Manga Match 32 Shindere Shoujo to Kodoku na Shinigami

I picked this manga up thinking it'd be a light read, and a parody on some more morbid themes. I was definitely wrong. I'm coming at you the day before I have two finals because to be honest I've lost a bit of the motivation to go onward. I do realize that education is an undeniable blessing and privilege to have, but I just really like reading manga. I haven't been watching any anime series because somehow I've convinced myself that manga doesn't take up as much time as anime...but with the volumes of them that I read that's an unlikely statement.

Also, this manga is tragically only 20 chapters. It's really sad, but the author died after fighting cancer. She made such a unique story and I'm just sad that the world lost such a creative spirit like her. Something about hearing about other people's deaths puts into perspective the amount of time we all have on this earth and how with its finality how we should all strive to be productive with it, for the sake of those whose time was cut too short.

{Spoilers, but you could easily read it all in one sitting and come back to read this}

I would say that this manga is like a very morbid and more horror-like with a more tangible fantasy aspect to it version of Hyouka. You've got the main guy Nishigami who's good at solving mysteries. There's also the whole backstory of him being a death god, a shinigami, in which all of the people he ever loved in the past have died, and while that's never fully explained, nevertheless you get a feeling of sympathy for this guy that wants to care for people, but chooses to distance himself to reduce the risk of someone dying because of him. And then we've got Akira who's a bit too much of a reckless girl. She keeps getting in these mysterious situations in which she keeps dying.

What's most interesting though, is the premise of the god of the island Hahane and the criteria for endless reincarnation. Touka eludes to the implications of the curse, with the mother having to die for their child to receive this immortality, but beyond that it's really not explained. And that's to be expected for a series that was cut off far too quickly.

It was unexpectedly filled with a lot of horror. From the get-go was the death of one of Nishigami's friends right before his eyes which was disturbing in and of itself. I don't know why I was foolish enough to think that it would somehow get better from there. If you're not here for some kind of occult feels more supernatural happenings or insane people, I don't think this is the series for you. Of course, as the name implies, there are some doki-doki times with Nishigami being very tsundere, but that can't mask the creepy aspect of this series. However, I don't feel like it was overdone. Everything was well planned out, something that I've noticed with all mystery genre storylines, which makes sense because you can't have a good mystery without having planned all of the different elements carefully.

I would say that this is a good read if you're looking to step into a more creepy, fantasy, mystery genre mashup if shoujo or whatever you're currently reading is starting to feel a bit monotonous. It's definitely a shame that the story won't ever continue and we will never get the answers to all of the questions we've been asking, but as a standalone piece I think it's possible to find satisfaction reading it.

See don't you kind of get Oreki from Hyouka vibes?

Manga Match 31 Cherry Boy, That Girl

It's another Friday, the Friday before dead week that is, so I decided that it's alright to take a kind of lazy day for once. Tomorrow the grind will begin and won't end for approximately a week and a half. Also, if you have time you should watch Candy Jar. It's a movie on Netflix. LOL maybe I liked it because it triggered me back to the year in high school where I did debate and was absolute trash at it. It's kind of a cliche movie with a pretty typical sort of premise and I can't say the acting is the best or anything, I watch a lot more anime than traditional movies if you couldn't tell, and I can't say that it's the best movie, but it was pretty relatable, especially if the whole college decisions thing is still fresh in your mind. Eto~ but you came here for manga, so manga I will give to you.

You know, there's a few manga I haven't gotten around to reviewing, mostly because they're Webtoons that I read along with as they updated weekly or sporadically, so I didn't really feel compelled to take screenshots, nor am I wise enough to take bullet point notes while I read because...bottom line I'm just lazy. Haha, so you might end up seeing kind of vague reviews, or none at all on those. I haven't really decided yet.

{Spoilers, but it's a cliche kdrama in manhwa form so}

Think about any kdrama you've ever watch, or anything about the general kdrama that you've ever heard about from anyone around you, specifically the kind with the rich heir and the poor girl...and then kind of turn it into a comedy with some psychologically messed up characters that are both good in some respects, but also trash human beings in terms of others. And then you've got this manhwa. Basically it's about this girl named Strawberry, don't ask me why all of them are like fruits and such I literally have no idea, but I think it's kind of funny and quirky, and her romantic life at Sausage Fest High School. You think I'm joking, but I'm not. Basically, Sausage Fest High was an all-boys school, but some rich lady took over the school and made it into a co-ed school. However, not a lot of girls want to go to an industrial high school probably, so not a lot of girls go there and so most of the girls that end up attending Sausage Fest High are treated like goddesses. Strawberry is one of these girls, so she's treated really special by all the guys at school, except ironically, not by her boyfriend Mandarin. So she cheats on him with Pear, an upperclassman who seems exceptionally rich. Mandarin gets jealous like a petulant child, which he kind of is due to his sick upbringing by his mom who left their family for a wealthy man and tried to abandon Mandarin in an orphanage several times. Not to mention the fact that he was adopted by some random rich girl, Cherry, to be her pet of sorts. And that's why he turned into this lowkey creepy dude that uses emotional manipulation and his pretty face to get his way. I enjoy characters that have justification as to why they're so messed up in the head, but at the same time he still disturbs me. I dunno, I just have a lot of personal anger towards emotionally manipulative people in general.

Anyways, back to the plot. So Mandarin gets jealous and cross-dresses as Cherry in order to make Pear fall in love with him so that Mandarin can steal back Strawberry. However, in the process, Strawberry grows closer to the boy-phobic Walnut Kang, the true heir to a huge corporation and overall rich golden boy. And you can probably see where this is going, with Strawberry and Walnut falling in love. And then Walnut's sent to America because apparently that's where rich kids go to become more cultured, which in America's current state I think is pretty questionable, but that's a whole other topic in and of itself. And then Mandarin tries to win back Strawberry because he thinks that he needs Strawberry in his life to, not exactly maintain balance and maintain the status quo, but more like he needs that stability and kind of mindless idolatry. He was in love with this idea of the old Strawberry who liked him and went along with him, but that wasn't really Strawberry's true nature now or even in the past.

It was pretty much the same story of there being a lot of misunderstandings. Probably the most interesting character was Mandarin, just due to how he reacted to things built on his life of suffering, neglect, and honestly mental abuse. And all of this culminates in a sort of bitter feeling towards Cherry who saved him from a life in an orphanage, but also compounded on his mental instability. So I don't really know how to feel about Cherry because while it seems as though she shows remorse for what she did to Mandarin, at least a little bit when she tells Walnut she can't help him because she can't choose sides between Mandarin who seems to unhealthily need Strawberry in order to be happy and Walnut and Strawberry's romance, it also seems as though she hasn't really fully accepted responsibility for how Mandarin turned out. Like throughout the story she didn't really become a better person, although she did support Strawberry and help the relationship between her and Walnut in some ways.

Overall, this manhwa had a lot left to be desired. At first I thought it was a novel concept with the guy cross-dressing to get his girlfriend back, but it quickly spiraled into something I wasn't really into and didn't really expect or desire in a story. A few times I wanted to quit reading, just because it became too predictable and too ridiculous, however I finished it...because I'm not a quitter. LOL it just really bothers me to start something and never finish it. That's why I have a lot of things that are finished, but are so poorly executed. I should probably work on that. Anyways, I wouldn't really recommend this unless you want a kdrama plot inside a manhwa. I don't really think it's worth your time. It didn't really give me the doki-dokis and I lowkey hate all the characters. Sorry.

LOL she's broken. I was also lowkey shook at his confession.

Me when someone tells me about all my flaws as if I don't already know lel

Their relationship wasn't that great because of their lack of trust and communication, but it sure does make for a great drama

LOL Strawberry describing tests is actually me

When Cherry's like this it makes me respect her character a bit more, but honestly I just get triggered thinking about her and Mandarin.

This was the one time I actually thought Strawberry was a mature and decent human being. Otherwise she was just so naive and blockheaded that it wasn't possible to be anything other than frustrated and annoyed by her.

Manga Match 30 Doridosim

It's the long three day weekend, I'm all alone because everyone left me to go travel or go home, yesterday I helped out with senior banquet for my club which in total took 7 hours plus the hour I spent doing a sort of pre-hangout my upperclassman kind of roped me into, and I'm exhausted. I don't want to do work right now, so I'm coming at you with another manga. LOL honestly there's just so  much manga because it's easier to read in between classes than anime. Like I always forget my earphones and I don't like watching things without sound, so manga is kind of the only option. Also I realized since I have lecture in one of the biggest lecture halls on campus, I think people are actually looking at my phone lol. Also I can't wait for school to end in two weeks. My roommate is like a hyena when she laughs, but magnified so you can hear her 5 doors down, and her snoring is atrocious.

Something that kind of sucks about being an introvert is the fact that I get so tired after excessive social interaction. Like I had an adequate amount of sleep, but I just want to go back to sleep right now. Also I might have tonsillitis, but I can't tell because the on-campus clinic is closed until Tuesday. RIP, hope I last that long.

{Spoilers, but you already know the main guy and girl are gonna end up together so}

So the story mainly revolves around this nice guy named Kang Dol and his love life. There's nothing really special about him, he's pretty awkward and he's kind of overshadowed by his popular friend Hoo so he seems more like a traditional background character more than anything. But, the most popular girl, Dosim, in the theater department sees his kindness and falls in love with his sweet nature. Plot twist though, the two originally get together when Dol gets drunk and mistakenly confesses to Dosim instead of his actual crush, Dosim's friend Yang Yang. Yikes. Dosim is over the moon with happiness, but Dol doubts the genuineness of her feelings, as he had a past relationship where he was just used and thrown away by his high school crush who was very much the most popular girl in school, similar to Dosim's social status. However, Dol finally realizes how sweet Dosim really is, but things get kind of messy as Dosim realizes that Dol didn't mean to confess to her in the first place and Dol's friend Hoon becomes this competitive love interest.

It's your very typical sort of school life, romance, sort of set up. I think one thing that's nice about this is that Dol isn't perfect. He still gets jealous of Dosim hanging out with other people, but also doesn't want to come off as overbearing. He has a sense of how much is too much, but he also really loves Dosim in this awkward sort of way which is endearing. Dol is the classic nice guy, a prime example of nice guys not finishing last.

If you're looking for another manhwa to read, this is a pretty good one. It's got a pretty standard romance plot line in a university setting. There's nothing super standout, except some of the characters and their eccentric backstories I suppose.

LOL maybe I need to branch out into other genres, this romance-school life combination is starting to become too familiar.

Ah yeah, this girl was also a minor source of conflict in the story, she's kind of Dol's counterpart in a way? She made me kind of sad because she was so nice and noticed Dol for being a really spectacular human being, but because in Dol's heart there was only room for Dosim she was kind of sidelined.

LOL something that's so relatable is how Dol sees himself as being super ugly in a "how could anyone like someone like me" kind of way

ASDF it ended pretty cute with the two of them getting couple rings

I think something that's also pretty cute is the name of this manhwa. It's Dosim's name and her pet name for Dol put together.

Manga Match 29 Hosaka-sensei no Ai no Muchi

Yep, it's me again, still procrastinating. I guess it's okay. I mean my next set of midterms start next week so...due tomorrow, do tomorrow :) (I will suffer later, but for right now this is all I want to do, which is basically equivalent to nothing if I'm being real)

I picked this manga up just looking for something to read in between classes and it was a nice, light read.

{Spoilers, I guess}

The story follows this daycare teacher with a scary face who dreams of making all the children feel happy, something that's hard to do when the kids' initial reaction to her is fear. And so Kawai-sensei has a hard time assimilating. However, her fellow daycare teacher Hosaka-sensei teachs her to converse with the children as best she can in order to form a relationship with them. At the same time, in a funny turn of events, Hosaka takes an interest in Kawai and proposes a relationship with the intent of marriage, kind of suddenly. And Kawai takes this as a joke and agrees to it. This leads to the story of how Kawai falls in love for the first time and learns that she can be loved, despite how she might seem scary to others. In fact Hosaka thinks of her as being quite cute. And that's basically the story. It's just 12 chapters of pure fluff. It's short, sweet, and it's got a good message to boot. Nothing much else to report here on the home front, boss.

And the ending is quite sweet too. The first class of children she took care of at daycare came to visit her upon graduating high school and they turned into such fine young people, lol why do I sound like such a grandma?, with dreams of their own. And it was very satisfactory.

All in all, it served its purpose to entertain me in between classes and it was quite a sweet story. Don't judge a book by its cover and allow people to follow their dreams. An oldie, but a goodie.

Manga Match 28 Watashi ga Motete Dousunda

At this point I'm just procrastinating on doing my homework, so I'm here writing manga reviews instead.

{Spoilers?}

So I started this manga after watching the anime and being thoroughly amused. And I thought that the manga would fill me with the same sense of amusement. And it certainly did, up to a certain extent. At the beginning, it was mostly repetition of what had already happened in the anime, which is to be expected from a manga being adapted into an anime of course, but what happened after that quickly started to lose my interest. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting past that age where I think reading about harems or reverse harems is interesting, or perhaps I never really went through that phase to begin with, but it just wasn't that interesting to read anymore. Sure the guys are cute and they've got some substance to them, but I just wasn't that interested. But for whatever reason I didn't actually drop the manga, who knows why.

As you probably already know, the story is based around this fujoshi Serinuma and her harem of four, five if you count Nishina, people. This sudden appearance of a harem happens after her beloved animu husbando Shion dies and she goes into deep mourning. After so many days of unhealthy mourning she emerges as a beautiful girl straight out of, well, your traditional anime with pretty people. And then her harem develops and they all vie for her attention. In the end she ends up with her senpai from her club who liked her even before she became slim and pretty, not that you have to be slim to be pretty. And honestly I have mixed feelings with the ending. While it did end on a traditionally happily ever after ending, it was just alright. I mean I didn't expect much out of this comedy, romance, kind of parody on your regular old otaku, but at the same time it was a bit of a let down. It was like all of a sudden Serinuma realizes her feelings for her senpai and goes after him, despite her kind of love rival which was this random other guy, and ends up with him. And then after some uhhhh amorous relations they end up together and end up married and one of their kids is named Shion. Again I have mixed feelings because I don't necessarily think you need to show that you need to have a relationship with that sexual component for it to be conveyed as a full fledged relationship in which the two people in said relationship are satisfied and in love. I think you can have that without such relations. But perhaps that's just me, or perhaps a cultural difference, who knows, probably someone else does, but not me.

Anyways if you were expecting something with not a whole lot of plot, but might be a little bit relatable because you're an otaku as well and you want some otaku representation in the media you consume, consider checking this out. If not, well you're not missing out on a whole lot? It served it's purpose but that's about it. Sorry if this seemed kind of harsh, but that's just my opinion.

Manga Match 27 Our Relationship Is...

So yesterday (5.16.18) I had a really sudden fever and couldn't go to any of my lectures. It was really bad. I couldn't make it to the dining commons to eat, I could barely walk to the bathroom due to nausea, the whole ordeal. But during that time I felt so extremely blessed. My friends came to the rescue; they filled my water filter even though one of them has a really intense fear of getting sick, bought me candy, and made me cup noodles (lol bc I couldn't go to dining hall). I was overwhelmed by how they poured their love onto me. If you were wondering, yes, one of my top love languages is acts of service, so I felt so incredibly loved. And some of my upperclassmen from a club I'm in messaged me as well, asking why I had missed the meeting and they too extended a helping hand. I have to constantly remind myself of all the blessings that surround me and never let go of this loving feeling. Oftentimes I get too in my head and wonder "oh, who could ever love someone like me?" or "of course no one would like me, I'm black inside" but I've been so incredibly blessed with people around me that I need to stop these mind games and just simply bask in the wonders that have been bestowed upon me.

Anyways, you came here for some diabetes through too much cute shoujo. And so I will so indulge :3 AHAHAHA Actually I came back to this manhwa. I had stopped reading because the platform I watched it on stopped updating and so I lost hope that I would ever finish it. I was so devastated because it was such a cute series with such a lovable couple that I just needed to know what happened next, but I also didn't have the monetary means with which to procure it (lol sorry this was before I had a part time job). I was so enraptured with the story of Woojin and Gayoung, that every now and then I would think about their unfinished story. I suppose this is how the readership for Fluttering Feelings feels forever. I'm sorry :(

Well, since I'm here posting this, you know I finally got to finish it!!!!!!! Hooray!~

{Spoilers}

This is the story of Woojin and Gayoung and their friendship turned relationship and all the grey areas in between. It's a story that makes your heart ache, race, leap, flip, and drop all at once throughout the entire series. There's a lot of times where the things they do have no dialogue, but are so meaningfully illustrated that it captures the mood and intention better than words could in the comic format.

Chronologically, because that's how my mind works lol, it starts off with Gayoung being bullied by her middle school classmates, she felt it was a sort of divine punishment for sitting on the sidelines when she saw other people being bullied, something she wasn't fully in control of at the time, but something she felt she has brought upon herself nonetheless. She was in group tutoring with Woojin at the same time, but the two of them weren't friends, just neutral acquaintances at best. Woojin's mom was going through a rough time, and when Woojin saw Gayoung treating his mom so nicely that changed his attitude towards that sweet little cinnamon roll and the two of them eventually became friends. And that was it. Everyone would tease them about being more than that, but the two of them stayed as steadfast friends, even though at one point Woojin was romantically interested in her. He quelled the feelings in his heart though, as nothing more than a passing fancy and the two of them individually solidified their sentiments to stay only friends to spite all the people that told them otherwise.

This happened all the way through college with Gayoung ending up Woojin's senior at university by two years because Korean boys and their mandatory army service. Anyways, the two of them end up at the same university, still at their same silly antics, except things are changing. With the two of them each pursuing other romantic interests, it somehow bothers the other that they would be spending so much time with another person, eventually making them realize that they have feelings for one another, each one denying that their feelings would ever be reciprocated. And it gets complicated oce you introduce other people's feelings like Eunji who almost went out with Woojin or Chanhee's longtime unrequited love for Gayoung. It's things like that which make it so hard, but at the same time so rewarding to finally see the two of them together. It's a beautiful thing, true love is. Especially childhood friends. Y'all already know how much I love the childhood friends trope. Maybe that's why I love this manhwa so much? And I think just their nuanced relationship and the fact that you can see from each of their perspectives and their take on the situation that just gets me that much more invested in their story.

As you can see I've been deeply moved by the story. It's so incredibly sweet, and I wouldn't mind a mini epilogue of the two of them growing old together. They're just so adorable and their dynamic is honestly one I wish to have with my future significant other (lol jk I'm forever alone). But it's overall just a good time with good feelings and if it was ever turned into a kdrama YOU KNOW WHO WOULD BE WATCHING EVER SINGLE WEEK! Read it. It's a beautiful thing. I love feelings.

And I have screenshots actually!!!!

Honestly, Chanhee was so incredibly precious. He fell for Gayoung so hard and so fast, which I have kind of mixed feelings about, but he was so pure. When he thought she had a boyfriend at the time, he was a gentleman and didn't pursue her. He just watched her from afar, which turned into a sad thing in and of itself because he watched her like he watched the subjects of his documentaries. And when he tried to force his feelings onto her as if that would change her mind he tried his hardest to learn about love, reading all those ridiculous books and treating her so well, just unable to really read the signs because he's inexperienced and Gayoung already had mixed feelings. It's just sad seeing this pure boi trying his hardest, but to no avail.

And this boi. LOL major respect for this dude as an A1 supporting character. He's honestly such a great guy and totally underrated by everyone else.

LOL they messaging each other to do a life check was something I think I'll need later on when college gets really hard. It's just things like that that're really sweet and touch my heart.

Asdfghjkl; jealous Gayoung is so precious. She wants her friends to be happy, but at the same time she's realized her feelings for Woojin and wants to be with him. 

What a gentleman :') so cute holding his jacket because that's his girl. Obviously I don't approve of objectifying women, but he's just trying to protect her asdf

I wanna end with this picture because I remember the first time I read this through I actually took a screenshot of this and sent it to A. It was really funny. Oh man, this must've been in like sophomore year. Wow, what a throwback. What a mood. Pretty nostalgic really, and it also shows that my tastes haven't really changed either.

Manga Match 26 Bambi to Dhole

At the time I'm writing this, I'm feeling all out of sorts. It's this sort of discombobulated funk that I've gotten into and I'm not really sure why I'm feeling this way or how I'm supposed to get out of this mess that's all in my head. I don't know if I just have this deeply rooted paranoia about everyone leaving me or perhaps I'm just being emotional, but right now I'm just down. I know I'll look at this later and realize that I'm just being absolutely ridiculous, but honestly right now I just can't get out of my head enough to process if what I'm feeling is valid or not. And it's hard to go to someone and tell them "Hi, I'm broken" because it's hard for anyone to truly understand the feelings that you can't even put into words.

LOL I'm rereading what I wrote and I'm such a drama queen it's so gross, but I feel like to delete it would be dishonest and rejecting a part of myself so ye I'll just leave it.

But anyways, you didn't come here to hear me complaining, you came here for the *manga* lol my friend calls it mangos so I almost wrote mango juice oops

{Spoilers?}

Remember once upon a time I complained about how I would probably never see some of my manga finish? Well recently a lot of them finished so be prepared for just a ton of mediocre (or even sub-par) rapid reviews lol (I'm sorry I've become a lazy fat potato with no real motivation, but is also too stubborn to check for quality control).

So Bambi to Dhole is about this seemingly perfect girl named Yukimi who is nicknamed Bambi because she's so perfect and this guy that transferred to her school, Tetsu, who's a bit rough around the edges. The two of them seem like the most unlikeliest of couples, but it turns into a pretty sweet love story. But this isn't just a story about two love-struck teenagers, nope, it's a bit more than that. Actually Yukimi is a secretly rebellious teenager who smokes on the rooftop and kind of resents her little sister. She was adopted into her family when her adoptive parents thought that they wouldn't be able to have children. Turns out they were, and so Yukimi resents her little sister for having the bond with their parents that she could never hope to have. Another plot twist, Tetsu is actually a teenage father of Raichi and has moved in with his grandmother because he cut ties with his parents after fathering a child with his long-time, older lover who died due to birth complications. The two learn to lean on one another with Tetsu showing Yukimi what love really means and giving her a place where she's loved and accepted and in return Yukimi give Tetsu support in protecting his beloved son Raichi.

Honestly this was such a sweet manga. I feel like the pacing was just right, like it ended without being dragged on for too too long (yes I wrote too twice just for emphasis plz no attak) or without feeling rushed. I feel like the two of them were both able to be healed from their wounds and together they ended up better than they were seperately. I'm just really happy that they were able to end up together and so happy. Because separately they were trying their hardest to cope with the curveballs that life threw at them, which was all and good, but they were also able to support each other. My heart ached for Yukimi, not because I went through the exact same things that she did, but just the expectations that she gave herself in order to give her some sort of validation. It was definitely an unexpected pairing of Yukimi and Tetsu, of Bambi and wolf, but in the end it was a beautiful thing.

One thing I did have a problem with, but more like my heart couldn't take it. Like I could understand it, but it didn't make me feel good, was Tetsu and his first love. He said that he would always love her, but now he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Yukimi. Maybe it's lost in translation, but it kind of seems :/? I don't know, maybe it's wrong of me to say "You shouldn't try to love someone if you can't wholeheartedly devote yourself to them" if I haven't experienced such a deep love, but I think that Yukimi deserves a wholehearted love. I hope Tetsu can deliver on that.

Overall I'd read it just for a different kind of premise than usual. It's pretty unique and a pretty good read for 21 chapters. And it's complete now! So you can read it in between lectures like ya girl. Honestly I should just get more sleep instead of getting there early, but I'm a fool who gets anxious about being late to anywhere.

Also Raichi and his pet turtle are sooooooooo extremely cute.

That is all. Also I don't have any pictures because I find it's hard to keep track of screenshots if I take screenshots of all of the manga I'm currently reading and have to dig through my photos later looking for the pieces and cropping them and whatnot. And in general I just feel like they don't look as crisp and good or even convey the feeling I was trying to give? You would think otherwise because it's got all the dialogue and sound effects, but honestly I find it less than effective. But that's just my two cents. I'll probably add in a panel or two here or there, but honestly you're better off reading it yourself hehe~ makes me sound so lazy (which is true)