Lapis Lazuli Crown

The Lapis Lazuli Crown Volume 1 by Natsuna Kawase

I’m always on the lookout for fun fantasy series, and Lapis Lazuli Crown seems like it will fill that role quite nicely. Miel is the middle child in a fallen aristocratic family that used to serve the King. Miel is cursed with super-strength and a [...]

Name of the Flower Volume 2

Name of the Flower Volume 2 by Ken Saito (amazon)

I enjoyed the first volume of Name of the Flower, and I was happy to see that the second volume was just as good as the first. As the second volume opens Kei has barricaded himself in his room with the terse note “Writing” on [...]

Moon Child

Moon Child by Reiko Shimizu Volume 1

Moon Child is one of the most unique manga that I’ve read in a long time. My reading habits tend to lean towards series that are filled with shoujo cliches, so it is nice to encounter a series that manages to be genuinely surprising. Moon Child is [...]

Venus Capriccio

Venus Capriccio Volume 1 by Mai Nishikata (amazon)

Jacket Copy: Takami is tall, attractive and funny. Akira’s a quiet, musical prodigy who seems much more effeminate than Takami, even though he’s a guy. Best friends since childhood, Takami turns to Akira when yet another would-be boyfriend dumps her. Now will their longtime connection finally [...]

Fire Investigator Nanase

Fire Investigator Nanase Volume 1 by Izo Hashimoto and Tomoshige Ichikawa

Fire Investigator Nanase combines the qualities of a police procedural and a psychological thriller to produce a manga that is thoroughly entertaining. Nanase is a recent graduate of firefighter academy. Years ago she saved a man from a burning building. He turned out [...]

Classical Medley

Classical Medley Volume 1 by Sanae Kana

Cute art and musical names don’t make up for the lack of an engaging story in the first volume of this fantasy series. Prince Soprano’s companions are his ambiguously gendered bodyguard Alto and the dragon Mezzo. One day Soprano is summoned to participate in a secretive mystical [...]

Name of the Flower

Name of the Flower by Ken Saito (amazon)

Since I tend to order my manga months in advance, I’ll often pick up the first volume of a series without knowing much about it. I was pleasantly surprised by Name of the Flower, a melancholy slice of live manga that details the relationship between a young [...]

Seimaden Volumes 1-5

Seimaden Volumes 1-5 by You Higuri

I generally like books by You Higuri, even those of her works which aren’t as strong as Cantarella. I read the first two books of Seimaden a long time ago and put them aside. I always meant to go back and read more but for whatever reason I didn’t [...]

Kiichi and the Magic Books

Kiichi and the Magic Books Volume 1 by Taka Amano (amazon)

I have often thought that librarians needed some sort of catchphrase they could declaim as they went into battle. Reciting lines from the ALA code of ethics like “We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully [...]

Venus in Love #3

Venus in Love #3 by Yuki Nakaji (amazon)

I continue to enjoy this series about the romantic entanglements of four college students. Suzuna confessed her feelings to the popular tennis player Fukami, but it is clear that he has a crush on another girl. Her partner in lovelornness is Fukami’s best friend and her next [...]