Category: Reviews

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 7

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The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 7 by Natsu Hyuuga, Nekokurage, Itsuki Nanao, Touco Shino
Series Name: The Apothecary Diaries (Manga)
Genres: Drama, Historical, Mystery, Romance
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64609-120-1
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Proving herself indispensable yet again by saving Jinshi from a horrific fate, Maomao is given the chance to explain her rash behavior during the holy ritual. But when she continues her investigation into the foiled plot, a bizarre outcome awaits, leaving the plucky apothecary impressed by the sheer nerve of the culprit behind it. But admiring the exploits of another won’t get Maomao very far when Jinshi tasks her with a feat of her own – to present him with blue roses at the needling of the eccentric La Kan! How will Maomao respond to this provocation from the man she despises the most?

Personal & Info

I wasn’t able to get this on release day, but I was able to get it before a major snow storm hit. I didn’t read it during the storm, but I had the option. It’s not terribly late, though. This review is only posted a little over a week after the release. It’s a little later than I wanted, but the site was down on my usual post day.

Volume eight doesn’t come out in English until May. That’s a big sad gap with no Apothecary Diaries.

Characters

Maomao is still her eccentric amusing self. She is one of the reasons I love this series.

Jinshi feels like a solid character at this point. We’ve seen enough of him to have a good grasp on his character and his general feelings about Maomao. It’s unclear if it’s romantic or platonic, but it’s clear he cares for her.

Lakan is getting more depth as we learn more about him and his past. It doesn’t change how unlikable he is.

Lihaku is becoming regular enough that I think he and Maomao can be considered friends.

Other characters from earlier volumes appear here again as Maomao returns to the inner court. It’s nice to see them again.

Story & Thoughts

This volume starts off with Maomao waking up after the events of volume six. She explains her suspicions of the culminating events to Jinshi and Gao Shun. As the drama of the attempted murder comes to a close, the group looks into a possible suspect, and the methods used in the disaster. This only takes up the first chapter.

The mysteries for this volume aren’t as elaborate as most of the ones before. They are mostly observations Maomao notices and resolves, or unusual tasks that turn out to be rather simple, though time consuming.

For the most part, this volume seems to focus on character backgrounds. Jinshi’s speculations about the past, Gao Shun’s family history, Lakan, even the physician in the Inner Palace. After the exciting events of the previous book, this one can be considered a bit of a lore dump.

In Chapter 34, we learn more about Gao Shun and his relationship with Jinshi. Gao Shun is more closely connected to him than just an assistant. One could consider them honorary family based on their history.

Jinshi also spends time speculating about the past regarding consorts and the royal family. There have been possible hints about Jinshi’s identity in the series up until now, but the story isn’t going to give us any solid answers about who he is, yet. We will have to speculate a while longer.

We start to learn a little more about Lakan and why he is the type of eccentric he is. It doesn’t justify anything he does, but it helps to understand him better. Based on the preview at the end, it looks like the next volume is going to show us more of his history, and our first look at Maomao’s mother.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 3

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Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 3 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-1905-0
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

All-around average student Tsukune can’t get accepted to any high school save one…but on his first day, he finds the rest of the student body doesn’t appear average in the least. Best of all, the cutest girl on campus can’t wait to fling her arms around his neck! Wait a sec’ – are those her teeth around his neck too…? Tsukune’s going to have one heck of a hickey when he gets home from Monster High! But does he have a chance in H-E-double-hockey-sticks of raising his grades at a school where the turf war isn’t between the jocks and the nerds but the vampires and the werewolves?

Personal & Info

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, and seen the anime, I’m giving the volumes I’ve already read a slight bump in rating to show how much I liked it my first time through. I don’t want my familiarity with the series to hurt the score. There is less thrill when you already know what happens, so I’m accounting for that. The bump is only about a half star.

If you want to watch the anime, I can say from experience the first few episodes are fairly accurate. However, as the show goes on it becomes very much less so. The manga is way better. I highly recommend reading the series if you want the best experience. I can say this from experience even though I haven’t finished the manga before. The difference is that significant.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is your every day incredibly average underachiever human with no special skills.

Moka Akashiya is a beautiful vampire love interest.

Kurumu Kurono is beautiful love interest number two. She is the big booby lady.

Yukari Sendo is an eleven year old genius, and a witch.

Gin, also known as Ginei Morioka, is the editor of the school newspaper club.

Story & Thoughts

I remember being on the edge of my seat back when I first read this volume. This one picks up where volume two left off in dealing with the protection committee. The story ramps up in the first two chapters as the gang takes on Kuyo, the committee leader. Tensions run high, and we learn another vampire capability.

The second half of the book deals with the fallout of the battle. Tsukune is uncomfortable with what Moka did, and his grades are slipping. If he doesn’t pass his mid-terms, he’ll have to attend summer school.

Considering the school’s purpose is to help monsters learn to blend in with humans, and looking at all the stuff that happens at the school, I find it surprising the school board isn’t super strict about everything. It seems like people and faculty are breaking rules all the time and nobody cares. I doubt that teaches anyone how to blend in. Clearly the protection committee hasn’t been doing their job.

The four panel comics at the end of this volume function as a fun Q & A. They are not at all serious, and we don’t necessarily get any answers to all the questions. Ms. Nekonome doesn’t appear in this volume, so she takes over this bonus section.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 2

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Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 2 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-1904-3
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

All-around average student Tsukune can’t get accepted to any high school save one…but on his first day, he finds the rest of the student body doesn’t appear average in the least. Best of all, the cutest girl on campus can’t wait to fling her arms around his neck! Wait a sec’ – are those her teeth around his neck too…? Tsukune’s going to have one heck of a hickey when he gets home from Monster High! But does he have a chance in H-E-double-hockey-sticks of raising his grades at a school where the turf war isn’t between the jocks and the nerds but the vampires and the werewolves?

Personal & Info

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, and seen the anime, I’m giving the volumes I’ve already read a slight bump in rating to show how much I liked it my first time through. I don’t want my familiarity with the series to hurt the score. There is less thrill when you already know what happens, so I’m accounting for that. The bump is only about a half star.

If you want to watch the anime, I can say from experience the first couple episodes are fairly accurate. However, as the show goes on it becomes very much less so. The manga is way better. I highly recommend reading the series if you want the best experience. I can say this from personal experience even though I haven’t finished the manga before. The difference is that significant.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is your every day incredibly average underachiever human with no special skills.

Moka Akashiya is a beautiful vampire love interest.

Kurumu Kurono is beautiful love interest number two. She is the big booby lady.

Yukari Sendo is introduced in this volume. She is an eleven year old genius.

Gin, also known as Ginei Morioka, is the editor of the school newspaper club.

Story & Thoughts

This volume is primarily monster of the week style. Only one significant main character is added in this volume. She’s not very likable at first, but that gets better.

I recall coming across some adult themes with gross behavior my first time reading the series. This volume has the first encounter with that kind of thing. In chapter three (Test 7: Deadline!), there’s a really slimy guy who doesn’t care about privacy, discomfort, or consent. This particular chapter might be triggering for some people who are more sensitive to this kind of content. I will say, nothing physically sexual happens. At most, there is a boob grab. Use your own discretion when determining if you can tolerate this content.

I like how this book has a chapter focusing on Kurumu. I think it’s important that Moka doesn’t always steal the show. Kurumu is also capable, and we get to see more of her abilities here.

The story also gets more serious in this volume. There are more continuous events between chapters instead of isolated encounters. The protection committee is their first real big bad type threat. The first conflict is resolved in one chapter as usual, but the overall problem will continue past this volume. It’s not just a one and done like everything else has been.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 1

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Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 1 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-1903-6
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

All-around average student Tsukune can’t get accepted to any high school save one…but on his first day, he finds the rest of the student body doesn’t appear average in the least. Best of all, the cutest girl on campus can’t wait to fling her arms around his neck! Wait a sec’ – are those her teeth around his neck too…? Tsukune’s going to have one heck of a hickey when he gets home from Monster High! But does he have a chance in H-E-double-hockey-sticks of raising his grades at a school where the turf war isn’t between the jocks and the nerds but the vampires and the werewolves?

Personal & Info

Initially, I came across this series back when I was in high school. Every time I went to Barnes & Noble, I would see a display of volumes from the series. I managed to read a large chunk before obtaining my own copies, which I used to continue reading the series. I dropped off reading manga for a while, though, so I never got to finish it. It wasn’t until earlier this year, I think, that I finally finished my collection, so I can go back and read it from start to finish.

I still like this book, but since I’ve already read it before, and seen the anime, I’m giving it a slight bump in rating to represent how much I liked it my first time through.

If you want to watch the anime, I can say from experience the first chunk is fairly accurate. However, as the show goes on it becomes very much less so. The manga is way better. I highly recommend reading the series if you want the best experience. I can say this from personal experience even though I haven’t finished the manga before. The difference is that significant.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is your every day incredibly average underachiever human with no special skills. He is the male lead in this harem story.

Moka Akashiya is a beautiful vampire love interest. Everyone thinks she’s the prettiest girl in school and they all hate Tsukune for being around her.

Kurumu Kurono is beautiful love interest number two. I’ll let the book tell you her species. She is the big booby lady.

Ginei Morioka, or Gin, is the head of the school club our main characters join. He is a pervert.

Ms. Shizuka Nekonome is Tsukune’s homeroom teacher. She is very obviously a cat, and looks like the sexy librarian type.

Story & Thoughts

As the first volume, the focus is introducing the main cast and getting to know them a little. This book has four chapters, and introduces three significant characters. The chapter that does not introduce anyone important instead teaches us a little more about vampires.

There’s also a monster of the week element to the story. Each chapter seems to have an encounter with a different monster, usually resulting in some sort of beat down resolution. There are also “Bite-Size Monster Encyclopedia” informational boxes for most of the monsters once they’ve been unmasked. Unmasking in this case meaning shedding their human disguise.

The ecchi part of the series generally starts in chapter two. That’s when it starts to emphasize things like big boobs, swimwear, panties, etc. However, it’s a little funny that Moka’s combat scenes are always conveniently censored with shadows or something in the foreground to block it. At least it looks natural, unlike the blatant censor they use in the anime.

Art style is always a memorable thing when it comes to manga. Each artist has their own style, and while some are similar, they all have their own identifiable features. I love the art style for this series. It has its own charm that stands out to me.

There are some silly four panel comics at the end. I love when manga have those. My favorite one in this volume is Kurumu with the cookies.

Notable Issues

Some of the translation choices are interesting. I’m not sure if I noticed with my first read way back when, but most of the effect text uses odd spellings. For example, skweez and krash come up a lot instead of the regular spellings. I have no idea why this is a thing.

I don’t remember where, but in one of the scenes where Moka changes, someone said her hair turns from brown to silver. That must be a mistake or typo, because I’ve never seen her usual hair color be anything except pink. I don’t think pink can be considered any shade of brown. They aren’t anywhere near similar in color.

Serpent in Paradise

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Serpent in Paradise by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Stephanie James
Genres: Romance
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Harlequin Books S.A
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 0-373-77016-2
Rating: 2.5/5
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Description from the Book

Amy Shannon met Jase Lassiter at a seedy bar called The Serpent, and she should have heeded the warning in the name. At first he offered her paradise – nights of love and days of sheer delight – but the taste of honey turned to ashes on her tongue when she thought she’d been abandoned. Now only Jase’s return can satisfy Amy’s hunger for promises of love. Will his words take her to paradise, or exile her forever?

Personal & Info

Jayne Ann Krentz (and all her other pseudonyms) is one of my favorite authors. Her books always feel comfortable to read, so I am amassing a collection. This one is a 250 page stand alone.

My copy appears to be an old one with stickers so aged it would damage the book if I attempt to remove them. This book seems to be an uncommon find these days. The digital version is the easiest to locate, but I found paperbacks on Amazon and ThriftBooks for people who want physical versions. The links don’t necessarily lead to the same copy as mine. I found mine at a used book store for a dollar.

The description is misleading. It implies a love affair in which the man ghosts the woman, leaving her pining for him. That is not entirely correct. I can’t say how without spoiling parts of the story, so I’ll just say there is a lot more going on than that. It’s not that simple, nor exactly what it implies.

Characters

Amy Shannon is the female lead in this romance story. She owns a chain of lingerie boutiques in San Fransisco. She’s also exceedingly klutzy when she gets anxious or nervous.

Jase Lassiter is the male lead. His character description can easily be associated with the term sociopath, which is confusing because that description doesn’t seem apt as the story goes along. He owns a bar by the name of The Serpent.

Ray is seemingly Jase’s only employee at The Serpent. He’s a painter, and he seems like a nice guy.

Maggie runs the convenience store.

Fred Cowper is the local unofficial law enforcement. I think they said he is an ex-cop.

Ty Murdock is Melissa’s ex-husband. Nobody knows where he is or if he is even alive.

Dirk Haley is a mystery man who wants to meet up with Amy.

Melissa Shannon is Amy’s sister. I don’t know if she still has the last name of Shannon, but I’m putting it here to make their relation obvious.

Adam Trembach is Melissa’s fiancé.

Story & Thoughts

I like the story, but I also have problems with it. There are themes and opinions involved that definitely show the perspective of the times. The date in my book says this was written in 1983. If you don’t like to see consent disrespected, or how men would think in the 80s, you might not like this book.

Jase constantly disrespects consent and his behavior resembles stalking. Even when he’s in a relationship where he’s trying to be a good person, he is overbearing and controlling. Oh, and let’s not forget that lovely trait of men in the 80s where they call every woman, “honey.”

Amy isn’t a great character herself, either. She doesn’t seem to know standard safety protocols. Like, this guy is basically harassing her, and she tells him exactly where she is staying and allows herself to be left alone with him.

As for the romance, I think it’s lacking. These people have nothing in common aside from both running businesses of their own. There is no reason for them to be drawn to each other. They both think the other is all wrong for them, yet they are inexplicably drawn to each other. Where is the connection? The only likely one I can find is primal male ownership of a woman and adrenaline. That’s not good enough for me. It could work in a paranormal setting with werewolves or something, but here? No.

I’m not happy with the ending. It’s generally fine, but I don’t agree with the choice Amy makes. The whole book she talks about how women are independent and modern. I feel like her decision is a step backwards on her own opinion. She doesn’t have to do that. They can figure out another way to make things work. In a way I saw it coming, though.

Notable Issues

Amy makes a sarcastic comment about how Jase must have missed his calling and should have studied psychology instead. Immediately after, Jase says this exact thing to the next two people he talks to. To me, this means one of three things. Either Jase isn’t very creative, the phrase gets stuck in his head, or the writing just isn’t that great. I want to assume one of the first two options, but I can’t be sure. Regardless of what it was, this part bugged me.

I had to look up what, “sending a cable,” means. That tripped me up a bit when I found it. I’m assuming it means a messenger delivered a telegram. I had no idea those were still being used in the 80s.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 5 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 5 by Isuna Hasekura
Series Name: Spice & Wolf (Light Novel)
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Commerce
Intended Age Group: 15+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-7595-3110-9
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

Arriving in the town of Lenos, Lawrence and Holo take a respite from their travels north – but a true businessman never rests! It isn’t long before an opportunity for profit presents itself to Lawrence, one that could fulfill his dreams of owning his own establishment. But as always, the promise of great reward carries great risk – and risk is never greater than when one plans to use a wisewolf as collateral! As Lawrence and Holo feel the ties binding them stretched thin, has the time come for the pair to go their separate ways?

Personal & Info

It took me a few months to circle back around to this series. My reading schedule is a bit of a mess right now.

Characters

It’s been one week since the events of volume four. Lawrence and Holo are comfortable around each other. Their banter has gotten more elaborate and playful as Lawrence has learned how to keep up better with her wit. I think it’s obvious they both either have a crush on each other, or feel some kind of ownership regarding the other person. Both of them get jealous regarding interactions with the opposite sex. They should just tell each other how they feel, but then we wouldn’t have an interesting story, now would we?

Story & Thoughts

I adore this series, but this volume does not resonate with me. It was a little upsetting to read. A large chunk of the story feels highly melancholy and depressing. They start analyzing things, like how different Holo’s lifespan is compared to humans and whether or not she could feasibly tire of being in someone’s company because of that.

I thought we were past the threats of Holo potentially leaving. The first few volumes all have that as a will she or won’t she. I’m not amused to see it come up again. At this point, I thought they would have no more issue staying together and waiting to reassess until they find Holo’s homeland. It’s starting to feel repetitive with this theme constantly popping up.

Holo seems extra violent in this volume. Granted, for the worst of it, she is angry and frustrated, but that doesn’t necessarily make it okay. Especially when she knowingly targets areas she knows are sensitive. We already know she doesn’t exactly have a shining personality, but part of this book shows off her more abusive side. I find it a little concerning she doesn’t show any concern for Lawrence’s condition at that time either.

The business opportunity in this one doesn’t seem as suspenseful as the others. Everything goes smoothly, and nobody is really in any danger. There is potential danger, but even if things were to go catastrophically bad, it’s implied nobody’s life is truly at risk.

I do like that this book is one of the few times Lawrence works on a deal by himself. It’s important he doesn’t always rely on Holo, otherwise he might lose the practiced merchant skills he had before meeting her.

Kingdom Hearts

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Kingdom Hearts by Shiro Amano
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy
Intended Age Group: All Ages
Publisher: Tokyopop
Volumes: 4
Series Rating: 3/5
See my individual reviews here:
Volume 1 – volume 2 – volume 3 – volume 4
Get your own copies here:
1 – Amazon ThriftBooks
2 – Amazon ThriftBooks
3 – Amazon ThriftBooks
4 – Amazon ThriftBooks
Or get the newer duology versions (published by Yen Press) here:
1 – Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf
2 – Amazon Barnes&Noble

Description

Fourteen-year-old Sora and his friends want to see what is across the ocean and visit other worlds. Everything gets turned upside down when their island home is hit by a storm, ripping them from their home and separating them.

Sora finds himself in a new land where he meets Court Wizard Donald and Captain Goofy. Together they fight mysterious creatures called Heartless and travel the universe in search of King Mickey and Sora’s lost friends.

Throughout their travels, they make friends in every world, and quickly discover it’s up to them to save the universe from the Heartless, and whomever is pulling their strings. The power of Sora’s Keyblade and the strength of his heart are paramount to succeed.

About

This is a manga adaptation of the popular game Kingdom Hearts. These are the older editions that make it a four volume series. The newer editions are encompassed in two volumes for a duology set. I got these forever ago, so I don’t have the newer editions.

I can’t stress enough that this is an adaptation. Don’t expect it to be super accurate.

Personal

I’ve been a fan of Kingdom Hearts since back when the first game was still new. It’s one of my favorite franchises, so when the manga came out, I knew I wanted to have it.

There are more Kingdom Hearts manga out there for some of the other games, as well as light novels. I’m in the process of collecting and reading them all. I want to do this in tandem with replaying the games to spot the differences, though, so it may take a while to review them.

As far as the manga versions go, I consider each “game” to be its own series, because they are, at the very least, in sets of two or more.

Characters

Sora is the main character. He is exclusive to the Kingdom Hearts universe. Well, except for his Smash appearance. He’s basically your average joe with a heart of gold.

Donald and Goofy are popular Disney characters associated with Mickey mouse. All three of them have been around for several decades, and they’re kind of the face of Disney, so it makes sense they would be main characters for this kind of story.

Mickey is a king in this universe because he is the ever constant mascot of Disney. Donald is his court wizard, and Goofy is his head knight.

Riku and Kairi are also completely new characters specifically for this story. Riku is the cool edge lord loner type. Part of his relationship with Sora is Riku is always better than him at everything, but that changes a bit as the story progresses. Kairi is essentially the girl next door everyone is crushing on.

Various Disney and Final Fantasy characters make appearances throughout the series. The number of Final Fantasy characters is small, but the Disney quantity is high since pretty much all the worlds are from Disney movies.

Story & Thoughts

Negatives

Honestly, I don’t think the manga does the story justice. There are so many cuts, and the story feels too fast.

The characters seem to have little to no development. You don’t even get to know the characters the same way you would in the game. In the game, you get time to see what Riku and Kairi are like before everything happens. That experience is missing here. The introduction is rushed, and the lack of proper introductions makes Riku come off as a jerk, instead of the cool loner type that actually cares. The rushed plot doesn’t help this later on either.

Entire levels are missing. Deep Jungle and Halloween Town are not in the manga. I have issue with this, because it goes along with the lack of character development. Donald and Sora are supposed to butt heads significantly at the start of the journey. That is barely portrayed at all. The entire point of Deep Jungle in the game is to sort out Sora and Donald’s differences, so they can actually be good friends. The story feels shallow without those experiences.

There is little action. For an adaptation of a game where you fight things constantly, there is hardly any action to be seen. I think this could have been a little better if it embraced more action scenes and showed off more of the epic boss fights. Show off some of Sora’s special techniques, too.

Positives

In the game, we’re under the impression Sora summons and dispels his key blade at will. The manga does things a little differently. I find this part a little amusing. This adaptation actually has Sora use his belt as a sheath. It does not look realistically stable for use at all, but it’s a detail I enjoy.

The cover art for the chapters in each volume are nice. I like seeing them.

Despite my complaints, the manga isn’t bad. It’s not entirely faithful as an adaptation, but it’s enjoyable. I like to think of it as an alternate retelling, because it’s accurate to a point. All the most important story events are there. The route to them and how they occur are just a little different.

I don’t recommend this as your primary Kingdom Hearts experience. But, if you’re just in the mood for some Kingdom Hearts and don’t want to boot up the game, it might scratch that itch. Or if you’ve never played the game, and you just want to see what the story is like, this is a generally accurate enough outline of it to get an idea.

Kingdom Hearts, Vol. 4

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Kingdom Hearts, Vol. 4 by Shiro Amano
Series Name: Kingdom Hearts
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy
Intended Age Group: All Ages
Publisher: Tokyopop
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 1-59816-220-9
Rating: 3/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble
If you are set on getting the same old four volume editions, you can check here:
Amazon ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Sora, Donald, and Goofy are forced to choose between duty and friendship. Our heroes must follow their hearts if they are to succeed and defeat the growing Heartless menace. But in the world of Kingdom Hearts, choices are never easy!

Personal & Info

This is the final volume of the old four volume edition Kingdom Hearts manga. As usual, I will primarily link the new duology editions, as well as some links to find these older versions if they are your preference.

Characters

Sora, Donald and Goofy are the primary characters in every volume.

Riku and Kairi obviously play big parts in the finale.

Various Disney and Final Fantasy characters make appearances throughout the series.

Story & Thoughts

This book picks up after the group leaves Never Land. From there, it goes straight into the final two locations of Hollow Bastion and the End of the World. Unfortunately, my favorite level, Halloween Town, does not make it into the manga at all.

I’m surprised they managed to squeeze the whole ending into this one short book. They cut some things and rush others. For example, there is a Maleficent boss in the game here. That is cut entirely for the manga.

100 Acre Wood is missing from the main story, aside from Sora delivering the book, but it gets a chapter at the end of this volume instead of the usual four panel comics.

I don’t think the manga does the series justice. Obviously the game is going to be better. The manga speeds everything up, and doesn’t care as much about the action or character development. It feels like more of a for fun read. Like, if you are craving some Kingdom Hearts, but you don’t want to boot up the game, this might be a quick fix. It gets the most important parts right, and that’s what matters. But seriously, don’t let this be your only exposure to the series. The game is so much better.

Kingdom Hearts, Vol. 3

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Kingdom Hearts, Vol. 3 by Shiro Amano
Series Name: Kingdom Hearts
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy
Intended Age Group: All Ages
Publisher: Tokyopop
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 1-59816-219-5
Rating: 3/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble
If you’re set on getting the old four volume editions, you can check here:
Amazon ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

When Monstro the whale swallows Sora and crew, the world of Kingdom Hearts plunges into an underwater adventure! Deep within the ocean depths, Sora lends Geppetto and Pinocchio a helping hand to fend off the Heartless. Our heroes then dive even deeper under the sea to face Ursula the Sea Witch. But Sora and Riku better surface fast because they have to rescue Kairi from the clutches of Captain Hook! When it comes to dealing with the Heartless, let your conscience be your guide, and don’t forget the pixie dust!

Personal & Info

This is volume three of the four volume old editions of the Kingdom Hearts manga. I assume most, if not all, of this volume is probably included in volume two of the newer duology prints.

Characters

Sora, Donald and Goofy are the primary characters in every volume.

Riku and Kairi both appear in this one.

Various Disney and Final Fantasy characters make appearances throughout the series.

Story & Characters

This volume starts where volume two ends, however, the resulting boss battle is anticlimactic. They kind of overdo the whole Herc weakening Cerberus thing. Aside from that, the volume covers the Monstro, Atlantica, and Neverland levels from the game.

Like the other volumes, this one is fast paced. It blends some events together, or changes them a bit to make the story progress faster. Monstro seems particularly short.

It’s at this point I notice the manga entirely skips over the Deep Jungle level. I highly doubt it would be in the last volume since it’s an early level. The way things are going, there might be one or two other levels missing from the manga by the time it’s done. I think those parts of the story are significant for character development, but the manga seems to try to keep a more cheerful and funny vibe, so the characters don’t have much development, or at least none that is blatantly obvious. I’d say the most character development I’ve seen so far is learning skills, and that’s not usually what people mean when they talk about character development.

There’s a part in this one where they finally get to read Ansem’s report. I often didn’t read that while playing the game, so I can’t say if it’s similar. I would have to turn on the game to check.

There are more four panel comics in the back of the book. The one titled Farewell Gift is my favorite out of this batch.

I still love the chapter cover art, and highly recommend playing the game or to watch someone play the game if you read this. It should not be your only exposure to the series.

Kingdom Hearts, Vol. 2

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Kingdom Hearts, Vol. 2 by Shiro Amano
Series Name: Kingdom Hearts
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy
Intended Age Group: All Ages
Publisher: Tokyopop
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 1-59816-218-7
Rating: 3/5
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If you are set on getting the same old four volume editions, you can check here:
Amazon ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Sora, Goofy and Donald Duck continue their magical journey. Along the way they discover new clues about Maleficent’s preparations to conquer all the worlds. The fate of all beings lies within the power of Sora’s Keyblade – and the strength of his heart!

Personal & Info

This is volume two of my old copies of the Kingdom Hearts manga. These can only be found used now a days, so I will be linking the newer duology reprints as the primary shop links. I believe this volume is part of volume one of the duology. I don’t know for sure if they end in the same spot, because I don’t have those editions, but it’s probably close.

Also, I said it in the review for the first volume, but I’ll say it again here. This series reads left to right instead of the usual right to left like the average manga.

Characters

Sora, Donald and Goofy are the primary characters in every volume.

Riku appears in this volume, but we do not see any of Kairi aside from a hallucination.

Various Disney and Final Fantasy characters make appearances throughout the series.

Story & Thoughts

This volume covers Agraba, Traverse Town, and The Olympus Colosseum. Based on how I play the game, the manga does the levels out of order. One could play the levels in the order of the manga, but that’s not my preference.

The story is still mostly accurate. By mostly accurate I mean it’s kind of an alternate retelling. Events are usually blended together instead of separate instances to make the flow faster. Details or minor events that never happen in the game are added to help the flow and keep things going or make them make sense, while other things are cut entirely.

This volume has a cliff hanger. It ends at the start of a boss fight, so volume three is going to start with that.

There are some funny four panel bonus comics at the end of the book.

I still love the chapter cover art, and highly recommend playing the game or watching someone play the game if you read this. It should not be your only exposure to the series.