Manga: I'm Standing On A Million Lives 6

I'm Standing On A Million Lives Vol 6 
Rating: 3.5/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Ninth grader Yusuke Yotsuya is a loner and he likes it that way. But one day, he and two female classmates are suddenly sent to another world, where they must work together to battle for their lives. But he's been reincarnated as a farmer! How is someone who's only ever wanted to be left alone supposed to be a hero?! A one-of-a-kind original manga that will challenge everything you thought you knew about fantasy! 

At the very end of the last volume we were introduced to Glenda, the new member of the team and there was a little bit of a twist with her that could make communication a problem. I was very interested to see how she was going to fit in with the others and adapt to the new situation. 

Glen provides some information on other players that she's found and it's soon decided to use her YouTube channel and substantial following to try and reach out to other players. Unfortunately, by the time the players reach out to them they're all pulled in to round 6 of the game with Glenda in tow. The plot definitely thickens as they make contact with other teams and trade answers amongst themselves. They even get a very interesting and valuable piece of information that opens up a potential theory for what these quests are leading up to. 

Yotsuya meanwhile, is torn between the two different versions of himself...his city self and his hometown self and we see a slightly more laid back side to him. The difference between the two versions of himself was interesting, but it seems like we're going to be treated to the more relaxed version of Yotsuya from now on thanks to Shindo. 

The quest this time is focused on stamping out drug addiction, and I actually thought it was quite fascinating to get to examine the causes of drug addiction and how to combat it. It's quite a thought provoking story arc as we watch the characters encounter so many blocks to resolving the situation and all the different aspects to it. 

As usual, the plot moves along quickly despite covering a long stretch of time and the action is nicely spread out although I felt this one was a little bit slow and didn't really liven up fully until the end. 

Manga: The Seven Deadly Sins 37

The Seven Deadly Sins Vol 37 
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

This manga series takes readers to the land of Britannia, a picturesque country ruled by the benevolent King Lyonnesse - or at least it was, until the king's guard assassinated him and started a full-blown Holy War! Now the king's only daughter Elizabeth must seek the aid of the dreaded warriors, the Seven Deadly Sins. Wrongly framed and sent into exile, they're now the princess's only hope to free the kingdom from the grip of the villainous Holy Knights! 

Quite a lot happened last volume to move the story forward with some twists and shocking moments, including one that left us with a cliffhanger so I was eager to delve into this volume. Volume 37 sees Meliodas facing off against the Demon Lord with a bit of an assist from the others and a focus on the bonds of friendship once again, which is heartwarming to see after we've come so far in the series. I like that this series doesn't lose that message no matter how many volumes it goes on. 

There's an action packed start to the volume before we eventually turn to the second problem that's imminent...Elizabeth's curse. We've had action packed volume after action packed volume, so it was a little strange for things to suddenly slow down in the middle of this volume. There's a bit of a lull after the final battle as everyone has some time to relax and hang out with each other and we visit a few familiar places. 

I was starting to feel like things had been resolved a little too quickly, but luckily some ominous threads started to weave in before a reveal that threw the seemingly happy ending out of the window. I was more than happy with that, even if I am starting to feel like this series is perhaps being dragged out a little too long, because as I said, I felt things had been resolved a little too easily. 

Just when you thought this series was close to being done, it turns out that isn't quite the case! 

Manga: Boarding School Juliet 11

Boarding School Juliet Vol 11 
Rating: 3/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

On the fair island campus of Dahlia, the student body is split into two rival dorms: The Black Dog House of the eastern nation of Touwa, and the White Cats House of the West. Despite his doting childhood friend and a loyal posse, the first-year leader of the Black Dogs, Romeo Inuzuka, has one big teenage problem: He has a crush on Juliet Persia, the first-year leader of the White Cats! With her own brainiac right-hand man and a powerful crew behind her, the cutthroat Juliet thinks she has no time for misadventures with a hopeless romantic like Romeo. When Romeo meets Juliet one fateful twilight, he thinks he has a shot at love... but is this secret affair really worth dying for?! 

There was a little bit of a shake up last volume as Reon was introduced and the Prefect selection war finally started. This volume provides a look at another side of Reon, and while she's definitely going to be an interesting character considering her plan...I don't particularly trust her no matter how much of a softer side we might see. 

Teria steps up a little bit in this volume and it was nice to see her overcome her shyness a little bit to step in and help out Inuzuka, dealing with the Black Doggies problems and so on. It was also really nice to see how far Inuzuka's come since this series started! We know he's been working hard to get better and better and once again we get to see that really pay off this volume. 

Volume 11 sees our characters progress into second year and a new crop of first year students enter Dahlia Academy. Unfortunately this means Inuzuka has to deal with his own little selection of them as part of his Yeoman duties. Which might be fine if Kogi didn't make a reappearance as one of the first year's that he's in charge of. He certainly causes some trouble for him, though there's the odd heart warming moment too as Inuzuka has to figure out how to win him over in order to get the other first years to fall in line! I was also pleased to see Shuna again as she brings in another dynamic and I think she's quite funny! 

Inuzuka isn't the only one facing a problem when it comes to the new first years, Persia is pushed quite a way out of her comfort zone in order to wrangle her own first years and even Char has a little struggle of her own. 

While the new first years mix things up and provide some fun new characters, I think the biggest twist to this volume is Inuzuka's little brush with death and the aftermath of it. It certainly livens things up again, makes them interesting and provides an interesting new dynamic to freshen the series up a bit. Yes, it might be a little bit cliche, but the volume does acknowledge that with a sly little comment but I personally feel like it's a fun new element that leaves us with a great cliffhanger for next volume! 

Manga: Knight of The Ice

Knight of The Ice Vol 1 
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Kokoro is the talk of the figure-skating world, winning trophies and hearts. But little do they know... he's actually a huge nerd! From the beloved creator of You're My Pet (Tramps Like Us). Chitose is a serious young woman, working for the health magazine SASSO. Or at least, she would be, if she wasn't constantly getting distracted by her childhood friend, international figure skating star Kokoro Kijinami! In the public eye and on the ice, Kokoro is a gallant, flawless knight, but behind his glittery costumes and breathtaking spins lies a secret: he's actually a hopeless romantic otaku, who can only land his quad jumps when Chitose is on hand to recite a spell from his favourite magical girl anime! 

I'm not going to lie, I've been missing Yuri On Ice quite a lot lately and I will take anything that even remotely resembles it, no matter how vague, to try and fill its place. Knight of The Ice has the ice skating element and focus on it of Yuri On Ice, complete with fleshed out rival characters, and the secret otaku element of Wotakoi alongside the romance so I was curious to see how things would turn out. I was a little worried things might be a little too ridiculous or a little too much but I was pleasantly surprised! 

I ended up laughing so much while I was reading this first volume and it very quickly caught my attention and I had a feeling it was going to be one of the series that I look forward to each new volume impatiently! 

We quickly establish who each character is and a little background to the whole spell casting thing and how it came about. This initial volume moves the story along nicely, giving us a feel for the relationship between Chitose and Kokoro as well as Chitose and her Editor in Chief who screams second male lead at this point already. 

The supporting cast are a lot of fun from the manager to the coach and each of his rival competitors has their own distinct personality. They were interesting to meet and I'm sure they're going to be interesting to see in future volumes. 

As for the art style, it's nicely drawn that's for sure! Especially the skate sequences, they were so wonderfully drawn and represented. 

Quite a lot happens in this initial volume and I feel like we covered a lot of ground to get to the main point of the story. There's a lot of set up, and I'm already shipping the main two characters though it's clear we're in for some angst for now as everything isn't smooth sailing! This took a lot more of a serious tone than I initially thought it would, though there were moments of humour, and I found myself really enjoying reading this volume. On this volume alone, I'm sure it's going to become a favourite series of mine and I'm already eager for the next volume! 

Manga: Hitorijime My Hero 7

Hitorijime My Hero Vol 7 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Masahiro Setagawa doesn't believe in heroes, but wishes he could: he's found himself in a gang of small-time street bullies who use him to run errands. But when high school teacher (and scourge of the streets) Kousuke Ohshiba comes to his rescue, he finds he may need to start believing after all... and as their relationship deepens, he realises a hero might be just what he was looking for this whole time.

Kensuke and Hasekura have a few problems to work out that have been a long time brewing and came to a head in volume 6. In volume 7, it's time to conclude working them out! I liked that there's still more development to their relationship and it hasn't just stalled and faded into the background in favour of the main couple. We even get a smidge more background on Hasekura as well as a little more depth to how he and Kensuke first became friends and bonded! 

Meanwhile, Masahiro and Kousuke are working on moving in together and actively looking for apartments. However, Kaide sensei might potentially throw a spanner in the works as she saw something at the service station but it could all just be a misunderstanding. It certainly seems like we're heading for a little bit of potential angst or drama thanks to this, although there's a hint of Kaide's own 'scandal' that could prove to be interesting. I'm wondering if I might be on to what it is, but I'll have to wait and see! 

I'm going to be honest, I kind of felt like this volume jumped around a lot. Particularly when it came to time, though there was only one clear flashback. I did get a little bit mixed up as to what was happening and when, although I did like finally getting to find out about Kensuke and Kousuke's father. 

I think that while there's some resolution for Kensuke and Hasekura, there wasn't much progression when it came to the plot overall in this volume, or when it came to Masahiro and Kousuke's relationship though there is a possible set up for some potential trouble coming in the future. 

Review: Incendiary

Incendiary 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

I am Renata Convida.
I have lived a hundred stolen lives.
Now I live my own.

Renata Convida was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King's Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucia. As a Robari, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata's ability to steal memories from royal enemies enabled the King's Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.

Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown and helping the remaining Moria escape the kingdom bent on their destruction. The Whispers may have rescued Renata from the palace years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred--or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she turned "hollow" during her time in the palace.

When Dez, the commander of her unit, is taken captive by the notorious Sangrado Prince, Renata will do anything to save the boy whose love makes her place among the Whispers bearable. But a disastrous rescue attempt means Renata must return to the palace under cover and complete Dez's top secret mission. Can Renata convince her former captors that she remains loyal, even as she burns for vengeance against the brutal, enigmatic prince? Her life and the fate of the Moria depend on it.

But returning to the palace stirs childhood memories long locked away. As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the entire fate of the kingdom--and end the war that has cost her everything. 

Incendiary starts us off with an intriguing opening that provides threads of the world we're embarking into and leaves you with plenty of questions. We're in the middle of a rebellion that's been brewing for a long time and the history to the world and this rebellion is woven into the opening chapters, along with the mythology and lore of the Moria's magic. 

I have to say, Ren was such an interesting MC to me, not only because she has no memory of her past but also because it's kind of refreshing to have an MC that's got this super rare power and first of all, there's consequences to using it. Her power is different to the others in that she gets scars on her hands in exchange for using it and if she takes too many memories she leaves a Hollow behind. Second, she's not viewed as the 'chosen one' which happens in quite a few books from this genre. Instead she's viewed with suspicion, called a traitor and treated quite badly because of it. I was kind of half waiting for her to go down the villain route and I genuinely would not have blamed her one bit if she had.  I just enjoyed her character, she's a badass, she's fighting against other people's image of her and coming to terms with herself and who she is. 

When it comes to the rest of Ren's group, only Dez and Sayida treated her as normal, but it made for an interesting dynamic to have Margo and Esteban be so hostile towards her. I loved the pay off towards the end of the book when Esteban had warmed up to her, though I'd expected more from Margo. I was surprised at her character and a little disappointed. I felt like her reason for disliking Ren so much wasn't particularly strong as she didn't exactly make the effort to befriend Ren either. 

I have to mention Leo as well, I really liked his character and he was quite the source of mystery and debate as I was reading and trying to figure out if he could or couldn't be trusted, or if he was a spy or not. Lady Nuria was also a pleasant surprise, and I liked her immediately. I would have just liked to see more of the two of them, particularly Nuria but I hope for that in the next book! Castian was also quite the surprise. I was torn for most of the book between disliking him but also having a strong inkling that he was going to be the love interest and trying to figure out how that would be possible. I wasn't quite sure what to make of him and my opinion on him kept changing thanks to all the pieces of memory that Ren discovered. Eventually though, I had to admit he was going to be on of my little misunderstood cinnamon rolls. 

The romance aspect is quite interesting to me, because there's very little of it. It's sprinkled in at the beginning and I'm not quite used to having a relationship already established and then of course some things happen and the romance is pretty much non-existent as we focus on the story. What does intrigue me is where it's going to go in the next book. I'm envisioning a love triangle and I'm curious as to how it's going to play out. 

I'm going to be honest, I was living for the world that was being built. It's Inquisition era Spain and I really enjoyed the world building and the magic system. I thought it was nicely crafted with the backstory to the Kingdom and the rebellion and it was very realistic that Memoria had been wiped out and their traditions and beliefs changed and twisted. The Kingdom of Puerto Leones is definitely out to conquer and colonise as much as it can and there's a long road ahead to take them down. There was so much tension and danger in the first few chapters I couldn't help but be drawn in and I was ready for things to get going...except they already were so I was curious what the story was going to do when the rebellion was already in full swing. I also had a very big sense of unease as I read certain scenes with certain characters. I shipped two characters, I thought they were cute but I had such an awful feeling and then the big twist happened and everything I thought this book was going to be was turned on its head. 

There are so many stunning plot twists to this novel. There are ones that you kind of have an inkling about from the way things are going but you're like 'oh no, the author wouldn't do tha-never mind'. Then there are the ones that are subtly crafted and creep up on you, so you start to get a creeping suspicion about something and then you get hit with the realisation as you put the pieces together right before the reveal and you have to take a minute to process everything and order your thoughts. We have all the exact same information as Ren does, and we find out bits and pieces at the same time as she does, it's just a case of which of us can put it together first. 

I have to be honest, I did find things to be a bit slow in places and the twists did seem to be timed to counter that and could be seen to be a bit overdone in that sense, though I did enjoy them. Particularly towards the end, my attention was fully engaged with the book and I found it harder and harder to put it down. Incendiary is quite trope-y in that it uses a lot of tropes we're all familiar with and have seen many times in this particular genre, I do feel like it brings something a little different with Ren and the consequence to her power as well as the way she isn't front and centre leading the rebellion. 

There are intriguing characters, some more fleshed out than others, the world was interesting and I enjoyed the world building even if I felt it could have been a little bit richer in places. For the most part, I had a really good time reading this, particularly as the story picked up pace in the latter half of the book and I'm definitely going to need to get my hands on the sequel to find out what happens next! Not to mention how Ren's power may or may not develop based on something we caught a little glimpse of in this book! 

Manga: The Heroic Legend of Arslan 12

The Heroic Legend of Arslan Vol 12
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Arslan is the teenage prince of the ancient kingdom of Pars, who doesn't seem to have what it takes to be a great ruler like his father. A fateful encounter with a slave from the neighbouring country of Lusitania leads Arslan to question the world outside of the royal capital's walls, but before he can indulge his curiosity, war breaks out. Arslan is rushed off to his first war, only to see his kingdom crumble in front of his eyes. This series of events leads the young Arslan on a journey to reclaim his lost kingdom.

Okay, there's quite a lot of interesting developments this volume! Hilmes is doing some quite tense manoeuvring when it comes to his position with the Lusitanian's and there's also a hunt for a treasured sword that is allegedly the rightful sword of the King of Pars. This quest will be quite familiar to readers who have watched the anime! Meanwhile we have Guiscard scheming for his own position and I can't exactly blame him, his brother is kind of useless. 

Then there's shady sorcerer guy who only gets more shady in this volume. Andragoras has a very interesting role to play in this volume, and if you've watched the anime you'll know exactly what's coming with him, though this volume does plenty to instil a sense of foreboding. I would say, in terms of the anime, we're fast approaching the second season. 

As for Arslan and co, they are on the move once again with survivors in tow which means Etoile has some time to acquaint herself with our crew. The banter between all of them and her attitude were amusing, but I also so badly want her to thaw towards them and join the crew officially already! 

But that's not all this volume, there's also Merlain (Alfareid's brother) who is on the move himself as he escorts the princess to Hilmes. Like I said...there's a lot going on and we see pretty much all of our main characters. 

What's particularly interesting about this volume is Tahamenay. She's been quite quiet this series, but in this volume she finally speaks up. Her wording, particularly when referring to her child, brings up an interesting point of intrigue. Especially after what we've seen of how she treats Arslan and what she knows. If my suspicions are right, there could be quite a plot twist in store. 

Of course, this is all quite calm and leisurely as our characters move around the board and we have a smooth passing of time. But it's not long before danger looms again in the form of the Turanian army, which also heralds the arrival of a familiar face...I'm sure you can tell who it is from the cover of this volume! 

I was more than happy to see Kubard come back into play, I actually quite like his character and I've been waiting for him to join Team Arslan! I also really enjoyed that Farangis got a little bit of the spotlight in this volume as she gets to lead an attack of her own and team up with Kubard. 

While there's a little of Arslan, it's nice to see other characters take more of a role in this volume. Farangis and Kubard in particular! The plot moves smoothly on, driving forward and I'm a big fan of the transitions and how the passing of time is handled in this series. While not quite as action heavy as previous volumes, characters are moving across the board and it seems that Arslan has a new ally on his side. 

Volume 12 leaves us on a nice little cliffhanger which wouldn't be quite so bad if we didn't have to wait so long for the next volume! My one and only disappointment with this volume is the lack of Gieve, I have to be honest! 

Manga: Eden's Zero 7

Eden's Zero Vol 7 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

A young boy gazes up at the sky and sees a streaming bolt of light. The friendly, armour-clad being at his side tells him gently, 'That's a dragon.' The fact that he's joking isn't important. What's important is the look of wonder on the boy's face... and the galaxy-spanning adventure that's about to take place! 

Volume 7 finds the crew in search of Valkyrie, however they soon stumble across a seemingly peaceful planet that's under the tyrannical reign of Madame Kurenai. Shiki and Homura soon become separated and relegated to the labour district in order to mine 100,000 metals before they can be free. It's not the kind of mining that you might be thinking of though. 

In an original twist there's creatures that carry metal and they must be defeated to obtain or rather 'mine' it. While they deal with Madame Kurenai's minions there, the lady herself is seeking the Eden's Zero. We also make the discovery of a weakness to the ether gear, which I personally thought was an interesting development and makes it seem less over powered. 

Meanwhile, Rebecca has been separated from them and is unable to make contact with the others remaining on the Eden's Zero. She does run into Labilia though and I think I dislike this character more and more every time I see her. It was kind of heartwarming for her to offer to help Rebecca and to help her become a better B-Cuber in the process, but there was a little twist that I really shouldn't have been surprised by. However, we do get to meet another B-Cuber called Nino. I spent a lot of this volume trying to decide whether or not I trusted him! 

Volume 7 moves along smoothly from point to point with its usual mix of action and intrigue, plus a really big monster to fight! There's also two really great plot twists to look out for in this one, one of which throws quite a spanner in the works for our crew and their mission and I'm curious as to where they're going to go from here!