b Haunted House: He's a normal guy who just wants to be normal, but his family is full of morbid, weird, Gothic-obsessed freaks. This is not good for his love life, especially since he can't quite get his life together enough to move out. The ending is supposed to be sweet and such, but mostly I still just want to smack them around. If he wants so badly to be normal, just leave him alone in his own boring company. I suspect my reaction to this book has more to do with my inherent dislike of pranks and jokes that involve tormenting and lying to people. The book itself has fun art and is somewhat novel with its way of not repeating itself exactly in every chapter. (The ways his family is weird are always slightly different in the details.)
"This money is the fruit of Sabato's blood, sweat, and tears, and god help me, that makes me want to spend it on stupid things."
b Kindaichi Case Files
3-4: More cheesy, mystery-solving shonen greatness as slacker Kindaichi solves mysteries and doesn't get the girl. Death TV was pretty out there, and Smoke & Mirrors was a way out there and kind of awesome history mystery.b Olympos: What a gorgeous book. What did they use for the cover to give it that lovely sheen? Anyway, reviews have been mixed on this one. I found it interesting, but I was glad that the author pointed out how much she made up to save me the trouble of tracking down the myths this one touched on. Since I didn't expect it to be straight myth anyway (and since I've forgotten most of what I ever knew about these myths), I was just fine. Lots of musing and a kind of bittersweet ending.
b Pandora Hearts 11: Don't keep doing this to me, PH. My heart can't take it. And neither can my brain. All these hints and nuances that I forget from one book to the next, requiring me to go back and read the several volumes preceding each new volume. I really need to read them all from the beginning, but the series is growing large enough to make that troublesome. The best thing to do would be to wait until the series is finished and then read them in a marathon. As this would require a lot of self-control, I will call it unlikely and reserve some time in my schedule each time a new volume comes out.
"No, you fool!! It is!! A duty!! I should fulfill as your friend! Why you! Stupid Xerx!!" Ah, friendship.
b Ratman 4:
I haven't actually seen Tiger and Bunny yet, but I'm thinking there are some similarities to this story and Mystery Men. I am so bummed that this series never got finished over here. It's a hoot. A short kid obsessed with heroes (in a world like the one in Mystery Men where heroes exist and compete for corporate sponsorships and fame) ends up falling in with a group that seems pretty much like stereotypical villains. But who are the heroes and who are really the villains? I really want to know! Things were just getting good here! Sigh.b Wandering Son 1-2: I think the reason I like this series is because it doesn't feel gimmicky and agenda'd. It just feels like a story about characters who grow increasingly familiar and more complex the more you get to know them (kind of like real people). It has a gentle air even though it's not like everything always goes right or anything. And the essays/editor reflections are way more informative than the average. I'm hooked.
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