Clik here to view.
Review: SHAOLIN SISTERS
Our final review for the month is not just a celebration of sisterhood but also a return to a series I reviewed six years ago.SHAOLIN SISTERS ( Fuun San Shimai Lin3 ), by Narumi Kakinouchi. First...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It's Holiday Review Time!
As we head into another December, it's time once more for another round of Holiday Reviews at The Manga Test Drive. That means 25 days of reviews starting on December 1st, covering some of the best...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #1: TEPPU!
It's time for another round of Holiday Reviews and we're start this year off much in the same way that we ended the last one: with a review of a manga that had been requested so often and for so long...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #2: AKANE-BANASHI
Of course, Viz's domination of the shonen manga scene via Weekly Shonen Jump continued as always. There's been a handful of promising new series to emerge this year, but this one was by far one of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #3: DAEMONS OF THE SHADOW REALM
This year saw the return of many a mangaka who haven't had a new series on shelves for a number of years. Hiromu Arakawa hasn't been away as long as some, but anytime a new series of hers comes out I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #4: DON'T CALL IT MYSTERY
Meanwhile, Yumi Tamura is a notable shojo mangaka who hasn't had a work released here in two decades. Seven Seas managed to pick up her latest and most acclaimed work to date this year.DON'T CALL IT...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #5: RIVER'S EDGE
We haven't seen a new Kyoko Okuzaki work in English in well over a decade, back in the glory days of Vertical. Naturally, when Kodansha put out a new one I had to check it out.RIVER'S EDGE (Ribazu...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #6: I DON'T KNOW WHICH IS LOVE
OK, that's enough heavy stuff. We need to move on to something lighter, something more frivolous, and something much, much gayer.I DON'T KNOW WHICH IS LOVE (Dore ga Koi ka ga Wakaranai), by Tamamushi...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #7: A HERO IN THE DEMON'S CASTLE
This year was a good one for Denpa Books and the same is true for their BL imprint Kuma. It was sincerely hard for me to choose whether to talk about this one or Harada's Happy Crappy Life, but I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #8: THE SCENE OF MY RUMSPRINGA
I generally don't keep up with a lot of digital-exclusive BL if simply because there are so many companies and services offering it that it's nigh-impossible to keep up with everything that gets...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #9: IS LOVE THE ANSWER?
We've had plenty of manga discussing the realities of being gay, lesbian, trans, and genderqueer, so it's only fair to see some manga on asexuality as well.IS LOVE THE ANSWER? (Kimi no Sekai ni Koi wa...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #10: LIFE WITH AN ORDINARY GUY WHO REINCARNATED INTO A TOTAL...
Once again, one of the best queer romance manga I read this year was also an isekai, although this one is not quite as purposeful as the last one.LIFE WITH AN ORDINARY GUY WHO REINCARNATED INTO A TOTAL...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #11: REBORN AS A VENDING MACHINE, I NOW WANDER THE DUNGEON
As the isekai fantasy genre goes on, it gets harder to come up with truly original ideas. To do so, creators have to get increasingly weird and specific with what their protagonist gets reincarnated...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #12: THE GREAT CLERIC
Don't worry - there were plenty of lazy, boring isekai manga released this year as well. The only notable thing about this one is its publisher.THE GREAT CLERIC (Seija Muso), based on the light...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #13: LADY ROSE JUST WANTS TO BE A COMMONER
There were more otome-inspired isekai books (with or without explicit villainesses) than ever this year. This is just one of many titles J-Novel Club added to their library this year.LADY ROSE JUST...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #14: MAIDEN OF THE NEEDLE
There's all sort of female-led fantasy stories to choose from these days, isekai or otherwise. Sadly they can't all be good, though. MAIDEN OF THE NEEDLE (Hariko no Otome), based on the light novels...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #15: WOLF GIRL AND BLACK PRINCE
I cannot believe that Viz, with all that WSJ money at their disposal and so many shojo titles under their umbrella to choose from, decided to spend their resources on digging up this twelve-year-old...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #16: THE SHIUNJI FAMILY CHILDREN
As if that last review wasn't enough to make you question if The Straights Are Alright, here comes Rent-A-Girlfriend creator Reiji Miyajima to dredge up something else that should have stayed in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #17: MY SECRET AFFECTION
Of course, I can't talk about bad romance manga from 2023 without talking about the one that became a meme onto itself when it was licensed.MY SECRET AFFECTION (Kiminokotoga Sukideienai), by Fumi...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Review #18: NINA THE STARRY BRIDE
Ok, I need to talk about a manga that isn't twisted, clumsy, or just plain bad. For once, Kodansha is here to help me out with a shojo series that just made the jump from digital to print this...
View Article