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Soliciting Multiversity: Top 10 Manga for January 2023

By | November 3rd, 2022
Posted in Columns | % Comments

Welcome back, manga fans! You’ll be SHOCKED to find out what I’ve included on my list this time. Shocked! No, it’s not the 18+ ~culture~ you can’t get on Rightstuf anymore. Don’t try to guess you’ll never get it.

With that clickbait opener out of the way, the real shock is that I was able to easily reduce my list to 10(ish) again. It helps that I can’t include Glacier Bay Books’ stuff (though I will plug their Glaeolia 1 reprint and Pandora campaigns.) Most of this was because it looks like 2023 will not be alleviating the strange release windows for the solicited manga. Things are looking better but Seven Seas still has 100+ solicited manga, half of which are for May and beyond so…easy reduction of choices! Mostly.

You’ll see.

Berserk. Berserk

This is one of those weird releases because I missed talking about Volume 41 due to the aforementioned solicitation strangeness. Technically out in March 2023, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. It features the chapters where Guts is finally off the boat! It’s also the final Deluxe edition that can be guaranteed to be coming out

At this point, things are up in the air as to whether or not the fourteenth volume will be a smaller one due to only including vols 40 & 41, if they’ll pack it with extras, or if they’ll wait until the 42nd volume comes out with the new, non-Miura drawn material. Until it’s announced, I’m going to treat this as the end of the deluxe series for the moment.

If you’ve never read “Berserk” before, now is the best time to catch up with these gorgeous volumes. I’ve said a lot about the series before and I don’t think it needs more selling. It’s a modern masterpiece. Go forth and read, and then come back for the rest of the list.

Berserk Deluxe Edition, Vol. 13
Written and Illustrated by Kentaro Miura
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Guts the Black Swordsman and company reach the island of Skellig in hopes than Elven magic can heal the afflicted mind of Casca, but first they must face the island’s terrifying magical defenses. If they can pass through and reach Elfhelm, the Flower Storm Monarch of the Elves can perform the ritual that might free Casca, but failure will mean their long, perilous journey will have been for nothing!

Collects Berserk volumes 37-39, including three fold-out color posters.

10. Gotta Print Fast

I highlighted volume one of this wayyyy back in April 2021. It’s since gotten a (partial) anime adaptation and I can finally say that it’s good! It’s funny, it knows how to poke fun at the tropes of the genre without being full parody, and has a good heart. It’s also got way more Sega jokes than I expected. Like. So many Sega jokes.

I haven’t read the manga sadly so I don’t know if it leans more silly or more serious or if the jokes land as well (or as poorly) as they do in the anime but thanks to its clever balance of creative fantasy world building and character-based humor, it’s one of the few isekai I’m willing to recommend not just once but twice. And if I’m wrong, I can just cast a memory erase spell and you’ll all forget this anyway.

Uncle from Another World, Vol. 6
Written and Illustrated by Hotondoshindeiru
Published by Yen Press

Alicia has gained a new power and repelled the monsters that attacked the hot springs inn. The uncle tries to unravel her lost past in the open-air bath alone, but what lies in store? Looks like a certain elf is going to interrupt!

9. Anthological Romances

Yuri romance anthologies are very popular nowadays and I’ve highlighted quite a few of them for this column. They all start to blend together after a while, mostly because that’s the nature of the anthology, especially when all I have to go on are short descriptions. From the title, I kind of hope there’s more of an ongoing intersection between the stories, like how “Maiden Railways” worked. If not, I’m still onboard for a more messy, josei series that gives us brief glimpses into the love lives of these women.

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Assorted Entanglements, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Mikanuji
Published by Yen Press

Discover a variety of stories about women’s love, starting with Iori: twenty-eight-year-old office worker who sets out to drown her love and job sorrows in booze. When she wakes up next to someone, she can’t believe her partner was Minami, a worker at the bar who doesn’t want to forget what they have!

8. The Great Escape

I always forget there’s a whole genre of slacker comedies. I usually don’t find them all that interesting. But something about “Futari Escape” has me interested. Maybe it’s the promise of something warmer than just pure gremlin chaos. It could also just be the cover. I’m a sucker for a good nighttime cover. Why do you think I put “Call of the Night” at #1 last month?

Futari Escape, Vol. 3
Written and Illustrated by Shouichi Taguchi
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment

Two young women-one an overworked manga artist, the other a complete slacker-try to escape the realities of adult responsibilities. Whether it’s running off on a day trip instead of being productive or going into debt for an epic meal, the two always have fun when they’re together! Enjoy this delightful (and relatable) slice-of-life tale about the little pleasures in ducking away from the hard stuff.

7. Sunlight Over Side 6

I should be honest. I thought Dai Sato was the creator of this manga and was absolutely jazzed to put it on the list. The man’s a sci-fi anime LEGEND and even his flops have something interesting in them. Turns out it’s by a different mangaka but that’s OK. I can get behind E.T. but future and with mole people. If it’s good enough for Sato to adapt, it’s gotta be worth checking out.

Break of Dawn
Written and Illustrated by Tetsuya Imai
Published by Kodansha Comics

The coming-of-age manga that inspired the anime film from the acclaimed screenwriter Dai Sato (Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)! It’s the year 2038, but more importantly, it’s summer. A little boy named Yuma is obsessed with the impending return of the Arville Comet. Then, one day, he sneaks onto the roof of an apartment building and finds something even more amazing-something not from this world. Now Yuma and his friends, and his hovering autopet Nanako, must work together to uncover a secret that’s slumbered in the Earth for years, as dawn breaks over a new era for him and for humanity!

6. [Highway XXX-Star]

Do you wish your “Jujutsu Kaisen” had more early “Shaman King” in it? Do you find “Chainsaw Man’s” absurdist, experimental, buck-fucking-wild sense of humor fun but a little TOO out there? Are you a fan of Shonen battle manga? Then “Dandadan” is the series for you. Mostly because this is from former “Chainsaw Man” assistant Yukinobu Tatsu.

I didn’t actually know this going in, only finding out when I reached the credits page of volume 1, but it retroactively makes a whole lot of sense. While Tatsu has a cleaner, though far more ink dense, style and a greater hewing to traditional Shonen tropes – be they subverted or played straight – you can tell the two creators share similar tastes and approaches to storytelling.

Want an example? Strap in.

Friends, this series begins with two characters – Ayase and Okarun – fighting over whether or not aliens and spirits exist, encountering BOTH, and then finding out that both are disturbing, perverted, and terrifying. If Ayase is too far from Okarun (who got cursed) he turns into a schlong-gobbling spirit.The main antagonist at this point is TURBO GRANNY and she’s drawn like a “JoJo” Oingo Boingo drawing but “realistic.” They just encountered the flatwoods monster who was fucking JACKED and a sumo wrestler.

And that’s just volume one.

It’s also got a great underlying sentimentality and emotional core that helps keep the nonsense in check. Give this series a read when volume 1 comes out and then come back for volume 2, where I’m sure Turbo Granny will be fighting Yoshikage Kira and King Cold.

Dandadan, Vol. 2
Written and Illustrated by Yukinobu Tatsu
Published by Viz, LLC

Okarun, a high school boy obsessed with supernatural phenomena, is cursed by Turbo Granny! Along with his classmate Momo Ayase, he challenges Turbo Granny to a game of tag as a means to lift the curse. If the two can stay out of her reach until the finish line, they’ll win. But Turbo Granny’s assassin, a bound spirit in the form of a giant crab, has other plans!

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5. Do Bears Drink Coffee?

It’s just so cute! AHHHHHHH. I’ve got nothing more to say besides that and it seems very well regarded back in Japan. I’m glad Seven Seas does a lot of these omnibus-style collections of older and more obscure works.

Polar Bear Cafe, Vol. 2
Written and Illustrated by Aloha Higa
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment

Polar Bear has a penchant for puns and runs a serene café frequented by humans and animals alike. Regulars include a panda who has a part-time job being a panda at the local zoo, his keeper (who has a crush on the café’s waitress), and a pretentious penguin. Join the colorful clientele through the seasons in this comforting and humorous manga about daily specials, romantic complications, and quirky workplaces, a tale that inspired a 50-episode anime adaptation. This 4-volume edition of the complete manga series, in English for the first time, will include bonus color content!

4. Run As Fast As You Can or 30KMPH Granny’s Gonna Getcha

Y’all. This series is so fucking good. Matsui has built a complex historical fiction tale that incorporates his trademarked over-the-top characters and hyper-exaggerated expressions. I said a few months ago that the plot meanders and it does. Once past the first volume or two, though? Things ramp up hard and fast, setting the groundwork for a multi-layered grungy yet clear, tense yet funny tale that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat.

Matsui’s done it again. And damn if those covers aren’t striking.

The Elusive Samurai, Vol. 4
Written and Illustrated by Yusei Matsui
Published by Viz, LLC

Kiyohara, the malicious and decadent governor of Shinano, is determined to crush any dissent within the province. When Hoshina Yasaburo, a member of the Suwa sect, rises up in rebellion, Suwa Yorishige dispatches Tokiyuki and the Elusive Warriors on a clandestine mission to aid the rebel leader. Tokiyuki and his companions find themselves plunging into a major battlefield engagement. But can he help warriors who are more determined to die than to achieve victory?

3. Can’t Keep a Good Yokai Down

“Gegege no Kitaro” is maybe Shigeru Mizuki’s most famous creation after, perhaps, “Onwards Towards Our Noble Deaths,” yet it has never received a complete release here in the states. My guess is that it’s because, much like Monkey Punch’s “Lupin III,” they’re of an older manga tradition of short stories featuring recurring characters rather than one ongoing narrative. It makes it easy to collect them as selected stories, which is what’s happening here and has happened before, but hard to sell as full runs because of a wild variety in quality.

As much as this saddens me – I really like when we get start to end collections, the good and the bad, for archival sake – I’m really happy more Kitaro is coming over. The spooky boy deserves it. Oh, and if you haven’t watched the 2018 adaptation, it’s excellent. Spooky season may be over but this series never goes out of style.

Shigeru Mizuki’s Kitaro: Japan’s Classic Manga
Written and Illustrated by Shigeru Mizuki
Published by Drawn & Quarterly

Kitaro seems just like any other boy. Of course, he isn’t-what with his one eye and jet-powered geta sandals, and the fact that he can shape-shift like a chameleon. It’s all a part of being a 350-year-old yokai, a Japanese spirit monster. Against a backdrop of photorealistic landscapes, Kitaro and his otherworldly cartoon friends plunge into the depths of the Pacific Ocean and forge the oft-unseen wilds of Japan’s countryside. The twelve stories in this special collection include more works published in the golden age of GeGeGe no Kitaro between 1967 and 1969.

2. Get Ready for the Bleeding Edge

Fujimoto, as a storyteller, is a sentimentalist. It’s a clear throughline in all of his current works: “Chainsaw Man,” “Goodbye, Eri,” “Look Back,” and even in his first major work, “Fire Punch.” I wonder if this was always true. In much the same way as “Dream Fossil,” the Satoshi Kon manga collection, I wonder what insights we can glean from looking back at these early publications? What resonates more now and what less?

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And most importantly, how has Fujimoto grown as a creator from there to “Fire Punch” – a work I still have yet to finish because of how distasteful I found the opening chapter’s hyper-violent edgelord nonsense – to “Chainsaw Man” and his latest two one shots – works that have quickly joined the ranks of “Monster,” “Saturn Apartments” and “Fullmetal Alchemist” for me?

Tatsuki Fujimoto: Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21
Written and Illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto
Published by Viz, LLC

See the origins of the mad genius who created Chainsaw Man! This short story manga collection features Tatsuki Fujimoto’s earliest work. It’s rough, it’s raw, and it’s pure Tatsuki Fujimoto!

1. Maybe Now I’ll Learn Shogi

I’ve been waiting for this to appear on the solicits for years. YEARS. “March Comes in Like a Lion” is one of my favorite anime ever and the only reason I don’t own it is because Aniplex makes every set $150 and there’s like 4 sets. Fuck you Aniplex.

Sorry, this is about the manga. I don’t really know how to recommend “March.” It’s not a sports story, though Shogi is integral to the plot and themes. It’s not really slice-of-life but it’s also not fully a drama. I guess it’s best described as a tragicomedy? A story that will absolutely wreck you with kindness and sadness. I love it and I think you all will too.

Or at least you will if you’re OK with being really sad. Like, a lot. Seriously, it’s gonna mess you up. In a good way! And then you can be confused about shogi with me and gush over how cute Momo is.

March Comes in Like a Lion, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Chica Umino
Published by Denpa Books

Rei Kiriyama is a child prodigy. Rei Kiriyama is also an orphan who lives alone in an empty apartment. Rei Kiriyama is a teen working in an adult’s world. Life is complicated for Rei. He’s an up-and-coming shogi (Japanese chess) player on the verge of turning pro but he has no homelife-or much of a life period outside his board game-but thankfully with the help of some life-long friends he has an opportunity start all over again.

Anything I missed? What are YOU looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!


//TAGS | Soliciting Multiversity

Elias Rosner

Elias is a lover of stories who, when he isn't writing reviews for Mulitversity, is hiding in the stacks of his library. Co-host of Make Mine Multiversity, a Marvel podcast, after winning the no-prize from the former hosts, co-editor of The Webcomics Weekly, and writer of the Worthy column, he can be found on Twitter (for mostly comics stuff) here and has finally updated his profile photo again.

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