Tag: Comedy

Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 3

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Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 3 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire: Season II
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3268-4
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

Average human teenage boy Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters – no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches, and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! And now he’s a sophomore!

On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns because he only has eyes for one of them – the far-from-average vampire Moka.

On the plus side, Moka only has glowing red eyes for Tsukune. On the O-negative side, she also has a burning, unquenchable thirst for his blood…

Personal & Info

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, 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.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is the only human at a school for monsters. Due to various events in season one, he wears a chain lock on his wrist, similar to Moka’s rosario.

Moka Akashiya is the beautiful vampire love interest. She is considered the most beautiful girl in school, and the series likes to play up that fact.

Kurumu Kurono is the second beautiful love interest. She is the character with the largest breasts in the group, and the whole school also fawns over her, but not nearly as much as Moka.

Yukari Sendo is a twelve year old genius, and a witch.

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is a yuki-onna, but the translation constantly calls her a snow fairy. She’s also the most considerate of Tsukune’s happiness.

Koko Shuzen is Moka’s little sister. She thinks Tsukune’s only redeeming quality is the taste of his blood, but she doesn’t go around biting him like Moka does.

Ruby Tojo is a witch met in season one. She currently works for the school to help keep the students safe.

Tsurara, Mizore’s mother, appears in this volume. Her last appearance was in Rosario+Vampire volume nine during the school festival.

Story & Thoughts

This book starts off with a random chapter involving Gin. It’s been a good while seen we’ve seen him. He is rather useless as club leader, since he is basically never around. The chapter paints him as a villain yet again. Girls at Yokai Academy are targets for a prankster going around tearing up their clothes.

The rest of the chapters focus on Mizore. Big surprise considering she is on the cover, right? The gang goes to Mizore’s village for the weekend. There is some kind of ceremony she is going to attend, and her mother requests she bring guests.

This section covers some information on Mizore’s childhood, as well as her culture. At one point, I said Mizore’s parts of the story tend to be unsettling and sad. That comes out significantly in this volume. It always pulls at my heart strings.

There is a cliff hanger. As with most volumes, the events are cut off to be finished in the next volume. The cliff hanger is not huge. It’s the kind where someone unexpected shows up.

Kurumu really shines in this volume. Her passion and determination are important to the drama of the story and holding the group together. She always seems to be on an emotional rollercoaster, acting like she is furious and hates someone, and then expressing her compassion for them two minutes later. I think she significantly outshines Moka here. Moka and Yukari and the rest seemed to take a back seat to Mizore, Tsukune, and Kurumu.

The bonus comics at the end are silly, as usual. No questions, mostly a bunch of sillies about what happened in the last few pages.

The volumes that focus on Mizore always tend to be my personal favorites, but she is my favorite character, so it’s not surprising.

Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 2

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Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 2 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire: Season II
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3137-3
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

Average human teenage boy Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters – no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches, and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! And now he’s a sophomore!

On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns because he only has eyes for one of them – the far-from-average vampire Moka.

On the plus side, Moka only has glowing red eyes for Tsukune. On the O-negative side, she also has a burning, unquenchable thirst for his blood…

Personal & Info

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, 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.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is the only human at a school for monsters. Due to various events in season one, he wears a chain lock on his wrist, similar to Moka’s rosario.

Moka Akashiya is the beautiful vampire love interest. She is considered the most beautiful girl in school, and the series likes to play up that fact.

Kurumu Kurono is the second beautiful love interest. She is the character with the largest breasts in the group, and the whole school also fawns over her, but not nearly as much as Moka.

Yukari Sendo is a twelve year old genius, and a witch.

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is a yuki-onna, but the translation constantly calls her a snow fairy. She’s also the most considerate of Tsukune’s happiness.

Koko Shuzen is Moka’s little sister. She thinks Tsukune’s only redeeming quality is the taste of his blood, but she doesn’t go around biting him like Moka does.

Ruby Tojo is a witch met in season one. She currently works for the school to help keep the students safe.

Story & Thoughts

The story continues the mistaken phantom plot from volume one for the first two chapters. The combat is actually more amusing than usual. There’s comedy thrown into it, and this is the first time in Season II that we see Tsukune’s transformation.

I think the second half of the book is the best part. These two chapters focus heavily on Koko, which is fitting since she is on the cover of this volume. She befriends Yukari, which is not that surprising since they aren’t that far apart in age. They seem to have a lot in common.

It’s club recruitment time again, and Koko wants to get stronger She debates which club to join, which leads to various shenanigans. Koko is insistent on not joining the news club, even though she doesn’t have a good reason. These two chapters are adorable and funny. They revolve around Yukari and Koko wanting to grow up because they are tired of being considered young and small.

The four panel bonus comics in back of the book also focus on Koko. The first two highlight how blatantly tsundere she is, and the other two are about her pet Batty. He is unexpectedly heavy.

This is not relevant to the story, but I love how all the people in Moka’s family seem to be named after drinks. Moka. Koko. Kahlua. We don’t meet Kahlua in this volume, but her name comes up in a flashback.

Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 1

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Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 1 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire: Season II
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3136-6
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

Average human teenage boy Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters – no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches, and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! And now he’s a sophomore!

On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns because he only has eyes for one of them – the far-from-average vampire Moka.

On the plus side, Moka only has glowing red eyes for Tsukune. On the O-negative side, she also has a burning, unquenchable thirst for his blood…

Personal & Info

This manga continues from Rosario + Vampire. It’s been almost six months since the school got wrecked, and repairs have been made. I don’t see many manga that start over at volume one for new “seasons,” so this is a little unusual.

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, 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.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is the main character. He is the only human at a school for monsters. Due to various events in season one, he wears a chain lock on his wrist, similar to Moka’s rosario.

Moka Akashiya is the beautiful vampire love interest. She is considered the most beautiful girl in school, and the series likes to play up that fact.

Kurumu Kurono is the second beautiful love interest. She is the character with the largest breasts in the group, and the whole school also fawns over her, but not nearly as much as Moka.

Yukari Sendo is a twelve year old genius, and a witch. She was eleven in season one.

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is a yuki-onna, but the translation constantly calls her a snow fairy. She’s also the most considerate of Tsukune’s happiness.

Koko Shuzen is a new character this volume introduces. She is Moka’s little sister, and boy is she feisty.

Story & Thoughts

The story in this volume is set up to both welcome back readers, and make things easy for new readers who are using this as a starting point. I don’t know why anyone would start with season two, though, that just seems weird. Go back and read part one. It’s pretty great.

The first chapter heavily readdresses character details and the premise of the story. We relearn everyone’s names, their monster types, and what powers they have. Inner Moka even takes a minute to rehash the fact the two Moka’s are basically split personalities. This isn’t a spoiler. We already know all this.

Tsukune is demoted back down to a weakling. He doesn’t do anything outstanding in this book. Aside from the visual representation of the lock on his wrist, there is no sign anything ever happened to him in the first season. Nobody so much as mentions it.

There’s a lot of bickering and arguing, more so than usual. The volume seems to be going a little over the top with all that to really drive the refresher/introduction home.

The big news in the volume is Moka has a sister! We meet Koko halfway through. I love her. She’s great. She has her issues, but unlike everyone else, she doesn’t fawn over Tsukune. I can’t remember if that changes or not later.

As usual, there are bonus comics in the back. These ones take place in the time between seasons one and two. They just cover a little of what everyone was up to over their break.

Headhunted to Another World, Vol. 2

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Headhunted to Another World, Vol. 2 by Benigashira, Muramitsu
Series Name: Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four!
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Demons, Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64827-630-9
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

When Uchimura Denosuke agreed to take a job in the demon overlord’s army, he passed his first test with flying colors – despite being a normal human. But when his new boss asks him to resolve a magical dilemma, Uchimura’s office skills may not be enough. Can an ordinary salaryman keep up with the demands of being a heavenly king?

Personal & Info

I don’t think this volume is as good as the first one, but I still like it enough to keep reading. I will likely continue the series, but not as a priority. The reviews for it will likely be random since I don’t know when I will be getting the next volumes.

Characters

Ulmandra, Queen of Assault and Hellfire, is one of the big four. I think she’s considered the military specialist.

Uchimura Denosuke ís an average business man summoned to this fantasy world to use his business skills to assist the Demon Overlord as one of his big four.

The Demon Overlord is a surprisingly good boss.

Orl is the daughter of the ogre leader. She is a cheerful and kind person.

Sylphid, The Conjurer of the Ultimate Storm, is one of the big four. She is an expert in magic.

Story & Thoughts

Uchimura is given another task straight form the demon lord. He must work with Sylphid, the magic expert, to create a means for the weak to be able to use magic. The goal is to help close the class gap and keep people safe.

Ulmandra clearly has a crush on Uchimura at this point. It is blatantly obvious, but it seems like he can’t tell. The gag from the first volume of accidentally doing things that are culturally romantic and thinking he’s just making a nice gesture continues. So he is definitely leading her on, even if it’s not intentional. I mean, giving her a goblet he is explicitly told is intended for newly weds? That seems a bit blatant. He has to be ridiculously oblivious.

The demon lord’s kingdom is unexpectedly wholesome and friendly, but we learn not all countries are like that. The country of Rampaige seems more demon-like. Their ruler is pretty fickle and crazy. He even laughs at the idea of kindness. It could be just him and not the whole country, but Butagarian, the merchant, seems like he doesn’t believe in kindness either. But Butagarian himself is more kind than he lets on, so the world seems to have layers.

Uchimura was given a chunk of runestone in the beginning of the book. I’m not sure what happens to that specific chunk. He never explicitly shows it to Sylphid, and she does not say if she uses it to make the piece she gives him.

Headhunted to Another World, Vol. 1

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Headhunted to Another World, Vol. 1 by Benigashira, Muramitsu
Series Name: Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four!
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Demons, Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64827-602-6
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

Uchimura Denosuke í your normal, everyday salaryman trying to climb the corporate ladder. But then he’s summoned to a terrifying fantasy world by the demon overlord, who offers him a new job – as one of the heavenly kings in his army, with full benefits! Uchimura may not have muscles or magic, but he does have an office worker’s skills and savvy. Will they be enough to keep him alive?

Personal & Info

Whenever I go to the bookstore, I feel an obligation to buy something, even if it just costs a dollar. I grabbed the first two volumes of this on one of those days. Sometimes reading the first volume of a series is enough to get a good feel for the series, but other times it takes two, so I don’t think it hurts to have the first two volumes of this to start. I ended up liking it anyway, so it’s convenient to already have number two.

I don’t have many isekai on here, yet, but if that is a genre you are into, maybe check out my review for His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper.

Characters

Ulmandra, Queen of Assault and Hellfire, is one of the big four. She’s a magic wielding demon who assists Uchimura with his negotiations.

Uchimura Denosuke ís an average business man summoned to this fantasy world to use his business skills to assist the Demon Overlord as one of his big four.

The Demon Overlord is a surprisingly good boss.

Orl is the daughter of the ogre leader. She is a cheerful and kind person.

The rest of the big four are named in this volume, but they do not play any active role, so I’m not listing them here.

Story & Thoughts

Isekai are a dime a dozen, so I’m always wary going into them. This one is pretty good. I already have a copy of volume two, so I’ll probably read that and get a review up for it at some point.

The story is simple, but well executed. Ironically, the Demon Overlord is a better, more understanding, boss than the typical ones you would find on Earth. Not only that, but he’s not just going around conquering everything for the heck of it. The Overlord legitimately makes life better for everyone in his domain. Villages that join the army gain the benefit of supplies and their economy gets better.

The art is wonderful. There’s a picture of Uchimura getting cheerfully thrown into the air by a minotaur, and it’s glorious. The characters look great. I even noticed a Food Wars reference in one picture with Ulmandra.

Ulmandra is probably my favorite character so far. She is adorable and very expressive. We see many facial expressions from her throughout the book. She also functions as the fan service eye candy, because she wears hardly anything. There is even straight up a nude picture of her at one point, but it doesn’t show anything graphic since the book is rated for ages thirteen and up.

I suspect as the series continues, Uchimura and Ulmandra will probably develop a romance. It seems like there are hints about that in this volume. Ulmandra was acting like she likes him, and Uchimura was saying and doing things that could be construed as the same.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 10

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Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 10 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: 978-1-4215-2355-2
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

All-around average teenager 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 jocks and the nerds but the vampires and the werewolves?

Personal & Info

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, 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.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is your every day incredibly average underachiever human with no special skills…But the human part might be changing permanently.

Moka Akashiya is the beautiful vampire love interest.

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

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

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is shy and a bit of a stalker, but she’s also the most considerate of Tsukune’s happiness.

Ruby, the witch from volumes four and five, works for the school now.

Kyoko is Tsukune’s cousin. She’s like a big sister to him.

Story & thoughts

The first two chapters continue the events from the previous volume, and wrap up the festival. Things get chaotic as Hitomi Ishigami, the former art teacher, makes her first reappearance since the events of the protection committee. The school gets absolutely trashed.

Students are sent home, so we get a fun chapter where the girls visit Tsukune in the human world. Each of them thinks they are the only one to have the idea, so chaos ensues, again. It’s too much for Tsukune’s poor mother to handle. I love Mizore’s hiding spots in this chapter.

There’s a bonus chapter at the end. It looks like it’s from back before Mizore was part of the group, because it shows her in passing with her long hair. The plot touches on a traditional vampire law.

The bonus comics in this volume are great. They are more Q&A four panel shorts, but one of them always sticks with me. I remember the one about Mizore’s suckers as a factoid from my first read several years ago.

Volume ten completes season one of the this manga. The next one is the start of season two. It’s still called Rosario+Vampire, but it starts all over at one again like it’s its own series.

Notable Issues

There’s another translation oddity regarding Mizore. She refers to herself as a snow fairy. I’m not sure where that came from, because as far as I know, yuki-onna, the folklore creature she is supposed to be, is a spirit or demon.

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 1

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Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 1 by Fujita
Series Name: Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life
Intended Age Group: 16+
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-63236-704-4
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Narumi Momose has had it rough: Every boyfriend she’s had dumped her once they found out she was an otaku, so she’s done to great lengths to hide it. When a chance meeting at her new job with childhood friend, fellow otaku, and now coworker Hirotaka Nifuji almost gets her secret outed at work, she comes up with a plan to make sure he never speaks up. But he comes up with a counter-proposal: Why doesn’t she just date him instead?

Personal & Info

I’m an otaku, so when I heard about this series, I was sure I wanted to read it.

There are translation notes in the middle, after the first half, which would technically be volume one of the Japanese version, and again at the end of what would be part two of the Japanese version. Be sure to take a look at those if you think you might need them.

There are also little notes next to the page numbers on most pages. They aren’t significant information, but they do add some small details to the story. These are easy to overlook.

Characters

Narumi Momose is the cute incompetent type character. She’s the fujoshi of the group, but she enjoys multiple nerdy mediums, like playing various video games and reading manga.

Hirotaka Nifuji is the video game otaku. He’s tall and good at his job. It’s stated he would probably die without video games.

Hanako Koyanagi is Narumi’s work friend. She’s into the arts, as well as crossplay, anime, manga, and BL. She also easily gets drunk, and can be highly aggressive.

Taro Kabakura is Hirotaka’s friend. He is dating Hanako, and they have known each other since high school. Like Hanako, he can be a bit aggressive. He apparently keeps up with the most current anime and manga.

Naoya Nifuji is Hirotaka’s little brother. He is not an otaku, and he has a job as a barista.

Story & Thoughts

Part 1

There are four main characters, and they all work in the same office. All four of them are some type of otaku, and they are basically two couples. Narumi and Hirotaka know each other from middle school, and Hanako and Kabakura know each other from high school.

The story is so cute. It’s mostly these four people just living their lives with their day to day struggles. Hirotaka doesn’t express himself well, except in text. Narumi isn’t good at her job, and can’t even manage her own deadlines for her doujinshi for comiket. Hanako and Kabakura are always fighting. Honestly, their relationship might be a little toxic.

The interactions between Narumi and Hirotaka are adorable and funny. Hirotaka seems to have a good understanding of Narumi. He helps her out, and they often play video games together. Narumi doesn’t seem sure how to handle being with Hirotaka, yet, but she’s positive it’s more comfortable than being with someone she has to hide her hobbies from.

The bonus comics are amazing. They are mostly just the four of them hanging out together doing random shenanigans. Some of it otaku related, and some of it just regular stuff, like Hirotaka trying to learn how to wink. The silliness of it all is great.

Part 2

This section introduces Naoya. He comes across as kind and cute, but he is very much a “normie.” For some reason, he thinks otaku terms are business terms.

The general shenanigans continues. We learn a little more about Narumi and Hirotaka’s childhoods. The series seems to like flashbacks for that, which are usually cute and heartwarming.

I don’t have much else to say about this part. It keeps the same consistency as the first half and maintains the same feel and type of comedy. If anything, it’s good that it holds up.

Overall

I love the characters. They’re all amusing and have their own separate otaku hobbies, but they come together to have fun easily. Their personalities and interests overlap enough to make them a good group of friends, and while some don’t like to participate in the hobbies of others, they are supportive and enjoy spectating.

As an otaku myself, I find the story relatable and heartwarming. I think I relate to Narumi the most, but I think there’s a little from everyone to relate to.

There are some character bios scattered throughout the book that cover some general information about everyone, as well as a section that talks about their Sunday morning habits. I love all the extra pictures, colored sections, and comics.The art in general is just really nice.

This is a series I definitely intend to finish. It only has six volumes in the English edition(covering eleven Japanese volumes), so it shouldn’t be a huge commitment.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 9

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Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 9 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: 978-1-4215-2354-5
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

All-around average teenager 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 jocks and the nerds but the vampires and the werewolves?

Personal & Info

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, 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.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is your every day incredibly average underachiever human with no special skills…But the human part might be changing permanently.

Moka Akashiya is the beautiful vampire love interest.

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

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

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is shy and a bit of a stalker, but she’s also the most considerate of Tsukune’s happiness.

Ruby, the witch from volumes four and five, works for the school now.

Tsukune’s older close cousin, Kyoko, visits the school.

Mizore’s mother, Tsurara, and Kurumu’s mother also visit the school. I don’t think Kurumu’s mother’s name was stated.

Story & thoughts

This volume picks up where eight left off with the climax of the monstrel problem and Hokuto. Two of the four chapters wrap up that crisis. We also get a brief look at Hokuto’s past to see what his life was like before the academy, and what his time at school was like.

Once that’s over, it’s time for the school festival to begin. Alumni and parents visit the school, and various shenanigans ensue. We get to see some of the girls’ mothers, and both of Yukari’s parents in maybe two panels. Mizore’s mother and Kurumu’s mother hog most of the event.

We also get to meet Tsukune’s cousin, Kyoko. She should be nowhere near the school, but I think we’ve all learned by now how incompetent they seem to be at enforcing their own rules and regulations. Tsukune does his best to try to convince her the school is completely normal.

The volume leaves off on a small cliff hanger. I think the series does this on purpose. Most events that encompass more than one chapter get divided into two volumes. It’s a good way to keep people buying the books, but frustrating for people who can’t get them right away.

I love how this volume shows yet again how Mizore is considerate of Tsukune. Yes, she asks him for a favor that makes him uncomfortable, but she also releases him from an obligation because she knows it’s not what he wants. She doesn’t pressure him to do anything he doesn’t want to. None of the other girls seem that considerate.

The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! Vol. 1

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The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon! Vol. 1 by Shiroichi Amaui, Konekoneko, Tamagonokimi
Series Name: The Hero Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) “Mediocre” Demon!
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Demons, Fantasy, Magic, Vampires, Wolves
Intended Age Group: 16+
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64651-334-5
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

Now that he has reached 20 years of age, self-proclaimed mediocre demon Chrono Alkon is eager to begin his mandatory year of schooling in the Demon King’s castle. It’s his dream to spend the year having fun and making friends, but when he gets a shocking result in his class designation test, that dream is put in jeopardy. To make things even more difficult, Chrono is from a small remote village and has little sense of what is considered “normal” at school. As the resident country bumpkin, he finds himself facing maddening misunderstandings and unexpected adventures. Will this “mediocre” demon ever have the peaceful school life he’s always wanted, or will he be derailed by the demons who understand him better than he understands himself?

Personal & Info

I found this at my local book store on a day when I wasn’t sure if I wanted to buy anything.

It does have slavery aspects in it, so if you don’t like that kind of thing, it might not be for you. The way the story presents it is not abusive or anything, though. It’s actually accidental and contributes to the main story. Kind of like how How Not to Summon A Demon Lord starts off with accidental slavery.

Characters

Chrono Alkon is the main character. Apparently he is a Jinn, but I’m not sure which lore, if any, this series uses for that.

Grude Vogney is the class bully, but he seems easily disarmed by Chrono’s antics. I get some Bakugo vibes from him.

Sofia Grave is a vampire princess. I have no idea what kind of lore they are using for this. She has wings, and nobody mentions anything about any sunlight issues.

Liza Malta Philanikos is the current Demon King. She’s short and busty.

Dante is one of the faculty members of the school. He seems to be the primary instructor, and some sort of canine in the furry category.

Yukino Salmard is a lycanthrope. She does not appear to be one in the traditional sense, but more of the person with animal ears way. She’s a veteran in the Special Exploration Unit.

Story & Thoughts

I’m wary of trying isekai and fantasy manga these days because they are so popular and there are so many. Because of that, I don’t want to commit to any unless I try reading the first volume. I am so glad I tried this one. It’s fantasy, starring demons, with an over powered main character.

Generally, I tend not to like over powered main character tropes, but this one does it right. Chrono is powerful, without being intentionally cool or edgy. He doesn’t even think he is powerful, hence the, “self proclaimed mediocre,” part of the title. It makes the story so much more enjoyable, and adds wonderful comedy.

The characters are charming and amusing. I think the Demon King seems a little weak for her title, but that might just be a reflection of how strong Chrono actually is. Even the bully character, Grude, is amusing. His interactions and reactions with Chrono are hilarious.

By the end of the volume, I think I’m getting some possible harem vibes, but I don’t know enough about the series to be sure. What I do know is the three girls in his life all seem very fond of him. I would not be surprised if it goes in that direction.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 8

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Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 8 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: 978-1-4215-1910-4
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

All-around average teenager 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 jocks and the nerds but the vampires and the werewolves?

Personal & Info

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, 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.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is your every day incredibly average underachiever human with no special skills…But the human part might be changing permanently.

Moka Akashiya is a beautiful vampire love interest.

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

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

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is shy and a bit of a stalker.

Ruby, the witch from volumes four and five, works for the school now.

Story & Thoughts

The school festival is fast approaching. Tsukune is obligated to assist the student council during one of the newspaper club’s busiest times. People suspect there is a mole in the festival committee, and it’s up to Tsukune to ferret them out.

There’s a lot of action and intrigue in this volume. We’re reaching the climax of the events with the monstrels, and things are getting intense. The monstrel leader reveals their identity, and explains their grand scheme.

Moka has a huge moment at the end. The events will continue in the next volume. For now, we have to wonder what this will do to Moka, and if our group will make it through everything alive.

I am getting a little tired of the Moka getting kidnapped scenarios. At this point, they happen way too often. Stop being so easy to kidnap, Moka.

I feel like this volume did well with the villain faces. There are some pretty dang good villain facial expressions.

Also, I’m surprised the headmaster is so squishy. Shouldn’t they have someone super powerful and unbeatable running the school?