I hate getting behind on series. Books start stacking up, and then, instead of looking forward to reading them, I glance their way and see little piles of guilt. I’d much rather anticipate spending some time getting lost in the adventures of the friends inside. On the positive side, having several in a row to catch up on means a much longer voyage into a different world. And I do so enjoy the teen romantic comedy of Lovely Complex by […]

Yoh and Haruna are finally dating in volume 4, but neither one of them is very good at it, having had little practice. Haruna’s competitive nature makes this very funny, since once she gets an idea in her head, she’s determined to do it to the best of her ability. Take, for example, Christmas, a romantic holiday to spend with your sweetie. Haruna wants to be the Best Girlfriend Ever, only she doesn’t realize that that’s determined only by what’s […]

As this volume opens, young artist Hagumi is stressing out while preparing for an upcoming art show when the gang of students unite around a late-night snack break. In other stories, the group goes on a ferry and a Ferris wheel, welcomes the professor back from Mongolia, and talks a lot to and about each other. I had such high hopes for enjoying this series by Chica Umino, after hearing great praise for it, but it’s still not quite clicking […]

High School Debut by Kazune Kawahara keeps growing on me. (I’ve previously recommended volume 1 and volume 2.) I like that the twists move quickly, but not too much so. Concepts are explored thoroughly, but nothing is left to run so long it gets stale, and changes make sense based on what the cast is learning about themselves and each other. As a result, each book feels new and fresh while bringing back characters I’m growing to care about. In […]

After my mixed reaction to the previous volume, I’d put off reading this next book for a bit. I hoped that a fresher start would keep me interested, but my approach was fresher than the storylines here. The last chapter of volume 7 sets up Stage 2 of the series, where a teenage Hollywood hair and makeup artist challenges the Scissors Project makeover group. That story gets into full swing here in volume 8. Billy, the young professional from America, […]