I warn you, today may be Posty McPost day. Just feel like jabbering.

Ouran High School Host Club 10. Compared to previous volumes, this one's absolutely packed with plot. We meet a new character, Mei, who's the daughter of the okama who runs the summer inn from previous volumes. She's a grumpy bitch, but eventually gets to be likable, and she bonds with Haruhi straight off. Notably, she's able to tell that Haruhi is repressing feelings for Tamaki, and not afraid to tell others. The other big thing that happens in this volume is we get the first open, actual admission of love in the series (as opposed to denial (Haruhi), repression (Hikaru), or idiocy (Tamaki)). It's handled well, and I suspect we may be moving into the endgame of this manga soon.

Translucent 3. Another excellent volume, if rather predictable. You don't really read this for the twists, as even the emotional breakthroughs can be seen a mile away. You read it more for the mood, and the sweet, sedate mood that it sets is very good indeed. (Special bonus points for the omakes, showing the adorably silly married couple).

Hayate the Combat Butler 6. Viz's adaptation continues to puzzle me. It's quite accurate, and perhaps even a bit too literal, but this is a series above all others that cries out for endnotes. I mean, they have them in Ouran, why not here? And yet when Maria and Saki show up dressed as Pretty Cure White and Black, something that US readers are very unlikely to get unless they're otaku, there's no explanation whatsoever. Then again, as the manga itself notes, no one but otaku are likely to be reading Hayate anyway. There's not much plot development here, but if it's broad comedy you want, a la Sgt. Frog, this is for you.

Dominion Conflict 1: No More Noise. This is a reprint, the original having come out years ago. But now we get it unflipped and in the original Japanese size, with a revised translation. With one exception, this is much better than the first Dominion. The plot hangs together more, the side characters are more developed, Anna and Uni are far more fun as cops than they were as criminals, and the humor can be hilarious. The one problem is Leona herself. She spends the entire novel in a rage, and is almost a completely different character. There are a few short panels where she snuggles her tank, but nowhere near enough. If the rest of the manga got sillier, why'd Leona have to be the one to get serious? Oh well. Other than that, this is a very good AU continuation of the Dominion-verse (and yes, Shirow says it's an AU, partly as there's too many continuity errors to make it the same world, and partly as I think Leona/Al fans got annoyed).

Fruits Basket Ultimate Edition 2: Re-reading these, I'm wondering where fandom EVER got the idea that Shigure was just Mr. Goofy Guy? I mean, he was pretty evil right at the beginning.

Yu Yu Hakusho 1-9: Been re-reading this, and I'm always surprised at how much I enjoy it. It is essentially another giant fight manga, after all. I've come to the conclusion that's it's waiting to see how Kuwabara can possibly be goofier. I mean, the bit where he's at death's door when wins the fight in one punch when he sees his sweetie? That's GOOFIEST THING EVER. :D Yu Yu Hakusho also ends after 19 volumes, so doesn't suffer from Shonen Bloat the way many other series do. Speaking of which...

Bleach 1-3. I tried reading the scanlations of this on my computer, but as with any shonen series that's not One Piece, I got kind of bogged down. Now I'm trying to read the Viz releases, as I do better with Giant Fight mangas when I read them as books. This one starts well. Ichigo and Rukia make a good odd pair (though I like them better as friends), and there's a lot of backstory hint that seems intriguing. Plus it has Orihime. Now, even if it were just her being a giant ditzy goofball who draws her future self as a destructive robot, I'd love her to bits. But she's also despised by a majority of fandom for ruining their OTP? SCORE. I will never, ever let her go now. I will try to read more Bleach, so that I can find Ichigo/Rukia fans and laugh. It's a petty reason, I know, but whatever works. ^_^