OMG, so much time is wasted visiting every single person who has ever appeared in this series so they can have a brief emotional but opaque conversation with someone who isn't even identified by name anywhere in the friggin' book because you need a sourcebook to keep track of everyone because the publisher certainly isn't going to offer a cast list or synopsis of what has come before because it would take up half of the pages in the book to even try and anyway apparently this is the only book you should be reading and rereading to get every friggin' nuance of each character's slightest tilt of the head like there aren't a hundred other manga out there that aren't so damn frustrating.

It feels like this is supposed to be an epic based on the sheer number of characters and amount of world-building, but NOTHING EVER HAPPENS.

I have liked this series and the main characters, but I need to stop reading it before I come to hate it. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the 12th volume in the Ancient Magus Bride series. I bought this.

Story (3/5): I feel like this series has really gone downhill in the last couple volumes. I don’t even really know what’s going on anymore since the story is so fractured between a million different characters that I don’t care about. This was mostly Chise chattering with her new classmates and getting to know them and uncovering some of their secrets. There was also a lot of Elias being jealous, aside from that he wasn’t in the story a ton. There were a couple good scenes between Elias and Chise discussing his clinginess and what he wants out of a life with Chise.

Characters (3/5): While I still enjoy Elias, Silky, and Chise...a lot the rest of the characters were introduced so quickly that I have a lot of trouble caring about them or even keeping track of them. There is some stuff going on with Alice that is interesting but the rest I just couldn’t stay focused on because I just didn’t care.

Setting (3/5): The setting at the school is okay but feels very Harry Potterish. I miss the times when Chise and Elias did some traveling to more interesting places.

Writing/Drawing Style (3/5): While the drawings are still detailed and well done they have gotten harder to follow. There’s just so much jumping around I feel like we are getting quick glimpses into various areas rather than actually reading a cohesive story, I am not a fan. Originally I was excited for this new storyline to start and now I just don’t even want to read anymore of this series.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this volume was a disappointment to me. The story is too fractured and there are way too many characters that I really don’t care about at all. The last few books in the series have been like this and because of that I am setting this series aside. I just don’t like where it’s gone and am disappointed in what a mess the story has become. ( )