Tag: Romance

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 8

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The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 8 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: 978-1-64609-134-8
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Sly tactician Lakan’s attempts at provocation lead to his own downfall when Maomao challenges him to elephant chess, only to outplay him in a game of wits! In a stupor from drinking “poison” as punishment for his loss, Lakan dreams of a long-lost past, his affair with a beautiful courtesan, and meeting her daughter for the very first time. Upon waking, he finds himself at Verdigris, where he is pressed to buy the freedom of a girl of his choosing and take her home as his wife! But will any of the flowers there catch his eye when his heart is in love with a memory?

Personal & Info

I keep a close eye on the release dates for this series. This volume was originally planned to release in May. Unfortunately, it was delayed until July, so it’s been a full six months since the last book. Things have been rather hectic for me lately, so I didn’t have time to re-read the previous volumes. Hopefully I remember enough to keep up with the story.

Characters

Maomao, my favorite character in the series, continues to be eccentric in all the best ways. We learn more about her origins in this volume.

Lakan is probably the most unlikeable character in the series. Despite previous hinting, he’s not as terrible as implied, but he’s still pretty bad.

Jinshi, always intrigued by Maomao, realizes he is a cat person.

Other characters also appear, but these three consume most of the screen time.

Story & Thoughts

The book starts off by diving into Lakan’s backstory. There is a preview of this at the end of volume seven, so I was expecting it. None of it justifies anything he does, but it gives some insight into understanding why he does things. It’s weird to see him more humanized after the series painted him to be an insensitive jerk of a tactician. I get the feeling the story is trying to emphasize that he’s not really a bad person, just different, and often misunderstood.

Out of the six chapters, four of them focus on backstory. Maomao and Lakan are the main focus of the volume, and their connection finally gets an in depth explanation. We even get to see Maomao’s mother. Most of the information has been hinted at throughout the story, so these chapters just solidify everything. The part that got me was the reveal of who Luomen, Maomao’s Pa, really is. That was something I never saw coming.

I’d been wondering about Maomao’s nightmare from an earlier volume. That’s one of the things that gets an explanation in this book, so I’m pretty happy about that. Maomao has certainly had an interesting childhood.

The last two chapters are more fun. There aren’t any blatant mysteries. It’s just life getting back to normal after the Garden Banquet.

Maomao and Jinshi seem to have what could be a moment in this volume. It lasts for maybe a second. They seem to have potential romantic moments scattered throughout the series, but they never last long, and quickly devolve into comedy. I can’t help wondering if one of these times one of those moments will be different.

I did notice an issue that confounded my brain. There was a sentence in the book where, I’m not sure if it’s a translation error or editing problem, but the text was confusing. The wording was strange enough that I didn’t exactly understand the intended meaning of what it was trying to say. I muddled through, but I had to re-read the sentence multiple times and guess at the intention.

Wait Until Midnight

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Wait Until Midnight by Amanda Quick
Genres: Historical, Mystery, Romance
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Jove/Berkly/Penguin Group (USA)
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 0-515-13862-2
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

Gentle Reader,

It could have been a scene from one of my novels. As a rule, respectable ladies do not accept calls from Mysterious Gentlemen on business of the most grave importance – but I confess that I was possessed of a lively curiosity. The past three years had been so determinedly dull, I hoped Mr. Adam Hardesty would offer a tiny respite from it. Indeed, upon first glance, Mr. Hardesty had such a formidable, thrilling presence, he quickly became the model for the villain in the sensation novel I was currently writing.

Imagine my shock and distress then, when Mr. Hardesty accused me of being party to a plot of murder, blackmail, and general villainy! I knew nothing of such occurrences, and proclaimed my innocence. Unfortunately, Mr. Hardesty left unconvinced, and I had an uneasy feeling over what his search would uncover. You see, Gentle Reader, though I live a most uneventful life now, my past contained a Great Scandal that would be ruinous if resurrected. To protect my secrets from Mr. Hardesty’s investigation, I concluded that I would need to conduct an inquiry of my own, and if that meant sharing my findings with Mr. Hardesty, so be it. And my course of action had nothing whatsoever to do with the illicit, passionate feelings that he aroused in me – feelings that propriety would definitely frown upon…

Yours most sincerely,
Caroline Fordyce

Personal & Info

While I only gave this three stars, it’s a good three stars. I consider books from this author to be comfort reads.

This stand alone book has psychical themes, but there are no real psychics in it. It simply takes place during a time when seances and psychic demonstrations were popular. They are all parlor tricks, so if you’re not into paranormal, it should still be fine for you to read this book.

The character list for this book is very long. I did my best to list all of the ones I feel are important, and the ones I recall making any kind of appearance that might be significant. There are more named characters than the ones I listed here. If I forgot to put them down, they likely were not important. Whether or not the murderer’s name is on the list, I will not say.

Characters

Caroline Fordyce is the leading lady. She’s a sensation novelist whose stories are published weekly in the Flying Intelligencer.

Adam Hardesty is the leading man. He comes from a poor background, which gives him a unique set of skills. Julia, Jessica, and Nathan are his adopted siblings.

Wilson Grendon is a wealthy, elderly widower. He took in Adam and his siblings and passes them off as his own distant relatives.

Emma is Caroline’s aunt and only living blood relative. She dresses plainly and presents a tall and severe appearance, with a matching personality.

Milly is Caroline’s aunt, but not a blood relative. She is short and wears brightly colored clothing, which matches her optimistic and cheerful personality.

Julia is Adam’s adoptive sister. She is married to Robert, the Earl of Sourthwood, with two children.

Robert is the Earl of Southwood. He is married to Julia, and they have two children. Robert is essentially a quiet and thoughtful man.

Mrs. Plummer is Caroline’s housekeeper.

Morton is Adam’s butler.

Elizebeth Delmont is the initial murder victim. She is spiritualist who hosts seances and spends time at the Society for Psychical Investigations.

Julian Elsworth is a fashionable practitioner of psychical powers. People consider him to be very attractive. He conducts his business in private homes in only the most exclusive circles.

Durward Reed is the President of the Society for Psychical Investigations and publisher of the newspaper New Dawn. He owns the mansion, Wintersett House, that the society uses as its headquarters.

Harold Filby is Adam’s fashionable and bespectacled man of business. He runs all kinds of errands and gathers information.

Ned is Adam’s coachmen. He’s worked for Adam for a long time.

Irene Toller is another spiritualist. She is Elizebeth Delmont’s rival in business.

Bess Whaley is Irene’s housekeeper and assistant.

Mr. Spraggett is Caroline’s publisher, described as a nervous, wiry, and balding man.

Gilbert Otford is a correspondent for the Flying Intelligencer. He wrote an article about Caroline claiming she has psychical powers.

Story & Thoughts

This book took way longer than I intended to read. No fault to the quality, I’ve just had a lot going on. As with most books by this author, this is a murder mystery. The murder is introduced at the beginning and the whole book is a romance based around the investigation.

It’s actually pretty interesting, because the majority of books I read by this author are about psychics. Psychics with actual talents, I mean. This book is only about frauds, psychics who use tricks and mechanisms to make people think they have powers. It’s an interesting flip from the usual content.

The book also follows the author’s standard storytelling formula. There’s both a murder and a backstory issue. Both get resolved by the end of the book. Some people don’t like writers who have a consistent formula for their stories. If that’s you, then consider this your warning so you know this author, and all her other pseudonyms, uses a consistent formula. I think that’s one of the things that makes them feel like comfort reads, but I understand not everyone relates to that.

The whole of the story is pretty straight forward, so I don’t have much to say about it. I do think it’s important to note that I had no idea who the villain of the story was until the story pointed them out. While it’s not always a bad thing to know who the villain is early, it’s nice to be surprised at the end. It really had me going, thinking I knew who the culprit was, then threw a curveball. Although, the more I think about it, the more I realize there were clues that pointed to them that I didn’t connect until after. So, there is the possibility to figure things out earlier than I did.

I think the most amusing thing in the story is how fixated Adam gets on the fact Caroline finds him inspirational for the villain of her novel. He doesn’t read her novel, but he can’t help thinking of the villain as literally himself whenever someone talks about it. It offends him to no end, and he can’t help interjecting possible hopes for the character or disgust for any unjust actions. The whole situation had me giggling whenever it came up, and during the first half of the book, it’s quite frequent.

A Condition Called Love, Vol. 1

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A Condition Called Love, Vol. 1 by Megumi Morino
Series Name: A Condition Called Love
Genres: Romance, Slice of Life
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: ebook
ISBN: 9781646593415
Rating: 5/5
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Description

Hotaru Hinase is a normal girl who doesn’t care much for the idea of love. It’s just not for her, or at least that’s what she thinks. Change is set in motion when a simple act of kindness wins the heart of school heartthrob Hananoi. A trial run at dating might be just what Hotaru needs to find out what love means to her.

Personal & Info

My life has been high stress as of late, so I’ve been unable to get much reading done. I’m reviewing this digital manga as my book for the week, because one manga is all I can manage right now.

I got this for free from a BookWalker sale, but unlike other manga I’ve gotten this way, this one is actually available in print.

Characters

Hotaru Hinase is the leading lady. She’s a first year student in high school, and she is convinced love is not for her.

Hananoi is the leading man. He’s a good looking guy, but girls seem to always be disappointed when they get to know him, because they have different ideas of what he should be like based on his looks.

Kyo is Hotaru’s best friend.

Hibiki Keigo is Kyo’s boyfriend. He is the one who asked her out.

Kagari, I think, is Hotaru’s older sister.

Tomo is Hotaru’s little sister. She figure skates.

Story & Thoughts

I chose this at random on a day when I absolutely did not feel like reading anything. It was a great choice, though, because instead of trudging though it, I actually enjoyed the story immensely. This series is definitely going on my wish list of things to get for my physical shelf.

The art is beautiful. It has a unique charm that I can’t find the words to describe. I love the facial expressions. Hotaru’s thick eyebrows are fantastic, too. I don’t see many characters drawn that way.

The characters are interesting. Hananoi is a bit intense in an insane way. He’s kind and sweet and considerate, but he goes over the top on everything to the point of changing himself or to the detriment of his health. He just doesn’t know where to draw the line on doing anything for the one he loves.

Hotaru is a good compliment to his personality, because she acts as a sort of ground. She insists he does not change himself for her sake, and she doesn’t want him doing anything for her that is bad for his health or well-being. It seems like Hananoi isn’t used to people liking him for who he is or caring about his health. I think they are good for each other. They are each what the other seems to need.

As for the story itself. It’s so sweet and wholesome. It follows Hotaru as the main character. She doesn’t think love is for her and she is okay with that, but she sees what it’s like for other people who have someone, and she is open to finding out if she is capable of that connection. As the story progresses, she starts to learn what love means to her. Her initial thoughts about it were more than likely because she didn’t fully understand it. Hananoi likely had a point when he said she simply lacked experience.

This is a great manga. I smiled and laughed while reading it. It has sweet moments that make me go, “aww”. The characters are engaging and interesting. I love everything about it. Hananoi still seems to have some mystery about him, so I still see things for the story to build on as the story progresses. This is a series I definitely plan to read more of at some point.

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 3

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The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 3 by ITKZ
Series Name: The Titan’s Bride
Genres: BL, Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: Mature
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-68579-331-9
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Koichi has made the painful decision to return to his world. With their agreement satisfied and his decision made, Caius begins the magical process of sending him back. However, as the process begins, Kouichi watches as Caius’ physical form begins to fade. Unable to help him or ask why, the couple is dragged apart. What is wrong with Caius, and who, if anyone, will be able to help Kouichi in his hour of need?!

Personal & Info

It’s essentially a smutty romance, and not the censored kind, either. There are no black bars, blurring, or bright lights to block anything out. Do not read this manga if you don’t think you would like the smut sections, because there are a significant amount of them. You must be prepared for that going into it.

Characters

Kouichi Mizuki is a basketball star and very popular with the ladies. He is the one who gets summoned to another world.

Caius Lao Visteil is the prince of Tildant, the kingdom of titans. He summons Kouichi to his world because he must marry someone not of his own world.

Dr. Malthu is the palace doctor.

Baro Barrows is a canine beastman from Foval. He now works for Dr. Malthu as an assistant, and his nickname for Kouichi is Tiny.

Reiquerd Carlsine, also known as Reil, is an elf who chooses to study sex.

Dyne is Reil’s assistant. He appears to be a Titan, and does not show his face.

Story & Thoughts

This volume focuses significantly more on story than smut. It doesn’t bother me, but people reading it primarily for the smut might be a little disappointed. The first chunk of the book obviously relates to Kouichi’s decision, and finalizing whichever choice he makes.

After Kouichi makes his final decision, he and Caius try to settle into life together as a royal couple. Caius must resume his princely duties, and his busy schedule puts a strain on their relationship. On top of that, Kouichi feels inept at pleasing Caius. He lacks the capabilities necessary to keep up with Caius’ sexual drive and satisfy him. The second half of the book focuses on them tackling this issue.

The story finally introduces an elf character, and tells us more about elf culture. Reil is rather amusing. He comes off as sex obsessed and curious. I’m not sure I trust him, though. The few panels shown after they leave the Gate to the Spirit World make me suspicious. I have a feeling Caius and Kouichi are about to be angry after Reil’s last action. He likely doesn’t know what kind of offense he is doing, but it’s likely to be taken seriously by Caius and Kouichi.

I love that Baro basically becomes Kouichi’s best friend. They study and play basketball together. I think it’s amazing Baro is crushing on Kouichi, too, but he doesn’t want to break up the relationship with Caius. Baro’s had a lot of character growth in a short time. I hope he sticks around as a main character. Kouichi seems to like him as a friend, so an ongoing best buds relationship for them would be great.

The sections that show what is happening back on Earth make me sad. It’s unfortunate the universe has to heal itself in this particular way. The bonus comic relevant to these parts with the button is really sweet, though.

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 2

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The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 2 by ITKZ
Series Name: The Titan’s Bride
Genres: BL, Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: Mature
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-68579-331-9
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Kouichi and Caius have been caught up in a beastman’s trap! While traveling through Foval looking for the illusive Raisa fruit that will cure Kouichi of his raging illness, Caius certainly doesn’t expect an ambush. Some shady beastmen think they’ll be an easy heist, but unfortunately for them, stealing Kouichi away was the worst choice these thieves could ever make. As a captured Kouichi still suffers through the unbearable heats brought on by the Karina fruit, he’s left to wonder – will he and Caius ever reunite and return home?!

Personal & Info

It’s essentially a smutty romance, and not the censored kind, either. There are no black bars, blurring, or bright lights to block anything out. Do not read this manga if you don’t think you would like the smut sections, because there are a significant amount of them. You must be prepared for that going into it.

This volume has some more interesting images for the smut. It uses some transparent style images where you can see through Caius to get a visual of what’s going on with Kouichi. And what I mean by that is you can see how far he is stretching and see inside.

Characters

Kouichi Mizuki is a basketball star and very popular with the ladies. He is the one who gets summoned to another world.

Caius Lao Visteil is the prince of Tildant, the kingdom of titans. He summons Kouichi to his world because he must marry someone not of his own world.

Dr. Malthu is the palace doctor.

Baro Barrows is a canine beastman from the later parts of volume one. He plays a bigger role in this one. His nickname for Kouichi is Tiny.

Story & Thoughts

This volume holds up well after the first one. It continues where the cliff hanger leaves off, and finishes the events in Foval. There is some sketchy consent again in the early parts, so use your own digression to judge if that bothers you. It seems like it’s a horrendous act at first, but the story makes it clear a little later that it was a cultural misunderstanding.

I love that this one goes more deeply into the lore of the world. Kouichi is curious to learn more about the community of Tildant and how the world of Eustil works. The system for prosperity is explained in a little more depth, so some things Kouichi heard Caius say in the first book make a little more sense. There also appear to be another type of people not yet named that are shown a little in this volume. They look like angel or bird people. Maybe we’ll learn more about them later.

Caius and Kouichi are finding their stride, and they seem good together. They’re more comfortable around each other, and they both care significantly about the other’s well-being. That’s a positive, but there’s also the negative that Kouichi is starting to miss his friends and worry about his family.

We see more glimpses of Kouichi’s backstory connecting the relevance of his worries. The first volume has a tiny flashback without much context. We get all the context for it this time. It becomes more relevant to the story as Kouichi explains to Caius what his life is like back home, and because it will affect his decision. He makes a choice, but nothing is carried out, yet, so I doubt it’s the final one.

I’m enjoying everything about this series. The lore is great, the romance is sweet, the smut is, well, smutty. I like the world and the characters. It’s all engaging enough to keep me interested. I’d generally describe the series as cute, funny, and erotic.

The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 1

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The Titan’s Bride, Vol. 1 by ITKZ
Series Name: The Titan’s Bride
Genres: BL, Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: Mature
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-63858-810-8
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Senior Kouichi Mizuki is about to take his final exams and graduate from high school, when he suddenly finds himself in a world of titans. Not only is he no longer anywhere near home, but one of these giants, Prince Caius, has claimed Kouichi as his bride! Thanks to a disturbing, world-ending prophecy, the prince’s upcoming nuptials cannot be with anyone of his world. Since Caius has no plans to send Kouichi back to earth, he is wholeheartedly set on taking Kouichi as his “wife”!

Personal & Info

This was on my list of things to read that I never thought would get localized. I’m glad it did, though, because now I can read it without having to import it or wait until I learn Japanese.

I knew going into this that it was explicit, and it very much is. It’s essentially a smutty romance, and not the censored kind, either. There are no black bars, blurring, or bright lights to block anything out. However, I had no idea what to expect from the story.

I can never tell if an explicit story is going to be good until I read it. A large number of them tend to focus too much on the smut, and not enough on the story quality. For me to enjoy explicit stories, I need to like the characters and engage with the story. This one is definitely worth the read, in my opinion.

Do not read this manga if you don’t think you would like the smut sections, because there are a significant amount of them. You must be prepared for that going into it.

Characters

Kouichi Mizuki is a basketball star and very popular with the ladies. He is the one who gets summoned to another world.

Caius Lao Visteil is the prince of Tildant, the kingdom of titans. He summons Kouichi to his world because he must marry someone not of his own world.

Medina Nall Rosas is Caius’ former fiancée, and one of his closest friends.

Dr. Malthu is the palace doctor.

Story & Thoughts

The setting is interesting. It’s not a world where titans are dominant instead of people. It’s a fantasy world, by the name Eustil, with multiple kingdoms and races. The main three types of people mentioned are titans in Tildant, elves, whose kingdom is not named in this volume, and beast men in Foval. The story implies humans, also known as halflings, were around at one point, but are no longer common, if they are around at all.

It has sketchy consent in the beginning, so use your own judgement regarding that. But, almost immediately, it’s clear the romance is sweet. Caius is caring and affectionate, and Kouichi wants Caius to be happy, even if it means being with someone else. The story is full of sappy stuff like that, and the characters are genuinely likable. It makes a good counterbalance to the smut.

If there’s something to complain about, I think it would be the pacing. It seems like both a lot and nothing are happening at the same time. They set a time limit of a month, and that month just seems to fly by. It might’ve been cool to learn more about the culture of the titans in that month. Some is mentioned, but not a whole lot. More of Kouichi adjusting to the culture and standard size difference would also be nice.

Maybe Kouichi trying to make friends, too. It seems like he doesn’t really know anyone there and doesn’t make an effort to. I don’t blame him for wanting to go with Caius when he has to travel. He would have no one to talk to, and what would he even do? Of course, most of these things are likely to get expanded on as the story progresses in other volumes.

There are little pictures between the chapters as some added details and funny bits. Between those and the sweet and adorable story, I find myself smiling while reading this. Obviously the smut doesn’t hurt, either. I will definitely be reading more of this series. Beware the cliffhanger at the end of the volume.

Absolute Boyfriend, Vol. 2

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Absolute Boyfriend, Vol. 2 by Yuu Watase
Series Name: Absolute Boyfriend
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-fi
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shojo Beat
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-0568-8
Rating: 5/5
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Description from the Book

Rejected way too many times by good-looking (and unattainable) guys, shy Riiko Izawa goes online and signs up for a free trial of a mysterious Nightly Lover “figure.” The very next day, a cute naked guy is delivered to her door, and he wants to be her boyfriend!

Riiko needs money after giving all she had to help pay for Night, so she finds a job at the same place Soshi works. Not wanting Night to worry, she doesn’t tell him about her new job, but Night finds out anyway. What’s even more worrying to Night is how Riiko is beginning to feel for Soshi…

Personal & Info

I’m rereading this series after several years. The reviews take into account how I remember feeling my first time through, and how I feel reading it again after so long.

Characters

Riiko Izawa is the main character. She is a bit of a slob, and considered flat chested. Her parents are working abroad, so she currently lives alone.

Soshi Asamoto is Riiko’s next door neighbor and childhood friend. They have known each other since they were little kids.

Gaku Namikiri is an eccentric business salesman who seems to neglect sharing the most important information until after it’s too late.

Night Tenjo is an artificially intelligent prototype boyfriend “figure.” He is supposed to be the perfect boyfriend in every way, based on the features the customer chooses.

Mika Ito is Riiko’s friend from school. This volume shows off her nasty side.

Satori Miyabe is a girl at Riiko’s school. She seems to keep to herself and does not like Mika.

Story & Thoughts

The first half of this volume focuses on how nasty Mika is. There’s a lot of bullying, and Night has a fan club that is absolutely bonkers. It’s crazy how much all these girls get away with.

The volume as a whole focuses on the blooming romance of the love triangle. Riiko and Soshi are getting feelings for each other, and neither of them seem to know how to handle it. Add that on top of the girl drama and Night’s undying affection for Riiko, and the story is pretty dang captivating.

I don’t remember which content is in which book until I read it, because my memory kind of jumbles everything together. When I figured out where this volume was going I was filled with dread. The first time I read it, I was distraught. This volume has a heart wrenching cliff hanger, because Riiko is on a timer to make a decision before it’s too late, and the final panels just throw that right in your face.

It doesn’t get me as much as it did the first time, but the drama still increases my heart rate from the dread and anticipation. The tension between Riiko and Soshi. The accident with Night that could have happened at any time, but happened now, when the romantic stress and drama is high. Like the first volume, I think this one holds up well. I’m giving it the same rating I did the first time.

Maga-Tsuki, Vol. 1

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Maga-Tsuki, Vol. 1 by Hoshino Taguchi
Series Name: Maga-Tsuki
Genres: Comedy, Ecchi, Harem, Romance, Supernatural
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: ebook 
ISBN: 9781682332221
Rating: 3/5
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Description

Yasuke is your average fifteen year old peeping tom. He wants nothing more than to confess his feelings to his childhood friend and crush, Akari. Unfortunately, he might never get the chance after he accidentally breaks a mirror at his family shrine, releasing a sealed calamity goddess, causing a curse to befall him. Now, he must keep the goddess so close that it’s awkward or die, with the only way to revive him being a kiss from the goddess herself. If he can’t make the goddess, Orihime, happy, he could be stuck cursed forever.

Personal & Info

This is a digital manga I got for free from a BookWalker sale. Unlike other digital manga I’ve gotten this way, this one is available as a physical book. The shop links here lead to the physical editions, but you can find the digital version on most of the same sites, anyway. The BookWalker link is included, because that’s where I got it.

Characters

Yasuke Arahabaki is the main character. He has a crush on his childhood friend and wants to confess his feelings, but he doesn’t know how to go about doing so. The timing never seems right.

Akari Inamori is Yasuke’s childhood friend and crush.

Miyano Arahabaki is Yasuke’s sister. She’s a Shinto priestess.

Seoritsuhime, nickname Orihime, is a goddess of calamity who was sealed and enshrined inside a mirror at Yasuke’s home.

Danzo Matsubara and Eiichi Nitta are Yasuke’s friends at school. They seem perverted and girl crazy. Matsubara more so than Nitta, he’s so girl crazy he gets violent from jealously.

Hinata Amaterasu claims to be Orihime’s sister. Whether it’s genetic or honorary, I have no idea. She is apparently in charge of running the realm of the gods despite her immature behavior.

Kunihiko Inamori is Akari’s father. He is the owner of their family sushi restaurant.

Story & Thoughts

Upon starting this, I was under the implication the publisher description implies a proximity thing. It has nothing to do with proximity. The fact is, Yasuke and Orihime must be touching in some way at all times. If they are not touching, Yasuke will drop dead, and Orihime will have to revive him with a kiss. Obviously, this leads to some awkward public and private situations.

Yasuke’s life gets difficult because of this. Everyone he knows has a problem with how physically close the two of them are, all the time. They can’t so much as use the bathroom or change clothes without holding hands. Some people find it so problematic, they try to convince them to separate.

It makes things with Akari especially stressful, because how can he confess his feelings to her when he’s always holding hands with another girl and refusing to leave her side? Most of the drama between Yasuke and Akari could be avoided if she were let in on the goddess thing from the start. Instead, she’s left confused and frustrated.

The series is apparently harem genre, but if it is, that must come in more later. This volume doesn’t really have anything in it to make it seem like a harem. It comes off as more of a love triangle, but it can be hard to tell things like that from just one volume.

Overall, I like this book. It’s not amazing, but it’s a cute and funny romantic comedy. I wouldn’t mind reading more of the series. The plot twist toward the end has me curious to see how things will play out. I also can’t help but wonder if that twist will happen again with other people. It would make sense if that’s how the harem thing gets incorporated.

There are some bonus comics in the back, as well as some translation information, and a short behind the scenes comic with the creator. Taguchi’s mascot is a hamster and that’s adorable.

I think I’ll be adding this series to my to-read list, but it won’t be a priority. It will likely be a long while before any more reviews for it get added.

Rosario+Vampre: Season II, Vol. 14

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Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 14 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: 978-1-4215-7967-2
Rating: 4/5
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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

As with many previous volumes, is book advertises a free mini-poster inside. It’s one of the two sided types that does not fold out. One side is a cute group image of most of the important characters. The back side is the same picture of Moka as the back cover of the volume. Not as single “mini-poster” in the entire series is perforated, so I have no idea why they are even advertised as posters. None of them are worth tearing out if you don’t want to damage the book. I can’t imagine any of them would come out with a clean tear.

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.

Fangfang Huang is a freshman, and the son of the leader of a Chinese mafia.

Ruby Tojo is a witch who works for the school.

San is a siren graduate from Yokai Academy who’s been living in the human world ever since she left school.

Tohofuhai is one of the Three Dark Lords. He looks like an old man most of the time, and his specialties are seals and magic.

Tenmei Mikogami is one of the Three Dark Lords. I had to laugh at the translation choice for his title. Instead of referring to him as a strategist or some other word you would expect, they chose, “maneuverer.”

Story & Thoughts

This is the final volume for the series, and it wastes no time getting started. Fairy Tale headquarters crashes into the town. Obviously the gang survives the crash, because they’re the main characters. Alucard is awake and it’s time to take him down for good. No idea why they thought human weaponry would be a good idea. Monsters generally defy logic, so that tactic seems like a waste of lives.

Despite the length, there are only two chapters in this book. The first one, containing the final battle takes up most of it. It’s an epic showdown, and everyone gets to participate. We even get to see some characters from the school and people met earlier in the series, like San.

There are some pretty awesome tropes, like two old guys getting epic for a final showdown. Tsukune and Moka get featured, too, this time with a new look for the final battle.

The second chapter is the epilogue. The gang goes back to school, and it’s ten months after the events of the battle. The silliness returns in this chapter as everyone is transitioning back to normal life. Tsukune and Moka are experiencing some changes, and everyone is fighting over Tsukune again. Life is good, but doom lurks in the future.

It’s a satisfying end, but I’d definitely like to see how the relationships play out. Does Tsukune keep his harem and have babies with everybody (because it’s pretty clear most, if not all of them want kids), or does he make Moka his one and only? They’re too young to make a final decision, but a couple possible solutions are mentioned.

I’ve come around on liking Aqua after seeing how much she genuinely cares for Moka. She’s a little psycho, but she’s not all bad. Her backstory is unfortunate, though.

The bonus comics are an extension of the epilogue, and tell what happens with some of the characters.

Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 13

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Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 13 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: 978-1-4215-6949-9
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

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 volume advertises a free mini-poster. As with volume twelve, and several others, this one is a fold out. It features a colored sketch style picture of Inner Moka and Aqua.

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.

Fangfang Huang is a freshman, and the son of the leader of a Chinese mafia.

Ruby Tojo is a witch who works for the school.

Kahlua is Moka’s older sister, and Gyokuro’s eldest daughter.

Gyokuro is the leader of Fairy Tale.

Koko is Moka’s youngest sister, and Gyokuro’s youngest daughter.

Aqua is Moka’s eldest sister. She has an obsession with Moka.

Story & Thoughts

This book picks up where twelve leaves off. Tsukune personally challenges Gyokuro in hopes of beating her before he completely becomes a ghoul. Between Tsukune and Moka fighting her, this battle takes the majority of the volume. However, before it’s entirely over, we learn a little more about the rosario and what Gyokuro’s studies reveal as its true intention.

Koko’s battle with Kahlua also wraps up in this volume. I would have liked to see her do the entire battle by herself, but unfortunately she needs assistance. It makes sense, though, because a huge aspect of the story is constantly team work. I just think Koko deserves a massive self-earned win.

Vampires have strange abilities in this series. Koko and Moka don’t seem to have any odd abilities, but that might just be because they haven’t grown into them yet. Their family members, however, have freakish abilities that I don’t think fits into any vampire lore.

I love that Kurumu and Mizore are team fighters. They’ve had a long journey through the series to become good friends. But, I don’t think their big attack for this volume makes any sense. How do they get holy water, and why does it need to be holy water? I think it was pretty clear regular water would be enough for their needs. Season one made that very clear.

The ending of this volume hits hard. It’s a blatant, “to be continued,” in the middle of trauma, tears, screaming, and impending disaster. You might want to make sure you already have the fourteenth volume at the time you read this.

The bonus comics at the end mostly focus on a few Fairy Tale members with some question and answer silliness.