TNT: Black Belly Miss Chapters 1-40 by North Night

This week for Translation Necessary Thursday I’m covering a series with a really great female lead. It’s Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss Chapters 1-40 by North Night!

Plot Synopsis: She was a peerless genius in the 24th Century – all she needed was a silver needle and she could practically bring anyone back from the dead. After an explosion, she crossed over into a strange world. However now everyone calls her “Miss.” The previous “Miss” before had no contractual spirit, was weak and incompetent, and even the fiancé comes over with a new love and bullies her?!?

Plot: This is a pretty awesome novel, if only because I really enjoy strong female lead characters who don’t take crap from anyone. That being said the story is actually pretty awesome and Jun Wo Xie being a badass is merely icing on the cake.

Characters: Jun Wo Xie is our female lead and while her ever present black cat is a constant companion we don’t really ever get to learn it’s name. Jun Wu Yao is a pretty interesting male lead, if only because he’s actually mysterious and let’s Wu Xie deal with things on her own instead of swooping in to take care of everything. That being said I do look forward to him showing how much of a badass he is.

Overall: A really solid story, this is a must read for anyone who enjoys truly strong female characters.

For those who like: Xuanhuan, Transmigration Stories, Action, Adventure, Political Intrigue, Badass Female Leads, Excellent Plot, Great Cast of Characters,

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Manga Monday: Gunjou ni Siren by Momokuri Mikan

Merry Christmas everyone! This week for Manga Monday I’ve got another Quick Review. It’s Gunjou ni Siren by Momokuri Mikan!

Plot Synopsis: Two guys: cousins, both left-handed, both passionate about becoming their school team’s best pitcher. One of them has already lost the spot once – back in elementary school – and his cousin moved away not long after, seemingly clueless to the fact that he was leaving the guy who introduced him to baseball dispirited and defeated…

Plot: The plot is decent, and more than a bit melodramatic. I don’t mind the melodrama all that much, but it did feel a touch over the top, and I’ve got a tolerance for that sort of thing. I only read this first chapter, but I definitely enjoyed reading it quite a bit. Sadly it doesn’t have many translated chapters out there yet, and due to being sick still (I’m writing this in advance) I didn’t have the bandwidth or brain power needed to sort out the untranslated chapters.

Characters: Shuuji is our main character and he’s a pretty mopey guy. I honestly don’t like him. He’s incredibly bitter over something that is pretty minor. Sorry, but losing your spot in a grade school sports team isn’t all that important in the grand scheme of things. Sora on the other hand seems to either be incredibly good at masking his true feelings or is just clueless. Personally I’m thinking it’s clueless, but who knows.

Art: I’d make a comment about how it’s Shueisha level work, but after checking the publication information it turns out that they do publish it. So yea, guess it does.

Overall: A good read, with sadly very few chapters released in English.

For those who like: Drama, Sports, School Life, Angst, Great Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Sensate Saturday: Koi-iji by Shimura Takako

This week for Sensate Saturday I have another Quick Review. It’s Koi-iji by Shimura Takako!

Plot Synopsis: The story follows a girl named Mame, whose family runs a public bath. She has held on to feelings of unrequited love for her childhood friend for twenty years.

Plot: The plot is pretty good, it opens up with Mame attending a funeral with her childhood friend, and the person she loves, but the funeral is for his wife. It’s definitely not what I was expecting when I started to read this series, and I have to admit it’s got me hooked. So I’ll be reading this series, eventually.

Characters: Mame is a pretty decent main character, she isn’t hung up on confessing, something which was very refreshing after all the series I’ve read recently. Souta, her love interest, is a pretty dour guy, but I’ll give the guy a break since he’s a widower with a child and he loved his wife dearly. The rest of the cast is pretty good, although I have to say my favorite side character is Yu, Souta’s daughter. She’s a pretty bright kid.

Art: Typical Josei style of artwork, it’s neither amazing nor terrible. Fairly average.

Overall: The plot is a refreshing change of pace compared to most Romance series I’ve read in the past couple years, so I’m giving this the go ahead, thus far it looks to be an interesting series.

For those who like: Slice of Life, Drama, Romance, Josei Manga, Great Plot, Interesting Cast of Characters, Good Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Sensate Saturday: Husk of Eden by Kisaragi Yoshinori

This week for Sensate Saturday I’ve got another Quick Review. It’s Husk of Eden by Kisaragi Yoshinori!

Plot Synopsis: Eripha is the only girl in the garrison of the World Government’s army that is protecting the city of Eldorado from terrorists. After being stationed there for three months she finally warms up to a boy in the same troop, Melka Dracea. But a sudden raid from the terrorists changes their situation, drastically.

Plot: This is a really messed up series, it’s not a happy one at all. It’s full of child soldiers, in fact that’s the main premise of the entire series. Frankly I probably won’t read the rest of the series for a long time, most likely until I get my depression under better control because of how depressing this series is. I won’t go into details, as it’ll be super spoilerific, but if you have depression this may be a series you want to skip.

Characters: Eripha is a pretty quiet girl, and I enjoy that about her character quite a bit. Melka on the other hand is a brash, outspoken boy. Between the two of them I prefer Eripha, but Melka isn’t a terrible character either. Their leader on the other hand is pretty mysterious, and I have the feeling there’s more to him than we get to see in this first chapter.

Art: Pretty good, it’s fairly detailed for the most part, but it definitely isn’t Shueisha level in terms of quality.

Overall: If you can deal with depressing stories, this might be a great read for you, especially considering that the series is complete at four volumes. If you can’t however, this is a series better skipped than read.

For those who like: Drama, Slice of Life, Action, Military, Tragedy, Good Lead Character, Decent Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

 

Manga Monday: Kioh x Kioh by Muranaka Souta

This week for Manga Monday I’m covering another One-Shot! It’s Kioh x Kioh by Muranaka Souta!

Plot Synopsis: What will Kioh do when he meets his alter ego from another dimension?! And what’s this….

Plot: The plot is very fast paced, but given that it’s a one-shot it’s not surprising. Frankly I would love to read a serialization of this series, maybe one day it’ll actually happen. Doubtful, but one can hope right?

Characters: Kioh is a pretty stubborn male lead, although his alter ego is just as stubborn. Frankly I prefer his alter ego over the normal one. Inutsuki, the only other character we really get to meet is pretty hilarious though.

Art: The art is very good, frankly I’m sad that this series wasn’t serialized, it could have a lot of potential.

Overall: For a good short story with some supernatural elements, Kioh x Kioh is a very good pick to read.

For those who like: One-Shots, Action, Supernatural, Drama, Great Cast of Characters, Good Plot, Awesome Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.