Thumbs up for The Way of the Househusband Volumes 1-9 by Oono Kousuke. Comedy.
A Yakuza retires from the business in order to become a househusband, a job which he takes Oh So Seriously, right down to the Instagram account for the bento boxes he makes his wife for lunch. Although all of the episodes are essentially variations on the same joke – there’s no “story” here – it’s still exceedingly delightful.… >> Read more
Two thumbs up for Princess Jellyfish Volumes 1-9 by Akiko Higashimura.
Tsukimi, a young woman obsessed with jellyfish, lives in a shared house with other shy female nerds…and the owner’s about to sell. Not only will their nerd collective be broken up, but the historic building will be torn down for new developments. Oh no! But enter Kuranosuke, a local rich boy (and also fabulous cross-dressing fashionista) who refuses to let them give in to inertia…and that’s just the setup.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for Spy x Family Volumes 1-6 by Tatsuya Endo.
The setup: He’s a spy who needs a fake family to get close to his target, a recluse who appears in public only at his son’s school functions. She’s an assassin-for-hire who needs a husband to avoid attracting attention. Neither of them knows the other’s secret…nor do they know that their fake daughter is a psychic.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for Sailor Moon Box Set (Vol. 1-6) (and vol. 7) by Naoko Takeuchi. Manga.
My blasted friend got me hooked on the new anime series, which at the time only had six or seven episodes available, so I was quickly left wanting more. Rather than watching the 1990’s anime, which my friend warned me was quite padded, I started reading the manga.… >> Read more
Neither thumbs up nor thumbs down for Zombie Fairy Vol. I by Daisuke Torii. Manga.
My ex thought I would be amused by this. He is correct. It is utterly silly – the kind of thing where the ninja-fairy shouts out the names of her attacks as she uses them. How can you not chuckle at a manga in which there is a chapter entitled: “Bizarre!… >> Read more
Thumbs up for Scott Pilgrim #1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley. Manga.
What do you know, guys like stories about relationships too. Though some of the characters have superpowers and there is a fight scene at the end, so that makes it okay. Also it was very very funny – enough so that I want the next volume.… >> Read more
Neither thumbs up nor thumbs down for Ghost in the Shell by Shirow Masamune. Manga.
I didn’t know there was any manga that had footnotes, though in retrospect I shouldn’t have been surprised. My boyfriend said you have to read this a couple of times to really understand all of it. I don’t feel like I want to put that much work into it.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for Ranma 1/2, Volume 1 and Ranma 1/2, Volume 2 by Rumiko Takahashi. Manga.
My current project of reading Japanese literature would not be complete without some manga. My options were limited to what we had in the bookstore where I work: in other words, it was this or nothing. I did check reviews on Amazon first to make sure I was reading something decent, and was astonished to find that the first and second volumes had five stars each – with scads of reviews.… >> Read more