...So, hey, I guess I haven't posted about the *ongoing* series I've been reading in quite a long while (uh, whoops!), so ridiculously big post on all of that coming now~!
Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a.k.a.
Snow White With The Red Hair, chapters 76-79: Oh man-- while I was fine with the previous (glitter stone) arc, this new arc with the spy twins is turning out to be way more interesting.
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: LOL at the 'rumor'-- and Zen's reaction because he knows just how true it really is~! <3 And I literally LOL'd at that (fake) reasoning Hisame gave at his proposal... Seriously, though, that was actually pretty clever, given the reveal about Kiki's supposed potential suitors being targets, etc. Although, now this whole thing *really* makes me want to see Kiki proposing to Mitsuhide soon, like she had said that she planned to! <3 And as for that attack: Ohhh snap, the twins clearly just got a huge shock from being targeted-- even Hisame noticed it!-- which makes things even more interesting (since that almost certainly means that they knew who it was and just got betrayed/used for the attackers' own purpose {...which at this point appears to be framing Mitsuhide, among other things}). Also: Ohohoho, never make Zen angry! Looking forward to seeing where this goes!
Amatsuki chapters 102-104: ...Yes, I just made that big on purpose-- because OH MY FLAMING GOODNESS, after being stuck on chapter 101 for
two whole years due to the previous translator having apparently disappeared off the face of the planet, unfortunately
(and me not even being *close* to reading raws at that level {nor will I be for quite a while yet, for multiple reasons}
), I am understandably super excited to finally be able to continue what is literally one of the best series I've read so far!! <3 <3
The Case Study Of Vanitas chapters 6-9: LOL, I laughed so hard at Noé's flat
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "Huh? NO." at the
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: supposed-fiancée thing, as well as the
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "actual roses?!" bit.
And while I don't entirely trust Domi just yet, her 'friendship'
with Noé is definitely interesting. And oh man, poor Noé... so that's how he got involved with the aristocracy...
There was also a really interesting little bit of backstory on the world itself + how its version of 'Babel' came to be. And ohhh man, so not only do we finally see what Vanitas was hiding under those gloves
, but we also finally get the explanation for why he's doing what he's doing, and it actually makes perfect sense!
And then holy crap,
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Charlatan actually showed up, and apparently it has 3 (or more?) forms...! And then the whole bit with Vanitas and Jeanne
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (with him offering his blood, in particular) was... well, to be honest I still can't quite tell if he's actually 100% serious about being infatuated with her, but it was certainly interesting, regardless.
And wow, that flashback to the whole thing with Louis...
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: it was horrifying and sad , and then (farther back) extremely adorable and heartwarming <3 , which of course just makes the later tragedy hurt even worse. (Also, *crap,* Domi and Louis' grandfather-- Noé's teacher-- is one of those 'experiment' types... ...No, wait-- HOLY CRAP, HE'S ACTUALLY THE BADDIE??!!! ) Cannot wait for more!
Cheese In The Trap chapters 180-202: HA! It's about flipping
time stalker-boy was publicly humiliated. Woot!
(Also, Sul's dad and bro's reactions to stalker-boy chasing her were awesome and hilarious, respectively.
) And the honest talk Sul and Jung finally had was excellent (and very necessary). (Also, that bit... um... afterwards... was adorable. <3
) And ohhh man, so Jung actually knew that In-Ha has always been
obsessed uh, I mean 'in love' with him...
And wow, Jung and In-Ho actually seemed like decent friends before that 'break...'
The way Sul fought back at In-Ha was awesome, though.
But holy crap-- that no-holds-barred fight between
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Jung and In-Ho... Yeah, that really needed to have been aired out long ago, and it's no surprise it finally boiled over now. (Still, yikes on the, er, visible damage, as it were...
)
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun chapters 77-80: ROTFL, "1 Seo per day..."
And OH MY GOODNESS,
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: drunk Hori...! Too adorable!!! <3
(Also, wow, this ship is really sailing, isn't it?
I mean, first it was
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Kashima actually outright stating that she likes
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Hori, and then there's
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Hori's drunk honesty here... <3
) Also, LOL at the avatar Nozaki made for himself-- it looks almost exactly like
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Sakura! <3 -- but then he just draws
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Sakura as a walking hair bow!!
And, finally:
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "Chiyo-chan." + all those compliments (plus, didn't he once say that he liked girls with guts? )... *collapses* <3
Haikyuu!! chapters 205-222: Lev's 'connection' moment near the end of the former chapter was awesome.
(And that was a great
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: win for Nekoma, too.
) And oh man, I enjoyed that mini-arc, but getting back to Karasuno is just pure joy.
(Also: Whoa, was *not* expecting that development at all!
That's *amazing* for Kageyama... but poor Hinata...
) Though LOL at Hinata
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: sneaking in anyway and poor Tsukki being so embarrassed.
Glad Hinata got all the verbal admonishment that he very well deserved (he *really* messed up by
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: sneaking in like that...
), but it was nice that they let him
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: stay to watch/be a ball-boy, at least... and, indeed, he could still learn a lot of things while doing so, just from a different perspective (...and, in fact, that's precisely part of what he needed!).
Also, Hinata cajoling Goshiki into playing in the practice was hilarious.
And ha, Hinata's focus is even firing Tsukki up.
And then ohohoho, Kageyama's interactions with the others...
(...I laughed sooooo hard at him basically telling that new 'Little Giant'-like character that
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: he was merely a 'good reference,' ROTFL!!!
) And oh man, Hinata's extremely rapid growth (in personality as well as observation and skills-via-osmosis) is both fascinating and fantastic!
And Kageyama utilizing his own observations to teach Hinata even better techniques (even if he does kinda stink at explaining it, LOL
), and Hinata nonchalantly helping others via the new observations of his own... <3
And Kageyama's actually having fun with the pressure from the blockers now-- but then that last comment from him had me going "WHAAAAAT...?!" along with everyone else, LOL! (Although I'm pretty sure I know what he meant, it's just that he doesn't have the people skills to explain it nicely, heh~
) Oh man, this series... <3
Haru x Kiyo chapters 14-15 via normal methods + chapters 16-36 via raws + text translations (END): Chapter 14 was so sweet~! <3 (The brothers made up! And oh my gosh Mineta's line at the end...
) For real, though, I *adore* Mineta. <3 <3
...Anyway, I realized after reading that chapter that I should see if this series had raws + text translations on the same sites that I've been using to blast through some of the *new* series I've been reading, and it turns out that they *did*-- all the way to the end, in fact!
And it was just as amusing and adorable (and Mineta-being-fantastic
) as it ever was.
That said, I did think it was a bit unnecessary to add in a new (female) 'rival' towards the end (despite it being obvious to the readers and every other character except her-- and despite those other characters all trying to make it VERY clear to her
-- that nothing at all would come of it), but it wasn't really that annoying and was resolved just fine (as was the old male 'rival'), and the end of the series was quite sweet, so I'm satisfied. <3
Joou no Hana chapters 13A-13B: ROTFL, I laughed so hard at Aki's response to the new guy when he asked her to rein Hakusei in...
Anyway, she really is a great character. <3
And I honestly was not expecting to ever see
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Seitetsu again-- so any extra little bit
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: with him before his imminent end was quite welcome!-- but that little conversation
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: he and the emperor had was pretty illuminating (and pretty darn good-- the fact that the emperor actually
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: split the royal seal in two and sent both halves to her in particular
). I mean, the emperor is still not really a great guy
, but my opinion of him has *considerably* risen (
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: especially since he not only didn't execute Seitetsu, but was totally fine with helping Seitetsu escape-- and possibly even become Aki's consort! ). Holy crap, though, speaking of
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Seitetsu... that just broke my heart all over again {nooo}...!
)
Kimi to Boku. chapters 32-55: Oh man. The translation for this had been stalled for so long that I had actually almost forgotten just how hilariously adorable this series truly was; but (finally!) getting to read all these great new chapters instantly reminded me of all the laughs and warm feelings this series so generously gives~
What a wonderful pick-me-up! <3
Mikado no Shihou chapter 3: Ah, this adorable fluff~!
(Also, LOL-- I'm guessing the
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: reveal of her age is going to be a recurring gag, then?
)
Noragami vol.'s 12-15: ...Welp, I wasn't expecting that flashback/reveal to be pleasant (at all
), but holy crap, that was even worse than I'd expected...!
Poor Yato's 'father' is the most evil, manipulative, abusive [CENSORED
] I've seen in manga/anime in a long, long time...
And oh man, that whole hospital thing was intense.
Really liked the addition of Hiyori's brother-- he's hilarious
-- and the thing with their grandmother was really touching in a
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: bittersweet sort of way. Also, awww, Yato got told that he already was a 'god of happiness' from both Yukiné and Hiyori~ <3
...As for the fate-tying ceremony: Oh dear, I have *really* mixed feelings about that
-- I mean, obviously I want
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Hiyori and Yato to be together, so technically the fact that they were 'officially' tied together should have made me ridiculously happy; but on the other hand,
it was
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: *Kofuku* who tied them-- and we all know what happens to everything she touches...
Finally: Ohhh man-- I had pretty much just assumed that Yato's 'father' was going to be the real main baddie/conflict of the series, but now it actually seems like a full-fledged war among the gods is brewing, with Takemikazuchi actually *wanting* trouble + the native gods getting restless + Bishamon actually taking control of
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the shinki who dared to attack the sun itself (and basically saying that she wanted her to do so again...! ) (On a sidenote: I'm getting worried about Kazuma, too {nooo!}... </3
)
QQ Sweeper vol. 3 (end of the part of the story under this title; but the story is still continuing under a new title!): As this is not really an ending (the story continues straight into its 'sequel' {really just a changed title},
Queen's Quality, which Viz has thankfully also licensed!
), I don't have much to say about it that I haven't already, except that it was both sweet and a bit suspenseful, and I'm quite looking forward to its continuation!
Rainbow Days, a.k.a.
Nijiiro Days, chapters 49 + extra + 50: LOL, that was perfect.
I mean, it did get a bit serious towards the end there, but I liked both how and why it was done (
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the why being that Keiichi needs to get some more character development + the guys *are* coming up on the end of their time in high school, and the how being Tsuyoshi-- who has always been the most grounded and mature one of the group-- having that talk with him, as his 'opposite'). That little extra was cute, too.
And it was very interesting that Tsuyoshi was the one who
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: didn't write anything down, after him thinking the most about it...
Sensei Kunshu chapters 28-36: Ah yes, the series of *not*-innocent, utter-(yet-entertaining-)fluff.
Aside from the entire thing with Samarun's tiny little cousin vs. sensei being downright hilarious
and that little bit of backstory on sensei ( + bit of an explanation of how he sees Samarun) being both interesting and adorable, there's not really anything else to say about these chapters except that they're still complete fluff and yet still entertaining, LOL.
Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii chapters 53-54: As I think I've mentioned before, this series has unfortunately been kinda disappointing me a bit ever since the
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: loli arc
, but I have to admit that I did like the fact that the hints of darkness about
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Nike's true power seem to have finally paid off, and Livi redeemed both himself here and also the geezer trio, too, LOL.
We'll see how it goes from here...
Spirit Circle EPILOGUE (YES!! THERE WAS ONE!!!
...So end for real now, then~
): This was a fantastic extra few pages featuring a farewell from
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Koko's soul and a beautiful little discussion about hatred and forgiveness, providing the absolute *perfect* cap to a masterpiece of a series. <3
Takane to Hana chapter 22: LOL, all the interactions between Takane/Hana and Luciano/Mizuki were hilarious (and, eventually, sweet), as usual.
<3
Until Death Do Us Part omnibus volumes 9-12 (Japanese volumes 18-24): Don't remember if I commented on omnibus volume 9 or not (I think I'd originally read that one back around October last year; so, as most of you know, any potential review of that obviously may have been affected by the goings-on at that time...
), but oh well. Suffice it to say that volume was as good as usual.
Anyway, as for the rest of the volumes: I was outright
giggling at Senji with all his
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 'bullet sponge' stuff (said completely seriously, no less!!).
Oh man, though, that extra Mamoru backstory...
...And even more oh man,
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Genda. I mean, that was the absolute perfect end for him; but it was heartbreaking. Finally: Haruka being a total B.A.-- and the leader of the element network not only having chosen her to be in complete command of the new team, but everyone accepting it without even batting an eye, and treating her with the respect due that station (and then her living up to it and then some!
)-- was pure awesome.
Just one more omnibus vol. to go~!
Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, a.k.a.
It's Difficult To Love An Otaku, chapter 12: ...Best excuse for a phobia of lightning ever.
(...I mean, personally, I actually like lightning, but I can still relate.
) Also, yay more extremely adorable flashbacks to when they were children (oh my goodness I just can't~)! <3 <3
Yotsuba&! vol. 13: I don't know whether I was just more in the mood for this series right now or what, but this seemed like the most hilariously adorable volume yet! <3
Yotsuba's extremely blunt interactions with her grandma (and her grandma's reactions/interactions/clever ways of handling her in turn
) were just priceless.
And
Zetsuen no Tempest chapter 44 + the final 6 extras (END): This is basically just aftermath/wrapping up some of the loose ends/some epilogues/extra backstory/etc. (since the main portion of the ending was essentially in chapter 43), but I'm quite glad they were written, because these last few chapters were a really great wrap-up to an already-excellent series. (And LOL, Yoshino, stealthily cunning to the end...
<3
)