Reading Report: 07 July 2024

ヴァンピアーズ

With my latest novel complete I returned to some manga this week. I finished off A Lollypop or A Bullet and 夏へのトンネル、さよならの出口. I also started ヴァンピアーズ and continued to watch Gundam SEED.

砂糖菓子の弾丸は撃ちぬけない (下) A Lollypop or A Bullet

This is part 2 of a 2-part manga about the strained friendship of two girls in a small country town. My memory of part 1 wasn't super fresh since it had been a while since reading it, but thankfully my memory was rekindled as characters were reintroduced and past scenes were referenced. The relationship between 海野藻屑（うみの・もくず）and 山田なぎさ（やまだ・なぎさ）was fairly interesting, though a lot of it took place inside なぎさ's head. Unfortunately it's not very difficult to detect manga that was formerly a novel/vn when the manga makes no attempt to externalise the narration somewhat, and this manga was particularly weak to it. I wasn't very satisfied by the ending. It felt like once １０月３日 came it was over in a rush.

ヴァンピアーズ

A new manga for me. This was recommended by a number of people so I decided to give it a try. The writing is just okay. It's a romantic comedy with a bunch of overly-horny vampires and one human girl at the centre of it all. The art is really amazing, though, and there have been a few instances of visual expression that really intrigued me. It's clear that the author (アキリ) is very creative and savvy within the format.
I think I'm coming to realise I'm not really a romance reader. Romance by itself doesn't really draw me in. I like love and lust within stories that have something else going on (see ヒメゴト～十九歳の制服～) but it's been a little bit of a let down that every moment of tension has been immediately dispelled within a chapter or two.
I've decided to keep reading on, however, because the series is only 9 volumes and I like it enough to keep going.

夏へのトンネル、さよならの出口

I finally went back and finished this series. Volume 3 was kind of nothing but volume 4 was pretty good. The twists and turns were just about what I expected from the start but it was handled pretty well. I especially enjoyed 塔野's letter for 花城. The very end felt a little bit odd, and almost like it could be the setup for a different story entirely but I don't really mind much since it was over pretty quickly.

機動戦士ガンダムＳＥＥＤ

Continuing this series steadily. I'm still unsure how to feel about SEED. It's simultaneously providing all the nutrients I need for a Gundam series (serviceable mech fights, political drama blending with personal drama, "everyone sucks" energy) but it also feels a little bit colour-by-numbers in a way that makes me feel guilty for even enjoying it. Some character actions feel totally unjustifiable (not to say previous Gundam shows don't have this problem) and so far there isn't a single cool woman in the cast which feels totally foreign to all Gundam properties.
One thing I've found interesting about this show that stands out is Athran's perspective. ZAFT seems pretty evil for all intents and purposes but it's clear that his intentions are good and he genuinely wants to protect the people in his life. The episode with him and Cagalli on the island was pretty good development for both characters involved, and the back to back episodes with each side losing important members was pretty strong.

嘘つきみーくんと壊れたまーちゃん幸せの背景は不幸

Not much to report about this one but I read about 5 pages while waiting for fireworks this weekend. The very first page felt a bit confusing but like most LNs it sort of righted itself after a page or two.