Polar Bear Café: Volume 1 by Aloha Higa

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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Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles, Vol. 1 by Naru Narumi

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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Komi Can’t Communicate by Tomohito Oda

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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Cat + Gamer Volume 1 by Wataru Nadatani

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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The Way of the Househusband Vol. 1 by Kousuke Oono

3.5 stars A humorous slice-of-life comedy following a yakuza-member-turned-househusband as he navigates daily life. Follow Tatsu as he carries out duties like shopping for groceries, taking a cooking class, tackling a DIY project, and looking after a neighborhood kid. While his tasks are often mundane, Tatsu’s old life catches up with him and his over-the-top…

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Poorlier Drawn Lines (Poorly Drawn Lines #3)

by Reza Farazmand 5 stars Hilarious. This is the first of the books I’ve read, but I’ve read the comics online and enjoyed watching the show adaptation. Farazmand’s style is a great blend of optimism, snark, and humor. I really love all the reoccurring Poorly Drawn Lines characters he’s created. Perfect for those who enjoy…

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Cat Massage Therapy Volume 1 by Haru Hisakawa

4 stars Absolutely adorable. Purrr-fect low-stakes story for cat-lovers. Featuring toe beans, chin scritches, tummy rubs, and lap sitting. This book is packed with cuteness. Follow Nekoyama as he makes friends with the Manager of a cat massage parlor and spreads the joy of cat massages with his coworkers. A nice little stress reliever in…

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Fangs by Sarah Andersen

3 stars A light-hearted gothic romance between a vampire and a werewolf told in similar slice-of-life style to Andersen’s Sarah’s Scribbles series. Really enjoyed the different art style for this one. It worked very well for the mood and the characters (and it was gorgeous!). This book gives a humorous look at some of the…

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What’s Up, Beanie?: Acutely Relatable Comics by Alina Tysoe

5 stars I love reading Tysoe’s comics on Webtoon and Instagram so I was super pumped when I saw she’d put together a book collection. While I would have been perfectly content with a bound collection of her comics, Tysoe blew me away by creating a little frame story about her younger self time traveling…

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