Tales from the Circle

  A Necromancer Called Gam Gam is a wonderful novella that explores loss through the adventure of a young girl on the run. When I first saw this book getting praise on social media I thought from the black cover and the skeleton and the title that it would be a horror story or something and so I ignored it for a long time. Eventually, I actually began paying attention to what people were saying about it and realized that my first impression may not have been accurate. I'm so glad I eventually checked out this cozy story set in a dark world. It's excellent. Like many others, I've found myself searching out and enjoying cozier reads lately, but I sometimes find them lacking in depth or sometimes I'm annoyed by how they ignore certain important themes just to keep the vibe cozy. It really doesn't sit well with me when a book is set in a war zone or something and the characters have no sense of introspection on their surroundings and just ignore them - and unthinkingly ...

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is not a new anime. It's been out for a while - since 2009! In fact, it's the second anime adaptation of the original manga series. So I'm sure what I say here is nothing new to a lot of people, but I just can't stop thinking about this amazing story so I guess I'll rant about it here for a bit.  Another note before I start. It took me a while to get into this anime. I actually started watching it and dropped it a couple of times. Even this time, it took me a few episodes to get invested/convinced as the story built up. I wasn't hooked as quickly as I am with some other anime/shows/fantasy works. But I stuck with it and I'm so glad I did. If you haven't watched it, you should definitely give it a chance.  Moving on, let's talk about the genius of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which I will from now on refer to as FMAB:  Everything Builds to a Well-Defined Ending  The manga that this show was based on was already fi...