Yona, Mistress, Dark is Rising 4, Emperor Was Divine, Sherlock Bones, Noragami, and Ooku

[badtzphoto]

• Anime: All watching on CrunchyRoll
  
  1. Akatsuki No Yona - Epi 19
     - The pirate arc and Green dragon continues.
     - Yona is tested.
     - Ao is just too cute for words.
     - Battle is next.
• Chapter Book:
  
  1. The Dark is Rising, book 4: The Gray King by Susan Cooper
     - Borrowed from apl, overdrive
     - Read by Richard Mitchley
     - Will is back.
     - I learnt how to pronounce ll - yay!!!
     - Gwen = Guinevere, The Gray King is the black boy and son of King Arthur.
     - I read one review that both the Dark and the Light are doing similar bad things.
  2. When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
     - Borrowed from bpl
     - Read by Elaina Erika Davis
     - Story about a Japanese family during WWII. The father was arrested early and put in a different camp than the mother and the daughter and the son. They didn't have a name. I guess it could happen to anyone. They lived in Berkeley CA, and was put in a camp in Utah for 2-3 years until the war was ended. When they came back to their own home, their lives were lost. Neighbors, friends no more, not because they moved away, people just didn't acknowledge them.
     - It was a sad story. The father came back a few months after them, but he wasn't the same. Couldn't get a job.
  3. Mistress Series, Book 2. No Man's Mistress. by Mary Balogh
     - Borrowed from bpl
     - Read by Rosalyn Landor
     - Ferdinand seems a bit pompous to me.
     - It's book 2 of a trilogy. I'm curious about Ferdinand's siblings' stories, so I'll read the other 2.
• Manga:
  
  1. Sherlock Bones 3-7 by Yuma Ando and Yuki Sato
     - Borrowed from apl
     - Interesting read, I found it a bit repetitive, I guess because I read all books during a couple days. Maybe they read better spreading around.
     - Translator's notes are bonus, but I don't think I'll miss much without it. It's icy on a cake :)
  2. Noragami 2 by Adachitoka
     - Borrowed from apl
     - Yukine is trouble!
     - Fun read, new characters arrive, most are trouble.
     - I'm glad to see Tomone/Mayu is back.
  3. Ooku 10 by Fumi Yoshinaga
     - Borrowed from ill
     - Power struggle intrigue. Revenge. Interesting but sad book. The things people would do when angered.
     - at the end, the shogunate run by women ended, new era started. My feelings is the same as the character who's crying in the rain!
     - They did it for power and not the common good. Kill all in their way.
     - I think all the characters on the covers are dead/killed in this book.
  4. The Boys Over Flowers Season 2 chapter 1 by Yoko Kamio
     - Chapter 1 is available on Viz manga website: here
     - New characters are introduced. "Correct 5" tried to keep the standard in school, so they serve "resign" letter to students whose parents aren't doing well financially.
     - The leader has weak points and is blackmailed by the main girl.

Loots from Kino yesterday, I went there taking advantage of the sales. Unfortunately, I didn't find any Jan releases of Hakusensha, so here are some that I picked up:
1. 世界の終わりのはじまりに - Sekai no Owari no Hajimari ni standalone by Kei Tanaka. It's a collection of stories about zombies (apocalyptic) - not my cup of tea! It's up for grab if anyone is interested (MU).
2. アシガール - Ashi Girl 1-4 by MORIMOTO Kozueko, the author of Gokusen. A story about a girl whose brother invented a time travel machine, she went back to the shogunate and met with one of the famous historical character (I don't know his name), very nice art. (MU).
3. ホイクメン! - Hoikumen! standalone by Rinko UEDA, the author of Tail of the moon. It's about a businessman who had to run a daycare center, cute kids and beautiful art. (MU). I'm hoping that her other story (2 volumes) get licensed!
4. アシガール - Kenjutsu Komachi standalone by KOMURA Ayumi, the author of Mix Vegetable. A time travel story, somewhat tragic since I saw people get killed but I didn't understand why! (MU). Lots of flowing long hair and flowing kimonos.
5. 田舎の結婚 - Inaka no Kekkon 1 standalone by KARASAWA Chiaki. As "Wedding" in the title, each chapter is ended with a wedding and I'm not sure if the characters are related to one another or even live in the same village. A rural story and farming. It's book 1, so I assume it's a series. The art is pleasant and the characters seem nice. (MU).