Manga of the Week: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, by Akira Himekawa

Hi, there! Today I have something different to present as my Manga of the Week 🙂 How about something inspired by a famous game? Let’s talk about The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, by Akira Himekawa!

In a small village in Hyrule, there lives a boy called Link who has the mark of the Triforce on his left hand. It is a mark of destiny that leads Link on a fantastic adventure! Transported to the land of Holodrum, Link meets Din, the Oracle of Seasons. When a plot to steal the seasons from Holodrum unfolds, Link must battle the evil General Onox to save Holodrum and his friends from a terrible fate!

Why I think it’s a worth-reading manga: first, because it is Zelda. I love videogames, but Zelda is a title that I never had the chance of playing due lack of opportunity. I like the game’s concept, characters and plots (I have an offline friend that is a Zelda fan and she used to fill me in with the news pretty much always, so thank you for that, Lu! <3), so when I saw the opportunity to read something about Zelda, I just grabbed the manga as quickly as possible, haha! And it was cute and lovely as I expected it to be! So you should read it too 😀

That’s it, thanks so much! Have you ever read a manga based on a game? 🙂

Manga of the Week: Ouran High School Host Club, by Bisco Hatori

Hello, there! We reached another middle in another week and it’s time for me to recommend a manga title again! Today’s title is dedicated to Hachiyumi, who’s coming over my place on the holidays!! God knows what we will be getting ourselves into, haha! But anyway, she introduced me to this title (just as so many others) and it’s only fair that Hachi gets her credits, haha! Without further ado, our Manga of the Week: Ouran High School Host Club, by Bisco Hatori!

One day, Haruhi, a scholarship student at exclusive Ouran High School, breaks an $80,000 vase that belongs to the ‘Host Club’, a mysterious campus group consisting of six super-rich (and gorgeous) guys. To pay back the damages, she is forced to work for the club, and it’s there that she discovers just how wealthy the boys are and how different they are from everybody else.

Why I think it’s a worth-reading manga: BECAUSE IT IS SO FUNNY! I know the title sounds a mouthful (and it is), but you will never stop laughing at this title! You know when people say that money makes people go insane? That’s the case. Poor Haruhi has to endure a bunch of very rich and very crazy boys and they don’t even know that she is a girl! Hahaha! Seriously, just read it and come fangirl with me later, please!!

That’s it, thanks for reading! Have you read the manga or watched the anime for OHSHC??

Manga of the Week: Nana, by Ai Yazawa

Hello! Quick late post today, just to recommend a manga for this week! I’m trying to gather a bit of everything that I have already read here on the blog, so today it’s time to show you Nana, by Ai Yazawa!

Nana Komatsu is a young woman who’s endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she’s hoping to take control of her life and put all those messy misadventures behind her. She’s looking for love and she’s hoping to find it in the big city. Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident and focused. She swaggers into town and proceeds to kick down the doors to Tokyo’s underground punk scene. She’s got a dream and won’t give up until she becomes Japan’s No. 1 rock’n’roll superstar. This is the story of two 20-year-old women who share the same name. Even though they come from completely different backgrounds, they somehow meet and become best friends. The world of Nana is a world exploding with sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties.

Why I think it’s a worth-reading manga: Nana is that kind of shoujo (romance) that stars cute and light and then goes darker with each volume. Secrets, lies, problems, dramas… Everything pops up. It’s not only real life, it’s a sad real life. I admit that I couldn’t keep going with the series after volume 7, as I would open it and immediately started to cry, but Yazawa-sensei’s art is wonderful, just like her plotting skills. If you like a good drama, you have to pick this one up 🙂

That’s it, thanks for reading!

Manga of the Week: Death Note, from Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Hi, there! Good morning and happy Wednesday! I’m kind of freaking out today, as my graduation ceremony is tonight, but I’ll try to act normal, okay? HAHAHA

Today’s Manga of the Week is Death Note, from Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. This title left me glued until the very end, as there were so many twists and intriguing characters. And did I mention that the main character is basically a villain? ❤

Goodreads’ blurb:

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects – and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami, a death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal…or his life?

Why I think it’s a worth-reading manga: BECAUSE THE MAIN CHARACTER IS A VILLAIN! Okay, not just that. This title is intriguing, delicious, full of fandoms and room for ~interpretations~, if you catch my drift (and if you don’t, just google Light and L yaoi to see what I mean, haha!), and so much more. Until the end, you don’t know what’s going to happen and it is awesome!

That’s it, haha! I have a couple of bookish news to share and, hopefully, I’ll get to post two reviews today, after I get back from my graduation ceremony. That’s the plan, at least…

Thanks for reading!

Manga of the Week: Kare First Love, from Kaho Miyasaka

Good morning! Another Wednesday kicks in, another manga is brought! My recommendation for today’s Manga of the Week is a beautiful and light hearted romance [aka shoujo] called Kare First Love, from Kaho Miyasaka!

from my Instagram 😀

Goodreads’ blurb:

The age-old dilemma of choosing between your friend and the one you love is the lesson for the day for these bubbly high schoolers. 16-year-old Karin Karino finds herself torn between keeping the friendship of her classmate Yuka and entertaining the advances of a boy named Kiriya. Plain-Jane Karin experiences the gut-tingling roller coaster ride for her love and first kiss as fate pairs her up with Kiriya, who also happens to be Yuka’s object of affection.

Through a series of chance meetings, Kiriya discovers the exquisite beauty lurking behind Karin’s thick glasses and coy demeanor, and asks her to be his girlfriend. But living happily ever after in high school isn’t on the curriculum, as Karin soon finds herself the center of Kiriya’s attention, as well as the bulls eye in embittered pal Yuka’s dart-board of hate.

Why I think it’s a worth-reading manga: this was one of the most classic shoujos I’ve ever read that didn’t bore me to the core. I’m very specific in my tastes to get swept off my feet for simple romances (reads romances without a supernatural or gay or dystopian touch to it). Also, I don’t like drama books or mangas, so shoujo isn’t my go-to genre most of the time. Unless Hachiyumi says the series is worth my time. Then I’ll read it and love it ❤ Point is, Kare First Love was adorable and perfect and you have to read it if you like real characters and a twisting plot!

That’s it, thanks so much for reading ❤ Have I convinced you yet that you need to start reading mangas?? ;D

Manga of the Week: Sade, from Senno Knife

Good morning and congrats, you managed to reach the middle of the week once again and I am proud of you ❤ Our Manga of the Week this time is a very different title: Sade, from Senno Knife!

from my Instagram!

Goodreads’ blurb:

It consists of a one-shot edition of comics based upon erotic tales written by the Marquis de Sade, the Grimm Brothers and Pauline Réage. Its format is shoujo, manga for girls.

This is one of the most helpful blurbs of the history.

Why I think it’s a worth-reading manga: because it is different. This is a 18+ rated title because it contains sex and torture scenes, be warned, but the art is peculiar – not my usual type, but harmonic – and it’s not vulgar as you would expect from a manga with sex scenes. Also, the stories are manga adaptations from classic tales, so it’s a kind of high culture manga, if that makes sense lol Anyway, if you enjoy 19^th century manga titles, adaptations from the classics and highly intriguing plots, read this one shot!

That’s it, thanks for reading 😀 Later we shall have a blitz and a book review, stay tuned!

Manga author: Kaori Yuki

Hi, there! Welcome to March’s first edition of Authors of my Heart ❤

Today is manga author day, so next Friday we will see a book author 🙂

Today’s mangaka is a very special one, as she is responsible for truly defining the kind of art that I prefer on my manga titles. You’d think it was Matsuri Hino, but no lol

It was Kaori Yuki-sensei!

As you may have already read in this post, we’ve met in 2005, as soon as Panini Comics released Angel Sanctuary here in Brazil and I was hooked since page one. On the first time that I’ve read this series, what kept me loving this series was Yuki-sensei’s art, as I didn’t understand most of what was happening (and with reason; I was 10 and the title is rated 16+ lol). I only really understood this series on its core when I re-read it, five years later.

Kaori Yuki has several series and oneshots under her name and I’m ashamed to say that I found this out writing this post. I only knew the titles that I had read and two tbr series from her. I’m a lousy excuse for a fan, I know The awesome part is that I have several titles to read from her now ❤

Anyway, let’s talk about what I have read:

• Angel Sanctuary

Goodreads’ blurb:

The angel Alexiel loved God, but she rebelled against Heaven when she saw how disgracefully the other angels were behaving. She was finally captured, and as punishment sent to Earth to live an endless series of tragic lives. She now inhabits the body of Setsuna Mudo, a troubled teen in love with his sister Sara. Setsuna’s misery mirrors the chaos among the angels, and their combined passions threaten to destroy both Heaven and Earth.

Why is Setsuna so mixed up? Despite his attempts to be noble, he’ll fight anyone anytime; he ignores all authority; and he harbors feelings for his sister that can only be described as “incestuous.” Why is he such a mess? The reason may be found with two demons from the underworld and their enemy, an insane angel who is distributing an insidious computer game called Angel Santuary.

The first one we never forget, right? One of my favorite things about this title is the characters dynamics. They are so real and their relationships (not only amorous ones) are always so fogged, so… Grey. Seriously, just read this, haha!

• The Cain Saga

Goodreads’ blurb:

Born under an evil moon harboring dark secrets, Earl Cain C. Hargreves, the youthful heir of the aristocratic Hargreves family, is a man on a quest to find the truth about his family’s past. Written in dark, harrowing episodes, The CAIN Saga chronicles how Cain solves the strange crimes that seem to plague his cursed existence, yet somehow bring him closer to deciphering the puzzling circumstances surrounding his father’s tragic death.

I spoke of this one very recently, so I’ll just add that I love the mysteries that Cain has on his hands during this series!

• Boy’s Next Door

Goodreads’ blurb:

Lawrence is a young male prostitute whose actual aim was to look for his brother. Unknowingly, he did find his brother – the owner of the young boys prostitute club. However, his life was about to change when he witnessed the killing of one of the biggest serial killers – Dr. Wolfgang Adrain Cray. Instead of running away, he searches for the murderer and falls in love with him. Adrian, who is basically a nice person (he is a school teacher) takes in Lawrence and reciprocates Lawrence s love. but Lawrence s brother was not too happy about losing a possible money tree and sends out his gang in search of Lawrence.

You may have noticed that Kaori Yuki’s stories tend to not win the happy manga of the year prize, right? Oh well, on Boy’s Next Door, she outdoes herself. I’m not usually one to cry while reading manga, but I did here. I felt the pain, the agony, the crushed love. I really would love to re-read this title and review it, but I don’t know if I am strong enough. What awaits me is too real…

That’s it about Yuki-sensei ❤ I also innovated this time and prepared a list with my TBR list of her titles:

• Perfume Master
• Grand Guignol Orchestra series
• Fairy Cube series
• Demon from Afar series

Thank you for reading 😀 If any of my TBR titles of this post caught your eye and you want a review for it, just say so in the comments that I’ll work faster towards the chosen title 😀

Manga of the Week: Ultramaniac, from Wataru Yoshizumi

Hello and Happy Wednesday 😀 Today will be another day full of book news, but let’s stick to our good and old Manga of the Week section for now, haha! Our star today is a lovely title: Ultramaniac, from Wataru Yoshizumi-sensei!

from my Instagram 😀

Goodreads’ blurb:

Shy Ayu Tateishi has just made a new friend at school. But this new friend, much to her surprise, is no ordinary classmate. Nina Sakura may look like a normal middle school girl, but she’s got a big secret.

She’s a witch.

Or, rather, she’s studying to be a witch. And, apparently, she’s not doing her homework. Her spells are devastating in their ineffectiveness and often result in the most embarrassing situations for poor Ayu.

But things wouldn’t be so bad if Nina’s sorcery didn’t make Ayu look silly in front of the one boy she secretly adores. All she wants is a simple love potion. What she gets, however, is a new best friend who almost flunked out of witch school!

Why I think it’s a worth-reading manga: this title is light and funny, but not silly. If you want a good high school romance title to pass time, cheer you up or rest your brain, Ultramaniac is the perfect one! 😀

That’s it! Thank you for reading and brace yourself for another day full of news, haha! Have you heard of Ultramaniac before??

Manga of the Week: The Cain Saga, from Kaori Yuki!

Good morning! We have reached another middle of the week day and I want to hear everybody saying: “Manga of the Week day!” when I count to three! One, two… Three!

No? Not really? Okay, I can live with that, haha! Anyway, today’s chosen one is the second title that I’ve read from Kaori Yuki-sensei: The Cain Saga!

Goodreads’ blurb:

Born under an evil moon harboring dark secrets, Earl Cain C. Hargreves, the youthful heir of the aristocratic Hargreves family, is a man on a quest to find the truth about his family’s past. Written in dark, harrowing episodes, The CAIN Saga chronicles how Cain solves the strange crimes that seem to plague his cursed existence, yet somehow bring him closer to deciphering the puzzling circumstances surrounding his father’s tragic death.

Why I think it’s a worth-reading manga: Kaori Yuki owns one of the most beautiful and flawless art of all times and her stories are always dark, disturbing and highly entertaining. The mysteries contained on The Cain Saga will make you grip your chair while reading. Cain himself could be Sherlock Holmes’ son, as he is eccentric, intelligent and deadly to his enemies – both metaphorically and literally. Also, he has a weird relationship with his butler and to this day I’m not sure if the butler was a trustworthy person lol

That’s it, thanks for reading 😀 Have you ever read a title by Kaori Yuki-sensei??

Manga author: Arina Tanemura

Hello, good Monday to you! I’ll do a proper announcement post later, but there are some changes on my blog sections and weekly posting 🙂 The first one I’ll tell you here, but you may have already noticed: the section Authors from my Heart ❤ will now be a monthly deal. On the second week of the month, we will have Book Authors and on the third, Manga Authors. I was running out of authors, haha! lol

Now, to the point: manga author chosen for today! It’s no one less than Arina Tanemura *–*

We have met when the anime for Full Moon wo Sagashite was released and my friend and I ran to start watching it. The songs were a blast, the art was cute and we loved the characters. It had an unexpected dark and dramatic turn, but it was worth-watching and, to this day, it’s one of my favorite animes ever! ❤ And, as I loved the anime so much, I started to read her works online – Tanemura-sensei’s work would only start to be published in Brazil on 2009, but at least they started by Full Moon! *–* (I still have to complete my collection, though. Ugh!).

Those are the titles that I have read from her so far:

• Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne

Goodreads’ blurb:

By day, Kusakabe Maron is an ordinary high school girl with more then her share of problems. But by night, she is Phantom Thief Jeanne. As the reincarnation of Joan of Arc, her mission is to steal demon-possessed paintings and neutralize their evil. Jeanne’s only ally is the angel-in-training Finn. Together, they must fight evil by night while surviving high school by day.

Ironically, my first read title from her wasn’t Full Moon, haha! It was Jeanne. I admit that I don’t remember ANYTHING, so I guess this is a must re-read, haha!

• I.O.N

Goodreads’ blurb:

Ion Tsuburagi chants the letters of her first name as a charm to bring good luck when she needs it. Then she meets Mikado Hourai, the president of the Psychic Powers Research Society at school, and touches a mysterious substance he’s been developing. Now chanting “I-O-N” gives her telekinetic powers!

My second read was this one shot, I.O.N. I remember that I wasn’t impressed despite its cuteness, but I have the impression that this will be another post were I don’t remember anything about the mangas I’ve read…

• Full Moon wo Sagashite

Goodreads’ blurb:

In this bittersweet tale of puppy love, tragedy, and aspirations of pop-star fame, 12-year-old Mitsuki’s life finds hope when a comical pair of magical beings appears. Rated for teens.

So helpful. Yes, Full Moon was my third title from Tanemura-sensei and easily my favorite one, haha! This is a rare case in which I think the anime is better than the manga, but I liked reading it nevertheless. I highly recommend it if you like shoujo [romance], comedy, drama and fashion – Tanemura-sensei’s clothes are sooooo pretty!

• The Gentlemen’s Alliance

Goodreads’ blurb:

In return for a business loan of 50 million yen, the prestigious Kamiya family gave their daughter Haine away to the Otomiya family. Haine, now an Otomiya, is appointed to the student council of the exclusive Imperial Academy, a private school for the aristocracy. Even though Haine is of proper lineage to be on the council, she finds herself struggling to find her place among the many secrets of its elite members, especially those of the president who holds her heart–Shizumasa Togu, aka “the Emperor.”

Another title in which I remember nothing, but I have to be fair: I was able to buy only the first volume when this was published in Brazil and now it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to complete my collection 😦 Damn you, Brazilian market! I still want to finish reading this! Hm, restarting may be a better word.

• Vampire Rose

Goodreads’ blurb:

“Supernatural things don’t exist in this world!” Kaho Mira absolutely hates all things supernatural, so why does Hikaru-sempai keep persuing her to join the Supernatural Research Club?! But one day, Mira barely escaped the clutches of the White Rose Academy vampire, Rose. Now, she had no choice but to join the Supernatural Research Club with Hikaru-sempai for help! And they unravel much more about Rose they never knew before…

After years (I mean it literally), I would only pick up a title from Tanemura-sensei again last year and my chosen one was this one shot. It was lovely! A sugared-romance like all her works, but with a bit of mystery on it. A nice 4 stars read 😀

• Idol Dreams

Goodreads’ blurb:

At age 31, office worker Chikage Deguchi feels she missed her chances at love and success. When word gets out that she’s a virgin, Chikage is humiliated and wishes she could turn back time to when she was still young and popular. She takes an experimental drug that changes her appearance back to when she was 15. Now Chikage is determined to pursue everything she missed out on all those years ago—including becoming a star!

And right after Vampire Rose, I read the first volume of Idol Dreams. This struck me as a cute and deep series, but I still need to read more before form an opinion. Sadly, I couldn’t find the next one yet, ugh!

I’m still considering if I’ll continue to read new works of Tanemura-sensei, since my interests nowadays lay on yaoi titles filled with hot sex scenes other kinds of titles. Let’s see what the future holds for our relationship, Tanemura-sensei! ;D