Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Katherine Dacey

Where to Buy Manga in a Pandemic: Comicopia

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One of my favorite places to shop for manga is Comicopia, a small but well-stocked comic shop in the heart of Boston’s Kenmore Square. I’ve been a loyal customer since 2008, the year I relocated from New York City to my hometown. As I noted back in 2009, Comicopia is a manga lover’s comic store:

Highbrow, lowbrow… and everything in between. That’s the slogan of Comicopia, a Mecca (mecha?) for Beantown manga lovers. For twenty years, this modest Kenmore Square storefront has been catering to discerning comic fans of all persuasions, stocking everything from Introducing Derrida to Mr. Arashi’s Amazing Freak Show, as well as crowd-pleasers like Peanuts, Bone, Y: The Last Man, Justice Society of America, and, of course, Bleach, Naruto and Fruits Basket. Comicopia’s low-key, friendly vibe is more bookstore than comic store, making it a great place for former Barnes & Noble junkies to ween themselves off the chain store habit.

Owner Matt Lehman claims to have “New England’s largest selection of manga,” a claim substantiated by both the quantity and variety of titles on Comicopia’s shelves. On my most recent visit, for example, I found all nineteen volumes of Full Metal Alchemist alongside full runs of Dragon Head, Eden: It’s An Endless World, and Swan, as well as a generous assortment of older and more obscure titles: Junko Mizuno’s Cinderalla, Shirow Masamune’s Black Magic, Junjo Ito’s Museum of Terror, numerous volumes of Basara, and the first volume of The Monkey King. “We’re committed to carrying every manga in print,” Lehman explains. “We make an effort to stock the first two or three volumes of each new series as it comes out, and continue carrying what sells.” That commitment isn’t limited to seinen titles or certifiable hits; Comicopia has devoted entire walls to kid-friendly manga and yaoi as well. It’s the only place I’ve ever seen all eighteen volumes of Dr. Slump and all three volumes of Yakuza in Love in stock.

With the new stay-at-home advisory in place right now, however, Comicopia has been forced to close its doors to foot traffic. Manga lovers around the country can still show their support for this Boston mainstay by placing email orders for their favorite series. Right now, for example, Comicopia is offering special discounts for “binge” orders of four or more volumes of the same series:

  • Buy at least 4 books of the same series, get 10% off.
  • Buy at least 8 books of the same series, get 15% off.
  • Buy at least 12 books of the same series, get 20% off.

Books are sent by Priority Mail; buyers are charged the exact shipping costs for their order, with no additional mark-up for handling. To place an order, just email info@comicopia.com. (You can find more information about the store here.) I don’t usually plug stores or vendors on my site, but I would hate to see Comicopia go out of business, as it’s a progressive, welcoming alternative to the stereotypical LCS—or Amazon, for that matter. And in case you’re worried they don’t have “your” manga, owner Matt Lehman sent me this picture of the store’s current inventory:

Note that there are EVEN MORE SHELVES of manga; this is just a small portion of Comicopia’s total inventory.

Oh, and one last thing: I just put my money where my mouth is and ordered the latest volumes of all the series I’m currently following, from Blank Canvas to The Way of the Househusband. Hope you will, too.

Pick of the Week: Cross-Eyed

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MICHELLE: I am a little wary of Star⇄Crossed!!, since the creator’s other series to be licensed here was not my thing, but its wacky premise has undeniable appeal in these dark days. I hope I love it.

SEAN: I’ve been enjoying J-Novel Club’s line of shoujo light novels even more than I expected to. As a result, the series I’m most looking forward to this week is the debut of The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap, which if nothing else has KITTIES!

KATE: Any manga that has Erica Friedman’s endorsement is automatically on my must-read list, so my vote is for The Conditions of Paradise.

ASH: I’m certainly interested in everything that’s been mentioned so far, but my pick this week goes to the second volume of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun with it’s quirky characters and interesting takes on yokai.

ANNA: I’m throwing in with Michelle and picking Star⇄Crossed!! too!

MELINDA: While I’m very much interested in The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap, I’m going to have to go along with Anna and Michelle this week. Star⇄Crossed!! looks like everything I need to battle the social-distancing blues!

Pick of the Week: Manga Smorgasbord

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SEAN: There are some high-profile debuts this week: Something’s Wrong with Us from Natsumi Ando, and Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku from the assistant to Fire Punch’s creator (but I won’t hold that against him.) But I have to give the nod to my old friend Kumeta Koji (or Kouji… curse these romanji changes) with Kakushigoto: My Dad’s Secret Ambition, simply as I am so happy to see his stuff over here once more.

MICHELLE: I’ll definitely be checking out Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku and Kakushigoto: My Dad’s Secret Ambition, but I have just got to see what Natsumi Ando doing josei looks like, and thus my pick is Something’s Wrong With Us.

KATE: I’m exercising my right to nominate two titles for this week’s column: the gorgeously illustrated Witch Hat Atelier, whose plucky heroine just begs for her own Studio Ghibli film, and The Girl from the Other Side, whose plucky heroine may not survive to the end of volume eight. I have my supply of Kleenex and whiskey on hand in case things get any more emotional.

ASH: While there are some very interesting debuts this week, I find myself echoing Kate’s picks – Witch Hat Atelier and The Girl from the Other Side are consistently some of the best series being released right now.

ANNA: I agree, Witch Hat Atelier and The Girl from the Other Side as such special series it is an extra treat that they are both coming out the same week!

MELINDA: I’m with Michelle this week! Something’s Wrong with Us is too intriguing to pass up. I’m not always a fan of the josei manga that gets localized in North America, but this sounds just about weird enough for me.

Pick of the Week: Ice Ice Baby

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MICHELLE: In a week with the debut of a josei series about a nerdy figure skater, there is really no contest. It’s gotta be Knight of the Ice.

SEAN: I didn’t use it for the Manga the Week of Feature Image because I knew it would be here. Obviously, it’s Knight of the Ice.

ASH: It really is an obvious choice! Knight of the Ice is unquestionably my pick – I’m very excited that more of Yayoi Ogawa’s work is being translated – but I’d also like to take the opportunity to encourage everyone to pick up the most recent volume of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun!

ANNA: No surprise, I’m picking Knight of the Ice too!

KATE: The Massachusetts judge awards Knight of the Ice a perfect 10!

MELINDA: Well, I’m not going to be the one to break the streak. Knight of the Ice it is!

Pick of the Week: Quality Assortment

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KATE: I think the best way to describe this week’s new arrivals is A Whole Lot of Stuff I’m Unlikely to Read. I will cop to being interested in Shuzo Oshimi’s Blood on the Tracks, though the part of me that read Flowers of Evil, Drifting Net Cafe, and Happiness wonders how many volumes I’ll read before it just gets too squicky for me.

ANNA: There’s a bunch of stuff coming out this week but I have to say what most interests me is the reissue of Saiyuki. You’ve got Jeeps! Monkey gods! Cigarettes! Guns! Pointy ears! Cranky Priests! Yokai! Is there a more 90s series than this? I don’t know, but I’m glad it is being released again.

SEAN: It’s definitely a Kodansha week for me – leaving aside Saiyuki, there’s also the debut of Sweat and Soap, and new volumes of In/Spectre and Magus of the Library. Kodansha is my pick!

MICHELLE: I’m intrigued by Blood on the Tracks, though I could not make it through Flowers of Evil, so perhaps that will happen again. And I’ll definitely be checking out Saiyuki and Kodansha’s latest digital shoujo debut, I Fell in Love After School. But what I am most excited about is a new volume of The Ancient Magus’ Bride. I love that series very, very much.

ASH: I love The Ancient Magus’ Bride, too! But this week my pick goes Magus of the Library – I’m really enjoying Mitsu Izumi’s fantasy take on librarianship and how surprisingly accurate it can be at times.

MELINDA: Even though I’ve still got my old copies of Saiyuki, I doubt I can turn down a chance to buy them again, especially in shiny, new hardcover editions. Though nothing will quell my longing for more of Minekura’s Wild Adapter, I’ll take what I can get. Bring me Saiyuki!

Pick of the Week: As Expected

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SEAN: A lot of diverse choices this week. The “prestige” title is clearly Downfall, but let’s face it it’s far too bleak for me. Instead, to no one’s surprise, I’ll go with Silver Spoon again. Because it is Silver Spoon, and because it is my heart.

MICHELLE: I am ashamed to admit I still haven’t read any Silver Spoon. I, too, am turning away from bleakness and toward my favorite genre, which means I am picking Shojo FIGHT! this week.

MELINDA: Silver Spoon. It is always Silver Spoon.

KATE: This week’s list is chock-full of great manga, from MB fave Silver Spoon to Drifting Dragons, one of the best-looking fantasy titles being published in English right now. (I reviewed the first two volumes back in 2018, if you’re curious.) My pick goes to another under-appreciated gem, however: O Maidens in Your Savage Season. If you were a nerdy teen girl—and I certainly was—Maidens should be on your list, as writer Mari Okada clearly remembers how hard it was to be horny, awkward, and VERY SERIOUS at fifteen. You’ll laugh and cry and cringe in equal measure.

ASH: So many great titles are being released this week, it’s hard to choose just one! I gladly join the chorus for Silver Spoon and all the other manga already mentioned, but the first volume of Nicola Traveling Around the Demons’ World was such a treat that the second gets my official pick.

A Man & His Cat, Vol. 1

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In the spirit of full transparency, you should know that I’m a cat owner and animal sap, both of which make it impossible for me to offer an objective assessment of A Man & His Cat. As someone who’s suffered a lifetime of embarrassment over my tendency to cry at movies and books about animals—even ones with happy outcomes—I realize that that my reaction to this manga may not, in fact, be warranted by the quality of the storytelling or artwork. I should also probably tell you that I’m almost 50, so I’m hungry for stories about people old enough to have a few grey hairs and wrinkles.

Reader, I loved it.

There’s no real plot to speak of; the most dramatic event unfolds in the opening pages, when Fukumaru, a grumpy-faced cat, is adopted from the pet store where he’s spent a lonely year waiting for an owner. His knight in shining armor is Mr. Kanda, a middle-aged music teacher and empty nester who exudes an aura of sadness, despite his outward composure. Though Fukumaru frets that Kanda might suffer buyer’s remorse, Kanda is thoroughly smitten with Fukumaru, throwing himself into cat ownership with abandon, buying toys and collars, and taking selfies with Fukumaru. Though uneventful, these scenes thrum with energy–energy that’s missing from chapters in which Kanda interacts with other human characters, none of whom are as well developed as Fukumaru.

The scenes with Fukumaru, by contrast, are engineered to elicit a strong, uncomplicated emotional response from the reader; Umi Sakurai doesn’t pluck or tug at the heartstrings so much as tear and rend them, giving Fukumaru a running interior monologue about his fears and hopes. (Also: his love of boxes.) And if seeing a cat worry about being returned to the pet store isn’t enough to make your lip tremble even a little, Fukumaru’s speech is peppered with feline-specific pronouns that underscore his plight in a shamelessly sentimental fashion: who but the most jaded reader could laugh at a chubby cat who worries that he might “go meowy whole life without a name?”

Fukumaru’s vulnerability is further amplified by Sakurai’s depiction of him as round and awkwardly proportioned, with an enormous face and stumpy legs. (One character helpfully describes him as “ugly-cute.”) Though Fukumaru’s penchant for tearing up is chalked up to his breed—the pet shop labels him a “short-haired exotic”—almost every kind gesture, separation, reunion, and potential setback makes Fukumaru’s eyes glisten with great, beady tears. Kanda, on the other hand, is drawn in a somewhat stiff, bland fashion with a few perfunctory laugh lines to suggest his age. The contrast between Fukumaru—who looks like the kind of off-brand stuffed animal you might win at a carnival—and his slim, be-suited owner is an interesting artistic choice, as it makes it easier for the reader to understand why Fukumaru initially feels such trepidation about Kanda. (It’s also a pretty amusing visual gag, too.)

By now, reader, you’re probably wondering, but would I like it? That’s a question I can’t really answer, since this manga’s wholesome sentimentality appealed to me against my better judgment. But if there’s a cat in your lap as you read this review, or you share your house with a pet you rescued from a shelter, I think you might appreciate the warm dynamic between Kanda and Fukumaru, as watching these two wounded souls revel in each other’s company is a genuinely heartwarming experience. Recommended.

Square Enix provided a review copy.

A MAN & HIS CAT, VOL. 1 • BY UMI SAKURAI • TRANSLATED BY TAYLOR ENGEL • SQUARE ENIX MANGA & BOOKS • 146 pp.

Pick of the Week: Cat Feud

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MICHELLE: There is so much good stuff coming out this week! My Androgynous Boyfriend and The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice are exciting enough, and then there was the surprise (to me) of a What’s Michael? reissue. What I’ve been looking forward to the most, though, is A Man and His Cat. In these trying times, the heartwarming tale of a kitty and an old dude who find each other sounds like balm for the soul.

SEAN: I am down for A Man and His Cat to be sure, as well as My Androgynous Boyfriend, plus my usual faves like Kase-san and Hayate. But I’m going to go with the What’s Michael? reissue here, because the original is one of the most iconic cat manga out there, because Makoto Kobayashi’s art is so unique, because it’s just so dang WEIRD, and because if it does well maybe we’ll get Club 9.

KATE: I was going to suggest we title this week’s column “Cat Scratch Fever,” but I thought better of it… Emoji I will say, however, that I’m 100% on board with the MB gang’s feline-friendly picks. I’m stoked for both What’s Michael? and A Man and His Cat.

MICHELLE: The Week of the Cat?

ANNA: I’m all in favor of cat manga, but my pick this week goes to the SubLime debut Given, which features music, cute boys, and plenty of angsty emotions. What else could one want?

ASH: I am thrilled that What’s Michael? is back in print (and I’ll likely be double-dipping, despite somehow managing to pull together a complete collection of the original trade release), and I’m very excited about the debut of a new publisher and A Man and His Cat, but I’m with Anna this week in making Given my official pick. (With My Androgynous Boyfriend coming in as a close second!)

MELINDA: I’m also very interested in Given, which I’m really hoping to love, but for my official pick I gotta go cat. I missed What’s Michael? the first time around, so I’m excited about that, too, but I think my top choice has to be A Man and His Cat.

Persona 5, Vol. 1

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If David Letterman was still compiling his nightly Top 10 lists, he’d have a field day with Persona 5, a veritable catalog of Things You Find In a Video Game Comic. There are lead characters who are thinly disguised reader surrogates, bumbling from one scenario to the next; characters whose primary function is to explain the rules of play; bad guys who telegraph their villainy so flamboyantly they make Dr. Evil look staid; and, of course, power-ups and flash-booms aplenty. Persona 5 is at its best when its teen hero squares off with volume one’s most fully realized villain, a vainglorious gym teacher who swans around in a cape and Speedo, and at its worst when it tries to address serious social issues: bullying, suicide.

In bridging the gap between console and page, artist Hisato Murasaki hews closely to the main storyline of the original game. The player/reader surrogate is Akira Kurusu, a Good Samaritan whose efforts to rescue a woman from a violent partner backfire spectacularly, forcing him to move out of his parents’ house and start over at a new high school. Within minutes of arriving at Shujin Academy, Akira meets Ryuji Sakamoto, a former track star with bleach blonde hair and a chip on his shoulder. (Yes, he’s the school “delinquent.”) An app on Akira’s phone whisks the two from the school campus to a dungeon where their classmates are imprisoned and tortured by Kamoshida, a former Olympic volleyball player who now coaches Shujin’s teams.

You don’t have to be a gamer to imagine what happens next: Akira and Sakamoto meet a character who helpfully explains what’s going on, providing them with just enough information to bust out of their cell and make a run for safety. The fact this character is a small, talking cat with a sardonic streak helps camouflage his expository function, but Morgana’s dialogue seldom rises above the level of info-dump or pointed observation; when he’s not explaining what a “persona” is or how the real world relates to the “castle” where Kamoshida reigns, Morgana is expressing amazement at Akira’s extraordinary powers. (In one particularly on-the-nose moment, Morgana even reminds Akira and Sakamoto that he “gave you a bunch of information earlier.”)

The combat is handled competently, though Murasaki leans heavily on sound effects and great clouds of smoke to suggest what’s happening; in almost every scene in which Akira channels his new-found power, we’re treated to several panels of “zwoooosh” and “fooooom” superimposed on dark patches of screen tone. Akira’s transformations from ordinary teen to Arsene, the “Pillager of Twilight,” are treated in a similar fashion, cutting between close-ups of Akira’s face and portentous statements superimposed over fiery backgrounds. The character designs, by contrast, are more crisply rendered; each character has an expressive face that clearly reveals his motivation and personality without shading into cartoonish exaggeration. Kamoshida, in particular, is a terrific creation, with a Brillo pad of hair, a broad, flat nose, and a hairless chest framed by a cape. Murasaki does a fine job of making his villain both ridiculous and menacing, framing his character’s malicious, gleaming eyes with a formidable browline, and capturing Kamoshida’s arrogance through his swaggering movements.

When Persona 5 addresses the harm that Kamoshida causes through his abuse of power, however, the storyline veers into Afterschool Special territory. A subplot involving a star volleyball player is a sincere, if clumsy, attempt to show how Kamoshida wields his authority to silence critics and compel students to do his bidding. When Shiho commits suicide, Akira and Sakamoto confront Kamoshida, proclaiming their outrage in bald statements, only to be out-maneuvered by the coach, who tries to pin Shiho’s death on them. And just in case we’re not convinced that Kamoshida is bad news, he helpfully tells himself out loud that “Ugh, this is gonna be such a pain to smooth over,” a comment that’s conveniently overheard by our protagonists. About the only thing missing from this episode is another adult stepping in with statistics about teacher-student bullying, or advice on what to do if your coach is harassing you.

The workmanlike quality of this passage is indicative of Persona 5‘s biggest problem: the story is an unimaginative addition to the teen vigilante genre. Gamers might find the manga moderately entertaining, but firing up the ole PlayStation for another round would be more enjoyable than slogging through this flat, colorless version. File under Not My Thing.

VIZ Media provided a review copy. To read a preview of volume one, click here.

PERSONA 5, VOL. 1 • ORIGINAL CONCEPT BY ATLUS • ART AND STORY BY HISATO MURASAKI • TRANSLATED BY ADRIENNE BECK • VIZ MEDIA • RATED T+ (OLDER TEEN) • 216 pp.

Pick of the Week: Rose’s Turn

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ASH: Back in 1983, Frederik L. Schodt introduced Riyoko Ikeda’s highly-influential manga The Rose of Versailles to English-reading audiences when he provided and except of it in his work Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics. Since then the license was a seemingly unobtainable prize. Even after Udon Entertainment announced the rights to release a English translation of The Rose of Versailles, the series languished for years. I wasn’t going to believe it until I saw it, but my faith has been restored – in 2020, I am finally holding the first glorious hardcover volume in my hands. Everyone else should be, too.

ANNA: I am so excited for The Rose of Versailles. I’m waiting for my copy, but will have a mini-celebration when I have it in my hands. There could be no other pick of the week!

SEAN: It feels like the last thirty-odd years of mainstream manga in North American has led up to this moment. The Rose of Versailles is not only long-awaited, but its presentation shows it was worth the wait. It’s magical.

MICHELLE: I find I still can’t believe it, despite credible reports of its existence. When my copy comes, I just might cry.

KATE: My copy of Rose of Versailles just arrived, and it’s gorgeous! So many epaulets! So many galaxy eyes! So many tears! I’m already swooning and I haven’t finished chapter one. (I guess it’s my pick of the week, too.)

MELINDA: It’s hard to believe this time has finally come! I don’t have my copy of The Rose of Versailles yet, but when it arrives, like Michelle, I think there’s a good chance I’ll cry!

Pick of the Week: Househusbands

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SEAN: This week I’m torn between small children and yakuza husbands, so my pick is split between the 5th Ascendance of a Bookworm light novel and the second volume of The Way of the Househusband.

MICHELLE: I’m all in for The Way of the Househusband, personally, though I’m also intrigued by MabuSasa, the latest digital shoujo from Kodansha.

KATE: My pick is also The Way of the Househusband, a classic fish-out-of-water comedy that finds fresh ways to mine the gangster-goes-straight concept for laughs. Read it… or else!

ANNA: Way of the Househusband for me as well. The first volume was hilarious, looking forward to more of the same.

ASH: Who am I to argue with everyone else? The Way of the Househusband is unquestionably my pick this week, too.

MELINDA: Well, I’m certainly not going to be the one to destroy the consensus this week. The Way of the Househusband it is!

Saint Young Men, Vol. 1

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Saint Young Men sounds like the set-up for a George Carlin routine: Jesus and Buddha spend a “gap year” on Earth, sharing an apartment in present-day Tokyo while wrestling with the temptations and banalities of modern life. The manga’s prevailing tone, however, is more silly than satirical, focusing not on big theological or philosophical questions, but mundane ones: how to stretch a monthly budget, where to find the best souvenirs, how to fend off drunken commuters.

Most of the humor stems from Hikaru Nakamura’s portrayal of Jesus and Buddha as opposites, with Jesus as a cheerful spendthrift with a fondness for t-shirts and tschotkes, and Buddha as a frugal “big brother” who agonizes over every purchase. The two have a kind of Ernie-and-Bert dynamic in which Buddha frequently chastises Jesus for his impulsive behavior, whether Jesus has purchased a “shinsengumi set” or wants to wear a pair of Mickey Mouse ears in public. Though their bickering provides most of the series’ comic fodder, there are also jokes about walking on water and turning water into wine, as well as a few sly pokes at Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha.

Anyone hoping to be outraged by Saint Young Men will be sorely disappointed, since its most blasphemous idea is that even Jesus and Buddha can’t resist the temptations of social media and shopping for melon bread. Anyone hoping for more insight into the human condition will likewise be disappointed, as Nakamura settles for easy laughs in lieu of real insight or religious critique—a missed opportunity, I think, since her premise offers plenty of latitude to reflect on Buddhist and Christian teachings, or the perils of modern-day materialism. A few good sight gags land well, but the manga’s eagerness to please blunts the edge of its best ideas. Your mileage may vary.

SAINT YOUNG MEN, VOL. 1 • STORY AND ART BY HIKARU NAKAMURA • TRANSLATION BY ALTHEA AND ATHENA NIBLEY • KODANSHA COMICS • 152 pp.

 

Chainsaw Man

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There comes a moment in every manga reader’s journey when they’re no longer dazzled by the sheer variety of genres, styles, or outrageous storylines that an issue of Weekly Shonen Jump or Big Comic Spirits offers—the moment when a manga about killer goldfish or a warrior with lethal nose hair sounds more exhausting than awesome. I reached that milestone around the time I read The Qwaser of Stigmata, a manga so lewdly preposterous I felt uncomfortable even summarizing the plot in my review. So when I heard about Chainsaw Man, a series whose premise is pretty much summed up in the title, I was pretty sure I wasn’t interested in reading it. Then I saw this image:

My first thought was whoa. And then: cool. And so began my Chainsaw Man read-a-thon, an attempt to understand the appeal of this blood-and-testosterone-soaked battle manga.

The character atop the shark is Denji, who begins the story as an ordinary young man struggling to pay off his father’s gambling debts. His only friend is the sweet-faced Pochita, a dog demon with a chainsaw blade where his snout should be. After local mobsters brutally attack Denji, Pochita transfers his demonic powers to Denji, thus enabling Denji to transform from scrawny teen to chainsaw-wielding menace with the pull of a cord. His remarkable abilities attract the interest of Makima, a professional Devil Hunter who recognizes Denji’s potential value as a weapon. Through a mixture of flirtation, cajoling, and threats, Makima recruits Denji for the Public Safety Council, dispatching him to kill monsters.

Going into Chainsaw Man, I was fully prepared for carnage and mayhem and three-eyed sharks. What I didn’t expect were moments of genuine pathos. The interactions between Denji and Pochita, however, are sniffle-inducing, underscoring the poignancy of Pochita’s decision to sacrifice himself for Denji. Later chapters set up an interesting parallel between Denji’s relationship with Pochita and his relationship with Makima, who refers to him as her “dog.” When Denji chafes against the conditions Makima has imposed on their partnership, it spurs a moment of self-reflection about his own treatment of Pochita, making him realize just how much he took Pochita’s companionship for granted.

Of course, no one is reading Chainsaw Man for these kind of emotional beats; they’re hoping for outrageous displays of gore and violence, and on that front, Tatsuki Fujimoto does his utmost to push the boundaries of good taste. Every time Denji reverts to his demonic form, chainsaw blades burst through his chest and head with great clouds of arterial spray, a preview of the even bloodier manner in which he kills his enemies. Though some of the demons are uninspired—how’s a giant bat grab you?—Fujimoto’s most memorable creations are clearly designed to elicit an appreciative “ewww”; the first monster Denji kills, for example, is an enormous tomato devil who looks like something that’s been moldering in the crisper drawer for weeks.

Between the action scenes, Fujimoto peppers the script with crude jokes to remind us that Denji is a teenage boy whose primary motivation for fighting demons is to impress Makima and earn enough money to eat junk food. In that respect, Denji is a more honest shonen hero than the typical Jump lead; he thinks and acts like a real teenage boy, right down to his self-absorption and total objectification of women. (There’s even a chapter called “A Way to Touch Some Boobs.” Yes, really.) I can’t say I ever warmed to Denji as a lead character, but I finished my read-a-thon with a grudging respect for Fujimoto’s excessive, ridiculous creation, which entertained and repelled me in equal measure. Your mileage will vary.

Chapters 1-53 of Chainsaw Man are available at the VIZ website. 

CHAINSAW MAN • STORY AND ART BY TATSUKI FUJIMOTO • VIZ MEDIA

 

Pick of the Week: Sports and Wine

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MICHELLE: There are several volumes of sports manga coming out this week, which delights me to no end. I will happily read all of them, but my pick goes to the one with a premise slightly different from the rest. Giant Killing, that means you. In this seinen title, we’re dealing with a pro soccer club, not a high school team, and I’m loving it.

SEAN: Speaking of sports manga, will the race that can never end finally end in this Yowamushi Pedal? It’s my pick for this week.

KATE: We’re still six or so weeks out from Lent, so my pick is Liquor and Cigarettes.

ASH: As it appears Yowamushi Pedal is covered, I’ll make Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess my pick this week. This adaptation has been a bit more involved than Himekawa’s other Zelda manga; I’ve been enjoying seeing the team’s skills applied to a longer series.

ANNA: There’s not a ton that appeals to me this week so I’m going to trust Kate’s manga instincts and pick Liquor and Cigarettes as well.

MELINDA: I’m pretty much exactly where Anna is this week, so I’ll also go along with Kate! Liquor and Cigarettes it is!

The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms

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“Whimsical tales of anthropomorphic beasts in love”—or so the dust jacket of The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms promises. The eight stories in this collection do feature a race of half-animal, half-human creatures who behave like boys at a British boarding school, forming intense friendships that sometimes cross the line into romance. I’m a little reluctant to call these stories “whimsical,” however, as that word implies a certain degree of playfulness that was lacking in most of the stories, some of which were intensely sincere, and some of which raised legitimate questions about boundaries and consent.

Wize Wize Beasts unfolds at a special academy “dedicated to the study of wizardry,” where demi-humans of every imaginable type peacefully co-exist as they learn the arts of potion-making, spell-casting, and alchemy. Each story centers on a pair of opposites: prey and predator, teacher and student, mammal and reptile, smart and average. The one exception focuses on a pair of vampire bats who look and act so much alike that their classmates sometimes mistake them for identical twin brothers. Most of the stories, however, fall under the general heading of “unrequited love,” in which one demi-human pines for his opposite, but can’t muster the courage to say how he feels.

In the most enjoyable chapters—”Marley & Collette,” “Cromwell & Benjamin”—Nagabe explores the healthier side of attraction, showing how strong feelings of admiration and concern can bring out the best in friends, allowing for moments of tenderness, warmth, and emotional honesty even when the friendship remains platonic. My favorite, “Mauchly & Charles,” read like an irresistible mash-up of Winnie the Pooh and The Girl from the Other Side, focusing on a bear (Mauchly) and the human he rescued (Charles) from a dark, rainy forest. After Charles returns to his own world, he and Mauchly hold an annual reunion, using this ritual as an opportunity to reflect on what’s changed in the ensuing year. The emotional vulnerability and candor of their interactions is genuinely astonishing—not because men don’t have close friendships, but because the kind of physical intimacy and gentleness that defines Mauchly and Charles’ friendship is seldom depicted in popular culture.

The weakest stories in the collection, by contrast, often conflate possessive or coercive behavior with romantic attraction, justifying one character’s actions by suggesting his feelings were so intense that they compelled him to transgress social norms. In “Doug & Huey,” for example, a crow (Doug) carries a torch for his handsome friend Huey, who—natch—is a peacock. Though Huey spends most of his time chasing girls, Doug’s devotion to him is unwavering—so much so, in fact, that Doug sabotages Huey’s efforts to land a girlfriend so that Huey will “never be closer to someone else.” Huey, for his part, is so deeply narcissistic that he doesn’t recognize Doug’s controlling behavior, creating a deeply toxic bond between them that is presented as a simple case of unrequited love.

The issue of consent lingers over other chapters in Wize Wize Beasts as well. “Alan & Eddington,” for example, depicts the friendship between a brilliant Siamese (Alan) and a hardworking rabbit (Eddie) who’s dazzled by his classmate’s effortless mastery of complex subjects. Afraid that Alan will reject his advances, Eddie concocts and serves him a love potion. While under the influence of Alan’s spell, Eddie compels Alan to kiss him and profess his love for him—a scene that’s meant to be a little naughty, I think, but instead registers as squicky. Alan confronts Eddie about the incident, but then invites Eddie to “start over” without a magical aide, undercutting the power of his previous speech about Alan’s “cowardly” behavior.

If I was sometimes ambivalent about the content, I found Nagabe’s crisp illustrations thoroughly enchanting. His anthropomorphic character designs capture the essential animal natures of each character while retaining just enough human features for Nagabe to plausibly swathe them in flowing capes and tweedy trousers. Nagabe’s command of light, shadow, and line is superb, creating a strong sense of place without excessive reliance on screentone or tracing; his characters inhabit a well-defined world that has been vividly and imaginatively rendered on the page.

In the afterword to Wize Wize Beasts, Nagabe cheerfully jokes about “winning” readers over to his particular fandom. “I’d be deeply honored if this work exposes more people to non-human characters,” he notes. “And if you start to think, ‘Wow, non-human characters are awesome,’ go on. Get in there up to your neck.” I can’t say that Wize Wize Beasts made me a convert, but I did admire Nagabe’s creativity, sincerity, and honesty, as well as his willingness to take narrative risks that might not pay off with all readers. Your mileage may vary.

THE WIZE WIZE BEASTS OF WIZARDING WIZDOMS • STORY AND ART BY NAGABE • TRANSLATED BY ADRIENNE BECK • SEVEN SEAS • RATED TEEN • 228 pp.