What manga are you reading now?

Bitter Virgin

This is awkward. Why, you ask? Because this title has made me ask myself: “Self, why are you still reading Oh My Goddess?”

I profess a deepest love for OMG with its good natured storytelling and absolutely gorgeous character designs. But, at 46 volumes in with no definite end in sight, even I am thinking that the time is nigh for a conclusion. I much suspect though that it is much closer to the end than to the beginning.

Then a friend introduces me to Bitter Virgin by Kei Kusunoki, which at 4 volumes is an essay by comparison. Yet it is so densely packed with raw emotion, with capricious characters (you’ll learn to fear Kazuki Ibuse, yes you will…!) and an unpredictable narrative, all tied together by an underlying premise that is as horrific as it is all too plausible. When I started reading this, thoughts of "Oh goody, back at high school..!" flooded my mind. But I'll tell you that for a horror writer, Mrs Kusunoki can do teen romance with the best of them.

The result is a concise, insightful and absolutely gripping account of a blossoming love rising from the ashes of past trauma. A story that packs twenty volumes worth of material into four, without sacrificing anything. A story worthy of 9/10.
 
Claymore Vol.23

There was a rumour earlier in the year that this series was actually going to end...then apparently that wasn't true, but the story at this point is surely heading to the final showdown between Clare and Priscilla?

Yotsuba&! Vol.1

Now that vol.12 is finally out I need to re-read 1-11 just because you don't have a soul if you don't want to be re-reading them all the time. It's just so, so, sooo funny. Enjoy everything!
 
While slowing trying to buffer the mid season finale of The Walking Dead Season 4, I decided to progress on Highschool of the Dead with Volume 3 via the Full Color Omnibus edition.
 
Bamboo Blade: Volume 2

Most surprising of all was forgetting I actually had the volume before uncovering it.

Most enjoyable, insofar that it has no convictions for trying to be the greatest manga ever. Nothing ever should aim so high, so with Bamboo Blade it just happens to be naturally enjoyable.
 
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