omggg ok cliffhanger!! the first chapter was fun, despite how cartoonishly evil the antagonists were. it almost reminded me a bit of a persephone and hades retelling, so that was nice. i dont think that was the intent of the mangaka, but it had a similar plotline to many interpretations of that story and was overall enjoyable to follow (despite how convoluted it ended up being). the side story in the middle was super cute and wholesome, and the final chapter felt like a fanfiction trope (but was very funny to read for that reason!) continuing to enjoy following these characters and their paranormal shenanigans (:

this hurt my feelings. have you ever read something so devastating that you just need to lay down and do nothing afterwards? because thats how this made me feel. this is a masterpiece in my opinion. the way the mangaka managed to convey SO much emotion through art and such little dialogue is very impressive to me. also, that ending??? omg, didnt see it coming tbh. this is a really strong depiction of war, death, grief, dissociation, love, hate, fear, sorrow...yeah i loved this, and i want to pick up volume 2 asap.

this was soooo good. i actually enjoyed it more than the first light novel! like the first light novel was probably a 4-star read for me, but this was genuinely a solid 5. i loved how the author played with perspective and prose to fully incorporate every detail from the manga/anime in a narrative format—and i love that it still made perfect sense and was easy to follow along with! reading through the intricacies of the world-building/plot in this narration actually helped clear up a few questions i still had regarding the main story (since it gets kind of convoluted pretty quickly), so that was really enjoyable for me. this was just a really fun experience and only elevated my love for the series. so glad i read it and will be looking forward to the third volume!

still not sure what to think about this series overall—it's very fluffy and lighthearted, for sure, but that's kinda all there is to it. the romance is definitely the main aspect of this story, and there's not a whole lot of individual character development or depth outside of character relationships. that being said, i'm still definitely enjoying it! it's a good palate cleanser and i'll probably continue reading volumes whenever i want something short and refreshing. i just wish there was a little more to it, but it's not a massive drawback for me.

-yellow wallpaper: loved this a lot more than herland. i found it concise and to the point, and just the right amount of strange, tinged with elements of psychological horror. it was a really solid analysis of how women were frequently historically (and still, currently) diagnosed with various forms of “neurosis”, “hysteria”, “nervous depression”, etc. and how it all stemmed from a sense of patriarchal control and deep-rooted misogyny. i love political horror and this is a really good example of a short work that does it well. probably a solid 4/5 for me!

-herland: this was a little bit more of a miss for me. i think i liked the discussion around how misogyny manifests in men—how they underestimate women, how they think of men to be of some inherently biological superior status, and all the bullshit that comes with that—and how that impacts women. it especially touched on how they underestimate our ability and intelligence. in the regard of addressing sexism, i think it excelled for its time period. there were some elements that still didn’t age well that i raised my eyebrow at, though (i.e., discussions of slavery from a neutral stance, open discussions of eugenics in a neutral-to-positive light, putting the worth of a woman on her ability to be a mother, the inherent flaws of gender essentialism expressed throughout the work, and the weird anti-abortion thing). i also think it dragged quite a bit in pacing and was a little hard to get through the story (and the fact that we were following very misogynistic men as our main characters did not help). it was an interesting analysis of a fictional setting, but it kinda just felt like a (fictional) history book detailing a specific society without much plot or character building behind it. probably more of a 3/5. interesting, and definitely progressive for its time, but didn’t age flawlessly. it also took me literally over a week to read—which isn’t great considering it’s pretty short. still, i’m glad i finally read it!

love this volume!! the expansion of worldbuilding and insight to new characters was just so fun and interesting. i love how fleshed out and complex this series already is!! rudo is such a great MC to follow, but i also love the side characters we're being introduced to. all the character designs are still so good, and im very interested in this new mysterious antagonist.

absolutely beautiful end to a beautiful series. this volume made me SO emotional! trying to reel in the tears was difficult to say the least. everyone's character arc concluded very naturally, which was satisfying to see. i feel like i could write essays on the various thematic messaging of the series—about how you could view it as a story about weaponizing religion, a story about war and child exploitation in government, a story about trauma, a story about love and grief...it's really just as poignant as everyone says it is, and i truly do think this is a series everyone should at least try and read (or watch!) once in their life. 10/10, absolutely one of my new favorite manga series!

brb im throwing shouji into a pit of allegators. for fun. because what the HELL is wrong with that man. anyway hachi and nana are so cute but i just know this isn't going to end well ):

yeah so that was devastating. there was a lot of emotion in this right from the start, and you can FEEL the weight of mizuki's trauma. the stress weighing on her is nearly contagious, and that makes for a very effective thriller. the mangaka did a wonderful job of conveying emotion through art. i could really mizuki's fear, sadness, and grief, even without her having to say anything! i'm really nervous to see where the plot is going, but i can foresee this being a favorite mini-series of mine. i have a feeling already that i might be crying by the end of volume 3. highly recommend if you're in search of a good horror/thriller manga (but please check trigger warnings if needed, this one is dark...)

very good volume! i almost teared up a couple times, specifically in sweet moments between asa and denji that just made me really emotional. i feel so awful for denji who just wants normal human connection and keeps getting denied it, and instead he just gets used over and over again. it's so hard to watch! i also feel bad for asa because you can really feel her fear in this volume. yoru needs to go to hell after everything she's done to asa and denji, fr. also love the endingggg!!! the TENSION!