Reviews and Comments

We are introduced to Katai, who while causing a lot of chaos, ends up being a great mirror for Komi and Tadano & just a wholesome character.

Komi visits a cat cafe, plays the Love Game, and buys potato from a street vendor.

It's a low-stakes volume, especially after the Maid Cafe, but seeing everyone relax a bit is great.

It's an absurd slice-of-life manga that puts a tight focus on the mundane daily tasks of keeping house, but through the lens of an impossibly fearsome and driven former Yakuza.

I love the detail put into the minutae, and how much love Tatsu puts into "chores", knowing that is how he protects and provides for his family.

I also love the idea that his joy on living life spreads and helps other Yakuza heal, even by accident.

The bonus manga at the end are great looks into the private lives of the characters, as well.

Coming from the anime & live-action shows, I could not be happier.

Tomie shows a lot of the ideas refined in Uzumaki, and takes a relatively mundane idea like a succubus and twists it as only Ito seems able to.

Tomie is both sympathetic and revolting, and I can't help but wonder what her early life was like, if she ever was human instead of a force of nature. Ito seems to hint at suffering or abuse that informs her motives, but perhaps that's just Tomie playing me?

In reading other reviews, I see how male gaze and misogyny is centered, but I feel like Tomie subverts and foils them to her own end, much like Jennifer in Jennifer's Body.

I expected more from how the book began, but the end fell a bit flat.

It still is good as a talking point for empathy and kindness with younger readers, but it feels like the message struggled to be delivered clearly and fully.

What the fuck did I just read?

Foreboding and incredibly off from the first panel, this work is truly exceptional.

I can not wait to get into his other works and can see why Ito is considered such a huge influence for so many artists.

I guess this was quite the way to get introduced to the TMNT Graphic Novels instead of the early 90s cartoon and the absolutely peerless 1990 film.

The art is absolutely stellar, the colors and lighting are fantastic. The dialogue and subject material are darker and more down-trodden than I had expected, but this apparently tracks with the original graphic novels.

I loved seeing the final epiphany of the Last Ronin written in the notebook. A poignant way to try and set the next generation on the right path and to avoid the suffering that came before.

In the words of Big Panda, sometimes words are not adequate for all things.

The art is gorgeous, the lessons bite-sized and easy to understand, but the whole is so profound and healing.

Can not recommend sitting with this in a quiet moment enough.

In this volume we get introduced to Onemine and Otori, both of whom befriend Komi by the end.

The focal point of this book is the Itan Culture Festival, which is a huge turning point in the relationship between Tadano and Komi, with some help from Onemine.

Bonus comics are excellent, and the anime missed the entire ramen shop subplot which shows us how intensely Agari takes her food, which is a shame.

Inaka gets introduced, and just as quickly swept aside due to her timid character.

We see the Sports Festival, and how the anime toned-down some of the more questionable/inappropriate oogling of older male staff to the students.

It ends with the photobooth, which is a warm moment for all.

This seems to be the first time I note a significant difference between the manga and anime, and the anime made the right call here.

This volume exposes a bit of the corrupt culture built around the Hero Association as well as the difficulties of having a name/face in the public's mind.

We see some cool short fights, but overall feels a bit thin on interesting developments.

We are introduced to two Saitama rivals, Snek and Sonic, and get a bit more of a look into Hero Association operations.

Not much by way of commentary on social or mental health in this volume, but we do get more of Saitama's early history.