Mark’s Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2024

73,612

pages read

415

books read

Mark

Shortest Book

pages

Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl by Mochi au lait

Longest Book

406

pages

Average book length in 2024

177

pages

Most Shelved

123,620

people also shelved

Least Shelved

people also shelved

Mark’s average rating for 2024

3.7

憂国のモリアーティ 14 [Yūkoku no Moriarty 14] by Ryōsuke Takeuchi

Highest Rated on Goodreads

4.68 average

よふかしのうた 14 [Yofukashi no Uta 14] by Kotoyama

Mark’s first review of the year

liked it

After a dramatic confrontation with his mother, Ko is back to school and ready for the school trip. Except it’s not just Ko, no, it’s Ko & Co in tow, y’know? Also they’re walking into a trap, but that doesn’t rhyme.

Ko’s mom is amazing and I love her. She may be a hostess, which is one of the most cliché manga professions ever, but the promised throwdown that closed off the last volume is anything but.

Instead, we get a parent who has one thing tha After a dramatic confrontation with his mother, Ko is back to school and ready for the school trip. Except it’s not just Ko, no, it’s Ko & Co in tow, y’know? Also they’re walking into a trap, but that doesn’t rhyme.

Ko’s mom is amazing and I love her. She may be a hostess, which is one of the most cliché manga professions ever, but the promised throwdown that closed off the last volume is anything but.

Instead, we get a parent who has one thing that many lack - recognizance. Kids are going to do dumb things no matter how much you try otherwise and sometimes you just have to be there for them.

There’s zero question that Ko’s mom wants the best for him - she nudges him to take the class trip even as she doesn’t give him any crap for skipping school. But she skipped school herself and she knows she has no room to talk, so she just makes sure he knows he’s loved. It’s kind of amazing.

Then we get a really fun chapter for Akira, who remains at school and mostly alone until she starts to hang with Sakura, the girl Ko rejected earlier in the series. I like how Akira is almost as alienated as everybody else, just with less vampires, and slightly better adjusted.

It all seems great, except then Mahiru shows up and he’s skipping town to the place they just happen to be going to for the school trip and it’s a stark reminder that nothing about this phase of the manga is terribly interesting.

Put more plainly, there is pretty much zero chance that I’d still be reading this if it wasn’t for the incredible affection I have for the first few volumes of the series before it all went action dumb. I dearly miss the cadre of lady vampires picking on Ko and Nazuna.

Still, adding the class aspect to things does make for a bit of a change to the dynamic and I like Ko having to reckon with both his decisions and his persona that he was wearing that whole time. The big panel of him showing up for class is brilliant.

I just wish it was in service to something I cared more about. The vampire posse, Nazuna’s weakness, the glamour aspect, it’s all piled into a big stew that doesn’t hold a candle to the thoughtful sort-of romance it started as.

Of course, what’s here is pretty good and more than enough to keep my attention and if I’m getting the character beats that I craved then I should probably just accept it. Which I would if it didn’t annoy me when series did this.

3.5 stars - it’s an above average instalment of a very average action series that keeps taking up all the space in the character drama I loved. I think I’ll see this to the end, but dang do I wish it was still moody and sullen. ...more

MARK’S 2024 BOOKS

Even Though We're Adults, Vol. 7 by Takako Shimura

it was amazing

The Moon on a Rainy Night, Vol. 3 by Kuzushiro

Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible, Vol. 11 by Nene Yukimori

Gazing at the Star Next Door, Vol. 1 by Ammitsu

Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie Manga, Vol. 5 by Shino Akiyama

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Vol. 5 by Osamu Nishi

可愛いだけじゃない式守さん 15 [Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san 15] by Keigo Maki

Whisper Me a Love Song 7 by Eku Takeshima

My New Life as a Cat, Vol. 4 by Konomi Wagata

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 28 by Tomohito Oda

Cinderella Closet Vol. 4 by Wakana Yanai

it was amazing

The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today, Vol. 7 by Hitsuzi Yamada

Tokyo These Days, Volume 1 by Taiyo Matsumoto

Nina the Starry Bride, Vol. 11 by Rikachi

How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 10 by Tamifull

it was amazing

I Don't Know Which Is Love, Vol. 2 by Tamamushi Oku

Witch Life in a Micro Room, Vol. 1 by Akitaka

君と綴るうたかた 4 [The Summer You Were There 4] by Yuama

My Dear, Curse-Casting Vampiress, Vol. 3 by Chisaki Kanai

You're My Cutie Vol. 7 by Nakaba Harufuji

it was amazing

My Senpai is Annoying Vol. 11 by Shiromanta

My Cute Little Kitten Vol. 2 by Milk Morinaga

This Art Club Has a Problem! Volume 2 by Imigimuru

Unnamed Memory (Manga), Vol. 4 by Naoki Koshimizu

Getting Closer to You Vol. 6 by Ruri Kamino

Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle Manga, Vol. 5 by Bobkya

Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels! Vol. 4 by Kuro Itsuki

君がトクベツ 5 [Kimi ga Tokubetsu 5] by Momoko Koda

it was amazing

わたしが恋人になれるわけないじゃん、ムリムリ! (※ムリじゃなかった!?) 4 by Musshu

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 18 by Sōichirō Yamamoto

The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses, Vol. 8 by Koume Fujichika

The Holy Grail of Eris (Manga), Vol. 6 by Hinase Momoyama

In the Name of the Mermaid Princess, Vol. 1 by Yoshino Fumikawa

I Want to End This Love Game, Vol. 1 by Yuki Domoto

it was amazing

Ogami-san Can't Keep It In Vol. 3 by Yu Yoshidamaru

Cheerful Amnesia, Vol. 2 by Tamamushi Oku

Sweet for Sweets and Foreigners, Volume 1 by Marina Sano

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, Vol. 1 by Jinushi

2.5 Dimensional Seduction Vol. 9 by Yū Hashimoto

it was amazing

Lightning and Romance, Vol. 5 by Rin Mikimoto

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 11 by Kousuke Oono

Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet, Vol. 6 by Mika Yamamori

Assorted Entanglements, Vol. 4 by Mikanuji

Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible, Vol. 12 by Nene Yukimori

it was amazing

Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games Vol. 6 by Eri Ejima

My Lovesick Life as a '90s Otaku, Vol. 2 by Nico Nicholson

甘神さんちの縁結び 12 [Amagami-san Chi no Enmusubi 12] by Marcey Naitō

My Clueless First Friend 05 by Taku Kawamura

God Bless the Mistaken, Vol. 1 by Nio Nakatani

it was amazing

Whoever Steals This Book (Manga), Vol. 1 by Nowaki Fukamidori

イジらないで、長瀞さん 16 [Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san 16] by nanashi

暗号学園のいろは 1 [Angō Gakuen no Iroha 1] by NisiOisiN

アスペル・カノジョ 11 [Asper Kanojo 11] by Sohachi Hagimoto

How I Met My Soulmate, Vol. 2 by Anashin

Sheep Princess in Wolf's Clothing Vol. 2 by Mito

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Reall... by Rikito Nakamura

How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend? Vol. 1 by Syu Yasaka

Kaiju Girl Caramelise, Vol. 7 by Spica Aoki

I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl 1 by Kashikaze

Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You, Vol. 7 by Haruka Mitsui

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Vol. 6 by Osamu Nishi

Insomniacs After School, Vol. 5 by Makoto Ojiro

it was amazing

The Essence of Being a Muse, Vol. 3 by Aya Fumino

Cat + Gamer, Volume 4 by Wataru Nadatani

ハニーレモンソーダ 5 [Honey Lemon Soda 5] by Mayu Murata

Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, Vol. 2 by Yodokawa

Whisper Me a Love Song Vol. 8 by Eku Takeshima

it was amazing

Ya Boy Kongming! Vol. 15 by Yuto Yotsuba

Blue Period, Vol. 14 by Tsubasa Yamaguchi

The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life (M... by Aya Obara

Mark’s last review of the year

liked it

This is ongoing tale of a decent manga that is good enough to keep me hanging in there and is, admittedly, a decent premise for a shonen series that helps keep mixing things up and keeping them fresh.

In fact, the opening chapter and closing chapter are both standouts that really work well, while the middle two kind of don’t. Better than average, certainly, but it wasn’t quite strong enough throughout.

The horror movie/haunted house riff that opens This is ongoing tale of a decent manga that is good enough to keep me hanging in there and is, admittedly, a decent premise for a shonen series that helps keep mixing things up and keeping them fresh.

In fact, the opening chapter and closing chapter are both standouts that really work well, while the middle two kind of don’t. Better than average, certainly, but it wasn’t quite strong enough throughout.

The horror movie/haunted house riff that opens this volume is incredibly amusing because it introduces a whole new cast while most of the regulars are bickering after running out of gas.

Takemina and Izuna decide to go off in search of gas, lending credence to my theory that the story is biding its time to pair everybody off, and are immediately picked up while hitchhiking by a horny couple and a pothead.

By the time we’ve gotten into the story of a family that hunts humans (minus a couple points for not using the phrase ‘the most dangerous game’), it’s pretty obvious what’s happening here and all the more fun for it.

First we get Izuna’s relentlessly pragmatic dismantling of all the horror tropes, which is wickedly funny on its own. Then the new cast is ruthlessly slaughtered, which is no surprise once you realize that this is absolutely aping classic slasher films. No immoral behaviour remains unpunished.

The subsequent chapters in this arc are okay. Once it turns to Izuna’s experience with horror games it isn’t nearly as fun, much as the same way that Resident Evil parody kind of sputtered out. I will say the callback at the end, which they don’t draw any attention to, is clever.

While the last chapter doesn’t come from a place of logic - Akira decides to suddenly turn all serious and be a colossal buzzkill due to his relationship with Shizuka - it does offer a more thoughtful aside that makes good use of Bea for a change.

Bea has mostly functioned as a pair of large, German breasts for this whole series (literally one early shot this very volume is looking up at them from the POV of her crotch), so giving her anything to do is welcome and seeing her tending a garden while offering advice are all worthwhile additions.

The story she tells Akira is nothing especially novel, but it does offer a good message and is something he needs to hear. There have been very few thoughtful moments in Zom 100, so this was especially appreciated.

It all wraps up on a quiet moment between Akira and Shizuka that is okay. I don’t mind them as a couple, but I have little faith that the story knows what to do with them now. As I pointed out previously, I think it hasn’t known what to do with Shizuka in ages.

3.5 stars - I really like the message in the last chapter and the first chapter is a total hoot. The middle chapters don’t add a whole lot of anything, however, and have some okay action but nothing that makes them essential. Uneven, unsurprisingly so. ...more

What did you read this year?