Trickster Eric novels: manga

Showing posts with label manga. Show all posts

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Today's Menu for the Emiya Family - volume 3 (read for fun)

More sweet and cozy stories featuring tasty-looking foods. I'll share some personal highlights.

A spotlight for Assassin. He gets so little focus, it's nice to see someone befriend him.

The backstory for Sakura was heartwarming. The contrast between the start in the past and the continuation in the present is wonderful.

A spotlight for Archer-Gilgamesh. He's out shopping to do the spinning wheel lottery thing. It was pretty fun to see his good luck invert itself, and the shot of him asking Lancer (he of the infamously bad luck stat) was also worth a chuckle.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Today's Menu for the Emiya Family - volume 3" an A+

Click here for my next book review: Deltora Quest - book 5 - Dread Mountain

Click here for my previous book review: Deltora Quest - book 1 - Forest of Silence

Brian Wilkerson is an independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor's degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

New book up! Catalyst for Glorious Change!

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? Manga Volume 7

I read this after watching the anime cover the same story, and I was not disappointed. It has its own way of telling the story. It's definitely worth the read.

This volume starts with the Denatus to decide Bell Cranel's title as a level 2 adventurer, and proceeds to cover how Welf Crozzo joins Bell's adventuring party. It ends where light novel 5 begins, Bell's party's first dive into the middle floors of the Dungeon.

I feel like the manga does a better job of conveying exposition than the anime, such as the history of the Crozzo family, while still being a quick read. So, I feel like I understand the story better. The light novel likely has more info still, but it would take longer to read.

Also, the manga is a gold mine of reaction shots. Such as the male gods trying to choose a new nickname for Aiz followed by Loki's death glare, or the transparent jealousy on Hestia's face when she says that Bell will be "safer" with Welf in his party instead of being alone with "Miss. Supporter".

The artwork for Welf's forging scene at the end is intense.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Is It Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? Manga Volume 7" an A+

Click here for my next book review: I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 years and maxed Out My Level. Light novel volume 4

Click here for my previous book review: Rising of the Shield Hero volume 3

Sunday, July 16, 2023

The World's Strongest Rearguard - manga volume 4

This one goes heavy into the myth arc. It's a heavy revelation and a glimpse at what lies in store for our heroes. I thought this Labyrinth Country was a "world between the worlds" sort of place, but now I'm not so sure.

The last volume ended with a boss fight cliffhanger, and this volume delivers on the conclusion of that fight. It is really cool to see everyone's morale discharges (a limit break by another name). This volume does NOT end on a cliffhanger, which is nice.

There's also a prequel side-chapter that expands on Misaka and Suzuna's lives before reincarnating. Like Arihito and Kyouka, they knew each other, and what's more, they were really good friends. It's a sweet friendship chapter, but it's also intense emotionally. These two friends are Chaos and Order, respectively, and this single chapter illustrates the pros and cons of such lifestyles, and how friendship evens out the cons, beautifully. If I think about it too much, I get emotional, seriously, I do.

Art continues to be good. The boss fight, exciting. Aftermath, spooky. Character emotions, yes, well done.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "The World's Strongest Rearguard - manga volume 4" an A+

Click here for my next book review: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? volume 5

Click here for my previous book review: Tegami Bachi - volume 1

Sunday, June 18, 2023

Tegami Bachi volume 1 (read for fun)

This is a manga I picked up from a Friends of the Plymouth (Minnesota) Library book sale. I get a lot of good stuff there.

Imagine a world where delivering mail is a perilous journey. Each delivery requires traveling a dark and monster-infested wilderness, alone and on foot. Your only defense is a special handgun that fires metaphorical bits of your own heart, and using it may attract more monsters, who seek the "heart" in your deliveries. That is what it is like to be a letter bee.

Letter Bees are the mailmen of this world of Amberground, a land of perpetual night. Their deliveries are the only thing connecting the various monster-safe zones to each other. Gauche is an elite Letter Bee, and the story begins with him delivering an unusual package, a human boy who has lost his mother.

This is the story of Letter Bee Gauche delivering Letter Lag Seeing to his destination and inspiring him to become a letter bee in his own right.

It's a great narrative and the character development in this volume alone is good, too. I liked the budding partnership between Lag and Niche as well as the world building of Amberground.

The art looks good. One gets a feel for the bleakness of the environment, and the emotion of the characters. These important things when "heart" is a central concept, and the art conveys that well.

Only one complaint, the action scenes. It is sometimes difficult to follow them, and thus make sense of what's happening. For me, this is at its worst when the "heart" gun is being loaded and fired.

Trickster Eric Novels gives Tegami Bachi volume 1 a B+

Click here for my next book review: The World's Strongest Rearguard - manga volume 4

Click here for my previous book review: Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle volume 5 (Read for fun)

Saturday, May 27, 2023

ARIA the Masterpiece volume 2 (read for fun)

Return to Aqua for the winter.

Here we have more slice-of-life tales of Akari the Undine in the city of Neo-Venezia. The story arch here is her first Autumn and Winter in her new home. There's a lot of world-building involved.

First, there's the contrast between Aqua and Manhome. This started in the first volume, with how much more rustic Aqua is than Manhome. Volume 2 builds on that. It sounds like Earth has become more like a single sprawling city with few if any natural areas. This would explain why Neo-Venice has so many tourists. In fact, natural areas from Manhome have been recreated on Aqua. There's an island nearby Neo-Venezia that is a Japanese forest temple. Supposedly, kitsune weddings take place there.

Second, there's holidays like Vogare Longa (alternatively "Vogalonga"), a gondola race that marks the change of seasons. It's a very big deal. It's also a real thing. The real-life Venice does this every year. Akari also celebrates New Years Eve with her new friends and reflects on how much has happened in her life over the past year.

Third, there is a nice mixture of grand and mundane. For the grand scale sci-fi flavor stuff, there's a chapter about Aqua's Gnomes. These are the professionals who maintain Aqua's artificial gravity. They live underground similar to how Akatsuki the salamander lives on a floating island. Then there's some more mundane and small-scale stuff, like gondola cleaning.

Fourth, the art is beautiful. From the forest temple, to the Bridge of Sighs in Neo-Venice, to the underground city of the Gnomes, it is all beautiful. This pairs well with the peaceful stories. Really relaxing reading.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "ARIA the Masterpiece volume 2" an A+

Click here for my next book review: Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle volume 5 (Read for fun)

Click here for my previous book review: Kikuchi's Sushi (read for fun)

Sunday, February 19, 2023

Today's Menu for the Emiya Family volume 2 (Read for fun)

I liked the first one, so I picked up the second one. These stories are the perfect kind of relaxing read. They are cute and funny and totally low drama. Each is self-contained and short, which makes them perfect for quick reads when one has a little bit of time.

Some chapters stand out for me, like the Christmas one. It takes place at the Einzbern castle, a perfect winter wonderland setting, since the Fourth Grail War isn't taking place. There's something really wholesome and endearing about Berserker bringing in the Christmas tree, and Illya baking sugar cookies for him is adorable.

We also get to see Lancer being a Shipper on Deck for Shirou and Rin, which is funny. The author says that the chapter where this scene takes place in is inspired by the anime adaptation of Unlimited Blade Works.

Finally, whenever Archer cooks something and someone thinks that Shiro did it makes me laugh in Dramatic Irony.

The art is as good as in the first volume. It is that perfect mix of cute and, for lack of a better word, non-epic, that fits the slice-of-life atmosphere.

There is no difference between this volume and the first. It is more of the same. So, if you liked the first, then you will like the second. This is not a series where you should expect novelty in each volume, except perhaps in the dishes prepared.

Trickster Eric Novels gives Today's Menu for the Emiya Family volume 2 an A+

Click here for my next book review: Dungeon and Dragons module - Dragon Heist

Click here for my previous book review: The Ring Breaker by Jean Gill (hall of fame)

Saturday, July 23, 2022

The World's Strongest Rearguard manga volume 3 (read for fun)

I am definitely a fan of this series by now. I've only read the manga adaptions, but I plan to read to the original light novels sometime soon.

The world building for this series continues to fascinate me. A good chunk of the start of this volume is the party visiting a professional treasure chest cracker. Seekers find these treasure chests in the Labyrinth, and they bring them to these chest-crackers to disarm of traps. This is not a simple thing, it's a process, and this treasure-cracker appears to be a single mom with two (very cute) children. She joins the monster-butcher and the guild staff as part of the industry that relies on Seekers to go into the Labyrinth.

This Seeker party has comradery. This is a True Companions kind of series, and I like seeing that in adventuring parties. There is a dinner scene where Arihito's party expresses their commitment to each other, and some less serious /more funny shenanigans caused by Misaki. They work together well in battle.

Misaki is a troublemaker, but it is harmless trouble. She knows enough not to actually endanger her party members. This makes her antics cute instead of annoying.

Morale Discharge. In game terms, these sound like limit breaks. I'm looking forward to these.

Trickster Eric Novels gives The World's Strongest Rearguard Manga Volume 3 an A+

Click here for my next book review: I've been killing slimes for three hundred years and maxed out my level - light novel volume 3

Click here for my previous book review: Konosuba light novel volume 4

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Snow White with the Red Hair volume 7 (read for fun)

I watched the anime before reading this and I wanted to continue with the series. This volume appears to be the end of that adaptation. It covers the end of the Claw of the Sea arc, its aftermath, and the events that follow, such as Mitsuhide getting hypnotized, and the palace exhibition.

What appears to link them is the contrast in Shirayuki and Zen's relationship. While they grow closer together romantically, the social distance is still an issue. Shirayuki is a court herbalist and official "Friend to the Crown" and this brings her tantalizingly close to Zen, but he is still royalty. There is some drama about that, and it is handled sweetly.

Overall, this is a chill volume. Perhaps something of a breather after the high stakes in the previous arc.

The art is beautiful, as usual with this series.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Snow White with the Red Hair volume 7" B+

Click here for my next book review: The World's Strongest Rearguard manga volume 2 (read for fun)

Click here for my previous book review: Ultra Kaiju Humanization Project volume 2

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Ultra Kaiju Humanization Project volume 2

I picked up this volume at the same place as the first, my local library. It is much the same as the first. It has more short "episodes" of cute monster girls doing cute things, and also more hints at something bigger building behind the scenes.

This volume has more of a plot structure than the first. Mephilas and her group plot to takeover the earth by "stealing its heart", which they plan to do by becoming an idol singer group in Japan (Akibara, naturally). So many of this volume's hijinks take place on Earth.

It is still cute, still funny, and still shallow. And bad things still happen to Jamilar. They're played for laughs but they're a major buzz kill for me.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Ultra Kaiju Humanization Project volume 2" a C

Click here for my next book review: Snow White with the Red Hair volume 7 (read for fun)

Click here for my previous book review: I've been killing slimes for three hundred years and maxed out my level - light novel volume 2

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

The World's Strongest Rearguard manga volume 1

It's like D&D + isekai, and it is a lot of fun.

This is a story that I've seen at bookstores and then at my local public library. I decided to give it a try because this is the first volume in the series. I understand that it is the manga adaptation of the first light novel volume. This is a reincarnation isekai, and it has a number of aspects that make it an interesting example in the genre.

The first of which is that the place which the protagonist, Arihito Atobe, reincarnates into appears to be something of an afterlife. Labyrinth country is full of people who have reincarnated after dying in other worlds. A psychopomp even appears to explain to Arihito that exploring Labyrinth country's various labyrinths is something that the recently reincarnated are expected to do. The local seeker guild's (basically a guild for adventurers) has a whole system set-up and ready for him to enter in order to start his new life. So, he may have reincarnated but Arihito is not special. This leads to the second interesting part of the premise.

Arihito did not reincarnate alone. He died in a bus crash, and so many people reincarnated at the same time as he did. One of them is his boss from his previous life, and she wants to start a seeker party with him. In this way, Arihito's new life might have continued the same as his old life. It is an interesting point of contrast, since reincarnation isekai generally have more radical breaks and differences between the two lives. Not just with this scene either. This is a plot point developed throughout the volume.

There are other parts, but I won't speak on them. I want to mention other parts of the volume, like Arihito's first adventure in a labyrinth.

In this verse, a "labyrinth" is basically a wild area where monsters can be found. It is similar to how "dungeon" is used in fantasy stories. It is not literally a maze. So, in this labyrinth, Arihito and the mercenary he hired encounter a monster. I have to give the author and artist credit for this. They took a monster that appears harmless, and kind of silly, and make it into a scary and competent threat. Then, building on that encounter, they use it to set up the volume's climatic fight. The anticipation, the danger, and the stakes involved, it all builds up to a truly satisfying climax. And a satisfying resolution too.

Falling action is a crucial part of making a climax successful, and this volume succeeds there. The aftermath of Arihito's first seeker adventure is explored, both in terms of material loot and the relationships with his budding seeker party. It reminds me of a game master for a tabletop role-playing game granting rewards for the successful completion of a quest. I think that may be why I like it so much.

The art itself is also great. It establishes the aesthetic of Labyrinth country, and fully conveys the emotions of the characters. The fight scenes are dynamic and easy to follow. The panels set a pace that can be peaceful or energetic, and it keeps me turning pages.

I'm definitely going to look for future volumes. I might even follow this story in both light novel and manga formats.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "The World's Strongest Rearguard manga volume 1" an A+

Click here for my next book review: I've been killing slimes for three hundred years and maxed out my level - light novel volume 2

Click here for my previous book review: My Hero Academia - Vigilantes - volume 1

Sunday, May 29, 2022

My Hero Academia - Vigilantes - volume 1

The first volume of the spin-off is off to a great start!

The core cast is entirely separate from the main series, yet the author and artist have no trouble establishing them quickly. Koichi is immediately established as the Nice Guy he is, a fact cemented by his first hero/vigilante name actually being "Nice Guy", because his initial heroics are things like picking up trash and giving directions to people who are lost. He also benefits from comparisons to main series protagonist, Midoriya, as someone who wants to be a hero but isn't born with a combat quirk. He has a great character arc in this volume alone.

Knuckleduster is, likewise, a meaty character from the get-go. The afterword in this volume describes him as the MHA version of Batman, similar to how All Might is MHA's Superman. I say that is an accurate comparison. He operates in the shadows, punches out thugs with mundane strength, and recruits a talented boy to be his Robin counterpart. He is also used for comedy, which surprised me. He and Koichi have a Straight Man and Wiseguy routine, with Koichi as the straight man reacting to his over-the-top antics.

Finally, Pop-Step, the third member of the trio, is developed from the same time as Koichi. In fact, the two of them are contrasted in the very first scene. Koichi's quirk requires him to assume a crawling position, and this makes him look creepy. Pop-Step's quirk enables her to jump high, and so people literally and figuratively look-up-to this independent idol. Yes, she is an idol singer. She performs song and dance routines on city streets, which is illegal, and not only because she uses her quirk without a license. At the same time, she is a selfish attention seeker and also a budding hero. She does, after all, go on vigilante patrols with Koichi and Knuckleduster on top of her schoolwork and independent idol biz.

The plot itself is quickly set-up and established as meaningful. These vigilantes do hero work even if they are not professional heroes. Side - note; Present Mic has a scene where he states that vigilantes like Knuckleduster were heroes before "hero" was a profession, back in the early days of the super-hero society.

Someone is passing out a Psycho Serum. It is a drug that amplifies the power of a quirk while at the same time diminishing the user's ability to reason. In short, it creates "instant villains" out of ordinary people. Making it more insidious, some users aren't aware that it is a drug at all, and it doesn't have to be taken voluntarily. It is called "Trigger".

Knuckleduster recruits Koichi to help him track down users and find the source.

Strangely, all the users of this Trigger become monstrous after using it. They literally transform into monstrous entities that would surely be seen as villains by civilians. I wonder if this is intentional, in-universe, that is.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "My Hero Academia - Vigilantes - volume 1" an A+

Click here for my next book review: The World's Strongest Rearguard manga volume 1

Click here for my previous book review: Ultra Kaiju - Humanization Project - volume 1

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Ultra Kaiju - Humanization Project - volume 1

A Cute Girls doing Cute Things series, where the cute girls used to be large monsters. Yes, that's what it is. This is a story where giant monsters are reincarnated as cute human girls and gather in a high school just for them, where they have harmless fun with each other. If you find this a silly situation, then you are not alone. The protagonist, Meflias, agrees with you.

After his canon fight with Ultraman, Meflias wakes up to discover that they have become a human girl. The mysterious principal of the high school she is expected to attend offers little in the way of explanation. The school doesn't even have any actual classes. Meflias is expected to live a life that consists of self-study, school club activities, and hanging out with other kaiju reincarnated as human girls. No conquering of earth or fighting Ultramen.

As you can expect, this is a silly and cutesy series. Its chapters are stand-alone comedy skits. Those are funny, definitely, but also kind of shallow. There isn't much of a plot going on, except there are hints that something is going on behind the scenes. I get the sense that someone is trying to tame/domestic/redeem/ etc. the various kaiju that the various Ultramen defeat. There is also a scene that implies Meflias-chan the human girl might have more to her than "defeated by Ultraman as in canon". These and other things make me think that "Humanization Project " might be more than a subtitle for the series, and might be something in-universe.

The art is cute, for sure. It makes the light read even lighter.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Ultra Kaiju - Humanization Project - volume 1" a B+

Click here for my previous book review: My Hero Academia - Vigilantes - volume 1

Click here for my previous book review: Lizzie Newton - Victorian Mysteries V1

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Lizzie Newton - Victorian Mysteries V1

This is something I picked up on a whim while browsing my local library. It stars a mystery novelist and her steward/fiancé/personal barrister solving real mysteries during the Victorian era of England.

It is a fun read. The art is great and the story is good, too. Perhaps that is a good way to put it, the art is better than the story.

The art is consistency good through the volume. It can't be easy to draw all these Victorian era outfits on every page, and the staging of the cells in a manga is always an artform itself. So, the art is great. I enjoy the character, the setting, and the presentation of the mystery. The chemical experiment in the climax is worthy of being the climax when it is presented like this.

The story is good. It makes sense internally. It develops naturally. It has a suitably mysterious start and a great establishment for its protagonist. I think, for me, the issue lies in how the book feels disjointed.

It's like it is half VIctorian-era romance and half mystery. First, it's all about gossip, marriage matches and the expectations of gender and social class, and then it's all about the mystery. Then the mystery is dropped entirely for the two leads to bicker about what is and isn't appropriate behavior, and the mystery might not have returned if not for the police visit. Which has its own issues.

I'm not speaking poorly of the story. Like I said, it is a fun read. It just feels like I'm reading two genres separately.

Trickster Eric Novels gives Lizzie Newton - Victorian Mysteries V1 a B+

Click here for my next book review: Ultra Kaiju - Humanization Project - volume 1

Click here for my previous book review: Scarlet Soul volume 1

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Scarlet Soul volume 1

In which Shoujo is mistaken for Shounen.

This is something I found in my local library. It sounds like a shouen fighting story given its premise, paraphrased as "girl from a family of exorcists literally takes up her big sister's sword to fight off an invasion of evil demons". It's not. Maybe this is due to a slow-paced start, but the first three chapters aren't like that at all. The actual content of the chapters give far more weight to the heroine's relationship with her best friend / love interest, so it's more like shojou. I suppose the cover should have been indicative of that.

Anyway, the first three chapters establish the situation of the heroine, Rin Shirano. She is an outcast from her household for a number of reasons, and feels directionless in life. Her only supporters are her best friend, Aghyr, and her big sister, Lys, who, incidentally, is the only living member of her family. Then ominous news arrives, and Lys disappears. It is one of the longer uses of Call to Adventure that I have seen. Until the end of chapter 3, there isn't much of the premise to be seen. A lot of smoke but no fire.

This isn't a bad thing, necessarily, just not what I was expecting. Even the climatic scene of this volume is light on the fighting, and places more emphasis on Rin's emotional growth. That is definitely a good scene. Rin has great character development in this volume.

The art is beautiful. That is unqualified. The characters look great, the environments looks great, and the scenes of tragedy have this vividly gruesome vibe to underscore the tragedy.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Scarlet Soul volume 1" a C

Click here for my next book review: Lizzie Newton - Victorian Mysteries V1

Click here for my previous book review: BOFURI - I don't want to get hurt so I'll max out my defense - light novel volume 2

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

A Certain Scientific Accelerator V2

Find new stories at your local library! I found this one at mine. I read the first volume some time ago, so I was interested in picking up this second one.

This feels like an episode. That is my impression of it. This volume is the content of one episode. The first several chapters are about one scene, which is mostly an action set-piece. It doesn't feel as though much happens for the first half of the volume. Then the pace picks up. It is like the event in the hospital was the trigger to set something big into motion. So, in hindsight, it was a good thing to make it a big event space-wise; give it significance.

So, this volume struggled to hold my attention in the first couple chapters, but then attained a firm grip mid-way through.

It was certainly interesting enough to make me want to look up specific terms used here. Anti-skill, Disciplinary Action, Dark Side of Academy City, I wanted to know more about these terms because I wanted to understand the volume better. I don't recall them coming up much in A Certain Magical Index, which is what I am more familiar with.

Last Order is cute, like always.

Estele is a good choice of foil/partner for Accelerator. A kind necromancer working with the brutal esper makes for interesting dialogue and comparisons.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "A Certain Scientific Accelerator V2" a C+

Click here for my next book review: No Game No Life volume 6 (read for fun)

Click here for my previous book review: The Monsters Know What They're Doing

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Sweetness and Lightning volume 2 (read for fun)

I'm starting with this series because it was recommended to me by an acquaintance. He said it was indeed a sweet series. I'm starting with this volume because it was the earliest that my local library had. So between the recommendation and the local library's collection, I am able to enjoy this series.

It is a cooking manga in the Iyashikei genre. The frame narrative is single father Kohei Inuzuka learning how to cook with his young daughter Tsumugi and one of the students in his high school math class, Kotori Lida. Because of the Iyashikei genre, this situation is totally wholesome and innocent. The three of them take their time preparing a meal together and then they eat together once finished. That's the premise.

It is precious.

Each chapter is a self-contained story, a handful of the meals that the trio prepare together. In one of them, Kohei is trying to find a way for his daughter to eat bell peppers, which she thinks are disgusting. The story doesn't go the way of "Green eggs and Ham". No, Kohei's first attempt ends up making Tsumugi cry because of how bitter his bell pepper dish tastes. The story goes into detail about how young children have sensitive taste buds, and so Kohei and Kotori work together for a solution.

Another chapter is a Gyoza party, which is when friends get together, make "gyoza", and then eat it together. This appears to be something that real-life Japanese people do, because the author says that they did this with some friends in the afterword. Gyoza is a stuffed bread dish. One takes meat and/or vegetables and wraps them up in bread wrappers, which are then boiled/fried/baked etc. depending on the recipe.

It is a light read. Light and sweet, like the title says. It's a good thing to read before bed to move into a relaxed state of mind prior to sleep. Unless, of course, the stories make you hungry. The food looks good. I'd like to try it at some point.

Sweetness and Lightning volume 2 an A+

Click here for my next book review: Spice and Wolf volume 10

Click here for my previous book review: The Wee Free Men (read for fun)

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Thursday, December 30, 2021

The Demon Prince of Momochi House - volume 1

I found this at my local library. When I see volume 1 of an interesting series at the library, I check it out so I can get the intro info and feel better about jumping around volumes later. You never know what you're going to find at the library.

In this story, Himari Momochi travels to a remote mansion in the mountains because she received a letter stating that she has become its owner. She is an orphan, never knowing her parents, and so this mansion is a chance to connect with her family. What she finds are three guys squatting in it, one of whom is Aoi. The situation quickly becomes more complicated and then, disappointingly, much less so.

You see, the story has an interesting start and then drops off into sentimental nothing. In the first chapter, Himari has a distinctive personality and character. She wants to learn about her family history and is motivated to stay at Momochi House because she sees it as part of her family's legacy, and she wants to maintain the house for that reason. Even when she learns that this legacy involves mediating between the human and spirit worlds, she is undaunted. She avoids such stereotypes such as being afraid of ghosts, and is not (initially) charmed by the boys she meets even though she admits that they are gorgeous. In fact, when literal ghosts show up, she holds a flashlight under her face and shouts "no squatting!" at them.

There is even this suggestion that the letter Himari received was a trap meant to lure her, the true heir, to the house for a nefarious purpose, and also that Aoi meet/knew of Himari before they meet in this chapter. However, this all drops off rather quickly.

By the third chapter, Himari is totally focused on Aoi. Who he is, what he is, how being Momochi House's guardian burdens him, how much she wants to help him, etc. She doesn't seem as interested in her family's legacy anymore and isn't as assertive as she was in the first and second chapters. The myth arc doesn't progress at all. Even the point at the end isn't new information; the reader was already told that in ch 1, although the point wasn't emphasized like it is at the end of ch 3.

The only saving grace here is the implication that Aoi has a hidden agenda. In ch 1, he says that he happened to stumble into Momochi House as a child, and the House chosen him as its guardian for want of the true heir, Himari. It was just bad luck for him to take the role that was meant for Himari. Certain things he says and does imply that this is not the case.

He switches rather quickly from trying to convince Hmari to leave to bonding with her, and the third chapter makes a point of emphasizing how much Himari is thinking about Aoi. She herself reflects that she "can't stop" thinking about him. The ayakashi (basically, evil spirits) of Momochi House seek to possess her because her blood as the true heir will make them more powerful. Finally, the very first page has a bystander warn Himari that the Omamori-sama (Aoi) will curse her if she goes to Momochi House. Thus, this otherwise disappointing third chapter might not be a shojou cliche sinkhole but an implication of Himari being literally-magically charmed by Aoi.

The art is good. Definitely. It leans towards the cute/pretty side of things. The ayakashi can be spooky too, sinister instead of elegant. However, the "action scenes", such as they are, leave much to be desired. If one is going to devote a significant portion of a book's premise to something like "I am the guardian of the border with the spirit world, and I must seal evil spirits", then more space should be allocated to this duty.

Trickter Eric Novels gives "The Demon Prince of Momochi House - volume 1" a C+

Click here for my next book review: Reborn as a Vending Machine, Now I Wander the Dungeon. Volume 1

Click here for my previous book review: Generation Witch - volume 1

Sunday, December 19, 2021

The Isolator - Realization of Absolute Solitude. manga volume 1 (read for fun)

This is a book that I found at my local library. You can find a lot of good stuff by browsing your local library. This is the manga adaptation of the first light novel.

In this story, a Mass-Super-Empowering Event took place in the modern world a couple years prior to the start of the story proper. One of those empowered is our protagonist, Minoru Utsugi. He developed a personal force field that protects him from harm and dulls external sounds, metaphorically isolating him from the world, in accordance with his wish to be separate from the world. Minoru is aware of this power, to some extent, from the story's beginning.

In his view, his wish was misunderstood. Instead of Barrier Warrior type abilities, it sounds like what he wants is the ability to fade out of the world entirely and live in a void. Why the desire for isolation? That is slowly revealed. It has good build up. Though, I'd say the manga adaptation fumbles the revelation a bit.

See, we are introduced to Minoru when he is jogging as a ritual of forgetting. He's trying to suppress some terrible memory. A bit later on, it seems as though this terrible memory is a teacher speaking badly of his lunch and Minoru shouting at them. It is clear that the nerve touched actually relates to his sister, who made the lunch, and thus this memory leads to the true terrible memory, but the presentation is still kind of narmy. Even when the truth comes out, it is so abrupt and laconic, that the emotional weight isn't present. This singular event that has shaped Minoru's life and personality isn't explored. I don't know if this is true in the light novel as well, but here in the manga version, it falls flat for me.

What DOESN'T fall flat is the plot thread involving Minowa's pursuit of Minoru. The boy seeking absolute solitude has a girl trying to get closer to him. She is introduced early on, during the jogging scene that also introduces Minoru. No, she doesn't run into him; no Crash-Into-Hello / Meet Cute here. She actually has trouble catching up to him which, incidentally, ties into the narrative development of Minoru's superpower. Her character develops alongside his, and so we learn a good bit about her.

We get her history, her hobby (track team star), and why she is pursuing Minoru. We even learn a detail like she recently cut her hair short because of the high school track team's rule. Her Moe rating is high. So when the villain of the arc targets her, reader concern for her is also high.

Now about that - when a love interest is threatened by a villain, it can feel artificial. You know, like it is an excuse to get the hero and villain into conflict. Not so here. The villain and love interest are developed independently, and so the reader can see why The Biter is after Minowa in particular. It makes perfect sense why their paths would cross, and thus why Minoru is pulled in as well. It is not a case of "my love interest is in danger!" No. It follows the development Minoru has so far.

He wants to avoid bad memories, so he wants to avoid regrets. He wants to avoid the emotional pain caused by regrets and bad memories. That's why he thinks his force field is useless - it does nothing for his emotional pain. So when he has even an inclination that Minowa could be in trouble, he investigates so he doesn't regret not taking action later. This natural development, the culmination of the actions taken by all three characters up to this point, is what leads to the climax. THAT is a satisfying payoff.

The art is great. Minow is cute. Minoru always looks like he needs a hug. The villain is menacing. All that good stuff.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "The Isolator - Realization of Absolute Solitude. manga volume 1" a B+

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