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beneaththetangles · 3 years

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Reader’s Corner: She’s the Cutest, Mint Chocolate, and Assassin’s Creed

Mint Chocolate, Vol. 1

Of all the variations of the incest romance one might find out there, the “stepsiblings who meet as teens” variant is probably the most “acceptable” for most people. After all, when you have someone like the protagonist of this shoujo manga, Nanami, who finds out that her new stepbrother Kyouhei is the guy she had been crushing on for a while, it’s hard to say that her feelings are somehow “wrong”. At the same time, she is aware that any potential relationship between the two of them will come with all sorts of complications, so she still tries to hide things from the parents. Her bigger issue is that Kyouhei, on his part, seems to like to tease her and show interest in her, but also seems to be pushing her away from anything too serious. There may be good reason for this, as the manga does touch upon the scars that can come from a broken family, which is probably the most interesting bit here. Beyond that it’s pretty typical shoujo stuff, with that extra stepsibling flavor, and I’ll probably be reading more of it, especially since it ends on a pretty nasty cliffhanger. ~ stardf29

Mint Chocolate, Vol. 1 is available through Yen Press.

Assassin’s Creed: Blade of Shao Jun, Volume 1

The Assassin’s Creed series has been around for many years, but not too many manga has been created about it. I was excited to have the opportunity to review this one, especially since I wasn’t familiar with the character. It’s about a female assassin named Shao, who seeks revenge after her brotherhood was killed. An ancestor of hers is actually reliving Shao’s memories through a device called the Animus, which is common in the AC series. Basically, she is connected to a device that allows her to see what her descendant saw, but the danger is that the company that owns the Animus is actually part of the Templars, which are the sworn enemy of the Brotherhood of Assassins. The manga didn’t dive too much into who this girl is, but Shao’s story continues to be one full of action and danger. Looking forward to the second volume! ~ Samuru

Assassin’s Creed: Blade of Shao Jun, Volume 1 is available through Viz.

Moriking, Chapter 35

What a ride Moriking was. From my initial first impression on the series to now, Moriking has grown on me as a series. The series follows the titular Moriking has he goes from a beetle to a…human-beetle and battles for supremacy to become the King of the Forrest. The series follows him and the family through various misadventures as well as various insects who also assumed a human form. While I’m sure other mangaka could have milked this for longer, I’m glad this series ended when it did and the way it did. It gave a satisfying conclusion to the overall plot, our heroes reached the goal they were seeking, and honestly, it’s one of the better endings to a short-lived Shonen Jump series I’ve read in a long time. I’ll miss it, but I am glad it went out the way it did. ~ MDMRN

Moriking has been simulpublished by Viz on Shonen Jump.

She’s The Cutest… But We’re Just Friends! Vol. 1

This romantic comedy light novel is pretty much the embodiment of the statement “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” Protagonists Kai and Jun are both big gamers and otaku, so they get along really well, especially with Jun visiting Kai’s house frequently to play games. Kai on his part finds her attractive, but probably more importantly, he genuinely enjoys hanging out with Jun as a friend; there is no sense that he’s just trying to use his friendship to leverage for something more. That doesn’t stop the two of them from having more flirtatious moments, though, and the result is a strangely sweet read that makes me want to cheer on the two to eventually become a couple, but also to never stop being friends. However, everyone around them seems to think they’re dating, and this actually causes quite a few problems for the two of them, especially since Jun is also one of the “popular” girls, which means there are plenty of people who think Kai is not “worthy” of her, leading to some moments of drama that are more hit-or-miss; thankfully, it’s never too long before things get resolved. Oh, and this novel goes hardcore on the otaku references; expect references to specific video games, manga, and anime that even name off specific characters, levels, and events/strategies within. ~ stardf29

She’s The Cutest… But We’re Just Friends! Vol. 1 is available through J-Novel Club.

Sword Art Online, Vol. 21

With the lengthy Underworld story arc completed, this volume marks the start of a new arc. Kirito and his friends involuntarily find themselves in a strange new game — the arc’s eponymous Unital Ring — which turns out to be a survival game, both in terms of gameplay and in the sense that if one’s avatar dies, the player is kicked out and can never play again. Oh, and the last player standing gets a prize. There’s one amazing aspect of the SAO light novels that doesn’t really appear in the anime adaptation: Kirito is actually an endearingly dorky first-person narrator. Another highlight of this volume was how many other returning characters are prominently involved, including Asuna, Alice, Leafa, LIzbeth, and Yui. With humor, mystery, and a surprise returning character showing up on literally the last page, I thoroughly enjoyed this volume. If you like SAO, I recommend it. ~ jeskaiangel

Sword Art Online vol. 21 is published by Yen Press.

Demon Slayer (Series)

So, 2021 was a year I decided I was going to catch up on popular manga series that I never read, starting with the ones that ended in 2020. This led me to Demon Slayer which I read over the course of one week. First, I get the hype. It’s an action packed series with great art, interestingly designed characters, and a very easy to follow and digest story. Second, I really enjoyed it, from the very jump right in beginning to the very end. Third, I have a handful of pet peeves about the series that are entirely petty and minor that if you want to ask me about, feel free to do so on our Discord or Twitter. Finally, while I really liked it, I don’t think this is a series that is going to stick with me. There are a number of manga series that after reading them I felt a big, “Wow, I am going to think about this and possibly read this again.” Series like Haikyuu and Your Lie in April gave me all those feelings. I didn’t feel that way about Demon Slayer. Maybe that’s me. ~ MDMRN

Demon Slayer is available from Viz.

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Thank you to Yen Press and Viz for providing copies for several of the manga and light novels reviewed above.

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends!, Vol. 2

By Akamitsu Awamura and mmu. Released in Japan as “Ore no Onna Tomodachi ga Saikou ni Kawaii” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by airco.

There’s a narrowing of focus in this second volume. In the first book, we got to see a whole lot of Kai and Jun’s peers, classmates, and rivals and see how their “relationship” impacted all of them. For the most part, there’s very little of that in the second volume. Indeed, Reina, my favorite character from the last book, has a much smaller role here, though she certainly makes use of it, seeing what the rest of the cast don’t. But for the most part this volume deals only with three characters: Kai, Jun, and Kotobuki, the girl who confessed to him in the cliffhanger of the last book. I was honestly worried about the addition of Kotobuki after that last book, fearing this would become a “one girl per book” sort of harem series. Fortunately, my worries were unfounded – I’d argue this book is better than the last one, getting into the nitty gritty of friends vs. girlfriends and coming out on the friends side.

Kotobuki has indeed confessed to Kai, and suggests dating in order to get to know each other, an idea that floors him because he’s read too much manga and believes you only date AFTER falling in love The date actually goes pretty well, and they’re a cute couple. Then they coincidentally run into Jun on their date… and she can’t get over how CUTE Kotobuki is! No jealousy on her end at all. The trouble is the other end… Kotobuki had heard that Kai had a friend who came over to play games, but assumed it was, well, a female otaku stereotype. Not a stacked blonde goddess. Feeling a bit desperate and threatened, she decides to up her seduction game… which proves to be EXACTLY the wrong move. Can she and Kai recover from the backlash? And can you have a girlfriend and also have a close female friend who’s even more tactile than your girlfriend?

The most interesting thing about this book is that the drama is almost entirely one-sided. Jun is simply not remotely getting jealous, loves Kotobuki to death, and her reaction to Kai accidentally walking in on her topless is nonexistent. If the series is eventually going to get Kai and Jun together, it’s got a long way to go on Jun’s side. That said, she fills an important role here, as she allows Kai and Kotobuki to recover from their dating mishap and find steadier ground. Kai, like Jun, does not feel mature enough to be in a relationship, something that Kotobuki also realizes about herself during the course of the book. Indeed, the book may be an ad for “just friends”, as the best scenes in it are the ones with no tension or romantic angst, just the three of them hanging out and having fun. (It’s also a giant ad for anime and manga properties, and not just GA Bunko series. The lack of censorship is jaw-dropping.)

Unfortunately, after two quick volumes in February and June of 2020, there has been no more of this series in Japan. I hope we eventually get some closure. In the meantime, this is a good one if you like romcoms with a bit less drama than usual.

By: Sean Gaffney

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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justusrstone · 3 years

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She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends!

She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends! A new romantic-comedy slice of life light novel series coming from @jnovelclub

She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends! English Title: She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends! Japanese Title: 俺の女友達が最高に可愛い。 — “Ore no Onna Tomodachi ga Saikou ni Kawaii” Author: Akamitsu Awamura — あわむら赤光 Illustrator: mmu Translator: airco, Kristine Johnson Genre: Romance, Comedy, School Life Original Run: February 2020 – ongoing English Run: February 2021 – ongoing Japanese Publisher: GA…

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#airco #Akamitsu Awamura #Comedy #Ebook Available #Kristine Johnson #mmu #Romance #School Life #She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends!#Slice of Life

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends!, Vol. 1

By Akamitsu Awamura and mmu. Released in Japan as “Ore no Onna Tomodachi ga Saikou ni Kawaii” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kristine Johnson and airco.

I tend to read a bit more into the plot and characterization of light novels than they sometimes deserve. This is, honestly, a survival technique – I read a lot of light novels, and only a few of them are worthy of really high praise. Most of them are “well, OK, that was decent”. So you try to look for things you enjoy, things you can sink your teeth into. For me, in this book, it was the character of Reina. She’s not the titular just friend, but she is the ‘queen bee’ of the classroom and one of Jun’s best friends. And, despite how much the two of them deny, it, everyone thinks that Kai and Jun, our protagonists, are dating. So we’re meant to be happy when Kai chooses to go out with a pack of her friends to karaoke. He doesn’t have a good time, nor does she, but he thinks he did a good job, held his own. Then Reina destroys him the next day. I really liked that. That said, the book is still “decent”.

Kai is our somewhat generic protagonist. He loves manga, light novels, and games, and is known as an otakyu, but is not really on the ‘creepy’ end. He goes to this high school as they are very “freedom” oriented, so you can game in school provided it’s not during class. On his first day, he meets the gorgeous Jun and acts like a typical sputtering guy… till he sees she’s whipping out Breath of the Wild. She’s an otaku as well! The two quickly bond, and over the course of the next year they become best friends, with her going over to his house to game multiple times a week. The trouble is… they look like a couple;. They sometimes act like a couple. And not everyone approves of this. Can Kai deal with both Jun’s friends AND the jerk jocks and come out with his friendship intact?

As I said, this has issues. It’s a big ol’ male fantasy, despite the male lead’s desire to stay friends with Jun rather than date her. (Fanservice is actually relatively low, limited to “wow those breasts are big”, though when Jun’s friends interrogate him they’re very coarse.) You had better enjoy high school drama or else you’re going to hate this. There’s a subplot added near the end with a teacher in the school turning out to also be someone else that I felt was perhaps one subplot too many. The ending implies this is going to be one of those “new lead girl every book” series, which subverts the premise. Most importantly, it’s a walking ad for GA Bunko, mentioning so many of their main series by name (no censoring in this book) that I almost felt ill. Don’t be a shill.

That said… I found the leads very likeable and sympathetic. I really liked Kai thinking he was doing great and getting torn apart, reminding us he’s still very much a guy who doesn’t get women. And there’s a secondary friend of Jun’s who is so annoying she actually flips back over towards hilarious. You look for the little things. And that’s enough for me to recommend this to romcom fans. I’ll get Vol. 2, despite the change in lead girls.

By: Sean Gaffney

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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Manga the Week of 2/3/21

SEAN: February! The most depressing month of the year! Let’s cheer ourselves up with some new titles!

Airship has two digital-first light novels: Classroom of the Elite 7.5 and The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent 3.

J-Novel Club has LOTS of stuff. Let’s start with print, as we get two new omnibuses. Banner of the Stars 1-3 is the light novel series, while How A Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 1-2 is a collection of the manga.

ASH: The Banner of the Stars omnibus looks nice.

SEAN: Also in print: Ascendance of a Bookworm 7 (the final volume of the 2nd arc), By the Grace of the Gods 2, and In Another World with My Smartphone 14.

ASH: Hooray for more Bookworm!

SEAN: Digitally, J-Novel Club has two debuts. The Great Cleric (Seija Musou – Salaryman, Isekai de Ikinokoru Tame ni Ayumu Michi), whose manga adaptation Kodansha is already putting out here, is the first. A reincarnated Salaryman decides to try to live to a nice old age by being a healer. Little does he know…

The other debut is She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends! (Ore no Onna Tomodachi ga Saikou ni Kawaii), a relatively recent series. A guy finds that the hottest girl in the school shares the same gaming hobbies he does. They quickly become best friends… so why does everyone think they’re dating? This looks cute and fun.

Also out digitally: Animeta! 5, An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 4 (manga version), Banner of the Stars 5, I Shall Survive Using Potions! 4 (manga version), Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 35, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 10, and The World’s Least Interesting Magic Swordsman 5.

MICHELLE: Animeta! is pretty fun.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying the series, too.

SEAN: No debuts in print for Kodansha, but we do get Eden’s Zero 10, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest 2, and Witch Hat Atelier 7.

ANNA: Always happy for more Witch Hat Atelier.

ASH: Yes, indeed!

MELINDA: I realize it’s probably a very different slime, but after playing a lot of Genshin Impact, is it weird that I’m suddenly interested in that dude’s reincarnation?

The digital debut is My Dearest Self With Malice Aforethought (Shin’ai naru Boku e Satsui o Komete), a dark title from Young Magazine. Virgin Eiji wakes up one day to find a girlfriend in his bed, his friend saying he got in a fight, and no memory of the last three days. What’s going on?

Also digital: Chihayafuru 24, Otherworldly Munchkin: Let’s Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP! 3, Our Fake Marriage 5, and The Invincible Reincarnated Ponkotsu 3.

MICHELLE: I can’t let a mention of Chihayafuru go by without saying “Yay!”.

ANNA: Wooo!!!

SEAN: Believe it or not, we now move to Viz. The debut is The King’s Beast (Ou no Kemono), the latest Rei Touma series, and set in the same universe as Dawn of the Arcana. The world isn’t great: those who are half-beast, half-human are discriminated against. So our heroine serves under the king disguised as a man. This runs in Cheese!.

MICHELLE: I really liked Dawn of the Arcana and The Water Dragon’s Bride, so I expect I will like this, too!

ANNA: I like both of those series, and I enjoy it when a heroine has to disguise herself as a man, so I have high hopes for this.

ASH: Ditto what you both said! I’m looking forward to giving this manga a try.

MELINDA: I admit I’m a little tapped out on “heroine disguises herself as a man” when it’s not actually about a trans person, but I’ll give it a shot.

SEAN: Shonen! Blue Exorcist 25, Boruto 10, Chainsaw Man 3, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 20, Dr. STONE 15, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 4–Diamond Is Unbreakable 8, Jujutsu Kaisen 8, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 18, Naruto: Shikamaru’s Story (a light novel), the 5th and final volume of Samurai 8, Seraph of the End 20, and We Never Learn 14.

ASH: I somehow missed reading the second volume of Chainsaw Man, so I’ll need to fix that. Also need to play some catch up with JoJo, too.

SEAN: Shoujo! Far fewer titles here. Shortcake Cake 11 and Yona of the Dawn 28. (Then again, Yona should count as 4 normal shoujo titles.)

MICHELLE: I’m happy about both of these.

ANNA: Me too!

ASH: Yay, Yona!

SEAN: Yen Press has two debuts. Sasaki and Miyano runs in Gene Pixiv, is based off a webcomic, and sounds sort of like the BL version of Horimiya.

MICHELLE: That’s intriguing!

ASH: Ooooh, when you describe it like that, I may need to check it out!

MELINDA: Sounds like this could be great!

SEAN: The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions (Kyuuketsuki to Yukai na Nakama-tachi) is a title that runs in Bessatsu Hana to Yume. A BL title based off of a novel, with art by the creator of Baby & Me, for those who recall that old Viz series. This is nothing like Baby & Me, but has lots of hot men, hot vampires, and hot vampire men.

MICHELLE: I was just reading about this mangaka yesterday because Kodansha announced their March debits and one of them is Ragawa-sensei’s Those Snow White Notes (Mashiro no Oto). Must be her time to shine.

ANNA: I have to admit, I’m intrigued by all these combinations of hotness.

MELINDA: There are some things that never get old. And by “some things” I mean “hot vampires”.

SEAN: Also out next week: Bungo Stray Dogs 17, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 10 (manga version), Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria 14 (manga version), and Sword Art Online Progressive Barcarolle of Froth 2 (also a manga version, though the LN doesn’t have the subtitle).

Chilled to the bone this winter? Heat up with some manga. What are you buying?

By: Sean Gaffney

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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