Tag: Viz

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 7

fantasticfictionsblogLeave a comment

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 7 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
Series Name: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Genres: Adventure, Elves, Fantasy, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Sunday
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-3620-1
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Cruncyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?

After all the dangers the examinees have faced, passing the first-class mage exam will come down to a simple interview with Serie, whose intuition will determine success or failure. Then, Frieren, Fern, and Stark set out again on the road to Aureole, the land where souls rest. The journey provides new challenges – though the most challenging thing Stark and Fern may have to face is a date with each other!

Personal & Info

I bought this at the same time as volume six, and read them one after the other after my reread of the series. At this point, there are ten volumes available, so I’m still a little behind. When I eventually get caught up, I plan to try to keep up better with the current releases.

Characters

Frieren is an elf mage famous for defeating the demon king with her companions around 80 years ago. She’s a bit of a slob and rather lazy. Her hobby is collecting any and all types of magic spells, no matter how useless they may seem. Her perspective on magic is that the pursuit of the art itself is the greatest joy.

Fern is Frieren’s mage companion and apprentice. She seems to take a motherly role in caring for both Frieren and Stark.

Stark is Eisen’s apprentice. He has great skill as a warrior, but tends to be easy to scare.

Story & Thoughts

This one felt long. It’s not, but the pacing makes it feel like both a lot and nothing are happening in a way that makes the volume feel lengthy. I think the beginning and end sections were the best parts.

The first part of the volume covers the third part of the exam, picking up where the previous book leaves off with Fern. The rest of the examinees are then evaluated. If you read volume six, you know that this part of the test is simply Serie choosing to pass or fail them based on reactions or questions. I found this part amusing, because Serie’s questions and judgements about who passes and fails says a lot about her personality. It’s an interesting way to learn more about her character.

After the exam, there are the goodbyes to all the friends everyone made during the test. Some are seen again on the road, but things mostly get back to the travel montages and various flashbacks of things from Frieren’s past.

The part that excites me, and probably other readers with ships, is the latter end of the book. Stark and Fern actually go on their first date. It’s cute, but don’t get your hopes up too high. No drastic changes or improvements to their relationship occur during or because of the date.

There isn’t much action now that the exam is over, but this is still a good volume. I found myself smiling at multiple parts throughout the story. Despite the series starting off on a depressing note, I think it’s very heartwarming. It’s a comfortable and cozy feeling to read almost any volume.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 6

fantasticfictionsblogLeave a comment

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 6 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
Series Name: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Genres: Adventure, Elves, Fantasy, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Sunday
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-3400-9
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?

The mages begin the second stage of their certification exam: a dangerous expedition into the innermost depths of the ruins of the king’s tomb. This time, there are no teams and it’s every mage for themselves. Whether they want to team up or not, the challenge they will face – their own clones – will push their skills to the limit.

Personal & Info

I haven’t been keeping up with this series as well as I should. There are long gaps between some of my volumes getting read, and I don’t buy them as often as I would like. I did a reread of volumes 1-5 before reading this one, because it’s been more than six months since I read anything from the series. The reread was worth it. It made the transition to my newer volumes smoother and refreshed my memory.

Everybody probably knows this already, but there’s an anime for this series available now.

Characters

Frieren is an elf mage famous for defeating the demon king with her companions around 80 years ago. She’s a bit of a slob and rather lazy. Her hobby is collecting any and all types of magic spells, no matter how useless they may seem. Her perspective on magic is that the pursuit of the art itself is the greatest joy.

Fern is Frieren’s mage companion and apprentice. She seems to take a motherly role in caring for both Frieren and Stark. Her skill shines during the exams.

Kanne and Lawine are both third-class mages. They were Frieren’s teammates for the first part of the exam. Both of them attended the same academy of magic, and are good friends, despite how often they fight.

Übel and Land are third and second class mages. They were Fern’s teammates for the first part of the exam. Übel apparently learns magic via empathy and she’s pestering Land because she wants to learn his ability.

Denken, Laufen, and Richter are mages from a team in the first part of the exam. Richter appears to run some kind of store. Denken comes from an imperial mage background, and Laufen gets treated like she’s his granddaughter. Richter and Denken are second class mages while Laufen is third class. Denken is their leader.

Scharf, Ehre, and Wirbel are mages from a team in the first part of the exam. All three are second class mages. Wirbel appears to be their leader.

Sense is a first class mage, and the proctor for the second part of the exam.

There are more characters, but these are the ones that are most significant due to having played important parts in the first part of the exam. They are also the ones who get the most screen time in this section. Others mentioned in the book get less time, but may still be important.

Story & Thoughts

This is a great volume. The second part of the first class mage exam begins. It’s much simpler in comparison to the first part. Catching the stille was convoluted compared to this. For the second test, the goal is simply to make it to the end of an unmapped dungeon. What they don’t tell you is it’s not an ordinary dungeon.

Much like the the previous book, there’s a lot of magical combat. This is paired well with more information about various types of magic. So, if you like learning about how the magic of the world works, it’s pretty interesting.

I didn’t like Übel at all when she was first introduced, but the more screen time she gets, the more I like her. She’s a little psychotic, but sometimes the best characters are. I’m looking forward to more content with her if she makes any appearances after the exam.

The third exam is also in this book. It’s pretty pitiful compared to the first and second, but Fern’s turn makes me giggle. Her reaction must have felt so insulting, and then the volume just ended right there.

Overall, this volume was really good. It has comedy, strategy, competition, magic battles, and magic lore. I was torn on giving it a five, but I don’t think it was quite perfect. I’m enjoying the exam section a lot, but I also miss Stark. We’ve hardly seen him since the exams started. Poor guy can only wait around and kill time while the girls are taking the test.

Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 3

fantasticfictionsblogLeave a comment

Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 3 by Naoya Matsumoto
Series Name: Kaiju No. 8
Genres: Action, Sci-Fi
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/ Shonen Jump
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-2899-2
Rating: 3.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Cruchyrolll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

With the highest kaiju-emergence rates in the world, Japan is no stranger to attack by deadly monsters. Enter the Japan Defense Force, a military organization tasked with the neutralization of kaiju. Kafka Hibino, a kaiju-corpse cleanup man, has always dreamed of joining the force. But when he gets another shot at achieving his childhood dream, he undergoes an unexpected transformation. How can he fight kaiju now that he’s become one himself?!

Kafka manages to fight off a humanoid kaiju, rescuing Iharu and Reno. But before he can change back to his human form, Kafka is spotted by Defense Force officers, and the neutralization unit-led by none other than Vice-Captain Hoshina himself-is dispatched to dispose of him. Can Kafka withstand his superior officer’s attacks without revealing his true identity?!

Personal & Info

Like volume two, I borrowed this one from a friend. Unfortunately, I don’t currently have access to any more of these for the time being. More reviews for the series will come as I either buy more volumes for myself or can borrow more. All I can say for sure is that there will eventually be more reviews to come, because I definitely enjoy this series.

Characters

Kafka Hibino is the main character. He’s 32 and finally getting a chance to attain the job of his dreams. Unfortunately for him, he’s going to have to work his butt off if he wants to get there and compete with all his prodigy competition.

Mina Ashiro is the 27 year-old third division captain of the Defense Force. She’s also Kafka’s childhood friend, and basically the strongest on the force.

Reno Ichikawa was a new recruit at the Monster Sweeper Inc. cleanup crew, and has since befriended Kafka. He is now one of the most promising recruits on the Defense Force. He admires Kafka’s spirit and tries his hardest to help protect his secret.

Kikoru Shinomiya is the daughter of the Defense Force director and the most impressive new recruit on the force. She is one of only three people who currently know Kafka’s secret, including Kafka himself.

Haruichi Izumo, Iharu Furuhashi, and Aoi Kaguragi are three of the most promising recruits on the Defense Force. Iharu is growing on me. I’m not yet sure how I feel about Haruichi and Aoi.

Soshiro Hoshina is the vice-captain of the third division Defense Force team, the same team Mina Ashiro captains. Kafka aspires to take his position so he can stand side by side with Mina Ashiro.

Story & Thoughts

This volume is action packed. It’s one thing after another. The book starts where the second leaves off, finishing the action from that particular battle, then going straight into another one before Kafka can change back. The tail end of the volume also starts a new emergency mission to lead into the fourth book.

Comedy in this one is lacking, since it focuses so much on action. The characters get very little down time to recover from their first mission before more things happen. The time gap between events is about two weeks, but to it feels almost same day to me, because of how little happens in that two week period.

Every character the series takes time to focus on, I end up loving. Hoshina is probably the most important character in this volume. We actually get to see him fight and get in his head a little. All of the characters are so great. It’s extremely difficult for me to choose a favorite. That’s not something I can usually say about a series.

I was going to give this volume a three, because of the lack of comedy compared to the other volumes. It’s not bad, but it’s definitely more heavily focused on the action parts. However, I ended up bumping it up to a three and a half, because I like Hoshina, and I’m glad I got to see more if his character to get to know him better.

I’m well aware the series is not specifically a comedy, but based on the first two volumes, it seems like humor is an important aspect of the series. This one feels more serious and tense, because there is less of that breaking things up. Regardless of the amount of comedy, I’m loving the story.

Ai Ore! Vol. 1

fantasticfictionsblogLeave a comment

Ai Ore! Vol. 1  by Mayu Shinjo
Series Name: Ai Ore!
Genres: Gender-Bend/Gender Queer, Romance
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/ Shojo Beat
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3838-9
Rating: 3.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Mizuki is the female “prince” of her all-girls school and the lead guitarist in an all-girl rock band. Akira is the male “princess” of his all-boys school and wants to join her band. Love may be on his mind, but romance is difficult when everyone keeps mistaking Mizuki for a boy and Akira for a girl!

When the lead singer of Blaue Rosen announces she is moving overseas, Akira does all he can to convince Mizuki and her bandmates to let him join. But will a resistant Mizuki allow him into her band, much less her heart?

Personal & Info

I bought this for about half price at a used book store. Their selection for manga was tiny, and this was one of the few potentially interesting things in decent condition that they had. I love gender queer and gender bend stories, so I figured it was worth trying.

Content Warnings

-Dubious consent, mostly for kissing.

-Attempted rape. The main attempt does not succeed, but there is also a second one intended as revenge. The book ends before giving a solid answer on if it actually happens or if it’s just an attempt to scare the person.

Characters

Mizuki Sakurazaka is the female lead, the girl who looks like a boy. She plays lead guitar in her band, and attends the all girls school, St. Nobara Girls Academy.

Akira Shiraishi is the male love interest who looks like a girl. He attends Dankaisan Boys High School, which is next door to St. Nobara Girls Academy. He abuses his cute appearance when it suits him, but can knock you out if you make him mad.

Ai Okita is one of Mizuki’s band mates. She plays the drums.

Momoko Kidera is one of Mizuki’s band mates. She plays bass.

Megumi Yuasa is one of Mizuki’s band mates. She plays. guitar

Kaoru Naruse is Mizuki’s childhood best friend and the lead singer of the band. She leaves fairly early in the volume, because her family is moving.

Rui Kiryuin is the student council vice president at Dankaisan Boys High School. He is apparently the only son of the Ryuga clan, the largest yakuza gang in the Kanto region. Despite his family’s reputation, he gets conned by Akira frequently.

Ran Nikaido is the student council president at Dankaisan Boys High School. His father is the commissioner of the metropolitan police.

Story & Thoughts

The first few pages did not hook me. As the story progresses, we see what the lives of the two main characters are like. Mizuki is in an all girl band and attends an all girls school. Akira attends an all boys school next door.

Those things by themselves are all fine and good, but things become over the top and highly exaggerated from there. Both Mizuki and Akira have freakishly blown out of proportion reputations at their schools. Mizuki is the “prince” of hers, and Akira is the “princess” of his. They are both so wildly popular that their entire student body at each of their schools revolves around them.

The story uses that to overly exaggerate the isolation students feel going to a gender restricted school. The girls look for the most masculinely handsome girl to fawn over, and the guys seek out the most feminine boy. A double standard is shown early on. Mizuki loves the attention and doesn’t find it strange at all. It’s just something she’s gotten used to. Akira, on the other hand, has his face plastered all over his school, and his classmates sell merchandise and stalker photos. While her school fame doesn’t bother her, Mizuki definitely finds the way Akira is treated to be creepy and unsettling.

While the story is overall cute, sweet, and romantic, it has some occasional dark vibes. The extent of which some students are willing to go to satisfy their own selfish desires is unnerving. The third year students from Mizuki’s school, and Rui from Akira’s, are prime examples. Consent between Akira and Mizuki can be a little fuzzy sometimes, too.

But, if you can get past those things, the story really is sweet and enjoyable. Mizuki doesn’t understand love at all, and she’s experiencing it for the first time. Akira is considered cute by all, but he never lets Mizuki forget he’s a guy. There’s even a childhood friend background going on for people who love childhood friends to lovers type stories.

I don’t know if I’ll end up buying more volumes for this, but it wasn’t bad. The absurdity of the exaggerated aspects of the story and the way the characters interact with each other is funny enough to make me giggle. I wouldn’t mind reading more, but I probably won’t go out of my way to do so.

Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 2

fantasticfictionsblogLeave a comment

Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 2 by Naoya Matsumoto
Series Name: Kaiju No. 8
Genres: Action, Sci-Fi
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/ Shonen Jump
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-2714-8
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

With the highest Kaiju-emergence rates in the world, Japan is no stranger to attack by deadly monsters. Enter the Japan Defense Force, a military organization tasked with the neutralization of kaiju. Kafka Hibino, a kaiju-corps cleanup man, has always dreamed of joining the force. But when he gets another shot at achieving his childhood dream, he undergoes an unexpected transformation. How can he fight kaiju now that he’s become one himself?!

The final test of the Defense Force has come to an end, but the examinees’ challenges aren’t over yet. A mysterious humanoid kaiju revives a neutralized honju and sits it on Kikoru Shinomiya. Just when Kikoru seems to be at the end of her rope, Kafka rushes to her defense! But what is the humanoid kaiju’s goal?

Personal & Info

At the time I’m typing this, I don’t currently own this volume. I borrowed this one from a friend shortly after finishing the first one. I’m glad I did, because I got more story faster than if I had waited until I got around to buying it myself. Worth it. I’ll be picking up volume two for myself to own at some point.

Characters

Kafka Hibino is the main character. He’s 32 and finally getting a chance to attain the job of his dreams. Unfortunately for him, he’s going to have to work his butt off if he wants to get there and compete with all his prodigy competition.

Mina Ashiro is the 27 year-old third division captain of the Defense Force. She’s also Kafka’s childhood friend, and basically the strongest officer on the force.

Reno Ichikawa was a new recruit at the Monster Sweeper Inc. cleanup crew, and has since befriended Kafka. He is now one of the most promising recruits on the Defense Force. He admires Kafka’s spirit and tries his hardest to help protect his secret.

Kikoru Shinomiya is the daughter of the Defense Force director and the most impressive new recruit on the force. She is one of only three people who currently know Kafka’s secret, including Kafka himself.

Haruichi Izumo, Iharu Furuhashi, and Aoi Kaguragi are three of the most promising recruits on the Defense Force. Iharu is growing on me. I’m not yet sure how I feel about Haruichi and Aoi. Those two always seem to be arguing.

Soshiro Hoshina is the vice-captain of the third division Defense Force team. The same team Mina Ashiro captains. Kafka aspires to take his position so he can stand side by side with Mina Ashiro.

Some new characters get brief introductions. I don’t know how relevant they are going to be, but they are platoon leaders for the first mission.

Story & Thoughts

This volume picks up showing the opposite side of events from the end of the first one. Instead of picking up immediately where it left off, we see Reno and Kafka as they realize Kikoru needs assistance. Once Reno realizes Kafka ran off irresponsibly, the scene jumps to where we saw Kafka standing in front of Kikoru at the end of the volume.

I find myself easily getting sucked into this series. All of the characters have strong personalities, which makes sense, because you’d need one in their line of work. In addition to that, there is a fairly large cast. Volume one introduced a bunch of characters at the exam, and this volume is introducing even more now that the exams are over. More of the captains and vice-captains are getting screen time as the new recruits are assigned to teams for training and missions.

As the story takes a little time to show more of each character, I’m growing fond of all of them. I hope that’s not something I will regret, because this seems like it might be a series where characters are going to potentially die later. Regardless, I’m loving everybody on the force, so far.

The story is also picking up. A villain has been introduced, and the action scenes are fantastic. I don’t anticipate Kafka being able to keep his secret for long. This is a bingeable series. I definitely plan to get more volumes.

Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 1

fantasticfictionsblog

Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 1 by Naoya Matsumoto
Series Name: Kaiju No. 8
Genres: Action, Sci-Fi
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/ Shonen Jump
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-2598-4
Rating: 3.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

With the highest kaiju-emergence rates in the world, Japan is no stranger to attack by deadly monsters. Enter the Japan Defense Force, a military organization tasked with the neutralization of kaiju. Kafka Hibino, a kaiju-corpse cleanup man, has always dreamed of joining the force. But when he gets another shot at achieving his childhood dream, he undergoes and unexpected transformation. How can he fight kaiju now that he’s become one himself?!

Kafka hopes to one day keep his pact with his childhood friend Mina to join the Japan Defense Force and fight by her side. But while she’s out neutralizing kaiju as Third Division captain, Kafka is stuck cleaning up the aftermath of her battles. When a sudden rule change makes Kafka eligible for the Defense Force, he decides to try out for the squad once more. There’s just one problem – He’s made the Defense Force’s neutralization list under the code name Kaiju No. 8.

Personal & Info

My friends have been highly recommending this manga for a while, so I figured I’d try it. One of them ended up with an extra copy of volume one and gave it to me. It took a while to get around to even though it was in my priority pile.

I think the anime is set to release April 2024, so there isn’t long to wait to be able to see that adaptation.

Characters

Kafka Hibino is the main character. He’s 32 and completely given up on his dream to join the Defense Force. He works as part of the cleanup crew instead.

Mina Ashiro is the 27 year-old third division captain of the Defense Force. She’s also Kafka’s childhood friend. I get the feeling they haven’t spoken in a long time.

Reno Ichikawa is an 18 year-old new recruit at the Monster Sweeper Inc. cleanup crew. He aspires to join the Defense Force and he doesn’t have the greatest first impression. Thankfully, his personality gets better as the story progresses.

Kikoru Shinomiya is the daughter of the Defense Force director and the number one applicant to watch.

Haruichi Izumo, Iharu Furuhashi, and Aoi Kaguragi are three of the best candidates for the Defense Force applicants. They’ll probably become important longterm characters later.

Soshiro Hoshina is the vice-captain of the third division Defense Force team, the same team Mina Ashiro captains. They are proctoring the exam for joining the force.

Story & Thoughts

This is pretty good. I like it enough to say I liked it. I don’t quite think it’s deserving of a four, but it’s close. The premise is interesting. I like that it stars a protagonist who isn’t a teenager. That’s not super common.

I get major Attack on Titan vibes from the series. The city is frequently attacked by Kaiju and the protagonist turns into a Kaiju himself. There are also hints that make me think he’s not the only one in this situation. Plus, there’s a special force intended to fight Kaiju. It certainly feels similar. I assume people who like one will like the other.

Unlike what I can recall about Attack on Titan, though, this series has a lot of comic relief. Kafka and Reno are amusing together. The tension never goes on for too long before they do something silly. They’re not trying to be silly, but things often turn out that way.

I think this is a strong start for the series. It explains everything you need to know, and it introduces several characters who are likely to be significant as the series progresses. These parts are done well, and now that they’re out of the way, the series should be able to really get going. I’m looking forward to continuing the series.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 5

fantasticfictionsblog

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 5 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
Series Name: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Genres: Adventure, Elves, Fantasy, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Sunday
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-3007-0
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?

Frieren and Fern have ended up on different teams in the highly competitive first-class mage exam. Capturing a rare bird is required to pass, but personality clashes among teammates are making things difficult. Everyone soon realizes there is more at stake than mere success or failure – for some of them, the exam could be a matter of life and death.

Personal & Info

I’m slowly catching up on this series. I want to be up to current volumes before I watch the anime, which is supposed to come out sometime this fall. This is a great series, and I highly recommend it to fans of elves, magic, or Dungeons & Dragons.

Characters

Frieren is an elf mage famous for defeating the demon king with her companions around 80 years ago. She’s a bit of a slob and rather lazy. Her hobby is collecting any and all types of magic spells, no matter how useless they may seem. Her perspective on magic is that the pursuit of the art itself is the greatest joy.

Fern is Frieren’s mage companion and apprentice. She seems to take a motherly role in caring for both Frieren and Stark.

Stark is Eisen’s apprentice. He has great skill as a warrior. He doesn’t get much screen time in this volume, since it focuses on the Mage exam.

Kanne and Lawine are both third-class mages. They are Frieren’s teammates for the first part of the exam. Both of them attended the same academy of magic, and are good friends, despite how often they fight.

Übel and Land are third and second class mages. They are Fern’s teammates for the first part of the exam. Little is information is given for them. Übel is no stranger to murder, which was made clear in volume four.

There are plenty more characters in this volume, as there are several teams for the exam. I think Fern and Frieren’s teams are the most important, so those are the ones I’m choosing to list.

Story & Thoughts

I think this is the best volume in the series, so far. It has comedy, strategy, competition, and magic battles. All wonderful elements for a great volume.

The book starts off by jumping straight into the exam. The teams assigned at the end of book four are gathered at the location for the first-class certification exam’s first test. It is here where they are given a small cage, and the rules and conditions of the test are explained. To pass, teams must catch a special bird, a stille, and have it in the cage at the end of the time limit, with all three team members also present. Generally anything goes, as long as nobody leaves the testing area, which is basically impossible to leave anyway.

The entire volume focuses on this portion of the test. There are ten chapters, and only the last two take place outside of the test. Those final chapters are mostly relaxation and enjoying time with friends as everyone relaxes before the second part of the test.

There is a significant amount of magical combat compared to all of the previous volumes. The birds for the exam are hard to catch, so most opt for trying to steal from others. I actually love the combat, because we get to see more varieties of mage capabilities and spell preferences. Frieren and Fern like to keep things simple, so it’s nice to see how other casters do things.

We still see flashbacks from Frieren’s past, as usual, but I feel like this volume has so much more meat to it than others. I think a big part of that is the number of characters. Generally speaking, there are several fun new characters in this volume, and they all seem to have strong personalities or character quirks that make them engaging and entertaining.

The large number of people is handled well. The ones who are not important are seen in the background or only in a few panels, while the ones that matter get just the right amount of screen time.

I’m looking forward to reading the next volume to see how the second part of the test goes. The competing characters are interesting enough that I actually care to find out who all passes the tests, and hope certain ones don’t perish.

Absolute Boyfriend, Vol. 2

fantasticfictionsblog

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
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

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.

Rosario+Vampre: Season II, Vol. 14

fantasticfictionsblog

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
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

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

fantasticfictionsblog

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.