Adam
Magari gets brave with her parents, there is an overnight star-gazing event, they have the coolest faculty advisor, Gan gets brave with his feelings and overall I couldn't love every character more. This book is always the palate cleanse I'm looking for and I am so glad there is more to come. Thank you to Viz Media and Edelweiss for the ARC, I am very excited to keep recommending this title!
One of the harder parts of this series is keeping track of who is still alive and how they are connected to the schools. There are just a lot of characters that have been introduced and while it was helpful that the last arc took place in 1 location, there are still so many layers involved. Who is body swapped, who is undead, who is allied with who... too much to unpack at times.
This series is what it is at this point, so there is very little surprise here. The fun parts are that the cast is getting bigger and we're seeing some ideas circle back around with more detail. The art is still incredible and truly grounds the ridiculousness of the storytelling. Still fun and still a great break from whatever else you're reading.
In which we learn about the power of teamwork. You can also see a lot of characters flashing back to Mash being inspirational or giving them advice they are now ready to use. Some of that was really quite sweet and helped the plot. Mash is still down for the count in this volume and we are running out of time, so I'll be curious to see what the author still has planned.
To absolutely no one's surprise the stakes are raised with each fight, the odds look bad for our heroes and something spectacular happens near the very end. I will say that watching the brothers Layne and Rayne get to fight together was something and the 4th brother fighting everyone was more interesting that it should have been.
Thanks to Viz and Edelweiss for ARC of my favorite ongoing series. Ojiro continues to plot and pace this story in a way that makes it one of the most accessible, approachable, and enjoyable books out right now. This remains an easy recommendation for so many different types of readers and there aren't as many of those books as you'd think. Another slice of school life for our cast of characters, who have surprisingly fewer consequences than you'd expect after the cliff-hanger that was the end of Vol 6. We learn a little more about the protagonists, we see them bond closer together and we see their friends continue to love and support them.
An intriguing series of story vignettes that are tied together by the presence of the Ice Cream Man. He's both charismatic and malevolent, his intentions unclear at first. By the end of this volume there are a lot of questions about both him and the world around him. I think you'd really need to read the next installment to know enough about any of this to make much of a judgment. I am both creeped out and fascinated by this storytelling, so I will jump into Vol 2 and see how much of the horror created here is endemic to this world. I haven't really read anything like this and I think that's what hooked me. I know this one isn't for everyone, so reader beware.
The latter half of this involved Loid in the biggest spy mission we've seen in a while. The earlier portion wasn't as quick moving, but it picked up pace and action down the line. This was helpful as it felt like the story might have started drifting after the hostage story line. The premise of this book is starting to drag if only because there isn't much time with Loid and Yor together lately (though there is an attempt at it in this volume) and what made some of the earlier volumes great was it felt like there was real tension between those characters. Now, it feels more like an after thought and that's disappointing.
This is a cute, easy to read manga about a girl who seems mysterious to everyone at school because she's beautiful and quiet. Turns out she has a deep seated fear of interacting with other people, so this book shows both sides of interactions where we see how Komi views the world (and is petrified) and how the school sees her. There are a lot of volumes of this out now, I have no idea how you sustain this premise over that many books. It was fun, light and quick to read, so I can understand it finding an appreciative audience.
This series remains silly with outstanding art.
That's it.
That's the review.
There is no depth here and the joke/conceit is no longer new. You either are here for a light, funny time or you aren't. This wasn't the best of these I've read, but I used it to break up other things I was reading and enjoyed the stories that were only a few pages long.
This was really enjoyable and I'm mad I put if off for so long. I listened to the audio book, thought the narrator did a great job, and it breezed by. I can see why this won so many awards - it's trusts the reader, it moves along briskly, it makes its points without beating you over the head and it packs a punch. It's relatively short, but it doesn't skimp on anything important to the story. You get to know the characters without over-explaining any one of them. I found this to be satisfying and intriguing.
Overall I was really impressed and look forward to the next book in this series!
Honestly, parts of this volume really felt like a return to form and other parts were just sort of nostalgic. Injured heroes remembered themselves and got back into the fight. Genos and Metal Knight teamed up in a very cool, new way. We learn a ton about Tornado and the scale of the demons, threats and fights somehow got bigger. Like, the biggest we've ever seen. 10/10 installment for me and some of the progress I had been hoping for finally started to show up. We're on the cusp of the next big thing here and this volume gives a huge springboard into what that might be.
The audio book narrator was enjoyable and did a great job giving different characters their own personality and p.o.v. - the story itself had a fair amount of promise, but I can't say I loved it top to bottom. There were times where magic was used in the world (sparingly) and it almost always felt like the author needing to do plot work without doing writers work, you know? The magic was convenient and a little too on-the-nose. That said, the idea and ideals were interesting and well established. The protagonists got put through the wringer constantly and there were times I wasn't sure I wanted to keep going. They didn't get enough small victories to feel like they should keep going and that makes it tough to stay with the story. The ending brought some closure to earlier plot lines, which helped, and had some turns that propel you into the next book. I'm likely to pick that book up as well because I did enjoy the narrator and I'm curious as to how well the author has planned this story. I'm trying to remain hopeful that with some experience under his belt de Castell finds a way to even out some of the storytelling.
Ok, this volume seemingly had more focus than the last and was a lot more enjoyable as a narrative. Some of that is likely just because it didn't have to introduce the entire world and story to us and could cut right to the next part of the adventure. We learn a TON about Askeladd, we learn some about Thors, Prince Canute is introduced and while we don't get a lot of info about him his importance to the future of the story is well established. We meet turn coat Thorkell who has sided with the English because they didn't present any kind of challenge, but fighting the other Vikings gives him the thrill he's looking for. (it was over the top, but not unwelcome as a story development device)
I'm glad that it made some of the turns that it did as I am at least invested enough in the story and characters to overlook the simplicity of the faces and can stay with the book for now.
One of the characters I've had questions about is Kento Nanami and this arc has featured him recently. While there hasn't been ton of information, there has been a fair amount of action and seeing him try to organize and mobilize the students/sorcerers has been enlightening. Watching him fight also says a lot about the power he brings to bear.
The stakes rise again in this volume and Itadori finds himself in a fight he can't seem to win. Mei Mei also proves to be a more interesting character than she appeared earlier in this arc. The end of this one leaves a couple of big questions in the air (no surprise), but they at least don't feel like a stretch. It feels merited and not just a convenience to get you to pick up the next volume.
The art here is as good as it has ever been, my issue is that this story arc has gone on way too long. I really like where it has shifted in the last 2 volumes, but it took so long to get here I don't have a ton of patience left for this climactic fight. Psychos introduction was a turn I wasn't expecting and watching her power grow was also interesting, but it was like 2-3 volumes too late. Genos shows up at the end and he always has my adoration, so I'm in for now. Saitama is also around enough that I'm not ready to toss this book out. I just need them to come to a conclusion here and start a new story line, please and thank you.
The art isn't the most detailed or complex (which is a shame because I'm also currently reading [b:Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 2 42264867 Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 2 Kamome Shirahama https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555128411l/42264867.SX50.jpg 57616148] and the art in that series is breathtaking) and that hinders some of the enjoyment. The story itself feels like a hodge-podge of viking related tales/names smushed together to create a world in which these characters can exist while being adjacent to real history. It felt kind of weird, but I was willing to roll with most of it as the protagonist Thorfinn seemed like he was going to be interesting. There was nothing new at all in his story (so far), but this volume spent over half it's 400+ pages catching us up on Thorfinn's past and how he got to the day we meet him. I'll try the next volume and see if it gives me reason enough to stick with it, but this was a fairly uneven first installment with only passable art.
One of the most detail-rich manga I've ever read and the story so far has been interesting and compelling. In this volume the story drives forward and keeps throwing surprises at the reader. It doesn't race to explain the entire world, but we do learn a good deal more about magic and how users are expected to behave. We also begin to see more the antagonist group and understand the threat Coco is under.
Really enjoyable series so far with tons of promise and beautiful art on every page.
Allow me to repeat what you will see in every review: the art here is GORGEOUS and fully worth your time. On the recommendation of a friend (thanks Taylor!) I picked this up immediately understood why it came so strongly recommended. There will be some familiar elements to this story, but it's take is unique enough, the art is beautiful and the characters have a warmth and life that makes this easy to read. The magic in this world isn't fully explored here in volume 1, but, to the story's credit, that makes me all the more eager to pick up volume 2 and learn more.
The book has an innocence, thanks largely to the protagonist Coco, that makes it easy to embrace. There should be a fairly wide audience for this book and it has the feel of a world that will continue to build out and become even more accessible.