I hadn't really been thinking about the order of the episodes, so I peeled off the shrinkwrap, admired the pretty holo dust jacket and crisp cover artI hadn't really been thinking about the order of the episodes, so I peeled off the shrinkwrap, admired the pretty holo dust jacket and crisp cover art underneath, and then plunged in to be as utterly devastated as I was by the show.
The earthquake episodes are the ones that made Link Click go from "interesting" to "okay this is one of my all-time favorites." For the most part, it's really effectively done in the manhua adaptation, too.
I do have some complaints near the end, especially, with how dark some of the panels are - I don't know if it's a flaw in the manhua itself or in this print run, but it was hard to pick out some of the details in really important scenes with their client and his mother. I wish the lighting had been brightened in those sections and that some - like that longview of the two of them trapped under the rubble, with his mother wrapped around him, protecting him - were given more space on the page.
If someone is only engaging with the story through the manhua, or coming to it first, I think parts will be a bit less impactful or make slightly less sense. But I'm going to give it 5 stars for the story, anyway, because it has never once failed to make me cry while watching/rewatching, and now while reading.
It's just a really extraordinary story about family, friendship, lost opportunities, and regrets that linger into adulthood - and a reminder to cherish those small moments with the people you care about.
It's also easy to forget sometimes that when you're focused on the big picture of major tragedies, there are so many individual stories mixed in: a boy who couldn't give up on his big, unreasonable dreams, even if they were just about basketball; a girl torn between her family and a "better" life in the city with her estranged father; a woman who loved her husband and son but always felt incredibly lonely and a little bit angry because she was the undereducated small-torn girl being left behind...
There are brilliant layers of storytelling hit so many different emotional triggers. I genuinely don't think I'll ever be able to not cry through this storyline, because there's such an incredible sense of grief for all the futures that could've been. Beautiful little lives snuffed out far too soon, with so many words left unsaid.
But the thing this show (and Time Photo Studio) does is bring hope and a sense of closure to even these darkest memories. Their client understands that there's nothing he can do to actually change the past. But he comes to the photo studio because there is something they can do for him: they give him a chance to go back to that moment in time and say the things he'd always wished he'd known to say in the moment.
Gratitude to an important friend who'd always been kind to him. Encouragement to the girl who'd been his first love. And while we don't know exactly what he said to his mother, he was able to resolve their fight and give her some happiness and love in her final moments. Those things matter, and they formed new little fragments of memories that he can carry with him.
There are also some really important relationship-building elements between Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang during this particular job, including flashbacks to their first meeting on a basketball court, and their big fight after Cheng Xiaoshi got back to the present and confronted Lu Guang for having kept the truth from him. We also see some of Cheng Xiaoshi's past, with a sweet moment with his mother, and then the reveal of how he'd lost his parents and become a part of Qiao Ling's family.
We close out on a dramatic cliffhanger, with the police coming to the studio and asking about their time-and-photos side business! Really hope Aloha Comics is selling these well enough to get through the full run, because even though the show is the superior format, the manhua is a good adaptation and I definitely want to own all the books....more
Getting impatient to find out the endgame of all these secrets and constant hints - it's difficult to not just look up what's going on and spoil myselGetting impatient to find out the endgame of all these secrets and constant hints - it's difficult to not just look up what's going on and spoil myself. I don't think I missed anything obvious yet, but I'm not sure.
I didn't like this volume as much as the others, I think because the two "cases of the week" were both kind of...weak.
In the first one, Subaru runs into a woman burying a dog spirit at a shrine, in hopes of avenging her young daughter's murder. The story is brutal, in typical CLAMP fashion - her five year old daughter had been walking home from school and was kidnapped and then drowned by a random man who'd just thought she was cute. When he was caught and put on trial, he was basically found not guilty by reason of insanity, which she simply couldn't accept.
The problem for me here is that there wasn't a single thing about this woman that made me like her. She was a grieving mother who was unable to recover from a horrific crime and a massive loss, yes. I understand why Subaru would sympathize with her and want to help her. But the way she went about things was was brutal, cowardly, and selfish. Why didn't she just follow through on her original plan to try to stab the guy herself? Straightforward, accomplishes her goals, looks him in the face as she takes her revenge.
Instead, she researches a ritual where you kill a beloved family dog - an animal her daughter had adored - then cut off its head and bury it in a heavily trafficked area (the shrine) to set off the curse. I'm not exactly sure how it was actually meant to kill the guy she was targeting, but while Subaru was focused on trying to save her from the backlash of such a dangerous ritual, I was busy being completely disgusted by her.
Yeah, killing the dog was definitely a step too far - and having a panel that showed it wasn't great, either. But a couple other things bother me, just beyond that. She kept going on and on about how even if they caught her, they couldn't charge her with a "crime" because there's nothing illegal about unleashing a dog spirit on someone. Except...wouldn't killing the dog and burying it in a shrine be crimes? And if she truly cared that much about her daughter, why would so much of her attention be focused on protecting herself?
I didn't like that woman at all, and I sort of wish Subaru had just let her carry on and take whatever punishment was coming for her. In that chapter, I felt myself aligning with Seishirou, who would've treated the whole situation very differently from Subaru's constant kind-hearted struggles.
I did love the scene after, with Seishirou comforting Subaru and saying all the wonderful, right things to soothe his agony over whether he was right to lie to the woman about her daughter's wishes. (The daughter was suffering, too, and wanting revenge as much as her mother did, but Subaru was the only one who could hear her.)
Of course, once Subaru was asleep, things went back into murkier territory, with Seishirou bringing up "the bet" again. I know this is probably supposed to be some mysterious hinge to their story, but not knowing is driving me kind of crazy.
We also get a warning from Subaru's grandmother about him not "falling under the cherry blossoms' spell," which is obviously about him trusting (loving?) Seishirou, and then a scene at the end that was very confusing to me, with Seishirou seeming like he was about to strangle Subaru, and then something with Subaru's gloves and a power surging out of them...a protective spell from his grandmother?
In short, I'm very confused! And I'm kind of bummed, I guess, that I really do like Seishirou a lot and don't want him to be any sort of actual villain.
I do really appreciate Hokuto's progression. She's still very cheery and loud and constantly teasing her brother about Seishirou, but she has Subaru's kind heart with an immense amount of steely resolve behind it. Loved the scene where she threatened Seishirou with her baking knife - and I really do think she meant it. Does she know more about him than it seems? And is there anything she'll actually be able to do to stop him, if it comes down to it?
The second story was in two parts and was about a girl being brutally bullied at school and being sucked into a cult. This was all interesting but also weirdly dissatisfying, mostly because the cult seemed useless? The woman leading it had some sort of psychic powers that seemed to enable her to sway people, but I didn't get what she was actually attempting to accomplish. Preaching love and self-acceptance and forgiveness and the need to embrace the divine within yourself was all pretty decent, but she was weirdly terrible at accomplishing anything with the bullied girl.
All she did was tell the girl that the bullying was her own fault for "not praying hard enough," for not loving herself enough or standing strong in the face of her difficulties. Which is exactly what the adults at school had already been telling her, so ??? Exactly what kind of help was this supposed to be? It just doesn't make sense to me, because why would teenagers in need of support join her cult, if she treated them like that?
Mostly what this volume did was make me really appreciate Seishirou and his much more jaded worldview. Although Subaru continues to be a darling. He's just too kind for his career path, really...although what he actually wants is to be a zookeeper. In another life, with him running a zoo and Seishirou being a veterinarian, maybe they really could've found happiness......more
To my great disappointment, I hatedYakuza Fiance, but since I'd already gotten this one from the library as well, I figured I'd try it before fliTo my great disappointment, I hatedYakuza Fiance, but since I'd already gotten this one from the library as well, I figured I'd try it before flinging it back in the return bin with the rest.
And now I'm even more annoyed by how that series went, because this was fantastic. Just...so good. Thoughtful and complicated and full of a ton of achey feelings about family and love (in all its forms) and illness and the freedom to decide your future for yourself.
Nineteen year old Haru's life is cut short by an unspecified cancer that at first is just identified as curable anemia. She's initially not a huge part of the story, because we begin with her funeral, where her intensely handsome fiance, Togo, tells her older sister, Natsumi, that his parents want them to start dating now instead.
This sounds weird, but it makes sense from the wealthy/old blood family point of view, which is how everything had started with Haru and Togo to begin with. Togo's parents came to Natsumi's family with an arranged marriage proposal, due to the status of their bloodline - pure and desirable from several generations past, and worth tying back to the main family line now.
While they claimed to be choosing between the two girls, the reality was that Natsumi was never in the running - her sister Haru was more demure, studious, and ready to settle down and make babies and be a good, quiet, devoted member of the family. Togo didn't particularly care. He'd realized as a young boy that his entire life had been planned out for him - following in the footsteps of his older siblings and all the generations that had come before - so pretty early on, he'd given up on the idea of ever choosing anything for himself. He was kind of intrigued by Natsumi, whom he didn't get to speak with during the marriage talks, but his mother said forget her, we're going with Haru...so he did.
Until, a couple years later, Haru was hospitalized and he started running into her devoted older sister on a more regular basis. And it turned out she was fascinating. Hardworking, strong-minded, clumsy and loud, loving, friendly and charismatic but with a real darkness underlaying it all.
Togo says himself that if Haru had gotten well, nothing would've changed; he would've married her, as their families expected, and he would've stayed at his family-owned bank job and made new babies to follow in the traditional family line. He might've even been fine with all that.
But when she died, and Natsumi was right there, broken to pieces by her sister's death and ready to follow right after, Togo made probably the first selfish choice of his life. He asked her to date him instead - and lied to her about it being his family's decision. In fact, he was the one who had to convince his parents to let him go out with another sister after they'd lost the first one.
I'm not entirely sure why the family was so opposed to Natsumi, but I think it's mainly the sense that she couldn't be controlled like her sister. Natsumi had already grown up convinced that her father didn't like her because she was too much like her mother, both physically and personality-wise - who had been part of an arranged marriage, too, and had left that marriage when her daughters were young.
It is weird to me that the mother never showed up. I mean, she didn't die. She just divorced her husband. So I don't get why she didn't even come back for a visit when her younger daughter was dying in a hospital. That doesn't sound to me like she was very similar to Natsumi...although, well, with that said, Natsumi does have specific ideas of which parts of her family are "real" and which aren't. Maybe her mother felt the same way, detaching herself from them and building a whole new life that she'd wanted more.
After her mother leaves and her father gets remarried, Natsumi decides that Haru is her only real family and that the two of them will save up money and run away together when they can. Which is why Togo's appearance, and Haru falling head over heels in love with him - loving him far more than she loves her own sister - is so devastating.
What bugs me, but does eventually get addressed to some extent, is that Natsumi has a younger half-brother who very clearly adores her. He is her family, but because he's not a full brother, she treats him kindly but just thinks of him differently. The same goes for her stepmother, which whom she spends ten years living alongside but never really speaking with. When they finally have a real conversation right at the end of the book, it's so good but also too late to change anything...Natsumi's life could've been so much different for that decade if she'd been willing to accept that her stepmother did love her daughters and that her new brother was as much a real sibling as Haru was. But her stepmother didn't sit her down earlier and tell her any of that, either, so that's part of how family goes.
While Natsumi's love story with Togo is the majority of the plot, it's so mixed up with everything else. In order to choose Natsumi, Togo has to abandon his entire family and the only lifestyle he's ever known. In order to choose Togo, Natsumi has to live with the guilt of knowing that the sister she'd loved more than anyone else in the world would've hated her for it.
You'd think that, when Natsumi found Haru's secret online diary, it'd be something sweet and selfless like: I hope my beloved fiance and my beloved sister find happiness together if I have to leave them alone. But it's literally the opposite, because Haru was just a regular 19 year old girl and not some angelic being. While she was in the hospital, she'd seen the way Togo looked at Natsumi, and the way they were able to interact in ways she never had with him. They were the more natural fit all along - similar worldviews, once Togo pulled out of his family's clutches, with an ability to really talk to each other and enjoy their time together.
Haru had truly fallen in love with Togo. Togo was just going through the motions, as an honorable family man whose parents had chosen for him - the way they always did.
The story ends at an interesting point, because in reality you don't really know if Togo's mom is right and he ends up regretting cutting himself off from the security of his family. They both go into it with clear heads, though, knowing it will be really tough and they'll have times where they don't get along. And it sounds like Togo hasn't really lost his full support system - his cousin tells him that his older brothers will have his back, even if his parents don't. Plus I'm guessing Natsumi's stepmother won't actually let her husband completely disown his daughter.
So I think they'll have a good future together. And at least it's one they were able to choose for themselves....more
Reminds me a ton of The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant, although while that one has strong BL undertones, this is more of a yokai/human Reminds me a ton of The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant, although while that one has strong BL undertones, this is more of a yokai/human pet scenario. It has a similar story structure, though, with a supernatural being and a down-and-out struggling human living together and partnering up to solve a variety of supernatural crimes/mysteries over the course of each volume.
I dropped a couple stars (more like 1.5?) mostly because some of the mystery reveals seemed kind of flimsy. Particularly in the second one, where a character was somehow supposedly taking a bunch of photos and sending them to the police department...while the phone was hidden in his pocket the entire time. If you make a point of that being the case, then how exactly was he snapping all those photos? Magically, through the cloth? And the path of the "stolen" incense burner was unnecessarily confusing and ultimately didn't make any sense. Why substitute a counterfeit one at all? I kept trying to slow down and trace its steps properly, but it never made any sense, so I gave up.
Otherwise, I am enjoying the overall worldbuilding of the story, and its characters. It reminds me a bit, too, of Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture, which reminded me of the fully human but still partners-in-mysteries structure of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard. So. I may have a pretty distinct genre preference.
The Seiji of this series is a NEET (not in education, employment or training) in his 20s who doesn't have friends or family to fall back on to make up for his lack of jobs or funds.
His parents seem to have been somewhat abusive, and certainly not people who would understand his current life path. I'm not exactly sure why he doesn't have any social network through his school years - while he's shy and awkward, he seems like a pretty decent guy who's easy to get along with - but that's a common trope in this genre. It makes it easier to explain how someone would fall that easily into a codependent relationship with someone who's not exactly human and not exactly good but who still provides the security of companionship, employment, and a home.
It's unclear how old Shiroshi actually is; while he has a younger appearance, he's also an immortal (?) son of the king of Hell and consistently demonstrates a wealth of lived experience that far exceeds Seiji's. And, for some reason, he's very fond of the rather dumb but quite sweet human who wandered into his home.
The final chapter is probably the best part of this volume, so I won't spoil it by pulling back the curtain too far. It loops back on a lot of unanswered questions and things I didn't even realize I should've had questions about earlier on - providing a lot more context about how Seiji ended up in this situation to begin with, and why exactly his life had gone so far off the rails.
While Shiroshi initially hires Seiji as an "assistant" - because of his ability to see the "true forms" of people who have sinned, thanks to a childhood accident with a shard of a magical mirror - it quickly becomes clear to everyone, even the highly gullible Seiji, that Shiroshi doesn't need him at all and is simply keeping him around because he's lonely and likes the company.
There's some good stuff, too, with the other king of Hell's heir, Odoro, who's engaged in a "send 100 sinners to Hell" competition passed down to them from their fathers. Shiroshi is currently rather far behind, having dispatched fewer than 30, mostly because he actually values human life and sees the capacity for forgiveness in those sinners who aren't too far gone. Odoro doesn't care; it sounds like he'd killed his twelve brothers, or at least his twin, in order to fulfill his father's task of becoming the sole heir, so why would he waste a moment's thought on the fates of some useless humans?
He sneers at Seiji, too, and Shiroshi's weakness in keeping a dumb, useless human so close by his side. Does Shiroshi's half-human blood really impact him that much, or is he just a better person? I guess that will be shown more over the rest of the series.
I do very much enjoy the idea behind this series, even with the very creepy and very depressing sins being dealt with so far. I just hope the actual mystery pieces are written a little more thoughtfully in future installments....more
Pretty close to five stars, with a couple sour notes that prevented it from getting there.
The main story is great: I absolutely loved the friendship Pretty close to five stars, with a couple sour notes that prevented it from getting there.
The main story is great: I absolutely loved the friendship to lovers progression between Nakaba and Yamai. Nakaba dropped out of school due to homophobic bullying, so he's gotten shy and antisocial and wound up working at his uncle's (?) convenience store as a way to get him out of the house. I'm not sure if he's doing some sort of correspondence school to kept his education up, or if he'll end up going back once he sorts out his life more - those bits aren't mentioned, although they seem kind of important.
Yamai also works there, and his punk look and gruff attitude makes Nakaba afraid of him. Until the day he sees Yamai rescuing a kitten from a crosswalk, with cars whizzing by. When Nakaba adopts the kitten, Yamai flips to a much more friendly attitude, showing that he's a really kind person underneath his scary looks, and they start hanging out. Which is great, until Nakaba's classmates wander into the store and bring up his past...
I put a question mark after the uncle earlier because that could've been clearer when Yamai gets in a fight with those classmates, defending Nakaba's honor (he's just gay and there's nothing wrong with that). Since it happened in the store, Yamai's in danger of losing his job, unless he can provide a good explanation for why he started beating up some customers. Nakaba speaks up for him and tells the store manager - maybe his uncle? - that Yamai was just protecting him, and it's his influence that's made him able to leave the house and be happy again.
The way they start up their relationship is really cute, too. I like that Nakaba is wildly obvious about liking Yamai - a personality trait that got him in trouble with his homophobic classmates to begin with - and that Yamai picks up on it very quickly and really enjoys it. He thinks Nakaba's past crush was an idiot for letting someone that loving and special go, just because he's a guy.
Really loved their relationship. It's a really cute story with some dark bullying undertones that for the most part get resolved nicely.
The one piece that felt a bit off to me was right at the end, when their older coworker, Haruka, said that he "gave Yamai a lesson" on gay sex. It was a strange way to end their story, and I was trying to figure out how to brush past/forget that part so I could just enjoy the sweetness of the actual romance.
Fortunately (?) there's a bonus chapter right at the end that covers this interaction, where Haruka does hit on Yamai, telling him he's interested in him and will show him how it's done, but Yamai says oh I'm flattered but no I'm only interested in Nakaba. So it sounds like they just go out to dinner and Haruka explains things to them. Then the book closes out with Haruka having a meet-cute with another guy, whom it sounds like from the author's note was originally meant to be another side story. That probably would've improved things...I just really don't respond well to those kinds of invasive "friends." Kind of ruins my view of Haruka as a character. But I suppose the main couple is pretty much unaffected.
There's another kind of random story in here, about a guy dating his cram school teacher, who's also (?) an exhausted office worker. I didn't hate it, but their relationship just wasn't great. Not because of the age gap itself, but because the guy just treated his younger boyfriend like actual crap. Mahiro is absolutely head over heels for him and makes tons of excuses for his standoffish, oftentimes kind of mean (in Mahiro's words) behavior. And that...just continues.
Nari starts ghosting him more and then, when Mahiro panics and shows up at Nari's work, he says he doesn't want to see Mahiro for a while. So they don't, until they have a nice resolution where Nari says he was just working super hard to try to get a weekend off (presumably to spend with Mahiro), and Mahiro accepts that as a sweet thing and apologizes for claiming Nari treats him like he doesn't matter.
Except....Nari treats him like he doesn't matter. He could very easily have just told him what was going on, or texted him, like Mahiro had asked. It's a very imbalanced relationship that isn't fair to Mahiro, and I wish it'd gone on for longer so there could've been an arc where Mahiro broke it off and found a boyfriend who actually appreciated him.
An unnecessary inclusion, really, but the title story was really fun and worthwhile....more
What an absolute emotional sucker-punch of an opening. The first third of this volume was all flashbacks to Marco growing up with his hitman adoptive What an absolute emotional sucker-punch of an opening. The first third of this volume was all flashbacks to Marco growing up with his hitman adoptive dad - the one who'd killed his adoptive mother on a mission, but also saved him and raised him with an immense and unexpected amount of love. All of this was so, so good.
And we even get more depth to Marco's shift to the otaku life! The premise had honestly been a little silly: seeing a cute magical girl figurine while on a hitman job and going "oooh she's so cute, I'm going to quit this life and fly to Japan to become an otaku!" I mean, it worked fine for two volumes. It was just kind of flimsy.
But it wasn't just a figurine; an episode of the show was playing on the tv, and it happened to be during one of the big "do things that you love with people that you love" speeches, which perfectly aligned with what Bernardo, Marco's extremely beloved father figure, had wanted for him. Ever since his death, Marco had felt dead inside, too, going through the motions of a life patterned after Bernardo's. Bernardo had known all along that wouldn't make him happy, but Marco hadn't listened, until it was too late. But suddenly, the same message was slammed into his face again, and this time he did listen. He had a chance to change his life into something he actually wanted. To start over, and to live the way he wanted to.
This was all set up to be a full 5 stars volume, but unfortunately, the rest was varying levels of meh for me.
The worst was honestly the anime cafe, where a random child wanders away from her mother and up to two random adult strangers to lecture them about what they should be doing with the drinks they bought with their money. They weren't scamming the cafe. They paid for the drinks and for their seats. They weren't exactly polite to the child, but they were right: it wasn't her business to be telling a couple of adults what to do.
But, stupidly, Marco comes along to back her up and helps bully the guys out of the cafe, and then Andre has a super sweet moment where he gives the girl a coaster. And she! Has the most spoiled brat response possible! "I don't want that one," she tells him, pouting again, until he tells her to turn it over and she sees that he drew her favorite character on the back.
What an awful little girl, who got rewarded for her terrible behavior. Amazingly, not everything children do is actually fully okay, just because of their age. Hated that scene.
Then there was more of the woman with her crush on Marco, which was fine and funny but not the best use of space in a short series, especially when her badass personality got reduced down to "girl who wants to get married." Honestly, her father's advice about settling down with someone who's stronger than her could've applied to Viviana, too, who was going absolutely toe-to-toe with her during their battle. That would've been a fun final matchup. (Since all the BL stuff is really just fanservice...although I bet Gregorio would've been down for it in reality. He's starry-eyed for Marco.)
The bit with the cat knocking over all of Marco's beloved merch and glass cabinet displays also annoyed me...in line with cat people mentality, though, where you coo over how adorable your bitey destructive little beast is. Mostly I'm just not sure what the point of that chapter was...again, with so little space in this volume.
And then we get a final battle that didn't totally make sense to me - it was supposed to somehow prove to Marco's old boss that he'd left the hitman life for good and wouldn't defect to another group with their secrets, etc. Which I guess is fine, except he also let Viviana, Andre (not an otaku), and Gregorio (not an otaku) go as well, without any comment on their status.
But I did love the final bit with Gregorio calling them family, and Marco realizing that after all these years, he finally has a family again - like Bernardo, not one that came from blood, but from bonds forged out of love and friendship and hard-fought choices.
So the opening was amazing, and the ending was a great payoff. If the entire series had been like that, this could've been really wonderful. Just needed a bit less of the pointless filler. And more Andre. Wasted potential with such a fantastic character, really....more
This is such a weird series. I laughed out loud multiple times, and then it closed out with that incredibly dark flashback chapter, with Marco's adoptThis is such a weird series. I laughed out loud multiple times, and then it closed out with that incredibly dark flashback chapter, with Marco's adoptive mother (and everyone else in the nightclub) being murdered in front of him.
That's sort of the point, though. Marco had a highly successful hitman career born out of a horrific childhood where literally anything seemed better, as long as people weren't shouting at him or beating him. So retiring into an otaku life with an assortment of nice people who love talking about story progression and character growth and collectibles...of course he's happier now. He never had a childhood where he could watch fun shows or collect toys. He's basically reliving all of that now, as an adult with disposable income and the ability to make his own choices.
That's probably why he always speaks up whenever someone's dissing otakus. Not only is the otaku lifestyle harmless, but it's bringing people joy and friendship. Why should you stomp all over that? Just ignore the fandoms you're not interested in and spend time with the people who understand you and the things that bring you happiness. A lot of people could use a refresher on those fandom rules. Too much Marco's not around to enforce it more often.
Marco's ex-partner - at least in Gregorio's eyes - shows up in this volume, and I wish I liked him more. He's alright...he's just sort of a mix of contradictions. Huge and hairy and good-looking, with a scary face, even more scarily good luck, and a complete obsession with Marco. The latter part makes Viviana very happy, since there are a lot of extremely shippy moments with Gregorio in the picture now - literally telling Marco he can't live without him by his side - but despite his "partners" talk, it appears that he's actually a very terrible hitman. Clumsy, I guess? Escapes from disasters of his own making mostly because of his stupidly good luck.
There are an assortment of good scenes with him, and I like the setup of him living with Marco now, and him being the one person Marco gets visibly annoyed with, when most of the time now he's pretty cheerful and enthusiastic. But he just wasn't as interesting as I thought he'd be. And I miss Andre, who's still completely hilarious as a mostly background character in this volume. He is completely out of place in this otaku world and all the more wonderful for it.
We also get a yakuza (female) love interest for Marco, which amusingly got third-wall derailed by Viviana, who did not appreciate this het-baiting. And an introduction to a few more characters, including the guy I assume was Marco's mentor, who'll probably show up in the third volume.
Could've been a better volume, overall, but I still liked it. At least Andre's on the next cover, so maybe that's promising....more
Not only is the pacing still weirdly off, but a full third of this volume was taken up by a side story from Yamamori's completelyHmmmmm, not the best.
Not only is the pacing still weirdly off, but a full third of this volume was taken up by a side story from Yamamori's completely unrelated other series, Daytime Shooting Star, which I haven't read and thus mostly didn't understand. That's just...a weird spot to include it. It does make me bump up thinking about reading that series - I watched the live action and it wasn't that amazing, but I tend to not be too impressed by live action adaptations. And I did more or less like this side story, even if it took me until the very end to realize it must be about the age gap love interest who wasn't the endgame in that series and is now getting his own sorta spinoff. So I wouldn't mind trying it out to see if the manga's good.
But still. Could the books in this series actually be about these characters?
I was wrong about a rival love interest showing up; Kuratsuki isn't remotely interested in Fumi in a romantic light and has an age-gap love interest of his own. Which uh. Went through a major speedrun in this volume, too. Super weird to have zero setup for that and have them dancing together on stage at the cultural festival, offscreen while we bounce over to the bonus side story. I would like to see some actual context for them! Some backstory! How she's not going to get fired for dancing with her student in front of the entire school?
Anyway, I do like Kuratsuki's friendship with Fumi. He has the Hot Guy problem of growing up too pretty, being teased by other boys, and befriending girls, who all fell in love with him once he grew up handsome and a little bit manlier. So having a solid friend like Fumi is really good for him. I'd like to see him hanging out with Yoh and Aioi as well - I already really liked the solid male friendship Aioi has with Fumi, and it'd be good for Kuratsuki to have a genuine, straightforward guy to bond with.
Kind of disappointed, too, by how the relationship between Aioi and Yoh is progressing. She's abruptly figured out in this volume that he's got a crush on her, and they did talk about it, but we still barely get to see any of them getting to know and like each other more. The beginning stages of that were so good. Is Yamamori just getting bored with this story and trying to rush everyone to their conclusions?
Even the kiss between Fumi and Kibikino was a really nice cliffhanger, that seemed rushed, too. And I wasn't the biggest fan of Fumi completely ditching her new friend on stage, just to run after her boyfriend. I know this is shoujo and all, but that can wait a few hours while she fulfills her responsibilities and doesn't leave a friend hanging in public. It just made her seem...immature? I don't know.
I wasn't the biggest fan of this one, and that's a bummer when I'm already 7 volumes in and it's too late to back out of buying this series. I hope there's more actual talking and solid relationship development on the horizon. For all of the characters....more
One of the important aspects of physical bookstores (for the publishing industry, if not for individuals' wallets) is the impulse buy when you see somOne of the important aspects of physical bookstores (for the publishing industry, if not for individuals' wallets) is the impulse buy when you see something on a pretty shelf method. LOTR was My Thing when I was in ~9 years old, up through the early parts of college, so of course this pretty slipcased collection of Tolkien's art caught my eye.
It's a nicely assembled reproduction (and republication) of about 40 pen/crayon sketches and illustrations, with a handful of assorted items like floral pieces included at the end. Even though this is just a collection of various art pieces, it still seemed to end abruptly and rather anticlimactically. The last few bits really seemed thrown in - literally doodlings he did on newspaper pages while doing the crossword puzzle - which seems odd when Christopher Tolkien said this isn't by any means a complete representation of his artwork.
I also, quite frankly, sometimes find Christopher Tolkien himself a little pretentious. I don't know if more dedicated Tolkien historians would disagree with me, but I've never really gotten into all of the books he wrote about his father's work. It feels a little like riding coattails rather than establishing your own success, I guess. And he even notes himself that he got various things wrong - that other experts corrected - while helping to annotate the original editions of this work.
Still, there is some interesting material in those notes, which were definitely important to include. Some images are extremely easy to identify, like Hobbiton, but others require a lot more context.
It makes me a teensy bit sad to realize that I've lost so much of my own Tolkien knowledge over the years. While I have read and enjoyed The Silmarillion - probably when I was 10 or 11? - it's not one I've revisited or worn thin like the trilogy, so a lot of those names and locations went in and out of my brain. I'd like to dig back into these books, because I did adore the world so much, but I honestly don't know if I even have the attention span for worldbuilding that dense anymore.
This is still a nice book for any Tolkien or LOTR enthusiast, though: I love seeing how closely his art matches the mental images from reading his stories, and it's particularly neat to see the progression when he was working through drafts and changing how the scenery or buildings looked. It makes sense that I could see his world so clearly while reading, even as a child, because he put immense amounts of thought into every word. LOTR's enduring popularity is because of that attention to detail and love for the craft. A lot of fantasy writers since him have tried, and failed, to reproduce the magic....more
Didn't realize this was historical fiction, which I think explains some of the gaps in worldbuilding and actual plot. Someone who knows more about JapDidn't realize this was historical fiction, which I think explains some of the gaps in worldbuilding and actual plot. Someone who knows more about Japan's history and Queen Himiko would automatically fill in all the missing pieces I had questions about.
For instance, I was confused about the Himiko legacy, since it sounded initially like the shamaness status had been passed down...more than once prior to Shiki. There's a whole secretive tradition about finding possible replacements through village ceremonies and fake sacrifices, and then drinking the blood of the previous shamaness to transfer the supernatural power. Except there have only been three Himikos: the first one, her daughter, and Shiki. I don't really get how the first Himiko had a daughter if they're also required to be pure to keep their powers? And some of that isn't explained by history, because the real queen would've been a clever human and not actually powered by the gods.
So yeah, the supernatural side of things was a bit fuzzy, and the political and epidemic resolutions were also brushed over pretty quickly. And even Yamato agreeing to be a eunuch seems like it would've been more of a Thing for his village, since he was supposed to be temporarily serving the shamaness before succeeding his father as village chief...which would come with an expectation to have children and pass on the line, etc. Yeah, the eunuch bit was fake, but no one but Shiki and a couple others knew that.
I can't say this was the best-structured story, plot-wise, but the art is so, so beautiful, and I really did love the central relationship. Love that Shiki grows up strong and wise with a little bit of a hot temper, but is still utterly head over heels for the man who's loved him since they were kids. Love the concepts of choosing between love and duty, and the slightly sacrilegious decision to rely on education and human bravery rather than waiting for oracles from the gods.
There are the bones of a really good story here, which could've been developed more, but I still liked what we got. I think this genre isn't really Serizawa's forte; Snow Fairy was wonderful, and I have high hopes for White Noise, which I've already preordered. I think I'll probably try anything they write....more
Hmmmm probably 3.5 stars again? The dating parts feel a little awkward - still too soon, I think, and one-sided in a way that gives me some secondhandHmmmm probably 3.5 stars again? The dating parts feel a little awkward - still too soon, I think, and one-sided in a way that gives me some secondhand embarrassment. It reads very much like a girl with her first crush, living out a fantasy that doesn't quite line up with real life. The tone feels a little off...wouldn't Fumi be more surprised that this is actually happening? Would she really have jumped on the yes that quickly?
With that said, they're dating in a pretty cute way. Fumi is trying her hardest, by enlisting her friend for date outfits help and consulting local tourist guides for date spots. The scene where she found out Kibikino had been doing the same thing as her was cute and funny - like Kibikino, I like when she laughs. It's a level of true happiness she just didn't have for much of her life.
I also appreciated that while Fumi initially said "he did tell me he loved me," she realized later on that was not true. Kibikino basically said: I don't know if I like you in that way, but I want you to be happy and don't want to lose you, so why not try it out. Which is a much more reasonable way for the two of them to start dating at this point, really...it's basically just shifting your perspective and spending more time together to see if the two of you match up.
When Fumi asks Kibikino what he likes about her, though, he has a surprising amount to say. He pretty much outlines everything about their personality and their interactions so far. Again, he's been paying attention, even when it doesn't seem like it. He genuinely likes Fumi as a person. He likes all the pieces that make her who she is, flaws and all, which is a good basis for a lasting relationship.
I still kinda feel like it should've taken longer to get here? But we're getting the rival love interest (for Fumi this time) in volume 6, so I think that must be the piece that helps both Fumi and Kibikino sort out their true feelings. ...more
Honestly surprised at how fast this is progressing. I was expecting at least another full volume of Gorou causing problems and Kibikino trying and faiHonestly surprised at how fast this is progressing. I was expecting at least another full volume of Gorou causing problems and Kibikino trying and failing to figure out who Fumi was crushing on. Showing up at school, meeting her teachers and glaring at them to decide which one Fumi saw as a beloved mentor...there were a lot of fun possibilities. Plus, it's kind of disappointing that the progression in Aioi's and Tobiume is kind of happening offscreen. I was invested in that one!
Really, this is more like 3.5 stars for those reasons, but there is some good emotional stuff mixed in, too. Especially the flashbacks through Kibikino's failed romantic history. You'd think the women were right and that he never particularly cared about any of them, but the last girlfriend showed that wasn't actually true. He didn't do anything to make them understand that he cared, and he was distant and independent and uninterested enough of the time to make any girlfriend think they were a burden.
But the day that girlfriend broke up with him, he was bringing her a gift that he'd remembered from their very first meeting...which isn't something someone does if they truly never cared about you or paid attention to you at all. So like Gorou said, he's just really bad at relationships, but is a deeply kind, caring person underneath all that. And he needs a partner who's gentle and patient and will stick around despite all his rough bits.
Which, honestly, that put-together lady from the bookstore wouldn't have done. She would've been disappointed by the reality of dating a brilliant and reclusive author. So I definitely do see the potential with Fumi, like Gorou does.
But the actual confession still caught me off guard.
The moment itself was handled really well - Kibikino taking his hand away and staring at her in shock - and her friends showed up at just the right moment to let the angst really sink in. Aioi is a good friend, too. Very perceptive and gives good advice.
I was surprised, again, that Fumi went back to the house right away, though, to actually tell Kibikino in person that she was going to be gone for a few days. That's pretty mature of her and shows she can handle really tough situations with a lot of grace, even at her age.
But then the biggest surprise....that ending. I don't know. I get the reasoning, kind of, but it also feels way too fast, both within the plot and with the number of volumes left. So we'll see, I guess. It's obviously not going to be smooth sailing from here....more
I really liked this, which makes me a teeny bit nervous for the rest of the series. Shoujo, especially, tends to disappoint me as it goes on - but I tI really liked this, which makes me a teeny bit nervous for the rest of the series. Shoujo, especially, tends to disappoint me as it goes on - but I think the fact that it closes out in 5 volumes should make it more promising. Not as much space to throw in a bunch of love triangles and such. And there's already a lot of good self-reflection, important conversations, and nice pacing in this volume.
I've gotta be honest, I read the blurb and looked at the cover and did exactly what the majority of people in this book did: I assumed the "handsome girl" was the female-presenting pink-haired one and the "pretty boy" was the one who looked like a guy. And then got very confused in the opening convenience store scene, where pink-wigged, skirt-wearing Makoto shouted at a clerk for assuming tall, lanky, plain-looking Akira was his "boyfriend."
Akira has always been uncomfortable with girly things: she's bigger than all the other girls (and some of the guys, including Makoto), great at sports, not too interested in makeup or shopping, and convinced that she's as weird and tomboyish and unfeminine as all her classmates have said since she was a kid.
Makoto always leaped to her rescue, chasing off the mean boys and getting way madder about it than she ever did. He's also convinced that, deep down, it really does bother Akira that guys don't think of her as a girl. Despite a "trying to buy a cute pair of girly shoes" thread that carries through much of this volume, it's honestly hard to tell if Akira does want to be seen as a more feminine person. Truthfully, Makoto doesn't care either way - he's always insisted that Akira is just fine the way she is, and there's no need to change herself for other people.
After all, he's happy to cross-dress in public without it changing how he sees himself as a straight guy (at least at this point in the narrative - and it doesn't seem like that's going to change), so why does it matter if his childhood best friend "looks like a girl" or not? She's a wonderful person, and that's all that matters. And to her, he's always Makoto, no matter how he's dressed. They accept each other at the soul level. That's the important part.
The problem is, Makoto does see Akira as a girl...and has been harboring unrequited feelings for her for a long time. Years, probably. With seemingly no intention of actually telling her, since any time he remotely hints at it, she shows zero interest in him beyond their usual friendship.
Meanwhile, an assortment of extremely attractive, very desirable people fall for Makoto - in both his female and male forms - and Akira winds up as his wingwoman, much to Makoto's angry despair.
While I say that I hate shoujo love triangles, I'm actually kind of bummed that there isn't someone crushing on Akira yet. Maybe that's coming? I just think it's important for Makoto to not be her only option. I want her to choose him because she loves him, not because he's the only guy who sees her in a romantic light. Options are important sometimes.
I really liked all the characters so far, though, even the rival love interests, although Fumi's on a little bit of thin ice at the end of this volume. Hopefully she redeems herself and is able to maintain a nice girly friendship with Akira. And I hope the rest of the series is as thoughtful and fun to read as this one was....more
The art keeps getting prettier, reminding me why I liked Yamamori to begin with. And the story itself hits some nicely pang-worthy notes in this volumThe art keeps getting prettier, reminding me why I liked Yamamori to begin with. And the story itself hits some nicely pang-worthy notes in this volume.
Fumi has firmly told herself to give up on Kibikino; it was never realistic to think of him as a romantic possibility to begin with, and he's told her that while he does consider her special, he means it in a family way. Like a dear niece. So all she has to do is keep some distance, get her feelings under control, and enjoy their interactions for what they are.
Except then summer vacation starts, leaving her at home with him all the time, and Kibikino's editor Gorou ropes her into a research trip to Kyoto with the three of them, then leaves them alone while dashing back to Tokyo to hound another author about their deadline.
It gets a little shoujo-tropey, but I'm enjoying it. Fumi's a good mix of very stable, responsible, and mature, but emotionally volatile under the surface, and it's really easy to like her. She's an interesting contrast to Katsura, who should've been a great fit for Kibikino on a number of levels: age, career path, and general interests. But while Kibikino is happy to launch into a big historical lecture at a moment's notice, bewildering Fumi and exhausting Gorou, he doesn't seem all that interested in having someone to sit around and debate things with.
Fumi is gentle and thoughtful and and genuinely interested in a lot of things, with a deep well of loneliness in her that Kibikino instinctively responds to. Not just because there's a part of him that likes helping out when he's needed, but because there's a part of him that's very love-started, too.
Loneliness is, I think, the big theme of this series. Aioi and Fumi's friend Tobiume seem to be shaping up as a second couple, and I'm surprised by how immediately I loved them. Aioi cares about his mom, and she is a good mom, but she's also working a lot and isn't able to be around as much for all the typical household stuff as she was before the divorce. This leaves Aioi forced to trek to the convenience store to buy premade meals for himself and snacks for his hungover mother...a journey that he minds less once he starts talking to Tobiume, who works there.
Loved the angsty pangs when Aioi realized that Tobiume was recommending the same foods to other people, and that he wasn't special. Loved that Tobiume does actually see something special about him, and singled him out in their "bravery challenge" group as the guy she trusted to cling through and reveal her insecurities to.
It's funny to have their story so disconnected from Fumi's, but maybe we'll see the three of them hanging out more after summer vacation.
For now, Fumi has to deal with a tropey "accidentally said I love you sensei in her sleep" incident, which is deeply embarrassing but was actually handled pretty well. Kibikino did bluntly ask her about it much sooner than I expected, and she managed to turn it around into a lame excuse that of course Gorou saw right through.
Kibikino is now convinced that Fumi is in love with some other older man, while Gorou is delighting in having instantly figured out Fumi's terrible lie, and having a chance to push Kibikino's buttons by claiming he might be interested in Fumi.
There's another little glimpse of Kibikino's childhood, which I guess will only come in bits and pieces as we slowly learn more about him. He's very much a slow burn, and you get a lot of his thoughts and emotions from panels where he isn't even speaking. That's what I like about Yamamori's art: you really can read a lot just from the eyes and posture. I love when it's truly the combination of text and art that conveys the whole story....more
This is moving along at a pretty fast clip, which is a bit odd since it apparently closes out in 14 volumes. That's good - I like the idea that their This is moving along at a pretty fast clip, which is a bit odd since it apparently closes out in 14 volumes. That's good - I like the idea that their relationship development hopefully won't be too rushed - but I'm also not entirely sure what's going to be covered in another 11 books. It feels like we're already hitting some big Reveals. And that tease of another love interest for Kibikino went absolutely nowhere, hah, poor girl.
I did really enjoy all the emotional upheaval in this one. Fumi goes through a lot!
It's a bit weird that Fumi's friends just didn't show up to the book signing, I guess? That part at the beginning was confusing. It seems like her friend is just going to keep assuming that Fumi is crushing on some dusty old writer who totters around with a cane. Unless I missed something.
We switched from that brief scene to the book signing afterparty, with Katsura cornering Fumi in the bathroom to brag about all the things she knows about Kibikino's life and interests. It cements everything Fumi had already been thinking about: she really doesn't know him at all, and seeing him interacting with an intelligent, highly educated woman closer to his age puts her very imbalanced dynamic with him in stark relief. She's just a girl, like Kibikino always calls her. She doesn't mean anything to him. Why would she? They barely know each other.
Kibikino doesn't help matters by kissing her on the forehead during a drunken party game, then announcing to everyone that it meant nothing. Fumi knew, really, that she didn't actually have a chance at romance with him, but it still hurts to have that kind of thing confirmed. And all her emotions are a lot rawer because she's just a really, really lonely person who's had to hide that from even herself for too many years.
Being around Kibikino is unleashing a lot of those hidden feelings. It's not just that she's crushing on him. She feels happy and safe with him. She feels like she has a home, in a way she hasn't since her mother died and she took over running the household. It's interesting that she claims she doesn't have anything bad to say about her dad, because I certainly do. Maybe he's not a bad guy, but he seems like a pretty terrible father. He left his daughter with too much responsibility, and he left her alone so often she grew to just accept that as a natural course of her life. Except it never actually stopped bothering her.
So when she finally opens up to Kibikino...well, everything comes spilling out. She holds onto his shirt, and she cries, and she tells him she's lonely, that she's always been lonely. In short, she needs him. She doesn't tell him what she'd wanted to: that she didn't want him to leave her alone to go on a date with that beautiful woman (although she doesn't know he'd promptly rejected Katsura). But he gets enough of the picture.
The problem is, once you start feeling things, it's way too hard to stop. You can't shove it all back in the bottle...it won't fit anymore. So Fumi is kind of a mess at this point, and doesn't know how to handle her own emotions or Kibikino's kindness.
And what is he feeling? Well, we're not there quite yet. But we get some initial glimpses of what he was like when he was younger, and hints that he had an unusual family life that stilted some of his ability to show affection to others.
Very glad he's getting more substance, and he really does get more attractive with each volume. Poor Fumi, you're a goner.
Second volume got more interesting. There's a short-lived "Fumi gets a second job" storyline - and I'll be honest, for a minute there I'd forgotten thSecond volume got more interesting. There's a short-lived "Fumi gets a second job" storyline - and I'll be honest, for a minute there I'd forgotten that being a housekeeper is her job, so I got a bit confused about why she didn't just pick something up part-time after school like her friend. But Fumi needed adult-levels of money, fast, because her useless dad hurt his back and stopped sending his paycheck to the loan sharks.
So Fumi's solution is, naturally, to work at a watered-down hostess club by lying about her age and to her primary employer/landlord about where she's going in the evenings. Until, naturally, said employer happens to show up at her new job on her first day at work.
A little coincidental but still funny, especially since she also ran into her new classmate, Aioi, there. His young, pretty mom works as a hostess and turns out to be as kind as her son actually is underneath all the initial bullying behavior.
Aioi had been holding a grudge against Fumi for a pretty silly reason that makes enough sense when you tie it to a formative childhood memory and the fracturing of his family. So when he finds out that Fumi didn't have a picture-perfect family life - and that he's actually got one much better parent than she does - he stops bugging her at school and talks to her like an actual friend.
Their rooftop conversation was oddly sweet and really amusing, because Aioi was just trying to bond with Fumi over how much he cares about his mom, but somehow managed to make her realize her crush on Kibikino instead. "That's not even what I meant," Aioi says, sighing after her but giving up.
The crush development was honestly too fast-paced, but that's fixed pretty well by the end of this volume, because Fumi realizes for herself that she doesn't actually know anything about Kibikino. She likes that he's handsome, talented, intelligent, oddly kind, and very charming without ever meaning to be. But all she knows is one of his favorite foods, that he's not very familiar with pickles, and that he has a mother. That's not much to build a sense of "love" on, and I appreciate that she recognizes that - so the relationship will actually have to develop more substance over the course of the series.
The art does get a bit prettier in this volume, and Kibikino has some good handsome moments. (He also notes, a couple of times, that Fumi is pretty/cute. While also accidentally insulting her.) It's nice to have a male lead who doesn't cut off all his lovely hair as soon as the female lead notices him. Yes, I'm looking at you, Horimiya and A Condition Called Love. It leaves room for lots of nice hairstyles, alongside Fumi's experiments with mixing up her look.
We close out the volume with the introduction of a rival love interest slash mean girl, a beautiful bookstore worker who's nice to Fumi in front of Kibikino but a real jerk once he's out of sight. Not sure if this will head in the direction of Kibikino actually dating anyone else for a bit, since he's definitely not seeing Fumi in any sort of romantic light at this point, but it's not surprising he's catching other women's eyes. Like Fumi, though, he doesn't seem to have much time for or interest in matters of the heart. He's got books to write. But even he's bound to notice the people around him eventually....more
I probably shouldn't have bought six volumes during that sale...I'm feeling vague regret already, and big pressure to love this series enough to justiI probably shouldn't have bought six volumes during that sale...I'm feeling vague regret already, and big pressure to love this series enough to justify the purchase. And so far it's kinda shoujo bland.
I liked the setup, with Fumi being a live-in housekeeper for an older, grumpy, brilliant but reclusive writer who turns out to be much younger and far more handsome than she'd expected. But the plot itself is pretty basic (a panty thief?? two kabedons from two different dudes?), and the character designs honestly aren't that great. That surprised me, because one of the main reasons I looked into this series was because I loved the art for In the Clear Moonlit Dusk. I keep double-checking that I got the names right...I really would not have picked these two out as coming from the same pen. That series has absolutely stunning art with almost a watercolor feel. Every page is a pleasure to look at, even if I hadn't been enjoying the story itself.
This one is...alright. Fumi's got fun expressions, and her chapter splash pages are really pretty. But Kibikino is skinny with a lot of hair...not the most exciting look for a shoujo lead...without much of a distinctive personality so far. I do like his cheerfully intrusive editor and Fumi's bratty new classmate, and Fumi herself is fun.
She's a little bit on the stereotypically housewifey side, I guess - obsessed with budgets and recipes and home appliances - but it does make sense with her living alone with her kind of deadbeat dad, who isn't around very much and causes financial problems when he is. Fumi has to move out of her home because of her father's debts, but even before that, she entirely relied on herself. Fixating on the space around her was how she kept things under control; that left no time for thinking about anything as unnecessary as romance. I like her independent personality and the fact that she's not really too bothered about boys. She's got other things to do and can handle pretty much everything on her own.
The panty thief (is this really such a major problem in Japan?) is thrown in to give Fumi a situation where she isn't in control and needs someone to step in and rescue her, letting her know that she's not alone anymore. Kibikino fills this role nicely, and Fumi starts to feel fluttery and nervous around him. Not because he's scary or untrustworthy...but because she's not used to having someone pay attention to her and want to protect her.
It is a decent setup, but I hope Kibikino gets more depth and Fumi isn't just perfect-housekeeper-to-perfect-housewife. I'd like to see her relax some and make plans that aren't just about nesting in a home, now that she has someone else to take some worries off her plate. (I also hope Kibikino gets a little bit hotter. The author's note said she hadn't quite figured out all their faces yet, so. We'll see.)...more
This was honestly way cuter than I was expecting it to be.
Pretty much an impulse buy, because I love dogs and the dynamic seemed fun: a strong-willedThis was honestly way cuter than I was expecting it to be.
Pretty much an impulse buy, because I love dogs and the dynamic seemed fun: a strong-willed small woman with a large dog and a gentle big man with a tiny pomeranian. Could've been bland or too shoujo-tropey, but there was a sale so why not give it a try...
And I liked it. A lot! Granted, there isn't too much going on with their relationship right now, since we're in the early stages of Kiyotaka developing a pure-hearted crush and Chiharu starting to pay enough attention to notice how very strong and thoughtful and kind he is. Just like her rottweiler, Tsubu, who looks big and scary but is actually quite timid but very thoughtful.
At this point, Chiharu's relationship with Tsubu is the star of the show. I think that reflects Natsuna's motivation in writing the story - it's meant to be for dog lovers, and that really shows. the panels with her getting closer and closer to her dog with each passing year watching the cherry blossoms...I very nearly teared up. Your relationship with your pet is a very special one, and Tsubu really gave Chiharu the strength to keep going when she was struggling with her life and her career path. It's lovely. I adore both of them.
Amusingly, Chiharu, despite having a handsome coworker who's blatantly interested in her, is perfectly happy being single, unless she runs across a man who embodies all of Tsubu's best qualities in human form. Which is exactly who Kiyotaka is.
He's a firefighter who lets his little pomeranian run all over him but but adores her and has a great relationship with his younger brother and the rest of his family. The fact that his grandmother makes little bibs for his dog is such a cute touch.
His interactions with Chiharu is fun, and while we don't get quite as much depth with his side of the story, I find him super charming and enjoy their chemistry. Definitely happy to keep going with this series....more
Marco, an extremely skilled and ruthless Italian hitman, is in the middle of a job when a cute figurine catches his eA bit silly, but funny and cute.
Marco, an extremely skilled and ruthless Italian hitman, is in the middle of a job when a cute figurine catches his eye. When he finds out it's from a magical girl anime, he flies to Japan, discards his old life, and wholeheartedly embraces the life of a devoted otaku.
There isn't a whole lot of depth to any of this, but it reminds me of the General's obsession with pandas in Mr. Villain's Day Off, including a secondary character who steadfastly refuses to work overtime on her day off. It has some of the same strangely thoughtful sweetness, too, with Marco taking down another agent who's sent to eliminate him - but who, less forgivably, mocks the otaku lifestyle.
"It's the things people love and cherish that makes them shine!" Marco says, quoting his beloved magical girl, and it turns out to be true for him, too. He's a formidable opponent who chose to retire and enjoy life, and through the eyes of Viviana and Andre, two assassin-agents-turned-friends, this genuine joy in something he loves...well, it makes him shine.
Viviana's an otaku as well - mostly into BL, although she also watches Marco's favorite show, so they can have long, animated discussions about their favorite episodes and character arcs. This absolutely bewilders Andre, who's definitely my favorite character at this point. His outsider view on their conversations and their absolutely hideous drawings is hilarious. Unfortunately, he's a really good artist, so once Viviana and Marco discover this, he's sucked into their terrible otaku world by being forced to draw a doujin for them.
There are lots of fun BL teases through Viviana's very active imagination, although I sadly assume that will remain entirely fictional. Still, I'm enjoying what there is so far, and I have a soft spot for these "tired working adults finding joy in small things" series....more
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