I often talk about how diverse our offering of reviews is on Reader’s Corner, but I have to tell you—this week proves it, as we review manga series about a Macedonian siege, an epic fantasy featuring demi-humans, the rush of the supernatural and alien in Dandadan, and heavy metal, plus an illustrated history of manga and the opening volume of a shonen series that functions as this week’s contribution to the spooky month. Check out all the reviews below!

Dandadan (Vol. 15) • Historie (Vol. 2) • A History of Modern Manga • Isekai Metaller (Vol. 1) • Kamudo (Vol. 1) • Phantom Busters (Vol. 1)

Historie, Manga Simulpub Ch. 10-19 (Vol. 2)

Eumenes has returned to his former polis of Cardia just as the small city-state has found itself caught in the crossfire between Athens and Macedon. As a large Macedonian army lays siege, Eumenes takes some time to reflect on his childhood. It was a normal enough one on the surface, but there were always an underlying tension within his father’s household that he could never quite put his finger on and strange dreams that he could never quite remember. At the time, he was too busy reading Homer and Herodotus to care very much, but everything changed when a runaway Scythian slave cut a bloody path through the city and set events in motion which would alter Eumenes’ life forever… This series continues to intrigue me because of the fact that it’s a historical fiction manga built out of so many horror manga building blocks. The volume starts seemingly normal, then introduces increasingly uneasy tension, before finally exploding in a shocking revelation and a maelstrom of gory violence. The character of Thrax is also written like a slasher villain—an unstoppable, pitiless force who pours out a cup of wrath for the citizens of Cardia and makes them drink it to the dregs as he carves his way through civilians and city militia alike. It makes for a unique reading experience, although also an indisputably R-rated one. ~ WacOtaku

Historie is published by Kodansha through their K-Manga simulpub service.

READ: Historie Vol. 1 Review

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Kamudo, Manga Vol. 1

Far in the past, before humans ruled the domain, there lived demi-beings, groups of people who lived and celebrated under the breath and protection of the first dragon, Lady Ryusui. But something is about to shift—the first dragon is about to die, factions outside of the Ryujinkyo have grown angry, and a baby is born who looks more human than dragon. This is the world of Kamudo, which immediately builds a fascinating, complex, and epic mythology that measures up against renowned fantasy works. This world of demi-dragons and other creatures is imbued with influences, it seems, from all manner of background; it at once feels like a Hindu text, taken from Avatar (both Avatars, in fact!), influenced by Dark Crystal, and inspired by biblical questions and pictures of God. The artwork is stunning in chapter one, with spirals and details evoking Chinese-style dragons and symbols. Created by the manga duo behind the beloved Legend of Zelda manga, Kamudo is absolutely compelling in both art and story. The hero’s journey for the central character, the human-looking Kamuna, feels epic already; against a mythological background, it feels like his story will have no bounds, and all the more so accompanied by the incredible art. This is truly the most stunning opening volume of a series I’ve read in years—and I am desperate to see if the manga team behind it can follow through on its immense potential, because if they can, this is absolutely a classic-in-the-making. ~ Twwk

Kamudo is published by VIZ Media.

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Isekai Metaller, Manga Vol. 1

Alexi (real name: Yamada) is a down-on-his-luck heavy metal musician. People don’t like him because of his scary looking face, the police keep stopping him because of his clothes and hair, and the rest of his band just quit on him right before they were supposed to go on stage. On top of that, Alexi is electrocuted in the middle of his concert. But that is not enough to stop his dream of bringing peace to the world through heavy metal—all it does is change which world he seeks to realize his dream in. For Alexi has been isekai’d to a pretty typical fantasy world; but though his level is an OP 999, Alexi is anything but your typical protagonist. It’s time to face the Demon Lord—and convince him to accept peace by exposing him to the power of heavy metal! Okay, as a connoisseur of isekai tales, I loved this! Isekai Metaller brings a distinctive flavor to a well-worn formula, a flavor that includes just the right dash of cheese. You can’t take the story too seriously, but it doesn’t ask you to. The humor and references will probably be even funnier for fans of heavy metal music, but even someone as unfamiliar with the genre and its history as myself thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely a fun read! ~ NegativePrimes

Isekai Metaller is published by Titan Comics.

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Phantom Busters, Manga Vol. 1

Here comes an exorcist series that lives on shonen tropes but manages to feel fresh and be full of energy and humor! Phantom Busters begins by introducing Eugene, who as a child was influenced greatly by his warm, kind grandmother, and who continues to hold memories of her, even as he’s become scientific-minded and somewhat cold. On his first day of high school, he bumps into Mogari—or rather tries to rescue him from drowning in the ocean! Mogari is his exact opposite—loud, brash, and a believer in the supernatural. This odd couple would perhaps be enough for a strong series, combining a compelling, loud personality in Mogari with the lovable skeptic in Eugene, but volume one goes on to build out the titular “club” of boys who hunt ghosts—and every page is fun, engaging, and funny. The writing here is surprisingly sharp—besides the humor, I really appreciated how we’ve already come to love all four young men, though we only know bits and pieces of their stories; each is also different enough from one another that there’s so much fun to be had with just the juxtaposition of personalities. Volume one ends with a scene that builds the world even further out and adds tension going into volume two—story development I wasn’t necessarily looking for but definitely appreciate. Here’s hoping Phantom Busters keeps up the energy and fun, and delivers as the next great exorcist shonen series! ~ Twwk

Phantom Busters is published by VIZ Media.

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Dandadan, Manga Vol. 15

The “Space Globalists Arc” is complete, but there’s no time to rest for the team? Okay, maybe one chapter before Okarun, Momo, and the rest move on to their next adventure! A shorter story covers the breadth of this volume, but I think Dandadan actually excels with the small arcs, and this one is no exception. The rep of Okarun’s class catches sight of him in his ultra mode and naturally wonders…is he a vampire who wants to entrap her and suck her blood and maybe kiss her too? Oh, that’s not natural? Well, the rep’s personality is part of what makes this story fun—and it’s not ecchi like it seems or you would expect of this manga. Rin Sawaki is actually a really sweet girl, and her story is equally heartfelt. Another new character joins (possibly a more sinister one) over the course of these chapters as well, though more than his appearance, what stood out to me was the amazing artwork in volume fifteen—some of the most incredible two-pagers in the entire series are right here in these pages. Epic stuff. I’m so glad to see Dandadan continue to get better by the volume! ~ Twwk

Dandadan is published by VIZ Media.

READ Reviews of Dandadan: Vol. 1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 // Vol. 5 // Vol. 6 // Vol. 7 // Vol. 8 // Vol. 9 // Vol. 10 // Vol. 11 // Vol. 12 // Vol. 13 // Vol. 14

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A History of Modern Manga, Book

If you’ve been to a Barnes and Noble lately, a hardcover non-fiction book on the endcaps of the manga section may have caught your eye. A History of Modern Manga doesn’t look like other historical or academic fare about manga and anime, with its bright, animated cover featuring a cute anime girl—and it isn’t! Less of an exhaustive work on the history of manga and more an immersive look at our favorite medium, A History of Modern Manga is a really great introductory work—providing wonderful context about how manga developed (tracing historic events in Japan and their relation to comics) before doing a deeper dive into the last approximately 50 years of manga development. There’s also a neat structure to the book that I really enjoyed—read just the left-hand pages, and you read a chronological approach to the history of manga; read just the right-hand pages, and you read profiles of some of the medium’s most notable figures. Thus, you almost get two books in one. I chose to read both sides, as I find the topic fascinating. The writing was clear and engaging, and I appreciate all the research that went into the work (I didn’t find any notable errors, though I’m far from a historian of manga). With a nice hardcover and excellent graphics and images of manga, this is a really great book to not only learn from, but keep on your shelf or coffee table. Highly recommended! ~ Twwk

A History of Modern Manga is published by Insight Editions.

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“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.