#2024 manga

[weebookey]

Another series "Ryota Killed His Brother" also published yesterday by a new author! (@ayuminatori) It's got a similar premise to "The Summer Hikaru Died" going off the first chapter. I wrote some more words about it on MyAnimeList.

It can be officially read for free in English here: https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/titles/100397

[brainbuffering]

Top New Manga of 2024!

Another year has come to an end, so it's time to talk about all the great manga that came out this year! So in no particular order, these are my Top 6 New Manga of the Year!

In the Name of the Mermaid Princess by Writer Yoshino Fumikawa and Artist Miya Tashiro

T: Junko Goda, Adap: Shaenon K. Garrity, L: Susan Daigle-Leach, E: Annette Roman Publisher: Shojo Beat

“In the classic fairy tale, a mermaid princess gives up her special abilities for love. What happens if she doesn’t? Princess Mio is betrothed to Prince Chika. However, they’ve never met, and he doesn’t know her secret—she’s a mermaid! When her tutor, Yuri, takes her out of the castle to meet her subjects, Mio begins to accept her true self. But Yuri has a secret too… And when Mio tells her father, the king, she wants to live life openly as a mermaid, he punishes her. How can she stay true to herself? Plus, a bonus story about a royal subject with wings!”

This series was an absolute surprise to me! I always keep an eye out for new Shojo releases, but I accept that I am not the target audience for all of them. I assumed that was the case here, Mermaid Princesses were something I felt was in my past. Yet I took a chance on it on the Viz Media App and felt an immediate kinship with Mio! The story of the Unhumans' struggles for safety and respect really resonated with me as a disabled person. The series acts as a great “Disability Metaphor 101” for younger readers. With solid artwork, an enchanting story, and really moving and relatable moments it’s definitely been my highlight of the year! 

Otonari Complex by Saku Nonomura

T: Jenny McKeon, Adap: Carly Smith, L: Aidan Clarke, E: Kristina Korpus Publisher: SevenSeas

“Kuji Akira and Ninomiya Makoto are childhood friends and neighbors. Since Akira is “handsome” for a girl and Makoto is “pretty” for a boy, their gender presentation is often confused. As they try to untangle their complex feelings about themselves and each other, they find out their friends are crushing on them, too. It’s a complicated childhood friend love story!”

This was one of the series I was most looking forward to this year and it did not disappoint! “Gender Fuckery” has been a key component of all good Shojo since it began! From Princess Knight to Rose of Versailles to Fruits Basket, narratives about people discovering their gender identity, and playing around with what that means, are some of the most beloved. This was the year that I finally came out to my family as Gender Queer, so a having a book that has such a complex look at the notion of gender and gender identity in such a queer way was wonderful. I especially loved the way it explored body dysmorphia and misgendering. When Makoto presents as female, they WANT to have folks use she/her pronouns for them! Even if they still identify as a cis-man throughout the book. Meanwhile Akira chooses to present masculine, but when she gets misgendered as a boy she doesn’t experience the same euphoria that Makoto does. For her, it’s something painful and shaming. Volume 2 hasn't shipped to me yet, but I’m very much looking forward to seeing how these two love birds’ gender journey goes. 

Tank Chair by Manabu Yashiro

T: Max Greenway L: Evan Hayden  E: Maggie Le Publisher: Kodansha

“Shizuka takes on the most dangerous of assassin jobs, but she's not the one doing the killing. Rather, it's her brother, Nagi, a strong assassin who took a bullet to protect his sister, leaving him in a comatose state and having to use a wheelchair. However, Shizuka has figured out the key to waking her brother up: he must be faced with killing intent! Thus begins a violent journey of recovery, battling the most dangerous foes!”

I’ve already written about why I loved Tank Chair so much, but it’s worth repeating that whilst series like “A Sign of Affection” and “Blade Girl” are still great to have for disabled representation in popular media – nothing quite beats the euphoria I felt reading Tank Chair and seeing people get viciously murdered with disabled rage fueled Boudica spikes.

Magical Girl Dandelion by Kaeru Mizuho

T: Mei Amaki L: Finn K Publisher: Viz Media (App)

“Magical girls and villains are enemies, but can neophyte Tanpopo's bond with the villain Shade topple that destiny?”

To my knowledge, this is the first Shojo Manga that Viz have been simul-publishing from the get go! And they absolutely picked a superstar to start! Western Manga Fans have been chomping at the bit for more magical girl series to get localised into English, and this has not disappointed! Whilst series like Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon take a few chapters to get to their darker tones, Magical Girl Dandelion gets to it right off the bat! With cool battle sequences, fun character designs, and the battle between good and evil being morally murky from the start – Dandelion has the potential to be one of the all time greats!

Tokyo These Days by Taiyo Matsumoto

T: Michael Arias L: Deron Bennett Publisher: Viz

“After 30 years as a manga editor, Kazuo Shiozawa suddenly quits. Although he feels early retirement is the only way to atone for his failures as an editor, the manga world isn’t done with him. On his final day as an editor, Shiozawa takes a train he’s ridden hundreds of times to impart some last advice to a manga creator whose work he used to edit. Later, he is drawn to return to a bookshop at the request of a junior editor who wants his help dealing with an incorrigible manga creator who used to be edited by Shiozawa and now refuses to work with anyone else. For Shiozawa, Tokyo these days is full of memory and is cocooned in the inescapable bonds among manga creators, their editors, art, and life itself.”

A slow, thoughtful manga that gives you plenty of time to breathe and contemplate. The slower, and more mature pace was a great break from my usual diet of high energy action adventure romance. The book is a somber look at what it is to work in the manga industry in present day Japan, how it has changed over the decades, and what it means to age out of a business that’s famous for working their most talented artists to an early grave.

Colette Decides To Die by Alto Yukimura

T: Max Greenway L: Inori Fukada Trant E: Nancy Thistlethwaite Publisher: Shojo Beat

“Colette meets Hades, a fellow workaholic, while he is ill in bed with a rash and fever. After treating his condition, she learns about the work he does and what drives him, in turn renewing her sense of purpose as an apothecary. Colette is sent back to her own world, but is this the last she will see of Hades?”

This was one of those series that half my social media feed seemed to be absolutely begging to get published in English. And having read the first two volumes, I can see why! Whilst I don’t think it’s doing anything revolutionary, it’s still a cosy story of two people who struggle with self care falling in love and providing support, with a fun backdrop of greek mythology (although the lack of accuracy would make academics rage harder than at Disney’s Hercules) which makes it absolutely peek HanaYume. And heaven knows how much I love HanaYume! 

[digitalzombie]

Rapid Review: Daiki Kobayashi's Ragna Crimson, Vol. 1

Ragna Crimson by Daiki Kobayashi is set in a world where humanity is constantly at war with monstrous creatures that can only be killed by weapons that are made with ‘silverine.’ The most dangerous of the sort are the dragon humanoids of the Winged Bloodline. Ragna, a dragon hunter, must team up with a mysterious figure named Crimson, a former progenitor of the Blood of the Wing, to rid the world…

[tomatostyle]

Kim Ye-Ji 🇰🇷 vs Yusuf Dikeç 🇹🇷

[story-lighthouse]

女兒的朋友

[stingray-art]

Black Whale, 12.5x12"

I tried quilting for the first time! It was super fun and I learned a lot. It's nowhere near perfect but I'm really proud of it!

Originally submitted for a mini event in @greedislandchallenge <3

[uniquegalaxyfox]

Gift of Poison (Chapter 1, page 1)

[ani-not-oki]

Happy Birthday, Gojo

[birdbrainedboy]

The Ranma fandom is on a whole nother level of gay. Yes the main character and his male rival have a slightly homoerotic relationship with tropes such as “love spell” and “people think were dating”, but we all choose to ship the straight main couple because the guy can turn into a girl and something about that feels more gay than an actual gay ship.

[batshaped]

started reading dungeon meshi

[weebookey]

I read new manga that started publishing in 2024. Some underrated one-shots from new authors, others upcoming hits. I tried my best to cover a variety of topics and demographics. Here are 50 of the most memorable series: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/57386

[enderscribbles]

(ref)

assorted dadchucks. caption in alt

[klaudia96art]

Redraw tf one chibi manga ♥️🚗🧡💙💛

[sibbydoo]

RESONANCE!!

So…I recently got obsessed with Soul Eater….

[story-lighthouse]

以一年一萬圓的價格，賣掉我剩餘的壽命

[3ic95id864pg]

Vash the Stampede from 1998 and the Vash reboot: [Twitter:@strawbit_ch]