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This had some cool art (both light gore and minor ecchi), but there was overall little substance to the story. I think this would have been much better served with some more time to develop its plot and have a slower revelation of the killer, the circus disease, and the "soul weapons".

About three-quarters of the oneshot were discussing the mystery of the murders happening in the city, but the explanation and resolution of how the killer could use invisible weapons was rushed. Kusakabe's transition seemed to be hinted at with a brief panel showing her background at the circus, but her killer persona seemed ... VERY random and resulted in a quasi-nonsensical conclusion where the protagonist suddenly became infected with the circus disease and Kusakabe possibly died?

Overall, a short read if you're looking for some horror, but certainly not worth reading except to long-time genre fans.

If you are looking for a brooding loner, a bubbly (but apparently sad) girl, and extremely mild romance, look no further.

Story, 5: As with most music manga, this could likely have been elevated with some sort of sound accompaniment. Both of the leads are stated to have great musical talent, but obviously readers are not able to verify this themselves. There are very brief, almost throwaway lines, that there may be something deeper to their songwriting motivations (Yukiya abandoning music because his couldn't compare, Souda wanting to write sad songs despite her upbeat hits maintaing her career, etc.), but this is ultimately too short of ... a read to expand on those further.

Art, 7: Probably the main appeal would be the nice character designs for the leads. The background art is fairly standard but pleasant.

Characters, 5: As hinted in previous sections, I found the characters painfully generic. Yukiya has to rely on Souda to get him into songwriting again, while Souda seems all too perfect despite her insistence that she apparently is gloomy on the inside (which is never shown or discussed at all). The few supporting characters are basically nonexistent and aren't really worth mentioning here.

Enjoyment, 5: This is the perfectly average oneshot. I didn't dislike it per se, but I can see myself very swiftly forgetting about it within a week. There is some appeal for romance fans but I think there are stronger oneshots out there for romance or music stories.

Overall, 5: Only read this if you are looking for a short and bland read with a dash of romance. Otherwise, check out Full Moon wa Sagashite for a good (but longer) romance and music title.

I'll get right to the point: this is four pages long with almost no plot to speak of. It serves up a decent amount of fanservice for Ito Junji fans using his typical story structure (family member discovers something suspicious with Souichi, shock reveal, etc.) and some recurring characters (Souichi and Tomie), but it's so short I can't recommend it unless you need to kill 30 seconds.

As this review is currently too short, I will recommend some longer titles from Ito Junji's catalogue that fans may enjoy more:
- Ito Junji Kyoufu Manga Collection: Ijimetsu Musume
- Tomie
- Gyo
- Uzumaki
- Black Paradox
- Ito Junji Kyoufu Manga Collection: ... Souichi no Tanoshii Nikki

Delivering a heartfelt (if a bit cliché) story in only 34 pages, Kataude no Amy is a quick read worth the read.

The story focuses on a living doll named Amy and her life with her father. The story is told in first-person from her perspective, so he received the vast majority of the character development, though several side characters received minor attention. I had hoped for a more detailed depiction of one certain character that appears near the end of the title, but given its short length, this can mostly be forgiven.

The art was cute and fairly standard, with the highlight being Amy's expressions. Overall, ... I enjoyed this for concisely delivering its story and would recommend to fans of short and sweet one-shots.

Filled with stellar artwork and a story that weaves between cosmic mythos, religious iconography and classic horror, this is Ito Junji with some of his best work in recent years.

Story, 6: The volume is roughly tied together through the presence of Tsuchiyado Wataru, a journalist seeking information on the mysterious appearance of a golden-haired woman named Byakuya Kyouka. However, the first four chapters roughly felt like one-shots due to their relatively disconnected nature. Each explored a disturbing facet of the lore behind Byakuya Kyouka's appearance and the eruptions at Mount Sengoku. Though I enjoyed them for the most part and the conclusion was mostly ... satisfying, some of the reveals weren't handled particularly well and tarnished my enjoyment a bit.

Art, 9: There are genuinely gruesome pieces here, particularly in Chapter 3: Hypnotherapy and Chapter 4: The Insects of Bishakeura. Highly recommended for fans of body horror.

Characters, 6: Byakuya Kyouka seems much like a blonde version of Tomie from Ito's other works, though with a comparatively lighthearted tone. Men become obsessed with her and tap into their divinity. Many of the characters felt undeveloped outside of their operations as plot devices, but the scope of the story was galactic so this can mostly be forgiven.

Enjoyment, 7: Despite my grievances with some of the plot developments and characters, I still enjoyed this title quite a bit, as the sci-fi nature of the story is fairly uncommon in other Ito Junji works. Great art as well.

Overall, 7: Fans of Ito's other works will likely enjoy this, as well as fans of his specific title Black Paradox. The stories are dissimilar but encompass relatively similar themes.

Mod Edit: This review was original posted for Love Letter and has subsequently been merged into Kin no Hitsuji.


What if, before we were born, we all had a chance to choose our mothers?

This short and sweet one-shot relates the tale of one soul who does his best to make his mother happy, regardless of the circumstances.

Story, 6: There are definitely some rather cliche tearjerking moments in the story, but I enjoyed the premise and thought the different avenues of life both the soul and the mother follow were touching.

Art, 7: There were some particularly nice panels featuring the characters crying, and the rest ... of the one-shot was fairly standard.

Characters, 6: The young soul's obsession with his mother doesn't make much sense to an adult reader, but if one were to try to put themselves in the mindset of a child with utter reverence for their mother, I think his motivations become more clear. The side characters in heaven felt distinct, but I was fairly underwhelmed with the mother (there were moments of development but she had a notable lack of screentime and fairly generic tragic plotline).

Enjoyment, 7: It was a quick read with some touching moments and, again, I enjoyed the intriguing premise.

Overall, 6: My major qualms were with the cliche story beats, but I would nonetheless recommend this for fans of sentimental titles or those that also find the idea of choosing one's mother interesting.

This is the tale of a boy scorned by nearly every living creature imaginable.

Story, 6: A grim start that permeates the rest of the title. While there are glimpses of hope, the story is generally bleak and not for the faint of heart.

Art, 7: There are some grotesque body horror pieces, particularly using insect imagery, so those are worthy of note. The gore pages were sufficient.

Characters, 5: A one-note cast with few redeemable qualities; even the protagonist doesn't seem to have much depth outside of the early pages.

Enjoyment, 5: It was a short, one volume read but I don't feel like it was particularly ... exciting or evocative.

Overall, 5: While this may be a decent title to check out for fans of older/horror manga, I think there are certainly others that deserve a look first.

Sayo Yamomoto, now somewhat well-known for her more recent show, Yuri on Ice, had her directorial debut with Michiko to Hatchin. After her infatuation with Latin American film and a trip to Brazil, she unleashed her creativity with a show about an escaped convict trying to reunite a gangster's daughter with her mysterious father. While there is an overarching plot, many episodes are spent in an unrelated locale, developing the characters and the setting and allowing the show to truly feel alive.

The art is stunning, both with its fluid animation and color composition (particularly in the OP). Action scenes are well-choreographed, and backgrounds suit each ... episode well. The characters consistently change outfits (sometimes multiple times in a single episode), again helping the show feel true to life.

The OST of this show is top-notch, blending club bangers like "Papo Cafajeste" with mellow, bossa tunes like "Ritmo suado" seamlessly. The OP is jazzy and colorful, the ED a feel-good tune to soothe the viewer after any particularly emotional episodes. In addition, the voice actors made each character feel alive, helped in large part by enlisting live-action actors (Ohgo Suzuka for Hatchin, Sakai Maki for Atsuko, etc.)

Every character served a purpose, whether it be for the development of the main cast or simply to inject yet another dose of realism into the show. Any character shown on-screen is unique and has their own moral dilemmas and motivations, but the viewer is often left to interpret these for themselves, a nice touch.

I haven't enjoyed a show as much as this in actual years, anime or otherwise. The strong female cast, the unorthodox setting (for an anime), the stellar script-writing from Ujita Takashi, it all coalesces into a near-perfect show. I have extremely minor qualms with it (namely deus ex machina that occurred several times), but I'm willing to overlook these in sense of the larger focus on the cast and their journey.

TL;DR: Highly recommended to fans of compelling female casts, Sayo Yamomoto, and loosely episodic series (a la Samurai Champloo)

This title contains a three chapter story, "Because You Keep Smiling" and two one-shots, "At the Beginning and End of Love" and "You, the Firefly (Hotaru no Kimi). I reread the volume to write this review and keep the stories fresh in my mind. VERY MINOR SPOILERS may be included below, but without further ado.

"Because You Keep Smiling": Despite its clichéd premise, this manages to evoke powerful emotions in three short chapters. Only the two leads are really developed with any depth, but their relationship is cute and I thought the ending was tasteful. Probably the strongest story included in the volume, though that may ... also be because it had more time to develop.

"At the Beginning and End of Love": A story of unrequited love, told from the perspective of a close friend. It deals with some interesting themes (like hoping for a break-up) and concludes in a satisfying manner.

"You, the Firefly (Hotaru no Kimi)": A supernatural romance with a suave firefly spirit. Another touching story with a pleasant ending.

Overall, this is a fairly quick read with a variety of romantic drama to appeal to fans of the genre (or shoujo manga in general). The characters are fairly one-dimensional but they nonetheless manage to convey their feelings and establish themselves as mostly unique in a small number of pages.

What happens to us when we're no longer useful to society? In twenty minutes, Golden Time tells a touching tale of finding new purpose, the value of friendship, personal redemption and the cycle of life.

Story, 7: A TV set is abandoned by its owner in favor of a newer-style and attempts to escape its surroundings. The story is tightly-paced and fleshes out the junkyard as its own world extremely well, all without dialogue (an impressive feat).

Art, 8: A muted, classic style presumably to match our television protagonist's own visuals. The background art is nice and the minor touches to flesh out characters' personalities were appreciated ... (the little hop after the wind-up cat creature is revived, the bucket covering its "mouth" after surprise, etc.)

Sound, 7: A lush, orchestrated soundtrack, but with little variation in tune. The rough, clanging sounds and creaks of the junkyard all fit with the setting well.

Characters, 7: The television has a surprisingly satisfying character arc (which I will refrain from explaining to avoid spoilers), and the other characters are sympathetic, though not as explored as the protagonist.

Enjoyment, 7: I thoroughly appreciated the themes present in the film (namely the cycle of life, which I thought was beautifully executed) and was entertained throughout.

Overall, 7: For only a twenty-minute watch, I would highly recommend this short film. Fans of "The House of Small Cubes" will likely enjoy the animation and similar style of storytelling (this is by the same production company). A satisfying short that deserves more recognition.