Bento Baggins

Bento Baggins, otherwise known as Ben, is our resident literature and philosophy bro. When not reading manga or watching anime, Ben is one half of the popular podcast Words About Books.

You can find Bento Baggins on Twitter @BenboSwaggins.

Popular posts from this blog

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga Spoiler Review

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First and foremost, as the title suggests, there will be spoilers for the entirety of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba series. This is a review about the manga, not the anime adaptation. The manga has been finished for almost 2-years at this point, but I know there are people who may stumble upon this only having watched the anime which is ongoing. If you’re interested in whether or not I liked it without getting into spoilers. The short version of this review is that I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5, but expect the anime to be a 4.5 out of 5. I like the story, but there were some missed opportunities to make me love the story. The author seemed uninterested in several key plot threads which leads to an underwhelming conclusion that lacks the impressive visuals that ufotable has brought to the animation. If you scroll past this image then you enter into spoiler territory. The Shonen Manga Grading Curve The mission of Words About Books is to read a lot and to read widely for the purpose of ...
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Review: Blood on the Tracks by Shuzo Oshimi

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  I wasn't planning to write a review of Shuzo Oshimi's Blood on the Tracks. I wasn't planning to read Shuzo Oshimi's Blood on the Tracks. Borrowing its title from a Bob Dylan album that has absolutely nothing to do with the story, Blood on the Tracks is a psychological horror series about a 14-year-old boy and his "overprotective" mother. I knew about the plot of the first volume going into this. As a horror fan, I've heard about this series for years. As a person diagnosed with panic disorder, I'm reluctant to engage with stories that do a really good job of conveying what it feels like to experience intense psychological trauma. I had been informed that this was such a story and avoided it.  Then my wife purchased the first two volumes and read them both in about 30 minutes. After reading them, she walked to my desk and told me I had to read them immediately. It was very quickly apparent that Oshimi is one of, if not the, most talented horror artist...
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Dense Female Lead Syndrome (DFLS)

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Dense Female Lead Syndrome, or DFLS, is a recently described disorder that is becoming more prevalent in shoujo and josei manhwa. The following brief will give you an overview of the disorder and it's two primary types. [Pictured: One of the most severe cases of DFLS we've ever seen] [Source: My BFF is a Tyrant in Training] DFLS Type I symptoms include a Female Lead being unable to see the signs of infatuation from the Male Lead or even secondary Male Leads. This can range from not picking up on subtle but obvious clues too, in the worst cases, outright rejecting the notion that a Male Lead just confessed their feelings. DFLS Type I usually won't be diagnosed until an appropriate amount of interaction has been reached with the Male Lead, as simply missing hints here and there is generally not serious enough to warrant a diagnosis. DFLS Type II symptoms tend to be broader in definition than just the Female Lead's romantic interests, and will generally include a Female Le...
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