Yaseppochi to Futoccho
A manga about a homeless skinny girl who is saved by a kind chubby boy and his loving father.
What an absolutely sweet love story. I adore it. Dan and Julia care so much for each other and the story is just about them falling in love.
It’s a twitter manga by Mayumi Kato who is the wife of Ryouichi Yokoyama.
Love it.
~dakazu
Kiichi VS
The sequel series to Kiichi!!.
After reading the previous series I was interested to see where Hideki Arai would take the story. I was a little disappointed to find that he’d setup the main character as another charismatic leader because he ended up doing that before with The World Is Mine. The journey Kiichi takes to his final moments were well done but ultimately sad. The point Arai makes is that changing the public and the world is too difficult with just doing the right thing and that shows with this book.
I enjoy Arai’s works and always find that they have something interesting to say. This one is no exception.
~dakazu
Jujutsu Kaisen
A manga about a boy who is inflicted by a powerful curse and learns to controls it in hopes of one day completely summoning it to destroy it.
This series baffles me.
Not because the premise is tried and true shonen battle manga or because Gege Akutami’s art style is so distinct.
It’s because this series is popular.
I personally don’t find anything special about this series. It feels very much in the vein of Bleach. Yet somehow it’s still ongoing and continuing in Weekly Shonen Jump.
Available through the Shonen Jump and Manga Plus.
~dakazu
Yakubyougami to Baka Megami
A manga about the luckiest girl trying to stop the moon from falling on Earth by saving the unluckiest boy.
Man, what a wild and great sci-fi story. The concept of the luckiest girl in the world who wants to end all wars is already amazing but then she’s tasked with killing a boy who’s misfortune is so great that the moon is literally going to fall on him. Since the girl is a self-proclaimed idiot, she promises to save both the boy and the planet from doom. Meanwhile the Russian government is trying to eliminate both of them and it all leads to a crazy finale. Creator Takuya Mori’s art work shines to bring out kinetic action scenes along with a softer touch for the more dramatic moments.
2 volumes of absolute entertainment.
~dakazu
Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl
A manga about different girls at Sairen All Girls school and their relationships.
Finally got around to checking out this series after Seamus talked about it so much. I was surprised to see that the story really doesn’t focus on one couple and keeps jumping around to follow the romance between other characters. The stories are pretty sweet and I enjoyed them. My only complaint is that Canno doesn’t differentiate in her artwork for character faces so it was hard to keep track of all the different girls who kept appearing.
Available from Yen Press.
~dakazu
Fukushuu no Miboujin
A manga about a widow who takes revenge on everyone who lead to her husband’s death.
This series is really interesting. The widow doesn’t shy away seducing the men and manipulating the women to get her revenge. The first volume ends with her seemingly finishing her goals but the story continues and delves deeper into the widow’s dark past.
I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes.
~dakazu
La Quinta Camera
A manga about 4 residents who share a living space in Italy and the different roommates that rent the 5th room.
This is a wonderful story about people and their relationships. Natsume Ono is a master of making interesting characters and portraying their interactions to make for an entertaining and heartfelt read.
Short and sweet. Recommended.
~dakazu
Kiichi!!
A manga about the strange fate and eccentric life of a boy named Kiichi.
We’ve discussed this series on a recent episode.
I’m a big fan of Hideki Arai’s manga as he has a penchant for creating and drawing characters who are very human-like in their flaws and dysfunction. He also doesn’t shy away from very adult topic that make his seinen series stand out to me in the same way Jiro Matsumoto’s manga do as well.
Initially I thought Kiichi! was Arai’s take on a child with special needs so I was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t the case when the story follows the boy though his childhood. It goes into some really strange places and ultimately ends up with Kiichi fighting against government corruption to protect a friend. The series has a follow up called Kiichi VS that concludes the life of the character.
~dakazu
Gunjou no Magmel
A manga where a mysterious new continent filled with monsters and hidden secrets called Magmel appears suddenly where rescue specialists called Anglers work for a living.
Honestly speaking this manga really doesn’t seem that interesting. It’s obviously heavily inspired by Hunter x Hunter and other works by Yoshihiro Togashi. I’ve seen it on Jump+ but just started reading it after the anime began this season. The only unique thing I found was that it’s done by a Chinese artist Dainenbyou.
A pretty typical shonen adventure manga but I didn’t see anything that would keep me reading.
~dakazu
Children of the Whales
A sci-fi fantasy manga where survivors on a floating island above a sea of sand have telekinetic powers.
This is a fantastic series! I love that the creator Abi Umeda is approaching this as a transcription of a strange journal she came across in a mysterious bookstore. Umeda’s artwork is gorgeous and the world she’s crafted is intricate and very unique. It reminds me of WOMBS or Imuri. I’ll definitely be keeping up with this one.
An anime adaptation is available on Netflix as well.
~dakazu