laceblade

SO...after my HP reread, I had a lot of stuff due back at the library.
Then I went to comics club & borrowed lots of stuff from people. SO THIS IS A LONG LIST, is what I'm saying.

Cold Steel by Kate Elliott - Great conclusion to a trilogy I've loved. I LOVE CAT AND BEE. CAT AND BEE FOREVERRRRRRR. Also I now want to read a bunch of other Kate Elliott stuff. Good thing I've been buying her novels wherever I find them used/cheap.

Kaze Hikaru, volumes 14-18 - Things are getting a little more intense! I loved the foreshadowing when the doctor came to visit - listening to Okita's chest, when the reader knows he's going to end up dying from consumption.

Saturn Apartments, volumes 6 & 7 - The end of this series! It got a little more intense than I thought it would. Anyway, I can't remember any manga or comic focusing so much on class issues as the central theme of the plot. I'm glad I read this - great sf/f ideas, and a great entry manga, if you're looking for something.

Tears of a Lamb, volume 2 - Didn't like this volume as much as the first - almost the entire thing was about the school's sports festival. I did enjoy meeting Kanzaki's sisters, though.

Dengeki Daisy, volume 2 - I loathed the first half, where Teru was a "slave" doing domestic tasks for Daisy (although she doesn't know he's Daisy).
I LOVED the second half, though - where it's about hackers & the work Teru's brother did while he was still alive. I really hope that Teru goes & lives with Riko.
I'll keep reading FOR NOW.

Very Vicky, issue #? & The Very Vicky Junior Hepcat - This was described to me as a fashion magazine, but idk if I agree? Anyway, Vicky dresses in black cocktail dresses & oversized black hats, & is going to visit her aunt & uncle down in the South (she lives in NYC). She hangs out at the beach although she tries to stay out of the sun. She makes friends. The pages are filled with references to old fashions & alcohol. One of the side character meets God on the beach, & he walks around & tries to meet people. I think I didn't read enough to get a full picture. Overall, it seemed kinda weird. I didn't like it enough to seek out more, I don't think.

Dykes to Watch Out For, vols. 1 & 2 - borrowed from jesse_the_k - I've heard about these for years but never read them before. Strip comics about the lives of lesbians! Just people living life. I really like "mundane" comics like these - it happens more often in manga than in US comics, I think. I'm glad there's lots more to read. The references to late-1980s politics make me happy. The errant transphobic comment does not.

Pretty Deadly, #1-4 - Glad I went back to reread #1 & then reread everything that's been released through now. It all makes sense again! I love the writing & the art. I'm excited to see where this goes.

Saga #18 - Decent wrap-up to this arc. Loved the final panel. Thirsty for more, but the next arc won't start 'til May!

Hawkeye #16 - I spent an embarrassing amount of time searching my apartment for #15 before complaining on Twitter & being told that Marvel skipped #15! Weird, but yay for more Kate Bishop!

BBC's Sherlock - for some reason I hadn't realized that the source is only three 90-minute episodes. I watched the first one last night with Antoine; it was pretty great! I love Watson, and can now pay proper attention to people's related icons and fandom posts. Do people really like Sherlock as a person??
Despite knowing things about Sherlock Homles/Watson, this is the first time I've ever actually watched an interpretation of it (no, I've never watched House).
I've never read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but I think I'd like to someday.

Love*Com: The Movie - based on the manga series by Aya Nakahara. The basic premise is the budding relationship between a taller-than-average girl and a shorter-than-average boy who are both in high school. They keep trying to find romance while also constantly bickering with each other, and then realize that all their friends/classmates are rooting for them to be together. Can they get over their height complexes to do so?!
I liked this a lot more than I expected to! The actress playing Risa could contort her face magnificently. I still need to finish reading the manga, but I think I like the anime the most. The Kansai accents were best in the anime, IMO.

Among Others by Jo Walton - Did not love this as much as everyone else did, I don't think. We'll see if my opinion changes after we discuss it at Book Club. I still like Walton's writing, etc.

Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga - Don't have tons to say about this. I think I like her Flower of Life series better??

Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy!! by Fumi Yoshinaga - BWAHAHA, amazing. The manga-ka writes a mostly-autobiographical tome about visiting restaurants and eating with her friends. I guess she's a big foodie. She visited lots of pricey places, though, so I only made a photocopy of the bagel/bread shop instructions/hours for our upcoming trip to Japan.

Soul Eater by Atsushi Ohkubo - the first two volumes of the manga are about how far I had seen of the anime. I think this works better for me as a manga? It certainly cuts down on how long it takes me to get through it, :D I love the trippy/drippy backgrounds in this series. I think Maka is a great protagonist. If this were a regular shonen series and she were just a secondary character, I would be upset. I hope this series does not disappoint me like Bleach and Naruto did (focusing on endless power-ups/battles that I didn't care about).

Glee, season 1 - I KNOW. I KNOW. I watched it and I recognize the fail and I would absolutely not "rec" this series. BUT. It's an easy thing for me to mainline when my brain is dead, and sometimes I like watching popular shows just so I know wtf is going on in pop culture (and so I understand the Fandom Secrets about them, lol).

Saturn Apartments by Hisae Iwaoka - This is one of the few manga series that I know of that focuses on class issues as a central theme and doesn't shy away from it. In the future, people no longer live on the planet surface, but instead in rings that surround the planet. The ring is tiered, upper/middle/lower, which corresponds with the class identification of most people who live in that ring level. Our protagonist is Mitsu, a member of the lower class-ring who joins a window washing guild. As window washers, they clean the windows outside of the apartments of those who live in the other classes. Mitsu navigates around the ring levels/classes, and also learns how to get along with his co-workers, who all knew/worked with his father before his death.
There are no epic plots here, just following Mitsu throughout his (sometimes) normal days of working, vacation, etc. The art style is unconventional for manga, but I find it very endearing.