jasper_a's reviews
199 reviews

Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It by Jay M. Feinman

slow-paced

2.0

this book was not digestible.
i have never been more relieved about finishing a book than i have right now.
yeesh.
i'm not even looking forward to book club tomorrow.
here's the tl;dr for "Delay, Deny, Defend"
insurance companies figured out that they can sell people insurance, and in the fine print, add all these exceptions and hoops for YOU to jump through before they award you the money you're entitled to for losing your house, car, or get into an accident, etc. AND if that wasn't enough, they're taking your premiums and investing it. now, you, individual person, can't do a damn thing about these insurance companies implementing these 'delay, deny, defend' tactics -- that's for the state/government to regulate. no. the best thing you can do is stay informed and learn all the acronyms and jargon that they use and have a lawyer on-call, and be vigilant but complicit in the process of filing your legitimate claims... and keep allllll your receipts.
there. unless you sincerely want to learn and be involved in insurance claims and/or reforming the ways in which these companies do business, i saved you the trouble of reading this book.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 12 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe

adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

a solid volume. lots of exposition and worldbuilding. it wasn't my favorite (and damn that last chapter) but i didn't hate it either... certainly a different vibe from all the previous volumes of Frieren.
now we wait. again.

The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't A Guy At All Vol. 2 by Sumiko Arai

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

i feel like i may have been terribly harsh with my criticism of the first volume of this series..
the artstyle, the teen angst, the tone and flow of the story.. all of it has really grown on me in this volume. i think having the generational (divide) of Joe and Mitsuki, adds a little something extra to the resonance of the story.. young love, passion/commitment, obligations, growing up (coming of age).. having the comparison there adds a saucy layer. i think the composition of the panels (as well as breaking out of / overflowing from the panels), to the chibi/reaction style, to the ultra-romantic style where the green hirs the details, that's the good stuff.
the music nostalgia bombs.
AND it's very endearing to see the inspiration from Scott Pilgrim, Nana, Kaguya-Sama, etc..
dang. i might just be upgrading my score from a 4 >> 4.5 🧐

A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

this was cute novella..
i picked it up bc i love the magical girl genre (CCS forever 💕)..
i feel you need a great suspension of disbelief to overlook things but at the end of the day, the message(s) are not bad.
there are other stories that serve this messaging (sins of the father are paid by their sons/daughters) better -- most recently, The Fall of the House of Usher -- but more stories like this is good. and to that end, i can truly appreciate the translator's notes at the end.
well if it isn't the consequences of my actions....

Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga, Vol. 2: Limited edition Magic: The Gathering card included in first printing! by Katsura Ise

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

..............what even was that ending?
is the manga done after two volumes?

Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga, Vol. 1 by Katsura Ise

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

this was a cute first volume. i think the story is very mundane with the flavor of Magic: the Gathering. the character designs are cutesy. the nostalgia button is being absolutely spammed. unless something *really* interesting happens in volume 2, i'm probably going to drop the series. 

Solo Leveling, Vol. 11 by h-goon, DUBU(REDICE STUDIO), Chugong

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

imma keep it 100: Solo Leveling is my Dragon Ball Z.
yes, DBZ is iconic. yes, Toriyama (RIP) is THE master of all shonen stories. but for my money, Chugong and DUBU (RIP) took all of those lessons, and shonen stories that came before, and elevated it. -- there isn't a volume that goes by where i'm not shocked by how a scene plays out, or grinning like an idiot when one of the shadow puppets are being cute, or cheering when Jinwoo shows up in the nick of time.
also.. i see the HxH, and FMA influence. respect.

To Your Eternity, Volume 2 by Yoshitoki Oima

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this was a hard volume, mostly because of plot reasons. i liked it but it was dark, to be sure. i think a setup volume like this deserves a lot of grace.
i think i will continue the series.

To Your Eternity, Volume 1 by Yoshitoki Oima

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was a strong first volume. the characters are interesting and the plot is rather compelling.
after hearing so many good things about this manga/anime, my expectations were quite high. this first volume did not disappoint. very promising start.

Kagurabachi Vol 2 by Takeru Hokazono

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.5

intrigue is still high for me. the action is pretty good. i'm a sucker for swords.. not so much edgelords.. but they often go hand in hand.