Review: Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up
A funny romantic comedy about two high school nerds who went to a new school where they both had their “glow-up” debut.
When Shizuki was rejected by his heartthrob, he was not only left with a broken heart, but also became pretty-girl-phobic on top of it. He decides to opt for a fresh start: new school, new looks, new friends and a healthy portion of confidence as the icing on the cake. Shizuki selects a school where no one knows his secret former self, allowing him to start anew as a blank canvas. To avoid any incidents and not trigger his phobia, he strictly avoids having eye contact with all the popular girls… until one day, when the prettiest and most sought-after girl in school asks him for help!
Review: Mermaid Prince
The manga collection Mermaid Prince features three emotional short stories by Kaori Ozaki, author of The Gods Lie and Our Summer Holiday, exploring themes like loneliness, growing apart, depression, but also the beauty of silence, kindness and friendship.
Review: Suzume (Manga)
The manga adaptation of Makoto Shinkai's movie Suzume drew me in after reading just a few pages. The slightly dystopian atmosphere, beautiful character art and paranormal themes create a dichotomy between beauty and destruction that is very alluring. Denki Amashima manages to create an interesting tension between lovely drawn characters and the dismal looking background art, which is one of the main reasons Suzume felt so impactful and emotional. The artwork also seems to reflect the state of Suzume’s mind: most of the time she is quiet, withdrawn and shy, but has several emotional outbursts throughout the story which are most likely a result of the traumatic events she experienced as a child.