#yona title pages

[tinysnailtales]

[ratherhavehopewithyou]

The friend who doesn't call our name... even Ao isn't smiling now 😭

[sarnai4]

New Families

I read the latest Yona chapter and began thinking about Mundok. I have so many questions surrounding this man and the Wind Tribe in general. According to the wiki page, he had two sons and a wife who died. Their names were Sor-On, Tan-Seh, and Kikuri. I've never heard them mentioned in the show or seen their names in the manga, but it adds to a headcanon of mine.

What if after Mundok's family died, he went into this really dark, deep depression? He stopped fighting with the same spunk and vigor he used to have. This is when he gets that scar over his right eye, but he still doesn't even care because it's not like he can use his eyes to see his loved ones anymore. Then...just as Mundok is almost ready to give up on everything and just let himself be killed so that a new general of the tribe can be selected, he finds an orphaned toddler? Despite being so small, this boy has a fierce look in his eyes that tells Mundok of his strength. He hadn't seen a look like that since his family died. It does something to him.

Suddenly, Mundok has someone to fight for again. He has someone else who has gone through the pain of losing family and even though the child is so young, the man can tell that he feels it. The general takes out the enemies who killed the child's parents. As he does, it's like he's avenging both of their families. When he's done, he comes to a realization. He knows the boy has no one, so he brings him back and raises him as his own. Hak's now the grandson that Mundok never was able to have since his sons died too soon. The title that he was never able to pass down can now be given to someone just as worthy as the rightful heir would have been.

Hak can fill the hole in the man's broken heart. He can make Mundok happy enough to share this with another orphan. It seems like Hak can do it all. The only thing he cannot do is die, which is why Mundok cultivated Hak's natural skills so much. He could not lose anyone else. He needed to create someone who could not be killed. He needed a Lightning Beast.

[neixins]

[ID: a compilation of panels from “yona of the dawn”, focused on parallels between hak and yona (left column), and gija and jaeha (right column). descriptions of each panel are included in alt text. end ID.]

ch. 75 & 204; 63; 108 & 107; 134 & 105.1; 107 & 95; 137 & 130; 226 & vol 19 title page; 254 & 133

-> part 1

[animehouse-moe]

The Iceberg of Online Manga - A Reading List and Print Wishlist

We get a lot of manga in English, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. We get a hell of a lot of fan translated manga, but even that doesn't cover the whole thing. Separated by language and culture, the "untapped" potential of manga is foreign to a lot of readers, myself included really. But it's because of that deficiency that I decided to start taking a look at interesting fan translated titles to find series to recommend to publishers (and potentially read), so this is a sneak peek into my ever-growing list.

It's also an open request for people to share their favorites from the online manga sphere! As a single person it's impossible to find all the hidden gems, so being able to share titles between one another can really help widen horizons.

Sui and Neri of the Twilight Planet / Tasogare-Boshi No Sui To Neri

In a way, it reminds me of Girls Last Tour, a sunsetting planet that explores the oddity of a du in their life. Not quite as bittersweet or contemplative through what I've seen so far, but still very pretty and detailed. Lots and lots of hand drawn background art, and some really good layouts and paneling.

Poison Poison Forest Forest /Doku Doku Mori Mori

Mushroom on Mushroom violence, with a healthy side of grim visuals. It's got all the punch you could expect, and has a pretty novel approach to what you could consider a revenge story. Still early on so not a mountain of stuff to go off of, but at the very least what there is is good.

Captain Momo's Secret Base / Momo Kanchou No Himitsu Kichi

Tsuruta Kenji, the mastermind behind the art of Emanon (and other series), need I really say more? Regardless, with Tsuruta's art behind a lighthearted and curious series of a woman travelling through space alone with a cat, it's an undeniably enjoyable ride. Though do be warned, there is quite a bit of nudity featured as Momo prefers going commando to wearing clothes.

Every Every Night / Yona Yona Yona

An incredibly strikingly designed robin hood-esque story, Yona and her crew go on nightly missions to try and steal back art that was originally stolen by a corrupt police force. Creative, expressive, fun, and impressively detailed and unique, it's got quite a bit of potential!

The Feared Witch of Tasihou / Taishou Kitan Majo

Mixing the Western practices of Witchcraft with a Taishou-era Japan setting? A cultural combination that I'm truthfully surprised we haven't really seen yet. Add onto that the incredibly unique and sketch-like art style (and the wonderful color pages) and it's just a super easy pickup.

Welcome to Hotel Metsäpeura / Hotel Metsäpeura e Youkoso

A little hard to explain succinctly, but this is the story of a trio, two men and a teenager who they find standing outside their hotel in the Finnish wilderness in the middle of Winter. Characters with... interesting pasts, it's a story about providing not just a house, but a home to this young boy on his own.

The Ends of A Dream / Yume no Hashibashi

This is one that I'm really quite desperate to get in print. It's an emotional story of a pair as they retrace their forbidden romance through the years that have evaded them as they reach the end of their lives. A painfully beautiful concept that I really hope to see licensed someday.

Will You Clean This For Me? / Kirei Ni Shitemoraemasuka

Alright, something a little more light and fun! A story of a laundry (though it's really sorta general cleaning) shop as they go about their daily life, even offering a few tips and tricks to better cleaning things. Simple idea that has some pretty clear care put into it, and is just the right thing to relax with.

Amber Days and Golden Nights / Kohaku no Yume de Yoimashou

Let's keep the good vibes rolling! Another specific interest series, this time about craft beer. Kenzaki Nana's a burnt out employee at a Kyoto advertising firm, but happens to stumble across the Shirokuma bar. With just one night she ends up pulled into the world of craft beer, and our story begins! Very fun and light, and a really cool area to see explored by manga.

The Dragon, The Hero, and The Courier / Ryuu to Yuusha to Haitatsunin

Nothing like some good old comedy at the expense of someone else. Yoshida, a half elf, is a mail carrier for the Imperial City of Idazig that will deliver mail to anyone, anywhere. With the breadth of fantasy and middle-ages history expressed early on, there's a lot of creative potential for humor alongside the really wonderfully scratchy and sharp art.

Deep Sea Aquarium Magmell / Magmell Shinkai Suizokukan

My friend Phantom would kill me if this wasn't on the list. Anyways, it's a series about a deep sea aquarium employee in Tokyo. Very cool, very informal, and incredibly beautiful. I love how much they work with blacks and darkness in the art.

A Coffee Shop in the Unwaking Town / Samenai Machi no Kissaten

I love stories that are incredibly odd and quiet, and this is no exception. Suzume one day finds herself unable to wake up, stuck in the unwaking town Lutetia. It's in this town that she works at the coffee shop known as 'Quatre'. From the moment I laid eyes on it I knew I'd enjoy it, a unique concept paired with standout art, it has such a comfortable feeling to its experience (as well as offering a few recipes).

Living In an Antiquarian Bookstore of The Karakida Family / Karakida-ke no Kosho Gurashi

A simple story about three girls inheriting their grandfather's shop in the heart of the largest collection of used bookstores, Kanda-Jinbouchou. A very calm and borderline mundane story that is supplemented with some truly beautiful art.

And that's all this list has in it for now! Of course I've got more I can chat about, but I thought these to be the most promising in my perusing of the internet. Best of all though? All of these are available (to some degree) on MangaDex! If you want to give them a shot they're there. And really, do feel free to add to this list with your own online finds, I'd love to find all sorts of unique and creative manga that we don't get to hear about in the English sphere!

[apparently-artless]

for the animangaask, have you read the latest chapter of akatsuki no yona? if so, what are your thoughts?

Yep, I did this morning. WARNING: AKATSUKI NO YONA CHAPTER 243 SPOILERS AHEAD!! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!!

First, I salute Hak for trying his best not to punch Su-won right then. XD Hak already said it all. He spoke for all the readers who support Yona. Su-won didn't think at the beginning that Yona is capable of being the next ruler of Kouka Kingdom. But Hak, who was always by Yona's, knew how hard-working she is and that she has potential. Hak already mentioned it before. He decided to follow Yona not just because King Il told him to, but because he was captivated by Yona's determination. Su-won failed to see this before. And now that he's seeing Yona's true capability, he wants Yona to be the next ruler. Hak has every right to be angry. Su-won drove Yona away from her own kingdom and even tried to have her killed. Hak, who was always by Yona's side, knew everything. Every time Yona suffers, he suffers with her together. So Su-won trampling on Yona's feelings makes Hak hurt even more.

The last 3 pages were very painful to read. Because I think, that was already the time that Hak already stopped thinking of Su-won as his friend. Su-won, even when on the brink of death, has no intentions of changing his ways and thinking. Hak also thinks differently. So the image where the two of them are going on different paths suggests that Hak already found his resolve to forget everything between them. I felt so sorry for Hak and Yona. It's a good thing that Yona wasn't there because honestly, I don't know how she would react. Without ever knowing, Su-won trampled on Hak's resolve. At the very beginning, Hak was already resolved to be by Yona and Su-won's side as they both rule the kingdom. He's willing to put aside his feelings for Yona and support Su-won as her "rightful" husband. That's the future that Hak was hoping for.

This really broke my heart. At some point, I was still hoping that they would reconcile but that might be impossible now. Hak felt betrayed too many times and there's a limit to how much he can handle. Look at the faces Hak was making while talking to Su-won. He's so full of despair, it's really heart-breaking. T_T

At the end of the day, no matter how much you treasure that person, and no matter how much you wanted to stay by that person's side, if you have such great differences in principles and values, it's really best to part ways. Damn, the title of the chapter is so fucking perfect. o(TヘTo) I mean, if I was also in Hak's position, I would probably do the same. Su-won, was undeniably, a good ruler in the face of other people. In the end, maybe I also failed to understand Su-won's character. Did he ever consider Yona and Hak as his precious friends? He said that he was being selfish, but it seems to me that he did not regret any of those actions that he's done. I also wonder what were the last words he told Hak. Anyway, I'd probably contemplate some more as I wait for the next chapter.

[saffronapplemanga]

Tenjou Renka: Kin no Oujo to Hi no Kusushi - 天上恋歌～金の皇女と火の薬師～

HISTORICAL, ADVENTURE

Tenjou Renka ~Kin no Oujo to Hi no Kusushi~ by Aoki Tomo

(6 volumes, ongoing)

JP only - English summary in this post

Links to my other manga posts here

I can't remember where I first saw this, but Tenjou Renka caught my eye a while ago with this cover. Look at it — it's gorgeous. Like I said in my Tenmaku no Jadoogar: A Witch's Life in Mongol post, I've been really getting into historical fiction so this manga looked like something I'd enjoy. I'm currently reading Yona of the Dawn, which Tenjou Renka has some similarities to (ye olde Asia, princess on an adventure, etc.), and I've been having the best time! I plan to give my thoughts on that too, but there's a lot more content with that series and I've been taking my time reading it.

The full title of Tenjou Renka roughly translates to Heavenly Love Song ~The Princess of Kin and Medicine Man of Fire~. I was excited to read this manga because it seems we have a cool falconer princess with some lovely art! So, how did it do?

Twitter reading thread here. Thoughts after the summary.

***SPOILERS FOR VOLUME ONE***

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In the first few pages, we see a precession from the country, Kin, making its way to the allied country, Sou. Here we meet our nomadic princess, Aira.

There are rumors that Aira is to wed the prince of Sou... except she herself doesn't know this??? Awaiting the arrival of their allies, Sou greets them with a show of fireworks. Aira, however, runs straight over to one of the fireworks craftsmen and gives him a big old hug... before saying a word to the royals... when she's supposed to be an ambassador of sorts from Kin... and there are talks of her marrying the prince that's literally standing right there... uh...

What are you doing... She said, "I didn't get the chance to thank you! I'll never forget that night!" GIRL, YOU'RE GONNA GET THIS MAN EXECUTED!!! He's gonna get guillotined! He's gonna get the noose!!!!!!!!!!!

We go back in time a few days, and long story short, Aira and company got attacked mid-journey which led her to fall off a cliff and into a river. The fireworks craftsman, Hakurinshi (or as Aira calls him, Rinshi) finds her washed up. He takes her to his hut to treat her and her falcon. When she wakes up and says she needs to meet back up with her brother. Rinshi tells her to follow him so he can show her something. He lights a firework, which Aira had never seen before, and signals her brother to their location. Reunited, Aira turns to thank Rinshi, but he's already gone. Flash forward to the current day, she sees her savior and takes the opportunity to finally thank him... by aggressively hugging him... in that situation. *sigh*

If you see me spell something wrong, no you didn’t. Twitter, where’s my edit button???

Unsurprisingly, this is bad. Rumors start spreading, some Sou royals and citizens are not happy, and Rinshi gets called in by higher-ups to explain himself. Aira has completely fallen for Rinshi but ends up getting scolded by her brother Uju. He tells her to forget it and that Rinshi is from a different country and class. And he FINALLY tells Aira that there were talks of her being wed to the Sou prince, Kouou, but it's been tabled for now. (Why tf was Aira the last person to find this out?!) She's shocked at this information but Uju says that they wouldn't go through with it if she didn't want to. It isn't until she mulls over the new information and what she did at the palace does she realize, "Oh no, I was super rude to the prince and made an awful first impression!" ...UM, DUH?

*Deep breath*

Prince Kouou shows Aira and Uju around and he reveals that he's a two-faced jerk to only Aira just like I expected. (Aira, why didn't you tell your brother that Kouou wasn't to be trusted?! WHY WON'T ANYONE COMMUNICATE???) Apparently, he thinks the marriage is still on and that it doesn't matter what they want. It's their duty to go through with a political marriage if that's what's decided. Aira has to continue doing ambassador/goodwill duties for the next few days at the Sou palace so they'll be in town for a bit longer.

The last bit of volume one has the people of Kin falling ill from poisoned food. Aira is one of the few who hadn't eaten yet and was spared, thus leaving her to take charge and care for the sick. She goes looking for Rinshi for help since he was able to take care of her and her falcon before. What was weird to me was that she asked him to teach her how to care for the sick instead of asking him to come with her to where they all were. Rinshi is the one who said he was coming with to help, and Aira was surprised by this...

Instead of wasting time at his place learning how to play doctor, take him with you dummy!!! Also, the Sou palace knew what happened but they were like, "Oh no, it's getting late and it'll be morning by the time the doctors come to help!" DON'T YOU GUYS HAVE DOCTORS AT THE PALACE??? WHAT??????

The resolution to this section of the story was also annoying. Plus, no one was at risk of dying. They just threw up and felt sick.

Why THE HELL would you, the cook who prepares everyone’s food, including the Kin royals, use some random plant you don’t know??? Fire him immediately. This isn't poisoned food, this is food poisoning smh.

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***END OF SPOILERS FOR VOLUME ONE***

I usually try to give manga a few volumes, but honestly? I made it halfway through volume 2, skimmed the rest of the volume, and gave up. I'm going to mention minor spoilers here btw.

It doesn't make sense. The setup for the drama doesn't make any damn sense. I can't even be mad at Aira, at least not completely, because I blame her family/handlers for not teaching her ANYTHING before sending her off to be an ambassador and putting her in these situations! Literally, her handmaiden was teaching her things about the Sou royals she should've already known while they were at the Sou palace... Like... excuse me? I also don't like how there are info dumps.

Aira's handmaiden is teaching her info about Sou AFTER she just did a ceremonial thing at the palace. You should have taught her this stuff before!

We do find out that Aira's tribe recently won independence 8 years ago, so they're kind of "new royalty" but they should still know to tell her to watch herself in Sou. If there was some Sou custom they weren't familiar with that she messed up, or was awkward because she wasn't a princess from birth/comes from a more "primitive" country, then okay. But that's not what's happening here. I mean, even if you weren't promised to the prince, YOU'RE A PRINCESS WHO'S AN AMBASSADOR IN AN ALLIED COUNTRY!!! You didn't even greet the prince and king!!!!!!!!! That's just Manners 101!

And I’m a nobody!

I don't want to compare to Yona of the Dawn, but it's a little hard not to. I'm very early on in Yona of the Dawn (mid vol 5) but even then we see that while Yona is extremely naive, scared, and sheltered, she's not stupid. And in her case, she wasn't prepared for the events that resulted in her life being turned upside down. For Yona, it came out of nowhere. But for Aira, they planned to go to Sou. They knew this was happening. She should have been more prepared to do her duties as the princess of Kin, yet she fumbled it within seconds of her arrival at the palace. It doesn't make her funny or charming. It just makes her look dumb.

There are some parts that DO make sense. Aira being able to stand her ground adds up because she comes from a nomadic tribe.

Action scenes!

A lot of people in Sou, both noble and peasant, call the people of Kin savages/barbarians. Some nobles ask ignorant questions like, "I heard your people live in caves? Is that true? What, you can move your homes? How strange." And honestly, that's realistic. I cannot tell you how many times I've been asked if my family lives in tents and rides camels to school/work.

The start of the show here is Rinshi, hands down. He's known as the local weirdo who collects random plants and rocks and the like.

Mood, tbh. Throwback to my Yotsuba&! post about how me and my friend drove all the way from Tokyo to the Sea of Japan just to go rock collecting.

In reality, he's just a quiet guy with unbound curiosity. He wants to travel and see new things, learn new things, and collect new things so he can learn about those too. Rinshi wears tinted glasses to protect his eyes from light damage, which happens to a lot of craftsmen. But they’re are an unusual thing that no one's ever seen before and just adds to his "weird" status. I swear this man is ahead of his time.

Dreaming of all the cool stuff out there in the big wide world. I'm rooting for you buddy.

He also just seems like a genuinely sweet guy and would make for an awesome male lead!

The author, Aoki, clearly has a great love for Chinese history. This isn't even their first manga with this setting. On Aoki's Twitter, you can see all the research they do. They even get recreated armor/clothing to take reference photos!

Mad respect.

Remember kids, reference is important!

Tenjou Renka is amazing for seeing historical clothing and settings, as well as culture. However, I feel like these things take priority over the actual story.

We love well-researched historical fiction!

I was curious to see what other readers thought of the story, and while unsurprisingly there were people who really enjoyed it, some reviewers share my sentiment.

This reviewer is basically saying how Aira doesn't realize her own position/the situation she's in and just causes so many problems.

This person says that the girls feel immature/juvenile and it's a real shame because the historical aspects are well-researched.

But yeah, this was a title I was excited to get into, but it just left me frustrated and disappointed. I mean, listen — a foreign princess betrothed to the prince falls in love with a local weirdo and they both want to travel the world and learn new things? It’s so frustrating because this manga has the recipe… Tenjou Renka had so much potential, but the contrived drama annoyed the hell out of me. So much didn't make sense or could have been avoided, and that really soured any good it had. I can see a lot of people enjoying this, but unfortunately, it's just not working out for me. I would like to flip through the later volumes if only for the clothing and setting design.

Not even best boy Rinshi can make me keep reading. I hope you collect all the stuff your heart desires.

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If there's any Japanese-only manga you want me to check out, let me know! No promises, I'll only read what I'm interested in, but I'll take suggestions into consideration. Preferably, shorter manga or newer manga with a few volumes out since I like to take breaks from longer series I'm reading :)

[tsukiyon]

Smh I am really sick of whenever people ask for shoujosei recommendations that are not focusing on romance and everyone including huge fan pages keeps recommending/talking about the same ones and of course the person who asked already has seen it. Like absolutely no, series like Akayona, Furuba, Natsume aren't underrated but pretty popular instead. You can even check anime websites for their popularities and scores too if you aren't aware of that but these are some of the most popular shoujosei for the last 10 years at least. It is completely okay to promote huge series to get more attention to the demographic so we can get more adaptations too. But what I don't get is that if you have seen shoujosei animanga other than romance genre and want people to appreciate the demographic more, you should be aware that those series already pretty popular enough and some of the classics are overlooked or directly unknown. I have said this once somewhere and people naturally came at me aggressively but my point still stands. Why Sailor Moon Cosmos doesn't get the hype it deserves despite it being the grand final of one of the most iconic and great shoujo series that also paved the way for others and have every genre inside of it from action to romance? Just because the series' name itself is well known doesn't mean it is actually popular, the popularity on anime websites are pretty low actually and people who claims to see the series usually remember it from their age of 4-5s or smth. Or why I barely heard anyone talking about such meaningful and great anime/manga as Niehime To Kemono No Ou, Children of the Whales, Saiunkoku Monogatari, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne? Although none of them prioritize romance and have more precious purposes to their stories. Wouldn't these series be great to promote the demographic as well? I do think that trends and popularity overall does have huge impact of people's positive ideas of some series or genres, demographics etc. If you keep mentioning the same series' names over and over, people will obviously think the demographic don't have anything good other than them although there is even better series than them. I love Akatsuki No Yona, it is one of the series that is personal to me. But Saiunkoku does the political drama better and Basara handles writing the angsty political adventure perfectly. I want more people to see these unknown masterpieces and appreciate them as much as currently popular ones. Talking about a few titles all the time won't help anyone.

[shoujo-josei-anime-poll]

Tournament Bracket (Round 2)

Hey shoujosei fans, I've just completed the match ups for round 2. Here is what the upcoming polls will look like for round 2 of voting:

Okay you know what. More people voted for Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun than Natsume's Book of Friends. But I am getting conflicting info about Nozaki's demographic. The wiki page says shoujo. The magazine it was published in does have some male-targeted titles, but it's also in the same magazine as My Happy Marriage...But I've seen more than one person say it's shounen.

TLDR: I'm keeping Nozaki in but throwing Natsume in for another chance, too (since at least Natsume's Book of Friends is 100% shoujo)

Maria Watches Over Us VS Sugar Sugar Rune

Skip Beat! VS Servamp

Only Yesterday VS Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun VS Natsume's Book of Friends

D.N.Angel VS Karneval

Glass Mask VS Ghost Hunt VS Full Moon

Snow White With The Red Hair VS Requiem of the Rose King

The Yuzuki Family's Four Sons VS Diabolik Lovers

Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits VS Fushigi Yuugi

Banana Fish VS Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku

Kase-san and Morning Glories VS My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead To Doom!

Whisper of the Heart VS Play It Cool, Guys

My Love Story With Yamada-kun at Lv999 VS Life Lessons With Uramichi Oniisan

Ouran High School Host Club VS Paradise Kiss

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague VS Hotarubi no Mori e

Tokyo Mew Mew VS Pretty Cure

Ore Monogatari!! VS Maid Sama!

Nana VS Princess Tutu

Shugo Chara! VS Kageki Shoujo!!

Lovely Complex VS Honey and Clover

Princess Jellyfish VS Sasaki and Miyano

Kimi Ni Todoke VS The Rose of Versailles

Revolutionary Girl Utena VS Yona of the Dawn

Chihayafuru VS Fruits Basket

Cardcaptor Sakura VS Sailor Moon

[morebedsidebooks]

Ten EcoLit Titles from Around the World

Fiction with a mind on ecology and environmental themes are one of my favourites. Further topics from animal rights, energy sources, to disasters and dystopian society have only become more and more relevant. So, from across the six continents here are 10 EcoLit titles. (FYI, I try to provide content notes for all titles I review in the links.)

  Children of the Sea by Igarashi Daisuke, translated by JN Productions, lettering Jose Macasocol

Adapted to an animated film in 2019, the award-winning five-volume-comic by Japanese artist Igarashi Daisuke, Children of the Sea is a bit of a mystery, with a somewhat nonlinear timeline. Further a gorgeous and mesmerizing tribute to the ocean and aquatic life as the ocean’s fish begin disappearing worldwide.

 The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun, translated by Lizzie Buehler

This the first translated book by Korean author Yun Ko-eun is the sort of trim ecolit novel that begs the question of just how dark, dark tourism can get. Yona Ko works for Jungle which specializes in travel packages to disaster areas. If that sounds rather problematic it also has a corporate culture that’s unsurprisingly very much the kind with a missing stair. So, the ten-year company veteran ends up on a review trip to one of the least lucrative destinations in Southeast Asia. A tropical island that decades ago was the site of a genocide and giant sink hole, now a lake. Initially coming off more as a paradise, the island however is hiding an all too deadly side.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones

From the Noble winning Polish author Olga Tokarczuk, this novel is ostensibly a murder mystery. However, page by page Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead examines climate change, predation, exploitation, diet, and belief. The reality that man is an animal whose attempts to forget or detach one’s relationship and own position in nature is lethal.

  Eclipse Our Sins by Tlotlo Tsamaase

From Motswana author Tlotlo Tsamaase Eclipse Our Sins is an achingly lyrical novelette that appeared in SFF Clarkeswold Magazine, Issue 159 December 2019 (+ audio version). It presents an apocalyptic earth ravaged by climate change with a largely immoral mankind split in increasing class disparity. And abused Mama Earth is angry…

 Fauna by Christiane Vadnais, translated by translated by Pablo Strauss

Speculative fiction holds real life hallmarks of dystopia and apocalypse in this debut work of fiction by Quebecois author Christiane Vadnais. Delivering thought-provoking expressions of 10 interconnected cli-fi vignettes with a real strain of horror, it sometimes comes off as more for shock value. Yet, Fauna is nevertheless a title which can stay with the reader.

Gwen in Green by Hugh Zachary

Gwen in Green is a story beget from the brutal transformation of 1,200 acres due to construction of the Brunswick Nuclear Plant in North Carolina during the early 1970s. This sexy eco-horror pulp by Hugh Zachary, revived in Paperbacks from Hell, personifies not just nature but a decade.

  The Seeds written by Ann Nocenti and art by David Aja

Years in the making, this speculative eco-tech thriller comic by US journalist and writer Ann Nocenti with artist David Aja is an uncanny dystopian and, in many ways, strangely prescient book. There are aliens, misinformation, conspiracy theories and a toxic environment… Words don’t really do credit to the absolute eerie monochromatic colour scheme art either. One comic best to just dive into yourself. (BONUS: Ann Nocenti is also responsible for one of my favourite DC Comics illustrated by John Van Fleet, Poison Ivy: Cast Shadows.)

Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastical Stories in a Sustainable World edited by Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro, translated by Fábio Fernandes

Solarpunk is a genre that has grown, especially over the last decade. From a country that does in the real world have a high majority percentage of its energy from renewable sources, it is valuable that this 2012 Brazilian anthology is available in translation to not be forgotten in the canon.

(BONUS: Looking for something more hopeful and soothing? I highly recommend the Hugo award winning, philosophical, solarpunk Monk & Robot novella duology by US author Becky Chambers)

 The Story Collector by Evie Gaughan

A historical romance from an Irish author weaving local folklore, additionally this is a novel importantly about the human link to nature. How it helps people in some of the darkest times.The verdant wintry setting and time, as the light of the sun starts increasing, acts almost as a living character influencing its characters separated by 100 years, along with the consequences of man’s hubris and disrespect.

The Swan Book by Alexis Wright

Published almost ten years ago this post-apocalyptic novel from a notable Australian Indigenous author remains a vivid and powerful literary saga today. In a world devastated by climate change and subsequent governmental collapse, its Aboriginal main character Oblivia undergoing much suffering tries to achieve self-determination. Heavy, with an eye on history, full of dense metaphors, symbols including swans, and links with folklore, the text is well worth the effort and praise.

[winddragonart]

Found this book bingo that I thought would be fun to try this year. Now, I don’t plan on reordering my reading order to fit these, but if my books fit in here, I’ll slap it onto the bingo. Here’s September's. The covered ones are as follows: Title Begins with "S": Seraph of the End Vol. 9 by Takaya Kagami Cover is Red: Sherlock Holmes and Count Dracula by Christian Klaver Under 150 Pages: Seraph of the End Vol. 10 by Takaya Kagami Library Book: Bone of Contention by Roberta Gellis Read in One Day: Yona of the Dawn Vol. 6 by Mizuho Kusanagi On Your TBR for 2+ Years: One Corpse too Many by Ellis Peters

Posted using PostyBirb

[tinysnailtales]

[hisazuki]

Title page for Akatsuki no Yona chapter 158 by Mizuho Kusanagi, from Hana to Yume issue 12/2018 - print and digital versions.

[cherriedawn]

i’m legit crying while reading Akatsuki no Yona if you guys wanna read some GUD SHIT please invest your time in reading this masterpiece

[neixins]

[ID: the title page of volume 26 of “yona of the dawn”, cropped to include only the illustration, which is surrounded by a black border with decorative details in the corners. the image features gija, drawn in profile; he’s cradling a cat in his arms and looking up at the sky. he’s wearing a shawl over a wide-sleeved robe, and his dragon hand is partially wrapped in gauze. his breath is visible in the cold air. end ID.]

[gemini-writes]

Title: Dragon King

Fandom: Haikyuu!!

Character: Bokuto Koutarou

Reader Pronouns: She/Her

Plot: Royal AU! where reader (y/n) is a beautiful princess who has to face tragedies such as not being allowed out of the castle and looking for a future husband to become king one day.

A/N: Hey guys! I haven't posted in a while but I have had this idea ever since I watched Snow White With the Red Hair and Yona of the Dawn back to back! I've been on a Royal AU kick for a while now so I thought I'd make my own series that I hope more than just I can enjoy!

A/N p2: I do not own any of the characters included in this series except for y/n. I do own the actions of said characters within this AU. I also do not own any pictures (unless other stated) used for aesthetic purposes, they all come from pinterest!

Taglist: @ceo-of-daichi @harley-michaels @daninaninani

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Dragon King Masterlist

Info Page

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

More to come...

***all posts will be tagged with #GW Dragon King and/or #gw dragon king