Manga Review: Crimson Hero by Mitsuba Takanashi

Title: Crimson Hero

Original Title: Beniiro Hero

Author: Mitsuba Takanashi

Artist: Mitsuba Takanashi

Year of Release: 2003

Genres: Drama, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Sports

Status: Completed

Chapters (Translated in English): 83

Volumes & Chapters: 

20 volumes in total 

Mangafox – Goodreads

Summary

All that matters to 15-year-old Nobara Sumiyoshi is volleyball--she's an awesome player with big-time ambitions. But sometimes it seems like a girl just can't get a break in the competitive world of high school volleyball.
Nobara's family wants her to inherit the role of "young mistress," serving rich patrons at her family's old-fashioned Japanese restaurant. No thanks! When Nobara transfers to Crimson Field High School, known for its top-notch volleyball team, it turns out that her mother will stoop to dirty tricks to keep her off the court. With assistance from her feisty Aunt Momoko, who's got some connections at Crimson Field, Nobara decides to start playing offense.

My Thoughts

Review covers 83 chapters 

Hi, guys and welcome back to Katie’s Corner! I think this is the author’s very first and so far the longest manga. Yup, there are 20 volumes. Now, a small advice. If you do not like the old style of drawings (where the characters are a bit chubby) and you can’t stomach volleyball, well this story might not be your cup of tea. First 8 volumes the characters are a bit chubby; through in the last 5 volumes I could finally say that the main character was cute. Well, I love volleyball, especially the manga Haikyuu, there’s the anime too, I will cover it some time afterwards on the blog. How did I like the story? I had loads of fun and at the same time the story had an iron grip on me. I was in the middle of my exam preparations and I couldn’t put it down to actually study. I was actually looking for a very lovey-dovey manga when I came across this one, but well, I actually enjoyed the whole: “I-need-to-be-focused-on-volleyball-attitude from mostly every character. No, don’t get me wrong, there is romance and quite a lot of it, however, it’s secondary compared to the whole volleyball theme.

Somewhere near the end, when everything is good and everyone is happy, and there’s no premonition of a tragedy or let’s say drama, the author just drops that bomb. Truth be told, I was waiting for something bad to happen. It was inevitable, but the way some of the characters took the blow is fantastic and you do not want to miss it, as it will shatter your heart to million pieces and it’ll take a lot to mend it back! I loved a lot the last 2 short stories, especially the one about Nobara and Yuushin. They’re such cuties! But I don’t want to spoil a lot for you, you need to experience this fun and at the same time serious story yourself.

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: Despotic Lover by Mayu Shinjo

Title: Despotic Lover

Original Title: 覇王♥愛人

Author: Mayu Shinjo

Artist: Mayu Shinjo

Year of Release: 2004

Genres: Action, Drama, Harem, Mature, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Smut, Tragedy

Status: Completed

Chapters (Translated in English): 50

Volumes & Chapters: 9 Volumes

Volume 1 Chapters 1-5              Volume 4 Chapters 17-22                    Volume 7 Chapters 36-40
Volume 2 Chapters 6-10            Volume 5 Chapters 23-29                     Volume 8 Chapters 41-45
Volume 3 Chapters 11-16          Volume 6 Chapters 30-35                     Volume 9 Chapters 46-50

MangaHere – Goodreads

Summary

One day while walking home from her job, Kurumi Akino finds a wounded young man, and saves his life. He mysteriously dissapears after that, and leaves only the name Hakuron�. Next thing she knows she's been kidnapped from her school, and is on a private jet with that man, heading to China. It turns out she saved the life of the most infamous mobster in Hong Kong, and he wants her to stay with him. 

You can find A Tale of Happier Times (v06 extra) in the anthology Motto Oshiete. 

WARNING: This series contains strong "consensual rape" situations, strong language, scenes of graphic sex, rape, violence, murder, suicide, glorifies the mafia and black market. It is recommended that you be the legal age of consent in your country to view this story. 

My Thoughts

Review covers 50 chapters 

Hi, guys and welcome back to Katie’s Corner! I’m continuing with my obsession with Mayu Shinjo’s works. However, there are not much left. There definitely be two more reviews, but at that I won’t be able to review all of her works, and truly I only review the ones that I found interesting enough to read a second time. But let me get back to the review as talking about my future projects is sometimes boring

Please bear in mind that from all of the author’s work this is the cruelest. Wait, can I say cruel? Let me elaborate. It’s twisted. The story is about love, but Hakuron’s (that’s the main character and the leader of Hong Kong mafia) idea of love is twisted. The story has lots of murder and also rape, which is why I say that his idea of love is twisted. But what is most interesting is that he truly does love Kurumi, and that love makes him do stupid things. Like what? Heh, If I told you I would have spoiled a major event and to say the truth I would have spoiled the whole story. Because before he does anything there are characters to appear and make Kurumi’s life hell and take her love from her.

Why do I love this story if it’s mostly murder and twisted love? I believe because of the characters. No matter what cruelty Hakuron does, even if he infuriates me to the point of hating him, I still like him as a character. He truly encompassed the role of a heartless, cruel beast that unfortunately falls in love. Why unfortunately? That is my opinion, but if he didn’t he would have been alive and wouldn’t have wounded Kurumi, but at the same time the love that he felt towards Kurumi made him a better man in some aspects. Kurumi is a great character. Her strength and her love amaze me every time I read this story. You might think of her as strange. She should have run when she had a chance, but she stayed. She loved Hakuron too much.

I mean if we look at the ending, and it’s something that I didn’t expect. The cover of the 9^th volume is Kurumi and Hakuron in wedding attire, you could never guess that the wedding will be a tragedy. Involuntarily I remember Hakuron’s words:

His death is very powerful. The last dialogue between him and Kurumi s fantastic and makes you cry.  You do want to hold hope that he lived, but the words that Foron says 3 years later shatter your heart. I’m writing and my eyes are teary again. But what I loved is that in the end the author makes you smile, how? No, there’s nothing about Kurumi’s future, I do believe she’ll either stay single or will marry Foron and absolutely random guy. But I’m more for her staying single, she won't be able to love anyone like she did Hakuron. The only thing left from him is a cat. I did think that she would have a baby, but the author thought not to do it.

Are you ready to start this story of love and hatred? Get ready to not see rose-colored love all the time. This love is hard and is cruel in its way. 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

Waiting on Wednesday #77 The Power

Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine It’s a chance to showcase upcoming releases we are interested in or drooling over.

The Power by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Titan Series #2

14 January 2016 

(Kindle edition)

Goodreads

From the New York Times bestselling author of theCovenant and Lux series comes the second novel in the pulse-pounding, electric Titan series. In The Return, Seth and Josie's story ended on the ultimate cliffhanger. Now, things are about to get even more dangerous...

The Covenant University has become the frontline for the escalating violence between pure-bloods and half-bloods. War between the races seems inevitable, and it couldn't come at a worse time. Seth must prepare Josie for battle, which means teaching her how to control her newfound demigod abilities...and they need to find and rescue the other demigods before their enemies - the Titans - find them first.

Only one thing is more dangerous than a bunch of starved Titans, and that's an out-of-control Apollyon in the form of Seth. The aether in Josie is drawing Seth in deeper, and when lust mixes with love and gives way to power, he knows being close to her is becoming explosively dangerous. But letting her go requires a level of selflessness that just isn't Seth's style.

When the danger from the Titans erupts with devastating consequences, the dark allure of power calls to Seth again - but this time, Josie may not be able to pull him back from the brink...

What's on your waiting list?

Manga Review: Skip Beat by Yoshiki Nakamura (4th 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): 230

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 214 chapters 

Hi, guys and welcome back to Katie’s Corner! Today I’ll be finishing up with a series of Skip Beat! reviews, as I will mostly cover everything there is released, therefore the next review will be in a far future, maybe 4 or even more months later. I will need some material to read and review. Today’s review will not cover a lot of events, I did want to add the latest chapters, but thought not do it as that arc is still not complete. Well, today’s list is very short but I still made it:

·      Heel siblings are born!

·      The past that he would have loved to bury deep down!

·      Feelings!

Before I start let me just tell you that I’ll be mixing all those three points together so, please, be patient with me. The biggest part of the chapters I’m reviewing today is focused on Ren or we should call him Cain Heel for the time being. This time his role is of a cold-blooded murdered, and for that role he will need to resurrect his real self. You should know who he really is from previous chapters, but if you don’t, well I’ll be spoiling this very soon as I will need it for a statement. We finally get to see what Ren is hiding, though we do get only pieces, we still can out the puzzle together, however, what is really missing is how he became like that. It still is a mystery and hopefully we will get the answer very soon.

But while Ren is assuming that he’s fine playing a murdered and engulfing his past self, president of LME has his own agenda. He wants Kyoko to feel so he gives her a job: she’s to play Cain heel’s sister. The rules are simple: she has the biggest brother complex in history will she be able to play Setsu well? How will she play such an eccentric person? And the most important question: will president’s dreams finally come true? They partially will and the moment when Kyoko recognizes her feelings are simply fantastic. The box of Pandora is now fully open but what will happen between those two in the end? I remember seeing Ren angry throughout the story. I shovered many times reading and seeing how Kyoko performed Mio, but when I saw this:

X photo

My mouth fell open and I think I forgot to breathe. I have this picture as a poster in my room and every morning waking up I see it.

Are you ready to get to know Heel siblings? Are you ready to find out the truth about Ren and his past as well as a secret that he’s still keeping from Kyoko? Are you ready to see Ren snap numerous times while letting his past take control? But don’t forget that there is even more is coming, as now it will be Kyoko’s turn to embark her past and out an end to her misery. Trust me you do not want to miss these chapters! I hope you’ll start reading this story if you still haven’t, it’s fantastic, 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

Mini Manga Review: Who Said I'm Afraid of Wolves? by Go Ikeyamada

Title: Who Said I'm Afraid of Wolves?!

Original Title: Ookami Nanka Kowakunai!?

Author: Go Ikeyamada

Artist: Go Ikeyamada

Year of Release: 2003

Genres: Comedy, Ecchi, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Smut

Status: Completed

Chapters (Translated in English): 3.5

Volumes & Chapters: 1 Volume

Volume 1 Chapters 1-3.5

Mangafox – Goodreads

Summary

Honda Moe just transferred to Todo Gakuen, but no one bothered telling her she'd be the only girl student! Lucky for her, Himuro Kyo, her childhood playmate, is also in her class. But why's he being such a jerk and pretending he doesn't know her? Moe's gotta be creative and use her wits if she wants to survive the new school year with her virtue intact. Who's gonna protect the lone princess, from a school full of wolves?


note:
If you like this, go check out the other!
The sequel for this manga is called Valentine Nanka Kowakunai!? It's good. Though, it's only a one-shot!

My Thoughts

Review covers 3 chapters 

Hi everyone and welcome back to Katie’s Corner! I’m having Ikeyamada Go’s work in my mini corner! If you’re not accustomed to this author you can read my other reviews by her: Get Love, Cute Boyfriend, I love you Suzuki-kun in full review section.

 If you have been reading my blog for a long time you know that I love this mangakas works a lot. This is a short story, which I would have loved to have a bigger serialization. Three and a half chapters are not enough. There could have been so much more to tell us about characters. Ah, and their first time would have been too much fun! With Kyou turning into a wolf and jumping Moe.

Don’t forget that this is Ikeyamada Go I’m covering; and that means lots of fun and humor in the scarce chapters. The fighting scenes were just too fun. Enjoy it to its fullest and don’t forget to share your thoughts below! Get to know Kyou and Moe! You’ll love them. Stay tuned for more reviews as well as promos. Don’t miss your next favouirte book or manga! Happy reading!

XOXO

Katie        

Rating

Manga Review: Yoshiwara Hana Oboro by Sawaki Otonaka

Title: Yoshiwara Hana Oboro

Original Title: Yoshiwara Hana Oboro

Author: Sawaki Otonaka

Artist: Sawaki Otonaka

Year of Release: 2011

Genres: Historical, Romance, Shoujo

Status: Completed

Chapters (Translated in English): 13

Volumes & Chapters: 

3 Volumes in total

Mangafox – Goodreads

Summary

Hana is a normal teenager who goes to school normally, that is until she gets run over by a car... or did she? Suddenly, she finds herself in a weird place known as the "Red Light District"... in EDO PERIOD?! Trying to find a way to get back to her own time, she somehow gets mistaken for a Prostitute and has to escape. Not expecting to be saved by a gentleman, she suddenly ends up in a geisha house.. but then she is bought by the same guy who helped her earlier?!

My Thoughts

Review covers 13 chapters 

The more I read about the Edo period, or geishas’ the more I understand that I love this period. And especially, all the stories, books or movies that I have read or seen about this period are one of my favourites. And very soon I’ll be reviewing 2 of the mangas similar to this one: Yukarism and Oiran Girl.

But let me get back to this story. I was debating whether to put it on mini review corner, but then I loved it too much so I thought a full review or relatively full review should be posted for this amazing 13 chapter long story. I fell in love with the story for many reasons; plot and the art style was something that drew me in and didn’t want to release me from its hold. It was one of the reasons I googled: “Similar manga to Yoshiwara Hana Oboro”, yes, I actually did that even though I have quite a lot of titles on my reading list. But let me get back to the story. It combines two things that I love the most: time travel (to the past) and Edo period of Japan.

Let me start with my favourite phrase: imagine this! One day you are magically transferred to the Yosgiwara district (red lights district) in the Edo Japan. Are you hooked? You should be, as people think that your clothes are some kind of a new costume for prostitutes and want to “buy” you (sorry for that, no need to imagine it), but thankfully a very wealthy man rescues you. You somehow end up working in a high-class geisha shop and trust me that’s just 50% of the story. The story is very fast paced, has lots of romance and fabulous art! I can’t stress enough the art issue as it always makes me like the story more if it has fabulous art!

Are you ready to follow Hana on her journey to Yoshiwara and what is going to happen when she will come across a secret that might change her whole life> I sure hope you are! Find yourself immersed in the life of geisha’s and the problems that they face. 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

Waiting on Wednesday #76 The City of the Lost

Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine It’s a chance to showcase upcoming releases we are interested in or drooling over.

The City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong

14 January 2016

Goodreads

Welcome to Rockton: a secret town cut off from the rest of the world. If you need a place to hide, this is the perfect place to start again. There's just one catch. You can't leave. Even if there's a killer on the loose.

Detective Casey Duncan has a dark past, and it's about to catch up with her. When her best friend Diana is attacked by an abusive ex, the two women realise they have to disappear, fast. Diana's heard of a hidden town that's so remote it's almost impossible to reach. A town that desperately needs a new detective.

Casey has barely arrived in Rockton when a body is discovered. A man's been murdered and there's no time to waste. Casey's job won't be easy: everyone in town has a secret. Meanwhile her boss, Sheriff Eric Dalton, is a brooding, troubled man who's hard to read and even harder to please.

With no chance of help from the outside world, Casey must rely on her wits and experience to solve the case. But she's running out of time. Rockton's killer is on the hunt, and this deep in the wilderness, no one is safe.

Gripping, fast-paced and atmospheric, City of the Lost is the brilliant new thriller from international bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

What are you waiting for?

Manga Review: Mixed Vegetables by Ayumi Komura

Title: Mixed Vegetables

Original Title: Mixed Vegetabled

Author: Ayumi Komura

Artist: Ayumi Komura

Year of Release: 2005

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, School Life, Shoujo

Status: Completed

Chapters (Translated in English): 54

Volumes & Chapters: 

8 Volumes in Total

Mangafox – Goodreads - Mangahere

Summary

Hanayu Ashitaba is the daughter of the celebrated Patisserie Ashitaba, but all she wants to do is be a sushi chef. Hayato Hyuga is the son of the prestigious Sushi Hyuga, and all he wants to do is be a pastry chef! It's love and leftovers at Oikawa High School Cooking Department as these star-crossed gourmands do their best to reach their cuisine dreams!

My Thoughts

Review covers 54 chapters 

Hello, everyone and welcome back to Katie’s Corner! Are you ready for today’s review? Do you by any chance note something? If yes, then that’s great, f not well, this is the second time I’m featuring Ayumi Komura’s work on my blog. The first one was her longest serialization – Liar Lily. I loved the story a lot; so don’t be fooled by my rating. I was debating whether to give it 3.5 or 4 leaves, but, in the end, gave it 3.5 because when I looked back at what I read I didn’t really like the ending and I would have loved to see more of Hayato and Hanayu. I actually had to re-read the last 3 pages for 3 times to prove to myself that those two stayed together. I really wanted to see their kid or a bit more affectionate those two. But well we get what we get.

But let me elaborate a bit, so you are not so left out. Meet our main characters: Hanayu – she’s the daughter of patisserie and wants to be a sushi chef, and we have Hayato on the other hand – the successor of Hyuga sushi shop, who wants to become patisserie. Perfect combination if you ask me. They just need to switch places and everything would be fine. Or just marry into each other’s family. And well both of them had the similar ideas, but what if their plans are ruined or some of them have some obligations to fulfill? That’s for you to find out how they actually reach their happy end. And believe me, they will, but not without many arguments, threats and even break ups.

I loved this story. It was fast paced and fun, as always the author made a huge accent on the guys, drawing them really well. I didn’t really care about Hayato, his and Hanayu’s dads were drool worthy. Well, it’s if you love Komura-sensei’s art style. I got so used to it after reading Liar Lily that I found it very easy and fun to read. The biggest mystery was the gender of the culinary class teacher. So if you’re new to this series, please share your hypothesis with me thanks!

What else did I want to cover here? Oh, right. I actually bought all 8 volumes from book depository (the link is above) it’s in English. But if you like reading online and prefer mangafox to mangahere, this time, you’ll have to compromise. As on mangafox there’re only 6 volumes while on mangahere are all 8. I had the similar happen in a few other mangas too.

Are you ready to find out how Hanayu and Hayato reach their dreams? Don’t forget that this is a cooking manga and you might find some useful recopies or just information there. I actually made a note to cook one of the things there. I hope you’ll find some time to read this fantastic story, it does lack in the romance department, but it’s still fun and interesting to read! 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

Book Haul & Blog Weekly #79

Book Haul & Blog Weekly is a weekly feature here at Katie's Corner inspired by Stacking Shelves by Tynga's Reviews and The Sunday Post by Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Book Haul:

Purchased/Freebies:

N/A

NetGalley/Edelweiss:

N/A

Author Request/Tour:

The Lost Heir by Alison Whitmore

Goodreads  – Amazon

For CoffeeTalk Writers Blog Review:

N/A

Gifted:

Blog Weekly:

Release Day Blitz: Catalyst by Leighton Riley

Manga Review: Skip Beat by Yoshiki Nakamura (3rd Review)
4.5 Leaves

Waiting on Wednesday #75 Grave Attraction 

Manga Review: I Like You, Suzuki-kun!! by Go Ikeyamada
4.5 Leaves

Monthly Blog Recap: December

Book Review: The Lost Hero by Allison Whitmore with Erin Virginia & Grace Arden
4.5 Leaves


Hello!

Happy New Year! yes, 2016 has finally come here, and