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My Girlfriend's Child GN 1
My Girlfriend's Child isn't the first manga to tackle a young woman facing a surprise and potentially unwanted pregnancy, but it is one of the few to come out in English and treat the subject with clear, nonjudgmental eyes.
― The title of this one is a little bit misleading, at least in this first volume. Not when it comes to the subject matter – this is a story about teen pregnancy – but inasmuch as...
Love, That's an Understatement GN 1
Love, That's an Understatement's first volume is a strong start to an enjoyable take on the good girl/bad boy romance subgenre, and if you're a fan of shoujo-style romance, you definitely ought to check it out.
― The good girl/bad boy romance trope is almost as old as the romance genre itself. Early versions of the trope, such as in Samuel Richardson's 1748 novel Clarissa, didn't exactly work out. Ho...
Trinity Trigger
Trinity Trigger is a solid game with several interesting elements, held back by a somewhat lackluster and repetitive presentation.
― Trinity Trigger is a game from another time, often to its benefit but at times to its detriment as well. Trinity Trigger draws its line in the sand early: this is a throwback to the action RPGs of the 90s at its heart. If you've played titles like those in the Mana seri...
Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun GN 1
The manga that inspired the fan-favorite anime series is now out in bookstores. If you're already a fan of the anime reading this is a no-brainer; but newcomers have the opportunity to discover Iruma's charm all on their own.
― Poor Iruma - his deadbeat parents have just sold him to a demon, which is the latest in a long line of terrible decisions they've made over his fourteen years. From deciding t...
The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses GN 1-2
A slow-burn in the romance department, this series stretches reader's suspension of disbelief (and patience).
― If you only want to read the short version of this review, let me ask you this: do you like simple and cute things? If so, then this manga will probably appeal to you. I'm grateful that I'm reviewing the first two volumes of this series instead of just the first one because, unfortunately, ...
Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion GN 1-3
The mystery elements, which are developed further in each successive volume, blend well with the standard romance plot and the humor aspects, forming a series that is hard to put down.
― While otome games are the norm in most Japanese reincarnated-as-a-fictional-character forms of isekai, in most South Korean and Chinese takes on the genre that I've read, characters are much more likely to find thems...
Princess Principal: Crown Handler - Chapter 3
While the animation sequences are nothing to write home about, the third installment in the Crown Handler film series is the best yet.
― The second Princess Principal film concluded with the major revelation that Prince Richard and his forces from the re-conquered New World were the mysterious third power that entered the spy game between the Kingdom and Commonwealth. This revelation has left Charlot...
Tephlon Funk GN 1
Inspired by Cowboy Bebop and Spike Lee films, Tephlon Funk is a lot, but I think that ultimately that's a good thing.
― Drugs. F-bombs. Street-wise kids, bitter undercover cops, and angels. Welcome to the world of Tephlon Funk, a collaboration between an American writer/creator and two French illustrators. It's an interesting piece, wearing its influences proudly – there's a real grounding in Cowboy ...
D4DJ All Mix
Bushiroad's DJ-centric series doubles its cast and settles into a slice-of-life vibe. This lack of focus lets fans all get a moment with their favorite group, albeit at the expense of a higher-stakes plot.
― Right off rip, it's apparent this assignment was handed down for D4DJ All Mix: Fully introduce all the DJ units who weren't in the first season, and do…something with them. The original D4DJ Firs...
Show-ha Shoten! GN 2
Show-ha Shoten! expands his comedy repertoire with new side-splitting characters.
― Show-Ha Shoten! was a genuine surprise. I always like reading a good comedy that gets me to laugh and distracts me from the world being on fire outside my window. But I never thought I would find so much enjoyment in a series that's literally about breaking down what makes something funny. It's like reading a shonen a...
Princess Principal: Crown Handler - Chapter 2
With an assassin on the loose and the Queen bedridden, the Royal Family is on high alert in this second high-stakes spy romp.
― If the first Crown Handler film is about Ange, this second film is about Charlotte. With an assassin on the loose and the Queen bedridden, the Royal Family is on high alert. This is especially true for those in the direct line of succession. With Richard (the third in line t...
Studio Ghibli: An Industrial History
Concerned about the "mythologization" growing up around Ghibli British academic Rayna Denison offers several alternative perspectives on the acclaimed anime studio and spotlights its less-touted but still wildly talented staff.
― It has been a decade since Studio Ghibli last released a hit film, Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises in 2013. Since then, anime films by other creators have challenged Ghibli'...
Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure Episodes 1-12
Its unusually inclusive official line-up makes Soaring Sky one of the most affirming magical girl series of recent years, as it speaks to the genre's promise that anyone can transform if given the chance.
― From their earliest days, magical girls have always been about using the power within to transform into heroes. I can think of very few magical girl series that use that concept better than Soarin...
Gridman Universe
As a sequel, Gridman Universe successfully ties up the loose ends of SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, while fan-favorite character Akane looms heavy over the film.
― Gridman Universe is a direct sequel to both SSSS.Gridman. and SSSS.Dynazenon. It continues the plotlines and character arcs of both series, tying up loose ends for some and giving epilogues to others. However, if there is a single main c...
Life GN 1
Two decades after its initial release, Life presents a viciously recognizable picture of the social hellscape that middle and high school can be.
― First published in 2002 and partially released by Tokyopop not long after, it would be easy, and maybe even comforting, to write Keiko Suenobu's Life off as a relic of the past. The art certainly upholds this wishful thinking; Suenobu's style is very much...
The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy Novel
The slavery trope crops again with little thought or consideration for how its utilized.
― Yes, this is another one – a light novel where one protagonist buys a romantic interest as a slave. By my count, The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy is the third aimed at a female readership to be released in English, following The Alchemist Who Survived now Dreams of a Quiet City Life and Sugar Apple ...
Turning the Tables on the Seatmate Killer! GN 2-5
Turning the Tables on the Seatmate Killer! blends multiple fiction genres together with mixed results.
― Note: You can read our review of the first volume here. There is, happily, no hard and fast rule that stories have to stay in their own genre lanes. Apart from encouraging entertaining new combos in fiction, this can also lead to some genre mashups that manage to be successful in more than one asp...
My Coworker Has a Secret GN 1
My Coworker Has a Secret isn't anything particularly new or exciting, and it does sometimes feel like creator Mushiro's just pulling tropes out of a rom-com grab bag.
― Stories about secret adult otaku in the workplace are hardly new, but Akari is in a more precarious position than most. That's not just because she's a self-described stan of her favorite musical actor, the acerbic Ren Nishimori (AKA ...
Love's in Sight! GN 1
This fluffy little romance about a blind girl and a former delinquent is replete with very solid messaging about how everyone deserves to be treated with respect.
― "If you don't cram yourself into highly specific roles, society doesn't treat you like a person." Those words, thought by male lead Morio Kurokawa, nicely sum up the point of this book. Morio's an eighteen-year-old high school dropout wit...
Guardian of Fukushima GN
Relaying both hope and hopelessness in the face of disaster, Guardian of Fukushima is a stark telling of one man's unyielding will to save the animals left behind.
― Although he's since stepped back from media appearances, Naoto Matsumura is someone you may have heard of in the aftermath of the March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. He's the man who stayed behin...
Ragna Crimson GN 8
Ragna Crimson has been a manga defined by over-the-top battles between super-powered beings, and this fight is one of the best in the run.
― Ragna Crimson volume 8 brings to a close the longest battle in the series thus far, and in basically every regard, lives up to the hype. The opening segment with the temptation of the Silverware Princess is interesting. Olto Zora's offer is not particularly comp...
Princess Principal: Crown Handler - Chapter 1
Overall, Crown Handler – Chapter 1 is both a high-stakes spy story and a personally emotional tale all in one.
― At its most basic level, Crown Handler – Chapter 1 is built around setting up a new direction for the Princess Principal series from within a personal story revolving around our main lead, Ange. Set after the events of the TV series, Team White Pigeon continues their clandestine operations...
Technoroid Overmind
Technoroid Overmind is not bad by any stretch of the imagination. The elements are all there for something great, yet the series cannot seem to settle on what it wants to do in the admittedly short window of only twelve episodes.
― I was unsure what to expect when going into Technoroid Overmind, as I do not have much experience with idol-themed anime. After twelve episodes, I… still don't have a good...
To Every You I've Loved Before + To Me, The One Who Loved You
Two romantic stories that are good enough on their own but are hindered by their reality-hopping gimmick.
― Reviewing two animated films at the same time is a little unconventional. At a time when the entertainment industry is starting to grow a rather tiring fascination with Multiverse stories, this is an interesting approach. Let's have two films tied to the idea of Multiverse Theory; the idea is t...
Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 GN
Before Chainsaw Man is a series of books compiling the self-contained stories that Fujimoto wrote before the serialization of Chainsaw Man, and they paint a picture of how he has refined his writing style throughout the years.
― Tatsuki Fujimoto has undoubtedly made a name for himself these past few years. Between the global success of Chainsaw Man and other critically acclaimed works such as Goodbye...
Makoto Shinkai's Suzume
Finally in theaters in the U.S., this beautifully animated film is emotionally resonate and adeptly scored. Suzume's primary flaw is it feels too similar to Shinkai's previous works, your name. and Weathering With You.
― When it comes down to it, Suzume no Tojimari is the story of a girl on a literal journey to overcome her deeply seated trauma—a trauma she shares with a sizable portion of Japan. Suz...
Re:cycle of Penguindrum
Ultimately, this is still the same Penguindrum people already know and love, just condensed, slightly restructured, and with just a bare minimum of new material.
― When Anime Boston announced they would be premiering the RE:cycle of the Penguindrum movies, I went ahead and did something I'd been meaning to do for a while but hadn't gotten around to: I watched the original Penguindrum anime. Theoreti...
Blue Giant
Blue Giant is one of those films you'll either fall in love with or be bored to tears by, and much of that hinges on your appreciation for jazz music.
― Blue Giant is a relatively straightforward story about three young guys. Dai is that rare person with talent and drive—an innocent person who loves what he does and never lets anything get him down. Unfortunately, this also means he is a relatively s...
The Vampire Dies in No Time Season 2
If you've missed this underrated gem and you need a laugh, definitely make time to check it out.
― John the Armadillo is back, along with those other guys in the show. Yes, it's the second season of The Vampire Dies in No Time, one of the most consistently funny gag anime of recent years. This is largely because it successfully combines several subgenres of comedy. It melds slapstick with wordplay an...
Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 2nd Attack
Even if Miss Nagatoro has lost a lot of its hard-top edge, it can still hit a bullseye of a punchline and temper it with an understanding of hormonal teenage mating rituals.
― The first season of Don't Toy With Me Miss Nagatoro was a surprise in several ways. The depiction of fetish bullying was impressive in its craftsmanship, if not emotionally repelling. Beyond portraying particular pornographic m...
The First Slam Dunk
The First Slam Dunk is everything a megafan of the franchise could dream of. Those who can't name the Shōhoku High School starting lineup by heart may leave the theater quietly satisfied while wondering what all the fuss was about.
― If I were to summarize my thoughts on The First Slam Dunk in a single word, it would be 'bizarre.' The choices made when adapting this film to the big screen turn a film...
Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories
Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories is a bit deceptive in its title. What we actually get is, for lack of a better phrase, weirder than that. Melon Journey is far more irreverent and yet bizarrely touching, all at once.
― Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories is a bit deceptive in its title. With a title like that, players expect a much more emotional journey about reminiscing on their past and maybe e...
Dr. Stone: Ryusui
While it's not the most exciting or climactic that the series has ever been, Dr. Stone: Ryusui is a solid continuation of the Dr. Stone story that should allow us to jump into some newfound adventure at the start of the third season.
― When it comes down to it, Dr. Stone: Ryusui serves as an epilogue to the second season while laying the groundwork for the third. Without Tsukasa, his people have been...
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
30 years after the widely panned live-action Super Mario Bros. film, Illumination's newest effort finally does justice to the Mario franchise. But is it actually a good movie?
― Not only is this hands down my favorite movie from Illumination studios, it's squarely above average for a video game adaptation. A lot of this has to do with the creative team's reverence for the source material; it's the ty...
Tista GN 1
From the creator of SpyxFamily comes a difficult story, replete with themes of what we owe those who "save" us and just how much power any one person (or organization) should have.
― Before there was Spy x Family there was Tista. Tatsuya Endo's first serialized work shares some themes with his latest – heroine Tista Lone is an orphan who became an assassin after the Catholic Church experimented on he...
Resident Evil 4 (2023)
RE4 was hailed as one of the greatest games ever made for a damned good reason. This remake takes everything that worked about that original game and makes all of it even better.
― For any of the youngsters or new fans that have only just recently been welcomed into the Resident Evil fold, it might be hard to believe that it wasn't even all that long ago that the entire Resident Evil brand was seen a...
Hi Score Girl GNs 1-4
Hi Score Girl provides a light-hearted romantic comedy grounded in '90s video game culture. Yet despite its particular nuances, the general emotional throughlines are relatable enough that most readers can find something to enjoy here.
― Hi Score Girl provides a light-hearted romantic comedy with a specific sort of appeal. Yet despite its particular main nuances, the general emotional throughlines ar...
Ayashimon GN 1
This volume is packed with everything from yakuza action to twisted backstories to humans against monsters. Does this manga from the creator of Hell’s Paradise manage to bring it all together?
― Most of us have probably tried it at some point. What “it” means varies, but the definition is always “something that works in my favorite story.” Whether that was strapping brushes to your feet and skating a...
Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection GN
The manga creator's grotesque artwork is in full force here, but unfortunately, there are a good number of stories in this anthology that feel a little bit undercooked.
― From the genius Junji Ito himself, we have another anthology book filled with a majority of short stories drawn and executed in his classic style. When you've read and reviewed enough of Ito's stories, there's always this worry of t...
I Fell for a Fujoshi GN 1
Ichiro's in love with Tae, who's in love with BL, and decides to just go with her misconception about him...will this eventually lead to romance?
― At some point we've probably all done something inspired by the fiction we've read that was, in hindsight, not a brilliant plan. Whether it was testing the theory of gravity or cooking and eating periwinkles, antics brought on by a good book aren't all th...
Raven of the Inner Palace Novel 1
Raven of the Inner Palace's first novel should please fans of its adaptation. It's easy to see what changes were made and understand why they happened, and it never feels like one version negates experiencing the other.
― If you watched the 2022 anime adaptation of Kouko Shirakawa's Raven of the Inner Palace light novels and wondered how faithful it was to the source material, the answer turns out to...
Shin Kamen Rider
Despite its loving connection to the original, you don't need to know anything about the 50-year-running franchise to enjoy and understand this film. However, its reverence for the TV show is also the source of the film's main problem.
― Shin Kamen Rider is both a retelling of and an homage to the original 1971 Kamen Rider TV series. There are many recognizable characters and numerous shot-for-shot r...
Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix
Despite it's huge roster and customization options, Alice Gear Aegis CS remains threadbare in the story department and is hindered by repetitive combat.
― Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix is probably one of the most “ok” games I have ever played. It is perfectly functional and achieves everything it sets out to do. It is stable, runs at a consistent frame rate on the Switch, and has everyt...
She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat GN 2
It's difficult to overstate both how good a chapter this is and how important it is, both for readers and for Nomoto as a character.
― Note: You can read our review of the first volume here. Kasuga and Nomoto are still at it—Nomoto enjoys putting her culinary talents to use in ways she's never been able to before, while Kasuga is happy to eat what she provides, and the two genuinely enjoy spending ti...
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key
Ryza is and always will be that charming, winsome alchemist with an eager smile and boundless joy for seeing the world. And it just feels good to explore the world with her and her friends.
― In the grand tradition of the Atelier games, the series is divvied up into subseries connected by protagonists. With Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key, we not only see the end of the unpreced...
Crazy Food Truck GN 3
In its final volume, Crazy Food Truck hones in on a 'live fast, die young' approach that seems at odds with the mood of the previous volumes.
― If the ending to the second volume of Crazy Food Truck had you thinking it would lead into some lengthy, epic story arc that would carry the third volume to the foretold finish for the series, you'd end up surprised. We're still in the opening chapter of this...
Insomniacs After School GN 1
With an anime coming in April, Rebecca Silverman describes Insomniacs After School as a story less about its teen protagonists getting rest and more about how they are able to form a bond over their shared disorder.
― Insomnia – real insomnia and not just the occasional inability to fall asleep – is among the most debilitating conditions you can have. A lack of sleep takes a toll on you both physical...
The Villainess Stans the Heroes GN 1
There's enough potential that it may be worth a second volume, but this isn't likely to hold your interest unless you're deeply invested in the villainess isekai genre.
― Is it even possible to develop twists to the villainess isekai formula anymore? Probably, but the majority of series are more than content to tweak it rather than attempting to make something new. That's both perfectly okay and comp...
Arknights: Prelude to Dawn
The first episode of Arknights: Prelude to Dawn absolutely shook me with its slick direction, ambitious cinematic vision, and gritty storytelling.
― The first episode of Arknights: Prelude to Dawn absolutely shook me with its slick direction, ambitious cinematic vision, and gritty storytelling. I'd never played a single minute of the Arknights mobile game and had no idea what to expect, but after jus...
My Clueless First Friend GN 1
Soon to be an anime, Taku Kawamura's My Clueless First Friend manga offers a ray of sunshine to break through Nishimura's cloudy life. One day a boy named Taiyo Takara transfers into Nishimura's class, and everything changes.
― It's a story that's all too familiar: Akane Nishimura is the focus of bullying in her fifth-grade class. The other kids, led by mean girl Kasahara and her male equivalent Kita...
Downfall
Downfall, adapted from the Inio Asano manga of the same name, is a film that uses one man's midlife crisis to explore the hypocritical nature of both man and the society we have built.
― Downfall, adapted from the Inio Asano manga of the same name, is a film that uses one man's midlife crisis to explore the hypocritical nature of both man and the society we have built. On one level, it is about the c...
Helck GN 2
What started as an over-the-top comedy with great face reactions slowly revealed itself to be much more of a suspenseful and dark story.
― Helck was a pleasant surprise when I first read it a couple of months ago. What started as an over-the-top comedy with great face reactions slowly revealed itself to be much more of a suspenseful and dark story. While I do think the shift to a more dramatic tone c...
Monster Episodes 31-52 Streaming
Monster having so many different plates to balance as it tells its story is an inherent draw of mystery melodramas like these, and pretty much all of these individual parts are compelling in their own right.
― The first 30 episodes of Naoki Urasawa's Monster delivered the opening salvos of a gripping, slow-burning thriller that still feels fresh even now, nearly twenty years on from its initial relea...
The Disowned Queen's Consulting Detective Agency Novel 1
Octavia de Reine is a stellar heroine is this gaslamp mystery but its many elements might be overwhelming to readers jumping in.
― Sarasa Nagase is having a bit of a moment in English translation. The Disowned Queen's Consulting Detective Agency is the second of her light novel series to be translated, following I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss (Yen Press), and with a third, The Do-Ov...
Lost Lad London GN 3
Lost Lad London closes out with a finale that may feel abrupt but ultimately sticks to the heart of its storytelling: racism blinds us, and to be young, poor, and brown is to live with a target on your back.
― Let me begin by saying that I solved this one in volume two. That's in no way a statement of any presumed superiority on my part nor about the quality of the mystery – my only complaint is that...
Beauty and the Feast GN 4-6
Food is still centerstage as Shuko and Yamato become more forthcoming about their feelings for one another.
― The old saying goes that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and ecchi manga has taught us that if a teenage boy is in proximity to a buxom adult woman, he will begin to fantasize. Beauty and the Feast doesn't exactly shy away from either of these maxims, but it also is notable f...
Doomsday With My Dog GN 1
This is a joyously bizarre story of a high school girl and her dog roaming Japan after the end of humanity. It's full-color, four-panel weirdness, and there's something really engaging about that.
― Fair warning – the bonus chapter has nothing to do with the main story (per the creator, Yu Ishihara) and it reduced me to a sobbing mess. If you're sensitive to sad animal stories, you may want to (and c...
Blue Thermal
There's nothing that's actively bad about the movie, and a likable protagonist goes a long way towards keeping things breezy and enjoyable, but its pleasures are mild, and the experience of watching it is almost instantly forgettable.
― Blue Thermal fits into the genre of slice-of-life anime centered around students partaking in a school club together. Somewhat unusual for the genre, it takes place i...
Blue Box GN 3
Regardless of where the romantic component of the story goes, if it continues to develop its theme of straightforward dedication with believably emotional moments, I definitely will find myself constantly coming back to the series.
― I wouldn't go so far as to call Blue Box a traditional sports manga. The story doesn't really go into the mechanics of badminton or basketball. Even though the artwork i...
PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
While missed opportunities keep PARANORMASIGHT from being a truly standout game, I still enjoyed the process of uncovering the story, even if it goes into some truly off-the-wall directions in its end-game content.
― PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a horror visual novel written and created for me, personally. I do not know how director and scenario writer Takanari Ishiyama tapped into...
FATAL FRAME: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse sadly never came to the United States to the disappointment of many fans fifteen years ago. KOEI Tecmo is here to right that old wrong, giving us the long-awaited localization. Was it worth the wait?
― Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse sadly never came to the United States in 2008, to the disappointment of many fans fifteen years ago. KOEI Tecmo is here to ...
Immoral Guild
So here it is: Immoral Guild is a horny anime. How horny? Monstrously.
― I briefly considered burying the lede at the beginning of this review as a joke by acting like Immoral Guild was some decently distinctive little fantasy sitcom if not for just one little caveat that I forgot to mention. But that's disingenuous. It does put "Immoral" right there in the title, after all, and makes no secret what ...
Aim for the Ace Blu-ray
Aim for the Ace! is a fantastic time capsule of the anime of the 1970s and a great origin point for tracing 50 years of anime history. And yet, to examine it solely through a historian's lens would be a great disservice.
― Sometimes, when I put on an older anime for the first time, I find myself approaching it primarily as I would a historical document. What animation techniques are utilized, and how...
Aggretsuko Season 5
Aggretsuko's final season stands among the best that the series has to offer when it comes to giving us insight into what life in modern Japan is like as a person (or a panda) that is just trying to make it through the day-to-day grind.
― It's hard to believe that Aggretsuko has been running strong for five whole years now, let alone that it's finally coming to an end. It's been a bumpy ride, especia...
IDOLiSH7 Third Beat! Episodes 14-30
Ryo Tsukumo and his evil ego gets ramped up to a point that nearly qualifies it as a nineteenth-century melodrama, with everything from rumors of contest-rigging to flat-out murder on the table.
― If you thought the first cour of IDOLiSH7 Third Beat! was dark, hold on to your hats. The drama stirred up by Ryo Tsukumo and his evil ego gets ramped up to a point that nearly qualifies it as a nineteenth-...
Little Witch Nobeta
Little Witch Nobeta has a palpable sense of it being crafted out of genuine love for style and genre. That makes it easy to like, even as some Souls-like fans might find it too easy to beat.
― Part of me doesn't want to be this guy. I'm not even a games critic, specifically, but Little Witch Nobeta here still landed in my lap thanks to demographics and opportunity. So then I load into this thing and ...
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a hard-hitting action game that plays well with my tastes and sensibilities, but I'm struggling to objectively see how broad its appeal is.
― Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a hard-hitting action game that plays well with my tastes and sensibilities, but I'm struggling to objectively see how broad its appeal is. But first, some housekeeping. The term Souls-like gets bandied abou...
Until We're Together GN
Until We're Together warm and welcoming, and a scene near the end reminds readers that everyone needs to feel – and deserves to feel – like they belong.
― It may only be eighty-seven pages long, but schwinn's Until We're Together manages to tell a full story that at times is strikingly different than many other English-translated BL works. For one thing, a central element of the story is the televisi...
Kitaro GN
This volume of Kitaro is a second edition of the one Drawn & Quarterly originally released in 2013, and for fans of the franchise – and especially the 2018-2020 anime adaptation – it's a treat to see back in print.
― Have you met Kitaro? He's the eternal boy born in a graveyard to a dead mother, the last member of his Ghost tribe. His father, Medama Oyaji (Eyeball Dad) helps his son, riding around in...
Confessions of a Shy Baker GN 1
If you're a fan of What Did You Eat Yesterday? and are looking for a new series about an established, adult couple in a committed relationship, Confessions of a Shy Baker will scratch that itch.
― If you're expecting Confessions of a Shy Baker to be a baking BL romance, you might be disappointed. The main character of the story is a gay man, and he does bake, but that's really just the window dressin...
Hirano and Kagiura Novel
Spun off from the low-key and charming Sasaki and Miyano, Hirano and Kagiura's light novel adaptation is, well, low-key and charming.
― Spun off from the low-key and charming Sasaki and Miyano, Hirano and Kagiura's light novel adaptation is, well, low-key and charming. That's a good sign on several levels, not the least of which is that fans of Shou Harusono's cozy slow-burn storytelling can be assur...
The Little Lies We All Tell
In a stuffed fall season, The Little Lies We All Tell slid under the radar. Caitlin Moore lays out her case about why this sitcom is just what the doctor ordered after a long day.
― I won't blame you if you missed The Little Lies We All Tell. It was the last show to premiere in a season positively stuffed with big-name, lushly animated series like Chainsaw Man, Mob Psycho 100 III, and Bocchi the Rock...
Ragna Crimson GN 7
Ragna Crimson Volume 7 is basically like listening to an eight-minute long guitar solo in a song without verses or a chorus.
― This is one of the hardest volume reviews I have had to write in my time with Ragna Crimson. It's not that the chapters themselves are challenging to talk about. It's not even that I didn't enjoy what was on offer here – far from it! But there was a lingering sense after I fi...
I Want to Be a Wall GN 2
I Want to Be a Wall is a needed piece of representation, and even if the series tanks later on, these first two volumes are worth your time and money.
― You can find our review of volume one here. As your mother, all I want is for you to keep your own happiness in mind. Do you really plan to be alone forever? Those words, spoken with the best intentions, nicely summarize the situation in which the pr...
Choujin X GN 1
This striking volume from the creator of Tokyo Ghoul follows Tokio, a so-called social "vulture" struggling with imposter syndrome and a hideous transformation.
― From the same creative mind that brought us the hit manga series Tokyo Ghoul comes another rather dark outing from creator Sui Ishida. If you were a fan of his previous work, there is certainly a lot to love about Choujin X. On paper, both ...
SCRAMBLUES GN
What SCRAMBLUES lacks in romance, it makes up for in character growth in this single-volume manga.
― Some of my favorite romance stories are ones that function as good character pieces that flesh out the individual issues of their characters before moving forward with any major romantic progression. This is one of the greatest strengths of SCRAMBLUES, as it puts some of the traumas and insecurities o...
Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand GN
A lot is going on here, from the quiet pain of personal tragedies to the lengths adults will go to "protect" children from life, all tempered with the need to believe.
― It is very easy for adults to dismiss what a child sees. Whether it's mosquitoes that look like tiny fairies in the twilight or mermaids in the sea, things seen through the eyes of imagination can be written off with impunity by adul...
Fox Tales Novel
The newest novel Tatami Galaxy's Tomihiko Morimi has "plenty of little gems secreted away within the text that make it in many ways a beautiful read."
― Fox Tales by Tomihiko Morimi, author of The Night is Short, Walk on Girl and The Tatami Galaxy, is more aptly a collection of vaguely interrelated short stories than a novel. The book consists of four roughly sixty-page stories all set in a more or l...
Like a Dragon: Ishin!
You cannot help but fall into the rhythm of daily life in Like a Dragon: Ishin!, and that immersion blurs the line between player and non-player characters, between the game being played and a life being lived.
― My wife and I order the same meal from the same restaurant every Friday. We share an order of fajitas from our favorite Mexican restaurant. It's part of our weekly ritual, where we get a spe...
Make My Day ONA
Make My Day is a derivative work lacking any identity of its own. Its visuals make it hard to watch at best. Skip it and save yourself the time.
― Make My Day is, simply put, forgettable. The basics are there, but there is not enough originality or spark to get much going before the credits roll. The most apparent criticism that jumps out almost immediately is the sense of “been there, done that." Th...
The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices GN 1
Convenient Princess is effectively a case of taking the kinds of escapist fluff you aren't supposed to think more than five minutes about, then thinking about it for more than five minutes.
― Figuring out The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices can be an experience, given how much of this volume is about figuring things out. The isekai genre and its angles of reincarnation have come so far these days...
Wild Hearts
Wild Hearts feels like a variant of Monster Hunter Rise, but does it offer enough to stand on its own two feet?
― Wild Hearts has to deal with a very obvious elephant in the room: with its heavily-Japanese-inspired aesthetic and open-world structure, it's going to be fending off a lot of “Like Monster Hunter Rise, but...” comparisons. This isn't a death sentence: the last time Koei Tecmo tried their ...
Tokyo Aliens GN 2
I was lukewarm about the first volume of Tokyo Aliens, but I thought it had potential. Unfortunately, volume 2 does not do enough to capitalize on said potential.
― I was lukewarm about the first volume of Tokyo Aliens, but I thought it had potential. Unfortunately, volume 2 does not do enough to capitalize on said potential. To be sure, there are no critical missteps here. Akira and Tenkubashi are t...
The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend GN
This autobiographical manga recounts "an otaku with the fashion sense of a twelve-year-old" and her haphazard attempts to attract the cool, short-haired woman of her dreams.
― Relationships are hard. It's a fact that even people who have engaged in many successful ones can attest to, and things can be even more challenging for those who struggled to accumulate that kind of experience. Art and storyte...
Kaguya-sama: Love is War -The First Kiss That Never Ends-
Continuing on directly from the final episode of Kaguya-sama: Love is War Ultra Romantic, this film is all about the fallout—namely the complete and total destruction of the status quo.
― Note: This review contains spoilers for Kaguya-sama: Love is War -Ultra Romantic-. Continuing on directly from the final episode of Kaguya-sama: Love is War -Ultra Romantic-, this film is all about the fallout—namel...
Record of Ragnarok Season 2
All in all, Record of Ragnarok Season 2 is better than Season 1. But the quality jump is minor at best, and the novelty of its tricks is already wearing a bit thin
― Record of Ragnarok returns and executes on its premise with greater success than the first season. The question is whether that success is enough to keep people watching. When the first season of Record of Ragnarok dropped back in the su...
The Holy Grail of Eris Novel 3
Along with being one of the most consumable light novel series in English translation at only three volumes of main story, The Holy Grail of Eris is also one of the best.
― If left to its own devices, history is perfectly willing to repeat itself. Whether that's down to human nature or the cyclical nature of events is possibly up for debate, but when history tells us that ten years ago, a young woman...
Barbarities GN 1
Barbarities' first volume is an interesting opening to a political BL tale. The politics and the side romance may be a little more intriguing than Joel and Adam right now, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth reading.
― One thing we can say about BL manga creator Tsuta Suzuki is that they aren't stuck in a storytelling rut. Their previous English translated title, A Strange and Mystifying Story, drew...
Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles
This is an OK continuation to the Team Galactic storyline filled with various callbacks to the Diamond and Pearl series, but is otherwise superfluous.
― Pokemon: The Arceus Chronicles is interesting because, at first glance, I thought I was preparing myself for a very different type of story. Everything from the promotional images to the opening and closing credits made me think I was about to watch ...
Lupin III vs. Cat's Eye ONA
While Lupin III vs. Cat's Eye is a competent enough work in most respects, it is also ultimately far less than the sum of its parts.
― While Lupin III vs. Cat's Eye is a competent enough work in most respects, it is also ultimately far less than the sum of its parts. As a crossover film between two established properties, your familiarity with the component franchises (or lack thereof) will significa...
Show-ha Shoten! GN 1
Stephan Paul's translation largely carried what ended up being a surprisingly involved and unique underdog story involving two aspiring comedians.
― Reading the premise of Show-ha Shoten!, I was initially worried about whether or not I would be able to appreciate the book on the level that it wanted me to. Yes, comedy is incredibly subjective, but for such a dialogue-heavy story about two high school...
My Special One GN 1
The romance moves abruptly in this one, as spurned schoolgirl Saho attempts to reconcile her feelings for hot idol Kouta despite being burned by a handsome guy in the past.
― Momoko Koda seems to specialize in stories that are just this side a feeling universal. Her previous work to see English translation, No Longer Heroine, also features a heroine who is caught up in how she thinks things are suppo...
Run Away With Me, Girl GN 1
Reading this book is a bit like watching a wound open up. At first, everything looks fine, but as the Band-Aid is slowly peeled off, we get a glimpse of a raw injury that has yet to scab over.
― It's a tired old trope trotted out in plenty of yuri manga: dating other girls at your all-girls school is simply training for when you graduate into the world of men. While yuri manga often tries to refute t...
My Dear Detective: Mitsuko's Case Files GN 2-3
My Dear Detective: Mitsuko's Case Files is a frothy historical cozy series, and if you're a fan of the genre, it's more than worth the price of admission.
― For our review of the first volume, go here. The lady detective as a character is generally dated to the early 1860s, when two novels - Revelations of a Lady Detective and The Female Detective - were published in England, but when the Stratemeyer...
Even If This Love Disappears Tonight Novel
From the writer of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, Even If This Love Disappears Tonight is a predictable book from start to finish. It hits all the notes of a sentimental teen love story to an almost clinical degree.
― I know for sure I don't have anterograde amnesia, because I've seen this premise before. The hero encounters a beautiful girl and their relationship deepens, only for him to discover that...
Is Love the Answer? GN
Is Love the Answer? is a book that looks to start a conversation about asexuality, agender, and the equal parts comforting and terrifying feelings that come with sitting on any branch of the LGBTQIA+ tree.
― We are lucky to live in a time and place that understands, or is at least beginning to understand, that there really is no such thing as a universal “normal.” That doesn't mean that it's easy to ...
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