November 24th - December 31st
Stuff I read this uhh month(?)
Oshi no Ko Vol. 4
This volume catches back up to where the anime left off, and heck it was just as exciting in print - I LOVE ARIMA KANA!! MEMCHO IS SO GOOD! Ruby and Aqua were there too I guess!
Every time I finish a volume of this I’m really impressed how well designed it is? Like, this guy is deffo writing this story to be published in paperbacks, which feels kinda unique? Obviously - all manga published in serial magazines is, but this reads like its ALWAYS in mind Like, each arc is perfectly wrapped up in one volume and the next one set up and ready to roll, it’s just some super impressive craft. I've read so much stuff that's kind all over the place, this is so intentional with its chapter layout. Good stuff.
She Loves to cook, and she loves to eat Vol. 3
Ohhhhhh heeeeeeck what a perfect volume?!? It builds on the super strong base the first two volumes set up and just blew it up to a billion this time round. We got new characters added who feel natural and totally complement the main cast in interesting contrasting ways, as mirrors for their own internal dramas and then there’s moments where stuff happens that made me wanna shout with joy like oh heck this was a good volume I love this work so much
Daytime Shooting Star Vol. 1
Pretty cute shoujo manga that’s so far ticking off all the tropes
✅ countryside girl moving to her uncles place in Tokyo due to her parents work
✅ hot girl in her class acting all innocent but bullying her for being a bumpkin
✅ love triangle forming (including a guy who is irresponsibly too old)
✅ whole class going bowling
Like it’s got everything. I do like how no nonsense suzume, the main character is. She handles the bullying in a really great way. It’s by the numbers but well done - this is recommended for shoujo romance genre perverts for sure
Everyone's Getting Married, Vol. 7
Ahh the inevitable long distance bump in the relationship - it was cool how these two dealt with the impending split, everything felt real and true to these characters, and wow heck that was probably the worst proposal scene ever in a romance manga, 10/10 no notes
Everyone's Getting Married, Vol. 8 - 9 (Final)
These last two volumes that make up the final arc? I do not like them, I don’t like the whole “I love you so much let’s break up so you can concentrate on your work” thing, it’s STUPID, and VERY anti fun. I do not like the drama that spins out of it, I do not like how they reunite, i do NOT like the final marriage proposaL and make up AT ALL. that SUCKED and felt disrespectful towards the leading lady, and kinda a reflection of her agency. It’s a very frustrating end, especially as the first two volumes were so good. OH WELL.
The Apothecary Diaries Vol. 10
GOD MAOMAO IS SOO GOOD WTF SHE SO HOT IN THAT LAST PAGE TOO WOW
uhh yeah anyways this volume was super interesting, it tied together a bunch of threads that were left hanging from earlier in a new mystery that was really cool, introduced two new pieces of inner court infrastructure and WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH THAT LAST CHAPTER why the heck did the emperor calling her out for special trials whats he plotting whats going ooooooooon
Perfect World Vol. 10 - 11
oh heck that was a heart wrenching set of volumes heck. I’m not someone who’s big on children or pregnancy stories but this totally nails what it’s sets out to do - it’s wild how effortlessly it pulls you into Tsugumi’s headspace. There were moments where the story is so expertly crafted you get hit by her exact feelings like a truck. It’s an incredible piece of work. In the authors pages at the back there’s talk about how one major aspect of the story wasn’t planned and came from the editor- and like dang that was 100% the right choice for these character and this story. It’s rare you get a glimpse of that side of the editor/mangaka dynamic- so that was cool to read about.
Perfect World Vol. 12 (Final)
The final volume does a nice job of tying up all the lose threads, but it’s real obvious it’s doing that. The drama is over. There’s no real plot arc or structure, there’s no stakes to anything- it’s just revisiting characters we have met along the way and giving them a chapter to wrap stuff up. It’s… fine? But not really a satisfying ending tbh. Good series whilst the drama lasted
Last Game Vol. 3
Not much to say, still incredibly good. Ive been reading a lot of shoujo recently, but this is just the best.
Crossplay love otaku x punk Vol. 6
still hilarious, got nothing more to say about this but its such a joy to read each new volume I love these idiot children
The NPCs in this Village Sim Game Must be Real Vol. 5
Yeahhh that’s the stuff- lots of cool storylines colliding in this one, but it’s at its best when stuff from the ‘virtual’ world bleeds over to the real world, like the pet otherworldly lizard and its weird ablility to always escape its tank. The plots developing in fun ways and all beginning to connect up full circle, like that weird coworker who DEFFO is playing a different yet connected chatGPT microtransactions game and all the weird stuff with baddies from protag-kun’s past. It’s all good stuff. This book for sure has some ideas.
Shino Can't Say Her Name
An incredibly gripping and intense depiction of a girl absolutely suffering though her early high school days due to MASSIVELY crushing social anxiety exacerbated by bullying and her stutter, and the ups and downs of her one friendship. It’s a gripping tale with some beautiful art, and Denpa’s English release looks incredible, and is printed on that really nice soft paper, beautiful book!
SPOILER TALK: Maybe I’m just WAY too lesbian pilled but dang, Shino is GAY how can this have any other reading other than SHES FUCKING GAY and she’s REPULSED that her GAY crush is hanging out with some doofus nastylad like EWW you can feel it the text is SO GAY so getting to that ending, like, I know there are ways for lesbian couple to get kids but the heteronormativity hit me like a fucking truck lol. Like it’s a cute ending but daaaaang don’t you realise you accidentally wrote a yuri here? Commit to the bit
stuff in the pile for next year
dannng that was a lot of books in one year.. almost hit 400. I think ill keep this up next year too.. HECK I actually completed a new years resolution basically? that's wild! (for those of you who are new, last year I decided to read a book a day to deal with my backlog as a new years resolution, that's why this post series exists... HECK) But yeah, I've got some new volumes to take, some Yuri, some villainess stuff, some isekai stuff - the BEST genres. But also, I've now got access to the 1000 odd books I managed to recue from my mums house recently - so maybe I'll start re-reading something old.... like GTO. Was GTO actually good? or was I an idiot teenager? maybe that would be a good thing to discover next year. THANKS FOR READING WITH ME
Books read this year: 391
Last week's post
https://cohost.org/LotteMakesStuff/post/3750469-november-6th-23rd