Greetings fellow kool geeks! ^_^
I have a new segment I want to start as one of my posts on here each month. I love reading manga, but as I have gotten older, it gets harder to find the time and when I do, I get tired. Old age, lol! Yet, my love for it will always be alive, ablaze in my heart. Books-A-Million (BAM) had a manga sale a year ago: buy 2, get 1 free. My friend Sarah and I had a girls day, drove to one two hours away and had a great time. I think I bought 12 mangas, ha! And most of them were the first volumes of new series. They are in a special box in my office, and have been waiting patiently.
Well, their time has come!
So, in my monthly segment, I am going to share basic information and my thoughts on the first volume of the selected series and if I feel I will continue it.
Also, do you like all the Ms in the title?! 😉
Enjoy and happy reading!
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Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible
Manga-ka: Nene Yukimori
Translated by: Viz Manga- Shonen Jump
Rating: 16+ (although there is only one little section that is slightly mature,)
Genre: School Life Comedy/Romance
Cover Price: $9.99
Blurb:
Morgan’s Musings: “I suppose as a shy person, an extrovert investing a friendship or romance in an introvert is relatable to me. In the last 5-8 years, I have seen a good number of anime involving students with extreme almost ‘abilities’ for their oddness: ‘Tanaka-kun is always Listless,’ ‘Haven’t you Heard; I’m Sakamoto,’ and others. They are simple stories, easy to inhale and enjoy. They aren’t revolutionary, but extraordinary by taking the ordinary we know but adding a little fun twist.
This story follows that genre and pacing. Junta Shiraishi is a shy boy and takes the term; ‘being invisible,’ almost literally. Teachers do not notice him when he is there, people sit on him on accident all the time, and even automatic doors do not detect him! No one sees him so he figured he is an NPC or background character to his own life story. Yet, he has one person who sees him, the lovely social butterfly Kobo. She thinks the fact people cannot see him amusing and finds ways in most chapters to entertain herself with these opportunities/embarrassing him. To be honest, I was a bit afraid this would be a story where the girl was acting like she liked our lead but was bullying him and the story labeled it as romantic. I have seen this in series a few times and am not a fan of that. But, already around the end of the first volume (no spoilers) we see although she teases him, she also is helping him grow to be the lead of his life and you can tell she cares about him.
The chapters were short. There are 10 in one volume when most manga have 4-5 and also three mini bonus stories. And it is only 162 pages. It was a quick read and flowed well. It is 16+, but at least in this first volume, there was only one scene where he is going to peek inside a…basically a playboy magazine at the store, but he gets caught and flustered (by Kobo’s older sister, who works there, which is funny.) You do not see anything either. LOL! This manga is a good price. It is hard to find manga for $10 anymore! And Shonen Jump and Viz is a classic translation company.”
Will I Continue?: “There is a good chance I may, but I did just find out it has an anime that recently came out. It is in Japanese and subtitled. Hopefully, it is on CrunchyRoll. Although I love manga, if a longer manga series (this one has 11 volumes so far and is still going) and has an anime, that is what I go towards.”
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Keep Reading and Encouraging! Stay geeky! 🙂
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Educator of young minds by day, super nerdy savior of justice, and cute things by night, Morgan Straughan Comnick has a love for turning the normal into something special without losing its essence. Morgan draws from real-life experiences and her ongoing imagination to spark her writing. In her spare time, she enjoys doing goofy voices, traveling to new worlds by turning pages, humming child-like songs, and forcing people to smile with her “bubbliness.” It is Morgan’s mission in life to spread the amazement of otaku/Japanese culture to the world and to stop bullying; she knows everyone shines brightly.
For more information about Morgan and her works, check out her website, which also has links to all her social medias: http://morganscomnick.com
