That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime Volume 1

Story by Fuse Adapted by Taiki Kawakami Characters by Mitz Vah Translated by Stephen Paul 4 stars I’ve been enjoying the anime so far and thought I’d give the manga a try. The first volume covers the first 5 episodes of the anime. The show sticks pretty closely to the manga from what I remember….

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Insomniacs After School Volume 1 by Makoto Ojiro

Translated by Andria Cheng 4 stars A sweet, low-stakes manga featuring unexpected friendship, life after dark, and an adorable cat. Ganta Nakami can’t sleep. When he discovers classmate, Isaki Magari’s secret hideout, they bond over their shared sleep issues. They form their own secret club and start fixing up the old observatory to make a…

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Cat + Gamer Volume 2 by Wataru Nadatani

Translated by Zack Davisson 5 stars Another fantastic volume featuring Riko and Musubi. I love the humor in these books so much. Cat lovers will easily relate to this series. This volume of slice-of-life adventures sees Riko dealing with Musubi as he levels up, clears ideal surfaces for napping, tries new tasty treats, and gets…

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Shuna’s Journey by Hayao Miyazaki

Translated by Alex Dudok de Wit 3 stars A standalone tale loosely based on the Tibetan folktale, “The Prince Who Turned into a Dog”. This book is all Miyazaki. Stunning settings, a strong woman with agency and determination, fascinating creatures, rich backgrounds, and intentional ambiguity. Slow-paced story that puts more emphasis on the visuals than…

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Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 2

by Yuto Tsukuda Illustrated by Shun Saeki Translated by Adrienne Beck 3.5 stars Another entertaining volume in the Food Wars series. In this one, we learn more about how Totsuki works, specifically the shokugeki and the Council of Ten. As always, the food looks amazing. I love when they go into detail on how a…

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The Art of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind: Watercolor Impressions

by Hayao Miyazaki 4 stars A beautiful collection of artwork from the manga, film, and conception of Nausicaa. It showcases various elements that inspired the story and its evolution along with comments from Miyazaki. These often describe the context or struggles in creating the piece. Some of them were quite relatable and slightly humorous as…

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Mary Anning and the Great Fossil Discoveries

by Jordi Bayarri Translated by Sofia Huitron Martinez 2 stars This is the first book I’ve read in the GraphicScience Biographies series. The book goes through various events in Mary Anning’s life, sharing interesting stories, connections she made, and some of her wonderful discoveries and contributions to science. Touches on some of the hardships in…

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Komi Can’t Communicate by Tomohito Oda

Translated by John Werry 2 stars Tadano just wants to blend in at school. But when he meets Komi and discovers her difficulty talking to people, he resolves to help her, even when it puts unwanted attention on him. For me, this one was just okay. Based on the title, I assumed the story followed…

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Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 1

by Yuto Tsukuda Illustrated by Shun Saeki Translated by Adrienne Beck 3.5 stars Hilarious and weird. It’s an odd one to rate. I’m not a huge fan service person, but I love the cooking aspect. I have watched the anime previously so I knew what I was getting into. For those unfamiliar with the series,…

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Cat + Gamer Volume 1 by Wataru Nadatani

Translated by Zack Davisson 5 stars This book is absolutely adorable. Riko’s life revolves around video games. When she unexpectedly adopts a stray kitten, she uses her knowledge from her favorite games to figure out how to take care of him. With her over-the-top reactions, she takes on each challenge as though it is a…

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