Issue #77
Why did they ever stop doing cover stories? This one was really great.
Series Debuts / 新連載
先生、今日どうですか by 高江洲 弥 (たかえすやや)
Started Jan 15. Feel slightly creeped out by this story just looking at the cover page but here we go …
Finished Jan 16. Still think it’s creepy. Even the art is strange and kind of unpleasant. There is something sort of interesting going on with the power dynamic … she calls him sensei, but that’s because he’s an author (he’s not her teacher). And even though she’s only 17 she appears to effectively be his landlord. But I have no idea of the mangaka’s intentions, and I feel like this story could still go in almost any direction at this point.
帝都影物語 by 比嘉史果 (ひがふみか)
Jan 16, read title page and first few pages … this one looks fun!
Jan 18, read ???
Oh nooooo … this one is way harder than the others for some reason … I think I will skip it for now and come back to it later … Oh, or maybe I’m just struggling with kanji today in general. Okay …
Jan 22, read to page 22 … So, there’s definitely like a million kanji in this one … and the prince is destroying mementos of his dead mother? In what seems like a brat-ish tantrum … I’m not sure if I’m willing to read that many kanji for this selfish prince … Hmmmm.
A little later … so I managed to finish, but to be honest I did not put much effort into the last page. I might (maybe?) really like this series if the kanji was less of an obstacle, although the prince is a little off-putting. Will probably not keep reading this one, for now.
Having had a little more time to consider / TLDR … yeah, not impressed. The story just feels very flat/one-dimensional. The characters are not compelling or sympathetic, and nothing explains what’s actually interesting about the premise (besides prettyboys and nice art, I guess).
夜の名前を呼んで by 三星たま (みつぼしたま)
Read Jan 20. Wow, I can’t believe I read that in one sitting … was that really 30 pages??? Fun! Cute! I’m excited to read more!
(I was really excited to see that this story started this issue, as I’ve heard a lot about it from @/windupbird!)
Shorts / 読切
めんや by 柴田康平 (しばたこうへい)
Jan 23. If I read the title page correctly, this short was originally published over the course of four Harta issues back in the 40s, and the artist has three tankobons available. The subject matter and art seems up my alley, so let’s go!
Read 8 pages … whoa, crazy so far!
Jan 24. Read another 8-ish pages. Oof. Funny enough, it’s the drawings that I find difficult to read in this one. I just have a really hard time parsing what’s supposed to be happening in the images, which makes it feel a little underwhelming, even though I like the concept in theory.
Jan 25, finished. The end made more sense than the beginning to me, and I started kind of really liking it … And the editors wrote to look forward to the artist’s next serialized work, so … I will! (Now that I’ve read it, I’m not sure how it would be possible to split that story into four parts, wondering if I misread something on the title page …)
緑色の牙と恋 by 小林愛 (こばやしあい)
Jan 28, read. Silly, but and excellent. Was not expecting the ending, lol, but it was great.
Continuing Series / 連載
真柴姉弟は顔が固い by 菊池まりこ (きくちまりこ)
Started Jan 16. Definitely finding this chapter a little funnier so far, so I’m enjoying that!
Finished Jan 17. Cute! I liked this second chapter a lot more than the first. Will keep reading.
クプルムの花嫁 by namo
Jan 19, read in one day! I like the way that Shiina goes from feeling inferior to feeling annoyed. That’s not the best way to put it, but it was a cute about-face. It took me forever to figure out that her friend and her fiancée were arguing about who realized they wanted to marry her first??? (How amazing would it be if this turned polyamorous!? I’m sure that won’t happen though.)
はなやっこ by 原鮎美 (はらあゆみ)
Jan 21, read 1 page. I remember someone saying that for whatever reason 4-koma always turn out to be “chonky” reads, and this feels … true.
Jan 21 evening, sort of finished this one, with a constantly decreasing level of comprehension … Missing context I think, also I’m sleepy.
生き残った６人によると by 山本和音 （やまもとかずね）
Jan 26, wasn’t feeling it, so I just skimmed front to back, then read back to front … I like that the main girl is a badass, and not interested in dating. I really appreciated the full two-page illustration of her swinging her softball bat (in her crocs no less). One thing digital really has going for it is that two-page illustrations are a lot more impressive when they’re not interrupted by the spine of a book. (I still prefer physical in almost every other way, but oh well.)
ライカの星 by 吉田真百合 （よしだまゆり）
Jan 27, read. Amazing as always.
After finishing this time I paged through the end bits, and they look really fun! Maybe someday I will do a reread and be able to read those as well. For now they are just too dense. But I enjoy the previews, so I’ll keep looking for those!