I can’t believe I haven’t made a post here in almost a week! Oh, life. So, those who follow me on Twitter will know that I spent last evening hurriedly writing a review, which is not something I was certain I could do. Usually I read a book, think about it for three days, and only then can I even begin to put down any kind of words about it. Last night I attempted to read and review in the same evening. And here is the result! Volume six of Totally Captivated, reviewed at Manga Recon. This is a Korean boys’ love manhwa (published by NETCOMICS) which I enjoyed quite a bit, particularly in its final volume. It’s got a somewhat ridiculous premise, but the characters are extremely well-written and it provides the kind of emotional complexity I love best.

It’s worth noting, too, that I experienced almost none of the readability issues with Totally Captivated at NETCOMICS that I had with Let Dai, which leads me to believe that Let Dai was a victim of particularly poor scanning or reproduction that may even reflect issues with the print volumes.

Speaking of BL manhwa, I also recently read NETCOMIC’s U Don’t Know Me which, despite its weird netspeak title, is actually a really nice BL one-shot. Michelle reviewed it in yesterday’s Manga Minis, and I don’t have much to say that she didn’t, though I am slightly disappointed that it falls into the same old habit of basically ignoring the characters’ sexuality aside from their feelings for each other. I know that it plays into a lot of women’s fantasies to make a couple of guys gay only for each other (rather than gay in general), but it’s also offensive on a lot of levels, and I wish BL authors would stop pandering to that. That said, it’s a very nice story with fantastic characters and a warm, delicate feel, so I’d second Michelle’s recommendation.

Speaking of recommendations, one more link before I go, to Ed Sizemore’s detailed, thoughtful, and all-around awesome write-up of the first twenty volumes of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles at Comics Worth Reading. I love this series, and he writes beautifully about it. Go read!

I’ve been a bit stressed and over-taxed lately, and I keep sitting down to try to write something vaguely intelligent about manga for this blog, but as I’ve been pretty wrapped up in Nana lately, everything seems to come out as, “Ode to Nobu.” Heh. This is why I don’t write reviews. I can write passionately about certain aspects of a manga, but I fail at well-rounded, critical writing.

In lieu of brilliant reviews or scintillating commentary, I instead offer up a photo of my husband’s (early) birthday present. It will slay you all with its cuteness and make you forget what this entry sorely lacks.

Her name is Kino.

This also does not amount to “scintillating commentary,” but I guess I will talk a moment about Tsubasa chapter 201 and xxxHolic chapter 167 since they are receiving a sound thrashing in most corners of the internet I frequent, and I’m a bit perplexed about that.

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