Mini Manga Reviews: The Case Study of Vanitas (Vol. 1) & Reindeer Boy

The Case Study of Vanitas is Jun Mochizuki's most recent series. I first discovered her manga last year when I picked up the first volume of Pandora Hearts and from page one was absorbed into the story. I'm still making my way through that series but took advantage of the opportunity to jump into this series as it began. The art in Vanitas is just as stunning as that in Pandora, but so far the storyline is slower. Little beyond character introductions has happened so far into the story, but I'm not really complaining because all the characters are pretty interesting.

Vanitas is a human pretending he's a legendary vampire- oh, and he's curing "sick" vampires that have gone crazy using the book that may have cursed them in the first place. Noe is a vampire with a secret agenda who "befriends" Vanitas in an attempt to get closer to his book and promises the reader at the end of the first chapter that he will kill Vanitas. And then there are an array of side characters who we've only seen pieces of and who I'm very curious about, not least of all Jeanne, who reminds me of Brienne from GOT if I'm being honest.

So far I would say this has a bunch of potential and I'll be happily reading it for a while. If you're looking for a new manga without a lot to catch up I'd strongly recommend this one.

I don't know if this qualifies more as a graphic novel or American manga, but it's short enough to be somewhere in between if nothing else. I've been a fan of Cassandra Jean's since I discovered her TMI fan art and I'm so happy to see her doing so well! I believe this is her first professionally published original work and if it's anything to go off of, I think her future works will be just as good.

Of course I loved the art, she's one of my favorite artists, and the story was really cute. My only problem- it ended too soon! And sometimes that can come off as not a bad thing but in this case it was a bit disappointing. I was looking forward to more of a story and it had a lot of momentum that ended rather abruptly in the end. I think this is because it's meant to be part of a series, but since that hasn't actually been confirmed it doesn't really make me feel better about that ending. Sure it was cute but so much was left unanswered!

My favorite part was just the relationships between all the characters. I don't have a word to describe this bond, but when I see it on the page it takes me to some of my favorite stories where the bond is similar (mostly stuff I read when I was younger so there's this HUGE nostalgia factor).

If anything, this is a pretty good holiday read, seeing as it's about Santa and his reindeer.

Dec-Jan Manga Roundup

Welcome to a new feature here on the blog.  Since I noticed how much manga I was reading, and how  they were becoming increasingly hard to review, I thought I would change how I did these reviews.  You'll either be seeing them monthly or bi-monthly, depending on how much I read, and they will consist of several short reviews for the books I finish in that time.  I will be reviewing these books as I read them, so they will be more of reactions than proper reviews.

Noragami Volumes 7 & 8

written by Adachitoka

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

As always, this series continues to entertain.  I will say, these two volumes aren't the most serious that I've read.  Seven is a fall-out, I guess you would say, to the events of the previous few volumes.  It has a bit more comic relief, since the first two chapters have a certain god possessing a certain school girl.  Volume eight is a set-up to something serious right around the corner.  And, for the first time, we're really taken into Yato's head and we get to see why he is the way he is.  Slowly, I believe, his history will be peeled away for us, and I am unbelievable excited.  Also, Ebisu, not as much of an ass-hole as I once assumed he would be.  Actually kind of decent, just really boring and lucky.

Blue Exorcist Volumes 1 & 2

written by Kazue Kato

Rating: 3.5 & 5 Stars

Like with Noragami, when I first started reading it, I had already seen the anime and fallen in love.  So the first volume just couldn't live up to how amazing the show was.  Also, like with Noragami, by the time I got to volume two, I had found my groove and fallen in love with it again.  This series lives up to the show, so far, and has me giddy to read it.  Nothing new from these volumes, since I already knew what happened, but I loved reliving them at a different pace.  It seems to go quicker in the manga, so I'll soon be surpassing where the show left it, something I'm very excited for.

Noragami Volume 9

written by Adachitoka

Rating: 5 Stars

This one was just absolute heartbreak.  Does that surprise anyone?  Mostly, the heartbreak comes from Ebisu, who is a beautiful character and I didn't see it sooner but if I ever reread this series I will not take advantage of him like I once did.  The story is really Yato heavy, which is a shift since it's normally narrated more by Hiyori, and while I didn't dislike Yato telling the story, it was a jarring shift for sure.  A few surprises in this one, though nothing mind-blowing, just a sort of "something big is coming" feeling.

Noragami: Stray Stories

written by Adachitoka

Rating: 5 Stars

Okay, so the stories aren't super important to anything, since they're little bonus', but they're a bunch of fun and I haven't actually laughed this hard in ages.  It was particularly pleasing since I was reading it when I was feeling down on life.  If you read Noragami you will want to pick this one up, I promise.

QQ Sweeper Vol. 1

written by Kyousuke Motomi

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I picked this one up on a whim and found that I rather enjoyed it!  The pacing was strange- really, really quick when I wanted development- and the characterizations were a little off.  Honestly, I think it was just a case of lost in translation most of the time, which is a shame.  The general idea of the series is really cute, even though I absolutely hate cleaning and could never do their job.

Pandora Hearts Vol. 1

written by Jun Mochiuki

Rating: 5 Stars

Guy, guys, guys, GUYS, GUYS, GUUUUUUYYYYYSSSSS!!!!  This book was so good!!!!

Okay, so that was me spazzing out because, indeed, this manga is fantastic.  I love the art, I love the story, and I love the characters.  I'm fairly certain this series will end up breaking my heart at some point soon, but I'm ready for it.  Bring on the pain!  (But also, please don't kill everyone like I'm afraid, please...)

5 Star Manga Review: Horimiya (Vol. 1)

Author| Hero X Daisuke Hagiwara  Rating| 5 Stars

Edition| Paperback

Buy Links| Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository

This isn't normally the type of story I would pick up, but it's one of the best decisions I've made all year.

5 Star Manga Review: Noragami (Vol. 5 & 6)

Author| Adachitoka  Artist| Adachitoka  Rating| 5 Stars

Edition| Paperback

Related Reviews| Volumes 1 & 2 | Volumes 3 & 4
Buy Links| Book Depository/Barnes and Noble/Amazon

Do I really need to explain why I love this series?

5 Star Manga Review: Noragami (Vol. 3 & 4)

Author| Adachitoka  Artist| Adachitoka  Rating| 5 Stars

Edition| Paperback

Related Reviews| Volumes 1 & 2

Buy Links| Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository

Mini ARC Manga Review: Let's Eat Ramen and Other Doujinshi Short Stories

Author| Nagumo and Aji-chi  Release Date| August 18th, 2015  Rating| 3.5 Stars

Edition| eGalley courtesy of Gen Manga Entertainment via Netgalley

Buy Links| Book Depository

I received a copy of Let's Eat Ramen from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Manga and Anime Review: Noragami

Author| Adachitoka
Edition| American Paperbacks
Publisher| Kodansha Comics
Genre| Mythology
Rating| Overall 4.25 stars (5 stars anime; 4 stars for first two manga volumes)

So, where to begin with this series?  I feel like there's so much I could talk about, and I plan to, so stay with me.

Noragami is about the god Yato, who's a bit down on his luck since he doesn't have even one believer.  But he makes do, advertising everywhere and charging five yen for his service.  The thing about gods is that they're not something regular people see.  But then Hiyori, a regular girl, sees him and "saves" him from being hit by a truck.  Instead, she's hit, and the even knocks her halfway to the grave, tethered to reality and life by a "tail".  She gets Yato to promise he'll help her, but he's lazy and looking for a friend, so he takes his time and she pals around.

Anime Review
I came across the anime by accident.  It's on Netflix, and it's amazing!  The story had me before the first episode was over.  Each character that was introduced had me in love, and the story continued to build naturally.  Noragami single handidly brought me into the world of anime full-heartedly.  When I saw that the manga was being adapted into English, I heartily jumped at the chance and ordered the first two volumes.

Dub vs Sub thoughts
Let me digress for a moment.  Recently the trailer for the anime with English dubs was released.  I couldn't stand it.  The voices were all wrong and nothing matched up.  I've seen anime in the past and have been fine with it before.  However, Noragami showed me what I was missing.  There's something so much better in listening to the characters speak in Japanese.  I thought maybe this preference came from the fact that I watched Noragami in Japanese first, reading the English subs.  But then I gave another show a try, with dubs instead of subs.  Still couldn't stand it.  I can, from this day, no longer watch dubs unless I have to.

Manga Review
I've read the first two volumes of the series so far and I enjoy it.  So far it hasn't strayed from the story laid out in the anime.  However, it expands on the universe and the mythology a great deal, and also adds important character development that was missed in the show.  I liked these things about it, but I'm glad I saw the show before I read the books because then I didn't feel like I was missing anything.

What didn't I like?  The manga moves much slower than the anime.  I suppose this makes sense, but I feel like it stays focused on minor things for a little too long.  I also didn't get as strong personality out of some of the characters.  Kofuku, for example, was a little flat on the page whereas she pops on the screen.

Neither the story nor the art are bad.  In fact, art wise, it's probably my favorite manga style I've seen.  I feel like the fact that the story is slower gives it, and me, more time to breathe.  And, hopefully, will allow it to develop the relationship between Yato and Hiyori more.  In the anime, what feels like it could be a romance is rather cut off and short.

So would I recommend it?  Certainly!  Particularly if you're new to manga/anime.  It's not a long series so you won't feel swamped by its size, and the anime is readily accessible.

Manga Review: Seraph of the End- Vampire Reign (Vol. 1-3)

Author| Takaya Kagami
Artist| Yamato Yamamoto
Storyboarding| Daisuke Furuya
Edition| American Paperbacks
Publisher| VIZ Media
Genre| Dark/Post-apocalyptic
Rating| Overall 4 Stars (Vol. 1- 2.5 Stars; 2- 4.5 Stars; 3- 4.5 Stars)

This was originally going to be a review for only volume two, but then I finished volume three and realized I hadn't done a review for volume one, either.

To avoid spoilers, I'll give a quick run down.  Basically, the world has been ravaged by a disease that caused adults to die, and vampires rose up to take control.  Humans have banded together to fight against this threat.  Yuichiro's dream is to kill all the bloodsuckers, so he works to join the Moon Demon Company- an elite group of vampire hunters.

The idea isn't super original (it reminds me of Attack on Titan) but it's still a very fun series.  It relies heavily on characters, though its leading man- Yu- is easily the most boring of them.  I can't really stand Yu, and I've heard that complaint before, as well.  The side characters are absolutely AMAZING, though.  The first volume does a poor job of introducing characters, but within the first page of volume two, I'm sold on the secondary players.  I like how it slowly integrates new characters and allows them to grow on you.

My favorite of these side characters (there are many and I love them all) is Guren.  He's just so very cool.  I'm hoping the Light Novel series about him will get an English translation so I can pick it up.  It tells the story of how the apocalypse comes to be, I believe.

I'll be picking up the next few volumes in a month or so.  I want to get through a few more of the comics I've collected before I start buying too many more.  I definitely recommend this series if you read Manga, and particularly if you like stories in the vein of AoT.

Manga Review: Eden (Vol. 1)

Author| Bash
Edition| eARC courtesy of Netgalley
Publisher| Diamond Book Distributors
Genre| Paranormal/Mythological
Rating| 2 1/2 Stars
Publication| June 2nd, 2015

I received this as a free ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you.

Let's start with marketing: I had no idea this was a manga jumping into it.  The first several pages I read left to right and was completely lost.  But the art style made me consider the possibility of reading it right to left.  I'll admit, things began to make more sense.  However, I've scrolled few several reviews of this on goodreads and most of the other reviewers had a hard time reading it as well.  I haven't seen anywhere that this book is described as a manga, which can be problematic.

Outside of that, it was still hard to follow.  It begins by throwing you into a story about some kid with no memories.  He's being followed around by the Red Crosses? which are spirits that protect/harm humans, I think.  And he may also be being chased by angels and demons that don't want him to go into this town that he ends up appearing in magically anyways.  His friend may or may not be a shapeshifting crow, and this town may be populated by dead people? and magic wolves.  The story gives no inclination of what was going on.

The art left even more questions.  All of the characters looked the same and there was no clear distinguishing in any part of the story, except for maybe the main character, and even that was iffy.  When I thought I had a grasp on who was who it was shaken up on me.  Outside of this, I enjoyed the art.  I thought it was smart and had clean cut lines.

Every once in a while I would get into the story and begin to understand what was happening.  When these few moments came I found myself truly enjoying it.  But then it was thrown off.  I don't know if there was some issue in translating (I'm assuming it is translating because some of the grammar was off) or some central mythology I just didn't understand for a similar reason.

Unfortunately, I can't recommend this one, and I hate to give a bad review.  But it just didn't click for me.  It is a quick read, so if it does interest you in any way, I'd say pick it up from your library when it's released.