This breezy shojo romantic comedy by Shigeyoshi Takagi answers the question, “what would action movies be like if they were aimed at women instead of men?” It’s a high adrenaline piece about finding the person who likes you for you, a twisted love story for a jaded generation super-saturated with media. Riko desperately wants to be normal, although she’s got the athletic prowess of Batman (but with a lot less control). Her abilities are described as “superpowers” in the promotional […]

by Chica Umino; adapted by Akemi Wegmuller; due out June 1 This volume ends the series. Since I stopped reading around book 4, I’m perhaps not the best person to evaluate how satisfying a conclusion it is. Also, I still dislike Hagumi, the elfin artist whom most of the guys are in love with, which creeps me out, since she (purposefully) looks like a child. Half the book finishes the main story, and apparently the only thread left to resolve […]

Otomen is the anti-Star Trek. There, the rule was that only the even-numbered movies were good. With this series, I seem to enjoy the odd-numbered books more than the even. Which means that, yes, I was disappointed in this volume — but I have great hopes for the next one! As the author, Aya Kanno, mentions in an early note to the readers, “the plot is all over the place, isn’t it?” Asuka is feeling uncomfortable with the demands placed […]

by Hinako Ashihara; adapted by John Werry With the conclusion of High School Debut, Sand Chronicles is now tied with Nana for my favorite shojo series. This volume concludes the main story, but there are two more books coming with additional bonus stories. To bring things full circle, in this book, the adult Ann is setting out to revisit the sand museum in Nima that provided her the hourglass token that drove so much of her young life. Once again, […]

After reading volume 1, I was unclear on what I was supposed to take away from this series by Yuki Yoshihara. The contrast was unusual — I got that the male/female roles were being stereotyped for comedy, but underneath it all, there’s still a romance, and if we’re supposed to root for the central couple to get together, then there’s only so far we can perceive them as ridiculous. The exaggeration is sometimes working at cross purposes to the shojo/josei […]