Delivery
Manga about a female driver for outcall escorts services in Japan. Each chapter is an individual story about different sex workers and their problems.
A book like this that explains the ins and outs of the red light district are interesting to read because it’s something I know nothing about. Each chapter presenting their own stories like in a police procedural are entertaining as well. This one mixes the storytelling with information for a good mix.
~dakazu
Vegetaberu
A food manga focusing around an office lady who loves vegetables.
It’s a decent food manga but if you want a manga focused on vegetables I’d recommend Nigakute Amai (Bitter & Sweet) because it has a much more interesting story.
~dakazu
10 Dance
A manga about the uptight Japanese national Standard dance champion Sugiki and the wild Japanese national Latin dance champion Suzuki teach each other their specialties so they can both compete in the 10-Dance category. While spending time dancing together the two men become more and more attracted to each other.
Yes, it’s a BL story. Compared to other BL I’ve read it’s very tame and not hardcore at all. Also as a manga about professional ballroom dancing it’s vastly superior to Welcome to the Ballroom.
Available in English from Kodansha.
I recommend it.
~dakazu
Tekkojo ni mo Hana ga Saku
Manga evolving around various workers at an Iron smelting factory.
With it’s super deformed art style and wide variety of characters, this series reminds me a lot of Shinya Shokudō. In comparison, the vignettes are much more melancholy in tone.
A nice and short seinen manga.
~dakazu
Hannin no Hanzawa-san
A spin-off comedy of Case Closed that stars the black shadowy figure that represents the culprit. The comedy comes from Hanzawa going about daily life despite looking like a criminal because of his appearance.
It was alright and good for a quick laugh. Definitely for fans of Conan. I won’t be reading anymore myself.
~dakazu
Rumble Fist
This was a pretty straightforward martial-arts/delinquent manga.
Buncha buff high school kids getting in battles. The art was good and the action decent but ultimately forgettable. Nothing special here.
~dakazu
Ressentiment
Earlier work by I am a Hero artist Kengo Hanazawa. Main character Takuro is a typical Hanazawa protagonist. He’s middle-aged, overweight, and balding low self esteem guy in a shitty job. Takuro ends up escaping into the virtual world with a virtual girlfriend named Tsukiko.
I think Hanazawa really relishes in protagonists who are borderline terrible people. Hideo from I am a Hero shares Takuro’s traits of being wishy-washy. This book reminds me a lot of Erichin’s Mitamura-kun series.
~dakazu
Shinya Shokudō
Manga about the customers who attend a late-night diner where the owner cooks anything requested. Each chapter revolves around a dish and different patrons.
I’ve been reading this series for a while and it continues to be great. I love the simple art style and the variety of stories told. They be humorous, sweet, tragic, or joyous. This manga was adapted to a live-action series which is available on Netflix as Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories.
~dakazu
Tsuma ni Koisuru 66 no Houhou
A collection of short stories about artist Shigeyuki Fukumitsu’s actually wife and family. Fukumitsu specializes in non-fiction and has done several series based on his wife. This manga is his current iteration.
When I read stories about how he admits to using meager tactics to appease his wife’s fiery temper it made me wonder if she reads the manga later and gets back at him. Of course, the next chapter was a story about this exact thing and it became it’s own little story.
Lots of self deprecating humor and the wife’s wild personality makes anything about Fukumitsu’s wife entertaining to read.
~dakazu
Kii Hantou Umimachi Gohan
Manga artist Natsuo Motomachi recalls her time living on the Kii Peninsula with each chapter focusing on local cuisine she ate. Food manga is common but I liked that Motomachi focuses on the nice country lifestyle and local foods she enjoyed making/eating that made her happy! It was also nice that she included recipes for the reader.
~dakazu