What I read in November: Digest Version, Part 2 of 2

b Dawn of the Arcana 6:  The action and weapons are still awkwardly and stiffly drawn, which makes the intense battle scenes lead to more snickering than anything else.  Kudos for the ending of this bit with the older brother.  It was unexpected and seems like it could really cause some issues with the plot later.  We'll see if the author manages to make those issues work for her.

b A Devil and Her Love Song 4-5: Maria continues to wrestle with herself, her friends, her classmates, and her evil demon of a teacher who needs to be taken out by a team of ninjas soon.  (That will never happen because this is not a fantasy shojo.  More's the pity.)  I still really like all the screwed up dynamics because the confusion and internal lying and external fakery and everything feels very real even if its execution feels more outrageous than reality.

"Every once in a while you should cry until you're a mess. Sure, it might startle me, but I won't think you're a pain."

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'"She's got dignity." That's what he said about me.  I want to live up to his expectations of me.  So I can't lean on him that way anymore.  I've got to get it together." (That's a common trap, well explained.)

b Missions of Love 1: She writes cell phone novels, and she hears some people saying they wish her work had more romance.  She doesn't really get romantic love, so she decides to do research that ends up involving her powers of observation and some blackmail of a rather unsympathetic character.  Interesting set up here because I'm pretty sure I don't want them to get together, but this is shojo, so that's likely to be the end result.  How will they get from here to there?  Stay tuned.

b YuYu Hakusho 16-17:  The end of Sensui and a new beginning for Yusuke involve a lot of fights.  (Shock!)  Then, Yusuke tries to adjust to "normal life," fails, and gets an opportunity to go back to his roots.  Kuwabara tries to get serious about school, and Hiei and Kurama also get some interesting offers.  Yusuke makes a choice and tries to make a deal with Keiko.  (Pretty funny editing out of a cigarette and replacing it with pocky.)  Two more volumes to go!
It was the right decision for all concerned. But if it had just been me . . . ?