Onwards

Posted on January 1, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

So just like that, we’re in 2023. I kind of touched upon this in a post last week looking back over the last year, but now I want to set out my goals for the year ahead. I did not stick to any of my 2022 goals at all, they got thrown out of the window almost instantly, hopefully this year I’ll stick to them a bit better. This year I turn thirty and I want to make it the best year possible.

First up, I have 2 half finished books that I want to finish the first draft on. I’m hoping to really get going with both of these in the next few weeks and have them both finished pretty quickly. They’re over half way through, so having those finished would be really nice. On top of that I have two ideas that are really fleshed out and I want to have those written down. That will take most of the year writing-wise, but if I stick to it, then come this time next year I’ll have 4 finished books that I don’t have today.

Second, half a short story published every month, on the final day of the month. I started this with Teddy yesterday, and I know the story I’m writing this month. Something I started last year, but didn’t finish. Going forward I also want to have a more strict schedule on here. On the last day of every month will be a new story, every 15th of each month will be a general update post about how writing has gone, or stuff I have planned. The first of each month will be me setting out a challenge of which books I plan to read in the following month, and a recap of what I’ve read in the previous one. (I’ll write out what I’m going to read in January later in this post). I’m hoping to read a lot more varied and unusual books this year, and if I say what I’m going to read, then I’ll stick to it. Then every other day will be reviews of books, films, maybe TV shows, games. Plus randomly will be more like diary posts where I’ve done something or been somewhere that I think might be interesting to read about.

To go alongside that I want to get out and do some things that I haven’t done before. I have two trips planned this year, including one that I was supposed to take back in 2020, but got delayed over and over. Beyond that there’s so many places in the UK that I haven’t been to before that could make good cheap days out.

Probably most importantly I want to carry on losing weight. I’m over a stone lighter now that I was this time last year and I’m hoping to keep that up and lose more weight over the next year. Get out more, walk more, exercise more. I would also really like to climb a mountain like Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa. I wanted to do that in 2022 as well, but just didn’t do it. Maybe this year is the year.

Circling back to the reading, for this month I’m going to read the following four books: Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami, Anything is Possible and Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout, and The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi.

What about you? What are your goals/resolutions for this year?

Thanks for reading,

Ashley

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Teddy – Short Story

Posted on December 31, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Teddy is my latest short story, and I think it’s one of the darkest things I’ve ever written if not the darkest. It’s not particularly gory, but it’s definitely not for everyone and I think it’s quite a sad story. I won’t be offended if you don’t read it. For context I wrote this back in 2021 and I haven’t put it up because I was worried about people’s reactions, but I feel like it’s time to share it. Anyway here it is:

My best pal fell with a slight whine. The day before we were walking through the park, just like any other evening. He let me off the leash for a few minutes and run around the field. It was empty, which was the only time he would let me. I loved every moment, chugging along as fast as my legs would let me. I knew my pal was waiting for me, over at the bench near the bush. I like the bush too, sometimes I can find things in there. Found a dead bird once, but he told me not to touch it. He dragged me back with the lead and led me away. I just wanted to sniff it some more. Figure out how long it had been dead for.

So, we were walking through the park. It was not that late in the evening, maybe just past dinner time. I can not read clocks. We walked past the climbing frames, there was someone there on the tractor climbing frame. I wanted to climb on it, I remember that. It is very cool to be high above the ground and see more around. There was one time when I was let off the lead, and I ran up to the tractor frame and jumped up on the wooden plank. I could see forever as far on until everything becomes blurry. It was so cool. My pal told me to come down though and keep up with him, so I did. He called me good boy. That is the best.

When I finished running around, I returned to him and sat by him while he sat on the bench. He was looking up at the sky and patted me on the head, rubbing my fur. It felt nice. We sat there for a long time. Sometimes we did that. He had been at work all day and it was nice just to sit there, let the breeze cool us. Part of me wanted to go home, though. There would be food not long after getting back, for both of us. He had put some chicken or something in the oven and once that was ready, I would get my bowl. I could not help wagging my tail at the thought of that.

“Come on Teddy,” he said, and I barked in return.

We both stood up and started walking back.

“Tomorrow,” he told me as we were walking back. “I’m going to have to take you out a little later. I know you don’t really understand this, but I’ve got a meeting at work that’s probably going to run late, so I will be home later. Don’t freak out. I’ll be back.”

I did not reply, but I understood. There was something going on at work. It had been happening for a while. I do not know what he does, but it is important. We went home and ate quietly. I think he went to bed early; I am not completely sure. Anyway, I stayed up and just wandered about, chewed my toy for a little while and then went to sleep at the foot of his bed in my little spot.

Then after work the next day, he was not late, he came home, had a shower, and then came and gave me a biscuit. I love biscuits. We were then getting ready for our evening walk and that’s when he fell over. He had my leash in his hand and whined a little. I thought he was playing a game at first, so I climbed on top of him and started licking his face. He moved a little but not a lot. His face did not seem to even notice. I circled him, his hand was tightening and releasing my leash almost on a timer.

I barked loudly at him, hoping that he would stop playing. If this was a game I did not like it at all. He reached his free hand out to me, and I went closer, letting him touch my nose. He looked like he was trying to say something, but I cannot lip read and he was not making much sound, if any at all. I tried pulling on his jacket sleeve, biting down, and pulling him upwards.  He did seem to react. When I let go of the sleeve it dropped to floor, bouncing with a thud. He went very still and none of my barking seemed to get a reaction. I tried moving his head with my nose, but it just lolled about. I pulled my leash from his hand, and he let it go without trying to hold on.

I did not understand what happened to him. He seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep with no real chance of waking up. Whatever I did, nothing. When he normally falls asleep, I can wake him, even if I am not supposed to. After a while, I started walking around the house. Most of the doors were shut, like the one to the kitchen, and while I could reach the handle, I never got the hang of opening it. I could walk from the hallway to the sofa room and up the stairs, but the doors up there were closed as well.

I jumped up on the sofa. The picture on the side opposite was staring at me, as it always did. Sometimes he would hold it and cry while looking at the boy in the picture. I have never met the boy and my friend does not talk about him, ever. He misses him though, I understand that much.

At some point I feel asleep. There was not much to do, my toys were in the kitchen. I curled up on the sofa and napped for a while. When I woke up, I stretched outwards and jumped down from the sofa and walked back to the hallway. He was still laying there, unmoved. He was not sleeping. I curled up next to him and started whining. I knew I was sad, but I did not really know why.

Dark came quickly that night. The sun went down, and he stayed lying down. I do not know what happened to him, but I know he is not coming back. My best pal is gone. I want to leave the house to go to the toilet. I did not want to be bad dog, like he used to call me. Even if he could not call me it anymore. I got up and walked over to the kitchen door. If I could get through that one, then there was only one more door to the garden. I scratched at the wood, trying to reach up to the handle. It always seemed just out of reach. My paws scratched at the door, leaving deep marks. I fell down a couple of times and jumped back up to try again. 

Finally, I got there and pulled and twisted. It did not open straight away. I fell again a couple of times. It was going to be my last attempt before I gave up and the door opened outwards. I barked and yapped in celebration before remembering my best friend laying on the floor and the reason for opening the door.

The garden door would not budge. I reached the handle easier, but it was not like the other one. It was round and harder to get a grip on. Even when I thought I did, nothing seemed to happen. There is more to this one. At first, I did not quite understand and then I saw the keys hanging from a hook near the door and I remembered that those are needed and gave up. I am not proud, but I made a mess in the corner of the kitchen.

I spent the rest of the night barking at the front door. Maybe someone would come and see what was causing the noise. I cried a little and no one came. I went to sleep next to him, curled up under his arm. He is gone now; I can see it in his eyes. There is nothing there anymore.

By morning I was back in the kitchen hunting for something to drink. I normally had a bowl of water by that time to lap from. There was nothing in the kitchen. I knew he got it from the counter, but I could not find a way up there to get to it. I went upstairs and tried to open the door to the bathroom. It was another room that I was told made me a bad boy. I was not to go in there, but I know there is water in the toiler. I was smacked on the back with a rolled-up magazine last time I drank from it. I needed something to drink.

The bathroom door was harder to open. The handle would not go down, and I ended up taking out large scratches on the wood, underneath the handle. I tried to burrow under it as well, pulling at the carpet. Maybe if I could rip it up, I could get in. But I could not pull the carpet up and I could not get into the door. I scratched more and more, scraping into it with my paws, but still it held out. I tried the handle again and nothing, it would not budge.

I went back downstairs. He was starting to smell, I could smell it upstairs as well, but it was worse downstairs. Somehow the day was continuing, and the sun was shining through the front door window onto him. I could smell rotting food from the kitchen as well, hanging from a little green bag on a door handle. It was a rotting apple and bits of a cheese sandwich he had made himself a day or two ago. I curled back under his arm and whimpered.

A noise brought me back to the world and I jumped up barking loudly. The mail man was here, shoving something through the letter box. I could get him to help. If I barked loudly enough, he would understand. I went to the door and stood on my back legs, balancing against the door, barking as loud as I could. I swiped at the door, trying to catch his attention but he was already leaving, walking away, without looking back. He was soon just a blur like everything else outside and then nothing.

The day seemed to pass by slowly. Nothing happened. The house was quiet, the outside was quiet, everything was silent. I just wanted him to sit up and tell me it was okay. He did not. He just lay there, slowly smelling more and more.

At some point I eventually got the bathroom door open, I pawed at it, bit it and scratched at it and it finally moved a little. After that I just kept on pushing until it opened completely, and I was in. My whole body seemed to move quicker than I could think, and I was slurping water out of the bowl. I drank as much as I could and then I stood up. There was something that made a noise in here and that brought more water. I just needed to figure out what.

I do not want to admit how long that one took to figure out.

I had water, but no food and it was long past lunch at that point. There was only one option really. I went into the kitchen and tried to figure out which door held the treats. I knew it was one of the high ones, but I could not get up there. It was the same as the water, I just could not reach it. I leapt at the counter, jumped at it, scratched at it, swiped. Nothing. There was no way up. I pulled over the stool, knocking it on the ground. That made me jump and bark in shock. That led me to the only option left.

I went over to the hanging green bag and with one swipe, it opened and spilled out onto the floor. The apple, bread, cheese, and something else sat in a small pool of slimy water. I did not want to eat it. I knew it was not good food, but I was so hungry that I dived in and ate it all. It was deliciously disgusting. Later I was sick, and I did not make it to the corner of the kitchen with the mess from earlier. I then ate it. 

Somehow a whole day passed, and night-time was coming again. The world outside was getting darker. My bed was upstairs, so I curled up next to him again and whimpered and whined.

The next morning a phone rang, and I jumped up, barking loudly. What was it, what was it, what was it? The noise was coming from somewhere. I ran around making loud noises. It was a long time since I had heard that noise. I remembered that he spoke to people through it. If I could knock it down and make enough noise someone would know something was wrong and try to help. I ran into the living room and at the table near the kitchen door with the phone and notepad. It did not ring for very long. By the time I got there and knocked it over, the ringing was stopped. The phone just made a long low buzzing sound. I do not know if anyone could hear my barking.

I went back to him and curled up. My head was hurting and the world around me seemed to be spinning. I was hungry and needed to eat something. The scraps from the kitchen were not enough. I hadn’t eaten properly in two days. I curled up next to him and made more whimpering sounds.

There was nothing in the kitchen to be found. I made more mess in the corner and considered eating that. That was another thing I used to get shamed for and I did not like it. My pal had taught me to be a good boy for so long and I did not want him to think I had forgotten everything. I loved him and I wanted to be his good boy forever. I was Teddy and that was his name for me.

I did not like seeing him like that, but I didn’t want him to be lonely, so I stayed close by a lot of the time, only leaving for water and to search for other sources of food. There was nothing else. I do not know how much time had passed. Night-time seemed to have come and gone and come again. Maybe it had been longer. My stomach was growling and there was nothing to eat. It was too much, I swear it. He was starting to smell bad, and no one had come to check on him. Not a single person from his work.

I started, just to give me something to chew on and ripped his trouser leg until there was a large hole. It was boredom at first. I just needed something to eat. Please do not hate me. I did not mean to do it out of viciousness. I did not want to take the bite then and now that it has been another day, I still do not want to take the first bite, but I must. There is nothing else to eat. I growl, almost at myself and bite into his leg for the first time. I don’t like the way it tastes, but it’s food. I hope it doesn’t hurt him. I take another bite and chew it down. I eat more and more, and I don’t even realise what I’m doing then I look up at his face and I can see him there. It is empty like before, but I can still see him in it. He was there before. Why isn’t he here now. Why? Is it because I was bad? Is it because I couldn’t stop myself from biting him? Am I a bad boy?

I don’t want to be in the same room as him anymore, so I go to the kitchen and try to find a way to other food. There is no way to get to the higher cupboards. No way at all. I run around. I’ve been bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. I’m going to get hit by the magazine again. I howl out at nothing. No one can hear me because I was bad. Bad. I do not like the house anymore. I want to leave. The backdoor is locked but the bottom of it is glass. I’m not allowed out in the back garden by myself, but I know my pal would understand, if he still could. I run at the glass and bounce of it. My hear hurts but I must continue. I run at it again and it starts to crack. It hurts so much, and I can feel a wetness on my head. I don’t like that. I go back to the hallway. Maybe he’s okay again. But he’s not. Of course he’s not. He’s not here anymore. I’ve taken some of him now, his leg is missing pieces because of me. He’ll never be whole again. Because of me. I go back to the kitchen and jump at the window one last time. It breaks, shatters around me. I can feel the cuts and scrapes all over, but it does not hurt. It is time to escape now. I go back to the hallway and see the mess I made of his leg. It makes me want to cry out louder than I possibly could. I’ll find help. Someone will know what to do. I go back to the kitchen, through the broken window and jump across the low fence. That’s why I’m not allowed out here by myself. The road is just across the way, and I can see a car coming. I’m not supposed to run on the road near them, but how else can I get their attention. I leap out in front of it and start running towards it. I’ll find you help pal, I’ll find the help you need. I run at the car, the person behind the wheel looks like he’s panicking. That’s not good. He swerves, but not soon enough and he hits me. It hurts a lot, but I don’t mind. I feel calm. I’ll be with you again soon friend. We’ll be together again very soon. 

Thanks for reading my latest short story. I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any feedback, please let me know in the comments. After I gave it to a few people to read I rewrote the ending to make it less bleak, if that’s possible. It’s still dark, but I think it verges on a happy ending.

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Magic in London – Whistling – Part Two

Posted on December 30, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Before reading this part you can catch up on part one here: https://ashleymanning.com/2022/12/23/magic-in-london-whistling/

Chuck stared at the woman who was at the bottom of the stairs, not really sure how to respond to her last question. He thought the best thing to do would be to leave and just go back to the coach station, but there was something nagging him inside, telling him that he shouldn’t leave the child alone with her.

“So are you just going to stand there?” she said.

Chuck shifted, and a chill in the air hit his face.

“Are you his mother?” he asked.

“What? No, I’m his teacher.”

“It’s a bit late to be teaching someone isn’t it?”

“Very funny. Are you one of us?”

“One of what?”

“How can you see me?” she said and started walking up the stairs towards him. “You shouldn’t be able to see me at all. There’s practically no energy coming off you, so it’s not like you’re one of us. You’re just a normie aren’t you?”

She walked around him, going up and down the stairs on either side of him. He moved his head around to keep her in his eye line the best he could. Inside the building the security people were watching him, mocking him as if he were a drunkard who had stumbled up the steps and didn’t know what to do to get back down.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’ve got a coach to catch. So I’m just going to leave and get on it. I don’t want any trouble.”

“What trouble am I giving you?” she said stopping in front of him two steps below him. “I’m just curious as to who you are?”

“I’m nobody. Just let me leave.”

“No one is stopping you nobody. Certainly not me.”

Chuck hesitated but took a step down the stairs towards the street. His legs were completely mushy and he thought for a moment that he was going to fall down the stairs. If he took it one step at a time, then he would be able to go and find someone. This must be some kind of human trafficking thing, he thought. As he took another step down, the child behind him started screaming even louder, his wails echoing throughout the street. Why wasn’t anyone else doing anything about this, he thought.

“Hold up,” the woman said. “I said hold up. He seems to scream more the further away you get. What have you done to him?”

Chuck froze on the stairs and slowly turned his head around. She was standing in the same place, hands on her hips, and looking at him.

“I haven’t done anything,” Chuck said feebly. “I just heard him crying and wanted to make sure he was okay, that’s all. If you’re his teacher, I’ll be on my way.”

“You know,” she said, taking a step towards him. “I don’t really know why you can see me, but I have a feeling you’re going to be important. I don’t think I should let you leave.”

The blood drained out of Chuck’s body and a striking chill took its place.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chuck said. “I just want to go home.”

She stood there, shifting her weight from side to side while staring at him, straight into his eyes.

“Oh go then. I don’t really care enough to investigate this any further. Quickly now, before I change my mind.”

Chuck turned and practically fell onto the street, feeling woozy as he turned and started walking towards the coach station. He wanted to move faster, but his body wouldn’t let him. It was like moving in slow-motion. Inside he was pleading with his feet to take him there faster, to join another group of people so he wasn’t so alone, but there was no one around and his feet just wouldn’t move the way he wanted them to.

The boy at the top of the stairs was screaming louder and louder. And then he just stopped.

“Now you’ve done it you little brat,” the woman said.

Chuck stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the woman and boy, not quite sure what he was about to see. The boy had dropped his teddy bear at his feet and was just standing there with a blank expression on his face. The woman was frozen on the steps, her face a blend of anger and confusion. She turned and caught Chuck’s eye.

“You really don’t want to be here, whoever you are. It’s about to get very messy.”

A shadow started to form over the building they were all stood in front of, the lights from the windows started to dim and fade. Everything grew darker. Chuck imagined this is what death felt like, the slow and steady disappearance of light from everything around you. A giant roar stopped his thoughts and echoed throughout the street.

“Leave,” the woman said to Chuck before taking out a long knife that was hidden in a pocked on her trousers. “I won’t warn you again.”

Chuck was completely frozen in place, as a giant shadow creature descended form the sky, like a giant spider made from darkness, crawling down the buildings above, legs spread over different buildings. It’s eyes were luminescent purple and it was heading straight down to them, bearing its fangs as it grew closer and closer. When one leg was in range, just above the door to the building, the woman jumped up and sliced at it with the knife, sending out a rippling wave of energy through the beast. It roared in pain and retreated up the building slightly.

“Stop it now,” the woman shouted at the child. “Stop it.”

The child just stared upwards towards the shadow spider, his face completely empty.

“If you don’t stop this, I’ll rip your arms off.”

Chuck didn’t know what to do, stand there and watch or just turn around and run. Fear was spreading further through his body with each quickening beat of his heart.

The woman picked up the child under her free arm and started running across the street, the creature coming down quickly again.

“Don’t just stand there, run you fool,” she shouted back at Chuck.

Instinctively he followed her, the creature right behind. It blended through anything in its way, not leaving a mark.

“What is that thing?” Chuck shouted while running trying to catch up to the others.

“Why did you run this way? The coach station’s the other way.”

“I don’t know, I just followed you.”

“Okay, well keep up. You’re in its sights now, follow me.”

The woman ran across the street and down the road, with Chuck close behind. She turned a corner and made her way to the Victoria underground station, the shadow creature close behind. It was moving over the people, through lampposts and cars, climbing and jumping and scratching its way closer and closer to them. They made their way down the stairs. As Chuck fumbled about for his card to get through the barrier, the woman jumped straight over.

“Just jump, you idiot.”

Chuck dropped his wallet and in a blind panic pulled himself over the barrier, not really noticing that not a single person saw. They ran down the escalators, through corridors and onto an almost empty platform.

“Okay, if we can get through there we’re safe for now.”

“Get through where?”

Chuck looked around for a train coming but couldn’t see any. The sign said it was still two minutes out. Behind them he could hear the roar of the monster, homing in on them.

“I know this will look crazy, but just follow me. I’m Fiona by the way.”

“I’m Charles, but everyone calls me Chuck.”

“What? Why? It doesn’t matter now, just follow me.”

Fiona jumped down onto the tracks, still carrying the boy in her arms. She moved down into the tunnel, leaving Chuck on the platform alone.

“What are you doing? You’re going to get yourself killed. Come back,” Chuck shouted.

“What did I say? Just follow me.”

No one else on the platform even seemed to notice that she’d jumped onto the tracks and the growling was getting closer. He looked over his shoulder and saw the shadow entering the platform.

“Why am I here?” he said to no one. “I really don’t want to do this.”

Not wanting to get caught by the shadow spider, Chuck jumped onto the tracks and ran into the dark tunnels, following Fiona.  

To be continued…

Thanks for reading! Part Three is available here: https://ashleymanning.com/2023/01/06/magic-in-london-whistling-part-three/

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Avatar: The Way of Water – Film Review

Posted on December 30, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: James Cameron

Writers: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet

Rating: ★★★★

As we all know it’s been a long time since the first Avatar film was released. The promised sequel felt like it was going to be stuck in development for the rest of time, but now its here with at least three more following quickly behind. I haven’t seen the first film since it first came out, and while I remember the broad strokes of the story, I don’t remember that much about it. I know I thought it was okay, but not brilliant at the time. I planned to rewatch it before the sequel, but couldn’t fit it in. The same thing happened with this one, it’s been out for two weeks, but finding an evening to dedicate so much time to a cinema trip has been difficult. I may be the only one with that issue though as the film has grossed well over a billion dollars by now and will probably be even higher by the time this is actually published.

For the first ten or so minutes, I did feel like I was playing catch up, as I couldn’t remember how things left off. To be fair it has been almost half my life since the first one came out. It didn’t take long too catch up though, so even if your one of the handful of people who haven’t seen the first one, or like me haven’t seen it in a long time, you can still jump on here and enjoy the film. The plot is pretty simple all the way through, and very easy to follow. If you have no idea what’s happening at first, then just give it a few minutes it’ll all click in to place quite easily. Essentially Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family are being hunted down by a clone of Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Rather than fighting, Jake makes the decision to run and join a new clan to try and keep his family safe, but that only works for so long.

It’s the world building that makes the film so great. Seeing the Metkayina clan and how they live, the creative and imaginative creatures, and getting to know the Sully family more. The visuals in the film are absolutely brilliant. The world is stunning and just spending time on Pandora is a treat. Around half-way through there’s an incredibly harrowing hunting scene, where the villains take down a whale-like creature called a tulkun. It’s absolutely horrific and hard to watch, made even worse since they’re only after a small part of the animal which stops the aging process in humans. From that alone, you want the bad guys to die.

When the action really kicks in, it’s explosively exciting to watch. All the set up pays off and the final elaborate set piece is fantastic. It takes place on a sinking boat, as James Cameron knows how to make a film about that. There’s one particular character, I won’t spoil who, but when he dies there was someone clapping in front of me in the cinema and I couldn’t have agreed more. The world building beforehand makes the action that much better and the tension is real.

Sadly, the actual finale is drawn out quite a bit. It’s no surprise that the over three-hour film feels too long. No matter what James Cameron says, getting up to go and pee doesn’t keep away boredom from creeping in. The full-on battle is brilliant, the one-on-one fight between Jake and Miles, is good. Then the ship starts to sink, and various members of the Sully family are stuck and can’t get out. That didn’t need to happen, then the film doesn’t end it carries on (not quite to the same extent that The Return of the King does, so don’t worry that much). When a new scene starts, rather than the credits, there were a few groans in the audience. As great as the film is, it just doesn’t justify the length.  

Saying that though, Avatar: The Way of Water is the best action blockbuster film to come out this year by far. It’s a lot better than any of the recent comic book films, and it even tops the excellent Top Gun: Maverick. It’s definitely too long, but that’s so easy to overlook when there’s so many great things about it. The action is brilliant, the visuals are spellbinding, the world building is excellently done and most importantly the stakes feel real, which at this point is very refreshing. At no point does the sequel feel unnecessary and the third entry can’t come soon enough.

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F-Ken – Manga Review

Posted on December 29, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

F-Ken is a one shot from Yusei Matsui, the creator of Assassination Classroom. It follows a highschool kendo group who start to win after a girl joins as their manager and turns the other students into monsters. It’s a really weird and quite perveted story that’s uncomfortable to read and seems really pointless.

On the plus side it’s quite short, under 50 pages long, and the art is good as you’d expect. But beyond that there’s just nothing really good to say about it. The plot is weird, but not entertaining or gripping, the characters don’t have anytime to become likable or interesting. There are some really good one-shots that are shorter than this one, so it can be done. This is just ultimately forgettable.

If you’ve come across F-Ken and that’s put you off trying other Yusei Matsui stories, please still try Assassination Classroom, that’s a brilliant series and it’s hard to imagine this is by the same writer. Definitely one to avoid.

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