Bought the first and second books. Will read sometime soon.

Book 1 score: 8.5-9.0/10.
Book 2 score (Prophet Chapter side story): 8.0/10.

Read the Ordinary Days novel. Review coming soon.

Read the first volume. Definitely Mei Hachimoku's strongest work to date...volume 1 was a rollercoaster.

Can't wait to read the second volume when it releases in October.

I'm very curious to see how which direction will this tale go.

PENDING FULL NOTE WRITE: Will write a review of the light novel on MAL page.

UPDATE 2: Novel volume 1 complete. Honestly a little better than expected.

UPDATE: After one whole year, I finally got a physical copy of volume 1 (in Thai translation as no Western publisher picked the book up). Will read it sometime soon.

Sold out in all the bookstores in my country...damn.

Manga adaptation of the LN.

I'm very glad to have come across this obscure LN by pure happenstance.

PENDING: Will write more soon.

A refreshing take on the fantasy genre where the story begins after a "happily ever after". Contains philosophical themes of mortality and time and features one of the best first chapters I've ever read.

Finished reading, PENDING NOTE WRITE

Boku wa Mata, Kimi ni Sayonara no Kazu wo Miru is yet another entry to the tragic seinen story of "an introverted guy falling in love with a girl who is going to die" within the likes of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas or You Shine in the Moonlight. This time, the protagonist can see the number of remaining days before someone dies once he touches their hands and the girl he falls in love with has the number 300. While in my opinion the overall writing is not as good as other contemporaries, the manga still holds its own with its more light-hearted approach (there are quite a few comedic moments) while still delivering gut-punching sorrow that one can expect from the premise.

That said, I'll be comparing this manga to another manga with a very similar premise: Kimi ga Shinu made Ato 100-nichi (Last Hundred Days Till She Dies) once I finish reading that.

War. War never changes. Cocoon tells a heartbreaking story about the Himeyuri Gakutotai, female high school students who became nursing units for wounded Japanese troops during the Battle of Okinawa. Even with its simple artstyle, the manga brings out the horrors of war in vivid, gory detail. It's beautifully deceptive.

This hits like a bus.

This is a lot more wholesome than anticipated. I also didn't expect the manga to provide a comprehensive step-by-step guide on how to solve a Rubik's Cube. Furthermore, for a quick one-shot, the protagonist gets a rather nice character development.

It's like Your Name with a dash of Cinderella. (PENDING MORE NOTE WRITE)

Re-read on 6-7 March 2023.
PENDING NOTE REWRITE.

Kagami no Kojou is a novel by Mizuki Tsujimura (which also spawns a manga and an anime movie) featuring the protagonist Kokoro and six other futoko—kids refusing to attend school—who found themselves in a fairy tale castle with the goal of hunting for a key that unlocks a room that will grant any wish.

The novel does an excellent portraying the anxieties and the emotional anguish of those driven to the point of dropping out of school, whether through classroom bullying, family pressure and other factors, and showcasing how adults play a huge role in whether these children can receive the support they need or be looked down on as problematic kids to be ignored. I thoroughly enjoy all of the main characters and the themes that interweave the story, whether that be of genuine human connection, perseverance, empathy, mental health and others. The portrayal of the futokos' struggles reflect and raise awareness to the harsh landscape of Japanese schools, which according to a 2020 UNICEF report Japan ranks second-last in children mental well-being [1].

Nevertheless, one major flaw with the novel in my opinion has to do with its pacing. I do feel like the last third of the story, especially with how all of the secrets are revealed, moves too fast and comes too close to the ending. If it were to be done in the middle of the story, it would have been more impactful. In my view, the anime movie adaptation does a better job than the novel in this part of the narrative.

In sum, Kagami no Kojou is one terrific novel presenting a magical realism story that tackles the struggles of adolescence and the strength of human connection through these seven students. While I do some issues with the pacing, the other qualities of the novel do make up for it substantially. Kagami no Kojou lands itself among other novels that I can happily re-read in the future.

Reference:
[1]: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/09/03/national/japanese-kids-mental-health/

PENDING NOTE WRITE. Not Yoru Sumino's best work, but still enjoyable.

PENDING NOTE WRITE.
It managed to subvert my expectations in both a good and a bad way at the same time.

PENDING MORE NOTE WRITE.

REALLY FUCKING GOOD. Probably the second-best yuri manga I've read so far. I can see why it's a nominee in the 2022 Next Manga Award.

Will definitely write more notes after I finish the entire thing.

OUTDATED: Please see the updated review on the novel's MAL page.

Since there is no official English translation, I bought the official Thai translation of the novel to read instead. I also got the sequel book (Kimi wa Tsukiyo ni Hikari Kagayaku +Fragments) but that will be put on my AniList account when I get to read it, as MAL does not have it in its database.

You Shine in the Moonlight falls into another guilty pleasure narrative trope of mine: the main character falling in love with a terminally ill girl. In contrast with its contemporaries such as 'I Want to Eat Your Pancreas' and 'Second Summer, Never See You Again', this time the heroine, Mamizu, suffers from "luminescence disease" (a condition in which the moonlight causes her body to brightly glow) and the protagonist, Takuya, agrees to fulfil her wishlist of things she wants to do before her inevitable death.

The novel engages in themes you normally expect from this type of story: the inevitability of death, the value of life, etc., but there is one particular theme the novel tackles quite well: the prolonged grief and trauma of losing a loved one. The author does a fantastic job showing how the death of Takuya's sister, Meiko, affect him and his relationship with Mamizu as the story progresses. Other characters also have subplots that involve this theme and reinforce it nicely. Another aspect I enjoy from the novel is in how believable a lot of characters' actions and motivations are, no matter how seemingly weird or nonsensical they can get. This part is quite difficult to explain without going into heavy spoiler territory, so I will just say that that was how I felt reading the novel.

Overall, I recommend the novel, especially if you already enjoy similar tragic romance works like Pancreas or Second Summer. The themes are well delivered and the characters feel strongly believable. I'm looking forward to read the sequel novel sometime in the near future.

PENDING NOTE WRITE

Hachimoku's second LN is a time-travel mystery that honestly feels similar to ERASED. Two strong points: grounded, relatable characters and cryptic reverse chronology plot. Cons: IMO the uses of some significant plot points and twists to retcon events feel a little too rushed (not executed too well, if that makes sense) and that the climax-ending, while wrapping up the story nicely, also feels too easily resolved. Overall, I prefer Natsu e no Tunnel a little more than this LN. Nevertheless, this is still a good read.

Prior to its serialization in the Weekly Shounen magazine in 2013, Yoshitoki Ooima's A Silent Voice starts off as a simple one-shot manga. The one-shot depicts the introductory events for what would later be the full story, specifically Shoko's transfer to the school and Shoya's acts of bullying and harassment. With nuance and care, Ooima tackles the subjects regarding disability, school bullying, and social conformity in vivid detail. The one-shot got the attention of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, which later endorsed it, and won multiple awards. Simply put, it is a fantastic short piece of literature on disability and bullying.

OUTDATED: Please read the review on the light novel's MAL page.

I finally got around to reading the third installment of Mei Hachimoku’s sci-fi/supernatural Four Seasons anthology: ‘An Autumn in Amber, a Zero-Second Journey’. As with the anthology’s previous books, the male protagonist and a heroine encounter a supernatural phenomenon related to time: ‘Tunnel to Summer’ has time dilation, ‘Yesterday in Spring’ has time rollback, and this novel has time freeze.

The two main characters are quite enjoyable to follow. Kayato, the socially-awkward boy with haphephobia (fear of being touched), and Akira, the foul-mouthed delinquent girl, make for a solid polar-opposite duo. Their interactions and how their relationship slowly develops over time is a joy to read, especially in the final chapters. However, compared to Hachimoku’s previous works, they do suffer from a lack of character depth, especially in terms of their backstory department. There are sprinkles of back stories throughout the novel but I really think there could easily be more (like the Interlude parts in ‘Yesterday in Spring’).

While the plot progression is nice and logical, I cannot help but feel that the pacing can sometimes be too slow, especially in some middle parts of the novel. Perhaps it is done intentionally to replicate the feeling of time freeze but it does not translate that well to the reading experience, at least for me. Furthermore, while the themes relating to time that the novel tackles, such as living in fear of the future, are well-presented, They unfortunately do not leave as much of an impact as the themes in previous installments did.

Overall, ‘An Autumn in Amber, a Zero-Second Journey’ is probably my least favorite of the Four Seasons anthology so far. However, this does mean that it is a bad read in the slightest. While some aspects of the novel may not perfectly land, such as in terms of character depth, pacing and thematic impact, I still think the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

OLD NOTE: Bought the novel (Thai translation). Will read it soon. I'll pick up an English translation copy from Seven Seas Entertainment when it comes out later in September.

A moving, powerful one-shot manga with the theme of regret that's brilliantly executed.

Overall, a really good manga adaptation of the novel with quite clean art. Although, compared to the novel, some emotional and important plot points can be executed a bit better and the manga's hints to the mystery in the story are a tad too overt.

Loved this novel. Fascinating narration through the first-person perspective of a child, terrific supporting characters, and simple yet compelling plot of a kid tasked with finding out what "happiness" means to her.

Only read the final standalone chapter 'Midnight Blue' (it's the only one with English translation I could find)

For the first and second acts, I think the subsequent manga adaptation did them slightly better. But in the third act (last 5 chapters), the original novel nailed it. Overall, Three Days of Happiness is an exceptional novel worthy of your time.

Cube girl, best girl.

Sci-fi drama standalone LN following two high-schoolers and a tunnel that grants wishes at the cost of accelerated aging via time dilation. Decent characters, coherent plot progression, satisfying climax-ending, and a commentary on past regrets.

Second Summer, Never See You Again shares a lot of similarities with 'I Want to Eat Your Pancreas': the genki heroine suffers from an incurable disease, the protagonist gets intimately close with her, and that these two stories are both published in the same year of 2015. However in Second Summer, after the girl passes away, the protagonist gets sent back in time to the summer that they first met (hence the title 'Second Summer'). Now, I've read a lot of "MC falls in love with a sickly girl who's going to die" stories (they're my guilty pleasure) and Second Summer is genuinely one of the better ones out there.

The way the author writes is more akin to a traditional novel where some details are omitted for the reader to infer/deduce by themselves, which is quite refreshing compared to the usual light novel writing where authors just spell out everything for the reader (my most major gripe being that the LN author often brings again in full detail past knowledge/events that the reader has already gone/read through, as if assuming that the reader has short-term memory loss). When it comes to the cast, I enjoy all of the main and supporting characters: Satoshi (protagonist), Rin (heroine), Eiko, Himeko and Rokurou. The friendship in the group is very believable, with all the ups and downs one can expect from typical adolescent relationships. The chemistry between Rin and Satoshi is also charming to watch unfold. Furthermore, I enjoy an aspect of Satoshi's first-person narration, specifically in how conflicted he is about seeing Rin again: wanting to get close to Rin but also knowing that by doing so, he would relive the pain of losing Rin yet again.

While I enjoyed most of the plot beats, the ending does feel a little weak, at least compared to its contemporaries like 'I Want to Eat Your Pancreas' or 'You Shine in the Moonlight'. It doesn't leave the same catharthic impact. Regardless, the story's theme is conveyed clearly: live your life to the fullest becase you never know when your last day will come. The way that Rin smiles and goes about her days with joy despite the shitty hand that life has dealt her is admirable.

Despite the obvious content, it is surprisingly quite a wholesome manga overall. The ending got axed though, it should have had more chapters to properly conclude the story.

Written by M. Night Shamalayan

Was much better than I initially thought. See review on the book's MAL page.

A solid one-shot with unique panels, unpredictable plot, and most importantly: a dash of fantasy.

A short, intimate tale of a correspondence between two pen pals set in the bleakest of times. Great art design, especially the background. There's also a version with official audio (voice-acting, BGM, sound effects here (it's in Japanese): https://youtu.be/kEi9RPNrH9E

A masterpiece manga following two girls exploring a post-apocalyptic world while learning what it means to live. Wonderful character chemistry, fascinating world, philosophical themes, and a conclusive, perfect ending.

IMO WorldEnd is an underrated gem. A tragic yet beautiful fantasy story with well-written characters and captivating lore about a broken man and young girl soldiers feverishly fighting for their future in a world that is destined to fail.

A volume of fantastic side stories that expand on WorldEnd's characters and worldbuilding. Lillia's story is the best.

I actually quite enjoy the ambiguous ending.

Summer Ghost's novelization, written by Otsuichi, provides a first-person narration of the anime film's story through Tomoya. The novel gives way more detailed insights into his character and, in my opinion, does a somewhat better job of conveying themes of death, suicide, pressure from expectations, and the meaning of life. With that said, the first-person novel comes at a cost of omitting movie scenes for the other two main leads, Aoi and Ryou, scenes of which better explore their character (e.g., Aoi being bullied at school, Ryou's frustration with having to leave the basketball team). Their exclusion, whilst understandable due to its Tomoya-focused perspective, is rather unfortunate. I also feel like the emotional payoff at the climax-ending is somewhat lacking compared to its animated counterpart.

Nevertheless, the Summer Ghost novel is a good short read (I finished it within 2 hours, it's more like reading a light novel) that fans of the movie will no doubt enjoy. Although, I'd say I prefer the original anime movie.

Volume 1: read the official translation by Kodansha USA
Volume 2 to 3: read the fan translation.

PENDING MORE NOTE WRITE

A comforting, fluffy, slice-of-life yuri manga with relatively charming characters. Wish it was longer than just three volumes.

Some spoilers ahead:

I've read the first volume of Regarding Saeki Sayaka light novel back in July 2022 and the second volume not too long after. However, due to personal circumstances at the time, I postponed reading the final volume and then just seemingly forgot to continue the novel series altogether. It's only until January 2024 that I decided to start again by purchasing all three volumes in physical format and re-reading from the beginning because I've forgotten quite a lot of plot details. Now that the last page of the last book has been turned, I must say: I wish I hadn't neglect the book series back then.

Bloom into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka is simply incredible. The author Hitoma Iruma, known for penning another popular Yuri work "Adachi and Shimamura", masterfully does Sayaka's character justice. Her mannerisms, inner thoughts, worries, and feelings are conveyed to the reader with absolute care and with great complexity. Sayaka may be smart, highly observant and is seemingly more mature than her peers, but she struggles when it comes to interpersonal relationships and understanding the notion of love. The three novels each focus on important formative parts of Sayaka's life: (vol. 1) elementary and junior high, (vol. 2) senior high, and (vol. 3) college. Altogether, they form a wonderful collage showcasing the coming-of-age of Sayaka: the joys and pains of first love, how she comes to terms with her sexuality, the fear of elevating a relationship from friends to lovers, and many more. Volume 2 specifically expands quite a good amount of detail into how Sayaka really views Touko compared to the original manga. Furthermore, Hitoma also provides great characterization with other main and side characters: Manaka, Midori, Haru, Chie and others all play a role in the story and are memorable. Moreover, Hitoma also does a good job at pacing. Despite there being a ton of monologuing due to first-person narration, never in each volume do I feel that the plot is screeching to a halt because of it.

If there were to be any criticism of the LN, I am inclined to agree with some others that the final volume is not as great as the first two (although that does not mean that it's bad). It feels like Sayaka and Haru's relationship progresses a little too quickly and that their chemistry isn't as strong as Yuzuki-senpai (in vol. 1) or Touko (in vol. 2). Nevertheless, I still enjoy what is offered, especially in regards to how Sayaka chooses to be more bold when it comes to her feelings of love.

Overall, for fans of the original Bloom into You manga, Regarding Saeki Sayaka is a must-read. It is with great pleasure to experience Sayaka's coming-of-age tale as she grapples with the nuances of love and the complexity of human relationships, from elementary to college years, told wonderfully across three light novels. In terms of light novel rankings, I would put this on the second place on my list of the best light novels I've read to date, only behind the WorldEnd LN series. With that said, I'll be definitely looking forward to reading more of Hitoma Iruma's yuri works, notably the Shoujo Mousouchuu novel (of which I have gotten the physical copy!).

It's not bad but I wouldn't say it's good either.

PENDING NOTE WRITE.

I've only read the 'After Life' story (it's the only one with English translation)

Before 'In This Corner of the World', 'Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms' is Fumiyo Kouno's first foray into the Hiroshima bombing aftermath, telling two interconnected stories regarding the Hibakusha, survivors of the atomic blast. The manga deals with gloomy topics such as trauma and survivor's guilt but conveys a hopeful message of moving on despite the horrors of the past. It's a good piece of anti-nuclear literature.

To date, this is the best one-shot manga I’ve read…and it gets better with each re-read. There's also a version with official audio (voice-acting, BGM, sound effects here (it's in Japanese): https://youtu.be/ntiXLuO8uIY

Yen Press seems to drop this after publishing just the first volume. Sad.

Bought the full manga collection. Planning to read sometime in 2024.