Sota's Knife by Kei Honjo, Yuichiro Sueda

Sota Kitaoka, 20 years old, working at Ginza's famous "Tomikyu" under a strict but passionate boss, struggling and aiming to be a chef.  One day he will make food that reaches peoples' hearts...

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Sota's knife is a fun filled manga, based around food! Sota wants to be a great chef one day, and is trying to work his way up, so he can go home and help his family. So he starts out as a dishwasher in a famous restaurant.

The illustrations are very detailed, and there are footnotes (translation notes??) for various things that help the reader identify what is being drawn. I was expecting Toriko or Food Wars style and happily got a Slice-of-Life feeling from the experience. I would recommend this to most people. Its a pretty laid back read, but I am personally excited to read the next one!

This Manga released on July 4th 2018. You can find it on Amazon

along with the 19 that have been released since then! 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

"As an orphaned child, Jane Eyre is first cruelly abused by her aunt, then cast out and sent to a charity school. Though she meets with further abuse, she receives an education, and eventually takes a job as a governess at the estate of Edward Rochester. Jane and Rochester begin to bond, but his dark moods trouble her. When Jane uncovers the terrible secret Rochester has been hiding, she flees and finds temporary refuge at the home of St. John Rivers. Charlotte Bronte’s classic tale of morality and social criticism takes on an entirely new life in this Manga Classic adaptation of Jane Eyre."

The tale of Jane Eyre as told by Charlotte Bronte and illustrated by UDON entertainment. Part of the Manga Classics series, this novel brings Jane Eyre to life. Closely following the original book, ( but missing our Mr Rochesters favorite descriptor of dear Jane) it does a wonderful job at showcasing this truly beautiful work in a new light, making this long ( and for some, hard to read) novel accessible to those of us who enjoy some pictures, and maybe not 500 pages of words. This version hits on all the major scenes and themes from the original book. It keeps Jane's personality, independence, and strong will and let's it shine through.

Personally I found it a little fast, but I understand that they are trying to fit a large novel into the size of a manga; and that's not easy! Having read Les Miserables and The Scarlet Letter in this same format, you kind of get a feel for how the structure of the book has to change only so slightly to accommodate.

This novel is great for any reader. If this is your first time or your 20th time reading Jane Eyre, this adaptation is a great choice.

Page Count: 329 ( But it's mostly pictures I promise <3 )

Your can find it HERE on Amazon for Kindle, Paperback, or Hardcover!

Draw Manga: Step-by-Steps, Character Construction, and Projects from the Masters by Sweatdrop Studios

Inside Draw Manga, 140 color illustrations and easy-to-follow directions are divided into three sections: basic tutorials; how to turn raw ideas into finished comics; and projects from the masters, with exhaustive detail on producing professional-grade artwork.

Draw Manga covers not only traditional media such as colored markers, pencils, and watercolors, but also computer-generated manga. And there's advice on special techniques for drawing the distinctive eyes and hairstyles that are the genre's hallmark, as well as on character creation, developing a first sketch, using color and motion, sequencing, pacing, and more.

In Draw Manga, professional manga artists reveal their secrets for drawing individual character elements and creating an effective manga character!

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Draw Manga is divided into three parts. 1.) Basic tutorials 2.) Creations and 3.) Projects.

Part 1 Is a very quick descriptions on how to draw heads, eyes and other body parts. It is not kidding when it says BASIC tutorials. They are quick, and definitely not for the beginner as the book describes. Part 2 is supposed to be step by step creations. This part of the book is to put what you learned in part 1 into action. But its not step by step. In fact it is mostly talking about what is implied by the drawing vs how to draw it (how confident the character looks because of where his head is tilted). Once again this part is not for beginners.
Part 3 the projects. They seem like more complete version of part 2. Having backgrounds added in and shading. Very much not beginner friendly.

i would guess that it is maybe in the "Advanced Beginner" category, because it does expect you to know some stuff already, and it doesn't take the time I would have liked to explain everything. Me being a Non-Artist, I was hoping to gain something from this book, but I mostly got frustrated. The first sketch they expect you to do after Part 1 is a full body and face.

This Isn't to say this book is bad, as I don't believe it is, but, it isn't one I would have picked up had I known its contents ahead of time, and it probably would have been that book that sat on my shelf forever not being read, or being given to a little cousin who can draw better than me..... >.>

It is something I could see as useful for those who have some general skills in art and who have some previous knowledge with drawing Manga. I like this book as it is, if it wasn't marketed as a beginners book.

Pages : 128

Can check it out on Amazon Here 

Hanger by Hirotaka Kisaragi

"In a futuristic Neo-Tokyo, crime is rising rapidly in the wake of a new generation of super-drugs capable of enhancing the user's physical and mental abilities. Hajime Tsukomo is a new recruit on a federal task force trained to go after these powered-up criminals. Now he must team up with Zeroichi, a so-called Hanger looking to reduce his own jail sentence in exchange for helping to take down these chemically-boosted bad guys."

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What appears to be another hit from Kisaragi, Hanger is set up to be a great new manga series that is a must read for fans. Unfortunately I had a hard time reading it due to format issues, which hopefully will not translate out into the actual novel copies.

Hanger jumps right into the action with a nice opening scene presenting us with both main characters front and center. It gives us readers a sense of Zeroichi (01) and Hajimes' relationship and sets us up for great character development throughout the series. The backdrop for this relationship is well thought out and (even if a tad cliched) seems to work well with Kisaragis' style.

Les Miserables

So after writing my review for Manga Classics The Scarlet Letter, I found the Manga Classics Les Miserables, is curretly released for Free Comic Book Day!, You can find it Here . I will eventually change this page to a review of the book, when I get done with my current list. XD

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, SunNeko Lee, Crystal S Chan, Stacy King

"Nathaniel Hawthorne's powerful tale of forbidden love, shame and revenge comes to life in Manga Classics: The Scarlet Letter. When Hester Prynne bears an illegitimate child she is introduced to the ugliness, complexity, and ultimately the strength of the human spirit. Though set in a Puritan community during the Colonial American period, the moral dilemmas of personal responsibility and consuming emotions of guilt, anger, loyalty and revenge are timeless.

This manga retelling of Hawthorn’s classic American novel is faithfully adapted by Crystal S. Chan and features stunning artwork by SunNeko Lee which will give old and new readers alike a fresh insight into this tragic saga of Puritan America."

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This is my first time reading "Manga Classics" and when I first realized what it is, I got really excited. Classical novels, in manga form?  Heck yeah! How awesome would that be? So I checked it out.

Crystal Chan does a wonderful job bringing this classic tale to life. While missing some content, it keeps the structure and integrity of Hawthornes' original story. Its easy to read, and flows well, which makes it ideal for those in a classroom setting; or those who do not enjoy the lengthy prose of the classic; but it is by no means a perfect replacement. It does feel a bit rushed in some places and slow in others, and it lacks some of the depth that you get when you read Hawthornes version.

 SunNeko Lee is a wonderful artist, making sure each character has their own image, and are easy to identify. Her backgrounds are beautifully detailed and intricate.

The one thing I found funny was that it read exactly like a manga. Anyone who has read a physical one before knows that you start at the "back" of the book and read right to left towards the "front" of the book. Well this digital copy made me start at page 312 and move forward from there. It confused me at first, because I had expected it to read normally (it being a digital copy and all), but that was definitely a nice touch.



The Scarlet Letter released earlier this year and you can find it Here

The Tarot Cafe Manga Collection by Sang-Sun Park

"Meet Pamela, a tarot card reader who helps supernatural beings living in the human world. She'll help anyone, whether they're a love-stricken cat, a vampire spending eternal life running from his one true love, an unattractive waitress looking for the man of her dreams, or even a magician who creates a humanoid doll to serve the woman he loves. Although she is good-natured, there is a deep dark secret that she must deal with before she can move on to the next life."


At first this Manga screamed XXXHolic at me. Maybe just the fact that it was based in a shop and had all kinds of mystical people coming through, or perhaps the similar art style.

At first I didn't think I would be interested in reading another one. The manga seemed to be focusing on the mini stories (any of which could be their own series if fleshed out a bit) more so than its overarching plot line, where a woman, Pamela reads Tarot for the supernatural. As I continued to read, the story became more clear, and I became more interested, but it didn't really get good until the last chapter which was disappointing. I would have liked more Pamela less "other" 

The artwork was nice, but grainy and kind of broken up in the version I read. You could tell that it had a nice throwback style ( maybe using the same artwork from the original release?).  I would probably read the next 2 ( I'm assuming there will only be 2 more since the first release had 3 total as well) But its not a Manga I would personally add to my collection. I could see some people really enjoying this though.

This was originally released in the early 2000s.  

Chimera 1 The Righteous and the Lost by Tyler Ellis

 "Haunted by their pasts, a crew of thieves is hired for a covert mission in the midst of a galaxy being ripped apart by an interstellar holy war. If they want to survive - much less succeed - they must navigate hostile worlds, vengeful aliens, a deranged demon, and betrayal from within.  Collects the first six issues of the acclaimed sci-fi/fantasy series, as well as a pin-up and cover gallery."

If Star Wars and Firefly met and made a Dungeons and Dragons game, this would be the story they create. Its intriguing  plot and wide array of characters and backstory make it an easy-to-finish-in-one-sitting novel. The artwork sets itself apart and helps bring the whole story together.

The author uses "then" and "now" headings to give backstory which helps to differentiate whats going on and when. ( Especially helps when you are reading on a tiny screen, and are having trouble seeing the words already.) This first installment describes how the group came to be together and sets up for the next few books in a way that doesn't seem so information heavy.

I honestly cant wait to read the next one, and for this to become an overnight must have in the Manga/Amine/Otaku world.

It is currently available on Amazon, Here (Link will open in new window)

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After writing this (and when looking for the Amazon link) I discovered that this is not the first time this story has been told. This Edition is brand new, and includes the first 6 of Tyler Ellis' Chimera novels as well as exclusive artwork. It appears that he is not ready to stop writing this series and is reviving this fairly new story. Either way my original review stands, and I'm excited to see the next one.