Manga Monthly: 3 in 1bumper issue
It’s been a while since I’ve written a Manga Month! Getting prepared for university and moving out from home into a big city has been exciting and fresh, so it was sad for me to not be able to focus on writing a report about some manga I have been reading.
Just like you, who probably is getting ready to go to education, whether it’s your own big step or small. But, now, I’m settled snuggly into a real routine, may I present my 3-in-1 special of the three mangas I have chosen for the past months missed!
August – Black Butler
Starting off with a fantasy classic, the first volume of Black Butler was released on the 27th February, 2007. It was written and illustrated by Yana Toboso, who is also the writer of Rust Blaster. The manga has its own anime adaptation produced in October 2008 by Studio A-1 Pictures. The Black Butler has managed to have 30 million copies in circulation as of January 2021.
It follows the antics of a young master (Ciel Phantomhive) and his butler (Sebastian Michaelis), in the setting of London. Whether it’s gardening or etiquette or greeting guests, Sebastian is capable of anything and sets the role model example for all the other maids and workers. However, there seems to be more to this relationship between master and servant than it seems, with Sebastian’s abilities seeming too good for a human’s abilities, raising very interesting questions…
Sebastian Michaelis is the butler that everyone can depend on. He’s charismatic. He’s knowledgeable. And he’s completely capable. He takes the leadership role of all the possible roles in house – able to plan out even when things end up in disaster. In the manga, Sebastian uses the Japanese culture to greet the guests that Ciel awaits as the original plans of the other workers has gone for the worse, really showing his brilliantness. But there is something unnerving about his perfectness. His lack of flaw seems just too good to be true. He seems to have a good relationship to Ciel Phantomhive, the young master that Sebastian looks after. Despite his young age, he runs the company of the family, after his parent’s death. His personality is quite serious despite his age, reflecting a sense of seriousness.
I felt like the plot as of right now good. It begins with something so normal, with such an interesting plot twist that it makes the rest of the volumes very intriguing to read the future volumes. The art style feels very grand just like the two main characters are grand as well, with intricate details in setting, character and expression.
September – Noragami
Noragami was first written and illustrated in December 2010. The writer was Adachitoka and it was serialised by Kodansha’s Monthly Shonen Magazine, currently have twenty-five volumes. Just like Black Butler, it has its own anime adaptation from 5th January 2014 that is available to watch from Crunchy roll. It also has another sequel series called “Noragami Aragoto” that ran in 2015, which both animes were developed by the studio ‘Bones’.
The basic plot of the story is following a “homeless God” called Yato. His biggest dream is to have a shrine and his own following of believers, so to get his ambitious goals achieved, he sets up a service to help those in need. Yato accepts all kinds of jobs – whether it’s helping someone with bullying or fighting some monsters!
Yato calls himself a “delivery god” as he writes his cell number for people to call for help regardless of how small or big the task is for only 5 yen (which is around 5 cents in US currency). He’s got a cheerful personality, sometimes turning serious when serious stuff happens. He seems desperate for a shrine, as he even has dreams of his ambitious goals. He meets Hiyori after she saves him from a bus accident. Hiyori herself has her own super powers gained after their interaction, as she involuntarily falls asleep due to her soul slipping out, which classes her as a “Half-Phantom”. Together, they make a very comedic duo who have a rocky start but will eventually have a good relationship in the future!
It's interesting that the writer has decided the introduce only Yato, the initial girl being a victim of bullying, allowing for Yato’s abilities and skills to come through. Hiyori comes later, the girl sort of having a positive yet ominous ending. The art style seems to be drawn quite aesthetically, where the panels are placed in a cinematic form, where the flow of the plot and the art style flow coincide one another.
October – The Way Of The House Husband
The newest released manga on this list “The Way of The House Husband”, which is an action comedy, that was released in 2018 on an online magazine. The manga was written and illustrated by Kousuke Oono, who funnily says at the end of the first volume “When I showed this manga to my shiba inu, he averted his eyes. I was deeply moved. He has also written a one-shot called “Legend of Music”.
The story brings out a really fierce yakuza (gangster) who has quite a big impact in the underworld scene. He was given the name “The Immortal Dragon” and his name brought fear to those around. Now, however, he has walked away from this dangerous path and has decided to trek another path – the way of the house husband. The volume is split into different little stories about his day-to-day life actually goes.
‘The Immortal Dragon’ has all the characterstics of a gangster – he’s tough, he’s intimidating, he’s strict. But rather than for evil or for good, he puts his skills into his profession – a house husband. You see his seriousness to cleaning the house, getting a birthday dinner ready, fighting the other women at the supermarket for the discounted items and sales. He treats his job very seriously, watching over his wife, who seems to be the bread-winner of the house. It really shows that the domestic life has no gender, and that even the toughest guys can do it!
The great use of grey scale with white and black, paired up with the dramatized panels of character close ups or situations is what brings out the comedy within the manga. The writing of the simple situations that turn unexpected also brings out a sense of humour. The characters themselves have their own quirky personalities, such as the ‘Immortal Dragon’ still having the yakuza traits such as ready to cut his own finger off to prove to his wife he’s apologising after getting her a wrong gift, only to be immediately stopped.
All of these mangas have their own positive points and their own interesting plot highlights, but I think at the end of the day, they all are good recommendations to consider. Now it’s the spooky season of Halloween, enjoy exploring and finding some spooky manga to go along with the spooky month!