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sunfishcakes's reviews
248 reviews
Seoulmates by Jen Frederick
3.0
I'll write something longer later, but 3 stars is probably being mildly generous. I already found the first book kind of.....uneven and flimsy at times, particularly with its main focus: the romance. This hasn't really changed. Frankly, this book started out stupid, got stupider, then became less stupid (or I got used to parts), and yet somehow I liked the ending. Odd experience.
Sweat and Soap, Vol. 5 by Kintetsu Yamada
5.0
I've been on a Sweat and Soap reread bender lately because it's a top 5 romance for me ever. I'm writing a review here because I particularly like volumes 5 and 6 as Yamada starts approaching territory of genuine conflict and certain ugly feelings. In particular, you get to see the ways in which while Asako is the more inexperienced partner, Kotaro is not so dissimilar given that this seems to be his first serious romantic relationship. It's just so good!
Shakespeare Manga Theater by Osamu Tezuka, Osamu Tezuka
3.5
Odd collection! I feel like it's more like a sampler of just series with a loosely interpreted theme than a collection of Shakespeare adaptations. The first story is also the most boring one. After The Merchant of Venice, it gets a lot more fun and interesting.
I also appreciated the excerpts of writing by Tezuka interesting but I kind of wish they came with some biographical context, what state of his career/life he was writing from, what the publication exactly it was from, etc. I also found the translation and localization decisions sometimes odd. Rock gets translated as "Rokuro" when....his name is Rock. (After some Googling it seems Rokuro Makube was Rock Macbeth, which makes sense for the Macbeth parody, as Tezuka called it.) Occa ionally some wordplay explana ions and cultural notes are given, and other times they are skipped when it feels like they would be welcome. I'm also not a fan of these notes being towards the gutter, where they're kind of awkward to read.
But as I said, I still wuite enjoyed reading this collection. These aren't stories officially available in English anywhere else that's accessible or in print, and in decent presentation. I'm simply always happy to read more Tezuka.
I also appreciated the excerpts of writing by Tezuka interesting but I kind of wish they came with some biographical context, what state of his career/life he was writing from, what the publication exactly it was from, etc. I also found the translation and localization decisions sometimes odd. Rock gets translated as "Rokuro" when....his name is Rock. (After some Googling it seems Rokuro Makube was Rock Macbeth, which makes sense for the Macbeth parody, as Tezuka called it.) Occa ionally some wordplay explana ions and cultural notes are given, and other times they are skipped when it feels like they would be welcome. I'm also not a fan of these notes being towards the gutter, where they're kind of awkward to read.
But as I said, I still wuite enjoyed reading this collection. These aren't stories officially available in English anywhere else that's accessible or in print, and in decent presentation. I'm simply always happy to read more Tezuka.