Even Though We're Adults vol. 7 (manga review)

    Even Though We're Adults vol. 7 (Seven Seas) by Takako Shimura really moves the relationship between Ayano and Akari along. I won't give too many spoilers, but it's a volume filled with them getting to know each other and making commitments. It's nice to see after the previous 6 volumes that this relationship is going to take another step. Not that I'm complaining about the pace. I love that it's been a messy journey so far, it's one of the things that make Takako Shimura's manga so compelling.

    The volume focuses on Akari and Ayano taking next steps, but it also continues the story of the middle school student and her problems with her friends. Things escalate to the point where she stops going to school. Along the way, the parents also find out about Ayano's affair and divorce and she ultimately is forced to come out to all the parents and as a result decides to move on to a new school for the upcoming school year.

    The volume concludes with Ayano and Akari getting to know each other better and making a big decision. No spoilers on that!

    The art continues to be consistent with Takako Shimura's other series. The faces have a generally more "cartoony" than realistic look and there isn't a lot of detail in the panels. Sometimes there will be a background shot that makes me think an assistant did it, but who knows. It's the loose art she's known for, neither good nor bad, but just what she does. If you liked it (or didn't mind it) in her other series, then you'll have no trouble here. Not my favorite art by far, but passable. 

    I'm glad to see this series continuing to go places and explore this adult relationship. It's nice to get some josei yuri from one of the best mangaka's out there. 

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My Cute Little Kitten volume 2 (manga review)

     My Cute Little Kitten volume 2 can best be summed up as relatively trashy but also at least attempting some level of introspection into the characters. Yuna is proving to be quite complex in her head and volume 2 spends it's time with her spinning over a variety of things, however, some progress is made by the end of the volume. Volume 3 isn't out yet, but volume 2 definitely isn't the end of the series either.

    It's very fast paced which doesn't give as much time to understand the somewhat drastic swings in mood of Yuna. It's relatively light overall. I wouldn't even call the internal drama really dramatic. The series has so much light comedy, sex, and fast pacing that it doesn't actually feel dramatic even when it should. 

    I'm not a huge fan of Milk Morinaga's art, but it's consistent across all their works. Something about the faces aren't quite right to me, but whatever. There's also lots of sex, I mean LOTS of sex. And just about everything is depicted (with just the most sensitive parts left ambiguous). This is not for children by any means.  

    Are you a fan of Milk Morinaga? If so, then you're probably already reading this series. If not, this wouldn't be my first recommendation into their oeuvre. My personal favorite (and I'm sure I'm in the minority) is their work "Secret of the Princess" but there are others considered more classics too if you want to start somewhere. However, if you're new to yuri or looking for high quality yuri, Milk Morinaga isn't probably the place to start. And certainly My Cute Little Kitten isn't either.

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Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.

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Kageki Shojo!! Vol 9 and 10 (manga review)

    The girls are entering their second year at Kouka Theater School. These were two of the better volumes so far for a few reasons:

    1) We got to see how they've grown and how they process now being senpai to the incoming students of the 101st class.

    2) We get a bigger focus on Ai.

    So if you've been reading my reviews of Kageki Shojo!! so far, you may remember that I really liked the prelude volume "Curtain Rises" with its heavy focus on Ai and have been a bit underwhelmed by the main series with its focus on Sarasa. While Sarasa is an interesting and engaging character, I still feel she functions best as the friendly foil to push Ai along. With volume 9 and particularly 10, we get a bigger does of Ai and her interiority which I find more compelling, complex, and interesting.   

    Where much of where Sarasa's writing and her development occurs externally, Ai is a very internal character and so when the writing focuses on her, it feels like the story has more depth with both the outside objective world and what is going on inside.

    We also get to see some interesting growth and choices by Ai that signal how she is slowly healing in this new environment, away from her mother, and under Sarasa's influence. Volume 10 is a somewhat joyful volume for Ai, not that it's outwardly a festive volume, but mostly that the growth we see is moving Ai into a more complete and whole and ultimately well-adjusted person.

    There is also some time getting to see how the girls' acting class for second year will be different than the first year and how that will push all of them in some new directions. This is also intimately tied into one of the areas that Ai shows growth (the other main one being her attempts at being a good senpai and therefor coming out of her shell a bit). There is definitely a sense in these volumes of a trajectory for the series. Whether it will end with their initial auditions for the Kouka troupe, or maybe follow them beyond, is uncertain, but we do get the sense that this series and these characters are going somewhere and changing along the way.

    I hope the heavier dose of Ai continues through the rest of the series.

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Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.

All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.