Reviews - The Graphic Library

one more step, come stand by my side by toryumon takeda

11/30/2023

Cover of One More Step, Come Stand by my Side. A young princess is in a long white dress and orange vest. Her red hair cascades down her back. She's looking over her shoulder and her mouth is open like she is about to speak to us. The rest of the cover background is solid red.

In this collection of short stories, Takeda explores love and humanity in some non-traditional ways. In the first story, a young princess is captired and blindfolded and forced to sign treaties or make other deals that syphon away her power. the only person who shows her kindness during her captivity is a man with no pinky. During the three months of captivity, she can feel herself falling in love. In another story, a woman comes face to face with her stalker and has an honest conversation with him while they wait for the police. Another story with a historical setting focused on an emperor on his wedding night where he became entangled with an empress-assassin, and how they both found happiness in the end. In another story, explorers think they've found a "treasure" in the jungle, but it's a delicious new fruit instead of gold. But not understanding the native language costs them dearly. A short interlude piece spanning only a few pages focused on a vending machine and the apocalypse. In yet another story, a wife who is dying of cancer makes a difficult choice for her husband so that he might live on easier without her once she's gone.

One piece vol 1 by eiichiro oda

11/28/2023

Cover of One Piece volume 1. Luffy is jumping sort of off the boat with his legs in the air, holding onto his straw hat He's wearing a red vest and blue shorts. Nami is sitting to his right and Zolo is to his left. They're all laughing. Around them are a couple of sea gulls. Behind them is the ocean and a small island in the distance.

On a remote island, young Luffy D. Monkey yearns to become a pirate and sail the known seas. His heroes are a band of pirates who come through his tiny village, but the mayor and other villagers think Luffy’s dream would only bring disgrace to their town. On one fateful visit from Luffy’s favorite pirate gang, Luffy accidentally eats the Devil’s Fruit, which makes him incredibly rubbery but will make him sink to the bottom of the ocean. In some skirmishes between mountain bandits and the pirates, Luffy learns that physical strength is not the only tool for a pirate. In reaching adulthood, Luffy sets off from his village to gather a crew and become the best pirate. However, he doesn’t know how to navigate, and he mostly sails along in a tiny dinghy and gets into trouble. In his first adventures, he meets Koby, who was forced to become a cabin boy for a lady pirate, and the pirate hunter Zolo who was captured by the Navy. Over and over, Luffy’s rubbery power and dumb luck gets him out of sticky situations.

Why Raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion vol 2 by milcha

11/26/2023

Cover of Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion volume 2. Noah has Raeliana in his arms. He's wearing a dark black cloak and looking at her with his gold eyes peaking through his black hair. She's in a pink gown and smiling with her light green eyes. Her light brown hair is falling around her and Noah. behind them is a tree with bright green leaves.

Raeliana secures a friendship with a marquis' wife as Duke Noah instructed her to, but no sooner has this task been complete than Raeliana finds herself kidnapped by the terrible Francis Brooks, the fiancé she desperately tried to avoid from volume one because of the ill fate he had in store for her character in this novel to begin with. But of course, Duke Noah saves the day. Now that Raeliana is safe, she believes the contract can be called off, but Noah seems to want to follow through with the fake arrangement for much longer. Her next task is to accompany Noah on a monster hunt and play the part of a doting fiancée while parties of knights traipes off into a harsh winter forest and bring back offerings of dead beasts to lay at ladies' feet. Most of the knights bring back large beasts to offer to Vivian Shamal, the fairest of the ladies, but Noah's party doesn't return on time.

Naruto vol 1 by masashi Kishimoto

11/24/2023

Cover of Naruto volume 1. Naruto is jumping over the title of the book with a sword in his mouth. He has fox tails behind him and he's in an orange ninja suit.

Naruto is a troublesome young ninja-in-training who is trying desperately to pass the exam and graduate from the Ninja Academy in his Village of the Hidden Leaves. His major problem is that he can't seem to master any of the techniques. His goal is to become a Hokage, the leader of all the Ninja in his village, but he doesn't see that his current struggle may make this dream impossible. One night, he gets wrapped up in a plot to steal a sacred scroll. While the scroll is in his care, Naruto manages to master one ninja technique: the Art of the Doppelganger. Naruto, thankfully, doesn't read the rest of the scroll, which also has the secret to what his village did to defeat the Nine-Tailed fox spirit and why everyone in the village seems to hate Naruto.

Demon slayer vol 15 by koyoharu gotouge

11/20/2023

Cover of Demon Slayer volume 15. The Stone Hashira has a chain in one hand and prayer beeds in another. He is crying and his green cape flows around him.

Tanjiro and the crew have prevailed once again but they are in need of some recovery at the Butterfly Mansion, although this time for not as long as before. With the developments at the end of their last battle setting Muzun’s sights on obtaining Nezuko as well as killing Tanjiro, the Demon Slayer Corps is preparing for an all-out fight. That means a strict training regimen with the Hashira and all lower-rank members are put through a rigorous trial with every Hashira. As Tanjiro is still recovering, he tries to connect with Giyu, the Water Hashira, and the only member not participating. We learn why he always seems to separate himself from the other Hashira and why he is disappointed that Tanjiro isn’t keeping up with his Water Breathing.

Like a butterfly vol 1 by suu morishita

11/16/2023

Cover of Like a Butterfly volume 1. Suiren is in her school uniform of a suit jacket and tie. Her long blonde hair falls around her. She has a surprised expression. A butterfly flits above her head.

Suiren is a beautiful, mysterious young girl starting high school and the object of many young men’s crushes. She’s quiet, mysterious, and keeps to herself often. They liken her and nickname her “mysterious flower” because of her beauty and aloofness. One day, shy but tough Kawasumi stands up for her against several bullies, and she finds herself smitten. Kawasumi’s problem mirrors Suiren’s - he doesn’t know how to talk to girls, while Suiren doesn’t know how to talk to boys without sending them into emotional tizzies. The two bounce off each other in various high school situations - class field trips, navigating other students having crushes on them - and they might start to drift closer to one another as they realize a mutual attraction.

In the land of leadale vol 1 by dashio tsukimi

11/13/2023

Cover of In the land of Leadale volume 1. Cayna is sitting on a green hill with a few flowers around her. She's in a green tunic with a belt around her waste. She has a white cape flowing behind her and short blond hair with a headband in her hair. Her tan boots come up to her knees and her hands are on her knees. She's smiling and looking off into the distance. Puffy clouds are in the blue sky behind her.

One morning, Keina wakes up in the world of Leadale in the body of her high elf Cayna. In the physical world, Keina knows she is hooked up to life support, and she vaguely remembers a power outage that might have caused her to be thrown into her VRMMORPG. Now that her medically fragile body has probably died, she now has to make the most of her second life as a very powerful elf in a fantasy world that has moved on from the time she was playing the game. How much has the events of the game changed the society, and what can she do to survive and not be found out as a powerful magic user!

Akane-banashi vol 1 By Yuki Suenaga

11/10/2023

Cover of Akane-Banashi volume 1. A woman holds a fan outstretched as she poses in an age old traditional Japanese performance art.

Booklist review

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: August 8, 2023
ISBN: 9781974736485 (Paperback)

Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Art, Family, Humor, VIZ Media

Cat-Eyed Boy: The Perfect Edition vol 1 By Kazuo Umezz

11/10/2023

Cover of Cat-Eyed Boy: The Perfect Edition volume 1. Cat-eyed boy is sitting kind of curled up on top of some debris and he's staring ominously over his knees.

Booklist review

Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: August 22, 2023
ISBN: 9781974738854 (Paperback)

Tags: Rating: 7/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Story Collection, Horror, Suspense, VIZ Media

Heart Gear vol 1 By Tsuyoshi Takaki

11/10/2023

Cover of Heart Gear volume 1. A young girl is standing in the arms of a robot man who is protectively encircling her.

Booklist review

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: August 15, 2023
ISBN: 9781974738922 (Paperback)

Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Action Adventure VIZ Media