Another week in the books. Let’s chat about manga in the general discussion thread! Feel free to use this thread for questions, comments, recommendations, etc.
Like normal, please be careful with spoilers. I wrote a guide about spoilers in case you need a refresher on how to handle them (also linked in the sidebar).
I just caught up with Natsume Yuujinchou and would really like something new to read, with similar vibes? Any recs?
This week I got caught up on Witch Hat Atelier.
Read it. Seriously.
Witch Hat Atelier has the best, most unique art I’ve ever seen in a manga. I honestly don’t think any of the dozens of series I’ve read can even compete. It would be worth reading even if the story and characters were bad, but thankfully the story is good and the characters are extremely charming.
The anime will air later this year, and the trailer looks great, but I still implore everyone here to read it. This could be the next big thing, assuming the shounen-heads are willing to watch a show about a young girl instead of a spunky boi like Itadori or Tanjiro.
The World Of SKK girls - c27 - very nice adventure, slice of life, mystery. Three girls are traveling through a post-apocaliptic world and somehow they are only one’s there. The things behind the veil are really interesting and the twist with where the story is going will make for a fun read.
APOSIMZ - v1-v8 - Protagonist has a bit of a thick plot-armor but it’s really cool read. I like Ajate as a character. She must feel a bit lonely sometimes. No one can hug her.
I’ve caught up with the English translation of Asako.
I really like it. The first few pages might deter a lot of people but I think the author handles the age gap relationship quite well and the other themes in the book like sexuality, preadolescence, memories, adulthood, etc. I expected the entire story to revolve around the relationship of the two but it extends far past that.
Depending on how it goes from here, it might be up there with my other all time favorites like Flowers of Evil and Three Days of Happiness.
Maybe I’ll put up a post comparing it with “My Boy” some day as they’re both similar situations but handled differently.
Some highlights for me from this past week:
I have mentioned this series before, but the two leads in this series are so lovably weird that I have been really enjoying it. Despite the name, Kirio is really just a side character and you never actually see his face at all. I am super looking forward to the announced anime adaptation of the series.
A big change in tone in the chapters released this past week. I really enjoyed a more serious take on the superpowers that have only ever been played for laughs to this point. I hope that the author isn’t afraid to do this more as the series goes.
This one is a good mix of weird and fun. I had this one on my to-read list from a while back when @PrincessKadath@ani.social had posted some of the early chapters. I finally decided to give it a shot. I am only 7 chapters in so far, but plan on catching up soon. Not sure how this is going to resolve, but the characters are delightfully quirky and it’s just a lot of stupid fun.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention this one after all the shilling I used to do for the author’s previous work, Assemble! Mysterious Research Club / Atsumare! Fushigi Kenkyu-bu. This new series is about a demon that has come to Earth to recruit some evil guys to bewitch into being her slaves. You might be wondering to yourself what the most efficient way to meet evildoers might be. Well, she decides that it is to become a police officer to meet all the criminals. And thus, a workplace comedy about a demon police officer and her straight-laced partner is born. I’m not entirely sold after just the first chapter, but I have enough faith in the author that I am willing to let it go for a while.
I resumed and finished reading Undead Unluck now that it has ended.
It’s pretty good.
