Beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic, I began recording a list of books I read each year to mark the passage of time and remind myself that I was still making progress in my life. Now that it’s May, my tally of books for this year so far is… 56. That’s over 10 books a month!
I’ve become a voracious reader ever since I began contributing to the Anime News Network Spring and Fall Manga, Manhwa, and Light Novel Guides. (Yes, I’m counting manga as books.) I’ve had so much fun getting paid to essentially write mini book reports.
For the Spring 2025 Manga, Manhwa, and Light Novel guides, I wrote a total of 51 reviews. If you think I write a lot, you should see my editor, Rebecca: she wrote 78! Here are the 10 books that left the biggest impressions on me, for better or worse:
1) Fluffy-Eared Realm Restoration: Taking It Slow with My Cool Big Brother LN
“If you got a do-over at life, what’s the first thing you’d redo? If you answered “my brother,” have I got the book for you.” This is without a doubt the best opening zinger I wrote all season.
2) Miri Lives in the Cat’s Eyes LN
“It combines supernatural powers, romance, murder, the world’s most dramatic drama club (and I realize there is tough competition for that title), on top of the sometimes stifling reality of what life was like in 2020.” A riveting murder mystery set in COVID-19 era Japan.
3) Super Ball Girls
“A bone-chilling science fiction thriller that combines sex appeal and body horror, it felt like a hot girl version of Parasyte and left me both unsettled and ready for more.” NOT what I was expecting as the sophomore follow-up from the Blue Lock creator, but I’m not complaining!
4) Momfluencer
“The story is unpleasant and unflinching—the exact opposite of the bland fantasies that Momfluencers aspire to sell, which makes it fascinating. The whole thing is deliciously messy. Everyone is awful, and I can’t wait for their bad behavior to blow up in their faces.”
5) Tamaki & Amane
My only 5-star review of the season. “A literary fiction about the chance tender connections between multiple people who all happen to be named Tamaki or Amane, this manga’s gentle art, ear for dialogue, and focus on the ordinary dramas of daily life ruthlessly left me for dead.”
6) Pink Candy Kiss
I think this is going to be the next Run Away With Me Girl. “Pink Candy Kiss is novel not only because it’s one of the rare yuri titles that focuses on adult women. It also merits praise for flipping the tired old myth about lesbianism being an acceptable phase solely for teenage girls.”
7) Dinghai Fusheng Records LN
This one reminded me that it’s important to read the entire light novel before writing my review. At 60% complete, I’d written a positive review about its comic premise. At 70% complete, they killed off the MC’s dog! “It felt like a comedy and a tragedy mashed together, and I never could tell when it was going to switch from one to the other.”
8) Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary
“I was delighted and not at all surprised to learn that the author used to be a kindergarten teacher. Anyone who spends a lot of time around young kids can tell you how good they are at scaring adults.” It was very hard for me not to bring up my daughter’s terrifying imaginary friend while I was writing this review.
9) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run
This volume was my most anticipated. “I thought to myself, I will be prepared for anything [this] can throw at me. Readers, I was a fool. Immediately starting with its opening salvo, this manga is explosively weird (one might even say bizarre) with a style that is certainly typical of previous JoJo arcs, but with an inventive streak that separates it from anything that came before.”
10) The Summer Hikaru Died LN
This was my favorite light novel that I read, even after reading the manga first. I’m so excited for the anime adaptation this summer. “This light novel is not simply a blow-by-blow synopsis of the manga, but a haunting and immersive experience on its own.”
You can check out the entire Spring 2025 Manga, Manhwa, and Light Novel guides on Anime News Network. I spent the better part of three months working on them, so I’d appreciate a click.
