NANA is a series I vow never to spoil. From the back cover: Being engaged isn't as wonderful as Hachi thought it would be. She has a trendy new apartment, but she's isolated from all her friends and Takumi is hardly ever home. When scandal hits hard, Trapnest (and her fiancé) flee to Europe, and Hachi is left to watch Blast suffer in the scandal rags and tabloid … [Read more...] about NANA 10 by Ai Yazawa: A
Shojo Beat
Monkey High! 6 by Shouko Akira: B+
Volume six of Monkey High! builds on issues between reserved Haruna and her cheerful boyfriend, Macharu, that began to develop in the previous volume. Macharu, in his optimism, keeps trying to help bring about reconciliation between Haruna and her distant politician father while the mere thought of her family woes is sufficient to ruin any fun Haruna might be having. Macharu’s … [Read more...] about Monkey High! 6 by Shouko Akira: B+
High School Debut 10 by Kazune Kawahara: A-
From the back cover: Friendship and love are put to the test when Asaoka reveals to Yoh that he likes Haruna. To settle things once and for all, Yoh and Asaoka strike a deal—whoever loses the school sports meet will give up his feelings for her! Who will win the meet and Haruna's heart? Review: Once again, the back cover blurb is wrong. I wouldn't like Yoh at all if he'd … [Read more...] about High School Debut 10 by Kazune Kawahara: A-
Otomen 2 by Aya Kanno: B
This volume presents three episodic tales, two of which focus on Asuka’s challenge to be true to himself despite the expectations of others. In the first of these stories, he acquires an apprentice who wants to use him as a reference on how to be cool and masculine, requiring Asuka to suppress his girly tendencies, and in the other, his mother attempts to set him up in an … [Read more...] about Otomen 2 by Aya Kanno: B
Beauty Pop 10 by Kiyoko Arai: B-
Narumi’s father has goaded him into entering the Scissors Project into the All-Japan Beauty Tournament in order to prove he’s serious about forming his own salon with his schoolmates rather than inherit the family salon. In this final volume, the outcome of both the tournament and the love triangle between Narumi, his friend Ochiai, and protagonist Kiri, is revealed. I was … [Read more...] about Beauty Pop 10 by Kiyoko Arai: B-