I had no idea it’d been an entire year since I’d read any Skip Beat!. At least my procrastination produced an appealing side effect: a nice little stack of volumes to catch up on! Volume fifteen finds Kyoko shooting on location for the TV drama in which she and Ren are cast. Sho happens to be staying in the same hotel, since there’s also a ritzy recording studio nearby, and is … [Read more...] about Skip Beat! 15-18 by Yoshiki Nakamura: B+
Comics
Vampire Knight 1-4 by Matsuri Hino: B-
The first memory Yuki Cross can remember happened ten years ago when she was five: she’s attacked by one vampire but saved by another, the beautiful and pureblooded Kaname. Kaname brings the human girl to the home of a human he knows and his frequent visits throughout her childhood result in her growing very attached to him. Six years later, the introduction of a boy named … [Read more...] about Vampire Knight 1-4 by Matsuri Hino: B-
InuYasha 41 by Rumiko Takahashi: B
In the past few volumes, it’s begun to feel like the final confrontation between Inuyasha and the evil Naraku is drawing nigh. First, however, Inuyasha and friends must defeat Moryomaru, a living demonic armor constructed by and to protect the scheming infant that houses Naraku’s heart. Unless the heart is destroyed, Naraku will never truly die. Naraku, for his part, wants … [Read more...] about InuYasha 41 by Rumiko Takahashi: B
InuYasha 38-40 by Rumiko Takahashi: B
Fans of InuYasha have long been resigned to the fact that nothing much seems to happen to further the main plot of the series along. Imagine my surprise, therefore, when several very major things happen in the 38th volume of the series. Afterwards, alas, we plunge back into more episodic fare, but it's definitely starting to feel like the beginning of the end. Volume 38 is a … [Read more...] about InuYasha 38-40 by Rumiko Takahashi: B
Kaze Hikaru 3-5 by Taeko Watanabe: A-
Tominaga Sei, a teenaged girl who has assumed the male identity of Kamiya Seizaburo in order to join the Mibu-Roshi and avenge the deaths of her brother and father, has achieved her revenge. As volume three begins, her mentor and unrequited love, Okita Soji, is urging her to leave because she has accomplished her task, but Sei doesn't want to go and demands acceptance as a man. … [Read more...] about Kaze Hikaru 3-5 by Taeko Watanabe: A-