• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Soliloquy in Blue

Manga and Book Reviews by Michelle Smith

  • Home
  • Reading Lists
    • 2002 Reading List
    • 2003 Reading List
    • 2004 Reading List
    • 2005 Reading List
    • 2006 Reading List
    • 2007 Reading List
    • 2008 Reading List
    • 2009 Reading List
    • 2010 Reading List
    • 2011 Reading List
    • 2012 Reading List
    • 2013 Reading List
    • 2014 Reading List
    • 2015 Reading List
    • 2016 Reading List
    • 2017 Reading List
    • 2018 Reading List
    • 2019 Reading List
    • 2020 Reading List
    • 2021 Reading List
    • 2022 Reading List
    • 2023 Reading List
    • 2024 Reading List
    • 2025 Reading List
    • 2026 Reading List
  • Review Index
    • Review Index by Title A-M
    • Review Index by Title N-Z
    • Bookshelf Briefs Archive
    • Let’s Get Visual Archive
    • Off the Shelf Archive
  • About

Reviews

There’s Something About Sunyool 2-3 by Youngran Lee: B+

August 13, 2010 by Michelle Smith 3 Comments

Sunyool Lee’s life is full of disreputable accomplishments. If only she had something to show for them! Volume two picks up four years after the dissolution of Sunyool’s six-month marriage to Sihyun Park, a wonderful guy with whom she was perfectly compatible. After a two-year stay in Paris, where she attempted to forget her pain and honed her pastry chef skills, she returned … [Read more...] about There’s Something About Sunyool 2-3 by Youngran Lee: B+

Black Lagoon 1-3 by Rei Hiroe: A-

August 8, 2010 by Michelle Smith 7 Comments

If asked for a one-word description of Rei Hiroe's seinen action series, Black Lagoon, my response would be “kick-ass.” I'd quickly follow that up, however, with “and a lot more intelligent than one might assume.” Black Lagoon is the story of the Lagoon Traders, a group of seafaring couriers based out of the fictional city of Roanapur, Thailand. African-American Dutch, an … [Read more...] about Black Lagoon 1-3 by Rei Hiroe: A-

Darker Than Black by BONES, et al.: C+

August 6, 2010 by Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

I reviewed the omnibus edition of this shoujo manga based on the Darker Than Black anime for Comics Should Be Good. Basically, all of the elements borrowed from the anime are pretty intriguing, but the manga's storyline just doesn't hang together very well. You can find that review here. Darker Than Black is published in English by Yen Press in a 384-page omnibus edition … [Read more...] about Darker Than Black by BONES, et al.: C+

Honey and Clover 9-10 by Chica Umeno: A

August 2, 2010 by Michelle Smith 3 Comments

These are the final two volumes of Honey and Clover, so there will be spoilers here. Beware. Be sure to have some mental palate cleanser on hand—fluffy shoujo may work for you but I turned to shoot-’em-up seinen—when you finish Honey and Clover, because, man, is it depressing! It’s not that I’d expected everything to turn out rosy, since much of the plot revolves around two … [Read more...] about Honey and Clover 9-10 by Chica Umeno: A

Paradise Kiss 1-5 by Ai Yazawa: A

July 26, 2010 by Michelle Smith 15 Comments

Like Yazawa's later series, NANA, Paradise Kiss is the story of a normal girl who wanders into the path of young people with ambition, becomes invested in seeing their dream come true, and must ultimately find her own path to happiness. The Basic Story Yukari Hayasaka is a hardworking high school student who has never been in trouble. Since early childhood her main … [Read more...] about Paradise Kiss 1-5 by Ai Yazawa: A

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Michelle Smith on A Bevy of Buffy
  • Brad on A Bevy of Buffy
  • Manga Bookshelf | Morning Manga Spotlight: Antique Bakery on Let’s Get Visual: Speechless
  • Manga Bookshelf | Viz brings Takeshi Obata to NYCC on Let’s Get Visual: Warm-Up Exercises
  • a-yin on Yumi Tamura: Two Artbooks

Copyright © 2011 Soliloquy in Blue · Powered by WordPress & the Genesis Framework