Tag Archives: Michiru

Book Review: Zombie-Loan, Vol 5 by Peach-Pit

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Zombie-Loan, Vol 4     

Author: Peach-Pit

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date:  February 17, 2009

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Fantasy Manga/176 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Michiru, Chika, and Sotetsu find themselves with an unexpected – and not very much wanted – ally in the form of Touhou. But his assistance is short-lived. He points them in the right direction to save Shito and makes his departure. Shito’s captor, Dr. Yoshizumi, is determined not to release him until he gets what he wants from Shito’s family – the law of shikai! The doctor plans to conquer death and he believes Shito’s family holds the secret to doing just that!

The group run into Ossan and Yuuta, to Sotetsu’s dismay, but Ossan says he was sent by Bekkou on a zombie case. Chika, seeing dollar signs, is all for that. Meanwhile, the doctor has an unexpected visitor in the form of an agent from the Akashic Record Reform Committee. She proposes to bend some rules in order to help him out.

Chika bursts into the room where Shito is being held, and of course he can’t resist needling his roommate. When Shito demands to be released from the chains that bind him, Chika refuses…until Shito uses his first name!  Stalemate!

Ossan confronts Sawaturi about the choices he’s made, but the man claims he was being used by Yoshizumi and how the doctor’s obsession with life and death resulted in the creation of a monstrous golem they call Phalanx. But Phalanx is stuck in a tank of nutrient and has no brain to act as control center. Which is why the Doctor wants the law of Shikai. Well, maybe he can work around that.

Shito’s been rescued, time to celebrate!  Drinking and karaoke all around! And while that is happening, a meeting of the ferrymen occurs.

I’m glad that Shito was rescued, although that was bittersweet also. But there are still so many questions unanswered. Hopefully we’ll learn more later. Watching Chika trying to force Shito to use his first name was hilarious. Chika should learn not to force things, that’s not how to get things done.  He needs to learn patience. The ferrymen meeting is very interesting, as is the Doctor’s studies of golems. And when there’s drinking involved, is it surprising that secrets are revealed?

Another great volume, looking forward to the next one!

Book Review: Zombie-Loan, Vol 4 by Peach-Pit

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Zombie-Loan, Vol 4       

Author: Peach-Pit

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date:  June 17, 2008

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Fantasy Manga/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Shito is even touchier than usual, especially after finding that someone has been in his room without his permission. How does he know? Things have been moved a fraction of a millimeter! He rejects Chika’s attempts to bond with him and takes off, warning the others not to follow. A strange man appears shortly after and hugs Chika within an inch of his life, to Chika’s annoyance. Michiru is surprised to learn the newcomer is Chika’s dad, Yuuri! With him is Chika’s sister, Momoka, who is not quite as energetic as her father. Michiru is appalled when they mistake her for Chika’s wife, but Chika lets them know that’s not true.

Meanwhile, Shito finds the man he knows to be responsible for the state of his room, a Chinese man who calls him Shito-shao. He refers to Shito as a monster, and mentions his master is concerned about him and his dealings with the zombie-loan people. When he returns home, Shito and Chika get into another fight. Ferryman decides to take everyone to dinner (with Ot-Su’s money)

Chika and Shito are in desperate need of money, especially since the trip to the hot springs wasn’t even zombie related. So when they spot a potentially high yielding zombie hunt, they jump at the chance to earn some big bucks. Meanwhile, a strange doctor is performing even stranger experiments on people, something have to do with zombies. And suddenly, Shito disappears.  At first no one questions it. But, as days pass, Chika begins to feel the effect of Shito’s absence, as does Shito. Something has to be done.

And another player enters the scene!

This volume mostly revolves around Shito’s kidnapping and recovery. We finally get a glimpse into Shito’s backstory, and it is a very interesting story indeed. We meet some new characters, including a free-wheeling zombie hunter and a somewhat adorable Shinigami that Michiru wants to take home. But of course, retrieving Shito can’t be too easy, right? So we end on a cliffhanger, as usual. Looking forward to the next volume!

Book Review: Zombie-Loan, Vol 3 by Peach-Pit

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Zombie-Loan, Vol 3     

Author: Peach-Pit

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date:  June 17, 2008

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Fantasy Manga/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Chika and Shito arrive too late to prevent Michiru and Koyomi from being kidnapped! They find themselves in the midst of the Butterfly’s fans, who are certainly a strange lot. Sitting around the dinner table with them gives Michiru an eerie feeling, especially when one person announces there is a heretic among them! Panicking, Michiru attempts to rouse the slumbering Koyomi, only to discover  that it is Yomi who responds to her frantic pleas. And then the cavalry arrives, aka Shito and Chika!

One of the fans escapes, and Michiru says she noticed a black ring around his neck, so the boys are up to going after him. Koyomi is in no condition to come with, but they call Yuuta to come and get her and off they go! They follow him into a decrepit abandoned building. Turns out this isn’t just any old fan of the Butterfly – it’s the man himself! And, even better, he has become a god!  Shades of Caligula!

Or is he?

Michiru is concerned about Chika. He seems understandably down after recent shocking events. She wants to help, but his request to sleep in her room throws her for a loop! Shito finds himself stuck with him when Michiru refuses.

The Chancellor decides everyone needs a chance to relax, so she sponsors a trip for everyone to the hot springs, including the Ferryman! Yay! But things take an unexpected turn when they arrive at a hotel that was shut down 27 years ago because of rumors of ghosts on the premises. Michiru’s room is next to Shito and Chika’s, and she can hear that, as usual, they are arguing. So she retreats to the hot springs to find Koyomi has arrived before her. Except it isn’t Koyomi, it’s Yomi, and she’s… well-developed. Which is a little intimidating for Michiru. And Yomi is so…touchy feely!

An impartial lottery decides Michiru and Shito have to go to the store to buy ingredients for dinner. But of course, nothing is simple with them, and trouble is never far behind.

I am really enjoying this series, and I like all the characters. This volume has an unexpected and horrific betrayal! Never saw that coming. The relaxation trip is pretty cute  and the cliffhanger leaves us wondering what is going to happen to Shito? Can’t wait for the next book!

Book Review: Zombie-Loan, Vol 2 by Peach-Pit

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Zombie-Loan, Vol 2     

Author: Peach-Pit

Publisher: Yen Press

American release date:  February 13, 2008

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Fantasy Manga/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

The Sister is missing, but life goes on, and even changes a little when Michiru says she won’t be getting the girls’ lunches anymore. Chika and Shito applaud her for standing up for herself, even if Chika still calls her gofer. But when he catches her eating bread crusts for lunch, because she can get them for free, he is appalled, because he believes that women need to eat food with fat so they can bear healthy babies. Unfortunately, being short of money for food, Michiru also has no place to live. Shito and Chika have an idea and return to Z-Loan where they tell her to go with a mysterious little girl, who will help her get a place to stay. She turns out to be Shimotsuki Kuze, chancellor of Holy Kurou Campus. Michiru ends up in the school’s old monastery, which has been turned into students dorms. But students must meet two criteria in order to stay there. First, the student must have a living arrangement problem as the result of a family issue.

Before Michiru can learn the second condition, a cheerful girl named Koyomi arrives, and the Chancellor tells her to show Michiru around and then leaves herself without offering an explanation. The condition of the dorms is less than ideal, but Michiru is thrilled to have her own room, with a window, even though it opens onto the cemetery. Shito and Chika and Koyomi throw her a small welcome party, which is when Michiru learns of her debt to the two boys. The only way to pay this debt is to work with them. After the party, Michiru also learns of Koyomi’s secret. The boys are delighted to learn that they can use Michiru to bring out that secret, naturally to benefit them.

Chika takes Michiru to his second job at a convenience store and makes her help him with his work. There he runs into an old acquaintance, Shiba, and the two boys instantly bond. Michiru thinks she’s never seen Chika so happy. However the situation turns dire when the three find themselves faced with a large number of rats!  Shiba’s solution to the problem surprises both Chika and Michiru. Afterward, when Shinba follows them to Z-Loan, things get tricky. Everyone is working together to solve a recent murder, and Shiba proves surprisingly helpful. So Ferryman offers him a job, to Shito’s chagrin. Believing Shito to be jealous of Chika’s relationship with Shiba, Michiru is set straight by Shito, who explains how things really work with him and Chika and why they appear to be so close.

Lots of secrets going on – some revealed, some not. We meet some new characters, including the personable Shiba, whom I suspect will be around for a while. Is he as nice as he appears to be, or does he contain a secret self? Only time will tell. The revelation regarding Chika and Shito is not totally surprising, as we saw evidence in the first volume, it’s simply been corroborated now. I like the artwork as well as the story and look forward to reading more.