i_llumi's reviews
214 reviews

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

this is basically a bunch of stories written from the perspective of betas and sigmas who were either cheated on or cheaters ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm,,, unsure on how to feel about this book. this was my first ever Murakami, and I definitely understand his fame now - his writing is truly unique and has that bizarre, weird vibe that I've frankly only ever seen from Japanese authors lmao

one of the things I enjoyed the most was the wording shifts from one character to the other. some wrote in formal, almost pretentious styles while others wrote as if this was their diary. it strangely connects the reader to the character, and it's lowkey fascinating.

given my extremely inconsistent reading schedule, I read these stories in a span of 3 long, long months and during that time, passages from them never really left my brain. there's something so uncanny about the writing, the world and the atmosphere that the author creates that although hard to pinpoint what is is, it just exists and permeates the entire 300 pages.

welp. I'd love to come back to this once I get older and have my share of ~relationships~ so I can understand some of the mysteries and questions I have leftover after reading this strange piece of literature.

here's my ranking and take/mini-review of each story (a bit spoilery):

1. kino
i feel like this is the only story I understood most of the metaphors, which by itself is already a feat for my pea sized brain. the ending scene is SO GOOD and I was intrigued throughout the entire thing.

2. scherazade
by far the most fun. mostly because a lot of the story was narrated by a woman (scherazade). her sudden "you know im convinced that i was an eel in my past life" talk lives rent-free in my head. once again, a plot only japanese men could come up with.

3. an independent organ
oof. this one was Sadge. mans was girlbossed

4. drive my car
probably one of the more wholesome ones. the whole thing with kafuku being an actor was quite interesting.

5. men without women
for the story that named the book, if was a bit too short no?
this was rather.. funny? to read? the character is like "omg do you think the woman i dated when i was 14 k*lled herself because of my pEniS???" like bro wake up
I do think this was the perfect closing to the collection though. basically saying that men dont know shit about women and that they spend all their time self-pitying and moping around instead of having you know. empathy.

6. yesterday
if it weren't for the BEATLES IN KANSAI DIALECT this would've been a 3/5 but tbh I think this is the most normal of the 6 stories and 100% the sanest mc of all. see, this is the thing about weird shit: who else would write an entire story about some dude who fakes his accent lmfao

Content Warnings

薫る花は凛と咲く6, by 三香見サカ

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

as mr socks would say,
EVERYONE CHILL. CHILL CHILL CHILL CHILL (i am not chill)

oh my god them. just them. ksjfkdsjvovjorn

Spoiler

also subaru/natsuzawa side plot ?????? tsundere shy girl x oblivious dude ???? quality . this author is Cultured

薫る花は凛と咲く5, by 三香見サカ

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

theyre so cute pls....

薫る花は凛と咲く4, by 三香見サカ

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

I LOVE THIS FRIEND GROUP !!!
this entire manga series feels like a warm embrace and a gentle breeze. i physically squirm reading some of these scenes bc oh my god this is so cute

Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku, Volume 3, by Saka Mikami, 三香見サカ

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

yo i lowkey kin subaru

Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku, Volume 2, by Saka Mikami

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

jsdksadksfs this is so cute :')

(finished librarian-ing the series and the college decision STILL hasn't come out oh my god)

薫る花は凛と咲く1, by 三香見サカ

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

librarian-ing this series as of writing this because Storygraph doesn't have (but soon will!) all the volumes listed but oh god I just needed to shower my love for this series because it's so... soft.. and fluffy... and comforting.. <3

this isn't a groundbreaking shoujo romance story. it's tropish and almost formulaic but it uses ALL THE RIGHT TROPES!!! preppy girls' school vs. frowned upon boys' school, shy but secretely foodie girl X gentle giant delinquent-looking-but-actually-cinnamon-roll guy, jealous best friend who actually hates herself but learns to have friends, feelings realization, summer festivals and fireworks, teenagers being teenagers,, just . it's like all the fluffiest and best ao3 tags combined into one manga with a beautiful - and although very shoujo-like, unique - art style.

it's just so satisfying to read a love story between two people who actually deserve and care for each other, yk? it shouldn't be that hard but honestly most romance manga are either "harem of hot girls for an average-looking horny dude" or "dumb miscommunications and 8538493 chapters for The Confession and another 23349859 for The Kiss Scene" so i'm just glad that this author is a cultured person who knows what the good stuff is <33

i read most of this at 2am to calm down because i actually have a college decision coming up today and this outdid the job so well... love may not exist irl but at least it's manga like this that makes me all giddy and happy inside lmao

Content Warnings

孤島の鬼, by 江戸川乱歩

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

ok well i didn’t finish the BOOK but i finished the main story (the demon on the lonely isle) so ig it counts? i just want this to be included in my wrap-up 😭
anyways heres the review all the way back from MAY bc thats when i finished the main story and never finished the story in the end….

um. ok
this was probably the most unhinged mystery novel I've ever fucking read. rampo was actually insane

a brief summary and keywords that make up this story:
the main character, Kinnosuke Minoura is engaged to his co-worker Kizaki Hatsuyo - who is killed within like, the first 20 pages. the thing is that right before Minoura asked her parents for her hand in marriage, another guy, Moroto Michio, is revealed to be already engaged to her! :OO
BUT the catch is that Michio was actually Moroto's roommate in college, and he openly confessed his love for the latter (scandalous!) when they were buddies
after Hatusyo's assassination, Minoura immediately suspects Michio as the criminal bc he thought that he was just jealous of her. however, Michio proves to be innocent and what follows is a very long and complicated chase after Hatusyo's actual killer (who is somehow connected to Michio as well...) on the creepiest island possible. crazy plot go unga bunga

the mystery was pretty interesting and the tricks used were well explained and quite.... unconventional. the ending did feel a bit rushed but satisfying overall. the villain was a bit underdeveloped imo and minoura was just. dumb, stupid, annoying, and useless. moroto mvp !!!

! beware the gore tho. there were many passages here that made me physically uncomfortable and some of the descriptions of disabled/disfigured characters were pretty disgusting and ableist so no points for that

Spoiler

ok now free space for me to rant. tbh moroto felt like the hidden protagonist bc minoura was so fucking dumb and empty? just to think abt all the trouble moroto had to go through throughout his life is pretty depressing.
hide chan's diary was honestly upsetting to read.
I seriously thought that the relationship between moroto and minoura would turn into something better and was lowkey expecting the two to at least become friends - sadly that did not happen and moroto died alone (oh my god that last line)

anyhow. crazy stuff. I can't wait to read the manga now!

チェンソーマン 10, by Tatsuki Fujimoto

Go to review page

dark emotional sad fast-paced