So continues the life of high school kids about to become college students while also living in a world where a gigantic alien spaceship lives above them.

Just more coming of age stories of love, heartbreak, and trying to decide what to do in life. The book is best when it has focus on one of the girls as their bond is perfect, the jokes are funny, and their life and tribulations are interesting. On top of that we do get a bit deeper into the aliens and we even follow one around for a bit.

As always, Inio has a dark look into our world but not one we can't relate to. Maybe we can relate a bit too much. But he juggles different styles here really well. Going from outright funny to sad to happy again in a matter of a few pages. The intriguing thing is the mystery of how the alien will eventually fit in.

A 4 out of 5.

Ichigo and Grimmjow go face to face with all their powers. It's pretty much just an entire fighting volume. It's not bad, some cool moves, and watching Ichigo do a finishing move was great. Getting a bit of background on Grimmjow was also interesting. But it ends how you'd expect, some new baddie comes along, and now we must face them. It gets a little exhausting hitting the same exact beats.

Growing up in the 90's Gundam was mostly "Gundam Wing" and then later "G Gundam" and then much later Seed Gundam and so on. I never got into Gundam the original series because by then it was very outdated and it was a lot darker/political than I was looking for. Especially coming from the over the top ridiculous G Gundam. But now that they released these Manga which are a retelling of the original series I had to give it a go. I AM SO GLAD I DID.

This series takes no time getting to the exciting and fucked up world of Gundam. You're introduced to Amuro, a 15 year old teenager just living his normal peaceful life but soon as the Zeon scum (Basically the empire if thinking star wars) comes down and attacks he is forced to man up and get inside "The Gundam" which at that time there is only one. Will he survive?

And that's what works so well. The fact it feels like a race against time with so much happening so quick without feeling like we're skipping things. War is messy and screwed up and the fight between the Federation is dirty and exciting. Amuro fight against Zeon, especially Char (One of the major figures in the Zeon army) is exciting and fun. Mostly due to how charming and strong Char is.

The fights are great. The scenery is wonderful. This is all due to the AMAZING art. This is some of the BEST I've ever seen in manga or comics. Easy to follow, brutal, and the scale is SO good. I can't get over how good this looks. Helps the style they release these in are hardcover and so wonderful to hold.

So yeah I can gush about this series for a long time but this left me with a very strong first impression. Will be picking up more.

This was probably strongest volume yet. Seeing a family go through hell to survive is always the best part of this story. And actually have the female character do important things is nice. Overall, a step up from the last few volumes. Art is still great.

Probably one of the better volumes since it moved super fast. Watching the two baddies work together is interesting but the twist to turn one against the other was great. The fights are fun even if they're really fast and hard to understand what is happening at times. I hated the whole trapped for 80 pages do something narrative but guess had to. Overall, another solid volume of a decent series.

This series is starting to lose its edge. This mostly just has the main lead mopping around about how she can't lose her precious sugar. But nothing really happens in that sense. Sure she makes sure a girl she knows doesn't change much on purpose to cover herself but even that scene felt like a rehash of what came before. We move the plot forward with other characters once a girl learns the truth and a certain boy at the very end is given some hope. A 3 out of 5.

Another solid volume wrapping up the last arc with the wizard king's arrival. We see how strong he is in just a few panels and it gives us a glimpse of true power.

Then we jump into a side story/small arc of a brother obsessed with his sister and Astra and him fighting some low level magic users. But the storyline is a bit weird since he seems so keen on protecting his sister yet he has nosebleeds around her. Usually that happens when you like a girl...seems weird....she's like 8.

Anyway, the action is good, the Astra remains a fun character with his never give up attitude. But still nothing mind-blowing as always.

Back into the fray as everyone is inlove with everyone.

This volume doesn't feel like it progresses as much as I hoped yet it still remains fun. Lots of lolz moments between the cast and a heartfelt moment between two people who DON'T like each other spilling their feelings on the other two people. I enjoyed that portion a lot. I also really was caught by surprised at the end and hoping a certain character is okay. A 4 out of 5.

A lot slower than I expected the series direction to go. We get to really sit down and learn about the main character's classmates. See where they come from, their hopes, their dreams, their hot headed moments all make for a fun story. While nothing in this volume blew me away, the slowburn approach was a welcoming story arc. I found it more interesting than the last volume anyway. Especially the first half where our main female protagonist is just trying to find some friends.

This was a hard one to judge.

Basically it's about a genius who's great at Ping Pong but has no real ambition to do it. Feels like it's not that important. However, his best friend loves Ping Pong and is good but not nearly as good. He learns that soon as he sees his friend excel at it. Smile is the name of the main character and when he begins to get coached and takes the game serious he becomes a monster of a player. This first volume is his growth as a player while also giving us a look into other kids trying their best to win the championship and be the best.

And the thing is it has all the right ingredients. The art is different but works real well for action. The motivation to keep going is there. The idea we get to see how ALL the kids struggle to better themselves is always nice. But I just couldn't seem to connect to anyone personally. I get the idea of it and where they were going but it didn't get me that invested.

Saying that it is still a really solid book and much better than I expected any manga/book to be about Ping Pong. A 3.5 out of 5.