Twenty-one-year-old Nicoletta arrives in Rome with the intention of confronting her absentee mother, Olga, and revealing the fact of her existence to Olga’s husband, Lorenzo, who had believed his wife to be childless. Instead, she becomes entranced by her mother’s world and ultimately finds a place in it. Olga and Lorenzo run a restaurant, and though the food is excellent, … [Read more...] about Ristorante Paradiso by Natsume Ono: B+
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The Record of a Fallen Vampire 1-3 by Kyo Shirodaira and Yuri Kimura: B+
For the first two volumes of The Record of a Fallen Vampire, one thinks one has things figured out. There’s the vampire king, Akabara Strauss, who has tirelessly searched for his imprisoned queen for 1000 years despite being hunted by both human and supernatural foes, inspiring much romantic speculation. There’s the dhampire (a human/vampire mix) Jin Renka, who is also … [Read more...] about The Record of a Fallen Vampire 1-3 by Kyo Shirodaira and Yuri Kimura: B+
Cactus’s Secret 2 by Nana Haruta: B-
Miku Yamada has finally managed to make her dense crush, Kyohei Fujioka, understand that she has feelings for him, even though he doesn’t reciprocate. Meanwhile, a pompous classmate publicly declares his affections for Miku and attempts to get Kyohei expelled for stealing the answers to the midterm exams. Later, Miku and Kyohei are both assigned to the Sports Day Planning … [Read more...] about Cactus’s Secret 2 by Nana Haruta: B-
switch 1-2 by naked ape: C+
Although I knew of the existence of switch, I hadn’t been motivated to read it until David Welsh likened it to Wild Adapter fan fiction. Since I’m pining for new Wild Adapter rather ardently, I decided to check it out. switch tells the story of a government-run Narcotics Control Division, specifically a pair of rookie investigators, as they attempt to get dangerous drugs off … [Read more...] about switch 1-2 by naked ape: C+
Banana Fish 3-4 by Akimi Yoshida: A-
The action ramps up in these two volumes of Banana Fish as Ash and his allies follow the trail of the drug known as “Banana Fish” from New York to Los Angeles and more details about its nature, as well as Ash’s background, come to light. There’s a lot going on here, including prison power struggles, an incredibly badass assassination attempt in a Chinatown fish market, a … [Read more...] about Banana Fish 3-4 by Akimi Yoshida: A-