Tag: Manga

Yuki and Zess get orders from their leader Takashiro to travel to another one of their residences to meet some of the other clan members. We end up meeting some of Yuki’s actual blood relatives as well as more zweilt. But even with the introduction of new characters, this has been the least interesting volume for me, mostly because I didn’t really enjoy the side story, so much so that I won’t even get into it. I did enjoy learning about two of the newest zweilt, Senshirou and Kuroto, and it was nice to learn about their backstory in one volume rather than having to go through two volumes. They are a really cute yet tragic pairing. The volume ends with a lot of little extra comics that don’t have anything to do with the story, they are just for fun. I always enjoy the silly stuff the author puts at the end of the book.

I’m really into this series right now, and even though I am really busy this week I think I will finish volume 4 in time for another bonus Friday review. I often go long periods of time forgetting that I own a decent collection of manga and that it is a category of reading material all together. This series is reminding me how much I enjoy the genre and it is encouraging me to branch out and find new series to consider reading.

Almost the entire Volume 2 omnibus is a battle between the Giou clan and a powerful Opast, a demon, who is taking advantage of lovesick girls in order to gain more power. As more and more girls are lured in with the promise of being able to get attention from the boys they so desperately want, a member of the Giou clan gets caught up in one of the opasts spells. Over the course of trying to locate the opast and the missing clan member, we learn more about the friendship and bond between Hotsuma and Shuusei, who I now refer to as my favorite pair. The answer to the question regarding the history between Zess/Luka and Yuki, that I believe many readers have had as they read through the first volume, is acknowledged and opens up the possibility of learning more about what went on between them in their past life. 

I’m leaving for a camping trip tomorrow afternoon, and you know I am going to be taking Volume 3 with me, possibly Volume 4 as well. I’ll have an update for you on Tuesday. I hope you enjoyed the bonus Friday review this week.

I’m doing something a little different this week. I’ve been having some health issues, and getting to the bottom of things has been taking up a lot of my time and energy, including my mental energy. I have found that it is too difficult for me to concentrate on an intellectual read while I’m worrying about my body and the strange and painful things that are currently going on inside it. So I decided that I needed something fun and different to cheer myself up. Besides being a huge fan of traditional texts, both fictional and non fictional, I also love graphic novels, comic books, and manga. I bought six out of the eight English translated volumes of The Betrayal Knows My Name by Hotaru Odagiri a long time ago. I knew that it was finally time for me to read it.

I have only gotten through Volume 1, and I am already excited to get to Volume 2. I am also preparing to buy the two volumes that I don’t have yet. I haven’t read manga in so long that I forgot how much I love it. The style of art in this series is among my favorite types, realistic but with silly cartoonish bits thrown in. The themes are among my favorites too, fantasy, other worldly, a little bit of romance and intensity. And there are so many interesting characters, I have a hard time picking a favorite and an equally hard time finding anyone to dislike. I am looking forward to learning more about the past life of the main character, Yuki, a high school aged boy, who happened to have been a female in his past life. I also am intrigued as to how Zess/Luka came to join Yuki’s new found family, the Giou clan. Finally, I have taken a special interest in the relationship between Hotsuma and Shuusei. I really want to know what happened between them that caused Hotsuma to inflict scars upon Shuusei and how they still have such a close bond after whatever occured. 

I anticipate blowing through the next volume, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I manage to write a bonus review in time for Friday.