The beginning was weak, I thought that this would be a solid 2 star book, but the second half was stronger. I liked the romance, but missed d4.0 stars
The beginning was weak, I thought that this would be a solid 2 star book, but the second half was stronger. I liked the romance, but missed depth in the characters and world building. nice read, but not a story that will stay in my memory longer....more
I know Grace from her Youtube channel where she regularly uploads videos (often together with her Japanese husband). I am not reading her mor3.0 stars
I know Grace from her Youtube channel where she regularly uploads videos (often together with her Japanese husband). I am not reading her more famous blog (www.howibecametexan.com) although I skipped through some of her blog posts and comic she published on her blog. So I knew her drawing style, her humor and some things she was writing (or drawing) about. If you are unsure if you would like this book just visit her blog and/or Youtube channel, it can help you decide if this book is for you. I have to admit that I "bought" her first two books when they where available for free as an ebook edition on Amazon and I am happy about it because this book was not 100 percent what I expected and liked (I was a huge manga fan some years ago and liked everything about Japanese culture but right know I am not really interested in Japan anymore but I really like Grace in her videos so I was interested in her books). The book was fast to read but I would not have bought it. I am not saying that this book is not worth it's price! It's just that I might not be the primary target audience (which would be people with a greater interest in Japan and it's culture and people who really like her blog). If you are curious just try it!
Some parts were really interesting, especially when she speaks about Japanese culture and how to behave or how not to behave. I really love to learn about differences between cultures and the Japanese recycling system was something that I did not knew about (it's seems really strict and it's true, why is there a difference between burnable and paper or plastics? Plastic can be burned to or paper... but it seems plastic is identified as non-burnable). But I thought that some of her comics weren't on point, it was unclear what Grace wanted to show. And I think that the title of the book is misleading, Ryosuke might think that Grace is crazy in a good way but most of her comics are about her way to come accustomed to Japan than about relationship problems with her husband. Some comics where about misunderstandings and difficulties (and even less about him think she is "crazy", whatever that means in the context of the title of her comic book) but about her problems with a completely new culture and a new country. That was interesting because Grace seems like a really nice person but this comic book was not what I was expecting.
So be prepared to learn a little bit about Japanese culture, less about her problems with having a boyfriend/husband from a different cultural background and more about her way to adapting into a new environment....more
Wer "Soulless" als Roman mochte (oder noch ausprobieren will) und nichts gegen einen manga-typischen Zeichenstil hat wird di4 Stars
german review
Fazit:
Wer "Soulless" als Roman mochte (oder noch ausprobieren will) und nichts gegen einen manga-typischen Zeichenstil hat wird die Graphic Novel bestimmt mögen.