Originally posted July 12, 2009
By REBBECA P.
My thoughts
Demons are meant to be exorcised and that’s exactly what Rosette and Chrno are called to do. From the first pages we’re immediately thrown into the action, which nab a reader right off. After their mission is accomplished we see a slight pause in action as we’re introduced more to the personalities and lives of Rosette and Chrno. Before long, they’re sent on another mission and we discover exactly what Chrno is, a demon. Now, I personally thought the first two chapters (maybe more) were dull. We don’t really get a feel for the personalities of Rosette (who I found a little arrogant at first until later on in the book and parts in between) and the reading felt average.
My thoughts
Enter Karin, a vampire with “monthly” problems. She’s a vampire with nose-bleeds and an intense blood-gushing reaction to the new transfer student Kenta Usui. This creates several embarrassing episodes for both of them, and even more ‘coincidentally’ they start to work at the same place. Of course, Karin’s life was never normal to begin with as a vampire. Living with her parents, brother and younger sister, she’s the family’s black sheep. Not only can she go out into the sun and enjoy it, but she gives blood instead of taking blood from her “victims,” creating a very positive result. The question is, what will Karin’s reactions to her classmate Kenta Usui result in as well as her life as a vampire?
My thoughts
In the first volume of Bleach we’re introduced to Ichigo, a 15-year-old boy who can see the dead as well as the living. As a result, ghosts and spirits — and later Hollows, swarm to him for help or for his life, especially after meeting Rukia. Ichigo has a lot on his plate with his new soul reaping powers as he finds the people close to him might be more intertwined in his new job and life than we would ever realize.
“Finally,” I thought to myself while I was getting ready to read Midori Days last night. It was back in June when I made a trip to New York City and found a Book Off where I bought some Japanese manga, including the first volume of Midori Days. I don’t really know what I was thinking because I didn’t know a lick of Japanese. All I knew was that it looked cute and was only a dollar.
The positives, of which there are many, far outweigh the negatives. Ohba does an excellent job of pacing and not letting the story develop too quickly. Instead of using the death note right away in his quest for creating a perfect world, Light at first dismisses it, then to satisfy his curiosity, tests it on a criminal who dies of a heart attack. Knowing that this may simply be a coincidence, Light tests it on another subject who also dies, but in the manner that Light wrote down. Only then was he convinced that the death note was legitimate.
