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Book reviews
One Punch-Man
Shin Honkaku Mahou Shoujo Risuka
Shin Honkaku Mahou Shoujo Risuka
Shin Honkaku Mahou Shoujo Risuka
Shin Honkaku Mahou Shoujo Risuka review
Shin Honkaku Mahou Shoujo Risuka
Apr 14, 2021
Shin Honkaku Mahou Shoujo Risuka review
Disclaimer: it may contain minor spoilers and talks about the first volume.

Jimmy Page once explained the music of Led Zeppelin as a contrast of explosive sounds accompanied by contemplative moments and called that effect "Light and Shade". Navigating on those extremes highlights their power, and it is in that understanding that lies the work of NISIOISIN's Shinhonkaku Mahou Shoujo Risuka.

Another understanding you might want to have is how the story plays in the context of the Sekai-kei narratives of the early 2000s. Pause and Select has an excellent video about Sekai-kei. Kizutaka Kugi contrasts characters like Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is considered the grandfather of that type of apocalyptic storytelling. Though yet to be well-defined, it's a style of storytelling where grand narratives are replaced with the subjectivities of the postmodern world. What matters is the individual and their actions, or lack thereof, towards the world, accompanied by a slice-of-life element in the story. They usually delegate the action to their empowered female companion, who they are in love with or have some sort of moe relationship. In that sense, Kizutaka spites that kind of guy and wants to bring happiness to the world—much like Light Yagami from Death Note, its contemporary. He bears the responsibility and so the action and consequences of making the world a better place, albeit his actions are questionable, to say the least.

But, of course, he's not the only protagonist in the story. If in Sekai-kei stories, the girl bears the responsibility of fighting the Other, NISIOISIN won't simply go to the other extreme. He won't waste characters. He thinks characters are everything in a story. So Kizutaka shares that responsibility with Risuka Mizukura, the deuteragonist. They are a duo and cannot achieve their own goals without each other. It's a stable in NISIOISIN's writing. He understands that even with our own individuality—or ego—we, humans, are social creatures and need help from others. Though, even if you can attribute that mentality to how Japan's society is structured, the Sekai-kei stories posed the problem of people losing faith in that structure. So instead of advertising an extreme individuality, he chooses the middle ground.

Upon meeting Risuka, Kizutaka thinks he can use her as a pawn but soon realize Risuka is too much for him to handle. She has her own goals—to find Shingo, her father—and because of that, she can be autonomous. And although that is a crucial element in their dynamic, the important aspect for that is the power that Risuka holds. She is simply too strong. That dialect about power is constant in play in the story, and it is better exemplified when magic—power—affects characters. It is also visible how broken the protagonists are because of their circumstances, and they end up seeking each other comfort and an understanding of their existences. It is in those contemplative moments, contrasting all the violence and pain, that NISIOISIN leaves strands of hope. Deep down, he is a softie. He can write the most violent and gruesome story out there and yet he wants his characters to find peace, happiness, comfort in their lives.

Upon building the world, NISIOISIN uses the concept of magic as a key element for the story. Because of time constraints and the nature of his writing style, the Myth of Cthulhu is used to smooth the reader into the urban fantasy of Magical Girl Risuka. Additionally, NISIOISIN uses the falseness and strangeness of magic as a pillar to construct the world and its people. There's one character that behaves in the way they do because of that. They don't behave using our real-world logic, and that sense of strangeness keeps the reader engaged with the story. Another foundation is the environment and how it can shape people. That's most noticeable with Risuka herself. Her special ability related to time manipulation is that she can "advance" or "accelerate" herself in time until the point she's the strongest, at the age of twenty-seven, and becomes a rude, vulgar, violent person, contrasting her meek younger self, who doesn't want to grow up because of how violent she sees the adult world—she projects that vision onto herself as an adult.

The concept for the story is to be about witchy characters. He fuses Mahou Shoujo with Majokko in Risuka's character but won't play directly into the tropes related to those genres. He brings a grounded view of some of the tropes. You wouldn't directly point out that the story has a magical girl, for example, but if you are familiar with the concepts relating to those genres, you can see them playing out in the story.

Organically, the world unravels for the reader through the mysteries Kizutaka ends up trying to solve. NISIOISIN uses various shortcuts to solve the mysteries in the story—you can think of that as how Kinoko Nasu in Kara no Kyoukai handles the mystery in his story—even jesting the book as a third-rate mystery novel. The comparison with that work doesn't stop there. The Japanese critic Tsunehiro Uno describes this work as the only smooth transition from Sekai-kei to Shindenki. The Neo-Fantastical was a genre used to advertise the new type of works Nasu was writing, especially when he was writing for the Faust magazine. It's another to-be-well-defined genre—more than Sekai-kei, I'd say. Nihilist in nature, both works share this amorality and need-ness of their broken characters. Nonetheless, they are insane characters solving impossible situations.

Due to its nature of being published in the Faust magazine, the three chapters are told in an episodic manner but builds up from previous developments with mysteries, twists, and a lightning-paced character development that NISIOISIN is known for. Kizutaka is an excellent narrator and even if his edginess can put some people off, the absurd of some lines makes the reading a fun experience.

At the start of this bloody-violent tetralogy, Kizutaka and Risuka start a journey of self-discovery and friendship with guilt and blood in their hands.
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Unhuman
Princess Tutu
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei review
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei
Apr 12, 2021
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei review
This is a re-edit as my original I was not satisfied with. Ok let make this clear! when I first read this, I really enjoy it as I thought its a different take that I never seen. But to make sure I re-read this like 30 times and my conclusion is that its really wrong.

Story:1/10
The plot well I thought it was good the first time I read it. Its about Ayano who is in total shock that Hijiri, one of her students is the same person who she hang out when she was a teen and he was a kid at the time. Now I thought it was a great set up but with only two chapters, you better have a good story in that set amount. But it wasn't develop as well and we don't get much back story about the two leads. And now that I think about, when I read this I thought its was a horror story because the love is really creepy then romantic. For story well I give this a 1 and it was almost close to zero if weren't for the fact that it will keep you reading.

Art:9/10
The art is really this manga's strong point here. Every thing is very detail and looks good for shojo standards. The characters are also looks very pretty so in conclusion the art is great.

Characters:2/10
The characters are by far the worst part of this. Hijiri is a complete nutcase as I don't see how Ayano could like him. He force his love on her and she starts to fall for him!? Ayano while strong in the Beginning, she gets weak at the end which really piss me off. If the manga author is going to make those two fall for each other then give us reason. What would of been nice is to know more about Hijiri as I really wanted to know how he got insane. Is it because of his love for her, is it because of his parents abuse him, is it because of a tragic accident? But nope we don't get it which leaves lot of questions and leads to a unsatisfied ending. So characters I give it a 2 because at least they will try to entertain you.

Enjoyment:1/10
I'm not gonna recommend this as its pretty dreadful. My enjoyment drop after every re-read of this all the way down to a 1. I think this could been better if it have more chapters to tell us more about the characters. So if you gonna read this, good luck then.

Overall:1/10 COMPLETE AND ULTIMATE FAIL! >:O
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Deep Sex
Tokage no Ou
Tokage no Ou
Tokage no Ou
Tokage no Ou review
Tokage no Ou
Apr 11, 2021
Tokage no Ou review
Alrighty! My first review.

My Synopsis:
Tokage no Ou is an interesting take on the "chuunibyou" theme about teens unable to tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Typically, these stories focus on average characters with delusions of being something much more than they are. However, in the case of Tokage no Ou, our protagonist (Tokage), actually has a power! It's just... kind of useless. Tokage has the uncanny ability to change his eye color at will. As un-extraordinary of a power as it is, it doesn't stop him from believing he's still destined for greatness! Tokage lives life under the belief that his power is still in stage one, and is yet to fully awaken, so he "trains" it daily in an abandoned building. On one seemingly routine day, that abandoned building becomes a war zone among assassins that Tokage gets himself caught up in, bringing him closer to his delusions of grandeur ... but will his ability even come in handy?

Story: 7
From my understanding, the manga is just a prologue to the light novel series, which is why it only lasts 15 chapters. Chapters 2-14 take place in one location throughout the span of one day, so the feeling of progress seems lacking at times. Despite that, the limited setting acts as a catalyst in a way that there aren't any "breather" chapters. Something eventful happens each chapter and will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what'll happen next. The story started off light-hearted, but quickly developed into an unexpectedly bloody tale. Quite a few flashbacks, time jumps, and POV switches are used, making the timeline hard to comprehend at times, but also kept things interesting. By chapter 14, everything is cleared up through the retelling of events by one of the characters. Ultimately, the premise drew me in, and the "That escalated quickly"-type story kept me hooked. I just would've liked the confusing parts to have been explained sooner.

Art: 7
Nothing innovative or superb, but still good. Not much to say on it.

Characters: 8
Tokage no Ou has a habit of switching the story to different characters' POVs. While the focus is on Tokage enough to still see him as the main character, this method helps develop the other characters within the limited 15 chapters, allowing even a seemingly minor character like Umishima (the delinquent) to have his moment to shine and become somewhat likable. Another example is Sugamo, who at first seems like an archetypical dandere, and becomes quite an enigmatic character that keeps not only the other characters guessing, but the readers as well. Tokage's development from "childish chuunibyou" to a more resolute, fearless protagonist was especially enjoyable to me, and seeing his character develop even further is enough of a reason by itself to make me want to check out the novels.

Overall Enjoyment: 7
Tokage no Ou was pretty exciting for a short series, and did a good job at garnering interest in the light novel it's based on, as I believe it was mainly intended to do. I must admit that most of the enjoyment of reading this came after finishing it and imagining what'll happen in the novels. Judging it alone, it's still a good series that I recommend, but it still had a lot of potential left before it ended. In that sense, it was anti-climatic. (The last page of is still pretty badass, though) If you're the patient type that can wait for the LN to be translated, or an anime adaptation to be made of them, then I still recommend this series. Enjoy!
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Ever Green
Ever Green
Ever Green
Ever Green review
Ever Green
Apr 09, 2021
Ever Green review
Honestly, this gave me mixed feelings.

Story: 8
The start of the story was intriguing, with the protagonist having a cliche crush towards a popular girl and portraying their own personal troubles within the first few chapters. The flow of the story was chill, flecks of comedy really upped the ranking. The set up for the story was definitely enjoyable, seeing how Hotaka's and Niki's interest towards each other built up was cute. Story telling was pleasant and poetic, it was very unique in that aspect. I think around the final volumes was when the manga had rushed to reveal truth about the characters and their stories, extremely twisting a lot of the already built-up love and respect I had for the story.. The ending can definitely leave you feel many things but confusion would really be one of them. I'm not saying that stories like these do not exist irl, and while they certainly do, the ending (especially last chapter) to the manga was sketchy and did not feel very meaningful as it should have.

Art: 6
Nothing much to say here, the art was pleasant to look at and the artist very certainly portrayed each character great. Everything was anatomically correct, panels were done alright and the effects were often very expressive. It did not appeal so much though, the art style was nothing out of the ordinary and it seemed very standard. It is a 6 not a 5 only because I think the backgrounds were nicely drawn and objects, such as (minor spoiler) Niki's motorcycle, the keyring she had, etc. The pool, school, buses, and water when Niki dives in or swims in is shaded with a lot of effort.

Character: 7
Now each character was definitely unique and realistic to some point, but imo the side/minor characters definitely popped out more. On-chan's and Soga's comedy subtle romance (and Shake and Soga's little rivalry over her) was adorable and hilarious. At this point they were more interesting to me than the actual characters. Because of that, they're not just some random side or filler characters to enlarge the story of the protagonists; they're so full of life and have their own story develop.
The protagonists, Hotaka and Niki, were realistic as both of them share family problems and trauma which is what brings them together eventually. This family aspect is so important in their character that it adds depth to understanding their personalities more. I also like how the creators try to bring in as many sides to their traits, like Niki's roughness (badass attitude) when she is annoyed at herself or a student accusing her wrongly, lol, which nicely contrasts the anxious rounded Hotaka that can barely muster courage.

Enjoyment: 8
I personally enjoyed the story, whilst it wasn't the best it could have been, it did keep me flipping the pages. However, others might not exactly like it because of the twists at the end and the ending explains the truth but explains little of the solution to how the whole...situation ends? Story telling was great but around the final chapter it did not elaborate enough.. The series was pretty memorable but it would not be something I'd want to willingly re-read.

Overall: 7
It did not reach its full potential, at a time I felt like the writer was not sure where to go with the story and hence it ended with mixed feelings. Characters were a strong point and probably one of the few reasons I'd recommend anyone to read this series.
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Doushitemo Hametsu Shitakunai Akuyaku Reijou ga Gendai Heiki wo Tenishita Kekka ga Kore desu
Karate Shoukoushi Monogatari
Karate Shoukoushi Monogatari
Karate Shoukoushi Monogatari
Karate Shoukoushi Monogatari review
Karate Shoukoushi Monogatari
Apr 08, 2021
Karate Shoukoushi Monogatari review
This is a sequel story, a follow up to a manga which had a less than satisfactory ending. It seems to try and rectify this, but ultimately fails to do so. I can recommend this to fans of the original as it offers some fan service and is not unfun to read, but if you are expecting a proper conclusion you wont find it here.

SPOILER WARNING

The story is told from the perspectives of 2 new characters Takeru and Meo. Young men who are both martial artists with prestigious relatives in martial arts and tragic backstories. The thai Meo, seems to be obsessed with the Japanese Takeru and combined with his cross dressing early on it seemed as though they were going to make him a homosexual and play this off as comic relief not unlike Pedro from the original series, however, this never goes anywhere. In general the new cast is woefully underdeveloped. Takerus love interest, Izumi Touko, never shows any chemistry with him and I suppose we are meant to accept that they end up together on the basis that he is the main character and that she has big boobies alone? Speaking of new characters, the author seems to forget that Izumis bodyguard(?) Minoo even exists part way through the story...

While the new characters are underdeveloped the scenes with the old cast are enjoyable (Although making Mutou both an mma and a boxing champion is incredibly obnoxious even by the previous karate wank standards set by the franchise). This begs the question as to why the new characters were even introduced to begin with? Meo being the younger brother of Samart does have some reason to be in the story, but why introduce Takeru exactly? Perhaps the author realized this at some point, which is why we never even get to see the final fight between Takeru and Meo? But to add insult to injury we miss out on Minorus fight with Ibuki as well, talk about an anti climax. Further to this, the fights that we do see are marred by obnoxious metaphor owing to Takerus uncanny ability to visualize what his opponent is feeling. The original series had this as well, but it was never this egregious and in this new manga it really detracts from the enjoyment of the martial arts in my opinion.

Overall the humor of the original is still in tact in this sequel and it certainly is still enjoyably to read, but the project feels massively rushed. The fact that it is much shorter than the original does not lend itself well to the inclusion of all of these new characters many of whom we are barely even introduced to before they are brushed off to the sidelines.
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