Manga Match 97 More Various Manga I've Read

Pardon if my review seems a bit lackluster, but I'm just trying to wrap up loose ends while I still have time and to go into the new year fresh.

Shinobi Quartet
Ninja reverse harem with a rich daughter that all of them want to protect

:) I hope that this is enough of a synopsis for you to gauge if you want to read it.

It's cute if you're into those otome games where there's various capture targets and they all pretty much like you. I haven't looked that much into it, but if it was based off an otome game I wouldn't be surprised.


I'm a Villainous Daughter so I'm Going to Keep the Last Boss
This is another story with that josei isekai thing going on. This girl reincarnates into her otome game as the villain Irene. She realizes that the way to avoid her bad endings and dying essentially is to capture the Demon King Claude as her own. Along the way she does what every girl in these isekai does and charms everyone with her otherworldliness (surprise surprise) and improves the living conditions of the land. It's surprising how many of these people make soap as the thing they sell in these new worlds, although it does make sense for hygiene reasons. Long story short she ends up in a  fairytale romance with Demon King Claude and they live happily ever after. And Claude is a very wholesome and lovable boy. :)


My Male Friend
This is a Korean manhwa about my favorite trope, say it together with me everyone, the childhood friend trope. It gave me a lot to think about. And it's very very cute. I love this kind of manhwa feeling, it makes me vaguely reminisce about Our Relationship is if you know that manhwa as well.


Mainichi Kiss Shite Ii Desu ka?
Apparently I also read this but never reviewed it. Oops. But it was alright, nothing to write home about.

Manga Match 93 Cardcaptor Sakura

This is a real childhood nostalgia moment for me. When I was in elementary school, before I knew anything about the world of anime and manga, I went to the bookstore with my grandparents and encountered Cardcaptor Sakura in the form of this tome of comics that you read from right to left. I didn't know what manga was and I didn't really know what I was getting into, but I really liked that book. I liked it so much that I tried to find more online and I found these random, really poor quality rips of the anime on Youtube or something and watched those. But then someone took them down I think so that was the short life of my independently discovered love of this manga. 

Fast forward like 10 years and I finally finished the manga. To be honest, I think I had the second or third volume of the manga all along, because only halfway through did things start to look familiar and it made sense why I was always so confused over what was happening. 

{Spoilers, but it's pretty cutesy so not a whole lot of plot twist}

As we all know, Cardcaptor Sakura is a magical girl manga created by the iconic CLAMP. It centers around this elementary school girl Sakura and her quest commissioned by Kero-chan (aka Kerberos) to capture all the unruly Clow Cards wreaking havoc on her city. Clow Cards are kind of like spirits trapped inside each of the cards with a different power such as illusion or fire and were all created by this famous powerful magician named Clow Reed. Sakura goes around with her friend Tomoyo and later on Shaoran to capture the cards. This is the basic summary of the first arc anyway. In the second arc, Clow Reed's presence is mysteriously felt after the Clow Cards have been captured and mischief is afoot once again in the city. To deal with this new obstacle, Sakura changes the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards and becomes more powerful along the way. At the pinnacle of this second arc, Clow reveals himself to be reincarnated as Eriol, a transfer student in Sakura's class. He needed Sakura to gain magical strength in order to split his magic into two so that he was no longer the most powerful magician and could live a normal life. 

While the plot may seem a little bit childish and like every hero story, I think there's a bit of charm to be found in the whimsy of childhood found in this manga. Because it centers around elementary school children there's lots of wonder and innocence to be found. And there's quite a bit of diversity in terms of Yukito and Touya being a canon ship as well as Tomoyo's unrequited love for Sakura. 

Maybe I'm just partial due to the childhood nostalgia factor, but this was such a fun read. It really brought me back to my little magical girl stint and made me really appreciate the genre once again. I think it's obvious that I'd say you should read the manga. It's full of a little girl with a can-do and hopeful spirit saving the world and all of her friends supporting her along the way. It's wholesome and whimsical and delightful beyond words and I think if you like my recommendations, you'll find this one to your liking as well!

Manga Match 91 Various Manga I've Completed

Here's a compilation of manga that I've read that haven't left enough of an impact on me for them to receive separate posts about them. This could be entirely because I've forgotten to do a post for them right after completion (this is actually the case but I'm trying to justify my actions) or because they didn't inspire me to write a post about them up until now. 

First we're going to start off with one that's actually a completed version of this newer subgenre of isekai where it's usually a girl that dies and is reborn into an otome game or a fantasy world where magic is real. Yeah, from my brief description it doesn't seem all that interesting, but I've really enjoyed discovering new isekai from a female's perspective. The only downside is that I think that this subgenre has only caught on recently, and thus there aren't many that are completed. This is one of the few that are. It's called Eh? Heibon Desu yo?? which is an interesting title in and of itself with the punctuation and colloquial nature of it.

It follows the rebirth of this ordinary schoolgirl from Japan that dies in a tragic accident and by "transmigration" ends up reborn as a baby in this fantasy land as the daughter of a count. Her father looks after the surrounding land and she uses knowledge from her past life in order to improve life in this new world. That's basically it. She teaches them things like how to increase crop productivity and about prenatal care, as well as alternative cooking techniques. It's a pretty mundane (in a good way) isekai about this little girl trying to do her best for everyone in the surrounding area. There is this one part that focuses on how OP her powers are, but overall it's just a very cute and calm story.

I'd say that if you're looking to be introduced into this new subgenre or you're like me and you're head over heels for this type of isekai and are looking for a completed one that this is a good read. It's 18 chapters so it's relatively short and it's lowkey realistic too with some pretty cute worldbuilding aspects as well.

This second manga is called Kaichou-kun no Shimobe and it features a closet otaku girl that lives a humble life, Hirayama, and a two-faced popular school president that's secretly the next head of the yakuza, Kujou. The story itself reminds me a little bit of Wolf Girl Black Prince, but with less romance and more conflict between the two main characters. This one is definitely more of a comedy with Kujou being almost a completely delusional idiot. Despite his outward appearance of someone put together and cool, Kujou is actually directionally challenged, not good at fighting, unable to swim, and is full of himself among other questionable character attributes. Hirayama on the other hand is a hard-working girl that just wants to draw her fan manga for Comiket and such, but doesn't want to be exposed at school for being an otaku so she's basically enslaved by Kujou. The story loosely follows Kujou's journey to become less of a self-entitled brat, as well as a spicy little subplot in there about how Hirayama and Kujou first met as children and led Kujou to believe that she was his fated fiancee through a tragic misunderstanding on his part.

I'd recommend it if you're looking for something that's definitely more of a comedy and if you get a kick out of kinda dumb characters like Kujou. I think that you'll find the yakuza portion of the story surprising as well. There's not a heavy plotline to follow or anything, but it's an interesting read.

The third manga was quite surprising. I think I found out about it through a collection of manga focusing on the theme of aliens. It reminds me kind of that series by Stephanie Meyer's The Host (yes I know the author of Twilight whatever) with the whole aliens taking over the bodies of humans thing. It focused on this girl named Chiyo and this popular guy she has a crush on named Tsubaki. The relationship between the two is just one sided love on Chiyo's part with Tsubaki treating her like the mortal enemy. This seems like the normal set up for a shoujo, but there's a twist when, due to various circumstances, an alien comes to inhabit Tsubaki's body. The alien goes by the name of Shin-sama and when Shin-sama is in control of the body Tsubaki doesn't remember any of what occurs during that time. Chiyo is conflicted because Shin-sama looks like Tsubaki and is actually nice to her which is kind of a dream come true. The only catch is that Tsubaki dies a little more the longer Shin-sama inhabits the body. And so, eventually the romance between Shin-sama and Chiyo is cut short as Shin-sama's friend's UFO comes to take him(?) away. And Tsubaki has changed too and become less of a jerk and more of a sweet and sensitive dude. So then Chiyo and Tsubaki end up going out...which I don't really know how I feel about this whole thing. And Shin-sama comes back to Earth and possesses a dog, only to see Chiyo end up with Tsubaki, the guy she's liked all along. And I really felt for Shin-sama because he loved Chiyo, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

It really was a wack manga. There were so many times I thought to myself "wtf am I reading?" in a good way. The feeling I got from the story itself was also super intriguing. The art style was a little strange for my tastes, but I think that's just the style from that time. I'd really recommend it. It's a short 7 chapter read for something that's very unique.

Manga Match 76 Akuma to Dolce

How did we get here? I have no clue honestly. How did I find this manga? Why did I finish it? Well I can tell you that the answer to the last question is because I'm most definitely a completionist. If I start something I feel more than inclined to finish it. Darn those Virgo tendencies am I right? Just kidding, I don't really believe in those.

{Spoilers, but it's 9 chapters and shoujo so you already kinda know what's going down}

So the premise of this story is that magic, witches, and demons exist in Japan. If you're a witch you can summon demons to grant wishes for you in exchange for delicious sweets. So this kinda strange girl named Mayuri bakes lots of delicious cakes and pastries in exchange for smaller demons giving her ingredients or cleaning up the kitchen for her. However, one day she accidentally summons a more powerful demon named Beaut. And he's a textbook tsundere. But also kind of an S.

Thus begins their odd relationship together with Beaut doing odd jobs for Mayuri and her falling in love with him. It's a pretty sweet and short read if you're not too particular about the details or not having things fleshed out like her father who's actually a demon...yeah that's a long story that definitely could've been explored a bit further. There's definitely a sense of mystery and if you're going through a demon fetish faze or something I think this might be a good read? Or if you like tsunderes with S tendencies. Then Beaut would be the perfect boy for you.

But I have to say that I wasn't overwhelmed with any particular feelings for this manga. It was a nice concept I guess and had some funny points, but I kept picking it up and forgetting about it even though it was only 9 chapters long.

Manga Match 69 Kimi to Wonderland

Hello one and all, it is quickly approaching dead week as I'm writing this. There's a lot of stuff to be done before we're done for the school year and most definitely a lot of exciting things coming in terms of school involvement opportunities and stuff. It's been a wild year, but one where I've gotten out of my comfort zone A LOT.

{Spoilers, but it's really short and fluffy so not really}

I think this story was a good mix of fluffy, cheesy, and substantive. I think I'm also just very partial to stories with animals in them so this might be entirely too biased.

It focuses on a girl who lost her ability to hear other people well and the ability to understand animals after getting into an accident as a child. She later encounters a dog that's now human because of the accident that they were both in. It's a cute plot that both follows the two's budding relationship with one another while they simultaneously help out animals because of their animal-comprehensive ability.

There are some super cute parts where they help out different animals and help them find forever homes or help them actualize their dreams. The mini arc where this older dog's dying wish is to go on one last walk with his owner really brought tears to my eyes. Hey, like I said, the animal ones really get to me.

And just in general, the whole concept of the story was really endearing and because it was such a short read, I think it's worth checking out!

Manga Match 43 Clear Up After Rain {Ame Nochi Hare}

Oof. Well I've come to be grateful that when I was working it kept me pretty busy because now, with nothing much to do, I've been pretty bored. Not that that's anything to complain about, I love relaxing, but it makes me anxious for the tumultuous times ahead with a heavy school load. I'm not the only one feeling the pressure as my younger sister is also finding the transition from summer relaxation into schoolwork mayhem to be overwhelming. It's a sobering feeling not really being able to help her, nor really understanding how I can help her. I'm grateful that the conventional teaching methods worked for me, but it also keeps me from being able to really sympathize with my sister.

{Spoilers}

Wow I didn't even know how to transition that so I didn't even try *dab*

I've been browsing some different subsets of anime and there's a pretty popular kind on switching bodies/genders. It started off with a manga recommendation to read Shishunki Bitter Change and then it got me into this manga that's already completed. Clear Up After Rain was a refreshing change to my usual formulaic shoujo reads. It was different in the sense that there was this mystery element of these five boys all changing into girls whenever it rained by a stroke of fate or maybe misfortune. But the mangaka really took it up a notch by adding in the element of not just romance, but the evolution of the boys into people that were sympathetic towards the problems girls had and were able to find romance to treasure through their fateful encounters as both boys and girls towards the people surrounding them. It was a bit stressful at times because it seemed to be only a matter of time until someone found out their secret, however by trusting in the secrecy of the bubbly chairman and the serious dorm head, the five of them were able to keep this gender-change phenomena a secret. Towards the halfway point in the story I couldn't help but feel distress as our five main boys weren't getting any closer to solving the mystery behind their gender change and this becoming an increasing problem in their relations with their love interests. However, it was discovered by Yuusuke that the only way to stop the phenomena was to confess your true feelings to the one you love. And this lead to the conclusion of a diverse group of love interests and their counterparts. For Yuusuke it was maturing enough to realize that love was the one thing he didn't want to have to compete with against his golden boy brother. He realized that the girl he loved was far more important than just a win and wanted to mature enough to truly and sincerely love her. Oof that was the feels. And then there was Madoka who for the majority of the story found his fiancee to be more of a sister than a true love interest. However through seeing her mature as well as the sympathy towards women that he gained through his time as a girl he was able to realize his feelings for her. Not only that, but he was also able to confront the reason why he stopped chasing calligraphy as his career and was pushed forward from his stagnant phase. And then the last and most complicated of the requited loves is Hazuki. As a boy he's fallen in love with a girl, Asumi, and as a girl Asumi's older brother, Takuma, has fallen in love with him. Not only that, but the girl who he loves has a classmate who also loves her, although unrequited. When Hazuki is confronted with wanting to confess his feelings for Asumi and having to answer Takuma's confession, he realizes that he can't answer Asumi's feelings while not having answered Takuma's confession. In the end he's able to successfully tell everyone what he means to tell them in earnest and is able to have a happily ever after with Asumi. And then we've got the two karate boys, Goro and Touma. Both of their loves were unrequited, with Goro falling in love with the girl who loved Asumi and Touma falling in love with Hazuki. They were both able to earnestly speak their true feelings to the ones they loved, a smack of reality to the face when the other three boys were able to live happily ever after. But I think in the end it ended up being a satisfactory ending.

It was just the right amount of romance, suspense, drama, and mystery to keep me intrigued and reading more. It was a well thought out piece and I'd really recommend reading it. I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into when I started reading it and it was a bit confusing and slow to start off with, however I couldn't help but root for these pure boys and their romance.

I was so happy at this point. It was the turning point after which all of the love stories came to a conclusion and all the boys switched back to normal.

Hngh they're so cute as girls

*secretly sad that ToumaxHazuki never sailed*