Short impressions of recent comic books: seaside stories.
波のしじまのホリゾント (Horizon in the silent beach / In der Stille shauen wir den Horizont) has finished in volume five. The strange interactions between an elementary school boy and his older brother's ex-girlfriend are depicted with humor and tenderness, along with the adolescent anxieties of each character.
大海に響くコール (Call echo in the oceans: the final fourth book) is a serious story of high school girls who are interested in orcas. The protagonists, a shy beauty and her cheerful friend, are worried about their life paths and their own self-worth, which are depicted both practically and symbolically through their interest in orcas. The visual expressions are so beautiful.

#manga #漫画 #mangareview

Short impressions of recent comic books: strange buddy stories in various regions.
榮国物語 春華とりかえ抄 (episodes of the siblings who swapped positions) is a story in a premodern China-like society The sister in the government office and her brother in a harem exchange information and trying to defeat the cabals within the Imperial court. The Chinese-style architectural designs are beautiful, and her relationship with her boss is also interesting!
新聞記者ヴィルヘルミナ (Wilhelmina, the journalist / Wilhelmina, die Zeitungsreporterin) is a story of the workers in a small newspaper company in a 16th-century Germany-like society. It rather deals with contemporary issues such as the relationship between the press and commercialism, and how to handle scandals.

#manga #漫画 #mangareview

Short impressions: original works of the recent animes.
Kowloon Generic Romance has finished with a bit different conclusion than the anime, and with more delicate nuances, more shocking visual expressions, and more use of the symbolic props such as sunflowers and goldfish.

The ninth volume of original comic Invisible Man is just published this month while the anime adaptation had covered episodes from the first six volumes of the original work in a non-linear fashion.
According to the afterword in this book, the anime was recorded in pre-scoring, that is, the actors performed first before the pictures were produced to match the voices, which is so unusual as seasonal animes in Japan. The fact suggests how much effort and care went into creating this work.

#manga #漫画 #mangareview

Short impressions of the recent comics: featuring Nordic region.
Snow and Ink (vol. 9) now focuses on business conflicts war over the arms trade, but the main subject remains on the misunderstandings between the protagonist and her sister. It was surprising to see how the artist transitioned from a sharp, narrow-eyed style to soft, romantic expressions, and even to scenes where the character's face melts (literally) in intense emotion and delusion.
Ashen Feline and Silver Feather is a drama of an ex-sniper woman and an ex-child soldier in a Finland-like country. From a poignant healing story, this final volume faces the war again, ending up with a bitter conclusion but narrowly avoided a catastrophe.
Comrade vol. 3: finally heads to the front lines after training.

#manga #漫画 #mangareview

New Read - Animal Crossing: New Horizons Deserted Island Diary, Volume 10

This is, as always, an extremely silly and fun manga.

Volume 10 hit more of Happy Home Paradise, did some wedding season jokes, and other in jokes that are a lot funnier if you play Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

I do, so I really enjoyed it. Had a few chuckle out loud moments.

Lots of fun for Animal Crossing players.

#Manga #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #MangaMonday #VizMedia #ACNH #AnimalCrossing #ACNHCommunity #FediCrossing #Nintendo #NintendoManga #あつもり #あつ森 #Photograph #DesertedIslandDiary #KokonasuRumba #Bookstodon

Mao, Volume One Manga Review

Nanoka is a young girl who one day is suddenly teleported into a shopping district of 1920’s Japan!? To make matters even stranger, almost all of the people she sees in the street are transparent. And the one opaque stranger she meets in the district accuses her of being an ayakashi—just what is going on!?

You can check out volume one of this series for yourself below!

Author

This series was written by Rumiko Takahashi.

This is the author of Inuyasha, and Ranma 1/2!

Genre & Tropes

Fantasy, drama, adventure, time travel.

Info about this series (ongoing)

There are currently 28 volumes in Japanese, and 25 in English.

This series will soon be getting an anime! You can watch it on Disney plus here.

TL;DR rating

I really enjoyed this volume! The author throws you in in the middle of the chaos, and doesn’t give you much time to sit down and digest. The face paced action of the 1920’s, ayakashi-infested Japan, and the slow paced daily life of modern Japan give a good balance to this volume.

Official Synopsis

Nanoka passes through a portal into the Taisho era, where exorcist Mao reluctantly rescues her from the jaws of a grotesque yokai. When Nanoka gets back to the present, she discovers she has some new, incredible abilities. She returns to the past looking for answers, only to get caught up in Mao’s investigation of a series of gruesome murders. As her questions about herself multiply, Nanoka learns that Mao is cursed by a cat demon named Byoki—and so is his sword. If anyone but Mao attempts to wield it, they are doomed. But when Mao’s life is in jeopardy, Nanoka picks up his blade and swings!

My thoughts on this volume (Slight Spoilers!)

This volume felt eerily similar to Inuyasha. While the overall tone and characters of the two stories are quite different, the plots are just too similar to deny. Both stories feature a young high schooler protagonist who is suddenly teleported to an ancient Japan full of monsters. There, they make an ally out of a differently supernatural being, and begin an adventure together. Both protagonists can also choose when to move from the past to the present.

Thankfully, as a huge fan of Inuyasha, these similarities didn’t bother me in the slightest. In fact, it almost felt like I was coming home to an old friend waiting for me. While there are indeed similarities between the two series, MAO is different enough that it doesn’t suffer from them. Just from my impressions of volume one, I assume that MAO will have absolutely no romance. It’s quite a bit darker and more series in tone than Inuyasha, and I have been enjoying it so far!

The protagonist of this story is a rather peculiar young woman. When she first meets the exorcist Mao back in 1920’s Japan, he assumes that she is just another ayakashi. Despite the fact that she is just a normal high school student, for some reason, she does indeed have some ayakashi characteristics. Because this is such a fast-paced story, we’re never actually given an explicit explanation as to exactly why Nanoka is so ayakashi-like. While Mao does theorize some potential reasons, nothing is ever for certain. I actually quite liked that we were kept in the dark, as I prefer the “show, don’t tell” method of storytelling. While as of the end of volume one we are left to assume that she and Mao were both cursed by the same creature, nothing is for certain.

Watching Nanoka slowly become more and more ayakashi-like with the sharp teeth and cat eyes after meeting Mao was a little concerning, but also made me really want to continue reading on! Exactly what did Mao do to her to make her like that? And why did he assume that she was an ayakashi at a glance when they first met? I just have so many questions!

While Nanoka spends this volume traveling back and forth between past Japan and present-day Japan, I much preferred the story when it was focusing on the past. During the present scenes, we follow Nanoka go to school, live with her relatives, and try to live an average school life. It was just a tad boring for me when compared with all of the excitement that past Japan has to offer. I would choose an action-packed, ayakashi-filled story over watching a high schooler being forced to drink questionable smoothies and go to school any day of the week.

Review: High Position

https://mangaispolitical.noblogs.org/post/2026/04/18/review-high-position/

Fool Night / フールナイト, Volume One Manga Review

In a world where a lack of sunlight has caused plants to cease to grow naturally, science has evolved to the point that doctors can now use humans as vegetation incubators. Kamiya, living in such a bleak world, is forced to make a difficult decision.

You can check out volume one of this series for yourself below!

Author

This series was written by Kasumi Yasuda.

Genre & Tropes

Plant horror, fantasy, drama.

Info about this series (ongoing)

There are currently 12 volumes in Japanese, and eight in English.

TL;DR rating

I’m very happy that I went into this volume almost completely blind. I had no expectations, so I was blown away by every twist and turn the story took!

Official Synopsis

The earth of the distant future is covered in thick clouds, and the sun no longer shines. Plants wither, and oxygen is thin. To fight extinction, humankind has developed a technology that turns humans into plants, providing a small amount of oxygen. Is this process sustainable? Is it ethical? Toshiro Kamiya must consider these questions as he’s faced with a difficult choice—save his family or save himself.

Kamiya is at the end of his rope. His mother is ill, and his job barely pays for her medication, much less food. With few options left, he considers the life-changing process of transfloration. Ready to give his body up for a payday, Kamiya is about to explore the limits of society’s waning humanity.

My thoughts on this volume (Spoilers!)

This volume was a rather dark, twisted one, I say lovingly. The story is set in a world that is shrouded in darkness, where the inhabitants have began to change for the worse. Putting aside the fact that some people have been turned into plants and plant incubators, it feels like a good majority of the characters we see in this volume have lost their will to live normal lives. We see abusive fathers, hopeless factory workers, and mental health patients with nowhere to go.

This setting feels eerily realistic, as I can only imagine how hopeless the world would feel should the sunlight one day go out forever. After all, I get almost depressed at the thought of my city being covered in snow for half the year… I could only imagine how hard it would be to live somewhere that’s cold and dark all of the time. I am a bit curious to see more of the world building, as it seems like factory work is one of the main jobs that people are able to do now—did the natural disaster cause some sort of war to break out? Or, did the government put all the money into building resources to aid the scientists and doctors who are implanting seeds into humans?

This volume follows a rather hopeless boy—a high school dropout named Kamiya. After a sequence of bad events happen to him, he sees no choice but to request to have a seed planted in him. This process is typically one only granted to those who are otherwise about to die. There is a rather large payout, and the recipients are free to live the rest of their lives doing whatever they want, spending their earnings however they see fit… for about three years. That’s about how long it takes for the plant to fully sprout and take over its human hosts body. Once the plants take over, it’s unknown whether the human inside is still alive or not. On top of that, it’s unknown whether they still have a conscious should they still be alive. So for someone to choose to undergo this procedure… they would have to be completely out of options.

Just because the procedure is typically only given to those that are about to die, doesn’t mean that there’s no way to rig the system, and Kamiya does just that. After going through the process, he gains the unique ability to be able to somewhat understand what the other plants / plant-people are saying—something unheard of until now. What’s a main character of a horror novel without an interesting supernatural power, right?

While I did find it to be a tiny bit cliche that our main character is the one “special” person in this world, I did really enjoy him! He’s a rather moody, calls it like he sees it character. While he technically works for the government, the doesn’t stop him from doing whatever he wants, within reason of course. I really liked that he didn’t let his new circumstances stop him from following his whims! As he lives such an unfortunate life, I can only hope that he can live the rest of it doing new and interesting things.

Lastly, I can’t end this review without talking about the art for a second. In any body horror series, for me, the artstyle is imperative. I would actually say that the art and plot are on par. If it’s difficult to understand what’s happening to a character—i.e. if the art is too abstract—I can’t appreciate it. If it’s constantly overly detailed, my brain can’t decide where to focus. The art in Fool Night does a wonderful job of knowing when to be more detailed, and when to be more simplistic. The author seems to always take the time to make sure the plants are drawn with great detail, but they oftentimes leave their non-plant backgrounds more simplistic. Even when there’s not necessarily anything scary happening, there is always at least a subtle focus on the plants.

While the body horror in this volume is rather minimal, it is still indeed there. Because it’s so minimal, the few times that there are more slightly grotesque panels, they really stand out.

I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here!

Kamisama to Hatsukoi / 神様と初恋, Chapter One Manga Review

It seems like sleeping with a god has its consequences, as after Matsuri met and had a brief relationship with the god Kyousei, he is now losing his powers. To make matters worse, once Matsuri left his village, she also lost all memory of him. Will they be able to reunite and solve the problem before a calamity occurs?

You can check out chapter one of this series for yourself below!

Author

This series was written by Wada Koma.

You can check out some other series by them here!

Genre & Tropes

Fantasy, romance, slightly risque but nothing explicit.

Info about this series (ongoing)

There are currently two chapters published in Japanese.

TL;DR rating

I’m still on the fence with this one, but I will be reading on for now. While I find the art to be beautiful, I think the storytelling is a tad confusing at times.

What’s it about?

Matsuri is a young woman with a talent for seeing the supernatural—though she doesn’t know it. To her, she just sees hallucinations sometimes because she didn’t have enough sleep the previous night. She didn’t think much of it until her seeing these “hallucinations” caused her fiance to break up with her, completely disrupting her life.

Leaving her with no other options, she heads to the small village her grandma used to live in, and sets to move into her house. On her way there, she spots a small child running into a tunnel. Worried that the child is lost, she runs after them and ends up in a beautiful shrine. While the child is nowhere to be seen, that doesn’t mean she’s alone—the master of the shrine is also there. Upon seeing his face, a Summer’s worth of memories come flying back into her head.

It turns out, 10 years ago Matsuri came to visit the village, and had a rather brief but intense relationship with the god of the shrine, Kyousei. At the time she didn’t realize he was something other than human, and they slept together. When she left the village she somehow forgot about the time they spent together, and didn’t regain those memories until she happened upon the shrine again.

When they meet again, he chastises her for making him wait 10 whole years, and promises (threatens?) her that this time he won’t be letting her get away from him. On top of that, he insists that they marry and that Matsuri gives him an heir!?

My thoughts on this chapter (Spoilers!)

I have some pretty mixed feelings about this chapter, so I want to start of with what I enjoyed:

I found the setup to be very interesting and well done! Matsuri losing all of memories, but not her physical connection, to the supernatural helped build up anticipation to the reveal of Kyousei being a god. I hope the story will go on to explain exactly how she developed her supernatural awareness—was it gained solely through sleeping with Kyousei, or was it something she was born with?

Her “powers” being used in tandem with Kyousei make me believe that perhaps she did gain them through sleeping with him, as he only appears to be able to use his powers at full force when she’s touching him. After they slept together he lost a good amount of his powers, and he can now only use strong magic when she’s there to support him—that clearly means she took some of his powers, right!?

I also can’t talk about the positives of this chapter without taking a moment to bring up the art—the art for this series is beautiful. While I like both character designs, Kyousei’s design is actually what brought me to pick it up.

Moving on to what I didn’t exactly love about this chapter:

I found Matsuri to be a somewhat confusing character. She seems to have reclaimed all of her memories of Kyousei upon returning to the shrine, but still acts like he’s a stranger at times. While we know that she liked him enough in the past to sleep with him and to promise to return to his side, it seems like those feelings are still lost to the current Matsuri… Or are they? She’ll go from yelling at him that she doesn’t feel anything for him, to affectionately reciting things that she said to him 10 years ago while rubbing on his face.

While she’s clearly flustered that this handsome god is suddenly trying to sleep with her, I really can’t understand her emotions. Does she like him or not? Does she remember him or not? Because of the pacing of the story, it’s a bit difficult to tell. I really would like to see more of their past relationship, as I think that would bring a lot more light upon why Kyousei is acting like this. Maybe he’s expecting her to act how she did in the past, and is flustered when she doesn’t?

Hopefully as the story continues on her thoughts will be made more clear. I just find it rather frustrating that while Kyousei’s thoughts and intents are made crystal clear from the start, I can’t understand what the main character is thinking.