Any of you who follow our streams over on Twitch likely already know this but we talk about the seasonal anime we watched every season & do an even bigger stream about the full year in review. In the same vain I read a lot of manga but don’t often talk about them. So I thought why not talk about the stuff that I finished over the last year here.
Mahou Shoujo Tokushuusen Asuka
Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka
Author(s): Fukami Makoto (Story), Tokiya Seigo (Art)
Published: June 25, 2015 – Feb 25, 2021
Volumes: 14 | 69 Chapters
Demographic: Seinen
Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Drama, Supernatural
Theme(s): Brainwashing, Demons, Dimensional, Gore, Magic, Mahou Shoujo, Maid, Military, Martial Arts, Politics, Psychological, School, Torture, Yuri.
Synopsis: Due to the invasion of Disas—enigmatic creatures of soil from the land of the dead—mankind, who was on the verge of crisis, was saved by the efforts of magical girls who had obtained a mysterious magical power…
Three years later, new incidents suddenly occur, tearing apart the normalcy of the girls who had each returned to their normal lives. The saviors of humanity, those magical girls called “The Magical Five” now live each day fighting for their lives, even as they are trifled with by fate…
This one was a hell of a ride! Midway through reading it got a alright anime adaptation as well. If you’ve looked at the themes above you should already understand this is not for the faint of heart. This series is gruesome and not afraid to get into some really nasty subject matter. It’s a gritty militaristic exploration of post-world saving magical girls with extreme PTSD trying to find how they fit into everyday life. There’s paramilitary groups, terrorism, criminal organizations, mercenaries, monsters, evil magical girls, & all manner of atrocities committed by these groups. You’ve been warned. That aside I truly enjoyed my time with the series. It plays on the tropes and themes of more typical magical girl series well & can also please hardcore military & gun fans at times. There’s just something satisfying about seeing a magical girl transform then lay waste to enemies with an assault rifle. The ending is a bit odd, but fitting with the themes in my opinion. Overall I think it’s an excellent “edgy mahou shoujo” series that scratches a niche I didn’t know I needed before it came along.
Oni ga Deru ka Ja ga Deru ka
Out Comes The Devil, Out Comes The Snake
Author(s): Advenchara
Published: Jun 24, 2014 – May 24, 2017
Volumes: 5 | 33 Chapters
Demographic: Shounen
Genre(s): Comedy, Romance, Supernatural
Theme(s): Coming of Age, Harem, School, Yokai
Synopsis: When our hero, Matsubara Yuu, suddenly finds himself moving back to his mother’s home, a number of strange things happen to him. He meets Suzu, a beautiful girl who falls in love with him at once, even wanting to have his children. Even if he wanted to run away from the situation, his way was blocked by a huge cow attacking him. In fact, in all of these, he seems to be the cause…
This is one of those manga I randomly saw the cover of and went “why not?”. In this case because the snakegirl Suzu on the Vol1 cover (see below) caught my eye. I came very close to dropping this several times if I’m honest. The MC is an spineless whiner for a sizable portion of the manga. Which is somewhat justified as he is randomly uprooted by his flake of a Father & thrown into a multitude of strange circumstances. So to say the plot is dumb would be an understatement. That all said there is character growth, decent romance, & some interesting concepts behind the series, but it is weighed down heavily by the strange premise and terrible main character. Also of note while it does have Harem themes it does end up being a proper romance by the end.
Yankee Wa Iskeai De Seirei Ni Aisaremasu
Yankee is Loved By Spirits in Another World
Author(s): Sasaki Akane (Art), Kuroi Heiho (Story)
Published: Feb 24, 2017 – Jul 30, 2021
Volumes: 5 | 42 Chapters
Demographic: Shounen
Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Theme(s): Isekai, Magic, Politics, Reincarnation
Synopsis: Manai Zero is a delinquent who saves a kid from being ran over by a truck. Dying in the process, God sends him to another world with the gift of being loved by spirits.
I have something of a weak spot for Isekai & that often leads me to dabble into some really garbage manga here and there, but on occasion I find a hidden gem in the heaps of trash isekai. This wasn’t a gem per se, but I did enjoy it for what it was. I mainly kept reading because of the MC who is a rough-around-the-edges and foul-mouthed “yankee”. Which is a refreshing change from the typical sameface broody MCs of many isekai. Overall the plot of the series is a bit rushed and contrived but the characters are fun, the comedy is enjoyable, & with only 42 chapters it’s a pretty easy read. It’s not my favorite Isekai I’ve read (or am still reading) but it’s far from the worst I’ve read either. it’s squarely in the middle in the “Good enough to not regret” category I would say.
If you read down to here I appreciate you taking the time to do so. I’ve been trying to think of new types of content to post to this wordpress for some time as I’ve mostly fallen off the ttrpg Homebrew wagon for the time being. Thanks for checking it out & I hope you liked it.
All cover art belongs to the authors, publishers, etc
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