Tag Archives: comedy

Manga Review: CAT MASSAGE THERAPY Vol. 1 by Haru Hisakawa (2021)

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Genre: Slice-of-life comedy josei
Year Release in English: 2021
Source: BOOK☆WALKER

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Nekoyama decides to go to a massage parlor and discovers that it’s actually run by a cat. His magnificent toe beans leave quite the impression, and eventually the entire neighborhood finds out, including several local offices.

There’s not much to say about this one aside from the fact that it is absolutely adorable. There’s the cat massage manager whose toe beans can be touched on the embossed hard cover. He has three itty bitty kitty trainees who exude warmth and cuteness.

The full-color art is precious, the expressions priceless, and absolutely nothing bad happens to anyone involved. Well, except for when the meowsseur needs to take a vacation due to being overwhelmed by the popularity of in-office visits.

Manga Review: DAI DARK Vol. 3 by Q Hayashida (2021)

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Genre: Science fiction horror comedy shonen
Year Release in English: 2021
Source: BOOK☆WALKER

Reminder: The star rating reflects overall opinion of the series.

See my review of volumes 1 and 2 here. My lord, does this series continue to be grisly fun where not everyone can be trusted as far as you can throw them.

Rating: 5 out of 5.
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Manga Review: AZUMANGA DAIOH Vol. 4 by Kiyohiko Azuma (2004)

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Genre: Slice-of-Life Comedy
Year Release in English: 2004
Source: Borrowed from Friends

Rating: 4 out of 5.

In the final volume of Azumanga Daioh, the threads and character development of the previous three come together. We get one last school trip, final exams, and finally, graduation. I did not expect to find myself having so many emotions about graduation, but there I was.

The comedic timing and pacing throughout comes from ridiculous puns and slap-stick style comedy. The way Azuma pulls in jokes from the previous entries. Seeing the students with the teachers provided some of the best overlaps in how little sense both the adults and kids have. The arc with Sakaki gets a resolution and we get more dream sequences.

Overall, an enjoyable slice-of-life that touches on the innocence of school life with a light tone and funny situations.

Review: SOLUTIONS AND OTHER PROBLEMS by Allie Brosh (2020)

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Genre: Non-fiction Graphic Novel
Year Release: 2020
Source: Borrowed from Friends

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Content warning: suicide, cancer (human and dog), hospitalization, mental illness, divorce, chronic illness.

I read the first book and immediately started the second. I genuinely feel a bit bad for people who waited seven years between volumes.

This book is equal parts humor and emotional devastation, as Brosh recounts what had transpired in her life between the time of the first book’s publishing. There’s a lot about mortality and the strangeness of children and their relationship with each other. Oh, and quite a bit of nihilism.

Still charming with a very noticeable improvement in the art, this collection of stories and essays touches on much heavier topics with the same quirkiness that endeared readers to Brosh’s work to begin with.

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Review: HYPERBOLE AND A HALF: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh (2013)

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Genre: Non-fiction Graphic Novel
Year Release: 2013
Source: Borrowed from Friends

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Content warning: use of the “r” slur to refer to the diminished intelligence of a dog

I had read some of Allie Brosh’s blog posts around a decade ago, so this blog-in-novel form has been on my radar for almost a decade. My friends lent me a bunch of things and I’m in the process of reading them all before I leave for Texas at the end of the month.

This frank and funny collection of stories and anecdotes made for quick, easy reading, and I’m definitely looking forward to the recently-released sequel.

The art is not “beautiful” in any sense of the word. But the quirky illustrations and hand-written dialogues are charming. The long form writing cannot be replaced by the images nor do the images serve as a kind of caption for the words to come. It’s really effective and the humor worked for me, for the most part.

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Manga Review: DAI DARK Vol. 1-2 by Q Hayashida (2021)

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Genre: Science fiction horror comedy shonen
Year Release in English: 2021
Source: BOOK☆WALKER

Reminder: The star rating reflects overall opinion of the series.

In short, perfect for fans trying to fill in the space skeleton dark fantasy horror void while waiting for any news about Alecto the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

Rating: 5 out of 5.
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Manga Review: AZUMANGA DAIOH Vol. 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma (2003)

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Genre: Slice-of-Life Comedy
Year Release in English: 2003
Source: Borrowed from Friends

Rating: 4 out of 5.

One of the essential slice-of-life manga, I came into Azumanga Daioh by way of Pop Team Epic. Unlike Pop Team Epic, this manga is grounded in the experience of five high school girls and their two teachers, which things only being absurd enough to exagerate reality.

The entire cast is so charming, and so, so, so useless. Except for maybe Chiyo, but she’s ten years old and in high school, so make of that what you will. Everyone has their strengths, but its their weaknesses and differences where the humor really comes forth. Sasaki can’t make friends with cats, Osaka is the transfer student and that’s not even her real name.

The two teachers are a sapphic delight. Casually going on dates together, insisting on driving together, showing up at each other’s homes. It’s sweet and subtle, but fits right in with the other shenanigans going on around. I really liked the beach episode and that time they tried to adopt a kitten, and it just wasn’t having it.

Can’t wait to see what comes next.