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Syd Craft: Love is a Mystery

Author: Taishi Tsutsui Translator: David Evelyn

Sitting currently at 19 chapters, Syd Craft is a mix of Mystery, and Romance, following, well, Syd Craft. Born into a family of great detectives, the art of detecting was taught until it was second nature to him, the only problem is he wants nothing to do with being a detective. The romance has been done in a very lighthearted way so far, the characters are innocent when it comes to romance, but the story does have the grounds to set things up for future, more involved plot lines. There is a touch of comedy, but nothing so far out of what you'd expect from a Mystery or Romance, namely exaggerated feelings and reactions. It's done well and with the right emphasis to keep the story in that lighthearted zone, especially for a mystery series. The art is fantastic, and compliments both the mystery and romance very well. For the cases where the details are important you can see them in the art as they're introduced, and where valid, persist through the panels. It makes the mystery feel a lot more concrete and fun to read if you can spot the details yourself, but doesn't take away from rereads.

I've been looking for more things to read under the Romance category, and this came along at the right time. It's not so far in the genre that I'm uninterested, and has a story that I have been enjoying with the romance supporting it well. If you want to read it, the first three chapters are free on the Shonen Jump app and are longer than normal manga chapters at 55, 25, and 23 pages respectively. It should make for a good introduction, and I do recommend checking it out.

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Ichi the Witch

Story: Osamu Nishi Art: Shiro Usazaki

**So turns out, I didn't schedule these as I had planned so things are a little off, that's on me. But hey better late than never!**

Ichi the Witch is a bit farther along with 29 chapters at the time of writing. The story follows Ichi, a young boy who was abandoned in the wild, and had to learn to survive. He ended up developing a strict moral code, he only kills to eat, or to protect himself or another person. His time fighting in the wild gave him a sharp set of skills to survive, but none of those help understanding some of the nuances of civilization and personal interactions.

The setting is intriguing, with elements you don't see very often. The world contains magic, but not in the way you normally see. Magic isn't something like in an RPG, rather it's a living thing, a Majik, that contracts to people. However it's only to women. Each Majik has its own personality and requirements that need to be met before contracting to someone.

The contrast between the characters personalities, all the different Majiks, it has all been really fun to read and see how things are unfolding. We have a lot of good fresh series that have been starting up in the past few months and I'm excited to see where this one goes.

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The Marshal King - Boichi

Still really new for English releases, currently sitting at 7 chapters, The Marshal King sports a Western setting with cowboys and desperados. The story follows Jimmu Godspeed the son of a famous desperado, M. Godspeed, and aspiring Marshal. Jimmu wants to end the age of desperados and become the Marshal King.

So far it has interesting characters, some funny moments, and fantastic artwork. It is one of the few series I know of that uses small bits of color to emphasize parts of the artwork and story. It blends in well and makes moments much more impactful.

The story setup and pacing so far have been great, I'm not desperately counting days for the next chapter but there is still enough to look forward to that I'm ready every week for another. I'll definitely need to add Dr. Stone to my read soon list, I've seen it in passing, and maybe seen a few episodes, but the art and story for The Marshal King have me more interested in Boichi's previous works.

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It's Been A While!

It has been too long since I've done anything with this account, so let's get some things swinging again with some new series to keep an eye on!

I've got some upcoming quick posts for The Marshal King, Ichi the Witch, Syd Craft: Love is a Mystery, and Shinobi Undercover.

I've also been going back and reading some old, and not so old, stuff that I have available to me. I've been through Inuyasha, Beat & Motion, Astra Lost in Space, and I'm sure a few others I'm not remembering right now. I just finished Ranma 1/2, and I'm going through Urusei Yatsura currently. I'm trying to decide if I want to talk about some of the older stuff I'm going through, might do something similar to the upcoming shorter posts but we shall see. For now, I'll have The Marshal King coming out on Friday, and the rest will follow in the following weeks.

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Otherworldly Munchkin

Author: Yu Shimizu Other Works: Demon Swordmaster of Excalibur Academy, Blade Dance of the Elementalers Artist: Makoto Aogiri Other Works: Durarara!! Comic Anthology: Duralove!, El Shaddai Gaiden

Publisher: Kodansha

Genres: Isekai, Action-Adventure First Volume ISBN Digital: 9781646597871 Physical: Unavailable

What if your Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) character got a hold of the Game Master’s Book? It’s honestly not a story I ever thought about, and probably the best short synopsis I could give for this series. It has a pretty normal Isekai plot with Yukito, the main character, dying and being sent to another world. He meets the goddess who is reincarnating him, she starts rolling for his stats, and he gets a glimpse at the world master’s book and sees his sister was also reincarnated into the world. He steals the book and finds himself in the new world, with no idea where he is or what to do. Queue theme song. The story is fairly heavy on the D&D terms but it’s not something that has been a detriment for you to not know. The D&D theme does seem to be just that, a theme, as far as the first volume goes it hasn’t been anything more than that. It does give things a bit of a different feel though, and I‘m interested to see how the character development goes, where the story will end up, and I’m hopeful that the D&D theme plays a little bit more into the story. Just from reading the first volume, I don’t have a lot to say about this series at the moment. It is definitely one I'll keep on my radar, but it’s not going to be a high priority on my to read list. 

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Free Manga From Bookwalker

Bookwalker is doing an Isekai manga haul giving out some free volumes and chapters from a handful of different series, you need an account to redeem and will have to read on their app/website. Take a look, maybe there will be something on your list you want to peek at. The sale goes until September 30th 11:50pm (PDT) Some recommendations that I've read/seen from this list: The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic Otherworldly Munchkin Loner Life in Another World *If you like Otherworldly Munchkin and want to buy more, I recommend Kobo, if you like Loner Life I highly recommend KaitenBooks. I don't know if The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic is available anywhere else that I'd recommend (it is on Barnes and Noble, look for the "manga companion" and the red circle on the cover so you don't get the light novel if you want manga). I may add more to this list after reading what they have available from the free selection.

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Dark Gathering

Genres: Action-Adventure, Horror, Supernatural

Content Warning: Blood, Gore

Author & Artist: Kenichi Kondo Other Works: Cheer Danshi!! Go Breakers; Assisted on D.Gray-Man

Publisher: VIZ Media (Shonen Jump)

First Volume ISBN

Digital: 9781974739370 Physical: 9781974738946

Since it’s Friday the 13th I figured I should share the first horror title on my list of reviews. I do enjoy a good horror story, but sadly I’ve mostly fallen out with the genre. I feel like so much of it has been brought down to jump scares, and excessive blood and gore which for me doesn’t make for great horror to watch or read. I found Dark Gathering and decided to give it a go and it has been a great read so far. Going back for a reread of the first volume, a few things have stood out to me. First was how much it eases you into the story and the spirits in the beginning. The first volume is a pretty tame entry which is a great start, as the story has progressed the spirits get more violent, and bloody. Second is the larger emphasis on black and white in the art than you typically see in manga. The contrast between black and white feels very unique with this series and helps emphasize the horror elements. The last thing is that each volume is only 4 chapters long, so there are less story jumps than you'd normally see. It is a positive though, as each chapter feels more fleshed out and fulfilling and you see less story cuts. For me it made for a much different reading experience than I'm used to and I quite enjoyed it.

The series has an overarching story that it’s progressing towards, and each stop along the way is its own small horror story. The different settings for each of the encounters has kept me rather engaged in the story as it doesn’t feel like one long and dragged out horror flick that should’ve ended with someone just not answering the door. The stories feel well done and keep me wanting to read more, and some had me glad I hadn’t eaten before reading. For at least a few of them the story manages to make me curious as to if they’re based on any real haunted places or descriptions of events. I haven’t looked myself but if you’re interested that could be a great way to immerse yourself a little more.

If you’re a horror fan, I can’t recommend the series enough. Between the art, the stories, and what’s sure to come later I’m looking forward to the payoff of everything.

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Its Been A While

It has been a bit since I last posted anything, recently I've been going through a few things and just trying to keep up on some current series I'm reading. It's hard for me to pickup new things to read but I found out VIZ has an app that's a copy of the Shonen Jump one and found out they had Case Closed. I decided to binge my way through from the beginning to catch up and refresh myself with it. I first read the series back in high school and always wanted to continue reading it but never really thought much about it until recently. I just finished catching up from the beginning so I'm now forced to wait for the next couple volumes to release. In the meantime though I did find that Kodansha was having a small $1 sale on a few first volumes for some series. Sadly it looks like the sale ended the day I picked them up, I got a bit lucky there it seems. I picked up: 1. The Abandoned Reincarnation Sage 2. Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement 3. I Was Reincarnated with OP Invincibility, so I'll Beat 'em Up My Way as an Action-Adventurer 4. Otherworldy Munchkin: Let's Speedrun the Dungeon with Only 1 HP 5. Quality Assurance in Another World 6. My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even At Level 1

I'm hoping to get my thoughts posted on them starting next week, the week of the 16th, the order probably won't be in the order listed. I'll be working on reading the books starting Monday, I'm hoping that I can squeeze out a post this upcoming Friday about a series unrelated to the ones listed above for a fitting Friday the 13th post.

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As A Reincarnated Aristocrat I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World

Spoiler Warning: I try to confine my posts to the first volume of a series as a “what you can expect” while trying to talk about the story elements as little as possible. For this one they're talked about more than I like but there are no main story points Content Warning: Author: Miraijin A  Other Works: “Abandoned Reincarnation Sage”, “I’m Capped at Level 1!?!”

Artist: Natsumi Inoue Other Works: “Sentenced to be a Hero” Character Design: Jimmy Other Works: “From Betrayed Hero to Invincible Demon King”

Publisher: Kodansha

First Volume ISBN Physical: 9781646515127 Digital: 9781684916696

Genres: Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Isekai (More on this at the end)

OK, starting to get back on track from being sick and we’re starting to get into the realm of manga titles exceeding recommended character limits. Mostly for my sanity I’m going to shorten this one to “Reincarnated Aristocrat”. We start the story off with a flash forward opening, something I’m not a fan of personally. Aside from that it starts off with your fairly typical isekai intro, MC has an average life just going through the motions when they suddenly die. There is however an element missing from the opening in that we don’t have any meeting of a god(dess) and the granting of powers or explanation of things, which is actually rather refreshing. The MC starts as a baby and we follow them as they grow up, starting with three years old, which gives a great way to introduce the reader to the world. Now just because there wasn’t someone to bestow power to the MC doesn’t mean they didn’t get any, but the “Appraisal” skill isn’t what I initially expected. Instead of it being a more traditional fantasy appraisal, like being able to identify items and information about them, we have one that lets the MC see a person’s skills and aptitudes. Definitely not what I was expecting but I have thoroughly enjoyed the concept. I definitely recommend giving it a look, it was included in a Humble Bundle book bundle so if you aren’t in a hurry to read it you can keep an eye on the bundles as I’m sure it’ll roll around again.

*This is talking about the isekai tag, no outright spoilers but I am mentioning later story things no spoiler short: The isekai portion seems weird and widely irrelevant to the story. Not forced in, but more like an additional inclusion After finishing the first volume (and up through volume nine), I almost wonder if the isekai element was almost an afterthought for the story. There is very little mention of the MC’s previous life, mostly it’s just comparing characters to Japanese historical figures, and we’re missing out on the “divine intrusion” comedy that tends to happen. With the character being born as a child and no god(dess) helping them, the story could have been changed ever so slightly to just be a Fantasy, Action & Adventure setting. A later story point makes me wonder if there is another character that has been isekai’d into this world as well and that will be a whole other thing, but as of now it seems to be nearly irrelevant. 

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Didn't have a review prepared for yesterday, I've been fighting off and on with some general sickness stuff the past two weeks. Been a whole mash of things. But I picked up a manga bundle from HumbleBundle a little bit ago and I'm gonna try and be reading through these two to start. I'm a couple volumes into each and I'm liking them.

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Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary

Spoiler Warning: I do my best to be vague and avoid any spoilers of the story itself but there’s always the chance I miss something. Plus we all have different things we consider spoilers. 

Content Warning: Blood, Violence, Sexual Content

Author: Mine Previous Works: [New Life+] Young Again in Another World

Artist: Araea Ikemiya Previous Works: None (As far as I could find, Area Ikemiya has not done art for any other series at this time, if this is wrong and you know of any please let me know!)

Character Design: peroshi Previous Works: Back to the Battlefield: The Veteran Heroes Return to the Fray! (Light Novel: Illustration, Manga: Original Character Design)

Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy First Volume ISBN Digital: 9781648279492 (Barnes and Noble*: 2940156368884) Physical: 9781648274367

While the last review may not have been in my usual circle of genres this one definitely is. Fantasy is definitely my go-to, and usually just my “feel good” genre. Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary, it starts off with your typical fantasy opening. Main character explains their situation, what they’re doing, and if any, their goals. This is no exception but it serves as a nice intro point to all the important major information we need to know about. The story seems to be set up in a way where as you read, you know about as much as the MC does. The examples of long-winded explanations have only shown up when the MC is giving an answer, so we are being filled in on information we should have, or being told something they/we don’t know. With this though it’s only been the rather direct and needed information, it has yet to go overly detailed in providing information. So far this story is a bit different from most of the other Fantasy stories I’ve read in that it leans much more into the “real” aspect of things. To me it feels like Mine wants the characters to feel closer to how actual people would behave more so than how they need them to behave. It gives a unique feel to the story that has stuck out to me rather well and has left me wanting to see it continue. I’ve been enjoying the art for the series so far, but we haven’t seen much beyond the characters, small town scenery, and some standard fantasy monsters. I’m hoping we can see it on a bit of a larger scale soon, be it in a monster, the landscape, or even a city. It’s a style that to me is comfortable for a first read, but still lets me look deeper on second or third passes. 

As far as comparisons go, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World, and Goblin Slayer, spring to mind. The former because of the MCs general lack of knowledge as to what’s going on, and the latter more for the actual fantasy. 

For the content warning, there so far has been some mild blood, violence, and sexual content (on this however nothing explicit only implied, and no nudity up to volume 3).

*If you want to buy this from BnN just be aware that for the manga listings, going from the physical to the ebook correctly links you between manga, but going from ebook to physical links you to the light novel. It’s a common issue but in my experience BnN doesn’t particularly care about broken links.

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Marriage Toxin

Spoiler Warning: May contain mild spoilers

Author: Joumyaku Previous Works: Hyper Hard Special Mission, Ghost Sweeper Arai-Kun

Artist: Mizuki Yoda Previous Works: Hyper Hard Special Mission, Ne0:lation, Legacy

Publisher: VIZ Media

Genres: Action-Adventure, Comedy, Romance

First Volume ISBN Digital: 9781974744268 Physical: 9781974743520

I had no idea what to expect going into this series, but I haven’t been disappointed by what I’ve read. The series jumps right into things, no narrator exposition or over explaining. What you need to know is talked about by the characters, and some details are expressed through the art. So far the series has felt well paced, the comedy has been used rather appropriately, the romance hasn’t been heavy handed or forced and feels like a real experience. The moments that have interrupted the flow of what’s going on have felt true to the characters involved. As far as similar series go, this one falls into a group I’m not very well read in at the moment. When reading I did feel some similarities with Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting, someone in the underground world working on something they’ve never done before that’s widely done outside their world. The characters we are introduced to are varied in appearance and disposition, and the designs have me interested in learning more about them while also being somewhat obvious about what their talents are.

At the time of writing, the series has two volumes released, with a third releasing July 2, 2024 and a fourth possibly releasing in October. I say the series is looking to be an enjoyable one. I personally look forward to adding this series to my list of active reading, and expanding into this corner of genres more in the future. 

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Today I wanted to share my physical manga collection as it currently sits, complete with some video game collectible stuff. I want to keep expanding my collection, but space is probably the biggest issue I face so I need to be selective about what I buy physically for now. The dream is to eventually have a room turned into my own manga library. My digital collection is much larger but I'm not sure what the best way to share that would be.

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How I'll be posting

My current plan is to post my review/opinion on either a series or something I'm currently or have used in the past to read my comics every other Friday. I'll probably throw in some of my experiences dealing with different booksellers, I mostly deal in digital, and how good/bad the experience has been overall. Throughout the weeks I'll make some smaller posts talking about series I'm not planning on making dedicated posts about to try and have some general discussion on all the series out there.

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Shonen Jump App

Let's start off with one of the ways I read manga, the Shonen Jump App. I specifically use the app on my Android tablet, and the overall experience has been very smooth and worthwhile for the pricing. I have recently discovered there are some website exclusive series so I'll need to check out the reading experience in a browser in the near future. The app is $2.99/mo (as of May 8th, 2024) and you get access to everything they have on the app with no limits. Something I very much enjoy about how they have their service is the first 3 chapters are usually free, I have yet to come across or recall ones that aren't, and the most recent 3 chapters are free for a time after release. So if you're only reading a few series and you've completely caught up, as long as you keep up on new chapter releases you don't have to continue paying to enjoy them. I do have two complaints about the app experience. Number one being, there is no landscape mode for using and generally navigating the app itself. It only displays in portrait mode whether you are on the homepage, or browsing for a new series. Even after finishing a chapter, the post chapter screen is portrait only. At best it is a mild inconvenience, but at this stage of technology it's a weird thing to come across. The second complaint I have is the post chapter screen. I understand its purpose, and it can be rather helpful with its recommendations for new things to read once you've caught up on your series. My complaint is it displays at the end of every chapter, even if there is another chapter available and ready to read. So depending on your reading speed you get to see this screen every couple of minutes. It would be an amazing quality of life improvement if they ever changed this functionality to auto load the next chapter when available. If you're a fan of shonen, or have wanted to look into some of the series published through Shonen Jump, the app is definitely worth a look.

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Hello and Welcome!

Thanks for taking a look at my corner of the internet. Recently I've gotten back into the habit of reading consistently and have been ravenously consuming a lot of manga. For the longest time I was just following some of the bigger and related recommendations for anime and decided to branch out through manga a lot more. As I've been reading I've noticed there's a lot of places to read, some good and others bad, and decided to share my thoughts and experiences on the apps I've used, and the series I've read. Hopefully I'll be able to give some good recommendations and I look forward to seeing some in return!