Weekly Reads - 11th to 24th

So, I been delaying my usual blogging in order to play more Pokemon Let's Go and being an utter bum. So now I shall posts the last two weeks.

From the 11th to the 17th, I have finished a few series as well as a comic and light novel.

Out of all the reads, I didn't enjoy Vampire Knight as much as I hoped, especially with the jump they had near the end.

I was especially pleased with finishing Magical Girl Apocalypse, even though the ending made me want to punch someone at one point but it was the most intriguing mangas I have read this year.

It's funny when it comes to the Cardcaptor one, I didn't really want to continue it but since it was a good price, I decided to go for it and recall why I previously wanted it and now the next book, despite slumping back into the whole "I'm not sure if I want this".

Ring 0 was exactly like how I remember the movie and am very glad that I am slowly completing that set since it's such a butt to find currently.

he Machimaho was procured after seeing someone post some hilarious pictures of scenes from it and I thought "Why not?". I do enjoy it, it's my sort of magical girl. Rude, crude and vulgar. I like having the variety when it comes to magical girl genres and it amuses me that during that week I had both Machimaho and CCS come in.

Now the two unique reads this week in the form of FFVII novel which I read very quickly, considering I haven't read a proper book for a long while. It feels like it made Advent Children have more sense on how the whole Geostigma begun and how Sephiroth wanted to return so badly and how Aerith was determined to stop him. It was such a great read.

Now, Little Moments of Love really hits the relatable bone since it reminds me of my relationship with my partner. It's cute, sweet and a must read. It is also currently on goodreads as a contender for the best graphic novel, which I feel like it really deserves it. It is a great comic.

✿

From the 18th to the 24th, I only seem to have very few books, which is not bad considering it's one per day, even if it wasn't.

Okay, let's start with the bad one, which I will eventually write a full review about.

Amnesia Labyrinth would be one of the few most terrible mangas I have ever came across. It has so much potential but it was basically written as if they had so many ideas but it got nowhere and then felt like it was forced to be ended without having everything resolved. Which was super disappointing.

Now Kobato, that's a good read so far and it's getting more interesting, can't wait to get a hold of the last two series, considering the last volume is going to be a pain to find currently.

Smokin' Parade is another good series that I bought cause someone showed some really good scenes and it was worth it. I enjoy the story and where it is currently heading. I so far only have three volumes and I finished the volume 3 on the 25th, which will be discussed further in the next post.

The Vampire Knight Memories is a delightful read since it's fascinating and starts patching the 1,000 year gap at the end of volume 19, which is what bothered me about  Vampire Knight in the first place. Now all I have to do is wait till next year for volume 3.

Now, onto Shibuya Goldfish, another series I was uncertain about buying but ended up pre-ordering along with Fruits Basket Another 2. I actually don't regret it since I am now keen for the third volume thanks to it. I need to know what happens next and hopefully find out why this all started happening in the series.

Hopefully tomorrow I will post my monthly review about my collection and probably start my challenges here as well, since I can extensively talk about it without worrying about a limit.

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.