Manga Mumbles - Shortcake Cake 1+2

While I was in Canberra last month, I bought the first volume on a whim. So eventually, I got around to reading it and kind of fell in love with the story. That very day, I ended up pre-ordering volume 2 and today it made its appearance. Within a short time, I also have read it and decided that I wanted to talk about how much I enjoy this series, so far anyway.

We follow a young girl name Ten as she moves into a boarding house with her friend and a cast of amusing characters. Here she also meets and gets close to Riku and Chiaki, who may seem to want more than friendship from our lovely protagonist. We also meet and learn about a few more characters who Ten may befriend but then again, need more volumes in order to see what happens.

Now I don’t have much to share on story or characters besides being super sweet, simple and can’t help but adore them. The art is pleasant and it males me want to keep reading so I can absorb the beautiful environment they live in. Heck, it even has some of the most amusing facial features that I haven’t seen in a while, since I do read a variety of manga.  Heck, if I was more of a cosplayer, Ten would be on the top of my list.

It’s funny, it has been a while since I had a series inspire me so much to buy it. As soon as I finished one, I ended up pre-ordering 2, as I originally mentioned earlier and that’s because of how volume 1 ended, on a dreaded cliff-hanger. I really can’t add much more since this is just the beginning of what I hope is an amazing series where it may make me a ball at the end due to making me emotional.

For now, I give it a 4 out of 5 bookmarks.

Since this is just the start and I have to impatiently wait for more volumes, but I can wait for great mangas, it’s a major part of my collecting hobby. If anything, I would like to thank suu Morishita for creating such an adorable manga and being able to read it gives me so much joy. This also extends to Shojo Beat and Viz Media for distributing this series in the first place. I am really resisting the urge to pre-order 3.

Manga Mumbles - Assassination Classroom

Assassination Classroom, a 21-volume manga done by Yusei Matsui and the English version distributed by Viz Media. I seem to have bought this series on a whim or even possibly influenced by the movies that came out around the time I decided that I should get them. Whatever the real reason is, I started to buy the series. I do admit, that I sometimes, almost affectionatley call it Ass Class, mostly cause it's easier too.

The first volume amused me to no end but not enough to go off and buy the series. Then eventually I started to get bit by bit. I finally hit around the 7th volume and then the story grew on me and I wanted more, before long I started buying the volumes in bundles but a few times I had to stop due to other series gaining priority, mainly those dastardly out of print series.

Recently, I manage to obtain the last four volumes and felt a huge relief, knowing I had the series in my hands. I basically read them all in a few days and it was such a trip, I laughed, I got angry and I cried with the characters and in the end, I felt so happy and sad to say goodbye to class E because I went through so much with them.

This ramble is more about my experience with the series rather than giving people a reason to buy it. Why? You are probably wondering, because I feel that the series can sell itself better than I could ever say about it.

My collection at it's finest

So, I will try my best to review this series without spoiling it and talking about the manga overall that one usually does in a review.

The art is simple but appealing with great detail to attention with a unique style and recognisable characters, despite having so many. I also enjoy the covers, especially when the creator decided to play with patterns, designs and colours. Even then, it was so simple but striking, it’s a series that is both colourful and dark, I cannot name many series that can pull that off too well.

Even with all the characters, each with their own unique skill and story, Matsui manages to make every character matter and a focal point during the story. This amazes me to no end and I love how each character gets a turn in the spotlight, despite Nagisa being the main character. Even a few characters break the fourth wall, making references to being minor characters or even saying “yes, Nagisa, you are the main guy”. Even one point made a joke about another manga series being run with the theme of spending several pages emphasising how good a meal is. This sort of thing helps makes a manga an amazing read, it’s always the little things and quirks each character provides to the overall story.

With the story, there is so much that happens. We have entertaining fillers between major arcs as to remind the readers that it’s not an overly serious manga and that most of the main characters are children trying to get through school.

So, you have the usual culture fests, sports fests, exams and just general school life. Then you have the side where they are training, trying to eliminate their teacher and facing off with bigger adversaries and overcoming them in the end, which helps develop the characters in many ways.

I like how it wraps up so nicely at the end. Despite being what could have been 20 volumes, the final one is a nice addition where you see Koro-sensei doing other things while his students are busy or even the bonus manga which I would love to see as a major series cause of how unique and amusing it is.

I give this 5 out of 5 bookmarks.

I could possibly spend the next month talking about this series, but I don’t want to give anything away. It’s a series full of surprises, emotions and other amusing things that one can’t help but enjoy. I recommend people to read this series, especially if they like action, heartfelt and a series that just grabs you with it’s tentacles and drags you all around it’s world filling you with knowledge and feelings you never would have expected.

Manga Mumbles – Magical Girl Apocalypse 1-8

The joy of Halloween is to enjoy horror things, don’t know why but I certainly like to read a good horror that makes the day feel extra tasty. With the sound of the rain hitting the metal of the fence and the sound of a show in the background, here I write about my recent manga reading, Magical Girl Apocalypse, where today I finally got volumes 14 and 15, soon 16.

One of the older images of my collection

Magical Girl Apocalypse, a manga I bought some time ago just because the cover looked cute to me. At first, I didn’t know what to think about it but the idea of Magical Girls killing people instead of saving them felt like it could be very interesting and a big flip of the bird to the usual magical girl genre.

So here I am, with manga in hand and I started to read the series, by time I was finished, I felt an array of emotions. I was amused, shocked, offended but overall, I wanted more, I wanted to learn more about the characters, the magical apocalypse, if that rent-a-cop Akuta was going to die horribly because he pretty much deserves that.

It took me a while but I eventually started to buy the rest, due to limited  funds and sources to buy from but now I am one manga short of a complete collection.

That’s as much as I will say now on personal spending for now, I want to ramble a poor review about the first season of Magical Girl Apocalypse.

The story is simple, just like in most survival stories, there is a small group of main characters who are up against great odds or in this case, very powerful Magical Girls that kill anything that moves. If that’s not bad enough, there are perverted characters like Akuta making crude gestures to the female characters and doing acts that is best described as sexual assault, best avoid this series if you don’t like those sorts of themes. Then you have the large amount of violence and gore, which is best avoided for those of a sensitive nature. Finally, the fan-service, it is there regularly but not as often as the gore.

Now, you may like violent Magical Girls, but you can’t forget the lovely zombies in this series, for they are not your usual slow and stupid zombies, they are like your Red Zombies from the Resident Evil remake. They will chase everything down and rip them to shreds, but that’s not all, guess how these are made? It’s all thanks to the Magical Girls that originally killed them, this manga is certainly full of surprises. Funnily, these are one of the few zombies that actually scare me since they are faster than the usual zombies one sees.

Why am I mentioning these while talking about the story? It contributes to the story, emphasising the death, chaos and the crumbling of society where anything seems to go. So, I rather readers are aware of that before considering this manga, which as much as some themes unsettle me greatly, my curious nature and the fact I love gore and horror has kept me reading till the last volume.

Now, back to the story, we are following Kii, the main male protagonist who just wanted to live a boring life but is suddenly thrust into a world of chaos where he groups up with Tsukune, Sayano, Yoruka, Ren and Akuta as they try (but badly) work together in coming against this powerful adversary. I am trying to keep this relatively spoiler free, so I am going to do this in points, which I find usually unsavoury in a review, but anything goes if it helps me.

Volume 1 – 5: We are following the group as they are trying to find a haven in a world of chaos, they do get separated by reunite and meet characters like Miu, who becomes a bigger role in later volumes. They also learn more about the Magical Girls and how each one’s abilities seem to work.

At one point, they are sent back in time and find clues to how and why this is happening. After returning to their time, the group manages to meet up again and are given new ways to combat the threat.

Again, this ends up being cut short as they end up in another time where there are no Magical girls

Volume 6 – 8: Now we have the characters finding out a more to why this is happening and are slowly being better equipped to deal with any future issues that may arise. It’s hard to talk about these volumes without giving so much away since it’s such a good read. But they meet new characters who help lead the way down the right path. But in the end, a lot of what will happen is up to the choices Kii makes. Will he make the right ones? That’s for season 2 and 3 to tell.

Yes, the manga is cut up into three seasons, which I find very fascinating, I haven’t seen many mangaka do this kind of thing, I mean, we have seen obvious change of seasons but usually called something different to make it obvious it’s apart of the same world but done at different times.

I also really adore the art, it’s really appealing and quite detailed, which is nice in a manga, it especially helps in the horror aspect as it can leave a lasting impression on me. This also reminds me of Ito’s work where it leaves an impression through the themes being put forward in their works.

I honestly look forward to reading more and eventually gaining the final volume in this series.  If anything, there is another series after it called Magical Girl Site which is sounding very appealing to me and may be the next one to be procured when I get the final volume.

Until then, enjoy my poor attempt at a season 1 ramble review. Season 2 may be along before long and hopefully a huge final review along with the final season of the monster of a magical series.

I give this season a 4 out of 5 bookmarks.

Not recommended for those who dislike violence, gore, forced sex, death and horror but if you like any of those and looking for a good violent horror, then I highly recommend giving Kentaro Sato’s Magical Girls Apocalypse a go. Bonus if you enjoy zombies cause this series does not lack them.

Manga Mumbles - The Wallflower

The Wallflower is a 36 volume story about Sunako, a hermit with the love of slasher and horror films is being forced into being a lady by four beautiful men on behalf of her Aunt and their landlady. This greatly upsets Sunako as she rebels against their every advancement of change in order to gain their chance at free rent.

This is the easiest synopsis about the story I can write and we meet a few characters that help change Sunako but does she really become a lady?

I read this series years ago, from 1 to about 12 and thought it sounded amazing. Then, with help from my amazing partner, I got the first 16 and then finally 17 and 36. With all the mangas bought, I decided to binge read the series I enjoyed when I was in my teens and I was sorely disappointed and that saddens me a lot.

Now, before I continue, this is going to be a spoiler filled review about The Wallflower.

Honestly, there is nothing that can't be ruined about this series cause it's 36 volumes of the same thing over and over with different looks and situations.

Yes, I wasted about a month reading this series thinking that something is going to change and the sad thing is, it doesn't change there is no conclusion, there is no ending and there is no real story progress or change.

I was hoping that maybe Sunako, at the end, would play the role of the lady when needed but remained true to herself, maybe even start a relationship with Kyohei, even if it's a small one where they both realise they have feelings and go "Sure, maybe it can work" instead of the "deny, deny, deny" relationship they have.

The only real character developments happen with the minor characters, their relationships grow, they become more interesting people, they actually become more interesting than Sunako, who is the main protagonist. This is saying a lot.

I felt like the story and characters had a lot of potential but it fell flat.

I want to agree so much that I liked this series, I did, for the first 12 volumes. Then it was like reading the same first twelve volumes over and over for the next 24 volumes. I sadly don't like this series, like I said before, had so much going for it but failed and it makes me sad, considering I spent so much on buying a series that barely had any satisfying aspects at the end. I mean, if I can read seven volumes of a manga within 1 day and about a week to read 6, it's saying a lot about this series.

I can't even bring myself to review each individual volume cause each one would be like, read volume X to get the same feeling as volume Y did. Even Devil Survivor that has 8 volumes gave me more satisfaction than this series ever did. Sorry Wallflower fans but I once use to enjoy the series but there is so much I don't like about it.

For example, how every female character wants to bang the four main males. That is unreasonable, I find it funny at first but after the first hundred times, it gets so annoying and boring, like all there is to them is their looks and I couldn't really enjoy them as characters.

I would have liked Sunako but something about her irked me after a while, especially when she wants to do right by her aunt but wouldn't even enter a middle ground where she could still be herself but played the role of a lady.

Noi and the Princess characters were kind of good but fell flat since they were partnered with very flat male characters, same with Machiko.

Then we have the gold digging, man-hunting Aunt that basically left a bunch of stupid children to run a house and are really unable to look after themselves. Then again, I never liked vain characters like her anyway.

It's hard to enjoy a story that is stuck in a loop and never progresses, characters that barely progress and the art style is okay but it feels really boring after the first few repetitions of the volumes.

What would I give for this series? a 2 out of 5 bookmarks.

It had great potential but it just fell through, it felt like nothing really changed for me, sure little bits did but not enough to really warrant praise.

Manga Madness: DearS Vol.1

Today’s views are based on a series I recently obtained second hand and at an amazing deal too since I now have all the volumes said series, long enough to make 8 posts about each volume. I swear to do my best to avoid spoilers. Now let’s introduce the series in question!

“Why didn’t you get it first hand?” Good question! The series in question is DearS by PEACH-PIT and was done with the company TokyoPop and if you know anything about TokyoPop in English speaking places, the company is long gone and their mangas are basically out of print now. Yes, I should have gotten them years ago when I saw it in stores and probably alongside Chobits but I was a poor and silly teenager and assumed they will be around forever. Adult me still regrets some actions of Teen me but now I can make up for it.

Why you should consider DearS as a manga to read? A beautiful alien comes into a life of some normal guy and possibly changes it for the best and maybe become a romantic partner, yes, very cliché and so many series has the same premise but usually different types of girls (Persecoms anyone? Lol).

What makes this series different from any of those series? Honestly, I am not too sure. It reminds me fondly of Chobits but at the same time, Chobits felt like a story of discovery, finding the one for you and discovering that things are not what they seem. DearS has the same thing, the whole “not what it seems” thing going on, compared to Chobits, I feel like DearS has a darker ulterior since it was a colony of Aliens coming to Earth due to technical issues, but they seem to be concealing something, which is a vibe I got from the first volume.

Let’s talk about the manga itself and end the comparison report.

DearS one starts with the landing of alien lifeforms. About 6 months pass and we are introduced to Takeya, your typical male high schooler who is being woken up by his neighbour because they are going to be late for school. This is typical for most mangas of this genre and of course, something goes wrong and Takeya storms off and finds a girl in a park. He helps in his way and the next thing you know, she’s in his home and in his bed!

Later on, we find out that the girl is a DearS and is later called Ren since her name is obscenely long and alien to our main protag. Like in Chobits, they must go shopping for her and before long, she is now going to school with him.

You may wonder why my story seems jumpy and all over the place? Simple, I want to be as vague as possible cause saying too much gives the whole story away, then what’s the point of getting and reading the manga if it’s all been given away. The story starts off simple, but I feel it’s got a lot more in store, I have a feeling it’s a lot darker than it’s showing with its happy-go-lucky feel that it is currently giving me.

Now for something drawn and made in the early 00’s the art is still gorgeous, but it still has the unrealistic bodies, abnormally large eyes and dorito chins that is normally associated with the genre and style at the time. I personally may not enjoy all the clothes but some of the details is wonderful and at times I wish I had clothing like that. Honestly, looking at the art is like a nostalgia hit since I been reading manga since the late 03/early 04 and it reminds me of how exciting it was to read manga. Silly to mention but it’s true. The other plus side is that, for something so detailed in its own way, it’s very simple and extremely pleasant to look at it.

“Why are you reviewing it now!? It’s been out since 2005!” Age, time and experience changes a person, what you once read something as a teen will look different as an adult, while at the same time, you will see and understand content differently because you have been exposed to more and different views and experiences. So, it’s always fun to go back to something and see it in a new light and discover things you originally overlooked because you didn’t quite see or understood it. I plan to do other series that I read as a teen and still owned for all these years, such as Chobits, Battle Royale and even Cardcaptor Sakura. I mean, as a child I didn’t quite understand Toya and Yuki relationship till I got way older but that’s a whole can of worms for another day. Another fact that was pointed out to me is, during the time one could have read DearS to now is that one will read many more mangas and stories between each one and able to build up a comparison and feelings that was never there originally. It’s amazing to be able to do this, I guess that’s one amazing things about humans, we change and grow with more that we do and read. Until next, read moar manga~!

Manga Mumbles: Lets Talk Love Hina

Years ago, when I was a young Lass, I discovered manga and the choices back then was very limited and to make things even more fun, there was even less choices of where to find them and even worse if you don’t aim to travel to the city just for Manga. Back then I also use to be a weeb, into anime, worshipped Japan and thank the lords, I grew out of it, so the city was a frequent visit and back then, I wanted to read Love Hina but I delayed it for other series, like Battle Royale or Chobits.

Recently, I procured my partners 12 volumes of the series and read them all. I don’t look forward to the ending since I am in two minds about what I read to this point.

Let’s start with the first 8 volumes.

I did not like them. It was the same themes and, to be honest, abuse but in different areas and the story was not just going anyway. Sure, I love series that try and establish the goal and characters but I felt like it took 8 volumes to get anyway. The harem concept was a joke cause it’s super predictable that Naru, who constantly beats up Keitaro, is going to be the girl he marries. Another thing about Naru is the constant attacks on the guy, even when she is at fault. After the first few falls which results in tit grabs and garments being taken off, it loses its humour and becomes annoying cause it doesn’t stop.

I honestly wish I could talk more about the other characters but half the time, they are just in the background or props for more shit to be dished out on the somewhat boring and useless main protag. 

I get that when it was released, this use to be the best thing in Manga but reading it over ten years from it’s prime time, it’s not that great.

In my opinion, the first 8 volumes are just one giant filler.

Now, volume 9 started to garner interest from me cause it feels like the story was actually going somewhere. The characters seem to finally have a reason for being there besides props for the main two characters. The plot seems to make sense since they are now in Tokyo U and everything seems to finally mean something to the reader, it means progress.

Then, another character comes in and throws the story into a spin. I mean, at this point, why bother? 

Just means more work for both creator and reader but this addition brings in the whole incest thing which is beyond creepy in my opinion but I do admit, with her in the mix, it gave a spice to the story which also makes Naru pull her finger out her arse and do something about her feelings with Keitaro, which took nearly the whole series to get to this stage which should have been done when Mutsumi proposed herself as a love interest as Keitaro. No, we have to drag out an already dragged out series.

Normally I would rant and rave till the cows come home about how cliché and boring this series is and wonder how this actually got popular if it didn’t have the fan-service and harem themes that usually brings all the hormone driven males to their shores. I am still disappointed that it took 8 mangas to get somewhere interesting. I admit, I kept reading cause I love Tama-chan.

Now, I shall actually talk about the manga themselves.
For an older manga, the art style is still lovely but sometimes it gets really busy and overwhelming sometimes but at least they are utilising all the space.

The story is bland at best but it only really gets interesting after 8 volumes of filler work under the guise of story establishment. I mean, how hard is it to establish a story of a guy wanting to get into Tokyo U to fulfil a promise while living in luxury with a harem of gorgeous women, debatably with underage ones too, and then finally fulfilling that promise and marrying the girl of his dreams? 

Apparently with 8 filler volumes and 7 volumes of actual story where shit gets done.

Now the characters are not that great at first. The progress best when the story actually started to get interesting. Why won’t I say more on this or anything? All I can say is boring, bland and cliché. That’s this series in a nutshell and it’s quite sad. I bet if they remade it with all the good parts, I would probably have bought the series. I kind of glad that I never bought it originally, otherwise it may have ended up being a series I regret buying and would dump it on my friends who gets it up for the harem/fan-service/empty mangas like this.

I do apologise that this is not as positive as I would have liked but that would be lying. I actually struggled to read this series as a whole and I rarely take more than a few hours, let alone two weeks to read twelve volumes of a manga series. This says a lot about the series if anyone knows what I am like with a good manga. Spoiler: I read mangas in an hour or so cause I love a good story and I absorb it so much to the extent I regret finishing it, like I did with That Wolf-Boy is mine. Actually, I’d recommend that more than Love Hina and it could have done more with story.

Ken Akamatsu is a fascinating mangaka since I prefer some of his other series more than Love Hina, such as Negima and UQ Holder which are of the fantasy and supernatural themes but also have a reverse harem thing too. I also like the fact that he is a creator to the J-comi site that distributes digital versions of out-of-print manga. As much as I don’t like Love Hina, I feel that Ken did his best since this was his second series to garner much attention after A.I. Love You. If you are like me and can’t travel to local stores, you can purchase copies of his mangas from sites such as Book Depository.

Volume 1: $25.39aud (https://www.bookdepository.com/Love-Hina-Omnibus-1-Ken-Akamatsu/9781935429470?ref=grid-view&qid=1529977609622&sr=1-1)
Volume 2: $22.09aud (https://www.bookdepository.com/Love-Hina-Omnibus-2-Ken-Akamatsu/9781935429487?ref=grid-view&qid=1529977609622&sr=1-4)
Volume 3: $25.05aud (https://www.bookdepository.com/Love-Hina-Omnibus-3-Ken-Akamatsu/9781612620206?ref=grid-view&qid=1529977609622&sr=1-2)
Volume 4: $25.03aud (https://www.bookdepository.com/Love-Hina-Omnibus-4-Ken-Akamatsu/9781612620213?ref=grid-view&qid=1529977609622&sr=1-5)
Volume 5: $19.85aud (https://www.bookdepository.com/Love-Hina-Omnibus-5-Ken-Akamatsu/9781612620220?ref=grid-view&qid=1529977609622&sr=1-3)

Mail Manga: All Hail Book depository

If anyone knows me, I'm a big reader.
Not fussed in what form but lately, I been on a manga binge and today I got two new ones for my collections.
I have no started to read them yet but I can still comment of their looks.

First we start with "The life changing manga of tidying up".
I liked the sounds of it and the concept of learning new tips on tidying up the place while reading a story of how a woman changes her life bit by bit from changing the environment around her.

I know, a short comment on the first and same applies to the third volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion which contains the three volumes that originally was sold separately as 7, 8 and 9.
I use to own the series until volume 10 or somewhere there until somebody I use to know pinched a few volumes and ruined the set. So I had to suck it up and invest in the 3 in 1 so that I could finish the whole series. It's still a great series imo.

Now you are wondering why I have volume 2 of the NGE books as a picture. It's only cause it looked good to me =D

Now, I buy all my mangas off book depository and it's not because of the price being better than the local stores, which it is. It's also the fact that if I want to buy mangas in my area, it's a tiny selection and if I want a bigger range, it's an hour trip one way into the main city of Sydney and even then, they don't always have the mangas I want in stock and I am not keen on spending a day going to and from the city. I haven't been in months due to personal issues and money. Yes, it can get pricey sometimes and it's a let down but the main thing is, I love the idea of walking outside and seeing a book filled package waiting for me to take it inside and gently finger the pages.

I do love physical copies of books, comics and mangas xD