Hey guys how’s it going? Weekly Check-in time! At the time of writing this blog post, it is two weeks before spring break for me so as far as media consumption I had a lot of reading time but not a lot of watchtime.
I finished one anime, one picture book, five volumes of manga, and three novels. Onto the media!
Anime
Demon Slayer
This week, I finished the second half of this series and I can definitely see the hype with it with the world-building and some of the characters. However, I don’t think I am as obsessed as other people. I am curious how this series is going to end but also I love the lead protagonist he’s so soft and so sweet working hard without being annoying. Because of these points, I have to give this series a 4 out of 5 stars or 4 sushi 🍣🍣🍣🍣.
Picture Book
My Friend Clyde
This is the first picture book that I have read in awhile and it was very profound in the story trigger warnings for bullying. It flowed very well and it was nice and quick for an adult. My only issue with it is that the illustrations are just not something I would gravitate towards personally but otherwise I liked it. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4 out of 5 stars or 4 sushi 🍣🍣🍣🍣.
Manga
Cells at Work Baby
I really enjoyed this manga actually more than I expected to because of the original anime series was fun but a tad episodic. This manga was a lot more flowing and more continual and easy to understand especially when it comes to the birthing progress. This is also a very good manga if you are a new parent who wants to understand the infant’s body with different situations but also for teens who want to explore how viruses and heat rashes manifest. My favorite part though was the new characters that was presented in this story and I’m excited to see more from this. Because of these points, I have to give this manga a 4 out of 5 stars or 4 sushi 🍣🍣🍣🍣
The Way of the House Husband
First trigger warnings for intense violence and moblike tendencies. Other than that, there was a lot of episodic stories in this manga and I am intrigued by the characters and the funny moments that happened in here. However, there isn’t enough plot right now that makes me gear up for the next volume. I do want to watch the anime though to see if that might make me happier about the series. Because of these points, I have to give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars or 3 sushi 🍣 🍣🍣.
Bride’s Story
So I really enjoyed the art in this manga fantastic along with the slice of life aspect while living in feudal Asian world. However! I felt that I was just plopped into the world and the relationship without any context whatsoever and I wish I could understand more backstory of all the characters (and I’m not sure if I get that continuing the series). I do want to continue though someday. Because of these points, I have to give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars or 4 sushi 🍣 🍣 🍣🍣.
Wave Listen to Me
I will tell you this now, not everyone is going to like this. The one I can closely relate to this is Beck Mongolian Chop Squad except for older audiences and a female protagonist instead of a male one along with a more high school audience. This discusses the ins and outs of radio with a more raw feeling of living an adult life in Japan. There’s crude language, there’s some mystery involved and smoking. I can understand people being put off by it but I still was entertained. The artstyle is also not for everyone either but I think it is fitting considering the story. Overall though, I am curious to read some more of this manga but its one I will take one volume at a time. Because of these points, I have to give this manga a 3.5 out of 5 stars or 3 sushi 🍣🍣🍣.
Become You
I was really excited to try this musical manga because it was one I hadn’t heard of an anime before etc. However, I feel like this first volume was trying too hard/trying too many things at once. There was music, art, Boys being friends plus childhood friends/lovers, time travel, and mental health care. (See thats a lot right??) I think personally, there was way too much happening that I feel is very predictable possibly. However, I think its something that if I find it from the library etc. I’ll try again. Because of these points, I have to give this a 3 out of 5 stars or 3 sushi 🍣🍣🍣.
Novel
The Knockout Rule
I will be honest when introduced to this couple in Kelly Siskind’s previous book in this series, I was very skeptical on how this was going to turn out. However, I think this and Don’t go Stealing my Heart are tied for my favorite in the series (I know right??) I think this is because that this and that book had a fantastic balance of serious feels and hilarious banter. Trigger warnings for intense violence with boxing, Parkinson’s severe symptoms, PTSD, intense working out/physical therapy, and panic attacks. There is also a lot of foreign language references, modern poetry and boxing along with physiotherapy explanations along with the parallels of the family dynamic and the encouragement to do therapy. Definitely not a book that is a quick read.
However, bringing all of these items together in a story that is romantic but also profound makes me enjoy a story like this. I also like when people change their minds about someone after they get to know them rather than make a first impression and stick to it.
Overall, I am sure you can probably guess that I really enjoyed this romance and am excited to read more from Kelly Siskind. Because of these points, I have to give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars or 5 sushi 🍣🍣🍣🍣🍣.
For The Love of Friends
This cover is very deceptive in the sense of yes this has a person writing a blog (hence the cover I am sure), but there is a lot more wedding talk than what I expected. Because of this, there are a lot of instances of body-shaming, forcing plastic surgeon, family drama, and overall backstabbing more than once. I appreciated what the story brought in the sense of there is a variety of weddings, budget struggles, and family dynamics presented as well as a bonus romance in the backburner. I also appreciated that there was a blog aspect added to it however, it felt a little annoying especially when the main character boasts about how much money she was making (I understand for some people they are able to do that, however it felt unrealistic as someone who writes a blog). I also hated the ending with that sense of deception with the romance (if you know you know) because it is number one deceptive and number two because it is predictable. Of course this is someone who reads a lot of women’s fiction/romance and for new readers this may not be predictable but that is just me.
Overall, this was a very entertaining book in the sense that there’s so much craziness you just can’t look away, however, I think there is so much that I would have changed as far as this book goes. Because of these points, I have to give this book a 3 out of 5 stars or 3 sushi 🍣🍣🍣. This comes out in August so check it out if you are interested!
Victories Greater Than Death
This book is one that is already getting a ton of buzz and I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it.
This is because for me, sci fi can be really fun or really dense. In this particular instance, there was a mix of both but in a good way. There are a ton of alien species mentioned, several mini missions like on the star trek shows, and the world-building was so vivid, it truly felt like I was watching a movie rather than reading a book. One of the best parts though, is that there is a lot of inclusion included here with pronoun differentiating, varying ethnicities and fluctuating sexual orientations. There is also a person who represented the extreme introvert which was something that I felt after reading this, is underrepresented in fiction.
However, I did have a couple of issues. One is that there are moments in the writing that I felt that I was just plopped into the middle of the action especially when it came to the missions like after a commercial break on a tv show. I would have appreciated more context. The other issue I had was although the main character finding a great unique romance was a fantastic side plot, I wish some of the other characters were more flushed out than the love interest (because it sounded like the love interest was just saying the same lines over and over again). But, I know sometimes teen books need more romance than I do plus with the inclusivity they should definitely read this.
Overall, I truly enjoyed my time reading this book and I am excited to see what comes next in this series. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4 out of 5 stars or 4 sushi 🍣🍣🍣🍣. This comes out in April so please check it out if you haven’t already.
The Week Ahead
The week ahead is that I want to continue reading some more but cut myself some slack when it comes to the equality of manga versus novels (manga I read faster, it is just inevitable). But I did appreciate that I was able to read quite a few review books which is something I do need to do better about. As far as watching something, I will try to do more but I won’t force it. What about you guys? What did you read or watch this week? Let’s talk about it in the comments!
Sushirainbow 