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Imadoki! Nowadays! Series Review

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imadoki1Title: Imadoki! Nowadays!
Series: 5 volumes
Author: Yuu Watase
Publisher: Viz Media LLC
Genre: Manga – Shoujo

For Tanpopo Yamazaki, life at the elitist Meiô Academy seems way out of her league. The daughters of wealthy families snub her; other students make light of the fact that she actually tested into Meiô instead of relying on family connections, and the cute boy she saw tending a dandelion the day before wouldn’t even acknowledge her existence. Hoping to make friends and have some fun, Tanpopo starts up a gardening committee, but will this help her survive in a school where superficiality and nepotism reign supreme? IMADOKI follows the trials and tribulations of a budding horticulturist as she makes her way down the winding road to friendship. From Yû Watase, one of Japan’s most beloved shôjo artists, IMADOKI packs comedic charm and heartfelt antics into an adorable bouquet of whimsical fantasy.

As this is a series review there may be spoilers!

I’m going to start this off by saying: I’m biased when it comes to this series and several other Yuu Watase works. I read a lot of her works many years ago and they were some of my favorite series at the time, and still are. So of course upon rereading this series all the way through again, I loved it, but there were some things I didn’t remember that happened and when I read about them it was like I was reading with fresh eyes.

This series follows Tanpopo, a happy-go-lucky girl who moves from Hokkaido to Tokyo to join this elite school to make more friends and experience more in the world. When she first arrives, the day before school starts for the year, she runs into (more like crashes into) Koki, who was minding his own business taking care of a plant. From there it takes off and we learn many things about Koki, Tanpopo, and her serious desire to make friends.

Tanpopo is kind of a clueless person who just wants those around her to be happy because she knows what it’s like to be in a lot of pain and really sad. She’s cheerful even when she’s being bullied for being the new girl and trying to talk to Koki – who acts like a totally different person when he’s at school surrounded by others than when he was alone tending to plants. I think that she’s a very loveable character, and that she really shows her genuine feelings on the surface almost all the time. I think that’s why so many people change around her and become more friendly to her and to others, including themselves. She’s kind of the beacon of hope in this series and I think that she is a great person.

Koki is from one of the elite families in the school, and he hates it. He had a lot of responsibility dumped on him when his older brother, Yoji, runs out on the family with no hint as to where he was going. He finds that everyone in the school only wants to be close to him because of his status, and he hates that. He finds solace in plants and tending to flowers and that’s really where he shows his true colors. I think that he has a great sense of responsibility, but also a great load of guilt because he takes on the tasks of his brother that he didn’t want to take on.

Flippy is a hacker and kind of a crazy guy who can flip on anyone at any time without warning, but he’s also a fun character because not only does he cause mischief, but he really believes in what Tanpopo is trying to do and supports her as a great friend.

Tsukiko is first interested in joining the Plant Committee with Tanpopo just so she could destroy Tanpopo’s image in front of Koki, but then we learn that she just wants to be with Koki for his status and power – the way it’s handled, though, is very funny and I think that it brings a lot of hilarity to some more serious moments in the series. Also, I ship her and Flippy. Just saying.

Arisa is the last of the group to really join in and she was unwilling at first, but once Tanpopo really showed her that it was okay to do things for herself, Arisa decided to be friends with them. Also, she has a secret that they all quickly figure out, and I think that she deals with it in a very mature way.

And then there’s Erika who… I really don’t like. At all. I don’t feel sorry for her and I know she was just there to create drama, but dammit, whyyyyyyy. Ugh. She’s just… not a good person. I don’t like her. I don’t have much to say about her. I’m just glad Tanpopo doesn’t really give up on her, even after all of the crap that she puts Tanpopo through.

As for the plot, it’s a pretty simple high school drama (ahahahaha, simple?) with developing feelings of romance, budding friendships, real life problems, and more. I think that the plot is pretty simple in comparison, but it’s one that draws you in along with the characters because you want to know what happens next with them all. I love being able to see Japanese culture represented so much through manga and this is just one of those examples. I love seeing the blossoming romance between Koki and Tanpopo, and the humor used in moments that really needed it.

I also love Yuu Watase’s drawing style. It’s honestly one of my favorites of all time, so again, I’m biased in that way. But she just makes all of her characters so pretty and memorable. ;-;

If you’re looking for a fun shoujo manga with drama, romance, friendship, and fun times, then check out this series.

Overall series rating: 4.5 stars

Click on the individual covers below to be brought to their Goodreads page!

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Attack on Titan Season 2 & Boruto: Naruto Next Generations – All the Questions!

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There will most likely be spoilers in this post, so please go forward with caution!

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YES. Attack on Titan season 2 FINALLY aired (over a week ago) and I am SO PUMPED about it! When I first watched Attack on Titan a few years ago (because, you know, it’s been FOUR YEARS since the first season was released), I didn’t know if I was going to like it. I mean, I’m all for action, blood, saving humanity, all of that fun stuff, but I wasn’t expecting AoT to be so… intense? I think that’s the word I’m looking for. I mean, it’s an anime about humans who have been cast off from the world because of Titans – huge beings that look like very disproportionate humans that feed on humans. And then one day, the first wall that this particular group of humans puts up is beaten in by a Colossal Titan? Scary. Lots of death, lots of blood, lots of crying and screaming.

But I was so hooked and I needed to watch more.

And then once I finished watching it with my husband, we immediately went online to look at when the next season was going to be released. And guess what? THERE WAS NO RELEASE DATE.

I mean, why? WHY!? So many fans’ cries could be heard across the world. It’s fine.

But then, I saw the news about it literally a week before it was released: Attack on Titan season two was premiering on April 1st. And we watched the first episode.

AND I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Did it live up to the hype that we’ve been waiting for? Hell yes. It picked up right where the last season left off. We see Eren, Mikasa, the rest of the Survey Corps, and then… Titans. And more specifically: the Beast Titan.

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Like, WHAT IS THIS THING? Why can it talk? Who is it? Why does it want to know more about how they use their arsenal to get around the Titans to kill them? WHY IS IT COMMANDING THE OTHER TITANS!?

And then the art is just up to the same quality as it was back with the previous season. It was smooth, had harsh lines when needed, beautiful coloring, and everything looked like a lot of time was put into it.

Of course, this season is only going to have 12 episodes and follow one specific story arc because many people theorized that the anime company was just waiting for more material to come out before making more quality content, which I personally appreciate and think was the right choice because, let’s be real, there’s a lot of hype and fandom around this series and it needed no less than the best. [For more explanation I found akidearest’s video to be really good as to why we waited so long.]

I’ve got to admit: I don’t remember much from season one because it’s been a while since I watched it, but after watching the first episode of the second season, some of those memories have come back (I just can’t remember character names to save my life, haha). I have so many questions, and I haven’t watched the second episode yet so maybe a few of my questions will be answered there, but for now? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

And then we also got: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations!

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My husband and I have been watching Naruto Shippuden and slowly making progress (of course I had to watch the last five or so episodes because I’m NaruHina trash hahaha…ha…) and then I heard about Boruto and thought, “Well, that’s one way to make cash.” I honestly didn’t think it was going to be any good, but then I thought, “You know, give it a chance, maybe it’ll surprise you.” Because I’ve been seeing a lot of people talk about how Boruto is just a copy of Naruto and doesn’t have his own personality or anything because they were judging from Boruto: the Movie.

Well, guess what? I watched the first episode and FREAKING LOVED IT.

Oh my God, I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. It felt fresh in a way I didn’t think that they’d be able to pull it off because not only does it include new technology for the world (trains and other electronic equipment) but it also focused on the kids of the Hidden Leaf Village and it not only showed those who were going to be part of the Ninja Academy, but also those who wouldn’t be able to join, which I thought was interesting because we never really got to see that in previous seasons.

And Boruto? Yeah, he’s not a copy of his dad. Yes, he does some of the same stupid things that Naruto did or even crazier things (like, you know, crashing a train cart into the side of the Hokage’s stone face…), but I thought that he felt different from Naruto, even at that same age. I found it interesting that he’s so mad at Naruto for never being around because, well, Naruto’s the Hokage and is in charge of the whole village, but that he also loves his mom, Hinata, more than anyone – and also Himawari, his little sister.

The animation style, too, felt a lot more clean and sleek, as if the animation is trying to follow the times of the Village and advance along with it. I thought that it was very beautifully animated, personally.

And then the plot of the first episode and how it was focused around Boruto going into the Ninja Academy, but it also focused around Boruto sticking up for a kid, Denki, who ends up getting possessed by some mysterious snake… thing, which Boruto sees when his eye changes, kind of like Hinata’s byakugan.

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I love the way that this anime series seems to be going, and we’re only one episode in. Also, THAT INTRO!? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS! Because it happened years later, when Boruto’s a teen and it hints that Naruto’s dead (which I really hope not) and there’s a mark on their arms and Ninjustsu is gone? I DON’T KNOW, I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS, THOUGH.

Also, another important question: WHO MARRIED ROCK LEE BECAUSE THEIR CHILD IS ADORABLE. Shh, no one ruin it for me, I want to figure it out myself.

Let’s Chat! ^w^

Has anyone else watched these episodes yet? What are your thoughts and theories with the series? Also, if you’ve read the manga and have gotten ahead of the plots, please don’t ruin them! Thanks!

A Silent Voice Series Review

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asilentvoice1Title: A Silent Voice
Series: 7 Volumes Total
Author/Illustrator: Yoshitoki Oima
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Genre: Manga – Young Adult – Contemporary
Format: Purchased paperbacks

LEARNING TO LISTEN

Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can’t hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children’s cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the school, and Shoya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shoya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?

This will be a series review, so I will be covering all seven volumes of this series. There may be spoilers, but I’ll do my best to keep this spoiler free.

This manga series is, in a word, stunning. I love the art and the characters and the story, and I’m so glad that it was so critically acclaimed in Japan because of the heavy subjects that it undertakes and how it’s executed in the story itself.

The story itself is about a boy named Shoya who always wants to have fun and never be bored. He often takes dangerous risks with his friends (such as jumping off bridges into shallow-ish water) in order to find those moments of fun and adventure. When his friends decide to cool it with all of the dangerous stunts, that’s when Shoko, a deaf girl, is transferred to his class and he thinks of her as kind of like a boss he has to beat in a video game.

Of course, that doesn’t exactly turn out well in his favor. He bullies Shoko without realizing he was being a bully by yelling at her, ripping out her hearing aids, and just causing chaos for Shoko. His other friends join in and eventually she has to transfer again.

That’s also when Shoya’s friends turn against him and he pretty much becomes a loner for the next six years.

I love how the story uses X’s over people’s faces because we’re seeing everything through Shoya’s point of view, and he doesn’t think about or care about anyone. Only when someone does something nice to him does that X fly off of their face and he sees who they are and becomes friends with them. I thought that that concept was demonstrated really well and that it was very important to the story itself.

When Shoya runs into Shoko six years later in high school, he returns the notebook she used to communicate with the other students to her and, to her surprise, he also learned sign language so he could communicate with her.

He tries very hard to redeem himself and make up with her and show her that he’s extremely sorry for the way he was as a kid, and though I thought this was sweet I oftentimes found that it became overbearing the way he was going about it. I did see immense growth in him, though, and I was glad to see that he was also affecting others around him in a positive way.

Shoko was a very defining character as well not only because she was deaf, but because she always tried to be kind to everyone and not let things get to her – at least on the surface. There are a couple of darker moments with her that made me want to reach out and comfort her. I thought that she was a very generous and warm character and I’m so glad to see some sort of deaf representation in manga (which I’ve never seen before).

There were also characters who were fat, or had a very ugly personality, or who was once bullied, or who tries her best in everything. Even Shoko’s younger sister is “different” in that she takes pictures of dead animals and dresses like a boy. I loved that there were so many varied personalities, body sizes, and disabilities shown in this series.

The plot, overall, was one that gripped me and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It was cute in many places, and there were a few times where I felt some things were unnecessary or were just too extreme, but the main story was very gripping and I loved it to bits.

If you’re looking for a diverse manga set in Japan, then I highly, highly recommend A Silent Voice.

Each volume has it’s own rating, but for my series rating I’m giving it 4.5 stars.

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Siege & Storm Book Review

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siegeandstormTitle: Siege & Storm
Series: Shadow & Bone #2
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry, Holt, & Co.
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Genre: Young Adult – Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 432
Format: Purchased Paperback

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

As this is a sequel there may be spoilers.

This was a solid sequel filled with so much action, character development, romance, snarky responses, hope, creepiness, and darkness.

I wasn’t expecting a lot of the twists and turns that happened at the beginning of the book, as well as at the ending. I thought that the way the plot progressed I would’ve been able to see more foreshadowing, but a lot of it was a surprise to me, which I enjoyed. I thought that the action sequence at the beginning with the Darkling and Alina, Mal, and Sturmhond’s crew were all very tense, but at the same time curious because there was something about what was happening that had me questioning the motives of several people. Then it progressed into an escape, political calculations, angst, and more unhappy darkness in the end. Honestly, I enjoyed this book more than the first.

Alina, I felt, is starting to really grow more as a character and she’s really trying her best to hone her skills as the Sun Summoner, to not let her powers or her amplifiers control her. I find it interesting how she has those glimpses of darkness within her and only at the end does she realize that it’s because part of the Darkling became a part of her when he claimed her with Morozova’s stag antlers. I wished she had spoken her mind more, had made more mistakes, more slips when in the political settings because I felt she was becoming a very bland person in those situations. And outside of those situations, she still didn’t seem to know what to do, but I think she just had a better understanding of where she belonged in that moment.

Mal was kind of a little overprotective in this book, in my opinion, but I could understand and see where he was coming from in those situations. He was frustrated at the situations, frustrated that he doesn’t understand Alina and what she desires, but also he feels trapped like an animal. I have a feeling about him that maybe he has hidden Grisha powers (no spoilers, please!), but I’m not entirely sure. I didn’t appreciate when he pulled himself so far away from Alina and just went in a small downward spiral. He had a lot of control up to that point, and I understand that their relationship got complicated, but I don’t know why he didn’t try to talk it out with her (and vice versa).

Can we just talk about Nikolai because he’s my new favorite and I need him in my life and I’m adding him to my Book Boyfriend List. He has many masks that he wears, different personas for different moments of time, so you never really know if he’s being sincere or not, but every time he’d joke or say something snarky I couldn’t help but laugh aloud. I personally much preferred seeing him as a Privateer, but as a Prince he was also very much in control of the situations around him and I think that was definitely a strong point for him. I just need more of him, that’s all.

The Darkling… Oh man, he got all kinds of dark and creepy in this book. New powers unfolded from him and his obsession with Alina and power just keeps growing. I can’t tell if he actually cares for her or just wants her power, but dang. He’s kind of scary. There actually wasn’t as much of him in this novel as the last one, which was fine, but it does make me wonder just what he was doing to prepare himself for when he’d return for Alina.

The romance in this book was much more apparent and actually I wished it had developed a different way, but that’s only because I was upset that years of friendship and trust could be so easily broken because of misplaced words and hurt feelings and egos. But the small bits of it that were in there were well placed and I think that we’ll see a bit more in the next book.

The action sequences and the descriptions of the creatures in the book were amazing. I think these were some of the strongest points of the novel because they were all very vivid and fast paced. I loved thinking up the world in my mind, about Sturmhond’s flying ship, about the lands and everything in between. I think that there’s some sort of dark secret behind the creatures that live in the Fold and I hope to learn more about it in the final book.

I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first and I feel that the plot is only going to thicken more now that Alina and the others are in the situation that they’re in now.

I rated this book 4/5 stars and I highly recommend it if you’ve read the first book in this trilogy.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Fall TBR List

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Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday as hosted by the lovely people over at The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is all about the books that we want to read this fall. Now, let’s be real: I probably won’t read all of these books this fall. If my pattern of not reading continues, I might be lucky if I finish one or two of these, BUT I’m going to try my best and read what I can. So here are the books I’m looking forward to reading this fall:

1 . The Goal by Elle Kennedy – Book #4 in the Off Campus series is out NOW and if I haven’t already started this by the time this post is up, then I need to slap myself because DAMN I AM HOOKED ON THIS SERIES. I’m also pretty sure this is the last book in the series, which makes me sad, but as my first foray into New Adult: I approve.

2. Water’s Wrath by Elise Kova – I have been reading this since it pretty much came out and I just keep PUTTING IT DOWN because new books come out and my interests change and then I’ve been in a rut AND I NEED TO FINISH IT. I love this series so much, and I need to know what happens next. Speaking of which….

3. Crystal Crowned by Elise Kova – This is the last book in the series and I obviously can’t read this one until I read the one before it (see above). I’ve heard good things about the ending and so I really just want to see what happens and how everything comes together.

4. P.S. I Like You by Kasie West – I started reading this before my husband and I moved and I just put it down and haven’t picked it back up, but it’s SO cute so far and I’m really enjoying it, so I just need to finish it. I’m pretty sure I’d finish quick, too, because it reads really fast.

5. Style by Chelsea M. Cameron – This F/F story also reads fast and I like that the two voices of the two main characters are both different! I don’t think I’ve ever read a lesbian love story in novel form before (manga, yes), and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far, just, again, I pick things up and put them down.

6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling – Honestly, this TBR is just the books I’m ASHAMED of having started and NOT having finished. Like, seriously, what is wrong with me? I’m pretty sure I started this book two years ago, so I just need to finish already. And it’s not like I’m not enjoying it, because I am! I think the size is just intimidating me.

7. The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson – The third and final installment of another favorite trilogy of mine and I still haven’t finished it!? Ugh. I actually barely got through it because, like last year, I just wasn’t feeling it at the time I was reading it. It’s not that I don’t want to read it and see how everything comes to a close, I just wasn’t in the mood to read it at the time.

8. A Torch Agains the Night by Sabaa Tahir – I’m very excited and happy to read this sequel because they told us we weren’t getting one last year, but the reader hype was so real and now? WE HAVE THAT SEQUEL. I am very excited to see what happens next as I haven’t been spoiled by anything anywhere yet (yay!), so I hope to start this sooner rather than later.

9. Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews – I really enjoy this adult urban fantasy series a lot, and this is the fifth book, but I haven’t gotten super far in it. I do want to read it, though, because this series is ongoing and on it’s eighth book, so I need to catch up. (Plus one spin off book that I’ll be reading after this one…)

10. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs – Another adult urban fantasy book that I’m interested in but I just need to finish reading. I started it but didn’t get far because, again, I just wasn’t in the mood to read it at the time. But so far it’s interesting, just a little info dumpy, but I think that kind of happens with the first books in adult urban fantasies, as far as I’ve noticed.

So there you have it, my list of SHAME. Honestly, I just want to finish these books so I stop feeling guilty that I haven’t yet. And also because I HAVE BEEN enjoying them, I just… you know.. stopped reading them.

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

What top three books are on your TBR for fall? Do you have a long list of SHAME books like me, or are you more hopeful for recent releases? Tell me all the things!