Ain’t this some cliché mess, but it’s getting interesting, so who am I to judge? Jojima’s two-facedness is actually fun to watch. It’s only a matter of time before he get endeared to Nao too. 

Surprisingly, this volume was cute and emotional. I don’t know why, but Tsubaki’s enamored with Nao, and seeing this lovesick side of him is making him tolerable. The granddad is so unreasonable but gets some slight growth. 

oh snap, the kitchen dude is evil too. I didn’t see this one coming!

 The library had volumes 1 – 5, so I’m starting this series. 

I really don’t even know what’s going on. One moment, Tsubaki, in a gross move of power, is locking Nao in a room with bean pastes, the next she’s seducing him, then someone tries to knock her out with a bowl to the head. 

Making bean paste is serious business.

Where is the characterization? Right now, the characters are pancake-booty flat, and you could replace them with lamp posts and miss nothing; they’re too stale and unremarkable. Also, the evil mama is a cartoon villain. Where’s her Disney song? Every villain needs a catchy monologue. The granddad is way too thorny.

Also, the sex scene didn’t fit in with the flow of the story or the characters as they are now. How do you hate him so much, and not brimming with sexual tension and frustration and annoyance either, but you’re having sex together? I don’t even think it was based off of lust. It just happened.

Overall, this volume was slightly better than the first. But bad pacing may be the death of this story. 

 The library had volumes 1 – 5, so I’m starting this series. 

This wasn’t a good introduction. The marriage proposition was ridiculous and happened way too fast with absolutely no build-up. I have seen similar mangas with setups like this, so it’s really the horrid pacing that’s the main issue. 

Tsubaki also needs to stop being so aggressive. Let that little girl wrist go, sadistic demon! 

 Man, Henchgirl is SO MUCH fun. I LOVE superheroes or anything that deals with people with powers, but this one deals with a misunderstood supervillain. The humor is quirky and stupid and doesn’t take itself too seriously; it also gets a bit dark every now and then. There’s a family dinner that is just hilariously awkward. 

I loved Mary and her post-college vibes and craziness, no-nonsense Fred, and Mary’s roommates. There’s also some Spanish sprinkled here and there. 

Another thing I love about this author is that she always manages to slip in a magical anime girl somewhere lol. 

I adored the relationship between Mother Dolores and Manu; so unconditionally loving! Manu herself was very rambunctious, and it seemed she never learned. But some of that is to be expected because she's just a kid. 

There was a strong theme of Catholicism and witchcraft that I’ve never seen before, and it is a bit uncomfortable but reminiscent of the author’s life and culture. Also, loved the bits of Spanish infused here.

 How do you expect us to care about a character we barely know??? But besides that, not a bad volume. 

The best volume out of the series. Here, tensions run high and the characters actually have some semblance of personality (outside of Amir and Parvati because they’re still goody two shoes cardboard cutouts). Dialogue can still be stilted, at times. 

Neo’s struggle with anger (and we see true wrath, murderous rage) is interesting and takes a considerable portion of the story. I liked reading it though it isn't resolved in this volume. Wallace’s backstory with his daughter Alice was also very interesting and surprised me.

Overall, once the story put aside introducing characters, the narrative could become engaging.

 Bare bones characterization (Neo had the most personality of all as the others really felt like cardboard cutouts). Reads like an educational comic. Surprisingly so the second story is quite bloody as a literal blood sacrifice takes places, which can be jarring as the series has such a kiddie tone. 

Not to best to read during/aftermath of a pandemic as every medical company here is evil and experimenting on people.