Tag Archives: Manga

Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, Volume 9-10 – Review

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And so Biscuit Hammer ends, with a final volume that pays back all my investment and then some. Biscuit Hammer’s conclusion is spectacular, a sequence of battles and moments of emotional catharsis more consistently rewarding than basically anything else in the series. I still had issues with these chapters, from the awkwardly welded-on nature of Anima and Animus to the ever-messy art, but the overall effect of this finale was so strong that I can’t really complain. Biscuit Hammer will always be a messy work, but it’s a passionate and worthy one all the same. If you haven’t checked it out yet, definitely give it a try.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my chapter notes below!

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A Silent Voice, Volume 4 – Review

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Dear lord is this manga painful sometimes. A Silent Voice is just way, way too good at capturing the exact truth of anxiety both as a personal issue and as it expresses itself in social situations. Shoya’s overthinking and self-doubt is something I can way too vividly relate to, and single moments like the way his chance meeting with an old “friend” completely steals his prior confidence make old scars tickle in a way I probably wouldn’t have been okay with a few years ago. But these characters are also deeply endearing for their own sake and really do care about each other, and so the pain is mitigated by all the lovely moments of connection. It’s a great damn story, and I am really trying my hardest not to freak out about Yamada’s adaptation.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my chapter notes below.

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My Hero Academia, Volume 2 – Review

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And we’re back to Shounen Jump, picking up the latest volume of My Hero Academia. The manga really kicked into high gear in this volume – nearly every chapter was studded with exciting fights and new power debuts, and even the quiet moments demonstrated a welcome grasp of pacing and understated character writing. My Hero Academia isn’t a story I’d point to as a great character piece (cough Silent Voice cough), but I really appreciate how its characters are given the right to be reasonable. These are talented kids who’ve worked hard, and they express that in every scene of congratulating their classmates for putting out a strong effort or recognizing the importance of a positive attitude over straightforward power. Couple that with the bulletproof visual execution, and My Hero Academia presents an immensely satisfying experience.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my chapter notes below!

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A Bride’s Story – Volume 6

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And we’re back on the manga train, with the second-to-newest installment of one of the many excellent series I’ve been covering. This volume of Bride’s Story applied all the manga’s usual strengths to exactly the kind of dramatic peaks I’d been hoping for, and the results were absolutely spectacular. The hardest part of reviewing this volume was trying to think of something bad to say, and in the end I just couldn’t. This volume was basically perfect, and certainly one of the single most beautiful volumes of manga I’ve ever read. Great work, Kaoru Mori.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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A Silent Voice, Volume 3 – Review

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And I’m back to reviewing Silent Voice, with a volume that did a great deal with very little. These chapters felt more constrained in focus than the previous ones, but that actually worked for this story – because of that, we were able to get an incredibly close read on Shoya’s feelings, complete with expressive sequences of physical awkwardness and fully realized internal monologues. This is the sort of stuff I love when it’s done well, and Silent Voice is doing it very, very well. We’re not currently getting the equal glimpse into Shoko’s feelings that I’m eventually hoping for, but if the story stays this good, I’m fine with it sticking close to Shoya and presenting the people around him as figures we have to pull together out of his limited emotional reads. Good stories told well are always alright by me.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes after the cut!

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Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, Volume 7-8 – Review

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I’m back for more Biscuit Hammer, and this volume… unfortunately couldn’t live up to the standards set by the last couple. It’s not that surprising, really – Biscuit Hammer has always been a compelling but wildly inconsistent production, and its victories come down to personality triumphing over craft more often than not. Biscuit Hammer is one of those weird stories that succeeds largely by ignoring storytelling fundamentals – when it works, it’s because some vague semblance of craft manages to attach itself to the story’s clear and ever-present talents for character writing and quirky execution, not because it’s a fully realized story executed with a confident understanding of how to actually tell one. I really, really like Biscuit Hammer, but I get the feeling that whatever this artist is working on three stories from now is going to be the real masterpiece. But I’m fine with this wacky-ass, aesthetically ridiculous, utterly heartfelt shounen drama until then.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Volume 2 – Review

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I’m back on the manga train with more Ancient Magus’ Bride, as I review a second volume just as magical as the first. This is one of those manga where it’s hard to think of bad things to say about it – Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer is kind of scrappy, and even Bride’s Story can sometimes dither, but Ancient Magus’ Bride is just a beautiful production through and through. Hopefully that comes across in my review – I was going for a pretty specific tone in this one, and I think I hit it.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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A Silent Voice, Volume Two – Review

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Back to Silent Voice, which mercifully got a lot less consistently depressing in this second volume! Fortunately the character work stayed just as strong, making this easily one of the most engaging dramas I’ve checked out recently. Strong art, very strong writing, lots of nice background details… just a whole lot to enjoy in Silent Voice. It’s gonna be tough waiting for each volume to get released now.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or read my notes below!

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A Bride’s Story, Vol. 5 – Review

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Yep, reviewing more Bride’s Story. It’s nice to have more good manga to return to, so I’m trying to build up a bit of a stable of properties – Genshiken, Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer, etc. This volume was classic Bride’s Story, returning from the high drama of volume three and comedy of volume four to the mellow slice of life that’s the story’s bread and butter. It’s where the manga feels most comfortable, but I honestly wouldn’t mind a bit more direction in the storytelling – but either way, Bride’s Story is an excellent manga with plentiful strengths, and they’re fully on display in this volume.

You can check out my full review over at ANN!

A Bride's Story

My Hero Academia, Volume 1 – Review

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Back to the manga pile, this time for something a little outside of my usual fare. My Hero Academia is textbook Shonen Jump, but I can dig that if it’s executed well, and this one’s very polished. It’s extremely readable, the premise offers lots of fun character-design potential, and the art is excellent. I’m guessing/hoping it’ll gain a bit more personality as it goes along, but it’s also just nice to have a more diverse selection of manga to be keeping an active eye on. I’ll be sticking with this one.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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