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ellelainey's reviews
2466 reviews
My Beautiful Man, Volume 2 (Manga) by Yuu Nagira, Megumi Kitano
3.0
This series/story is definitely an acquired taste. It's sort of a bully romance, in a way. Kazu is fascinated with Kiyoi, to the point where he'll allow anything within Kiyoi's wishes. He has none of the backbone that I loved in Caste Heaven - which is such a similar style of bully romance - and I really wish it did. I wish Kazu could at least have a spine.
For me, I can't see ANY reason why Kazu is so fascinated with Kiyoi, except that Kiyoi is beautiful. We don't even know why he became King of the bullies/school in the first place. There's no reasonable explanation for how/why he became so popular, because we don't see anything except Kiyoi being distant, broody and demanding.
For me, it lacks the connection to either of the two MC's that I need to look past the bullying and slavery, and especially Kazu's pathetic nature.
For me, I can't see ANY reason why Kazu is so fascinated with Kiyoi, except that Kiyoi is beautiful. We don't even know why he became King of the bullies/school in the first place. There's no reasonable explanation for how/why he became so popular, because we don't see anything except Kiyoi being distant, broody and demanding.
For me, it lacks the connection to either of the two MC's that I need to look past the bullying and slavery, and especially Kazu's pathetic nature.
My Beautiful Man, Volume 1 (Manga) by Yuu Nagira, Megumi Kitano
3.0
This was a strange one. It VERY strongly reminded me of the same vibes as [book:Caste Heaven, Vol. 1|50945659] just without the rape and card game.
Kazunori Hira has had a stutter since he was young, and was badly bullied all throughout his school life. His stutter is worse when he's nervous. When he's made to introduce himself during a new school year, he's so taken by surprise when the guy before him - Sou Kiyoi - introduces himself. Kiyoi is so beautiful to Kazu that he can't even think, and Kazu ends up stuttering so badly that all he can say is "Hi Hi Hi" instead of "Hello." or "Hi." Somehow, that translates into his classmates calling him HeHe, because they thought he was laughing.
For the next two years, Kazu endures being bullied, being treated like a slave, and doesn't object to the HeHe nickname, all because the leader of the bullies is Sou Kiyoi. They treat him so badly that they even JOKE that they hope he doesn't kill himself because they don't want to be responsible for his death.
The story was sometimes interesting, but often too much. EVERYONE is unlikeable, even Kazu, who is supposed to be super sympathetic. Unfortunately, I just wasn't convinced. There's nothing really redeemable about him, because he ENJOYS being Kiyoi's slave, despite getting nothing in return.
At least in Caste Heaven, the MC's had actual feelings for one another that felt genuine, and when they endured the bad stuff - bullying, rape, slavery - it was only ever done to protect someone else or because they already had shitty lives that made their school life seem almost bearable in comparison. That's NOT the case here. Kazu has a really nice life at home. His only bad experience is the verbal bullying at school. In comparison to Caste Heaven it's not even close to the same experience.
Kazunori Hira has had a stutter since he was young, and was badly bullied all throughout his school life. His stutter is worse when he's nervous. When he's made to introduce himself during a new school year, he's so taken by surprise when the guy before him - Sou Kiyoi - introduces himself. Kiyoi is so beautiful to Kazu that he can't even think, and Kazu ends up stuttering so badly that all he can say is "Hi Hi Hi" instead of "Hello." or "Hi." Somehow, that translates into his classmates calling him HeHe, because they thought he was laughing.
For the next two years, Kazu endures being bullied, being treated like a slave, and doesn't object to the HeHe nickname, all because the leader of the bullies is Sou Kiyoi. They treat him so badly that they even JOKE that they hope he doesn't kill himself because they don't want to be responsible for his death.
The story was sometimes interesting, but often too much. EVERYONE is unlikeable, even Kazu, who is supposed to be super sympathetic. Unfortunately, I just wasn't convinced. There's nothing really redeemable about him, because he ENJOYS being Kiyoi's slave, despite getting nothing in return.
At least in Caste Heaven, the MC's had actual feelings for one another that felt genuine, and when they endured the bad stuff - bullying, rape, slavery - it was only ever done to protect someone else or because they already had shitty lives that made their school life seem almost bearable in comparison. That's NOT the case here. Kazu has a really nice life at home. His only bad experience is the verbal bullying at school. In comparison to Caste Heaven it's not even close to the same experience.
Only the Flower Knows Vol. 3 by Rihito Takarai
5.0
This was BY FAR the best volume of the series!
TRIGGERS: assault, attempted sexual assault, harassment, stalking
We FINALLY get to see a resolution to the Satoru storyline. Though I much preferred Youichi's methods, I love that Misaki was able to put his past behind him.
I LOVE that Youichi puts Misaki first and respects his consent. He does all the things that Satoru can't/couldn't, and that means so much to Misaki.
So stinkingly, ridiculously cute! I loved the ending.
TRIGGERS: assault, attempted sexual assault, harassment, stalking
We FINALLY get to see a resolution to the Satoru storyline. Though I much preferred Youichi's methods, I love that Misaki was able to put his past behind him.
I LOVE that Youichi puts Misaki first and respects his consent. He does all the things that Satoru can't/couldn't, and that means so much to Misaki.
So stinkingly, ridiculously cute! I loved the ending.
Only the Flower Knows Vol. 2 by Rihito Takarai
5.0
Somehow, Volume 2 was even better than Volume 1!
TRIGGERS: stalking, harassment, implied assault
We get to find out about Misaki's past and the meaning behind the necklace. We find out more about Satoru and the part he plays in Misaki's life - past and present.
This was a much more emotional and angst volume than I was expecting, but there is a lot to unpack about Misaki and Youichi, together and individually.
That sandcastle part at the end was SO CUTE!
TRIGGERS: stalking, harassment, implied assault
We get to find out about Misaki's past and the meaning behind the necklace. We find out more about Satoru and the part he plays in Misaki's life - past and present.
This was a much more emotional and angst volume than I was expecting, but there is a lot to unpack about Misaki and Youichi, together and individually.
That sandcastle part at the end was SO CUTE!
Only the Flower Knows Vol. 1 by Rihito Takarai
5.0
This was such a lovely and sweet story. It's a bit of a YA/NA vibe that takes place in college.
Youichi Arikawa has terrible eyesight and his contacts hurt. One day, at the train station, he bumps into Shouta Misaki, where Misaki loses his necklace, which ends up in Youichi's bag. Youichi doesn't realise until later, and he couldn't make out what Misaki looked like, so he doesn't know who to return the necklace to. He ends up breaking up with his girlfriend and having weird dreams right after finding the necklace, and considers the two incidents linked. He's determined to find Misaki.
By fluke, Youichi has volunteered to help out in one of the college labs, where Misaki works! They're stuck in a forced-proximity situation, where Youichi learns a bit more about Misaki from rumours and friends. There are rumours that Misaki is gay and got caught being attacked by another male student who was two years older, while on school grounds. Youichi discovers that Misaki has been getting countless calls from a name - Satoru Kawabata - almost every half hour.
There's a big mystery around Misaki and Satoru's history. Misaki is the grumpy to Youichi's sunshine. It's a little strange, as a college story, and the 'dreams' part doesn't really lead anywhere I was expecting, but it's really cute. There's a hint of using the language of flowers too, which is lovely.
Youichi Arikawa has terrible eyesight and his contacts hurt. One day, at the train station, he bumps into Shouta Misaki, where Misaki loses his necklace, which ends up in Youichi's bag. Youichi doesn't realise until later, and he couldn't make out what Misaki looked like, so he doesn't know who to return the necklace to. He ends up breaking up with his girlfriend and having weird dreams right after finding the necklace, and considers the two incidents linked. He's determined to find Misaki.
By fluke, Youichi has volunteered to help out in one of the college labs, where Misaki works! They're stuck in a forced-proximity situation, where Youichi learns a bit more about Misaki from rumours and friends. There are rumours that Misaki is gay and got caught being attacked by another male student who was two years older, while on school grounds. Youichi discovers that Misaki has been getting countless calls from a name - Satoru Kawabata - almost every half hour.
There's a big mystery around Misaki and Satoru's history. Misaki is the grumpy to Youichi's sunshine. It's a little strange, as a college story, and the 'dreams' part doesn't really lead anywhere I was expecting, but it's really cute. There's a hint of using the language of flowers too, which is lovely.
The Silent Lord by Otava Heikkilä
5.0
Oooft! What a volume!
Edmund goes through a very difficult transition, but through that we learn about the Silent Lord's history, about Ibauld's history, and how the Night Court was created. It's a fascinating, sad story. We learn more about the nurse Geza and his husband Sorin, which is very interesting.
Ibauld has such a tragic story - and the Silent Lord is so interesting - that I'm glad we had the slight deviation from the main plot to see both in good detail.
I only wish we understood this whole letter situation - every book starts at some point in the future, where Ed is writing letters to Lucardo, so they're obviously not together at this point, because Ed doesn't know where Lucardo is. Why are they apart? Is it temporary? Does that mean Ibauld is back in the forest (effectively dead) and Lucardo has taken over the Night Court? Or has being around the Night Court and the Silent Lord been so taxing on Ed that he's been forced to leave Lucardo? Or, has Ed somehow *not* completed his transition, so he's back to being human, and that's why he can no longer be part of the Night Court?
I. HAVE. SO. MANY. QUESTIONS! The most important being - when will we see a release date for Volume 4!
Edmund goes through a very difficult transition, but through that we learn about the Silent Lord's history, about Ibauld's history, and how the Night Court was created. It's a fascinating, sad story. We learn more about the nurse Geza and his husband Sorin, which is very interesting.
Ibauld has such a tragic story - and the Silent Lord is so interesting - that I'm glad we had the slight deviation from the main plot to see both in good detail.
I only wish we understood this whole letter situation - every book starts at some point in the future, where Ed is writing letters to Lucardo, so they're obviously not together at this point, because Ed doesn't know where Lucardo is. Why are they apart? Is it temporary? Does that mean Ibauld is back in the forest (effectively dead) and Lucardo has taken over the Night Court? Or has being around the Night Court and the Silent Lord been so taxing on Ed that he's been forced to leave Lucardo? Or, has Ed somehow *not* completed his transition, so he's back to being human, and that's why he can no longer be part of the Night Court?
I. HAVE. SO. MANY. QUESTIONS! The most important being - when will we see a release date for Volume 4!
Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture, Vol. 5 by Mikage Sawamura, Toji Aio
5.0
This volume concludes the Curse of 4:44 from Volume 4. There are also another 2 cases here, though they actually appear to be interconnected.
Case 1: a mermaid sighting
Case 2: the night of 100 horrors
We get to see Akira and Naoya investigate a potential mermaid sighting and get the FIRST real real supernatural entity of the series! So far, there have been small incidents and coincidences that appear to be supernatural but are never proven and we don't get to see it. Here, we get both!
We also get to see Uncle Wataru, who Akira stayed with in London due his recovery period, after being "spirited away". We also get quite a lot of exploration of Akira's personal life, thanks to Wataru showing up.
There's a bit more of Nanba, who is a great friend to Naoya, even if he denies it. For the first, he actually lies to Naoya, but its in the sweetest way and I love that Naoya understands why he did it instantly. The more I see of Nanba, the more I love him.
I really loved the new character Sae-san. She's is SO interesting.
Case 1: a mermaid sighting
Case 2: the night of 100 horrors
We get to see Akira and Naoya investigate a potential mermaid sighting and get the FIRST real real supernatural entity of the series! So far, there have been small incidents and coincidences that appear to be supernatural but are never proven and we don't get to see it. Here, we get both!
We also get to see Uncle Wataru, who Akira stayed with in London due his recovery period, after being "spirited away". We also get quite a lot of exploration of Akira's personal life, thanks to Wataru showing up.
There's a bit more of Nanba, who is a great friend to Naoya, even if he denies it. For the first, he actually lies to Naoya, but its in the sweetest way and I love that Naoya understands why he did it instantly. The more I see of Nanba, the more I love him.
I really loved the new character Sae-san. She's is SO interesting.
Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture, Vol. 4 by Mikage Sawamura
5.0
Volume 4 continues/concludes the case of the "miracle child" while exploring just a little more of Akira's past.
Case 1 - a shine for an Oni skull
Case 2 - the curse of the 4:44
I'm really loving the deep-dive into different Japanese folklore and traditions. It's such a complex, but fascinating culture, and although I've never heard of most of these myths, legends or childhood games, I love that I don't need any knowledge of them, because they're explained in a way I can follow and understand.
Be warned: Case 2 continues in Volume 5!
Case 1 - a shine for an Oni skull
Case 2 - the curse of the 4:44
I'm really loving the deep-dive into different Japanese folklore and traditions. It's such a complex, but fascinating culture, and although I've never heard of most of these myths, legends or childhood games, I love that I don't need any knowledge of them, because they're explained in a way I can follow and understand.
Be warned: Case 2 continues in Volume 5!
Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture (Manga), Vol. 3 by Toji Aio
5.0
Another great volume.
Case 1: an actress being haunted on a horror movie set.
Case 2: a miracle child, suspected of causing a fake cult
I loved this volume. We got to see Naoya struggle, then get some relief, from his "gift" of hearing lies. He temporarily loses his ability, due to an ear infection, which gives him an insight into how important the gift is to him and his connection to Akira.
I LOVED the hint of shyness and underlying connection between Akira and Naoya. It's not really a romance, which is fine, but they do have a deep connection with each other, which Akira points out - they've both experienced a trauma as children, bonding them, because they're the only people who could ever believe each other's stories, and be there to support each other as they search for answers.
I really love grumpy Ken-chan. He's such a good friend to Akira, but he's also sweet to Naoya, helping him know when to back off, when to be careful. It's like a big brother guidance they both need.
Be warned - the miracle child storyline ends on a cliffhanger in this volume, but concludes in Volume 4.
Case 1: an actress being haunted on a horror movie set.
Case 2: a miracle child, suspected of causing a fake cult
I loved this volume. We got to see Naoya struggle, then get some relief, from his "gift" of hearing lies. He temporarily loses his ability, due to an ear infection, which gives him an insight into how important the gift is to him and his connection to Akira.
I LOVED the hint of shyness and underlying connection between Akira and Naoya. It's not really a romance, which is fine, but they do have a deep connection with each other, which Akira points out - they've both experienced a trauma as children, bonding them, because they're the only people who could ever believe each other's stories, and be there to support each other as they search for answers.
I really love grumpy Ken-chan. He's such a good friend to Akira, but he's also sweet to Naoya, helping him know when to back off, when to be careful. It's like a big brother guidance they both need.
Be warned - the miracle child storyline ends on a cliffhanger in this volume, but concludes in Volume 4.
Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture (Manga), Vol. 1 by Mikage Sawamura
5.0
Oof, this is SO good!
I went into this not really knowing what to expect. I've recently read [book:Hell Is Dark with No Flowers, Vol. 1 (manga) (Volume 1) (Hell Is Dark with No Flowers|217394506] and [book:The (Pet) Detective Agency|60333934], so I was hoping it was along those lines, which...it is, but it isn't.
Naoya Kukamachi was just a boy when he went to a local night festival and was given a terrible choice - choose a lollipop. Each of the three lollipops came with a terrible consequence; one meant he would lost his words, the second he would lose his ability to walk and the third...well, we don't find out that until Volume 2 ;) Naoya chooses the third, and faces some interesting consequences.
Flash forward to college, Naoya begins a new class Folklore Studies II. Right from the start, the mystery was intriguing. From Naoya's childhood to the intriguing Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki, who has made it his mission to study folktales and their origins. Since Naoya has an interesting one, he submits the story to Akira, who is fascinated.
Thus, they begin to work together to investigate folktales and mysterious goings-on. They investigate a supposedly haunted apartment and begin a second case, of a girl who may be cursed, which doesn't conclude until Volume 2.
The mysteries are really well written and plotted, exactly what I'd expect of a great manga. It was very reminiscent of [book:A School Frozen in Time, Vol. 1|55437524]. There was the same sense of mystery clashing with reality.
So far, there's no romance between Naoya and Akira, however they do have a close friendship. It's not explicitly BL in the traditional sense, but all indications are that the series has undertones. Which is very similar to how [book:A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation, Volume 1|49766957] is written.
Volume 1 does a fantastic job of drawing you into the story and exploring the characters. The supernatural aspects are well handled and the entire plot is very original. But, be warned that Volume 1 ends on a cliffhanger!
FYI: EVERY book I've referenced or mentioned here is fantastic and absolutely on the same par as this one. If you liked them, you'll love this and vice versa.
I went into this not really knowing what to expect. I've recently read [book:Hell Is Dark with No Flowers, Vol. 1 (manga) (Volume 1) (Hell Is Dark with No Flowers|217394506] and [book:The (Pet) Detective Agency|60333934], so I was hoping it was along those lines, which...it is, but it isn't.
Naoya Kukamachi was just a boy when he went to a local night festival and was given a terrible choice - choose a lollipop. Each of the three lollipops came with a terrible consequence; one meant he would lost his words, the second he would lose his ability to walk and the third...well, we don't find out that until Volume 2 ;) Naoya chooses the third, and faces some interesting consequences.
Flash forward to college, Naoya begins a new class Folklore Studies II. Right from the start, the mystery was intriguing. From Naoya's childhood to the intriguing Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki, who has made it his mission to study folktales and their origins. Since Naoya has an interesting one, he submits the story to Akira, who is fascinated.
Thus, they begin to work together to investigate folktales and mysterious goings-on. They investigate a supposedly haunted apartment and begin a second case, of a girl who may be cursed, which doesn't conclude until Volume 2.
The mysteries are really well written and plotted, exactly what I'd expect of a great manga. It was very reminiscent of [book:A School Frozen in Time, Vol. 1|55437524]. There was the same sense of mystery clashing with reality.
So far, there's no romance between Naoya and Akira, however they do have a close friendship. It's not explicitly BL in the traditional sense, but all indications are that the series has undertones. Which is very similar to how [book:A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation, Volume 1|49766957] is written.
Volume 1 does a fantastic job of drawing you into the story and exploring the characters. The supernatural aspects are well handled and the entire plot is very original. But, be warned that Volume 1 ends on a cliffhanger!
FYI: EVERY book I've referenced or mentioned here is fantastic and absolutely on the same par as this one. If you liked them, you'll love this and vice versa.