This yuri retelling of Beauty and the Beast is a charming concept poorly executed. A nameless monster lives in the woods. Feared and hated by humanity, the monster girl thinks she’ll be alone forever, until one day a blind girl named Lily meets her. Lily gives the …Read more »
In a world without oceans or seas, humanity survives in settlements scattered across a vast wasteland, eking out an existence through trade and mutual cooperation assisted by a network of dirigible airships that transport essential goods among the outposts of civilization. But in this arid, …Read more »
Everything turns upside down Stories of time travel and time manipulation are a mainstay of sci fi and fantasy. In the 21st century they’ve become practically mainstream, to the point that bringing fresh content to the genre requires stepping outside the concept itself and using …Read more »
World’s End and Apricot Jam: © Rila Kirishima / Kodansha Ltd. Teenage Hina, whose family manages an apartment building, is fed up with the noisy, unseen occupant of apartment 304. Breaking in to investigate, she smashes the keyboard of an adorkable guy named Anzu and …Read more »
Kino’s Journey: © Iruka Shiomiya / Keiichi Sigsawa In a quiet, low-key future, wandering adventurer Kino and her “motorrad” Hermes, a talking motorbike, travel the overgrown landscape and mostly deserted roads, occasionally running into people with whom to connect and philosophize. Their world is lightly …Read more »
The Tale of Genji: © Waki Yamato / Kodansha Ltd. Often called the world’s first novel, the 11th-century romance The Tale of Genji is one of the founding works of Japanese literature. It’s been adapted to manga many times, but The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn, first …Read more »
Peach Girl NEXT: © Miwa Ueda / Kodansha Ltd. Miwa Ueda’s Peach Girl, launched in the late 90s and published in English by Tokyopop a few years later, was one of the early shojo manga available in the US about ordinary, nonmagical teenagers and high school …Read more »
A Party of One The trend for so many popular series of the past few years has been to have social underachievers—often stand-ins for the author and/or perceived target audience—suddenly placed into a scenario where they are now innately excellent, who then proceed to exert …Read more »
Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart: © Syundei 2017 Nervous teenager Terumichi is haunted by a recurring dream of being strangled by a handsome older man. At school, he avoids his bullying classmates and sticks to his one close friend, the beautiful, secretive Yamada, but …Read more »
Transparent Light Blue: © KIYOKO IWAMI 2018 From the light bondage imagery on the cover to the sweaty “Oohs!” and “Unghs!” on the first page, Transparent Light Blue teases the reader with way more sex than it actually has. (Check that age rating!!) Ricchan, Ichika, and their …Read more »
The Ideal Sponger Life: © 2017 • Tsunehiko Watanabe • Jyuu Ayakura / Shufunotomo Infos Co., Ltd. © Neko Hinotsuki 2017 Office drone Yamai Zenjiro is summoned to a strange fantasy world by the hot woman from his sex dream. For some readers, the fact …Read more »
Stage Struck! Revue Starlight gives us a surreal backstage view of show business complete with sword duels and talking giraffes When you think of musical theater, you might thinks of shows like Rent, Aladdin, and Wicked. Bright colors, awesome musical numbers, insane wardrobes, and a lot of sparkle: …Read more »
A Certain Scientific Railgun: Astral Buddy: © KAZUMA KAMACHI/YASUHITO NOGI 2017 Don’t get too excited, military science fiction geeks: this manga franchise is no more about rail guns than Bleach is about getting stains out. There is, however, a “certain science” to explaining how the paranormal powers …Read more »
Altered beast Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is the latest in a long line of Wonder Boy games with complicated naming schemes. Its Metroidvania-style setup will instantly be familiar to anyone who has played games in the genre, especially fan-favorite series entry Monster World IV, but the complete …Read more »
A Different World Imagine being transported to another world where you’re recruited to become a hero. Not just any hero, but a fated protector of legend who’s been transported from your own reality simply to fix the issues in another one. That’s the root of …Read more »
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Kara Dennison![[Review] World’s End and Apricot Jam](https://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/worldsend3.jpg)
Shaenon K. Garrity![[Review] Kino’s Journey: The Beautiful World](https://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/kino3.jpg)
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Daryl Surat![[Review] Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart](https://web.archive.org/web/20190913225204im_/http://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/totaleclipse3.jpg)
Jason Bradley Thompson![[Review] Transparent Light Blue](https://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/transparentlightblue2.jpg)
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Michael Goldstein![[Review] A Certain Scientific Railgun Side Story: Astral Buddy](https://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/scientificrailgun1.jpg)
Robert McCarthy![[Review] Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom](https://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/monster-boy3.jpg)
Joseph Luster
Brittany Vincent