Bride of the Water God, Volume 2 by Mi-Kyung Yun

Bride of the Water God, Volume 2 by Mi-Kyung Yun

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In the previous volume, Soah married the water god Habaek. Now, she must learn to live with him. She still feels uneasy about her new husband and the other gods, especially when Mui outrageously flirts with her. When Soah hears that Habaek and Mui are the same person, she seeks a way to discover if this is true.

Nothing much happens in this second volume of the series, but wow, that artwork is just spectacular! I just wish the story could give me a reason to continue with the series, but unfortunately, I doubt I could stay interested long enough to see if something FINALLY does happen. C- rating. (It would have been D+, but the illustrations bumped it up!)

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Vol. 1 by Kazuki Takahashi

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Vol. 1 by Kazuki Takahashi

Yuma Tsukumo is determined to be the champion dueler. Unfortunately, he's just awful at it. During one duel, he somehow summons Astral, a "ghost dueler" only he can see. Yuma and Astral team up to win several duels.

I didn't enjoy this manga at all. I just don't *get* the Yu-Gi-Oh card duels, so this made no sense to me. I'm sure for those who play the card game, this series will be fun to read. Otherwise, just skip it. C rating.

High School Debut, Volumes 1-5 by Kazune Kawahara

Haruna was all about softball while in middle school. Now that she's in high school, she's decided to make getting a boyfriend her top priority. The problem? She doesn't know the first thing about how to attract a guy. Relying on fashion magazines for advice on how to dress and act, Haruna makes a complete fool of herself. That's when she decides she needs a coach to teach her the best way to get a boy, and that coach should be Yoh, one of the cutest and most popular boys in school.

High School Debut is one of my favorite shojo series, because I just adore Haruna. She's full of good intentions, but can't seem to help acting (and looking) foolish. She's so earnest in her quest that I couldn't help but want to see her succeed. Just by the way things are set up, readers know that Haruna is going to fall for Yoh and hopefully he will fall for her in return.

 Girls will especially find this series appealing, not only because of the romantic plot but also because of identifying with Haruna's wish to fit in but not knowing exactly how to do that. I rate it a 'B.'

Tokyo Mew Mew, Volume 1 by Mia Ikumi & Reiko Yoshida

In my neverending quest for more manga titles to acquire in my library, I'm reading just about any that are recommended to me. One such title was Tokyo Mew Mew, especially recommended for younger readers.

Ichigo is on a date with Masaya, one of the cutest boys in school. Too bad her took her to a museum to see an exhibit on endangered species. So boring, but Ichigo is willing to overlook this, because Masaya is so cute and sweet. While at the museum, Ichigo and four other girls accidentally become part of an experiment when the DNA of some of those endangered species is inserted into them. It causes the girls to have some of the characteristics of the animals. Ichigo is the first of these girl to be recruited to help fight the Kirema animas (creatures infected by aliens), but first she must find the other girls like her.

I'm curious about Tokyo Mew Mew's premise, and will read more in the series to see how the story develops. I can foresee lots of exciting possibilities with battles and the relationship dynamics. I'm already annoyed by the sweetness/cuteness overload, but I'm not surprised to find it in this series. I doubt it'll bother other readers like it does me. In fact, many may find it endearing.

I have lots of hopes of the story getting stronger as it continues, and I'm glad to find something else to add to my manga collection. I give this a C+ with hopes that the next volume may even be worth a B.

Kingdom Hearts II, Volume 2 by Shiro Amano

I'm still rather new to manga and trying to read from as many different series as I can. I chose Kingdom Hearts III, because it seems to be a popular one with boys. I couldn't find volume 1, so I started with volume 2. Unlike some other series, there wasn't a short summary of what has happened so far, so I had to jump right in the action. Yes, I was a bit confused, but was able to figure some of it out, but really have more questions than answers. There's lots of action with suspense building towards a battle between Sora and the good guys and Malificent and the "heartless." I think fans of the video game will probably love this series, as they are more likely to understand the story. I rate it a 'C'.