Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! (2012) パパのいうことを聞きなさい！

Yuta was an university freshman. he lost his parents since young and was raised by his sister Yuri. after Yuri got married, Yuta had been living alone. one day, Yuri visited and asked her brother to take care of her 3 daughters. he unwillingly accepted the job until he was informed of the missing plane Yuri took with her husband. in order to prevent the 3 children from being adopted separately, Yuta decided to take in all girls, where the life of a strange family began.

having to take care of 3 children, Yuuta basically put his carefree life behind him as he grew overnight into a big brother, even father at once. the major storyline was very much predictable, but with 4 very different characters to complicate things, every episodes turned out to be quite an enjoyment. Sora was the oldest sister of the 3, she was shy yet tsudere towards Yuta. Miu was the middle child, she was the most matured. Hina was the youngest sister, the most adorable and childlike. despite the seemingly light theme, there were responsibilities and impacts that targeted Yuta's life.

Mary Hades #0.5: My Daylight Monsters (2013)

Mary was newly assigned into the psychiatric ward. she had always been able to see strange beings, people that warned her of the coming danger, kept her save. But talking about them had brought trouble for herself. Meeting the other patients had made things easier for her, but when the death toll increased without explanation, Mary was determined to find out who or what was responsible behind.

i received a free e-book from the author in exchanged for a review. the book was a very fast read and had been engaging since the very beginning. with hospital as its background, the spooky atmosphere never did ended. while it was sometimes difficult to know who among the patients to trust, even the ghosts didn't seem to be reliable at some point, but the mysteriousness kept the edge on as Mary struggled between being sane and dazed from drugs. though it was slightly disappointing that the bad guy was a human, i was still pleased to not have seen him the bad guy.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border:1 Ghost Pain (2013) 攻殻機動隊 Border:1 Ghost Pain

the story took place in a futuristic world, after the end of the war. New Port City was still recovering from the aftermath of a bombing that was caused by a mine. during the investigation, Aramaki met with Motoko, the cyborg hacker assigned to the military secret unit. Batou suspected that Motoko was the one behind the bombing. Motoko was being watched by the secret unit's leader Kurutsu, and other cyborg agents. in the meanwhile, police detective Togusa was pursuing his own case of shooting death and prostitute's murder.

the movie was divided into 4 parts, following the story of the original Ghost in the Shell series. this new series added details to what happened before the team became tough vigilantes. when the murders and bombing were investigated, they found Motoko related to the cases, involving mysterious virus and politics. this time round, Motoko became the focus. she was given an entirely new backstory, especially the one involving her family. instead of being the leader she was in the original series, she was here, still a lone longer. the plot remained consistent, only added more actions that didn't detract too much.

Defiance #2: Deception (2013)

with only a handful of people surviving the attack of the Cursed One, Logan was voted the new leader and led his people into the dangerous wasteland, away from their walled city Baalboden. their ragged group of survivors struggled to reach Lankenshire, another city that hopefully will accept them. the cruel Commander and his Carrington's army remained constant on their tail, chasing after the device that had the ability to control the Cursed One, now hanging on Logan's neck. but their problems intensify when someone inside their own group was killing them one by one.

while i thoroughly enjoyed its first book, the series became unexpectedly dull in this second installment. while it was interesting watching the new leaders trying to sort out their people, protecting them, figuring out who the enemy was, it dragged on for slightly too long as i waited and waited for them to reach Lankenshire for another new phase of story. unfortunately almost right after they reach the new town, the book ended, left me feeling somewhat disappointed. while Logan and Rachel remained in the spotlight, Quinn however, became the most lovable character in this installment.