#MangaMonday 02 “Medalist” by Tsurumaikada

Inori Yuitsuka is a fifth grader who dreams of figure skating. Unfortunately, her older sister quit skating lessons and her mother doesn’t want to waste more money on them.

Tsukasa Akeuraji is a 26 year old skater who’s trying to find his place in the world after failing to make Japan’s Olympic team. After recommending a former skating partner’s club to Inori, he finds himself hired on as an assistant coach.

This is a sports #Manga with the usual progression through ranks, rivalries and friendships with competitors, and minutiae about the sport. The unusal part is that the coach is as much a main character as the athlete (moreso in the very beginning.) They even split the opening color spread.

The art is very expressive and—crucially—allows us to follow the jumps and choreography.

Ongoing with ten volumes. Nine are available in English digitally, and the first two in print (Kodansha.) An #Anime is due in January 2025.

#Medalist

#MangaMonday 03 “Dinosaur Sanctuary” by Itaru Kinoshita

Suma Suzume is starting out as a rookie dinokeeper at Enoshima Dinoland, a middling dinosaur zoo that is struggling amid a downturn in popular interest in dinosaurs.

This is an episodic workplace slice-of-life/drama #Manga that mostly follows Suzume learning about her job and the #Dinosaurs, although some chapters follow visitors or other zoo staff. The world’s backstory is a hand-wavey combination of a discovered population and genetic engineering.

The art really shines when the dinos appear. There’s a lot of thought as well as effort put into their posture and appearance (some are feathered, some not.) Research Consultant Shin-ichi Fujiwara contributes a page of text every chapter that usually touches on the current story (e.g., at one point explaining why Triceratops probably loafed like a house cat.)

Ongoing with four of five volumes released in English (Seven Seas.)

#DinosaurSanctuary

#MangaMonday 04 “Since I Could Die Tomorrow” by Sumako Kari

Tired of High School hijinks? This is the #Manga for you. Sawako Honna is a single 42 year old woman working at a film marketing company. It’s a hectic job at the best times, and her irresponsible coworker isn’t making her life easier.

She starts to experience the symptoms of menopause and begins reflecting on her life. Unexpectedly, she finds herself making new connections and renewing old ones. A childhood friend reaches out. A business acquaintance reveals he has cancer. A former coworker starts her thinking about turning freelance.

This originated as a web release, but the art has a very analogue look. The line work is confident and restrained. Honna has a pair of pajama bottoms that must have been a pain to draw, but really sell a particular scene.

Note that the second volume touches on suicide from a variety of perspectives.

Complete, with two of four volumes in English (Tokyopop.)

#SinceICouldDieTomorrow

#MangaMonday 05 “Ruri Dragon” by Masaoki Shindo

Ruri Aoki is a young girl going through some changes. In her case, that means waking up one morning with horns growing out of her head. Her mother had neglected to mention some things about her absent father, chiefly that he’s a dragon. Feeling otherwise fine, Ruri heads off to school.

The twist is that everyone treats her relatively normally, even after other ‘perks’ of her heritage start to emerge. It’s a surprisingly wholesome fantasy-tinged slice-of-life tale.

The art is impressive, with a distinct preference for hatching instead of screens. Take note of her eyes during the first chapter.

This #Manga started serialization in Shonen Jump in June, 2022. It was well received, but after just six chapters the story went on hiatus due to Shindo’s health and only just resumed this March. There’s no English volume announced yet, but the story is simulpublished on the Manga Plus website/app under a “first read is free” scheme.

#RuriDragon

#MangaMonday 06 “Whoever Steals This Book” by Nowaki Fukamidori (story) and Kakeru Sora (art)

Mifuyu Mikura is the youngest in a famously literate lineage. She hates books, in part due to the drain on her family of maintaining their ancestral library. This becomes a problem when the theft of a book activates a curse that plunges the whole town into a magical realist story. A mysterious girl named Mashiro reveals that Mifuyu must read the story and then work out who triggered the curse.

This is an adaptation of an untranslated novel. The #Manga handles the stories within the story rather nicely, with a column of text that fades out before the illustrated story (in a different style) begins. You can literally see Mifuyu’s resistance to reading fading. The curses placed on the library are apparently genre-specific, and the last chapter of volume one sets up neo-noir story.

Completed with one of three volumes in English (Yen Press.) The next drops in June.

#WhoeverStealsThisBook

#MangaMonday 07 “Adults’ Picture Book: New Edition” by Kei Itoi

Souichirou Koudou’s beloved friend Haruki “left the world without so much as a Good-Bye.” He DID leave his four year old daughter, Kiki, in Koudou’s care. Resolved to bring up his friend’s child, he impulsively proposes to a woman, Fusako, who reminds him of Haruki. Equally impulsively, she accepts and they take their first steps towards forming a family.

The art helps the story by giving Haruki, Kiki, and Fusako the same eyes so you instantly see the reminders of his friend that Koudou sees.

This volume is mostly setup, and leaves you with a lot of questions. I don’t know where it’s going, but I’m intrigued enough to look forward to the next volume (due mid June.) There is no ‘old edition,’ BTW. The title is playing with the idea of a visual dictionary of adults being revised.

Complete with one of three volumes in English (Yen Press.)

#AdultsPictureBook #Manga

#MangaMonday 08 “Call the Name of the Night” by Tama Mitsuboshi

Mira is a young girl with an unusual affliction. Whenever she gets anxious, she brings forth a tangible version of night. Potentially, it could cover an entire town and even cause her to lose her sense of self. To address this, she lives with a doctor/magician, Rei, who is looking for a treatment.

This is mostly a slice of life fantasy #Manga. Mira spends most of her time—of necessity—on Rei’s estate, something the #Manga draws attention to in one chapter. Still, in some ways it feels like a scaled-down “Witch Hat Atelier” (and may scratch that itch for people waiting on the next chapter.)

The art is good, but the character designs are unusual. Well, most of them are late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century Western designs at heart, but the featured magicians have unique dress sense.

Complete with four of five volumes in English (Yen Press.)

#CallTheNameOfTheNight

#MangaMonday 09 “Hirayasumi” by Keigo Shinzo

Hiroto Ikuta is the type of guy who is immediately trusted by grannies, but clams up when confronted with attractive women his age. He had a bit part in a movie when he was young, and moved to Tokyo to pursue an acting career. Unfortunately that thing with women meant it ultimately went nowhere and now, at 29 years old, he works at an artificial fishing pond. Still, he’s easy going and mostly content with his life.

Hiroto’s cousin, Natsumi, was just accepted into a Tokyo art school and it’s been arranged for her to stay with him (don’t worry, it’s not THAT kind of #Manga.)

This is an urban slice-of-life, albeit with plot development. Natsumi’s adjusting to art school moves rather quickly. Hiro’s life is slower paced, but a series of unfortunate encounters with an overworked office lady appears to be building up to something.

Ongoing with one of seven volumes in English (Viz.) The next drops in August.

#Hirayasumi

#MangaMonday 10 “Tokyo These Days” by Taiyo Matsumoto

Shiozawa is a #Manga editor ‘on the wrong side of fifty’ who quits his job after the magazine he headed was shut down. After a mangaka he worked with dies, he decides to work on one more manga and begins recruiting artists he admires.

From there it’s a meditation on art, commerce, and mortality. Many of the artists Shiozawa seeks out have left the industry for their own reasons. Some are thriving. Few are happy. Meanwhile time is subtly slipping by.

The art perfectly matches the story, with a scratchy pen style. It’s similar to his work in “Tekkonkinkreet,” but with more detail and shading.

Complete with two of three volumes in English (Viz.) The final volume drops in September.

#TokyoTheseDays

#MangaMonday 11 “The Fable: The Second Contact” by Katsuhisa Minami

The Fable’s anime is currently airing, but since I recommended the manga back in February (https://mefi.social/@ChurchHatesTucker/111879778394194266) you must be caught up and curious about the sequel. Long story short: almost everything has been dialed up a notch, for good or ill.

This is a shorter series and the fist-blurring action takes center stage. Akira and Yoko are back in town during the Covid lockdown and soon face off against a peer adversary of Fable. Yoko even gets to be a badass this time around.

Unfortunately the sexual violence is also dialed up, and even Yoko isn’t safe. If it bothered you the first time around, you may want to skip this #Manga.

The art continues to be excellent, but the backgrounds now get more detailed shading that borders on photorealistic.

Complete at nine volumes. So far it’s only been released in English as chapters on Kodansha’s K Manga website/app (as a continuation of “The Fable.”)

#TheFableSecondContact

#MangaMonday 12 “No Longer Allowed in Another World” by Hiroshi Noda (story) & Takahiro Wakamatsu (art)

Stop me if you heard this before: A depressed Japanese guy is hit by a truck and transported to another world where he is greeted by an elf who is surprised to discover that his stats are the very weakest.

Wait, I’m not done! The guy—simply addressed as “Sensei”—is heavily implied to be Osamu Dazai, famed (and real) melancholic author and serial #suicide. He refuses the task he was summoned for and seeks to resume his interrupted double suicide. Along the way he takes an interest in people’s stories—especially other Otherworlders’—and, almost inadvertently, makes the world a better place.

It’s actually a fun comedy/deconstruction #manga, but be aware that a lot of the humor revolves around Sensei’s cavalier attitude toward his own life.

Ongoing with five of ten volumes in English (Seven Seas.) The 6th volume and an #Anime are due in July

#NoLongerAllowedInAnotherWorld

#MangaMonday 13 “Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.” by Sekka Iwata (story) & Yu Aoki (art)

Kana Sakuragi is a recent college grad looking for her first job. She’s on her 16th interview when a monster attacks (it happens.) Kana is able to assist the Magical Girl who responds and is subsequently recruited as a Magical Girl herself.

This #manga leans into ‘Magical Girl as a job description’ (a growing sub-genre; I covered “Witch Life in a Micro Room” previously.) Spells are essentially code and tranformation items double as employee IDs. Kana’s new employer is a small start-up, which is contrasted with the established companies. The workplace comedy is light (e.g., post-chapter panels assure us that anyone fired from the big companies immediately found more rewarding positions elsewhere) but the monster (“Kaii”) fights are taken seriously.

Ongoing with two of twelve volumes in English and a third due in August. An #anime is scheduled for this fall.

#Magilumiere #WitchLifeInAMicroRoom