Candy Bunny Reader

  Kind of a spiritual successor to My Favorite Anime Series (you can look at this page and that list under the Navigation Page above).   

Where do we even begin?! Halfway There by Christine Mari is a graphic novel memoir about the author growing up struggling with her half-Japanese, half-American identity. During her college years, she studies abroad in Japan thinking she'll be able to find who she truly is, but instead deals with more identity crises. It all leads to depression, and she learns to reach out and ask for help from her grandparents and a therapist.  You really have to read this book to understand how lovely and heartfelt it is! For me it was relatable in so many parts (having parents from two different countries, not knowing where I belong, mental health struggles, getting help when needed, being a great artist, etc.). I really saw myself in this author! I gave it 5 stars . 

Glad to report that the first volume of this manga was 5 stars !   Always a Catch! by Mayo Momoyo and Kaki Nagato is set on a peninsula inspired by Italy, where there are several different kingdoms. The main character Maria (or Mimi as she is usually called) comes from a noble family of martial artists, and feels she'll never get a husband because of how "unladylike" she is.  One day, a misunderstanding happens between her, her cousin Aida, and Prince Renato of the kingdom they currently live in. As it turns out, Renato's younger brother actually wanted to marry Aida. After the misunderstanding clears up, Renato finds himself falling in love with Mimi and her fighting style, and he proposes to her, much to her surprise!  Now Mimi is learning how to be a princess. It isn't always easy, but it seems she that she is slowly winning over the hearts of Renato's family. This was so fun to read! It reminded me heavily of a lot of shojo manga from the 2000s, from the...

    Because this is only three manga volumes long. I Want to be A Wall by Honomi Shirono is a slice of life manga series about a newlywed couple. The wife is named Yuriko and she is asexual. The husband is named Gaku and he is a closeted gay guy  (well, to everyone else except Yuriko)  with an unrequited crush on his childhood friend Sousuke (who is also their gardener). Neither one of them is actually in love with each other, but they still support each other platonically.  Along the way, we end up learning more about Yuriko and Gaku's past as well as more about their respective families and friends. They all end up making really big decisions about their futures.  This series was so heartfelt and emotional, and pretty funny at times, too. It had great commentaries on people marrying for different reasons. It's not always for romantic love, and that's totally valid! There's plenty of great queer representation, too. As an asexual person myself, I related ...

This was a part of the 12 books 12 friends challenge and was recommended by @onceuponatbr over on Instagram. The actual title for this series is really long! It's full title is The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World . The author is Kyoka Izumi . This first volume begins with Tsukina, a 30 year old woman with a stable career who is one day randomly asked by "God" (in the form a sphere) to become the savior of another world called Othel. She is unsure of it at first, but when she uses her newfound magic to open up a book cafe, she grows to like it. The most frequent visitor to her book cafe is the captain of the royal guards. His name is Il (capital I, lowercase L!). The two grow close very quickly, bonding over books and food.  Tsukina also finds out that one of the reasons she was sent to Othel was to deal with the previous chosen one. The previous chosen one is a snobby rich girl who cares more about wooing the prince of the land than actually learning magic t...

  Oh, this was so adorable! I remember the anime for this one came out a few years ago, but I never got around to watching it. When I saw they had the manga at my local library I knew it was a sign to start the story. Somali and the Forest Spirit by Yako Gureishi is set in a world where magical creatures dominate and humans are nearly extinct. They had a giant war in the past against each other. Our titular forest spirit is a Golem, and he finds a little human girl named Somali who was lost in the woods. She calls him "Dad", and they decide to travel to help her find her human birth family. Somali wears a hoodie with minotaur horns on it and pretends to be a minotaur, because if other creatures found out she is actually a human, it would be dangerous. Somali and Golem encounter a lot of fascinating characters along the way, who help them and teach them so much.  This was one of those fantasy traveling stories that feel cozy but also mysterious at the same time. I'd put t...

  OK y'all, this is my favorite series so far from Ai Yazawa . I've never really been a fan of Nana (gasp! I know. Unpopular opinion) and I couldn't get into Paradise Kiss (also another unpopular opinion) but Neighborhood Story is an underrated masterpiece! Here's the thing I first experienced Neighborhood Story through its anime. I watched the anime with fansubs several years ago on YouTube. When I heard that Viz Media was going to be releasing the manga in English, I was very excited. Now Neighborhood Story has so many new fans! What is Neighborhood Story about? Well, in general it’s about a group of teenage friends who go to a high school specializing in liberal arts, and each have something they specialize in. Their friend group name is Akindo, and they use it when they sell their stuff at flea markets. Mikako, our main character, focuses on teenage girls’ fashion, her friend Risa focuses on children's clothes, and her other friend P-chan focuses on stuf...

  Today's poem is inspired by the underrated 90s shojo anime, Oniisama e. Did you know the creator is the same as the Rose of Versailles? It's Riyoko Ikeda. I also like the Rose of Versailles! I will write a poem for that anime too sometime.  Poem: Hey best friend I never thought that Coming to this prestigious school Would entail Joining a sorority I never thought that This school Was run by a mean girl Actually I take it back What that queen bee did to our student mentor Was the definition of evil No wonder our other student mentor Was trying to save Mentor 1 All while she had To battle demons of her own Even our new best friend  Was swimming in A void of darkness One day I wish All of us girls Will be equal

  Today's poem is inspired by Ai Yazawa's most underrated work, Gokinjo Monogatari! Above is the opening.  I watched the anime many, many years ago on YouTube (before they got taken down) and really loved it! Now that the manga has been translated in English and released by Viz Media, the series will gain so many new fans. Someday I might get the whole manga too and reread the whole story. And read the parts that weren't in the anime. Here's the poem: Forget about those guys you think are cute What’s cute are these cute clothes I am making! Don’t forget the insignia Of the angel holding a strawberry On each one What? It’s cute clothes for teenage girls But you’re making children’s clothes? And you’re making clothes for stuffed animals? What’s my friend since childhood and next-door neighbor up to? I dunno, I think he’s makin’ walkie talkies His himbo friend just sketches people His punk friend just makes video games Ugh, is that popular pretty gi...