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.

@manga
Manga review: Blame!

STORY: 6

Meet Killy, a mysterious man with a few words in a future where even the concepts of time and space seem to be lost. His mission is to find a human whose genes have not been altered too much. Those genes are the only way for humans to re-establish contact with the net sphere, a space or entity that is cut from the rest of the world, in order to remove the looming threat of annihilation.
Silicon life, Toha Heavy Industries, Safeguards, the plot can be confusing sometimes, so, if you cannot get in its particular flow, the story for you will simply be “a boy with a big gun goes up a LOT of stairs, looking to repair wifi”.

Continue here:
https://mangaispolitical.noblogs.org/post/2025/03/22/review-blame/

#7 #Action #Adventure #Afternoonmagazine #AI #collapse #comics #drama #dystopia #tech #feminism #Gore #growth #gun #Horror #internet #manga #mangareview #Mecha #Mystery #NiheiTsutomu #Post-Apocalyptic #Psychological #review #Sci-Fi #seinen #socialsciences #stairs #Supernatural #Survival #Thriller #Tragedy #wifi #ブラム

Victoria of Many Faces / 手札が多めのビクトリア, Volume One Manga Review

After running away from the secret agency she lived most of her life serving, former spy Chloe decides to take on the name Victoria and start a new life for herself.

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

Author

This series was written by Syuu, Komo Ushino, and Nanna Fujimi.

Genre & Tropes

Slice of life, found family, very light romantic themes.

Info about this volume (ongoing)

There are currently six volumes in Japanese, and three in English.

This series also has a translated light novel.

TL;DR rating

I liked this volume quite a bit more than I was expecting to! The story was at its best when it focused on Victoria and Nonna’s relationship, in my opinion.

Official Synopsis

Victoria’s peaceful, everyday existence has begun! Ever since she retired from the espionage world, Victoria’s been living as a civilian, just like she’s always dreamed of. But her past as a spy is hard to run from―even though she turned her back on danger, it can’t stop danger from finding her! So when she meets Nonna, a young girl totally on her own in the world, Victoria has to decide what’s truly important to her…peace, or her new friend?

My thoughts on this volume (Spoilers!)

If you’re a fan of the found family trope, I highly recommend checking out Victoria of Many Faces! Volume one quickly surpassed all of my expectations and then some—I cannot wait to check out the rest of the series.

I do have to admit, I was a little hesitant to start this one. I judged it by the title and cover, and assumed it would be a darker series. Perhaps it would follow the spy Victoria as she took on several roles throughout the volume, I thought to myself. I also wasn’t all that excited about there being a prominent child character, as I find children can really make or break a series for me.

Thankfully all of my concerns were for nothing, as this ended up being a lovely read! Rather than being a dark story about a spy and young girl, it instead ended up being a more lighthearted story of a former spy and the young girl she adopts. While there were small bouts of tension found throughout the volume, overall this made for a pretty relaxing read.

Victoria quickly became a character I could root for, as though she’s incredibly overpowered and independent, she’s humanized right from the start. Rather than being a cold spy without any emotions just going from mission to mission, she’s a former spy who is trying to live for herself for the first time in her life. In picking up the young orphan Nonna, Victoria is slowly able to learn more about herself.

I really enjoyed following both Victoria and Nonna! As Nonna clearly had a rough upbringing—she was abandoned by her parents, and has difficulty expressing herself—she has to depend on Victoria to teach her just about everything in life. Victoria, also having her own rough upbringing, balances making sure Nonna can have as fulfilling of a childhood as possible and learning about herself.

Because Victoria is so capable, it’s not all that surprising that Nonna quickly also shows herself to be rather impressive—like her randomly doing cartwheels while on a picnic! I loved that Victoria stated that she wanted Nonna to grow into a woman who never has to depend on a man. I really love just how much this volume focuses on Victoria and Nonna being able to handle things for themselves!

I can’t end this review without talking a little about the potential (definite, in my opinion) love interest, Jeffrey. I actually thought he made a wonderful addition to the story! He’s respectful of Victoria’s boundaries, is good with Nonna, and is clearly into strong, independent woman. (who isn’t?) I really don’t mind there being little sprinklings of romance here and there, as this volume is all about Victoria moving to a new city to have a new life. It makes sense for her to develop a romantic relationship with someone.

As Victoria is only beginning to understand herself come of the end of volume one, I don’t think she really sees Jeffrey as a romantic interest just yet. She says herself that while she’s dated people for the sake of missions in the past, she’s never actually developed romantic feelings for anyone. While I do think she and Jeffrey will end up dating by the end of the series, I think it’ll take at least a few volumes before it happens. Thankfully, Jeffrey seems to be a perfect gentlemen who doesn’t mind waiting until Victoria is ready. If anyone deserves her, it’s him!

I’m excited to see where Victoria and Nonna go from here, and if Victoria will continue teaching Nonna not just physical skills, but intellectual ones as well. As Victoria can speak a number of languages, it would only make sense for her to pass that on to Nonna!

Kuroko and Her Sweet Villain / 黒子と悪役くん, Volume Two Manga Review

After going on a date with Shishima, Kuroda is all up in her feelings. While he was able to help bring her out of her shell, the shyness she now feels when around him has her right back at square one. Will she be able to gain the confidence to meet him and continue their relationship?

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

Author

This series was written by Tina Yamashina. X, Instagram

She also wrote Virgin Love. (English, Japanese)

Genre & Tropes

High school romance, light comedy.

Info about this volume (complete)

There are 2 volumes in this series.

This series is currently only being published digitally in English.

TL;DR rating

I thought this was an all-around cute read, but I’m so sad it was only two volumes! It would have benefitted from being even just one volume longer, IMO.

My thoughts on this volume (Spoilers!)

In volume two, we get to see Kuroda and Shishima’s relationship slowly develop from that awkward stage of “will they, won’t they?” to officially dating! I have to say, when it comes to younger (high school / university) romance series, that “will they, won’t they?” stage is my absolute favourite. The tension and slight drama it tends to bring is just so addictive!

I was very happy to see this stage of their relationship drag on for just about the entirety of this volume, as we were gifted with quite a lot of Shishima lightly teasing Kuroda, and Kuroda struggling with how to react. The two of them are just so cute together! I only wish that we were given a full volume with them officially dating! I would have loved to see them slowly grow together, and how maybe Kuroda could have improved Shishima’s standing within their class.

Just like in volume one, Shishima has a rather bad reputation around their school. I had actually forgotten about that, as I quickly became very invested in their relationship. I felt like I was a member of their little bubble for a little while when reading, I’m a little embarrassed to admit. So, when a new character asks Kuroda is Shishima wasn’t leveraging her and forcing her to hang around him, I was a little confused. I was thinking “Hey! How dare you question my cute almost-couple!?” But then I was brought back down to reality.

Thankfully there was no big misunderstanding plotline, as Kuroda was very quick to defend her man. It was so sweet watching her grow through the two volumes! As while in volume one we has to watch her do everyone else’s work and watch them enjoy the fruits of her labours from the shadows, in this volume we get to see her actively go on dates, and even refuse to do other peoples work for them! While it was initiated by Shishima, I still take it as a win for Kuroda. My girl grew so much!!

The overall tone and art found in this series is something that quickly grew on me, as it’s pretty unique! I think the author had a lot of fun with the villain motif, as she took as many opportunities to give the characters little horns and tails and cute-but-scary expressions. It allowed for the story to be more lighthearted and comedic in tone, but without any overtly comedic gags—something I tend to dislike.

As a whole, I would recommend this series to any shoujo romance lover! While it’s unfortunately a little shorter than I would have liked, it still tells a complete, very cute story.

New Manga Read - I Wanna Be Your Girl (Volume 2)

This series is very good presenting sensitive topics about gender and sexuality of teenagers in a way that works in a cute, romance setting where a girl has a crush on her longtime best friend.

The second volume did a great job of helping Hime come more to grips with the idea that she's not heterosexual, which she was struggling with in Volume 1.

Now I wait for my library network to get a copy of Volume 3 for me to read!

#Manga #MangaCollector #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #Bookstodon #LibraryFinds #IWannaBeYourGirl #カノジョになりたい君と僕 #UmiTakase #TakaseUmi

Sweat and Soap / あせとせっけん – Volume One Manga Review

Working at a luxurious toiletry company is a dream come true for Asako, as her predisposition to sweat has lead her to become very familiar with body care. One day she meets Natori, and her entire world changes. Not only is he the man who invented many of the products she loves and uses on a daily basis, he is also attracted to the smell of her sweat!?

Scroll to the bottom for a link to sample and buy volume one!

Author

This series was written by Kintetsu Yamada X, Instagram

Genre & Tropes

Workplace romance, adult romance with nothing explicit.

Info about this series (complete)

This series is complete in English and Japanese with 11 volumes.

TL;DR rating

I’m rather conflicted on this one. I think you need to be in a very specific mood to be able to appreciate the story. While the characters and their relationship is rather cute and wholesome, the scent fetish part got a little off-putting for me at times.

Official synopsis

Asako’s living her dream, working at the toiletry maker Lilia Drop. Little do her coworkers know, the reason she loves the company so much is that she’s ashamed of her body odor, and their soap is the only thing that does the trick. So when the company’s lead product developer, a perfuming genius, approaches her in the lobby and wonders what “that smell” is, she’s terrified… but could it be… that he likes it? And, even more surprising to Asako… does she like him?

My thoughts on this volume (Mild spoilers!)

I picked this one up for two reasons: I really liked the author’s one-shot Home Office Romance, and it was highly recommended to me. Typically I’m really not a fan of fetish content, no matter how light it may be, however I am a big fan of office romances, so I took a chance on it.

At the start, I was afraid the story would go in a more “starts off and stays hot and heavy throughout” direction, but thankfully it slows down by the end of the first chapter. We’re introduced to Natori at the very start of the story, and he comes off in a perverted light right away. I mean, he runs up to Asako, a woman he’s never met before, and starts sniffing her in the middle of their office building. He then convinces her to allow him to continue sniffing her at the office for the sake of his “creative process”, and then makes a move on her during one of these “sniffing sessions”.

It’s explained that Natori is one of the people who develops the various products that their companies sells, so he never comes off in an overtly dubious way. It’s clear that he’s telling the truth from the start—he likes how she smells, and he wants to use it in his work. He seems like a serious employee, he just happens to be a little eccentric. My problem with him is that Asako clearly comes off in a more shy and timid way. Here, she felt like the type of character who would allow herself to be put through a bit of discomfort if she felt like she was being helpful. I hate seeing characters like this be taken advantage of, so I was looking at Natori with anger in my eyes for a little while at the start.

Like… even if he is inspired by how Asako smells… there’s a time and a place for things! Like, at least introduce yourself first? Maybe wait a few days before pulling her into a storage room so you can sniff her in private? To me, their first encounter was not one I would describe as romantic.

It was when Natori made his move on Asako that I almost dropped the book…but then it made a delightful turn! Asako pushing him and running away caused him to take a moment and realize that he was indeed being rather pushy. He then took a step back, and began treating her like a normal person! Prior to this, he was treating her more like a “good smell machine” first, person second.

While their relationship does progress rather quickly, both of them are clearly happy with the speed of things, and I can’t ask for more than that! While I do personally prefer a more slow burn romance, as long as the characters are clearly happy and communicating properly, I have no complaints. Having good communication skills is one of the core elements of Asako and Natori’s relationship, as though they have a rather strong relationship by the time they start dating, that doesn’t mean they’re without any problems…

We spend a lot of time learning about how Asako’s sweat problem caused her difficulties as a child. Now as an adult she takes extra care not to do anything that may make her sweaty, but still, the difficult times she had when younger linger on her mind. This complex has had a direct effect on both her relationships with her coworkers, and her self-esteem.

So, when she realizes how much of a social butterfly Natori is, of course she gets a little self-conscious. She becomes sad even when with him, and rather than express her sadness to him, she lies and tells him that she’s okay. While typically I would get annoyed at this—like girl, tell him what’s bothering you!—what happens when he realizes she’s sad is so out of pocket that I didn’t have time to be annoyed.

Natori is a character with an exceptional nose. It’s how he was able to get his job, it’s why he’s so attracted to Asako…and it’s how he’s able to tell when she’s upset. That’s right—he can literally smell her emotions. She doesn’t need to say “i’m feeling pretty down right now”, as he can smell when she’s sad, happy, excited, etc.

I’m still really not sure how I feel about him being able to smell emotions…but at least it makes for an interesting character trait, right?

Moving on, I do think I’ll at least give the next volume a try, but if I don’t enjoy it more than volume one, I’ll be dropping this one. I still have difficulties understanding what Natori likes about Asako besides her smell. Likewise, Asako really only seems to like Natori because he’s the first one to compliment her on how she smells. I’m hoping their relationship grows beyond this shallow level, as I really do believe there’s potential!

Check out a free sample below!

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

Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More – Volume One Manga Review

After being reborn in a world full of magic, Dahlia promises herself to never again bow her head. Will she be able to follow in her new father’s footsteps and become a magical apparatus inventor, or will she fall back into her old habits?

Scroll to the bottom for a link to sample and buy volume one!

Author

This series was written by Hisaya Amagishi X, Megumi Sumikawa, and Kei.

Genre & Tropes

Isekai, fantasy, romance.

Info about this series (ongoing)

This series is ongoing in Japanese with nine volumes currently released.

It is ongoing in English with eight volumes currently released.

TL;DR rating

While I did overall enjoy this volume, I think this series would shine more without any romance. I want to see Dahlia thrive as a magical inventor!

Official synopsis

Reincarnated in a fantasy world, Dahlia immerses herself in the art of crafting magical items. Using knowledge from her old life and the skills her new father has taught her, she invents specialized tools, finding pleasure in everyday activities. Dahlia won’t hang her head in misery like she used to. She’s determined to enjoy her second chance at life!

My thoughts on this volume (Mild spoilers!)

After being worked to death in her first life, Dahlia promises herself to do what she wants in her second. She lived her first life with her head constantly hung down—be it because she was apologizing to customers at a job she hated, or feeling ashamed that her work caused her to lose contact with her loved ones, she lived a life full of regret. So, she sees a new shot at life the perfect excuse to try to be just a little more selfish.

She discovers her calling at a very quick age—she wants to create magical inventions, just like her new father. I thought their bond was so sweet, as her father really seemed to cherish her! We really need more good father daughter relationships in manga…

I ended up having rather mixed feelings about her father by the end of the volume, but that doesn’t change the fact that I really liked how he treated Dahlia when she was a child. Though she was a prodigy, she needed to be constantly kept in check—otherwise she would have almost definitely blown herself up. Her father’s loving but strict nature surely saved her life more than a few times. Her having good ideas but failing in the application also felt very realistic! Having a father around who could see the potential in her, and who could properly teach her the fundamentals of the craft, in my opinion, are what allowed Dahlia to grow as much as she did.

My favourite thing about this volume was how in-depth it got about all of the various magic creations and their patents. Rather than focusing on all of the magic and wonder behind the creations, it instead focuses on the logistics. So you want to make a waterproof raincoat… How would you go about procuring the materials? Where would you even begin? What would you do once your project is complete to protect it from would-be copycats? This volume touches on all these subjects and more.

Because this is a fantasy series, a good majority of the process is different from how I would assume it would be in the real world, but it still feels very realistic. For example, Dahlia goes about purchasing various slime monsters and dries them out, trying to decide on the best material to use for a coat. She then has a friend do market research on all of the potential slime skins to figure out which would be most well received by the public. Once the whole product is completed, she has to find a company to help her with distribution, and files for a patent.

As the majority of Dahlia’s inventions are inspired by her first life, none of them felt all that groundbreaking to me. That’s why I was so happy to see the story focus more so on the act and result of creation, as that was a whole new world for me. I certainly never thought of how long to wait before creating a derivative of a product already on the market. The fantasy setting just makes it feel all that more interesting!

To me, there was just one thing holding this manga back from becoming a favourite of mine: the “romance“.

I feel like this volume would have shined just a little brighter had there been no romance subplot. Well, can you really call it romance if it’s a forced engagement started by two fathers? This setup by Dahlia’s father really had me confused. We went from him proclaiming that he would never give Dahlia up to another man unless he could prove himself a worthy protector… to him signing her up to marry the first seemingly decent boy that appeared in her life. His reasoning for wanting the two of them to get married was just “you’re both inventors, you’ll support each other,” and that was it.

I had whiplash from just how quickly he flipped on her. Dahlia, who had claimed to want to live a life where she would no longer hang her head surprisingly agreed to the engagement, and slowly allowed her fiance to change just about everything that made Dahlia, Dahlia. I was so frustrated watching it all go happen, as who enjoys watching strong women get forced to fit inside a box!?

Thankfully the engagement subplot ends rather quickly, but it lead me to be confused as to why it happened in the first place. Was it to give Dahlia the push to finally take drastic measures to show her talents off to the world? I’m choosing to believe so, otherwise it just feels like she suffered for nothing.

I have a strong feeling that the now ex-fiance isn’t the only romantic interest in this series, so we’ll have to see if the next man that comes along is actually worth Dahlia’s time.

Check out a free sample below!

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

Adabana / 徒花 – Volume Two Manga Review

If you thought volume one was dark… you haven’t seen anything yet.

Scroll to the bottom for a link to sample and buy volume two!

Author

This series was written by NON. You can find their X here.

Genre & Tropes

Psychological horror.

Info about this series (ongoing)

This series is completed in Japanese with three volumes. It is ongoing in English with two volumes currently released.

TL;DR rating

I was rather conflicted with this one. The storytelling, pacing, art, hopeless atmosphere… Everything was amazingly crafted. My only problem with it is that it was so dark that I can only recommend it to a very specific audience.

Trigger warnings

This volume is rather heavy, so please only read if you are comfortable with the following topics being discussed:

• Sexual assault by a family member
• Hidden cameras
• Sexual blackmail
• Exploitation of a minor

My thoughts on this volume (Mild spoilers!)

Volume two kept the same overall dark and depressing tone of volume one, but this time we follow around the disappeared best friend, Mako. I say “disappeared” and not “murdered”, as I refused to believe that she is actually dead until we’re shown either her murder, or her body. Until then, I’m choosing to believe that Mizuki (the would-be murderer / best friend) somehow helped her escape this hell hole. While in volume one we follow the story of Mizuki and the detectives who are looking into the murder, volume two takes us back six months before the arrest.

As I wasn’t the biggest fan of the police storyline in the previous volume—I think this series works better when it tells us the story through the eyes of the girls, not when it follows the police trying to make sense of things—I was very happy with this change of pace! We still get to see some of our potential murderer, Mizuki, but the focus is overwhelmingly on Mako. Because both girls were forced to go through so many traumatic events, I think their perspective is by far the most interesting. I care less about the police members who failed to help them, and who still aren’t doing the best job of figuring out exactly what happened—at least in volume one.

We learn quite a lot about Mako in this volume, and every new thing made me feel more and more sorry for her. Her familial situation is one that no young person should ever have to go though, and then on top of that her creepy uncle… How he hadn’t been caught by the police by this point in the story, I’ll never know. The author did a wonderful job of making him an absolutely disgusting character, and I found myself cheering even more the second time we were shown his eventual death.

Every male character introduced in this series seems to range from incompetent to downright evil. The story focuses more so on the later, as we are shown some truly evil men. This volume focuses a lot on what I would refer to as realistic worst case scenarios. I found it to be so disturbing because while they were clearly amped up for the sake of drama, I could still imagine it happening in real life.

For example, Mako’s seemingly kind saviour-boyfriend slowly growing more and more controlling? That’s something commonly found in abusive relationships, right? Him filming her with his phone without her consent? Again, that’s absolutely something that could happen. Him going out of his way to set up spy cameras so he can still record her without having to hear her complaints? More outlandish, but again, realistically a deranged pervert could do it. And then, when it all blew up, threatening to release the videos should she try to leave him? It really doesn’t feel all that unrealistic.

This particular sequence of events is just one instance of the trauma that poor Mako is forced to endure in this volume. Even after she goes to the police, they aren’t able to do anything besides saying “leave it to us!” Like… Arrest the man who was filming sexually explicit videos of a minor maybe? Look into the home life of said minor, to figure out if she’s being properly taken care of? Do… literally anything??

By the end of the volume, I was ready for it to be over. The horrific situation Mako was in found a way to continue growing worse and worse, with no solution in sight. To comfort myself, I’m choosing to believe that Mizuki was able to help her erase all of the videos taken of her, and sent her away to another country to start a new life. Please, let them have at least a neutral ending…

In the next volume, if that perverted boyfriend doesn’t get what’s coming to him, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to handle it. My opinion on him from volume one to two could not have changed more drastically. While I had been finding him to be a suspicious character, I actually thought it was because he was cheating on Mako with Mizuki in some capacity. I was not ready for what actually happened. I need him in jail in place of Mizuki.

A theory I have: maybe the girls set up things for him to be sent to jail eventually, so Mizuki turned herself in even though she’s innocent, just to make a few allies in jail in anticipation of his arrival. She would tell a prisoner or two to “look out” for the monster, and get released when the police realize she’s innocent. That way she’ll get a little bit of revenge for Mako, and won’t have to endure any jail time for it!

With the depressing tone of the overall story I doubt this is where it’s going… but a girl can dream.

Check out a free sample below!

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

FRUIT OF THE UNDERWORLD Vol. 1 is now available from Kodansha. Read my review today on the blog!

https://karadennison.blogspot.com/2026/03/manga-review-fruit-of-underworld-vol-1.html

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