2.5 stars A cute manga with plenty of puns in both Japanese and English. Fun slice-of-life adventures featuring Polar Bear, Panda, and all their friends. I have not watched the anime of this, but honestly if you have some non-traditional entity running a café, there’s a good chance I’m going to want to read it….
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Translated by Alex Dudok de Wit 3 stars A standalone tale loosely based on the Tibetan folktale, “The Prince Who Turned into a Dog”. This book is all Miyazaki. Stunning settings, a strong woman with agency and determination, fascinating creatures, rich backgrounds, and intentional ambiguity. Slow-paced story that puts more emphasis on the visuals than…
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4 stars A fun, gentle read, especially for ramen lovers. An interesting way to learn about different kinds of ramen and its components (sauce, broth, noodles, toppings etc.). Definitely recommend for those who like Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 1 but what something with less fan service. Fun characters, wonderful art style. I really enjoyed this…
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by Yuto Tsukuda Illustrated by Shun Saeki Translated by Adrienne Beck 3.5 stars Another entertaining volume in the Food Wars series. In this one, we learn more about how Totsuki works, specifically the shokugeki and the Council of Ten. As always, the food looks amazing. I love when they go into detail on how a…
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by Hayao Miyazaki 4 stars A beautiful collection of artwork from the manga, film, and conception of Nausicaa. It showcases various elements that inspired the story and its evolution along with comments from Miyazaki. These often describe the context or struggles in creating the piece. Some of them were quite relatable and slightly humorous as…
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Translated by John Werry 2 stars Tadano just wants to blend in at school. But when he meets Komi and discovers her difficulty talking to people, he resolves to help her, even when it puts unwanted attention on him. For me, this one was just okay. Based on the title, I assumed the story followed…
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by Mariko Tamaki Illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell 2 stars A slow-paced story about what happens when the power of love works against you and how it can overshadow other aspects of your life. Freddy loves Laura Dean. But their on-again-off-again relationship leaves her confused and wondering, is it worth staying with someone you love if…
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by Yuto Tsukuda Illustrated by Shun Saeki Translated by Adrienne Beck 3.5 stars Hilarious and weird. It’s an odd one to rate. I’m not a huge fan service person, but I love the cooking aspect. I have watched the anime previously so I knew what I was getting into. For those unfamiliar with the series,…
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Translated by Zack Davisson 5 stars This book is absolutely adorable. Riko’s life revolves around video games. When she unexpectedly adopts a stray kitten, she uses her knowledge from her favorite games to figure out how to take care of him. With her over-the-top reactions, she takes on each challenge as though it is a…
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by Yoh Yoshinari Art by Keisuke Sato 3 stars A nice blend of events from the anime along with original mini-stories. Great for those who want more after watching the show. I especially loved the character design section at the end. It delivers on all the personalities from the show. Nice art style. Fun humor….
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