Blood and Butterflies
contemplated dropping this on the first chapter bc of lazy writing: relying on random assholes to progress a plot point. it's illogical for someone to bully a rumored murderer, esp one with mental issues. on ch 15 red head is suddenly pouring out her heart to mc after hating him for several chapters. if that was her backstory, it was not well-written enough. it's weird that she's so affected by people calling her black blood disgusting bc she's vital to the survival of humankind so logically her supporters would far outstrip her haters and it would make more sense if she was to have an inflated ego instead of whatever superficial "angsty" backstory that was. mc gave no indication of admiring her on tv or whatever before their conversation. idk. i just think her backstory should've been more paced out and given more nuance (such as leaning on her sense of duty vs struggles being a hero conflict. and actually flesh it out.) so her hatred for mc would make more sense.
Boy Meets Maria
it's a shame the author passed away so young. based on this debut work, it was clear they were very talented. i was so surprised to learn a 23-yo (or younger) conceived this touching story.
Sekai Oni
so, we got an abused and innocent kid who hates the world, an arrogant adult with main-chara complex, a gay drug addict prisoner, a high schooler with a severe sex addiction, a adult relatively normal but in love with a reflection, and an adult with crippling dependency issues. overall good story. they were all more or less fucked in the head, but good story. the art was pretty mid, but the story was excellent, especially in the beginning. it did begin to drag and the ending might not classify as a happy ending but the themes were consistent. it was never a story about the positive effects of human growth and connections. azuma is a very interesting character. she fundamentally never changed, as someone who is still childlike and ignorant and generally apathetic to people and morals. i feel bad for seki, who wanted her to become happy, and thus more "humane" after experiencing a lot and forming bonds with others, but well she's already a bit too fucked in the head after all that abuse to spare any emotions for strangers.
From the Red Fog
story was interesting at first. the plot was messy, but the mc's characterization was solid. the other side cast's characterization was decent (such as Ivan, midwinter, may, miranda, macalo) and def could be explored, and there was other side charas introduced that could've been relevant later (but never was). the overarching plot was slowly but steadily unfolding, introducing new plotlines. but at some point, somewhere in the middle, it all went down the drain. like, it's obvious the author did not care about the story anymore. miranda's characterization and redemption was speedrunned; in fact, the flashback in which it showed how she was shot and captured is inconsistent with the first chapter. like when she was reintroduced into the story, it was with a sudden flashback trying to explain she isn't an entirely horrible person, she just didn't know how to love her kid, etc. it should've been a slow and gradual pace with flashbacks of her time as a mother, which would've made her growth cathartic and eventual death actually bittersweet. midwinter, the mysterious antagonist who was promised to be interesting was dealt with so anticlimatically, and the overarching conflict was trashed along with midwinter's character. so many questions and potential plotlines unresolved, such as the mystery surrounding the death of bacchus, what happened to may, what happened to the children macalo befriended and the rest of the experimented children and her weird doctor, what happened to the hitman organization, who the fuck is midwinter, etc etc. and this is just the first arc. you can tell in the exact scene that the author just gave up on their manga, which was when midwinter just plainly states his ambition in his thought bubble; it was honestly jarring since before he and his intentions were covered in mystique and the story was steadily unwrapping them, but now it's just revealed so suddenly? i really should've dropped it there. but like i said, i like mc's characterization, but with the rapid pace of developments, the decline of quality writing is inevitable. his chara growth was absolutely shit. given his background and fucked up mind, it doesnt make any sense why he was so in love with katy. she is said to be important to him (he claims she is his everything), but it never fleshed out her chara and their relationship, hence her death lacked the gravitas it tried to convey. and what happened to his murderous predisposition, after his mother died? that is never addressed again. anyway, with how the story ended, with a bunch of loose ends and new journey for mc, it's possible the author may come back to the story again.
Kegare no nai Hito
premise and plot points were interesting, but no. the topic of religion/forgiveness/atonement vs one of the most heinous acts of sexual nature needs to be tread very very very carefully. this story is a shallow attempt at that. the psyche of the mc and his epiphany needs to be explored more, bc its beyond irrational that mc could find it within him to forgive the ml. 15 yrs of his life were ruined without family or friends, and it's likely that if his inmates had found out why he was in prison, he would've been killed, after prison it's just constant fear and dread and people which with he cannot form relationships bc his past always reach their ears. so it's even more ridiculous that mc came to love him. the ml was not developed well enough-- i mean he has the personality and the past, but what about his values? if the story was longer to go really in-depth with ml's past and the plot points and their relationship, it could've been good and worth pondering over even with the controversial elements. it could've offered some believable insight as to why he could ever EVER love a child rapid-murderer who did nothing when he was framed and took advantage of his loneliness to have sex when they met again.
Gunjou
the artstyle made it hard to get thru at first, but it's delivers raw and intense scenes so well. both of the main characters are so so flawed but it's also hard to hate them. at first, i enjoyed their dynamic, which was bitter toxic woman x woman who seems forgiving and would do anything for her beloved. but it turned out it wasnt like that at all. i mean the black-haired woman is incredibly cold, rude, bitter, stubborn, and selfish, but the woman with unrequited love left her gf of 10 years and threw away her future just to have sex with her. she's so thoughtless, tactless, and stupid, and when shes unable to burden the weight of being a runaway murderer, she lashes out hard. she lived a generally happy life, so she was unable to cope, and admitted herself she didnt have black-haired's strong will.
Isekai Picnic
sooo good. the horror elements are actually so creepy and terrifying. do not read at night. the romance is super slow-burn, but that confession scene genuinely made me emotional. need more romance. mc need to realize her feelings sooner, bc how are u so attracted to and obsessed with one girl, but not realize it's love?? anyway, i heard this was written by a man so i read this, but the story and plot is great and engaging and the characters are not sexualized and written with layers of nuance.
J no Subete
pretty good. wished it was more angsty, and flesh out the reason J fell for paul
Sleeping Dead
short, but still managed to evoke a emotional response out of me. it's a sad ending, but not exactly a tragedy. it's just the way the story suddenly shifted in a tragic direction, when it was just adventure/slice-of-life of them just spending their days together, like, it should be expected, but it's just sad. but i guess you could say this is karma for the guy who played god and conducted unethical experiments, to fall in love with his own experiment to the extent he couldn't live without him
Soloist of the Prison