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Soliciting Multiversity: Top 10 Manga for February 2022

By | November 30th, 2021
Posted in Columns | % Comments

Welcome back, manga fans! With Diamond having…just so many issues right now, both internally and because of external factors, Previews was exceptionally unhelpful this month. Thankfully, Yen Press being entirely resolicits and everyone staggering their releases a bit more meant it was one of the easiest months to narrow things down.

And I still picked 11 items. LOOK. When you have a title like what’s in #11, you have to keep it in, even when it means I break the title again.

11. Is It Hot In Here or Is it Just Him?

I honestly, genuinely love looking through the Ghost Ship releases each month. There are some real gem titles in there. It’s almost like reading Isekai light novel tiles compete for longest and most out there but even more ridiculous because they also have to fit in phrases like “ravishes me with his smoldering gaze.” Sexy fireman is a classic and I couldn’t not treat you to this.

Now, according to Penguin’s website – where I had to get the image – this won’t actually be out until April, likely due to schedule slippage but that’s OK. Of all the columns, this is the one to which time matters least.

Fire in His Fingertips: A Flirty Fireman Ravishes Me with His Smoldering Gaze, Vol. 3
Written and Illustrated by Kawano Tanishi
Published by Ghost Ship

Ryo tries to set up her strapping fireman friend Souma with a co-worker from her office, but her matchmaking efforts hit a brick wall. It turns out that Souma has the hots for Ryo instead! And when a fire breaks out in Ryo’s apartment, it’s Souma who comes to the rescue and the heat really gets turned up for the fiery couple!

10. Heh. They Said Case Files.

Purely aesthetically, this manga looks so generic. I’ve seen a million covers like this one, where the two bishonen pretty boys are posing with the manga’s unique selling point, and the premise’s bones reads like a less interesting “Case Files of Vanitas.” However, the adventure aspects are my jam, the jewelry angle is kinda ridiculous, and if they can make the interaction between the characters as wacky as “Vanitas” or as charming as a Layton game, then I’ll be happy.

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard, Vol. 1
Written by Mika Akatsuki
Illustrated by Nakano Tsujimura w/ Utako Yukihiro
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment

When Japanese college student Seigi Nakata rescues a handsome young jewelry appraiser from a group of drunken assailants, he gets more than he bargains for! The appraiser is Richard Ranashinha de Vulpian, a brilliant and mysterious British jewelry expert. Seigi hires Richard to appraise a ring left to Seigi by his grandmother… and the adventures are just beginning. Together, they unlock the secret messages hidden in the hearts of jewels-and those who possess them.

9. Kageki Zombie

I don’t know if Shojo is supposed to be meaningful or something but when you have a series where the “zombies” are literally named after the word for “young women,” I’m going raise my eyebrows to the stratosphere. Anyway, this book looks pretty interesting and Ryoh Hanada did the popular “Devil’s Line” so I’m willing to give it a shot.

Blackguard, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Ryoh Hanada
Published by Vertical Comics

A new dark fantasy from the creator of Devils’ Line, Ryo Hanada. The world is suddenly overrun by monsters called “shojo,” and anyone who is bit by one is infected with a mysterious virus that turns them into the same being. To defeat the shojo, humans live in “aerial cities” and formed units called “guards.” Nanao Minami, also known as the Blackguard, fights but without regard for his own life. What is his motivation and why does he want to die so readily?

8. Josei I Didn’t Warn You

Josei series, aimed at adult women, don’t get talked about much in modern manga discourse nor do many titles make their way over here. Examples of ones that did are “Ooku: The Inner Chambers” and the early 2000s book “You’re My Pet/Tramps Like Us.” Shonen (young boys) dominates, with seinen (adult men) and shojo (young women) following behind, trading notoriety depending on the year. However, one exception to this are yuri-josei series like “I Can’t Believe I Slept With Her.”

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I should acknowledge that these categories are really only indicative of the magazines they originally ran in rather than the actual reading audiences or their content, though one can broadly map genres onto each term (Shojo tends to be romance, Shounen action, Seinen “shounen but MA,” and Josei tend to be dramas.)

It’s with this in mind that I’ve put “I Can’t Believe” at number nine. The premise is, well, “sleeping with your landlady instead of paying rent” but josei books tend to have odd hooks that allow the creators to explore mature, uncomfortable topics in a more intricate and nuanced way – “You’re My Pet” being an excellent example of that. Will this series live up to my lofty expectations or will it be an uncomfortable comedy? I guess we’ll find out in February.

I Can’t Believe I Slept With You, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Miyako Miyahara
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment

Twenty-four-year-old Koduka Chiyo quit her job and is wallowing in self-pity in her apartment. She’s also three months behind on her rent. Then her landlady proposes an unusual solution: have sex with her, and she’ll help with the debt, the filthy apartment, and the loneliness driving Chiyo to beer and escapism. After a one-night stand, the two women decide to keep up the arrangement. Their growing relationship leads to questions of identity, getting one’s life together, and if something tender can develop from an arrangement that started with a bang.

7. Obligatory Netflix Plug

I don’t actually like “Komi” all that much. It’s fine, it’s relatable, it has some great gags, but on the whole, the comedy parts leave me lukewarm. The tender, serious moments are where this series shines but they’re not often enough for me to be all-in. That said, OAM’s adaptation for Netflix has been making those moments absolutely sing and I adore watching even the comedy bits that don’t always land. I should clarify. The comedy is good, it doesn’t make me curl into myself in embarrassed pain; it’s just not for me.

So, if you’re looking for a series people love, and you were wowed by the anime AND its comedy, give “Komi” a read. It’s 17 volumes in y’all! That’s a lot.

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 17
Written and Illustrated by Tomohito Oda
Published by Viz, LLC.

The high school cultural festival is supposed to be a fun time for all, but Rumiko Manbagi’s enjoyment is ruined when she comes to an awful realization-she and Komi are rivals for Tadano’s love! Can her friendships with Komi and Tadano survive this crushing complication?

6. Penguin Appreciation Column

There’s always at least one “this adorable animal is doing adorable and WEIRD things” manga I highlight. This month we’ve got “Penguin & House,” a series I know I will like because of the description and I know I will love because of the cover. He folds laundry with his teeny tiny flippers! So cute.

Penguin & House, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Akiho Ieda
Published by Kodansha

Pen the penguin lives with his most favorite keeper in the world: Hayakawa the human! But Pen’s no ordinary penguin – he’s a neat penguin! A proper penguin! A doting penguin! Pen loves to daydream of Hayakawa’s smile as he flips pancakes, runs errands, and folds the laundry with his teeny-tiny flippers. If only his beloved Hayakawa would notice! Unfortunately, Pen’s human keeper can’t speak penguin and is also a hopelessly lazy university student. With Pen’s comical expressions and Hayakawa’s lighthearted cluelessness, every day in their house is full of adorable mishaps and hijinks!

5. Psychokinetic Ramen Cart CEOs

This series is utterly absurd and continues to move into more and more hilarious directions. I’ve covered it before so I’ll save my breath. Go read “Hinamatsuri” and revel in the strange, strange world of these girls in Tokyo.

Hinamatsuri, Vol. 14
Written and Illustrated by Masao Ohtake
Published by One Peace Books

Catch up on the very unusual lives of four 16-year-old girls living in Tokyo. There’s Hina Nitta, the psychokinetic high schooler; Anzu, the ramen cart owner who’s stubbornly carrying on a cherished family recipe; Mao, the kung fu beauty who just wants to make a friend; and Hitomi Mishima, the wunderkind CEO who can’t stop moving up in the world. They’re all making their way forward the only way they know how, jumping from one absurd situation to the next.

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4. He’s Doing How Many Concurrent Series?

Shuzo Oshimi is a real powerhouse of a creator but you wouldn’t know it by the popular discourse. This guy serializes, like, three or four books at a time, which is some nonsense considering the quality of it all. “Welcome Back, Alice” is his newest work and like all his works, it seems like it’s going to be an unvarnished, uncomfortable, and very sexual look at the messy lives of people. His works are never cynical or exploitative though and I hope that continues in “Welcome Back, Alice” considering the troubling history of treating trans people as fetish objects in media and real life.

I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen but I also don’t expect that to be absent. Just as “Flowers of Evil” refused to give us clean and uncomplicated characters, so too do I expect “Welcome Back, Alice” to have teens who are like teens: crude, insensitive, horny, and absolutely lost but with the propensity and capacity for growth, or the ability to fail at growing. Oshimi is willing to show it all with grace and meaning. For that, I’m excited to see this book.

Welcome Back, Alice, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Shuzo Oshimi
Published by Vertical Comics

Welcome Back, Alice is the latest work by Shuzo Oshimi, the highly acclaimed author of Blood on the Tracks, Happiness, and The Flowers of Evil. In this story of adolescent awakening, perversion, and love, Oshimi takes a bold approach and sets out to explore the boundaries of gender, sexuality, and identity. Yohei, Kei and Yui are childhood friends and things get complicated when Yohei witnesses Kei and Yui in an intimate moment. But when unexpectedly Kei moves away and returns a few years later to reunite in high school, he shows up looking and dressed like a girl. Suddenly, Yohei is thrown into a maelstrom as he struggles between his infatuation with Yui and his lust for Kei.

3. Different Format, Same Great Storyteller

Rumiko Takashi needs no introduction, I probably introduce her every month. This is a new collection of short stories and that’s worthy of celebration. Freed from teh burdens of having to stretch a will-they, won’t’-they across hundreds of chapters, what will we get?! Will there be a won’t they?!!! I hope there is. If not, they’ll still be wild and, as I always say, more Takahashi is never a bad thing.

Came the Mirror & Other Tales
Written and Illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi
Published by Viz, LLC.

Five intimate magical-realist tales from manga legend Rumiko Takahashi! A supernatural mirror compels a teenager to draw out and destroy the evil lurking within others. But will his duty destroy him? A has-been manga creator acquires the power to curse his competition. Is it worth it? A pet cat plays human matchmaker-warning, side effects may include partial transmogrification…
Plus, a rare, behind-the-scenes autobiographical story about Takahashi’s lifelong love affair with manga!

2. Power is Best Girl Don’t @ Me

I have fucking fallen in love with “Chainsaw Man” and it’s complete gremlin cast. Fujimoto gets how to make loveable trash goblins who are definitely way too immature for their own good but utterly earnest and using their immaturity to hide the many ways they’ve been hurt. All in a series where the main character has a chainsaw for a head sometimes and has the goal in life to touch a boob. It’s amazing that this is the same guy who made “Fire Punch,” a series I dropped after the first chapter broke my edgelord meter to pieces.

Seriously though, you need to read “Chainsaw Man.” Right now.

Chainsaw Man, Vol. 9
Written and Illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto
Published by Viz, LLC.

With the battle against the Gun Devil fast approaching, Aki seems to be having a change of heart. Why is he suddenly willing to give up the revenge he’s worked so hard for? And when the Gun Devil finally appears, Denji and allies will face a nightmare of unimaginable pain.

1. Squid Game: Origins

Hey you. Yes. You! Did you watch Squid Game? Did you love it’s tense life-or-death situations? Did you love its simple games with a twist? Did you love the critiques of class, capitalism, and the dehumanization of excess and debt? Then do I have the manga for you. “Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji” is basically Squid Game but with more strategy and way more existential despair. E-Card, which this volume has, is a serious mind trip too, Want an even lengthier rec? Watch this video about the anime adaptation.

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I love this series for the way it ratchets up the stakes and fucks with your head without ever feeling like you were blindsided. Each volume has taken a while to come out but they’re always worth it. Give it a read and you’ll soon be cheering, and despairing, right alongside him.

Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji, Vol. 4
Written and Illustrated by Noboyuki Fukumoto
Published by Denpa Books

Having survived the games at the Starside Hotel, Kaiji is invited to join another game for a chance at even more cash! But while the previous game was physically challenging, this game, E-Card, is socially twisted. At its core it is a card game similar to rock-paper-scissors, but like the cards played – slave, citizen, emperor – the power balance is not in the favor of the challenger.

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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