Reviews for MAR, Volume 11

The average rating for MAR, Volume 11 based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-03-15 00:00:00 Robert Statsinger This review applies to all 7 books of the Kamichama Karin Series and contains no spoilers. A little back story for my own personal remembrance, when I first picked up this series it was at the urging of a friend who owned a copy and was letting me borrow it. I had just started to read manga through borrowing other books from her collection and was at that time still getting use to reading in the opposite direction. This was about three years ago and I ended up specifically loving this series so much that I would delve even deeper to the Japanese fandom. Soon finding myself obsessed with the country and this medium, that has still persisted to this day. Now, Kamichama is one of my absolute favourites thus far. This was the perfect introduction to reading manga and all the crazy worlds that come with it. I love the art, the styles are so mixed, going from incredibly detailed panels, to the classics of manga emotion, to adorable chibi-like drawings. The characters were always funny or at the very least adorable, and were layered enough to make you invest in their individual stories. The plot however, is a little bit harder for me to describe with proper praise. Although sometimes the story-lines got a bit too chaotic, Kamichama also has its strong moments. The biggest being the pure originality of each storyline littered with constant questions, great character twists, and the strangest relationship dynamics. These elements made up for any problems I had with keeping track of everyone's motives. I think that the strongest aspect of this series is that it acknowledges and understands its own weirdness (boarder line stupid-fun) and embraces it all for one fun and oddly interesting manga.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-05-07 00:00:00 Paul Thompson Karin is an orphan living with her stern aunt. She is alone and miserable, but for her beloved cat Shi-chan. Unfortunately for Karin, Shi-chan dies as well, leaving Karin alone with her misery. It is while grieving over Shi-chan's grave that Karin first meets the cute--but sexist--Kazune. Their meeting does not end well, and Karin continues to brood over her family situation and rude boys until she runs into someone else: this time, an adorable girl named Himeka. The two girls quickly become friends. Surprising no reader, but shocking Karin, it turns out that Kazune and Himeka are cousins. They are looking for a God. It's ridiculous to even consider Karin, Kazune tells Himeka--until he catches sight of Karin's ring, left to her by her mother. During his attempt to get a closer look at the ring, a strange power is awakened within it. Shocked and angry, Karin flees--but notes that she feels different: "there's a new feeling racing through me. . . and I think I like it!" Karin is a goddess, one of several--and not all of them have her best interest at heart. This story is absolutely *adorable.* The characters are younger than I usually like reading about--the manga is aimed at a youth audience--but they're sweet, and funny, and I am completely charmed. Karin is cute, but she's tough, too: "You don't have to be such a jerk, y'know! And stop belittling my gender!" She's not always the brightest girl, but she has a good heart, and determination, and a sense of humour about the strange circumstances in which she finds herself. How can one not like a heroine whose battle cry is "I am God!"