whimsydearest

At first glance, Saint Cecilia is wise, composed, and beloved by her townspeople. However, behind the scenes, she is lazy and clumsy and it’s up to poor Pastor Lawrence to try and look after her. Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence Volume 1 by Hazano Kazutake is a charming, wholesome slice-of-life manga with lovely artwork. To be honest though, my biggest issue with Volume 1 is its lack of plot structure. The beginning starts off a bit meandering—comprised of mostly short, comedic vignettes. However, around halfway through, the story finally starts to take shape and we get hints of a potential romance as well as a looming supernatural threat. I found the second half to be more compelling (along with Lawrence and Cecilia’s adorable relationship), so I’m curious to see where the story will go from here. Thank you, NetGalley and Kodansha, for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Ryo, a closeted trans teenager who's struggling with the awkwardness of high school, his feelings about his body, and his crush on his best friend. None of this is helped by the fact that he also has to wear the girls’ uniform at school. It’s outside of school where he’s able to feel the most comfortable—when he’s able to wear the kinds of clothes he wants. Then one day when he’s out shopping, he bumps into the school’s transfer student and they both reach for the same shirt at the same exact time. Since they have similar tastes in clothes, his classmate proposes a wild idea: what if they started a fashion brand together?  Boys Run the Riot Vol. 1 by Keito Gaku is a poignant, heartfelt story about how fashion acts as a form of self-expression. It provides an introspective look at what it’s like to build a small fashion brand from the ground up. We get to see how much of a collaborative effort it is and what sort of challenges the characters face along the way....