Again!!
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Kinichiro isn't even that bad. It's just that on the first day of high school, his narrow eyes made him look shifty, so people assumed he was trouble. Now it's graduation, and he's looking back on three years with no friends. He never even joined a club. But after a bloody collision and an accidental fall, he wakes up a high school freshman, with the chance to try it all over... AGAIN!!
Again!! is from the creator of Yuri on Ice, so...I had to read it. I had to. I couldn't not. I freaking love Yuri on Ice and I needed to see what other kind of project Kubo would come up with..plus this sound intriguing and super relatable. Spoiler alert...it was!
I'm not going to lie...but the High School in the series has the word Minami in it and I may have freaked out a little bit because..you know...Minami....Yuri's little fanboy....I can't even.
I have to say, I actually really felt for Imamura and it's kind of easy to relate to him. I think we've all felt how he does at one point or another. He's super relatable, and I for one have wished to go back and do something over. I wasn't expecting Aki to go on the journey with him though, she added an interesting element to the story. You have the guy who didn't have a great time at school getting a do over and thriving...and then the popular girl getting a do over and not doing so great. I'm so here for an unlikely friendship between the two of them!
Again!! is entertaining and a lot of fun, I'm so intrigued to see what he's going to do to change things, and to find out more about the club and so on and what went down to break it up. There's so much scheming so far, and I kind of hope things work out for Aki because I feel for her too for completely different reasons to Imamura!
Wake Up Sleeping Beauty Vol 3
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
As Shizu begins to venture outside more and more, her days are filled with new experiences. When she shows an interest in going to school, Tetsu and the spirits dwelling within Shizu think up a foolproof plan to get her there. But when the two teens arrive on campus, they bump into Tetsu's old soccer team. Suddenly, his carefully curated life begins to unravel and Shizu may be the only one who can save him.
Things are really heating up with this volume, Tetsu has come up with a plan to help Shizu, part of which is a guide to handling things outside of the mansion and the other part is taking her to school with him.
This volume really gives us a lot of insight in to Tetsu and his childhood and his friendship with Ueno and everything he gave up for his family. I actually really felt for him. This volume was so heartwarming seeing the lengths his team went to for him and helping him achieve his dream with the help of Shizu. Tetsu has been doing so much for her, overcoming his fears and helping her as much as he can and it was nice to see her come out of her shell and help him for once!
I'd definitely say the romance has finally kicked off in this volume too, and it's so cute! Things get all warm and fuzzy and cute and I'm so ready for more of it the next volume! As well as seeing what kind of solutions Tetsu comes up with! Plus....the characters have already come quite a way since volume 1 and I'm looking forward to seeing them grow and develop even more!
Frau Faust Vol 4
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
After a surprise reappearance by a recently defeated demon, Johanna and her companions find themselves under attack. The demon Ino has been ordered to capture Dr. Faust, and this time, nothing will stop Ino from accomplishing her goal. Soon, Johanna finds herself in the heart of enemy territory, but the Doctor's smirk as she faces her captors seems to suggest that the series of events leading to her defeat may have all been according to plan...
A demon has been ordered to capture Johanna so this volume starts off with quite the chase and battle. Lorenzo surprisingly shows up to...help? He's just full of surprises. Johanna ends up captured but...let's be real, we all know she allowed that to happen and considering how chill she is about the situation, I assume she wants to be there. She and Mephy's little game is reaching its climax and I assume she's after the head.
We finally get the tea on Lorenzo and his sister, and my hatred for Olga has reached new heights, it's ridiculous. In this manga, the Church are definitely the bad guys and it's pretty easy to hate them because they're totally shady.
We get a nice snapshot of Johanna's past and her relationship with Mephisto but altogether this was kind of a slow volume and I'm assuming it's the calm before the storm of next volume!
The Royal Tutor Vol 6
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Heine and the princes have overcome many a difficulty together, deepening the mutual trust between the teacher and his pupils. But even though Heine has walked closely alongside the princes as they slowly come into their own, the royal tutor himself still remains a mystery to them. When Count Rosenberg claims to know who he really is, could Heine's secretive past become public knowledge?
So Rosenberg allegedly knows about Heine and his past and he's not afraid to let him know that. Heine knows Rosenberg is behind the recent plots causing trouble for the Princes and it's finally time for them to have their showdown...sort of. Rosenberg kind of low-key threatens Heine and one of his comments is overheard by the Princes and it certainly piques their interest, particularly Licht who couldn't find out anything about Heine himself.
Leonhard is hilariously jealous of Heine's previous students, bless him. Meanwhile Licht learns a lesson of his own this volume as does Bruno as we see him grow more as a character when faced with his own students and a skill he lacks. We get to see Kai's character growth as well, which had me cheering because he's come so far, plus a few heartwarming scenes in time for the final chapter of the book....which ends on an ominous note.
The Princes eldest brother Eins appears to have made his return but what effect is this going to have on the Princes? On Rosenberg and his plotting? Is he backing Rosenberg's plotting? Not to mention there's the photo Kai glimpsed with a familiar face with Heine....I have my suspicions about who it might be, but for now, it's a mystery as is Heine's past.
This volume shows us how far Heine's relationships with the Princes has come, it shows how deeply they trust him and look up to him and turn to him when they need help and advice...and that could all be blown away next volume or in an upcoming volume if Rosenberg reveals what he's found out about Heine and whatever shocking thing he's sitting on. I feel like getting this insight in to Heine's relationships with the Princes was very deliberate and things are going to take an angsty turn next volume! This volume is heartwarming...yet incredibly ominous at the same time with a deepening mystery surrounding Heine!
The Witch's Blood
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Life as a teenage witch just got harder for Merry when her brother, Leo is captured and taken into an alternative reality by evil witch Ronan. Determined to get him back, Merry needs to use blood magic to outwit her arch-rival and get Leo back. Merry is more powerful than ever now, but she is also more dangerous and within the coven, loyalties are split on her use of the magic. In trying to save Leo, Merry will have to confront evil from her past and present and risk the lives of everyone she’s ever loved. Given the chaos she’s created, just what will she sacrifice to make things right?
Thank the lord for Leo's POV in the prologue getting me back up to speed with what went down last book because I was completely mind blanking! I was quite excited to see how this trilogy would wrap up, and while the little trip Merry and co takes does justify the historical flashbacks in the first book that where rendered irrelevant in the second...they also didn't quite make sense.
We travel back to some kind of parallel universe but it was never fully explained mechanics-wise and it seemed like another little thing thrown in to drag the story out. I honestly think that the first book became kind of unnecessary when they changed certain things and certain characters and to be honest I don't think this trilogy actually needed to be a trilogy. I was hoping this final book might pick things back up but it just went even further downhill.
Jack was back but...well...he's just another thing that has me thinking the first book was completely unnecessary. Finn had an interesting little problem, and I can't even say I'm surprised at what his father wanted him to do, at that point it just seemed like some little drama thrown in to keep things interesting throughout the slow middle section of the book. Ronan is just the worlds biggest creep, and he was practically twirling his moustache and cackling.
Merry I have to say continued to be frustrating right until the end. Much like the last book she seems to still be riding high on her superiority complex. She never listens or does as she's told and she's quite selfish and arrogant, in that regard, I've found it so hard to like her, when you look at everything that's happened, and know it could have been prevented if she'd just listened it makes you want to shake her. Then she continues to refuse to listen to what anyone says and goes against everything...it would have been interesting if she actually seemed to learn and grew and changed as a character but she doesn't. She's just so frustrating and I was hoping this was the book she grew up a little in but it doesn't even give us that, Merry will forever be one of my least liked characters.
Honestly, as we neared the end of the book I couldn't help put notice all the standard "series finale tropes" that had been thrown in, and it came across as a bit cheesy and cringey. I felt no real sense of tension or danger and as for what happens with Merry at the end? It just seemed like a hastily thrown together solution to finish the series.
Considering this series started out okay, aside from my issues with Merry, it just kept going downhill and unfortunately this book doesn't quite save it.
The Seven Deadly Sins Vol 25
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
The Seven Deadly Sins may have ended the tyranny of The Ten Commandments for now, but that doesn't mean all is peaceful in the kingdom. Separated from the rest of The Sins, King and Diane strike a deal with former Commandments Gloxinia and Drole, and agree to undergo special training--which sends them to a Britannia 3,000 years in the past, right before the end of the Holy War! Can the pair navigate this strange past--and a threat more powerful than The Ten Commandments?
Okaaaaay, Gerhard immediately piqued my interest as soon as the volume opened, referring to some mysterious event that has something to do with Gloxinia. This volume as a whole kind of blew my mind because there are some reveals this volume that shocked me and changed my perspective on things.
The fast pace continues and it's King and Diane's time to shine as they battle it out with Gloxinia and Drole. But there's a shock twist and we get a nice flashback to 3000 years ago and what went down with them, not to mention a familiar face and Meliodas. I am definitely intrigued by the new information on Meliodas.
There's plenty of action which surprised me as I thought things might slow down after the last volume! But we get so much information and so many plot twists and reveals and blanks filled in it...it was a pretty epic volume! Not to mention the bonus story with Meliodas, King and Ban that had me chuckling!
