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coldbrewedpages's reviews
121 reviews
Black Sun, Volume 1 by Uki Ogasawara
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I'm seriously into dark themes. I love questionable content, dubious and outright villainous characters being the forefront of a story, etc. Even down for outright horrid people getting redemption arcs or at the least "I realize I was a piece of human trash and will not be going forward" arcs. Pair that with yaoi? Fuck yeah.
And I'm kinda high key disappointed that this was just... not done well.
There are a few things in this that stand out. The art is really nice, there are a couple of yaoi themes that were played with (the traditional seme/uke characterizations weren't super heavy-handed) which was nice, but other than that it was kind of a dud. I could overlook the shoddy, non-existent character/plot development if the sex scenes were good (though it should be noted that a majority of the scenes that are not outright assault are dubious at best, so keep that in mind,) but even those were just bland. Uninteresting. The exact same missionary position with recycled dialogue themes every single time.
I've seen better in fan-made doujinshi.
And I'm kinda high key disappointed that this was just... not done well.
There are a few things in this that stand out. The art is really nice, there are a couple of yaoi themes that were played with (the traditional seme/uke characterizations weren't super heavy-handed) which was nice, but other than that it was kind of a dud. I could overlook the shoddy, non-existent character/plot development if the sex scenes were good (though it should be noted that a majority of the scenes that are not outright assault are dubious at best, so keep that in mind,) but even those were just bland. Uninteresting. The exact same missionary position with recycled dialogue themes every single time.
I've seen better in fan-made doujinshi.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Violence, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Clap Back by Nalo Hopkinson
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Remina by Junji Ito
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition by Tsutomu Nihei
Visually beautiful but lacking most elements that make an engaging story. Somewhat disappointing as there's a lot of frameworks to set up an intriguing story: this concept of ancient structures and beings that seem to be somewhat parasitic, secretive government agencies who know the history of these beings, human-monster combinations created specifically to combat said beasties, main character baggage...
And yet, nothing is done with it. The actual story and world-building is so thin and vague that Abara feels more like a picture book with an underlying story than a fully-fleshed (and finished) manga bind-up, and what little we get from the characters reads like this is a volume of manga that comes in the middle of a series as opposed to a complete series.
This edition specifically is very beautiful, particularly with the two pull-out full sized art pages and (I believe) three color pages at the beginning of the second part. I wish that it was more than just a collection of pretty pictures, however.
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Visually beautiful but lacking most elements that make an engaging story. Somewhat disappointing as there's a lot of frameworks to set up an intriguing story: this concept of ancient structures and beings that seem to be somewhat parasitic, secretive government agencies who know the history of these beings, human-monster combinations created specifically to combat said beasties, main character baggage...
And yet, nothing is done with it. The actual story and world-building is so thin and vague that Abara feels more like a picture book with an underlying story than a fully-fleshed (and finished) manga bind-up, and what little we get from the characters reads like this is a volume of manga that comes in the middle of a series as opposed to a complete series.
This edition specifically is very beautiful, particularly with the two pull-out full sized art pages and (I believe) three color pages at the beginning of the second part. I wish that it was more than just a collection of pretty pictures, however.
Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Uzumaki by Junji Ito
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0