i_llumi's reviews
215 reviews

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

oooohh yeah this is 🤌🤌 some interesting discussions have already risen (how to rate/see art, university entrance exam systems, crossdressing, homophobia, what makes a painting great, etc etc) and the characters are taking much better shape! I unfortunately only own the first 2 volumes so I will have to read the remaining ones digitally - which is a shame because the art is so pretty :(

anyhow, great volume once again!!

ブルーピリオド 1 by 山口つばさ

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informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

YOASOBI’s 『群青』(Gunjou) suddenly makes a lot more sense

characters: 8.5/10. obviously there’s not a ton of development in this first volume but there’s definitely a lot of potential as the characters don’t seem to follow overused stereotypes. Yatora’s friends though…. i love them
atmosphere: 10/10. even in b&w I could feel the paintings and sceneries. the sunrise in Shibuya, the school classrooms filled with the smell of oil paint…
writing: 8/10. (one thing that caught me by surprise was that there were no kana for the kanjis so I had to rely on the dictionary to figure out some mysterious ideograms). the info dumpy bits were really easy to follow and the dialogues felt natural, I guess
plot: 8/10. was a good introduction to the series and conflicts
intrigue: 9/10. pretty self-explanatory, i was…. intrigued……..
logic: 6/10.
I thought that the parents would be harsher given Yatori’s descriptions (but they were so sweet), and I didn’t think that Mori senpai would pass??
there weren’t any eye-roll-worthy contradictions or Very Questionable Things That Happened For The Sake of Plot but there was the standard amount of ‘oh ok let’s just accept that’
enjoyment: 9/10. fun, informative, exciting! i’m curious to see where this story takes us!

先輩早朝の渋谷の景色って見たことあります？渋谷なんだけどその。。。静かで青いんすよ。

「頑張れない子は好きなことがない子でしたよ」

だったら天才と見分けがつかなくなるまでやればいい

東京卍リベンジャーズ 1 by 和久井健

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funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

the concept is not the most original (even in anime/manga it’s kinda overdone - Erased, Your Name, Steins;Gate etc all have time travel), but so far Tokyo Revengers matches time travel with the mafia/gang trope which IS pretty cool. the art is really good, and the dialogue flows nicely. I will definitely keep reading this series :)

also also i love Tachibana, such a queen omg

Content Warnings

８６―エイティシックス―Ep.2 ―ラン・スルー・ザ・バトルフロント―〈上〉 by Asato Asato

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

…. yeah, i liked the first volume more.
not much happened in this one, but i suppose that’s ok because this is the 上 volume. hopefully the 下 is better :’)

i’m also curious to see how the anime adaptation for this part is going to be, because imo there’s not a lot of exciting things going on here

nonetheless, it was still enjoyable and although not the ‘hypest’ thing, it was definitely necessary to expand the world and thicken the plot.

lastly.

dude i missed Lena so much!!!!!! i hadn’t realized how attached i grew to her until reading this volume hshdjsjd

Content Warnings

86 ―エイティシックス― by Asato Asato

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I'm honestly a bit confused about some of the plot elements and events, and I'm just generally not super satisfied with most of the characters BUT I do think that this is a pretty interesting concept and I will definitely keep reading this series because,, oof. there's a lot coming
there were, well, pretty overused tropes and themes (Kind But Mysterious Young Prodigy With Dark Past, FREEDOM, Young Female Innocent Ojyousama, etc) which did distract me a bit but. I guess stories have to start somewhere.

ps: this was my first light novel ever!!! in case anyone plans on reading this in japanese/just wants to read something entertaining with some depth that's not Classic Japanese Literature, i 100% would recommend this!! almost all of the kanjis had kana, and i found the writing quite accessible and easy to follow. the military terms + all the katakana (Juggernaut? Amaze? the names?) did take a while to get used to, but once that initial barrier was conquered the reading flowed nicely.

overall, i'm excited to see where the story is heading towards and i can't wait to get more of the characters' interactions (and deaths!!!!! i want to cry and despair!!!!!!!!!!!!)

update! i just finished the anime and damn A-1 knows what they are doing. the adaptation is so good! i'll start reading the second volume right away, can't wait for season 2 \o/

FUCKIN' GLORY TO THE SPEARHEAD SQUADRON!

update april 2022: i just cited this franchise in an essay about information in the battlefield so um. hopefully i get a good grade

Content Warnings

トロッコ by 芥川龍之介

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I feel like I just read something really deep but that didn't get through my dumb brain

遠まわりする雛 by 米澤穂信

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

where do I even begin.
I thought I was going to struggle to rate this before reading it. the last 3 books were really good but still not the absolute best 5/5 rating. but this one? oh my god this book is pure joy and love.
this tiny world of Kamiyama City, these 4 characters in an unknown club in their high school solving little mysteries mean so much to me.

I read the last 2 stories in school, in my class of 40 people and it was just so hard not to have a fucking mental breakdown reading them. the way these stories are told, the way these characters are so lovable and multi-faceted, the way they make you so emotional without a single death or the End of the World Approaching,,, dude, I felt so alive experiencing them.