Love the art. Including the drawing development was fun to look at and see some of the thought process and progression behind the story.

I found the dialogue a bit hard to follow due to the format.

Cute story, I like the idea and I want to live in that library!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an E-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a decent Manga. Manga isn't one of my main genres but I will try to describe my experiences the best I can. I did enjoy the concept of the story as well as the art style. I do feel like the book could have had more information regarding the Spellbook Library and world building in general. I also didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable. I would not be put off reading more of this author or series but overall not my favourite read.

"The Spellbook Library Vol. 1" follows 2 young guys who aim to be spellbook librarians. We follow Yan and Tohru as they go through a library test to become Spellbook Librarians and their first few days on the job. This book was action packed and really engaging! I loved the magical beasts and how they could be captured by magical books, then lent out to society. It was a very creative story!

The only things I found lacking were that
1. the speech bubbles often were just circles without the indicator of who was talking, so sometimes I wasn't sure who was saying what
2. I thought Tohru was a girl for the first chapter because of how he is drawn. Not a big deal, but I was surprised in chapter 2 when they started using he/him pronouns, and it did confuse me a bit in the story when they were referencing him, I thought they were referencing Yan.

Overall, I really enjoyed this manga! This would be great for middle grade/teen readers who like things in the realm of pokemon, but with a little more magic. I would definitely read more volumes!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this manga /Graphic Novel

The cover drew me in and I was not disappointed with the read, it was entertaining and engaging with the characters I was hoping for them to achieve their goals, joining the spellbook library to achieve great things and being put through different apartments of the library.

It was fun and could not stop reading, I look forward to more 😀

Unfortunately, this manga didn't work for me. I found the art style not to my taste, nor did I connect to either of the main characters. I'm sure we get a better grasp on the world in future volumes, but in this volume it wasn't an interesting enough introduction to catch my attention. It's a shame, but I know this will work for others, and I highly encourage readers who enjoy library based fantasy stories to give this a try.

I loved this first volume of The Spellbook Library! The concept is clever and I was immediately attached to the characters. The characterisation was effective, giving me a good idea of their personality but leaving enough mystery to be intrigued. The storyline is interesting and I look forward where it will go, especially with the cliffhanger it ended up on.
The artstyle is beautiful, especially the beasts are very nicely illustrated.
This is very promising, and advertising it to fans of Witch Hat Atelier is very fitting - look forward to more.

I picked this one up because I loved Isaki’s other manga Is Love The Answer? Obviously the vibes for this were going to be totally different as it’s a fantasy story and not a queer story of self-discovery.

Unfortunately, the characters didn’t stand out. Yan is so over-the-top and not really in a believable way? There’s a rapid-fire infodump about him in the first few pages (namely that he turns into a violent gorilla when mad? Apparently?) but that doesn’t really explain anything about him as a person, and it felt like he was given that ridiculous backstory only for people to question his suitability as a librarian.

Tohru is not defined as a person at all. He’s sheltered, but everything else about him is a mystery. And not even a curiosity-inducing mystery. Like he draws the eyes of the princess but for what reason? There’s not enough of a teaser with something interesting…

It just felt half-baked to me.

An interesting book, wonderfully illustrated, and a fun read! I enjoyed the story a lot and would be interested in reading the next iteration of this manga.

Oh my goodness this is one of the best stories about magic books I have ever read! I love this world and the magic system. The art is beautiful. The characters are unique and have depth. The plot is fun. And it's a Manga with no inappropriate fan service, YAY! Will be watching for volume two. Cause this is amazing. Would make a beautiful amine.

This review of The Spellbook Library 1 by Uta Isaki is courtesy of NetGalley
#TheSpellbookLibrary #NetGalley

I've a weak spot for libraries. I absolutely love them. Mix in some magic and this manga was a shoo-in for me picking up to review.

I was originally going to just download so I wouldn't forget, go back to reading an ebook I checked out from the library and then read this at a later point in time after my actual library books were read. My mistake was opening up the file and looking through the first few pages. The art style isn't my favorite but there's nothing wrong with it. The story pulled me in though that I finished the 3 chapters that make up volume 1 immediately and I'm now anticipating the next volumes. I want to find out about the mystery of Tohru and why he has the powers he has. I'm wondering how it will help him on his quest to be a Spellbook librarian. I also wonder why there's a princess working at the library.

Rating 5/5
Publication Date: Oct 22 2024

4.5 stars

So the premise of this is intriguing. The art is great. But I think I am going to need a few more volumes before we have enough character development for me to be completely hooked.

Will definitely read more.

Recommended.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me this manga for review. This manga read very young, I couldn't connect to the main character however it could be great for younger readers.

It's a nice concept but could use some refining, I didn't quite gel with the art style to be completely honest. The story itself.. it read a little young whilst also not being all that clear. This dove in a little to quickly at the start and we were kind of expected to keep up. Shame, it is a really cool concept but unfortunately just not for me.

It's not bad for a first book. I was confused because I thought Yan was the main character, but it turns out that Tohru is the main lead. The beginning seemed a bit rushed with how Yan and Tour met. I liked the idea of the spell beasts being sealed by books, but I felt that it could have been articulated better. It looked like the sealing department needs to constantly carry books around when going into battle. I do like the PR department so far. I am interested in seeing what happens in the second volume.

Not for me, I usually like shonen manga (see Demon Slayer, Witch Hate Atelier and others), but this reads too young.
I could forgo it if the drawings were amazing, but I find them just fine, not the target for it.