Mini Manga Review: Crayon Days by Chiba Kozue

Title: Crayon Days 

Original Title: Crayon Days - Daikirai na Aitsu

Author: Chiba Kozue

Artist: Chiba Kozue

Year of Release: 2011

Genres: Comedy, Romance, School Life, Shoujo

Status: Completed

Chapters (Translated in English): 27.5

Volumes & Chapters: 

4 Volumes in Total 

Mangahere – Goodreads

Manga Review: Library Wars: Love & War by Kiiro Yumi (2nd Review)

Title: Library Wars: Love & War

Original Title: Toshokan Sensou: Love & War

Author: Kiiro Yumi & Hiro Arikawa

Artist: Kiiro Yumi

Year of Release: 2008

Genres: Action, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Shoujo

Status: Completed (Not Fully uploaded)

Chapters (Translated in English & Uploaded): 

Volumes & Chapters: 15 Volumes

MangaHere – Goodreads -- BookDepository

Mini Manga Review: Love So Life by Kouchi Kaede

Title: Love So Life

Original Title: Love So Life

Author: Kouchi Kaede

Artist: Kouchi Kaede

Year of Release: 2008

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life

Status: Completed

Chapters (Translated in English): 106

Volumes & Chapters: 

17 Volumes in Total

Mangafox – Goodreads

Manga Review: Skip Beat by Yoshiki Nakamura (2nd Review)

Title: Skip Beat!

Original Title: Skip Beat!

Author: Yoshiki Nakamura

Artist: Yoshiki Nakamura

Year of Release: 2002

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life

Status: Ongoing

Chapters (Translated in English): 229

Volumes & Chapters: 

38 Volumes, Ongoing

Mangafox – Goodreads

Summary

Kyouko Mogami lived solely for her childhood friend Shoutaro "Shou" Fuwa. She follows Shou to Tokyo so that he may realize his dream of becoming a famous singer. When his dream is realized, Kyouko overhears the truth behind his decision to bringing her with him: he was using her as a maid.

Shocked and enraged, Kyouko swears to take revenge by outdoing him in show business. With a new look and a new attitude, she joins LME, the agency where Ren Tsuruga (Shou's rival and the #1 actor of LME) works, in the hopes of achieving her goal of destroying Shou's pride.

Along the way, she discovers her true self, makes new friends (and enemies), and finds herself at the heart of some interesting situations that will change her life, and the lives of all others involved, forever.

My Thoughts

Review covers 79 chapters 

Hello, everyone and welcome back to Katie’s Corner! I’m continuing with my Skip Beat reviews. As I’m looking right now I‘ll be making quite a lot of reviews, as I do not want to omit a lot. But let me begin, as today I will have 2 other characters that I will be discussing. But like previous time let me make a small list, so you know what this review will cover:

·      Kanae having a crisis at work?

·      A major work for Kyoko?

·      Ren Tsuruga is having difficulties?

First of all, meet Kanae Kotonami or Moko-san as Kyoko calls her. Who is she? Yes, I do not remember if she appeared in the first review; she is the second member of “Love Me” section. Also, she is the one who got cast with Kyoko for her first job on TV – a soft drink commercial. If you have already read 46 chapters, you know why Kanae refused to take part in Shou’s PV – she got a chance to act in a drama. However, nothing is as easy as it sounds. What did happen? Why is that a 11-year-old threatening her with losing her job? That’s for you to find out. The only thing that I’ll say is that we finally get to know the real Kanae. We meet her family, it’s a weird bunch, and we can finally see how hard she tries to achieve her dream. We also find the answer as to why she couldn’t stand Kyoko in the beginning. The bond between two girls deepens, and we are happy for Kyoko, as she finally made her long wished female friend! You’ll be laughing at the stunts Kanae will be doing. And her idea of playing with kids? Hilarious! And don’t forget that Kyoko will have to use her superpower at some point in her attempt to find out what Kanae likes.

But let’s move on! It’s time for Kyoko to act in a drama. She is not the main character, but her role is very interesting and hard to play. Was there an audition? No, she was recommended because of Shou’s PV, or actually because the directors were friends. As Shou’s PV didn’t air to contribute to Kyoko’s popularity. But the role has a catch and if Kyoko can’t understand her character well, she won’t be able to play her role well and won’t be able to surpass the original. I forgot to mention that this drama is a remake? Sorry, sorry. Kyoko will have a tough time coming up with her Mio, but when she finally does; it will blow your mind and you’ll be left shivering! I’ll give you a hint: her character is a young mistress, whose heart is filled with hatred. Kyoko will put this hatred to the extreme and trust me you want to be there to see when she transforms into Mio Hongo! It’s fantastic!

However, not only Kyoko will have problems with her role. Ren Tsuruga will be at a loss, as he can’t play a man in love! But before that let me tell you a bit about Ren, or actually about his and Kyoko’s relationship. They started bad, really bad, as Ren didn’t like that Kyoko was in showbiz for revenge. However, over the time their relationship was getting better, and right now they both need only one push to acknowledge their feelings. Well, Ren already did, but he locked them away, because of his secret. What is the secret, even I do not know it yet. The only person who can read Ren’s fake smile is Kyoko and their encounters are always fun and interesting to watch. Especially, if Ren is angry and has a radiant smile on his face. Devil Kyoko's are going ballistic at that times. Actually in the most chapters after Kyoko found her Mio, the story is focused on Ren. We get to know him a bit better, there’s still a lot of mystery around him, especially why he can’t love anyone at this time. But nevertheless we get to see him from different sides. When Bo aka Kyoko is giving him hints as to what love is, his expressions are just fantastic and you should really see what kind of expressions he makes, but do not forget how he actually came to understand his role! That parts when he sees his feelings for Kyoko are incredible!

I’ll be finishing now, but do not worry; more interesting moments await you when you start reading this story. Enjoy it to its fullest and don’t forget to share your thoughts below. Stay tuned for more reviews as well as promos! Don’t miss your next favourite book or manga! Happy reading!

XOXO

Katie

Rating

Manga Review: Love Celeb by Mayu Shinjo (2nd Review)

Title: Love Celeb

Original Title: Love Celeb - King Egoist

Author: Mayu Shinjo

Artist: Mayu Shinjo 

Year of Release: 2004

Genres: Adult, Comedy, Drama, Mature, Shoujo, Smut,

Status: Completed

Chapters (Translated in English): 37.5

Volumes & Chapters: 7 Volumes

Volume 1 Chapters 1-5              Volume 4 Chapters 18-23                         Volume 7 Chapters 36-37.5
Volume 2 Chapters 6-11            Volume 5 Chapters 24-29
Volume 3 Chapters 12-17          Volume 6 Chapters 30-35.5

Mangafox – Goodreads

Summary

Shinjo Mayu's newest leading lady is an idol, and the leading man is... a future prime minister!? Just what is a "Love Celeb"? Nakazono Kirara is an aspiring starlet. She used to think she'd do whatever it took to get a starring role in a drama and have a CD. But her manager, Hanamaki, proves her wrong when he sends her into a room full of horny producers to sleep her way into a role! Kirara wants no part of it! She's a virgin, and these guys are scary!! Especially the silver-haired one named Gin... He seems to be in charge. But he lets Kirara leave the party with her virginity and his phone number, and it seems like nothing lost, nothing gained... until Kirara is suddenly the most famous new starlet for no apparent reason!?

Side story in volume 7: Darenimo Ienai!
Ruka’s a junior high student in love with her father’s assistant, Fumi-sempai. She wants to become an adult quickly because everyone sees her as a little kid! But what would happen if she actually became an adult with the help of a time machine?

My Thoughts

Review covers 37 chapters 

See the first review HERE!

Hello, everyone and welcome back to Katie’s Corner! Today I’m finishing up with Love Celeb. The fun thing is that I posted the first review not so long ago, and if you’re interested, you can find it on my blog, or just click on the link above. I do not believe this review will be as long as the previous one, but I really did want to it separately. So, let me begin.

If you read my previous review, you know where I stopped the story. Kirara (that’s our female protagonist) has retired from being an idol, so she could be with her only love – Gin. So now that she has achieved her dream, it’s Gin’s turn to gain respect and achieve his dream to be a politician. But first it’s a makeover. Both for him and Kirara. You can see Kirara’s on the cover of the final volume, and Gin’s is right here:

I debated putting it here, but then he’s so yummy! Okay, so to start Gin’s career as future politician, his father makes him a secretary of another politician – Makoto Ginguji. And so Kirara’s and gin’s love will be tested again, and it will nearly collapse, but Gin will find a way to return what was his and even make an ally in Makoto. What happened? Why is that I hated Makoto in the very beginning and still do a little because I do not approve of his ways to deal with something? You’ll need to find it out for yourself. It’s no fun if I tell you know!

One thing that I really found interesting is Gin’s come back in the very beginning of his secretary life: “what this country needs is love” and its amazing to watch when he proves to Makoto what he could accomplish because of love. However, the idea that there are not enough donors for bone-marrow and that mostly people do not care about such things is indeed correct. I could understand Makoto’s wish to find a donor, but the way it was done was not right.

The ending is quite fun as we get to see the new character who will appear in another work, and don’t miss it as Hakuron will be appearing on my blog next month. However, let me get back to the ending. It is quite vague. We do not know that those two will stay together, but the ending still shows them as 16-year-olds or at least 17. We do not really get to see them making a family, and that’s a bit sad, but nevertheless it’s a great ending.

So, don’t miss it. At the end there’s an extra story, how Kirara ad Gin visit Sakuya & Aine. You’ll see your favourite couple from Sensual phrase and there will be a surprise waiting for you. Don’t miss your chance to find out how Kirara’s and Gin’s love story will end. Enjoy it to its fullest and don’t forget to share your thoughts below! Stay tuned for more reviews as well as promos. Don’t miss your next favourite book or manga! Happy reading!

XOXO

Katie

Rating

Manga Review: Orange by Takano Ichigo (2nd Review)

Title: Orange

Original Title: Orange

Author: Takano Ichigo 

Artist: Takano Ichigo 

Year of Release: 2012

Genres: Drama, Psychological, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Slice of Life, Tragedy

Status: Completed

Chapters (Translated in English): 22

Volumes & Chapters: 5 Volumes

Volume 1 Chapters 1-4             Volume 4 Chapters 12-16
Volume 2 Chapters 5-8             Volume 5 Chapters 17-22
Volume 3 Chapters 9-11

Mangafox – Goodreads

Summary

One day, Takamiya Naho receives a letter written to herself from ten years in the future. As Naho reads on, the letter recites the exact events of the day, including the transfer of a new student into her class named Naruse Kakeru.

The Naho from ten years later repeatedly states that she has many regrets, and she wants to fix these by making sure the Naho from the past can make the right decisions—especially regarding Kakeru. What's more shocking is that she discovers that ten years later, Kakeru will no longer be with them. Future Naho asks her to watch over him closely

My Thoughts

Review covers 22 chapters 

Read the first review HERE! 

Hello, and welcome back to Katie’s Corner! Well, today is the first time I’m making a 2^nd review. And it’s for a newly finished work by Ichigo Takano – Orange. Actually it was completed back in August, but well you know how my time-frame works. If you’re interested you can read the first review HERE because today I will be mostly focusing on one aspect of the story. If you haven’t read the story yet I highly recommend you to start it right now. There are only 22 chapters, but those chapters are full of raw feelings that will make your heart beat like crazy and the ending will make you happy but at the same time sad. Yes, this is a possibility.

If you haven’t started this series yet, let me just tell you in a few sentences the idea behind it. Naho and her friends receive letters from the future telling the, that their new classmate and friend Kakeru is going to die. And they need to follow the instructions in the letter so he doesn’t. Would you have believed this? Our heroes didn’t too, but after everything in the letter come to be true they align so that they can help Kakeru live. Will they be able to? That’s up to you to find out!

What I really wanted to focus my review on today is the concept of altering the future. It has been discussed a number of times by the future characters. The question is: if their past selves will save Kakeru, will their present be changed too? Or when they sat the letters to the past did they actually send it to the alternative world? The way the story ends the future for the future characters stayed the same while the present changed. Nice idea right? It actually reminded me of an anime called Stein’s Gate. The way they changed time from a to b and then to Stein’s Gate time frame. The idea of having two stories in a one was fantastic. What do I mean? Well, I’ll be spoiling now, so apologies. The future Naho and her friends stayed in the same future when Kakeru died and Naho had a kid with Suwa. While the present Naho changed their reality by altering the future, however, what really altered the future for the present Naho was her receiving the letter from the future. Confusing, right? But as soon as you read the story you will understand what I mean. Another thing that I wanted to mention is the regret that the future characters are feeling. But it changes in the last chapter. I do not know if you will see this, but I believe Naho from the future knows that the present Naho helped Kakeru. But that part is too shady.

Another thing that is worth mentioning is the relationship between Naho and Kakeru. They love each other, but they don’t go out. That frustrated me a lot. But they do finally get together. How? That’s up to you to find out! Don’t miss this fantastic work! I cried my eyes while reading! Enjoy it to its fullest and don’t forget to share your thoughts below! Stay tuned for more reviews as well as promos. Don’t miss your next favourite book or manga! Happy reading! Oh, don’t forget to have some tissues near you!!

XOXO

Katie

Rating