Welcome to the Multiversity Year in Review for 2022! We’ve got over 25 categories to get through, so make sure you’re checking out all of the articles by using our 2022 Year in Review tag.
It’s pretty incredible how accessible Japanese comics have become. They’ve long been popular in the US, but there was a time when they were hard to find. No longer! Every comic shop and library has shelves filled with manga. We at Multiversity have multiple columns dedicated to Japanese comics. That’s why as of last year, manga has become its own category. Here are our top five picks for the best manga of 2021.
5. Golden Kamuy
Satoru Noda’s historical drama “Golden Kamuy” came to an end this year in Japan and is reaching closer to its closing story arc here in the US. Noda may not be telling a strictly historical tale, but he is doing a lot to preserve a long repressed indigenous peoples. Sure, I care about Sugimoto and his need to use the gold to help his friends widow bit I also find it fascinating to learn about the folklore, crafts and the diet of the Ainu just as much.
The reality that “Golden Kamuy” highlights is the fast forward change Japan experienced. Through characters like Hijikata Toshizo and his mentor who were actually samurai before the start of the Meiji Era a handful of decades before. “Golden Kamuy” is a reminder of the change from a feudal society into a modern power highlighted by the imperialistic war with Russia over Hokkaido. It’s one of the elements of Satoru Noda’s work the is compelling. He reminds us that there is always radical change and history can be as rich a storytelling setting as any imagined place or time. Conflict does not need curses or devils or demons just our personal needs responsibilities and desires are enough to fight and kill for.
The stories that came out this year in the us focus in Sapporo and the search for a Jack the Ripper copycat remaking the whitechappel murder s in Hokkaido. This year saw three volumes comeSapporo story arc with a “copycat” of Jack the Ripper killing the the local sex workers. What us interesting about the approach to this mystery is the characters in conflict throughout the last few volumes in their search for the Ainu gold stash are all hunting the killer, certainly for their own reasons. They all are attempting to stop the killings which is a all told good thing.
Noda as always shares the culture and folklore if the indigenous Ainu people which in addition to his vast cast of compelling characters is the major draw of the story even beyond the MacGuffin of the stash of gold. As we near the end characters are having long held beliefs and convictions confirmed or deeply tested. The only thing certain is that Sugimoto and Asuripa will always have one another’s backs. – Greg Lincoln
4. One-Punch Man
This isn’t “One Punch Man’s” first time on our “Best of” list, and if it keeps going the way it has been, it won’t be its last either. Because this is the year that the Hero Association and the Monster Association went head-to-head, which gave us both epic clashes and plenty of humor from Saitama’s deadpanning and over-powered overkills, all blended together nicely with ONE’s storytelling and Yusuke Murata’s artwork.
Story-wise, this year’s arc gave us plenty of opportunities to see multiple heroes in action, including the top-ranking members of the Hero Association. We get to see Tatsumaki when she really lets loose, Child Emperor’s inventions, and even Atomic Samurai’s disciples. But the real stand-out is Garo, whose transformation we got to follow as he underwent a journey that unlocked new levels of strength and both tested and demonstrated his ideals. He even gave Saitama the fight he was hoping for, even if it ended up rewinding time so that Saitama himself has no memory of it. Throughout it all, we got to learn more about these characters as they develop from amusing concepts and archetypes to fully-fleshed characters in their own rights.
Continued belowAnd art-wise, Yusuke Murata is one of the best in the business. The depth, detail, and cleanliness to his artwork is absolutely astounding, and when he cuts loose with the big action scenes or epic set pieces, it’s mind-boggling how good it is. Even little details, like the way characters’ hair flows from a wave of psychic energy, or the shadows cast over a particularly nasty monster, get crafted with loving care, making each page a treat for the eyes.
If you’ve only been following the manga in the pages of “Shonen Jump,” you’re still getting a full story, but the graphic novels are actually a little different. Certain fights are extended, scenes are added, and characters take new routes to reach their destination to give us even more character development, fantastic fights, and no small amount of comedy. So you’ll absolutely want to grab each volume as well to get even more from the story.
In short: “One Punch Man” remains an absolute knockout.- Robbie Pleasant
3. Chainsaw Man
Last year “Chainsaw Man” hit our Best Manga list despite being on hiatus for the year, so you know we really dig Tatsuki Fujimoto’s subversive hyper-violent supernatural hero story. Part one of Denji’s story came to an end in December 2020 with a new status quo. He was a high school student and Chainsaw Man is kind of the friendly neighborhood devil hunter. After a year plus of rest, the title is back and though there are changes Fujimoto’s storytelling still pushes the envelope with his brutal, shocking, and very human storytelling. The biggest shift of the change in viewpoint character. He drops us right into the lonely, depressing life of Asa Mitaka who lives in the city protected by Chainsaw Man. Her viewpoint casts a different light on the local hero and it is a reminder that Denji and Chainsaw Man, though doing a good, is pretty self centered and kind of amoral all along.
Asa Mitaka is a pretty lonely person, she is disdainful and judgmental of her fellow student and the opening chapter gives her a moment of happiness and self reflection before things go down hill and she’s bonded to the War Devil. Through Asa, Fujimoto depicts a pretty familiar seeming high school experience. The hazing from other, the need to fit in and the feeling you don’t, that imposter experience all the time rings pretty true. Even those times Asa seems to be included or befriended it’s not entirely what it seems.
Tatsuki Fujimoto’s art is as stellar as ever. His approach to backgrounds are as realistic as his characters are stylized. He has a real flare for crowd scenes that gave a realistic variety of people. The way he creates atmosphere goes from normal to creepy and supernatural in a shift you feel more than notice. His art can be both gross and gorgeous in the same moment. There is a richness in his setting and his character designs. This new arc focused on high school has allowed him to play with the usual shonen manga tropes and its fun to see his take of clubs and thugs, mean people and outcasts alike.
What he’s doing with this new arc is anyones guess.I think like with past works of his he is going to say something we don’t expect. He brought me to tears already with this arc with the one friendship he’s allowed Asa to have and how that ended. Looking back the devils from the first arc are making overt reappearances. I think we have a fun emotional creepy rollercoaster ride to look forward to and it’s a ride very much worth taking scratches, scraps, cuts, wounds, trauma and all. – Greg Lincoln
2. Akane-Banashi
Do you like stories? Of course you do. You read comics. Do you like oral storytelling traditions that go back generations? Maybe not. By the time you’re done catching up with “Akane-Banashi” though, you certainly will be.
One of the newest Shonen Jump titles to drop in 2022, “Akane-Banashi” is a non-battle battle manga that’s as Shonen as Shonen can get about a subject that would seem to be completely antithetical to the genre: rakugo. Rakugo is basically the art of telling stories by yourself, without getting up from kneeling on a cushion, and only being able to use a fan and a cloth as props. There’s more to it, of course, but as you can see, it’s not the kind of thing that necessarily lends itself to the high-octane world of Shonen Jump.
Continued belowAnd yet, here we are, with this series sitting at #2 for the year.
There is so much to love about “Akane-Banshi,” from its dynamic and clean art that harkens back to the clean lines of early 2000s-Jump, and “One Piece’s” Oda in particular, to its slowly expanding colorful cast of characters, including villains and rivals and antagonists, all of whom have rich internal lives that defy the simple roles they fill. We’re only 40 something chapters in and I already feel like I’ve been with these characters for years. Plus it’s making rakugo accessible and engaging, both the history and the contemporary nature of it. Just wait until you get to the ‘Jugemu’ arc and you’ll see what I mean.
It’s also notable for having a female lead without that being the source of the series’ central conflict as it was for Konatsu in “Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.” As a fan of that series, it does my heart good to see “Akane-Banashi” flourish as it has in its first year, bringing the joy and heartbreak of rakugo to a larger audience in a way that’s different to the way “Showa” does. It’s been a while since a series made as strong a first impression as “Akane-Banashi” did and that should be celebrated. – Elias Rosner
1. Shuna’s Journey
Originally published in 1983, two years before the formation of Studio Ghibli, “Shuna’s Journey” is based on a Tibetan folktale, “The Prince Who Turned Into a Dog.” Wanting to adapt it as an animated film, Hayao Miyazaki felt the subject matter wouldn’t strike the right nerve, at this moment in time, in his home country of Japan and thought that it should be made in China. One of the few stories Miyazaki would have set in a fictionalized version of South East Asia, “Shuna’s Journey” would go on to inspire and be worked into other Ghibli works, most notably Hayao’s Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and his son Goro’s film, Tales of Earthsea.
Translated and reproduced for the first time for English speaking audiences, this new hardcover edition features all of Miyazaki’s lush artwork and his script has been translated by Alex Dudok De Wit. Reading more like a fantasy storybook than a traditional paneled manga, the narration is presented in a clean and clear handwritten typeface to give the feeling and appearance of a story that has been handed down through the ages. It also keeps text to a minimum per page allowing the reader to take in the necessary information given, and then absorb the rest of the story through the incredible art. The people, creatures, and environment are all alive and practically reach from the page to pull you into their story. There is no part of this story that isn’t beautiful and immersive; a wonder to be experienced.
There isn’t anything terribly special about this hardback edition as opposed to other reprints, it’s on the smaller side and comes with a simple dustjacket sporting more of Miyazaki’s work, like the man himself it appears quaint and humble, but packs a huge emotional punch when you open it up. Simply put, it is a truly gorgeous and wondrous piece of work that has finally made its way into more hands and hearts. The magic, the adventure, the emotional link to the characters is as strong here as they are in nearly any of Miyazaki’s films and while that will always be my preferred medium from the master, this book demonstrates that he isn’t completely bound to animation and all of the film accoutrements afforded to that medium. He can give us something nearly as wonderous without us hearing the powerful dialogue or emotional score.
“Shuna’s Journey” fits right in with the rest of Miyazaki’s oeuvre and is a must read for his fans, or any fan of fantasy/adventure. There is no way you will be disappointed in the best manga (re-)release of 2022. – Christopher Egan
