Supinamarada!

A manga about an ex-figure skater that moves to a remote town in Hokkaido and joins the hockey team.

Satoru Noda’s debut work before starting Golden Kamuy. I think it’s pretty interesting that despite these being different genres, he still focuses on his home Hokkaido as a setting for both.

This is a fun series with some great comedy. I personally enjoyed this manga but it wasn’t successful and canceled after 6 volumes. Noda has said his failures here taught him valuable lessons that he wouldn’t forget for his next project. Considering Golden Kamuy won Grand Prize for last year’s Tezuka Osamu Cultural Award, I would say he’s done well.

Fun note: The hunter convict Nihei from Golden Kamuy first appeared here as the stoic Yuufutsu High School hockey coach.

~dakazu