Voices of love (Ai no koe)

I have been wanting to read this manga for a long time because I  see the picture from the cover everywhere. It has been on my list for a long time and two days ago I said “right, it’s about time I read this.” So here I am. It actually disappointed me quite a lot. The cover is the best this about the manga, in my opinion.

It turns out there are five one-shots and only one volume.

Pretty much all of the stories are the same; a love story about a girl and a boy. There're the typical teacher-student relationship and some best-friend-wants-more-than-to-be-friends stories. The end is very predictable and the characters aren't that likeable. Actually, the boys are all hookers that spend their days sleeping with any/every girl they can get their hands on, while the girls just sit in a corner and cry and never ever think it might be a possibility for them to stand up for themselves. But the pictures are ok-ish. I don’t recommend you read this manga for the pleasure of reading, but if what you want is to expand your manga-knowledge, then I would say you can read it. It’s bound to come up somewhere when you search for “manga” on google.

Average rating from Manga-updates: 6.7 / 10

My rating: 5.3 / 10

Oneshot Wonders

When I don't feel like starting an everlasting series, but rather prefer something quick to read, I look up oneshots or manga with very few chapters that I can finish on the same day. Here are my favourite oneshots and oneshot collections, in no particular order.

Beautiful People by Mitsukazu Mihara is a one volume manga with six stories. The best is the last, but all of them are great and profound stories. Each of them can touch you in some way or another.

Le théâtre de A, from Asumiko Nakamura, has a different art style than most manga, but in a good way. They are very different stories, but all beautiful. A manga that has made me smile after a very long time of not doing so with a manga in my hand.

Natsukashi Machi's Rozione Sumomo Yumeka presents four charming, melancholy chapters that explore the trickling of time and the machinations of the heart.

If you prefer shounen-ai, Cello Mello is one of the best of it's genre. Six stories from Tohru Tagura that are very well drawn (I kept more than one image for my collection of favourite pictures) that leave you wishing for more.

Read Hotel if you prefer sci-fi. In my opinion, the first story is the best, but all of them are interconnected somehow. The stories are what you call thought-provoking.

Akazukin to Yasashii Ookami is great also. There are no words, only pictures, and it keeps surprising you when you figure out what's happening. It really leaves you empty at the end.