Japanese reading report

This week I really wanted to get back in the groove and set an non-negotiable goal of seven volumes of manga. Ended up having to read two in a row tonight after getting home and it’s after midnight, but hey, it counts as the same day as long as you don’t go to bed first.

So first up I read vol. 4-7 of ホリミヤ. Was planning to finish the series before I read anything else but ultimately had to take a break. There’s a lot I like about this series but also some really exhausting stuff. Hori in particular is just kind of awful a lot of the time? She’s selfish and controlling and there were times where I felt actually kind of uncomfortable with the way she was behaving. I don’t really remember much about the anime so hopefully she’ll get over it. In contrast I feel like Remi is surprisingly mature despite her first impression. I hope she gets some more focus in the near future (plus best girl Sakura; the cooking class chapter was great).

Next I read ヨコハマ買い出し紀行 vol. 6 and 7. These always go by so fast if I don’t slow myself down and let the art soak in. I’ve started noticing that the younger characters have gotten noticeably older recently and I really like how it portrays the passage of time. The famed もののあわれ has started to ramp up and it’s hard to describe exactly how it makes me feel. Definitely need to finish this one off soon.

I watched some anime throughout the week; one more episode of re:zero s2, three episodes of ヴァニタスの手記, two episodes of 東京24区. Re:zero was a wild toal rollercoaster but it ended up being quite touching in the end. I literally have never once thought about Subaru’s pre-isekai days but they managed to fit a lot of character development into just one episode. 東京24区 is still kind of all over the place. ヴァニタスの手記 is still great but they’re running out of manga and episodes so we’re getting into nail-biting territory on three different fronts.

Tonight, for my last manga of the week, I read 光が死んだ夏 vol. 1. The cover caught my eye and I knew I had to read it after flipping through the first few pages. Now that I’ve finished it, I would strongly recommend anyone reading this to give it a try. It’s hard to describe it without giving away what makes it interesting but there were many moments that really messed with me and it really play to the strengths of its medium. Anxiously awaiting the next volume (it just came out this month so I’m sure I’ll be waiting for a while.