy elements and are aging out of elementary titles where the main characters are fully animal characters.

It’s nice to get more information about other keepers while learning more about dinosaurs at the same time. The new department head is very different from Kaidou, and he seems perfectly suited to oversee the types of dinosaurs he’s looking after. Kaidou has the perfect grumpy-but-cautious attitude for the dangerous carnivores, while Igarashi has a little more laid back, but still serious attitude that fits in with the more mellow stegosaurus and other dinos in his department.

The story was overall pretty cute and has some inclusion of gamer culture that hardcore fans will appreciate, but it's not without its flaws. There is an age gap between Akane and Yamada — Akane is in college, possibly first year, though it’s not stated, and Yamada is in high school. There is also a few instances when Akane and her friend, Momo, are inebriated, though the two don't imbibe on the page. The main problem is Yamada takes care of Akane, which seems pretty awkward given their respective ages. While this might be taken as sweet to have Akane pursue Yamada and help him break out of his shell, in this volume, he doesn't really want her advances. Hopefully, there becomes more of a invitation t

This is a beautifully told story with tender human moments throughout. Ha finds inspiration from classic Korean mythology and weaves them with modern storytelling techniques in a masterful way. The story develops methodically and fully with plenty of space to feel complete. But, just when you start to get comfortable, Ha brings in an unexpected twist to keep the narrative fresh and exciting.

Volume two opens us up to a lot more of the seedy underworld that Ipo came from, but by the end of the book, we might have more of a sense of the vastness and the power that she wields. Like they do with Monstress, this creative team introduces concepts, plows ahead, and expects the readers to keep up or be left behind. It can be disorienting for several pages as they don't slow for world-building or explanations, but it makes for some rich, complicated storytelling when more of the limited page-time can be devoted to showing the story instead of pausing. I imagine the third and final volume will provide a lot of context for what's happening hear, which will make re-reading enjoyable.

This story felt very incomplete, and might be more appealing to readers who are familiar with the original novel. This adaptation feels rushed and gives the basic information needed to get through the story, but doesn’t have much else. I kept thinking that there was another book before this that I was missing, especially because it felt like I was already supposed to know everything about the incident with Michael, Charlie's whole backstory, and what the significance of Freddy's was in the first place. There were moments between characters that were very shallow and felt unnecessary, leading me to believe there were probably chapters devoted to this in the book that weren't fully explored here.

This volume gives a lot of characterization to Kaidou and insight into why he’s the grizzled grump that he is today. Suzume also got to do some maturing in this volume and didn’t get to succeed in everything, unlike volume one where her sparkly new ideas worked most of the time. We also got to see one of the most popular and ubiquitous dinos early into the series, but Kinoshita peppers in some lesser-known types and giving us fun facts with Fujiwara-san's guidance. This series has a great way of balancing out dinosaurs we already most likely know and love with dinos we've probably not heard about but totally want to know more about.

This title overly emphasizes that looks are all important and possibly sends the wrong messages about what is really necessary for a high school student’s happiness. Kusunoki is emotionally pretty dependent on Shizuki and doesn’t really respect his boundaries, forcing him to do things for her even when he has made it clear she makes him uncomfortable. In a few volumes' time, Kusunoki could be the one who breaks Shizuki's curse and he might be able to talk to girls again, but it would have been nice for this to come about organically or in a healthy, cooperative way where both benefit from each other, like the two leads do in Komi Can't Communicate.

This was a fitting conclusion to the series. Things that I wanted to happen did, and the curse on Laios ended up being pretty fitting in the end. There was a little bit of rushing through the epilogue. Most character arcs were given a satisfactory ending, but not everything was given sufficient panel space to feel complete or explored. Regardless, the ending encourages re-reads because the series is short, and knowing the conclusion makes me want to read from the beginning with my insight. This series is engaging, beautifully illustrated, full of heart, and has plenty of fodder for curricular tie-ins for school libraries.

This is the slowest of slow burn storylines that could possibly lead to a romance between the two step siblings in future volumes, though it would be nice if this could be one of the rare stories that doesn't lead to a romantic entanglement. While their conversations were healthy and decent enough, not a lot happens to move the plot along. There is a little bit of character development of the two leads and some good interactions, but not much in the way of supporting characters or development of the world around them.

Ikeda interestingly blends two art styles to represent the two universes, and creates a sci-fi adventure with ominous aliens that are all unique and mysterious. There was a lot going on in thi first volume in terms of world building between the Pyontaro's dimension and the one they all get sucked into, so unfortunately the character development suffered because of it. The Small Three (the team name for Pyontaro and his two friends) are a little bit blurred together in terms of personality, so hopefully they will get a chance to shine in later volumes and have some nuance.

This is a pretty cute, low stakes story about two adults coping with their stresses and finding some relief from it all in each other's company, but also in their shared vice. There is a lot of page time given to smoking as that’s the main stress relief the two can enjoy together. The conversation and camaraderie Sasaki and his supermarket ladies have is very sweet, and this is an overall very feel-good story. However, the emphasis on smoking as the basis for their relationship makes this something that might find a better home in adult libraries where the subject matter will be more endearing and readers can overlook the importance of tobacco use

Choosing to set this series in the 90s was definitely interesting and will appeal to original fans of the game who will be along for the nostalgia. For current players, this is a chance to learn a bit of history and peak at what playing Magic used to be like. For people who have never played before, don’t worry. There are plenty of explainers and help text to guide you through so your can understand what the characters are saying as they play their matches. And there is plenty in this story besides playing Magic to appeal to manga readers. Volume one hints at a friendship and possibly a romance between our two leading characters.

While the premise is absolutely absurd, this book is incredibly entertaining, and I’m already rooting for Nagi and wanting to see the ridiculous situations Shizuka seems to get him tangled into. There is a dark underworld the two are fighting to tear away from that we only get hints at towards the end of volume one, so I'm interested to learn more about their background and this other society. The illustrations are very different from other series -- characters' faces are a little basic until they need to have definition, like in intense fighting situations, but action sequences are very detailed and full of zoom lines and action.

There are definitely some hysterical moments as Ken descends deeper into his obsession. The best parts come from his fanfic writing as he takes inspiration from his yakuza background. This is a good next read for people who liked The Way of the Househusband and want another story that focuses on hit men doing something ridiculous with too much gusto. Unlike Househusband, there is some continuity between the chapters even though it still has a bit of a slice-of-life feel overall.

There is a lot to love about this well-researched, balanced story that brings together modern zoology with archaeology. There is definitely strong appeal for any readers who grew up with a fascination with dinosaurs, which is probably quite a lot of us. This story will definitely appeal to readers who grew up fascinated with dinosaurs, which is probably quite a few. Kinoshita balances the dino facts with some compelling human characters, though Suzume comes across as a little naive in this first volume. Hopefully, she gets a little more page time to develop later on. Each chapter ends with an article from Shin-ichi Fujiwara, an actual paleontologist who was the research consultant for the series, so there are plenty of tidbits and facts throughout to add interesting educational content through modern science and dinosaur information.

The second volume has some more world-building by introducing a few more kingdoms and giving some background on why Blue might be special. We're also introduced to a few more characters and reunited with some from volume one, but not in the way Blue wanted to be. The narration jumps around a bit roughly and gives this volume a slight disjointed feel, unlike the first volume’s smooth storytelling. This is still an enjoyable volume to read and is akin to Witch Hat Atelier in its beautiful illustrative detail and A Girl from the Other Side in its dark atmosphere.

The stakes in this volume are extremely high, but Kui still manages to make a decent portion of the story about food and sustenance. Despite knowing about the origin of the Golden Kingdom and Sissel, we now get to learn about the Winged Lion and the origins of magic in this world, which is fascinating and satisfying. Kui ties the Lion's backstory back to the central themes of the entire series in a wonderful way. At the end of this volume, it seems like all of Laios' plans are not going well, so readers are really going to want that final volume to get some closure to this great series.

This mostly slice-of-life is sweet and affirming for anyone who has ever felt lost as an adult, had difficulty making friends, or has suffered from anxiety. Nat and Hiroto are both very grounded and relatable characters, and their problems and presented with authenticity and without judgment. The illustration style is a little looser and more relaxed. Much of the narration and exposition is given without text boxes or word balloons, which can present a slight challenge in determining what is Hiroto's inner monologue and what is narration. This might have limited appeal to teen readers since the main characters are both adults, but as the emotional situations Nat and Hiroto experience are not unfamiliar to teens, this might be a good title for social-emotional learning tie-ins.

In this autobiographically inspired story, Weaver’s honest and sometimes heartbreaking journey with his mental health is inspiring and brutally honest in a way that will connect with victims of bullying but is also the story that bullies need to read to understand how damaging their actions can be. Some of it is a simple bystander effect or share on social media, all the way to the most hurtful of what Weaver went through, and this story scratches the surface of what some of our students experience today with online bullying. The trauma that Weaver experienced is explained delicately and compassionately so as not to pass along the trauma to the reader, but to invite empathy and understanding. This title deserves a place in every Anti-Bullying campaign, every Cyberbullying Awareness week, and a home amongst library shelves where patrons need a weird friend who will understand what they're going through.

This is a very intense volume with a lot of fighting and a bit of back and forth between all the different parties, but it's also nice to see how all of the different factions involved up until now feel about Laios. Kui is starting to tidy up storylines as we can tell the story is coming to an end. Even minor characters who haven't been around since volume one make an appearance again (and with a bit of background in case you've completely forgotten them, which is a nice touch). I can't say too much without giving away major spoilers, but this volume has some satisfying payouts for careful readers and a few conclusions to arcs that have been building for the last few volumes. Readers are going to feel the ending coming, which is always bittersweet.

There are many villainess and rebirth stories right now, but this one is interesting because it plays up the family dynamic between the. main character and her father more so than other titles. There's a good father-daughter relationship in The Abandoned Empress, but in this first volume, romance isn't as much on Juvelian's mind, so she's trying to focus on staying in her father's good graces and being societally irrelevant more than anything. Don't worry, there's some hints at a romantic love interest already and some other intrigue happening that won't let Juvelian fade to the shadows like she wants. There are some really beautiful color illustrations as showcased on this cover. Court dresses and lovely scenery abound on every page, and the men's outfits are just as beautiful.

This story had some fantastically timed comedic moments mixed with great action sequences. The story was a little predictable at times but it still delivered in overall story and chemistry between Akira and Sho, so the predictability can be forgiven. Naoe was even able to provide some emotional depth to a few characters who were only on the page for a few panels, so I'm excited to see how the main characters develop over time. The illustrations were highly detailed in character design and scenery with hyper-realistic settings as well as imaginative aliens.

This volume got exceptionally more intense and revealed some pretty twisted historical backstory about the world that makes it much more than just a dating sim. There were a lot of satisfying payoffs from five volumes of world-building and character development for readers who have been along for the ride with Penelope and paying careful attention to what has been happening around our main girl. This volume ends on a severe cliffhanger that is going to require some major explaining to keep it in line with the dating sim storyline, but with how Penelope’s skills to keep her alive are progressing, this is definitely becoming more like an RPG than a dating sim. This seems like an answer to Solo Leveling​ with its intensity and complexity.

This was a very intense volume with a lot of payoffs from the whole series coming together, so there wasn’t as much humor or food and recipe stuff going on in this one. Readers might be a bit frustrated in having all the information and knowing now how it’s all fitting together but the characters won't know all the pieces. Kui has done a fantastic job of building that reader suspense and getting us to a place where we have to keep reading to see if our predictions are going to be correct and if our favorite people are going to end up OK in the end.

​This story is a cute and tidy one-volume romance that seems a little slow to start and ends rather quickly, but nevertheless offers readers a little bit in a lot of areas. There is romance, historical fiction, a dash of food manga, and some mythology thrown in for good measure. The illustrations are pretty but nothing especially stand out. The bonus chapter has a little bit of spice, enough to satisfy some romance readers who might have thought this title was too chaste for them, but not too much to keep this from school library bookshelves.

The competitions are portrayed very intensely, but the figure skating is drawn so beautifully and with such care. Tsurumaikada breaks down some of the moves like you’re watching a sports broadcast, so even readers who don’t have a firm grasp on all the skating terms can enjoy what's going on. There are also some wonderful character moments with Inori's mom realizing what she has been doing to her daughter and how she's been treating her all these years, as well as some great moments of growth with Inori and Tsukasa around skating and perseverance.

This story started out kind of dark and mysterious, but it gave way to something very cute and feel-good. This is also slightly a food-manga food-manga based on how much Hime talks about food, tries to cook, and the way she experiences her meals as she eats them. Kotarou is a decent cook thanks to being a bachelor, so they approach food differently but are able to come together and share some sweet moments. Both Hime and Kotarou want to be chosen by someone and loved, either romantically or in a familial way, which is touching and makes me want to reach into the pages and give both of them a hug.

Most of my problems with this volume had to do with the formatting, but there were some issues with storytelling that were't the fault of transitioning from WEBTOON. There were a lot of narrative jumps and places where the author hoped the reader would fill in the blanks, where I felt these were areas for expansion or exploration rather than skipping over. After these little holes, most of my problems and confusion lied with the format. The WEBTOON is rated very highly with lots of fans gushing about the storyline, so I did a side-by-side re-reading with the scrollable on my phone. This is one instance of the transition harming the narrative.

There are some poignant moments about what exactly is “normal” and how difficult pursuing that shifting goalpost can be at the best of times. There is so much pressure on young people to couple up and become romantically entangled at such a young age that the messages in this book, not only about asexuality, but about the healthy pursuit of romance and having productive conversations with your partner, are powerful and make this a welcome addition for high school collections.

The art for this series is extremely unique and really makes this story for me. There are moments that remind me of playing a Borderlands game where everything has very dark outlines and a physics-defying aesthetic, but the characters themselves are styled and drawn with such outlandish expressions and over-exaggerated moves that make them pop off the page. I'm still intrigued by the main storyline and what's happening overall, but I find myself more reading for the art and seeing what amazing piece is coming next.

There is a satisfying amount of action in this volume, although I question how Hayan knows how to fight so well if Father Michael always forced her to suppress her purebood instincts. I between all of the fighting, this volume surprisingly humanize the vampires by exploring some of the reasons people voluntarily give up their humanity to become vampires knowing they'll be ostracized and have a shortened lifespan. Euntae also proves he has complexity and isn't just a beautiful male lead with everything figured out. Lim has some excellent comedic timing and uses hilarious chibi drawings perfectly to dial up the tension and silliness between Hayan and Euntae.

This was pretty light-hearted and has that age-old trope of brooding matched up with comical in the two leading males. Likely, there will be some romantic tension build up later on but it was pretty minimal in this volume. The supporting cast adds to the levity and silliness of the title, especially some of the spirits the two meet. There is a pleasing blend of Japanese folklore with modern sensibilities that will provide lots of fodder for interesting supernaturals and funny situations they find themselves in, but there's also some allegorical connections to the encroachment of industrialization and modernization on nature and finding harmony for the two ways of life.

There is a little bit of romantic tension in this volume, but it could also be sympathy and reader projection. This volume has a ton of content about fashion and dresses as Abigail introduces new styles and explains them to the reader and the noblewomen. This was an interesting read watching a character rebuilds her reputation through her knowledge of fashion history as that's not always a subject of manga. There was a sprinkling of political drama as well in this volume as the ladies jockey for position and Abigail tries to repair her relationships with the noblewomen.

​This is a beautiful adaptation of a classic series and a great way to bring Unico to new audiences. Younger readers who haven't watched the cartoon won't be lost reading this new series as the beginning sets up Unico's plight with Venus, while this story picks up as if Unico's previous adventures also happened, as is the beauty of a protagonist with memory loss.  This title isn't all fluff though, as Sattin tugs at the heartstrings with Chloe's emotional pleas to be useful. There are some questions to be had about what era this is set in as we seem to progress backwards in clothing and mannerisms as the story moves along, but it's a minor note in what is largely an entertaining story. The adorable illustrations and bright pastel colors throughout will definitely appeal to younger readers, so this is an all ages manga that will find broad appeal in elementary libraries.

This was a satisfying volume that really dove into the creation of the dungeon itself and how Sissel became distorted in his role (it still doesn’t clear up an earlier misconception about the party believing Sissel was female, but oh well). A lot of lingering questions were answered, and there was also ample time given to understand an humanize Sissel's struggle. Based on what happened in previous volumes, I’m still mistrusting of the dungeon itself and scared for how this is going to impact Laios, but I'm an optimistic reader and hope that everything will work out in the end for Laios and Falin.

Volume one sets up many questions and introduces a lot of intriguing but haunting characters. The readers know more than Agawa from early on, so we're constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ninomiya expertly creates tension and slowly builds it throughout without fatiguing, and a lot of that is done through the illustrations. ​They're gritty and match the tone of the dark and ominous narrative. This is a long-form horror tale, so don't come looking for a quick resolution to this mystery. This would make a great addition for older teen and adult libraries looking for a more nuanced horror read in a sustained format.

Despite the title giving away the big reveal, the miscommunications kept the meeting funny and enjoyable to read. This was a pretty cute office romance title that’s most likely rated older teen at the moment because it features LGBTQ+ characters or there’s a chance it could get a little spicier down the road. The characters do go out for alcoholic beverages a few times as they are adult office workers. For now, Volume 1 is sweet and silly featuring some young infatuation and a few folks trying to work out their feelings, and Nmura actually teases readers by hiding anything more than hand-holding behind other obstructions.

It's good to see Tia striking out on her own as a knight and building up some skills outside of her house and out of the shadow of Sein and Allendis for a moment, but as soon as she gets a little bit of freedom, something sucks her right back into her fate as the promised empress. The story has hinted off and on about this mystery with her mother, so this curve ball of Ruve knowing more than Tia makes the mystery that much more tantalizing and will definitely keep readers on the hook for more.

This is a cute slice-of-life (with some repeated intro information every chapter as often happens with serialized content), and there are some pretty funny moments. Mr. Villain even promotes his brand of wisdom to an underling, so we know this is an important philosophy he has for everyone, not just himself as the boss. There are times when he helps humans (who almost all turn out to be Rangers), so despite being fearsome on the clock, he's a good dude overall and reminds us to help out our fellows once in a while.

There's a lot to like about this story in this first volume, and fans of political intrigue dramas will want to find out how Nina's going to continue with her future betrothed.

This was quite the twisted set up to get to a Regressor reincarnation story, but once the main story started, it was pretty entertaining. There are RPG elements like Solo Leveling where the main character can buy items from a shop and has an inventory. But she can also interact with the “creators” who transmigrated her to this storyline, which adds a comical layer and provides an interesting running commentary on her actions as well as their own. They judge each other and Ailette is sometimes able to use them against each other to get her way.

There are some great human moments in this volume between Jinwoo and Cha where Jinwoo has to remember he’s a person who should have feelings instead of just a hunter, and these moments of awkwardness and brevity are long overdue. Then, it’s right back to showing how strong Jinwoo has become and how overpowered he is compared to the rest of the hunters. There are some key insights from some other parts of the world that are illuminating, but I’m still left wondering about some threads and story teases that have been left hanging from many volumes ago with some folks that are supposedly going to come after Jinwoo. There are a lot of threats out there that I think a lot of them are going to come to a head all at once, so that should be interesting!

This volume is a huge departure from the other volumes, and I absolutely adored it! I loved seeing Tsukasa in action with her fighting skills and being able to save Nasa, but I also appreciated the second half of this volume focusing on her as well and her difficulty with matching Nasa in affection. We spent a lot of time with Tsukasa in this volume and in signature Hata form, got some interesting breadcrumbs as to who she is, but also rooted for her as she was vulnerable and super cute with her husband. Hata continues to bate us with adorableness between these two lovebirds while getting us to stick around for something we know is going to be juicy and worth the payoff.

Hard mode just got way more ridiculous! This series does a great job at keeping most of the love interest as potentials for the end game. As soon as I write one off, a storyline comes along and makes me (and Penelope) question the decision to exclude them. She has her heart set on Eckles, but there are even things to doubt with him. There’s also a great amount of tension and sense of urgency that is sustained throughout the story, and now with the reminder that Penelope’s birthday is coming up, that intensity is in overdrive.

This first volume seems more like a prologue setting up the backstory of Saeroyi Park and how he gets to Itaewon and establishes himself as a business owner in the neighborhood. The other character on the front cover is given a few pages at the beginning of this volume and then never revisited, so while she seems like she's going to be important later, she might get her own backstory and prologue later. This is definitely an instance where the book is made more popular by the show, in this case the K-drama, and if readers are requesting this title, it's most likely because they have heard about or watched the popular show rather than are clamoring for the book. There are also several time-jumps throughout this story, which skip over some really interesting parts of Saeroyi's life, almost like the author is in a hurry to get to the part where Saeroyi gets to Itaewon.

This story is beautiful, heartwarming, and delightful to read. There are moments that are quirky and funny, with a few heartwarming scenes of motherly compassion between Abigail and Blanche. Currently, there isn’t romantic tensions since Abigail has no interest in pursuing Sabrian and Sabrian still distrusts Abigail’s change of heart. The tension that is building is mostly waiting to see when Abigail can begin to create dresses again, which feels like it will happen very soon. This volume still brings in some discussion about eating disorders as Abigail remembers her past life and the issues she had with food, and how that carries over into this new life.

This volume did some really fabulous work in sowing seeds of mistrust between Laios’ party and the Canaries, and now I, as a reader, have no idea who is actually on the correct path anymore. Kui has taken an unassuming food and adventure story and created lots of paths of doubt and disbelief, keeping the reader hooked and guessing all the while. At this point, we're at a sort of "Schrödinger's" plot point where both groups of characters could be on the correct path, so readers could be torn as to who to believe and who to root for moving forward.

The beginning few chapters of this volume give bigger hints about the deeper story bubbling under the surface on this series. Even Nasa is starting to have some lucid dreams and other important information seep into his subconscious. We’re getting close to something big! But, Hata has to keep stretching it out, so there's plenty of innocuous content throughout the volume to keep this series as a sweet, innocent story about some love-birds.

Maomao's power of deductive reasoning makes this story akin to Sherlock Holmes stories, and it creates an interesting air of mystery where you want to find out what's going on right along with her. I enjoyed the power move of slapping down high-level introductions to courtesans as a way of getting what she wanted and using that prestige with others. I wish there was a little bit more interaction between her and her father, but I enjoyed the exchanges we did get and the mental challenges he gave to her when examining the scene. It reminds me of the interactions between Mycroft and Sherlock.

This is such a cute story with a little witch who gets into trouble sometimes but ultimately cares about Simon enough to run herself ragged for him. We almost found out a bunch about her mom but it turns out it was a demon - instead we found out some little snippets, which were still sweet and connected Nicola in a beautiful way to her mom. Simon also had some heartfelt moments with his dad that helped Nicola also have a sense of belonging in her new little (quite literal) found family. There is a lot to love about these supposedly evil creatures who seem to be just getting by and only sometimes trying to trick or swindle one another.

This story is told in two formats: short chapters that are loosely connected with an overarching story, and yonkoma: 4-panel comic strips. The yonkoma provide some comic relief peppered throughout the chapters, which usually deliver emotional punches. Sakurai knows how to grab onto the cat-lover’s soul and mix in some touching or devastating tributes that resonate with anyone who has lost an important loved one. Just with volume 1, there are plenty of moments that cat owners will recognize and relate to with their furry family members, as I related to this moment with Fukumaru's war against his own reflection.

There is so much court drama and societal machinations in this title that it can be a little difficult to keep everyone sorted and see the consequences of actions from volume one popping up in volume two, but steadfast readers who pay attention to detail will be rewarded with some payoffs of all the moving parts. Aria doesn’t use the hourglass too much in this volume for anything too exciting, so I’d love to see it be built in for more suspenseful plot points.

Despite all the physical training Tia is going through with her sword teachers, her body is still frail and prone to sickness, and she is still mentally as weak as the person she was before she regressed. As we're in volume four, this is becoming an easy way for the author to make Tia unavailable to intervene when something goes wrong or for Ruve to find out something critical about her. It's a little frustrating to see that she isn't growing despite the training and work she's putting into being stronger, unless the point is for the audience to feel that Tia is going to suffer the exact same fate. In this volume, she left the capital to try to work through some of her doubts and feelings, but did nothing to make herself stronger and is going back to the capital in pretty much the same state.

There are some really great plot points woven throughout this story thanks to the thread of it being an otomoisekai, which leaves some folks with questionable plot armor that Penelope has to figure out. Can the love interests die? She had abandoned developing a few of them as love interests, but the game forces her into situations with them anyway, which means we get to still see them develop as characters and not abandoned as plot lines either. Just when I had also given up hope on a few characters alongside Penelope, this volume comes along and redeems them and shows me why we shouldn't give up on them entirely. Just like a good harem romance story should do, I'm left feeling confused for who I want Penelope to end up with!

This story is a delightful blend of several fairy tales with the reincarnation/isekai and villain storyline tropes that are popular in Manhwa presently. With a lot of villain reincarnation stories that have been published lately, there is a sense of danger to the villain, but for Abigail, she mostly has to change people’s perception of her as the dumb, easily outraged vain person rather than have a fear for her life constantly. Coming to a medieval world with modern ideas also means this title tackles outdated gender stereotypes as well as harmful ideas about body image and diet that were forced upon girls at a young age. Abigail becomes Blanche’s biggest advocate for being healthy and enjoining her childhood, messages that are in nice contrast to what most young girls see portrayed in modern media.

Half of this volume is rimmed with black panels, which means it's a flashback, and I enjoyed the trip down memory lane to learn more about the fearsome Macht. We learned a bit about him and Denken in volume 9, and I am glad we got the full story and really saw what a futile effort it was to try and control him as the people of Weiss did in previous volumes. I also like Solitär as a character and like the distinctions in the type of anthological studies between her and Macht. Solitär wants to study why humans do what they do, and Macht wants to focus on the emotions of people, and neither fully understand everything correctly.

Jinwoo is impressive to look at while he battles all of these incredibly powerful foes, but there's something darker going on now as it seems he's starting to lose himself a little bit, and there's a hint that our big bad from the very beginning might be coming back for him. This also marks Jinwoo's coming out publicly as he was broadcast for all the world to see, so he's now on the radar of the President of the Hunter's Association, the Americans, and plenty of other folks who won't want to leave him alone any time soon. I'm also very interested to see how his relationship with his minions changes with the developments of this volume! This marks the end of "season one" of the webcomic, so there were a few cliff-hange

There wasn’t as much forward progress in the storyline in this volume because of the silliness of the changeling mushrooms, but seeing all of the characters in different races brought the humor of the earlier volumes back to the forefront. This levity was needed as we have been getting some darker bits over the past few volumes. It was satisfying to see the expansion on Chilchuck’s past with his family after the throwaway line from the previous volume. Kabru also gets some development and depth when we learn about his past in his plea to the elves, which I appreciated.

This was an intense, action-packed story with some great moments of police drama and murder-mystery thriller thrown in. With all the conversation surrounding ethical use of artificial intelligence, this is the perfect time for this story to hit shelves. There are tinged of Minority Report all over this storyline, so there’s opportunity for readers to jump into or from that classic sci-fi thriller. This manga also ties in with a popular line of games, so there’s a chance of drawing readers in from that perspective as well.

There are a lot of horror elements to this story, particularly the illustration style, but definitely the tone that always hints that the other shoe is about to drop. I was constantly waiting for a page-turn jump scare, but there wasn't one. That type of suspense and build up is hard to create and maintain, so I commend the mangaka for being able to sustain that throughout the story. There are also hints throughout that Hikaru was something more than a friend to Yoshiki, which is why it's so hard for him to move on or let go of even a monster in Hikaru's skin, but this is also just hints or dialogue choices rather than actions on the page.

Tia is discovering who some of her friends truly are in this volume, and what three years of her planning is all coming down to with this huge moment of the coming-of-age ceremony. Despite this being a pivotal moment, it didn’t really get a lot of page time, so it felt a little anti-climactic. There are ramifications that haven’t been entirely sorted out by the end of this volume, so I’m sure there are threads here that will be woven throughout the next few volumes.

There are some crude jokes and fan service at Ms. Vitch’s expense, including her continuing to accost Nagisa by shoving his face into her boobs. This running gag is most likely meant as a cheap way to destroy any credibility and encourage the audience instantly hate Ms. Vitch, making her a direct foil for the overly caring Koro-sensei. The joke doesn’t age particularly well and comes off more as an assault, so it’s a shame that this is the way the contrast between the two adult characters was made. Outside of that unfortunate joke, this volume provided a little more development of the students within 3-E, and gave some context to the power struggle between the teachers and the principal at the school.

This definitely seemed like a story that had a lot more depth as a prose novel and asked far more introspection of the reader, but in this particular adaptation, most of the ethical considerations were not present. This became a story about a young girl with a hard family life and who is not very communicative, which is doesn't make for as interesting of a main character in a graphic novel. This society has forgotten about a lot of its citizens, so there are some ethical questions that could be raised but the text doesn't let itself go very deep. Rather, it kept the questionable material in the background of panels and hoped readers pick up on it. The cartoony illustrations detract from what possibly was a more serious tone in the novel.

This story was a little confusing up until the reveal at the end, but the main crux of this story was dealing with grief. It didn’t need to be rooted in the Jekyll /Hyde story at all for the point to be realized. It didn't really rely on the dichotomy of Jekyll and Hyde from the classic story so much as the classic trope of twins switching places or being jealous of one another. Readers don't really need a familiarity of the story to understand or appreciate this tale. All that aside, this story is more so about the sense of identity that one creates that the outside world gets to see, and how a person feels about that sense of identity. If readers can stick it out until the end, there is a payoff to be had, but it is a bit of a challenge and some stamina is needed to get to it.

The wait was definitely worth it to get Twilight's backstory. It was tragic and touching, and I enjoyed watching him evolve into the super-spy. Endo acknowledged that, at some point, he would not have been as good as he is now, so I appreciated seeing his humble beginnings and the struggle to get to what we know him as in the present day. There was definitely a tone shift with the beginning of the story to what we normally have, so Endo had to liven it up a lot with Yor's silliness in the second half.

Volume 12 is subtitled The Journey Begins, as if the other 11 volumes served as more of a prologue to get us to the Grand Line finally. It feels very much like we have set up our characters and know a bit about them, we know the world and a bit about how it works, and now our journey begins in earnest along the Grand Line. Luffy can finally start his adventure to become the King of the Pirates, which may mean the adventures are going to get more serious and the stakes are going to be higher in this area. For libraries looking for a good stopping point, this volume doesn't entirely end at a clean stopping point, but it's as close as you're going to get without having to go into the next adventure.

The tournament serves as a good chance for Eun to introduce more students and showcase new human-insect hybrids, as well as show off more abilities that they have. The outcome of the tournament is fairly predictable since we have three main characters at this point, but the rest of the volume focuses on the fourth member of the main group who we haven't spent a ton of time with. We learn more about Hyeseong's background and why he wants to be the Top Student, as we as increase some of the romantic tensions that started in the previous volumes.

There were many things I liked about this story. Molly and Liam are great main characters, and their sympathetic relationship with their animals is definitely going to pull at the heartstrings of young readers who have soft spots for animals. The story started off a bit slow, but it eventually pulled me in and hooked me enough with a slow and steady world build that left me disappointed when the cliffhanger ending hit. Now to some things that detracted. The lettering of this story was done by Vibrant Studios, and it often bothered me right out of the story. The chosen font was distracting, and the letters frequently exceeded the space allotted for the word balloon.

This first volume has a lot of world-building to set up, including the notion of the Territory, which is a little bit confusing at first. The Territory is a portion of magical energy that connects the Counters with the Afterlife and strengthens their powers, and it takes all three of Mun's compatriots to explain the concept to him and the reader. I did appreciate the diversity of characters, even if they're mainly in the afterlife since the living characters are in Korea.

This volume has a lot of story packed into it with the development of our big bad and the drop of Senshi’s origin all in one, as well as a bit of a throwaway of Chilchick’s that he sneaks in as a way to get Senshi to open up about his. Senshi’s backstory is a payoff worth the wait as Chilchuck does a bit of deduction that turns out to be pretty accurate and whets the appetite for the full story. We are also slowly getting to know about Izutsumi through intrusive thoughts that she declines to share with her party, but they endear her to the reader.

There is so much positivity going on despite the undercurrent of bullying that follows Nishimura, and the sweetness between the two friends has a beautiful message of acceptance. Takada is constantly building up Nishimura, but none of it rings hollow. This story has some nice, short chapters which are great for younger readers. Some of the beginning chapters have repeated information due to the original serialization of the story, but once readers get passed that, it's on to some hilarious comebacks to bullies from Takada, an adorable kitten, and some summer adventures for the friends.  There are some growing pains of childhood friendships that might resonate with young readers who are probably navigating some of their first major friendships as well.

Oda is a pretty good storyteller, so I’m sure this volume’s actions will develop into something more, but at this point, going to Roguetown seems like a superfluous action and a way to stall them going to the Grand Line. I know that there are 100+ volumes of this story and that it takes a very long time for anything to go anywhere, so maybe I’m hypersensitive to stalling, but hopefully volume 12 will show some reason for the reintroduction of previous villains and have a reason for us to be sidelined from the development of the story.

The tournament was fun and the ending was satisfying, including watching the kids get their moral lessons out of it. The Red Ribbon Army is very much the quintessential 80s band of bad guys: the balled fists of fury, the energy of exacerbation at being stumped by so lowly a protagonist, the exaggeration of how much they should be winning but confused by how they are thwarted at every step, all that good stuff. I almost wanted to end every Goku-winning-scenario with an "I'll get you next time, Gadget - er, Goku!" Some of the issues from the first volume are downplayed or absent all together by this volume as Goku sets off on his own adventure, and he's his naivety and the problems that came with it are not as prevalent.

This story has a lot of heart. There is so much about self-discovery and learning to love who you are even though that can feel scary and dangerous sometimes. Mio will also have to figure out her place in the world and whether she is too dangerous to be with the humans, and her new friend echos a lot of what her father taught her, but for different reasons this time. Towards the end of this volume, Mio also learns some valuable lessons about taking responsibility for her actions from a strong female figure who I hope plays a reoccurring role in the story.

As with all secrets in manga, this one didn’t take too long to get out there. Laios is a trusting idiot who tells probably the one person he shouldn’t have what happened, and now Kabru, the busy-body loud mouth, knows and is going to tell a bunch of folks as well. This can’t end well for our hero party! Chilchuck also turns real quick from his convictions of last volume where he said he didn’t want to venture deeper, but seeing what’s happened has changed his plan and he’s ready to go deeper.

Eun is spinning some intricate plots and webs that are getting really interesting, and it’s only volume two! There is also a slow build up of characters surrounding Suchan that I appreciate because we can get attached to each one of them in turn as the story progresses and be introduced to and learn about their unique powers. Volume one gave us a great opportunity to learn about Suchan and his backstory, and volume two wove in three more characters but gave bits about their powers and backstory while driving the overall narrative forward.

Macht is a truly interesting demon that is distinguished from other demons in this series because of how he approaches and thinks of humans. Macht’s ambivalence is a complete contrast to all the other monsters so far who are trying to conquer and kill as many humans as possible. This demon, though, is content to live in his palace of gold and be left alone. The philosophical conversations they have with him are quite intriguing, and can lead to some further discussion with students who are this far into the series.

Even though we know from the beginning this moment was going to happen, we weren't given full details, and it’s still such a sweet build up and satisfying payoff now that it has happened. The creative team did a fantastic job of building the narrative suspense throughout to still keep Duke Ergi in contention as the one she was remarrying, but more readers are probably going to be happy that she is going off with King Heinrey. Navier isn't sure how she feels about Heinrey and there's still some distrust and some politicking going on, but I still can't wait for volume 7 to come out to see how she settles in within her new kingdom, and what the fallout is going to be in the Empire now that all of this has shaken out.

This volume is almost all battle with very little character development or plot advancement, but since we’ve had a lot of that in the first nine volumes, I’m fine with a full Shonen battle volume every once in a while. There is so much action in this one that it reads very quickly. I am wondering how Sanji has such super-human strength against these mutant creatures, as his backstory mentions he trains and was beaten up a bunch, but he doesn’t technically have super abilities.

This series started out as a lot of fighting and posturing, focusing primarily on the action and social strata of Furin, but there are some deeper character developments going on that I'm really enjoying. Umemiya is a really deep thinker who brings out the best in people by really making them do some introspection. Sakura also started out as a one-dimensional character, but his conversation with Umemiya has given him some depth and allowed his backstory to breathe in a beautiful way. This issue also gave some more information on the town and the history of the school, as well as Umemiya and his Kotoha, who runs the diner. I sense a romantic thread beginning to weave between Sakura and Kotoha!

The story building behind just eating monsters is getting more intense and more interesting as volumes go on. Kabru starts sowing doubts about Laios and Falin being the most upstanding characters, so either this is from other people’s perspectives, or all is not right in the world of our protagonists. Chilchuck is staring to also have some depth and show feelings other than greed. There are quite a few other characters in this volume that haven’t popped up in quite some time, so we’re getting to the point where a character tree in the front of the book would be helpful. Some of these adventuring parties are getting quite large.

This flashback sequence and finding out Nami's past was some of the most emotionally charged and interesting scenes of the story so far. Oda has built up all of the character's backstories and put thought into each one, but the payoff of waiting so many volumes to learn about Nami was worth it, and the care put into telling Nami's story is evident. She was absent for a few volumes while the bit with the restaurant was going on, but this makes up for it. Her story also makes Arlong seem like a bigger bad guy than Don Krieg, so it's good that Oda is able to find ways for each new baddie to outdo the last one.

The beginning of the Dragonball universe is not at all the fighting series that became enshrined in pop culture. This story is whimsical and clearly made week-to-week. The first two parts of the 3-in-1 serve more like a prologue to the rest of the story, and it feels like the real adventure doesn’t begin until Goku starts his training with Muten Rōshi. This series also has a lot of bawdy humor with lewd jokes, innuendos, and no shortage of lecherous old men.There are quite a few instances of nudity throughout - Goku is a small child and drawn without great detail when he drops trou, but Bulma is topless and pantsless a few times and is a fully developed (though still cartoony) young woman. The moments are all treated as punchlines, so audiences (and collection developers) should remember that culturally, because nudity is not shameful in Japan, the humorous effects hits differently than when the manga gets exported.

This volume takes a bit of a departure from the previous two because it mostly takes place in the human world, and it has a murder-mystery vibe, where the other ones had almost all animals as the characters and mythical places as the settings. I enjoyed seeing the animals in their human forms and seeing how their personalities translated into human traits. With the investigation, we also shift focus away from Manpachi and Senzou, but this gives the supporting characters a chance to shine. I appreciated the focus on Chiaki and Hagiri, as well as the other wolves, since we were introduced to a lot of characters over the last two volumes and hadn't really had a chance to learn  all of their names and unique personalities.

The fight choreography and illustration is really well done and methodical. The fighters are not indestructible and almost every move is seen as having consequences. I appreciated that characters swell up over time and not instantaneously, and even characters who fought a several fights back continue to have facial swelling while they sit in the audience. Nii also nicely blends action with exposition so we can progress storylines and character development while the fists and feet are flying.

In this volume, the narrative style shifts in a good way. The charm of the series has been about the characters going through their adventure, both in the dungeon and culinarily, but now we are getting into a full adventure story with complicated characters and starting to see more of what motivates each of these folks other than reviving their fallen party member. There is a lot less humor in this volume and hardly any culinary exploits, so some readers might be disappointed in the shift, but I don't think Kui is abandoning those things all together. There were some necessary plot points and background pieces that had to be delivered in order to progress the overall storyline, and I appreciated every moment of it. I hope future volumes can be a little more balanced and there can be a hint of the trademark humor that makes this series so beloved, but I'm also understanding of how needed all of this volume was as well.

There are some great little jokes in this volume that showcase Yamada's subtle sense of humor, and the punchlines are ones that will resonate with readers who also might play Dungeons and Dragons. The ending arc of this volume sees a return of characters from the Mage First Class volumes, and the team up and ensuing fight not only brought more depth to the demon world but gave some satisfaction to furthering character arcs of these recurring supporting characters. The final chapter had a cameo of Denken, who is one of my favorites from the Mage test volumes, so I'm looking forward to seeing him in the upcoming adventure.

Since we didn’t originally get Nami’s backstory as we had for some of the other pirates, I’m glad we’re getting to it now, and I'm also glad that Nami's history is complicated and not as full of characters to tug on the heartstrings. It's messy and shakes up the string of feel-good stories we've had so far, and serves as a helpful reminder that this story is about pirates, not just a lot of well-meaning folks who are out on an adventure. There's more than what we discover here, so readers are going to want to dive into volume 9 to see how Nami's story concludes.

This was a very satisfying ending to a major build-up of fighting that happened over the last eight volumes. While this series was immensely popular and successful, Gotouge didn't try to stretch this out or prolong the battles for the sake of making more volumes - the final fight seemed a little bit long at times, but it also went by very quickly considering how many characters were in this large cast. There was more world to explore in this universe, and probably more development Tanjiro could have sustained before going against the big-bad, but there's also something satisfying for Tanjiro learning everything as it was needed and immediately being able to use it against the most powerful demons he's ever faced. While the hype is settling over this series, this is a story that is going to be powerful and impactful for years to come.

There is so much drama happening and it’s really starting to get entertaining! It definitely feels like we are really close to the scene from volume one where Navier asks Sovieshu for a divorce, and if that’s the case, it’s going to be a reversal and such a moment of vindication for her. Sovieshu wants to have all his cake but just when he's ready to eat it, it's going to be taken from him. I sincerely hope things fall apart with Rashta as well and that the plots to try to make her legitimate with noble parents also falls apart so that everything can unravel! The illustrations continue to be stunning on every page, but the writing and intrigues on top of intrigues are really superb in this series.

Agott and Coco are finally friends and building each other up in this volume, and they are a powerful force to be reckoned with when they put their minds together. Agott has a lot of knowledge and practice at magic while Coco is strong-willed and quick on her feet. The two cement their friendship as Agott is bullied by a former rival, and the scene is the perfect example of the tyep of character each witch has become. There isn't much in the development of Custas and his predicament, which is disappointing considering this volume is shorter than some of the others have been recently. Things are still precarious between the witches and the King, so that thread is still dangling, and the cliffhanger at the end promises to stir up more trouble between the two forces rather than see them come together.

I found it a little bothersome that both of the generals for Bofurin and Shishitoren have the same childlike attitude until it’s time to get serious. They’re a little too similar. But Nii-san could be doing this to make them easier as foils for one another, so we'll have to wait and see if there's something more that comes of their similarities later. Some of the bad guys in Shishitoren are underdeveloped and more like caricatures of the typical Japanese "delinquent" stereotype, so I wish there was more done to develop them and make them less two-dimensional. This volume had some good pacing and didn’t try to cram all the fights in at once. I appreciate that the two big fights will be broken into another volume other than this one.

While the appeal of this title has been the dungeon crawl and the meals the party consumes, it was refreshing and appreciated to have a trip down memory lane with Marcille and have a different narrative tenor come into the story. I hope to find out more about each character as the volumes progress. Laios also provides some wonderful comic relief with his singularly focused goal of trying all the monsters because it crosses with his low intelligence and gets him in some hot water in a hilarious way sometimes. There were still plenty of food-manga moments in this volume to satisfy those who like this series for that humor, so I appreciate when there is balance of world and character building to the series' signature cheekiness.

With this flashback, I’m reminded of the ruthlessness of self-sacrifice that goes all the way back to volume 1 with “Red Haired” Shanks and Luffy. Some of these pirates really have a soft spot for kids for some reason. Then, the rest of this volume is all about being more ludicrous ways Luffy has to avoid landing in the ocean during the fight since he'll sink. In doing this, Oda strikes a balance between the heartfelt beginning of the book and the slapstick second half. The entire book has emotional highs for the reader, and it all pairs nicely with Oda's comical drawings.

True to the formula, we must slip away during an intense battle and relive something of the past. This time, we've already seen the backstories of all the Hashira and demons involved, so I was wondering who's story we would see. Even after all of the character deaths we've seen throughout this series, there are still some emotional moments in this volume that somehow still deliver gut punches. The fighting remains intense and beautifully illustrated when we're not going down memory lane with Tanjiro, Learning about Yoriichi's life was also fascinating, so I really appreciated this inherited memory.

First off, the summary keeps saying Count Vlad Dracula, and I'm wondering if I missed something or if this is some sort of spoiler. The first volume set up our main character as a incarnation of Vlad the Impaler but didn't mention Dracula at all that I can recall, so either I skipped something or the main girl is a cross between Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. That aside, Sei has a problem with drawing two eyeballs at once, and constantly wants to have something covering the other eye, whether it's the Vlad's hair or something else obscuring. Not sure what was behind that choice, but it just became sort of a campy choice that pulled me away from the narrative after a while. Like, spot the contorted way Vlad was going to be positioned so that she didn't have two eyeballs exposed again.

There are a lot of terms to know and keep track of with this magic system, so if readers can keep track of all of it or just gloss by it and move on, it might not bother them so much. I wish there was a glossary of terms to look up everything because we're six volumes in and there’s so much still being explained! But past that, the battle sequences are intense and I enjoy seeing Todo and Itadori work together. Their banter is entertaining and it’s also good to see Itadori’s growth happen in real time. This volume also has some awesome awesome action towards the end for anyone who is a fan of Satoru, which I am.

Korsair is definitely a loose cannon, but he is getting to do some of the things that some readers may be wishing Navier could be able to do. He has been in very few scenes so far, and what he was in of this volume was intense and gratifying. There are other machinations in this volume that are also satisfying, and Rashta is really starting to show her true colors as a conniving, manipulative person. Readers also have to keep in mind that she is also trying to survive one very cutthroat environment, though that most likely brings little pity to the Rashta party. Navier is obviously a very sympathetic character for what is happening to her, but she is also an amazing character because of the way she handles herself and still manages to slight people in superb fashion.

It's always hard to judge autobiographical comics because they are so deeply personal, but for me, this comic was a little too stream-of-consciousness and thus disjointed. It does have some authentic voicing, and its depiction of depression is heartbreaking and accurate. There are definitely readers who will feel seen reading this comic, and it deserves a place on shelves serving an older population. Zoe is a young adult in the comic, and she doesn't hold back from difficult topics such as suicidal ideation, drug use, and sex.

At first, I was taken aback by this manga because I went into it thinking it was purely a sports manga. It definitely has some sports manga tropes - the characters work together on a team to master their sport (in this case, fighting), but this first volume has a lot more heart and depth to it as we learn who Sakura is. There are a lot of similarities to Tokyo Revengers but without the time travel elements and with a lot less cussing, so this title is a little more appealing for school audiences. I also personally appreciated Sakura as a main character more than Takemichi from TR, but other readers may connect with the grittiness of TR more than this title.

​Oda continues to prove that he is a master at creating interesting characters even though all of them are roughly the same template: they're all pirates, and they're all after the One Piece or bent on becoming insanely powerful. Nevertheless, Krieg is interesting and different than Hawkeye, and I find myself wanting to see the fights between Luffy, Zolo, and these new villains popping up. I'm also highly intrigued by Sanji who is motivated more by his need to feed everyone. He isn't a selfless character, but he has a selfless goal, so his constant struggle is entertaining and makes for some great moments.

There are some serious time jumps at the beginning that lead up to Sapphire's reveal, and many of them leave out what could be the best parts of the story. I would love to see what happened to reveal Sapphire as a girl, so I really hope that gets told at some point. There could also be some more detail to action sequences - everyone is very bendy and long when they get into fights, so it's a little hard to follow what's happening at times. Once Sapphire and her crew get into the refugee camp and meet Fire, the narrative evens out and the jumping around slows down.

The beginning of this graphic novel gets off to a rocky start with character introductions, flashback sequences, and Marysia recovering her memories, all without some needed cues to help the reader navigate the jumps from one place to the next. Once the story progresses into the next few chapters and gets into the action, things get better. There is quite a bit of information in the character biographies in the back that I wish got integrated into the story itself within character development, but hopefully this can get included in further volumes. I do appreciate the adventurous spirit of the kids and their supportive nature of each other, which is an important lesson for young readers.

Kokushibo's backstory ties several histories together, and it's fun to see the tapestry Gotouge has been weaving become a beautiful picture all together. This volume is another one adding to the extensive body count from this final fight, and I have to ask if this frontal assault was worth the heavy casualties. But if there was ever a series that disrespected and argued against plot armor, this is it! Humans fighting against supernaturally stronger beings should arguably have more casualties, and this story honors that power dynamic in a way other battle shōnen do not.

The illustrations become more polished in this volume, which I appreciate, but I’m still waiting for the characters to have some individual voicing. Everyone sounds the same. From this volume, Todo stands out as an interesting character with humorous voicing and some fun motivations, but most of the secondary characters sound and feel very similar. As they start to get their own stories and their own feature fights, they might start to have individual voicing, but after reading Demon Slayer where Gotouge gave room for every character to be unique, this series struggles with giving characters space and making me care about them. The magic system also requires a lot of explanation and is pretty confusing when it does, so that pulls me out of the main story often.

This first volume is very cute and has common tropes of miscommunication that frustrate readers in a fun way because we know everything but characters don't. Some of the band mates also share our knowledge, so it's nice to have a few folks in the "know" of the secrets inside the story. There isn’t anything in this volume that would garner a 16+ rating other than one scene of Himari doing some introspection in the bathtub, but all of her bits are safely below the waterline. Some publishers tend to rate LGBTQ+ content as 16+ automatically, but this is a sweet love story so far that would be fine for all teen audiences.

Something I like about the overall pace of this story is that each character gets a chance to endear themselves on the reader before they join the main crew. If Usopp had joined the crew after one volume instead of the two volume adventure to save his island, I probably would have thought he was annoying and it would have taken time during the next adventure for him to grow on me. Instead, Oda takes time to develop the characters' backstory while advancing the main story. We have a deeper understanding of who Usopp is as a character, AND the crew has an actual ship now!

The ending of the fight with Kanao and Inosuke was heartbreaking and beautiful, and a perfect end to the storyline of Shinobu's revenge, in my opinion. That was a payoff of several volumes of buildup, and shows how masterfully Gotouge can weave a battle for multiple stages. With the Upper Rank Demon #1, it was hard for me to conceive how a demon could be more powerful than the ones before him but yet not as powerful as Kibutsuji, but Gotouge did it by having a demon with breathing techniques.

Navier continues to be the picture of calm in the face of all manner of horrible treatment, and she has some of the best ways to subtlety insult and get back at Rashta. While it seemed like Sovieshu had come back around a little bit in the last volume with Navier's birthday trip, he’s back to pretty much always taking Rashta’s side when the two come toe to toe. Rashta gets herself into a hole in this volume, and I can’t wait to see how that will all crumble around her. I also love how the Duke's potion backfired on him, but really hope Navier uses it for her personal gain, even though she's a decent person and probably won't.

This story has an interesting premise where the characters are trying to figure out what will bring them the most joy and satisfaction from their lives, but this might see limited readership in a high school library. The subject matter isn't inappropriate for high schoolers, but it might not necessarily be a good age fit. Both lead characters are adults and are tackling adult issues like starting a family or being satisfied with their careers. Some teens might find the humor and witty exchanges funny, but much of charm of this title comes from the experience of life.

This volume is definitely more about Zolo than Luffy, which gives Zolo some more depth as a character in his fighting role and as a supporting cast member. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great moments for our stretchy-hero even though he's asleep for a good portion of this volume. Nami is her usually treasure-loving self, but she gets a chance to have a little more humanity with Usopp and show that she can care about people as well. She shows she can have a heart when it comes to Miss Kaya as well. The storytelling in this arc is much smoother and paced a lot nicer, so I'm starting to see why this tale can take up so many volumes but still be entertaining to readers. Oda has a way of drawing you in but making a sequence breathe in a satisfying way.

This is a pretty cute magical girl (and magical boy in this case) story. There are some tensions built up that the reader is all knowing of, especially the romantic tensions, and there are insights on the big-bad that are revealed at the end of this volume that will help keep younger readers hooked into the next volume. One major problem is that there is no segue or any sort of introduction into this volume, so readers who don’t know the show might be lost for a page or two until they get into the story and become familiar with the characters.

This is a pretty sweet, honest look at a difficult time in a lot of kids' lives when pressures to have romantic feelings and express crushes are at a high, and this book might help some kids understand that not only is it okay to be ace, but it's also okay to not feel pressured to reciprocate romantic feelings for others. Jay's classmate Mark is the kind of supportive and non-judgmental person I wish more kids could have in their lives because he's helpful, respectful, and validates Jay's feelings and emotions. Jay's struggle with acne is definitely something many readers will relate to and gives this book broad reach as a middle grade graphic novel.

Even though readers probably hate Akaza at this point, Gotouge is, of course, going to make us all care about him with a flashback and building up his backstory in the middle of an intense fight. The same goes for Doma in his fight, and we are finally going to get some more information about Inosuke's backstory, eighteen volumes in! If that all wasn't enough, we're also getting a new technique and fighting style this late into the series, and it's a fascinating way to tie everything together that Tanjiro has learned to this point. This volume may need a content warning: there is mention of suicide and we do see a person hanging from a noose in the shadows.

Luffy continues to act unconventionally and is his own comic relief while being the leading man. When others would listen to the bad guys reveal the plot and slink away to foil them, Luffy does the exact opposite and marches forward to confront them and reveal how much he's heard. Oda is also pretty inventive with new ways for Luffy to to use his stretchy powers, which keeps it fresh and entertaining. There are some Q&A pages with write-in from fans that show Oda's humor as well where he subtly pokes fun at the fans who suggest ludicrous powers for Luffy, but there are also some interesting hidden nuggets of information about characters in these pages.

Our main character relied far less on the in-game prompts this time around, as she's going into parts of the game that she never played before. The Hunt wasn't part of the game, and she's going into territory that is all unfamiliar now. The scene with Reynold was heartbreaking as our main character used a lot of her own experience in her real life in her abusive childhood and filled in the gaps to make it suitable for a fantasy world to tell Penelope's backstory. The writing and illustrations in this scene beautifully captured the emotions Penelope was conveying.

This volume focuses quite a lot on Aqua and Ruby takes a bit of a backseat while she and her Idol group-mate try to figure out their identity as a pair. Readers who like the bubblier twin might feel like she gets the short end of page time while we actually get a bit more of Aqua's cast-mates from the show. There is less of a focus overall on the entertainment industry and hardly any focus on the kids going to school, but we do get a bit more insight into how far Aqua is willing to go to learn more about Ai and her mysterious past. There is suicidal ideation and an attempt in this volume, so readers who need a content warning should be aware before jumping into this volume.

We're back to the feel and pace of the story before the trials for the mage test, and back to the silly odd jobs and equally silly spells Frieren gets because of them. This volume was a nice relaxing one after the tense, comparatively battle-heavy previous two. I am happy to see Fern and Stark going somewhere with the cute romantic tension, even if it's for a joke, but the ending of the novel lays some groundwork for the two of them to be possibly a little more than friends for reals. But, I don't anticipate anything anytime soon given the track record of slow, methodical pacing Yamada has had with everything else.

While I was emotionally upset from the previous volume and the deaths in the first round of fighting in the Infinity Castle, this volume shed some light via flashbacks, and there is some tremendous emotional payoff. There is also some resolution for folks who may still be harboring some emotional scarring from fights way back in volumes eight and nine. This volume did a lot to assuage my fears for Tanjiro's training as he mostly keeps up with Giyu, a Hashira. I am also starting to have an appreciation for Tanjiro's special form of breathing, even though the explanation of how he's learning it is a little wonky.

This is an intense manga with some deep things to say about humanity, and it comes at a time when we are all exploring the societal implications of A.I. and the moral implications of using this technology. Boichi has some wonderfully detailed art, which is to be expected from the illustrator who is of Dr. Stone fame, but there are some serious problems with this title. There is a lot of nudity that could be explained away via Origin being unaware or unfazed by anatomy and thus unconcerned with covering the naked bodies the robots he overcomes and captures, but what is inexcusable are the unnecessarily angles of anatomically detailed robot vaginas through underwear or skin tight spandex during fight scenes that are clearly for the benefit of the reader, not the combatants. Boichi seems unable to have a female character on the page without exploiting her.

There are some really heart-felt moments in this volume as Oda explores what treasure is and how it can be meaningful moments and objects, not just shining jewels. Most of the development is happening around Luffy, however, as it’s not completely evident that he’s particularly learning and growing, but the other characters are experiencing growth or changing their perspective of him. This might be one of those series what’s the audience changes and grows rather than the main character.

Here's another story with video-game elements, albeit understated compared to titles like Solo Leveling, but this time, the person with all the power is a reader instead of someone who levels up by fighting or having magical abilities. I might be biased, but that was a nice, meta twist for the librarian in me, and might appeal to some readers' sense of irony. Outside of the reader being the most powerful one in the story, there are other appealing elements - this title is quite action-packed and pretty violent, which makes it more appropriate for older readers, but definitely appeals to fans of Danganronpa - readers looking for something a bit darker and more philosophical. Within the first few chapters, characters are immediately put into situations where they need to value life and make difficult choices. As Dokja makes more decisions, his familiarity decreases, so it will be interesting to see if his reading will continue to be an asset in future volumes.

To me, this seemed early to start the "final battle" as there are twenty three volumes in the series, so this is going to be a long end-game with what promises to be a lot of action sequences for the next eight volumes. I'm not convinced that Tanjiro has done enough training to pull off a win against Muzan, so I wonder if this is going to be a Harry Potter situation where Tanjiro's friends and luck is going to get him through a difficult fight. The Hashira death in this volume was the most heartbreaking for me so far, so I appreciate the emotional build up Gotouge has created throughout the series and into this volume.

Takeda is a truly talented illustrator who can produce some really masterful details and character designs. The illustrations for the period pieces were full of painstaking details. But some of the stories were a little off-putting. Personally, I was put-off by the second story about the woman who "came around" to her stalker, and there's an implication that they at least made out before the cops arrived. This is a really dangerous behavior to normalize for audiences for the sake of a storyline. The last story, with the husband and wife dealing with a terminal illness, made me audibly gasp while reading it. To have these two stories in the same collection is a bit of a disservice since there is some powerful illustration and writing going on with a  dangerous story mixed in that makes this one that I wouldn't recommend purchasing for young readers.

This is a great adventure title that is punctuated with moments of serious violence or sacrifice. Oda has some powerful timing and knows how to capitalize on page turns, and there are also some well-placed panels that capture poignant moments between characters that were being comical just panels before. But, it's clear from the first volume that most of the character and plot development are going to happen around Luffy -- readers probably shouldn't expect him to change too much throughout his travels. The illustrations are over the top and folks’ mouths are comically large most of the time. Luffy is basically a couple of half-circles with fists and shoes. There are many panels where the word bubbles take over most of the real estate, so this sometimes makes the page and illustrations feel very crowded.

Raeliana continues to navigate this world that keeps her on her toes. In this volume, she is trying to find the original protagonist of the novel, and she's coming up short. It is starting to seem, to her, that she has replaced the protagonist and affected the plot of the novel by staying alive, so now her knowledge of the story might start to prove a little outdated. The other noble ladies are constantly keeping her on her toes with their mind games, but by the end of this volume, Raeliana is starting to develop some thick skin for some of their taunting. There was a little bit more attention paid to character expression and design in this volume, and a few more panels with some atmospheric details, so I appreciated some of those elements over the first volume.

Kishimoto wastes no time getting readers into the action and worries about world building much later into this volume. Naruto gets some surface-level characterization to start with - he loves pranks and eating ramen and he has lofty goals, but some of the other characters around him are fairly one-dimensional. There is some character development for Master Kakashi, the ninja who is assigned to Naruto's first mission, so hopefully the other side characters will get a chance to develop as well. It is clear that Kishimoto has put a lot of thought into the world and history around these ninja societies, so hopefully we will get more of it as the series progresses. So far, the tone is pretty lighthearted, but there were a few instances where it shifted and became serious, so there is opportunity for some deeper development later on.

As a Nezuko fan, this volume had some wonderful payoff for me. I am so glad to see that she is given importance and weight. Tanjiro also gets some power up in this volume with the Hashira training, and he finally gets an amazing sword that will hopefully last and he won't break. Gotouge continues all the wonderful character development, this time with Giyu, who readers have been waiting to learn about since volume one. This has definitely been a slow burn that results in a satisfying payoff.

There is a lot of sweetness and innocence in this title about first crushes and high school social life. But this volume uses a lot of the same high-school life tropes that are prevalent in the genre - school trips to the beach, handing your crush a cell-phone charm, establishing love rivalries, an overly beautiful young girl who’s socially inept - that I’m not certain this volume one stands out quite yet as a story. This might be a decent middle-school romance for folks who like Morishita's work on A Sign of Affection and want something for younger readers.

This is a very easy going manga that has a similar relaxed feel to Frieren: Beyond Journey's End where Cayna is powerful but still unsure of herself and must do some development as a character and determine who she is despite her power. There are some parts that explain how the game worked and influenced the world, which I could honestly do without. Some readers might appreciate those details as it makes this title more in line with other game-oriented titles, but because the world has changed quite a bit since Keina played, the game pieces were a little irrelevant. I have a feeling that the game will matter less and less as the series progresses, and this will be more or less just a fantasy title.

I went into this story thinking it was going to be more of a cutsy, magical girl story based on the description, but it was much darker than I anticipated and it reminded me more of Princess Mononoke than Tokyo Mew Mew. There are some really heartbreaking moments in this story for Alpi in terms of the choices she has to make, but also how hard her "job" is on her body. This falls more in line with a darker fantasy story and, while still good for elementary audiences, is not as carefree and has something to say about making difficult choices, living in harmony with our environment, and helping one another.

Gotouge continues the formula of breaking battles with backstories but brings some stereotype-questioning into this one with Kanroji. A hashira who has been bullied for not being feminine enough who also exudes feminine energy -- definitely sounds like a struggle that will resonate with some of our readers! Gotouge also loves to bring familial struggles into the backstories of slayers, and the Mist Hashira is another example of some family trauma that fueled a desire to become a demon slayer.

This was a pretty unassuming title at first that followed a lot of tropes and reminded me a lot of My Hero Academia. But the title got more complex with the darker side of the society and the structure to the school's hierarchy. I also appreciated that there weren't as many characters introduced as quickly in this title, and the color illustrations helped to differentiate between all of them. The magical powers were interesting and didn't require a ton of explanation. This is a little longer for a graphic novel, but it got really intriguing halfway through, and I was immersed in what was happening with John. At that point, the pages flew by, and the cliffhanger ending left me unsatisfied that there weren't more pages.

In this volume, we're getting into how Miyo really is special, and it's exciting even if it is a trope. It's clear that she needs more time to heal, and I'm glad to see that the mangaka is showing how slow that process is instead of rushing through it or glossing over how painful that can be. I also appreciate how we have a limited perspective of what's happening in the world and we aren't given a full omniscient 3rd person point of view for the larger conflict that's happening -- rather, we have a slice told from Miyo and Kudo's perspective as they are given information.

This story has a much slower pace with hardly any action at all, but it is also very comforting and relaxing. The chapters are short and the overall feel is sort of slice-of-life, but each chapter progresses the storyline. Shiromaru also has an adorable cat, so this brings another cute element into this already adorable story. This volume introduces a romance element that might endear the storyline for some readers or it might disappoint others who were hoping this would be more of a story about platonic friendship. Overall, it is nice to see Nakami and Magari support one another, even though they have to break quite a few rules all the time in order to get what they need.

This title packs a serious punch in examining the rights of humans and doesn't shy away from some heavy political topics. The story tackles "us vs them" and NIMBY (not in my backyard) attitudes that have been prevalent in recent years in US politics and also includes some comments on violent police and a "shoot-first, ask later" proclivity. Through all of this, Charlie is an innocent who has an interesting way of seeing the world. The way he questions the world's inequities will encourage readers to have some critical reflection as well. This is a manga that will get under readers skin while also satisfying the need for action and interesting characters.

We are back to wall-to-wall fighting in this volume after having a bit of a reprieve in volume 12, so readers who missed the action don't have to wait long to get back into it. There are several battles to go between in this one, and new fighters and fighting styles to keep the pacing fresh. Gotouge continues the pattern of mixing backstory with battles, so we do learn about our new characters, both demon and slayer, as they are battling one another. Fans of Nezuko will also be rewarded in this volume as she finally gets to engage in a bit more battling with her powered-up form we saw in featured on the cover of volume 11, and she stays in this form for the entirety of the volume. However, this more voluptuous form also sparks controversy as part of the only fan-service in the series next to the Love Hashira.

This being the finaly vlume in this short series, we get some resolution to the storylines and drama set up between the broken friendships, especially between Asari and Tsugu, which is satisfying. Overall, Ozaki is trying to provide a lot of commentary on growing up and the transition into adulthood, and how difficult some of those life choices can be. This short series may resonate with high school students who may feel at a loss themselves during this difficult transitive time, but my overall problem with the series still lies in volume two with the interaction between Yuushin and Asari and just how quickly the sexual violence was glossed over between the two of them. Without that one scene, this series would have been an excellent addition to high school shelves.

As we’re at the beginning of the story, there is a lot of world building and character introduction that had to take place, and so that somewhat bogged down this book overall but there was still a lot of action to drive the story forward, and most of the characters we meet this far are interesting. there were a couple background characters that sort of became blurry and indistinguishable because of lack of development overall, so hopefully they get some more page time and more distinction in further volumes. This story also has to rectify a lack of time passage - sometimes in narratives, especially when there are travel stories, we see characters move from one place to another, and there is nothing to note the passage of time, like sun setting or events happening in the evening. I hope future volumes start to include some visual cues for days passing even when characters are on the airship.

This is a bit of a departure from Endo's other works, somewhere in between Tista and Spy x Family, but it also gives me some remnants of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyers. The beginning half of this story on the Moon Kingdom was quite engrossing, but there was a huge tone shift when Kaguya gets to Earth and the planet is far more primitive than the futuristic society she's used to. I felt Kaguya's culture shock with her, which was a great bit of storytelling. Readers looking for the humor that Endo peppers throughout Spy x Family won't find much here as this story has more commentary on humanity and societies and how we treat one another, so there is less room for humor overall.

After many volumes of solid fighting, it's nice to have a bit of repireve and get a volume dedicated to building some more of the world. Gotouge clearly knows how to build characters, as we have had plenty of that mixed in with all of the fighting, but I have been very interested in knowing more about the Demon Slayer society behind all of these creatures running around. I hope to see and learn more about the sword smith society itself because, although we are in their village, this volume still focused mostly on the slayers and the Hashira that are in the village presently. There is some fan service in this volume as Kanr

As readers may suspect from anything with the name "Alice" in the title, our main is in a fantastical world and must figure out the rules of her new surrounding and survive to the best of her ability. This is a cute story that mirrors some of the struggles of the classic Alice in Wonderland tale while adding a fresh layer of conflict for our Alice to work through and a dash of angst that isn't too over-the-top for younger audiences. There are some heartbreaking moments with Alice's uncle traumatically ousting her. Between that, the cultural context of Japanese citizenry not mandatorily attending high school, and a few exchanges between Alice and her new boss needing some emotional maturity, this title would be best suited for upper elementary where readers will fully appreciate Alice's predicament.

This world has a lot of similarities to Harry Potter while mixing in enough originality to start making its own way in the fantasy genre. The overall pacing was intense - this first volume read very quickly, especially considering how long the first chapter was. Collette, Will's friend who helps stand up for him, could be given some more page-time and development, or else she risks becoming a throwaway character in a sea of students and professors who are already more interesting and given more time for readers to bond with and connect to the character designs.

This whole volume is, once again, all battle. There is a touching moment where we get Gyutaro and Daki’s backstory, and it's tragic, of course, because no one's backstory in Demon Slayer is anything but tragic. Gotouge is a master at creating backstories that make you feel something for characters even if they are demons that eat humans. There's also some splashes of cuteness with Nezuko and Tanjiro when Nezuko gives Tanjiro a piggy-back ride and she’s in her smaller state, so it's pretty adorable and slightly comical.

This book suffered from adaptors and editors being possibly too close to the original source material, which feels like it is very vast and very difficult to adapt. As someone who hasn’t read anything from this universe, there were a lot of places where the narrative had some severe holes and was difficult to follow. Folks familiar with the TV shows, novels, and other parts of this universe will most likely be able to fill in the missing details, but new readers will likely be questioning why certain elements work the way they do, why characters already come in with weight they didn't earn, and questioning mechanics that weren't explained.

For the battle-manga fans out there, this series has become pretty much all battle, all the time. There are some moments where we get some insights, or some explanations or memories, of what is happening in the bodies of our Slayers or demons as they are evolving, but the pages are mostly full of beautifully drawn battle sequences and different sword or breathing techniques. I am enjoying seeing the evolution of Tanjiro - it's always nice to see a progression of a main character and not have them just be overpowered from the beginning. In this volume, we get to see him struggle a bit and have consequences of pushing himself too hard, too quickly. But, just like other volumes, the Slayers constantly work together and support each other.

For readers rooting for our Belle and Beast to get together in the end, they'll be happy to see that Princess Belle is kind of a jerk after all. Cyril definitely softens though, and is not so much a beast as a pathetic creature consigned to his fate. in previous volumes, he seemed to actually be in love with his Belle, but the shine is gone now and it's clear that she annoys him. But, with only one volume left, there's not a lot of room left to get those two together and take care of La Médium!

The cover and initial description of this story led me to believe this was going to be a sweet story, but this turned out to be much more violent and gruesome than I expected. Chloe grows up to be quite a deadly and seething with power, which contrasts sharply with how powerless she is when we meet her. I hope we get to see more of her training and the ten years we skipped over, even if it is in flashbacks, in later volumes because that is quite the change! All of the characters around her are likewise fairly jaded and violent, as this city does not engender folks to be anything but inhuman to each other.

As Tanjiro fights in this volume, he is starting to move away from his water breathing that has served him well for the last eight volumes, so it's interesting to see him developing his own method but also coming into his own with a unique style that may make him stronger in the long run. As they have with previous volumes, Gotouge has mixed some comedy with the seriousness of the storyline - none of the main three are convincing as ladies and their makeup is especially laughable to really play up how difficult it is for them to slip into these under-cover roles. After the tragedy of the previous volume, this change of pace may seem out of place, but this volume does reference to the seriousness of what happened in volume eight while still moving the overall storyline forward, and readers will appreciate what Gotouge does with all of it.

This book may be full of tons of drama, but technically, so was Greek mythology. I love how Smythe is adapting so much source material into a modern setting and incorporating a lot of modern romantic tropes into her characters. Readers who have been waiting for Persephone to grow a backbone may be satisfied that we're starting to see it a bit in this volume. There are  also some wonderful mythology easter eggs hidden throughout for readers who are familiar with the source material, but they won't be too confusing for those who are not in the know.

The jump in storytelling for this volume had even me doing a double-take, and I was just as confused as poor Nene and Kou, so I commend the mangaka for a solid disruption to the storyline. Some of the previous volumes had become a little predictable, especially because Nene kept getting kidnapped, but this was refreshing and a wonderful change of pace aside from still having some key obvious markers in figuring out the mystery. The School Mystery itself had a bit of a cruel twist to it, so this volume will tug a bit on the heartstrings of readers, which AidaIro has been showing mastery of throughout this series.

The first two volumes of this series has been a bit of a slow burn romance with plenty of time devoted to Miyo healing and due diligence to the propriety of the time period in regards to Miyo and Kudo's courtship. Volume three, however, has quite a tone shift as the violence Miyo has been subjected to is no longer hinted at, and the supernatural abilities are laid out in panels, no longer hinted. The pacing also picks up in this volume, and there are a few more subplots and mysteries to keep track of as well. Hopefully, fans who stuck around and enjoyed this beautiful story of healing will also enjoy what is turning into something intriguing with moments of action.

I am absolutely hooked on this story being a cross between the best of romantic intrigue from other manhwa and the game-infused storylines from stories like Solo Leveling. Penelope still  does have a good amount of autonomy despite being in a game, so she can still keep things interesting. In this volume, she does re-engage the game's dialogue prompts to discover why a character would feel a certain way about Penelope later on, as her knowledge of the game's future helps her navigate this point in time, so gives her some interesting insight. I do appreciate that her best laid plans still aren't as seamless as she had hoped, because that would make everything too easy!

Without giving too much away about this murder-mystery, the ending might be a little predictable for fans of the genre if they've consumed a lot of other content in this area, but it was still fairly satisfying because of the way Al and Ellis come to trust one another after all. Personally, I’ve been trying to figure out who is the “Lad” is from the title, and the ending has made me fairly reflective about how it could be either Al or Ellis. Even though the end to the murder-mystery part was slightly predictable, the overall series ending left me very satisfied. This series also doesn't shy away from tackling some heavy topics. Al is targeted and racially profiled by the police, something he discusses with Ellis, and something his framer uses to his advantage to make Al a more perfect murder suspect. Several women on the police force also discuss whether they should continue being detectives since they wil have a harder time advancing without giving up their personal lives because they

The political intrigue continues! This whole storyline is a giant chess match of conniving, calculating folks who are trying to work and use their wiles on everyone else. It was good to see Navier use some of her Empress powers in this volume and get a few good jabs in on Sovieshu when he needed it. He often tries to have his cake and eat it too just because he's the Emperor! While it is obvious that the couple-pairing we're being shoe-horned into is for Sovieshu and Rashta to end up together and Navier and Heinrey to end up together, Navier and Sovieshu are childhood sweethearts, and we get some very tender flashbacks in this volume that kind of make me want them to work things out. That could also be false hope so that the separation hurts more later! Either way, this romance-drama continues to enthrall and keep me on the edge of my seat.

There is quite a lot of story packed into these 200 pages! Akasaka knows how to lay out and pace a story while not being overwhelming. This volume also contains a lot of insights about the Japanese entertainment industry, which I found very interesting. While including plenty of content, Akasaka also devotes decent amount of time to developing a few side characters, especially Kana. Aqua and Ruby are the perfect foils of each other, and readers are bound to have a favorite twin they want to see have more page time. Aqua is fairly dark and twisty as he plots his revenge, but he still has a soft spot for his sister, while Ruby is bright and optimistic about life, and determined to use her reincarnation to its fullest.

I am personally a sucker for magical girl stories because they were my introduction to manga, and I also love Shonen tropes, so this manga seems to blend the best of both! There were times I laughed out loud reading this story, and I really enjoyed some of the twists and turns Hiromi went through. The surprise ending definitely left me wanting volume two! Akabane's illustration combines some hallmarks of different manga styles. Characters can be cutesy and comical when necessary, but Hiromi's magical girl transformations are stylized and beautiful as they often are in shōjo manga.

We all know how the story of Louis and Marie Antoinette would end, but there’s still so much tension and build up woven onto each page that Ikeda gives hope that they could escape, or the people could decide to spare them. This volume also does finally get some resolution and relief for all the build up of Oscar and André’s romantic tension that has been rising throughout the story. After the historical drama has concluded, there is a side story focusing on Oscar, Rosalie, Andre, and a little girl named Loulou, but that could have probably been included with volume 5 where there are more adventures of Loulou, so instead we end on this interesting note of a story based on a real woman named Elizabeth Bathony who did murder a lot of people, but it seems like a strange place to end volume four.

There are some surprises in this volume that make the first round of competition make a lot more sense, especially given how our main characters were in the "bottom" of a very difficult competition, and I was not looking forward to the amount of struggle the would have to go through to get to the top. I am also glad that the second round of competition is going to be set up a little differently than the first round, but sat to see some of Isagi's teammates are not going to be with him anymore. This does mean that some of the cool characters from other teams that we met throughout the last four volumes are going to be more important now, so that means that was work Kaneshiro spent wisely building up some of his side characters.

This series is still adorable, but this volume gets a little heavier as Ruri confronts her former school mates who were captured with Asahi but are now no longer enthralled by her. The overfairies are also adorable, having both found bodies that are cute and fluffy like Ruri likes. The author's note at the end lets us know that we were waiting so long for this volume (it's been almost two years!) specifically because the illustrations for the war sequence took so long, so hopefully we don't have more delays like that! We still didn't get to the moment of the king finding out about Ruri, so that tension is growing, and this volume added a bit of hilarity to it as the audience knew what Asahi's frustration was all about.

This story is, first and foremost, a slow romance and a story of healing. There might be some magical plot points that could develop further later, especially with the hints about how important Miyo could be to the future of magical people, but the appeal of this story is Miyo being able to heal and being supported by a person who is widely misunderstood. Kudo and Miyo are two broken folks who have possibly found their person. There could be some complications later as Miyo had a childhood sweetheart that was swept up by Kaya, but I think I and other readers would be immensely satisfied to see these two build a relationship where they can both be at peace.

Like many Western readers of this series, I have read volume zero out of order in the universe timeline, as this book wasn’t published in the US until 2 years after volume one. This serves as a bit of a prequel, but this is definitely a fine place for new readers to start the series. There is a lot of action in this volume, and readers don’t necessarily have to have an emotional attachment to any of the characters here in order to appreciate the story. In fact, this might give some much-needed context to the second year students in the main story (Toge, Maki, and Panda), who are very glossed over when they’re first introduced in later volumes. Yuka's story is also very engaging and a good introduction to some of the way cursed energy works with Jujutsu sorcerers without being as overwhelming as the explanations get to be in volumes one and two.

I think we're finally getting close! Twelve volumes in is quite the long time for a payoff! But Hata has built up this storyline with a satisfying slow-burn, and spent so many volumes just showing the couple play house that readers (and myself) were satisfied not knowing Tsukasa's deep secret, but with this new, mysterious character and her proximity to Nasa, plus all the other little hints from her family, we've got to be close! That, or Hata is just really, really good at building up our expectations.  But we've definitely shied away from Slice of Life in favor of overall storylines, although the chapters are still very short still as they are in slice of life.

This story is beautiful and heartbreaking, but there a quite a lot of characters and relationships to keep track of. Avid readers and fans of the series have no problems, but this is definitely one of those that might be better consumed in a short time frame instead of spaced out. There are a lot of little details that Kizu weaves throughout the plot that pay off later, so a careful reader is rewarded in this series. There are also a lot of beautiful boys, so readers looking for a tragic but slightly wholesome boys-love series will also be rewarded! Be prepared for the tear-jerkers, though!

This book was beautiful and haunting, especially the overt reminders of the destruction humans are working upon the earth every day. Tamarit uses a lot of Native imagery and other mythological influences in her story - Mother Earth is feminine and it is up to the women to restore her balance; the violence and exploitation are wholly masculine, and the imbalance among the two forces allow for destruction and destitution of the natural resources. The wolf spirit that follows the characters could have its origin in many Native American tribal origin stories where wolf spirits are often vital in creation mythos. Aside from these deeper meanings, Tamarit develops some interesting characters without using a lot of dialogue and instead relies on her illustrations and showing meaningful actions. There are several wordless pages, but readers won't have any trouble pulling together the narrative across the page. The message can be a little heavy handed at times, however, as if Tamarit wanted to

It was really awesome to see Isagi bring his team together in volumes 3 and 4, and see how they figured out how to use everyone's unique talents, But, I'm also glad that Kaneshiro found a way to up the ante and derail Team Z's plans in an interesting way because too many matches of them winning as they did in volume 3 would have taken some of the high-stakes tension out of the volume. Some readers may have seen Kuon's betrayal coming, but I did not!

The sadness and despair from Reiji is palpable and gets more tragic the more we see and feel how trapped he is. Nagi’s situation is a much slower burn, taking almost the whole book to reveal why she feels the need to commit suicide. The pacing and character development for Reiji and Nagi is done very well, as my heart is broken for the both of them at the end of the book. This is obviously a story for mature readers, as the two discuss suicide a lot, have sex, and Nagi shows up naked repeatedly in Reiji’s head.

Of all the Fujimoto works I've consumed, this one affected me the most. There is an artistic tell to what is being filmed and edited versus what Yuta is seeing in real life, but it might not be obvious why that's important on the first read. Because of Yuta's editing and twists, this book will require re-reads and will either provide more clarity or more questions as to what's real and what's actually Yuta's edited reality. Fujimoto is playing with elements of the fantastique ​genre, which is one of my favorites, so this book really stands out to me in composition and form.

Yoi’s struggle in this manga is a bit unique for shōjo manga, but is something that may resonate with readers. It feels very real and sincere, and the societal pressure to conform to what is expected is visceral. Many teens who are experiencing this similar struggle, the struggle that it may be better to go with expectations than to fight them, will see themselves in Yoi's plight. Other readers who don't have this current battle happening in their lives may see some of their behaviors are perpetuating someone to be a Yoi in their lives. This manga could start some interesting conversation or introspection amongst readers while also providing some complex characters and engaging storylines for further enjoyment.

It's no wonder this manhwa is super popular as a web comic, and it's bound to be well circulated in a library. The pacing and storytelling is wonderfully executed, and the illustrations are beautifully cinematic. The game elements of this story blend Solo Leveling with shōjo romance, and it mixes in the best elements of what manhwa I’ve read: visually stunning color illustrations, gorgeous dresses, lush backgrounds, and hot guys. Towards the end of this volume, our main character (who never names herself in this first-person narration) finally figures out some subtle ways to stand up for herself and not get killed, so this volume leaves off in an interesting space of righteous vengeance and intrigue.

There is quite a lot of internal monologue in this story, from every character’s perspective, but it truly gives a lot of depth and insight into each character. It may feel a little excessive at times, but Agitogi uses a lot of this to show the depth of the characters, particularly how broken and terrified Miyo is. Having served teens with abusive relationships and knowing some of the traumatic lives they live, this book speaks deeply to the types of behaviors and internalization that victims of abuse go through. I think Agitogi has carefully and faithfully portrayed what happens to victims of abuse, and this is one of the most in-depth manga to deal with this issue. Despite this being set in a fantasy land, I believe readers will connect with Miyo and be sympathetic to her struggle.

In this volume, Hata turns slightly away from the Slice of Life format in that all of the chapters have a building storyline. They're still fairly short, and everything is still pretty peaceful and low stakes, but the conversation with Tokiko and Nasa gave another hint towards her identity and the greater mystery we've been teased with the whole series. There seems to be a deeper story that Hata wants to write about this couple, but we haven't seen it yet.

This was another hilarious volume, despite some of the silly/weird things Becky was thinking. Like she's OK with being Anya's mommy and best friend so she can be with Loid. That's definitely playing on a tenant of childhood, though, as most kids have a crush on an adult and have very silly fantasies about it. The story is still very slice-of-life, so some readers might be frustrated by the lack of progress on the main storyline of the two warring countries.

This personal story is heartbreaking and emotional. I was particularly struck by how much of the sexual harassment and objectification of women’s bodies is the same in Japan as it is in the United States. Pesayuma-san poignantly analyzes how women’s bodies are freely commented on, like someone shopping for veggies in a store, and this analogy hit home for me. This series might be best for older teens and adults who are looking for some perspective, or commiseration. There are a few moments of narrative jumps that were a little difficult to follow, and I didn’t think the inside-look into the publishing and making of this manga series was totally necessary. They seemed out of sync with Pesayuma’s exploration of their past and coping with their trauma.

There are so many things about this story that remind me of the movie The Craft: a new kid moves to Los Angeles, obviously the witches, their innocent spells backfiring... There are some moments when the dialogue is pretty stiff and not quite authentic to today's teenagers, but if we take this as set in the same space as the movie, it works well as an homage to those intellectual outcasts. There is a very diverse cast of characters supporting the cis gay white male lead, and I appreciated that everyone’s sexuality and gender are features of them instead of foci of the story. While Elliot's romantic feelings does take a good amount of the story, it doesn't feel like tokenism or performative for the sake of having an LGBTQ+ story. All that being said, there are some problems with pacing the story and balancing how large this cast is.

This volume mixes romance and sports manga and sprinkles some humor in for good measure. The pacing is a bit slower than some other popular romance titles, but the build-up to Chinatsu moving in is perfect. There is a false sense of security -- at first, readers might think they have the story figured out, but Miura creates a compelling narrative, and I honestly forgot to be looking for the twist! The awkwardness Taiki feels throughout the volume is palpable and will definitely resonate with teen readers. This would pair nicely with the humor and social awkwardness of Romantic Killer.

I'm glad we're getting a few more side characters because the horn-dog who Kaname is getting a little bit old. Between Kaname and her sister, there are enough jokes about the newlyweds and cuddling. Nasa's cousin is an interesting foil - he's a bad boy who seems like a Yakuza, but he's also a little clueless, so having him along is fun. The camping trip was a good note to end on, and I hope there are finally some reveals headed our way about Tsukasa's mysterious past.