This. This was exactly what I needed last year. I couldn't seem to read anything, so anime was my staple. But I kept hearing everyone sing the praises of this new series, so I had to give it try. Superheroes in manga/anime seems to be a thing now. Not too long ago, Tiger and Bunny came out. Now, One-Punch Man and My Hero Academia have come out roughly at the same time. I've only read the last but if the others are as good as this one, I may finally jump on the Superhero bandwagon!

Our hero, Izuku Midoriya, lives in a world where 80% of the population has a "quirk," a superhero ability that can range from water, gigantism, explosions, and even stranger ones. With so many people holding powerful abilities, the police forces were unable to handle them and so some rose up to take the mantle of hero and keep the peace. The best known hero, All Might, is Midoriya's personal hero as well. He wants to save people with a smile just as All Might does. There's just one problem. Midoriya is one of the rare 20% born quirkless. How can someone without powers ever be a hero?

If you haven't watched Shaun the Sheep, you should. A spin-off of Wallace and Gromit, it's extremely funny, with great characters and crazy hi-jinks. My favorite character has to be Shirley. Containing everything from pop culture references (particularly in the movie) to invading Alpacas, you never know quite what's going to happen. There is no real dialogue besides baas, other animal noises, and grunts from the farmer but they don't need it. The faces and situations tell you everything.

Still, I wasn't sure what to expect from a book with these characters; I only knew I had to give it a try when I saw it in my library.

I'd had high hopes for this book and by the end...most were met. But for the first half or more, I found this to be cliche and a bit disappointing. Though that might be partially the fault of the audiobook. I had to give up on it slightly before half way and switch to the book; the narrator's voice made half of them sound like whiny teenagers. Now they may be just that but I will not listen to that if there's anyway to avoid it, so the audiobook had to go.

The country of Enchantasia (ha, ha - eye roll) is ruled by the famous princesses: Ella, Snow, Rose (Sleeping Beauty), and Rapunzel. Though Gottie (Rapunzel's villian...I think) and Alva (Sleeping Beauty's villian) are still loose, everyone is fairly safe and doing well - though the cobblers are in a downturn as Ella gave Glass Slipper creation rights to Fairy Godmothers. The rest of the villains are reformed. The Stepmonster (Flora), Wolfington (best not to mention Grandmother), Madam Cleo (the Sea Witch), and Harlow (Snow White's Evil Queen) live in an enchanted castle where they have turned their lives around and now help young people who are on the path to villainy.

Yep, they run Fairy Tale Reform School!

Their Mission: "To turn wicked delinquents and former villains into future heroes."

So, we should be in the home stretch. I've read that this is to be the final arc of the series and while I really enjoy this manga, I think it's best to leave them still wanting more than begging you to end. (I'm looking at YOU Inuyasha!) But then I reached the end of this and died a little inside. It's not going to be easy, is it Julietta Suzuki? Just when things were looking so well.

NOTE: As this is Vol 18 and takes place just after an arc ended, there are MAJOR SPOILERS ahead. Consider yourself warned.

Hopefully the wait for 19 won't be as long as this one.

I can't remember when I've last been more disappointed in a long awaited book. From the moment I first hard of this series, I knew I had to read it. An alternate history of the UK and France (the British lost the battle of Waterloo and were controlled by the French for a time) with anthropomorphic characters? Sign me up!

And I'll admit, the art was beautifully detailed, the AU done very well (steampunk only made this even more perfect) and little touches added to the richness that made me very glad my library gave me this chance. My favorite part was early with the Badger Scotland Yard inspector telling his Sergent that the unknown language they hear on a rural train platform is English, barely spoken except for a few hold outs. 

But then the plot came and the friendship quickly cooled. Even now I can't say for sure exactly why I reacted so negatively to the plot; I can't seem to articulate it. Basically it was the story of the Twin Towers (only the attack was with a zeppelin against the "Eiffel Tower") and it was supposedly English anarchist. The Inspector goes to "Ground Zero" and on and on and on. While I felt it all was a bit much, it was the resolution of the plot where I parted ways with the book.

So another series to avoid.

NEXT!