Wana Girl
Manga about a high school girl who’s knowledgeable with traps.
This is very similar to Sanzoku Diary with it’s outdoor hunting subject matter. I liked how the traps were used primarily as pest control to protect crops and not for active hunting. Making the main characters female seems like an easy way to get more readers but there was no fan service, so that’s good. I always like manga that focuses on outdoors stuff so I recommend this one.
~dakazu
Yuuhi
I’ve been a fan of Yu Koyama’s manga since reading Ooi! Ryouma while growing up. Yuuhi is the main character who struggles at leading a dual life of young yakuza boss and aspiring professional boxer. I like the post-war Japan setting and Koyama’s use of non sequential narrative.
One note about Koyama is that he is one of those manga artists that always draws the same face for the majority of his characters throughout his various series. I don’t mind it myself though.
~dakazu
Zombiful Life
The main character is a zombie who has been cured and become sentient again. Now he and other cured zombie have reintegrated within society. Being a zombie is pretty useful until he discovers that because his heart isn’t beating, he can’t get an erection anymore. Now he’ll forever be a virgin!
I know zombies are a tired genre but the entire concept of this manga was dumb enough to make me laugh. I’ll keep reading it.
~dakazu
Baby Steps
One of the most realistic takes on a sports manga. No super human moves or abilities here, just good old fashioned tennis strategy! I was surprised when it ended suddenly and it looks like artist Hikaru Katsuki also was planning on continuing the series. Still, 10 years is a long time to be serialized and it also got a few anime seasons.
~dakazu
Deaikei Site de Imouto to Deau Hanashi -333 nichime-
The title really says it all, which is kinda a shame because I like artist Mocchi_au_lait’s cute character designs. She specializes in yuri stories and there are several others in this volume that were very sweet. This book is a sequel to the original story of the sisters falling in love while growing up and follows their relationship around a year later. Honestly, if it weren’t for the incest angle I would be totally behind this manga as a yuri that focuses on the pure love behind kisses and hugs and not on titillation and fan service. Ironically, I probably wouldn’t have even checked out this manga if not for the premise.
~dakazu
Udon no Hito
A simple story about the romance between a young university student and the divorcee lady who serves him udon noodles for lunch everyday.
I really liked manga artist est em’s art style. It reminds me a lot of 10 Dance’s Satou Inoue. I wasn’t surprised to see that she started out with yaoi and BL works because the men are drawn so handsomely. This manga is perfect for someone like Seven Seas Entertainment to bring over.
~dakazu
Tsugihagi Quest
Fantasy-rpg comedy about a Zombie with a rotten attitude(get it?) who ends up becoming the wielder of the holy sword Galem. Now he’s the target of his monster comrades and the wannabe Hero Alto.
Great witty dialogue and solid artwork makes this a fun read. I read it as it got published weekly on Jump+(their online division) last year. It ended quickly after 10 chapters so this is just a single volume release but I really enjoyed it! Will definitely remember to follow writer Sanshirou Kasama and artist Hikaru Uesugi in the future.
~dakazu
Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku
Manga about childhood otaku who work together and decide to try dating each other.
The artwork is good and the comedy is pretty funny. Apparently it started as web manga, which explains the single page story structure. The only thing is that I like the secondary otaku couple much more than the main couple. An anime adaptation is coming out soon and I’m looking forward to checking it out.
~dakazu
Yowamushi Pedal: Spare Bike
Love me some Yowamushi Pedal and this manga gives me more content! Spin-off series aren’t usually my thing but the original manga artist Wataru Watanabe is using this book to write backstories for his popular characters, so I’m 100% OK with this one!
~dakazu
Killing Bites
Battle manga about human-animal hybrids fighting for glory in an underground tournament called Killing Bites.
It’s drawn well but pretty shallow with it’s premise. Making the main character a honey badger hybrid makes it super meme-y and there’s a lot of excessive fan service. I had similar thoughts about the recent anime. Skimmed through most of it so I might continue to casually follow it to see how it ends.
~dakazu