Me and the Devil Blues v1-4 by Akira Hiramoto
United States of America, 1930s. A period of turbulences. One particular night, RJ, a poor but happy black man, gets seduced by the blues. Alas, having never played any music before in his life, his attempts at becoming a bluesman fail miserably. There are rumors however, that if one were to sell one' soul to the devil, one could become an unparalleled bluesman...
But what are the blues really? Will his struggle for survival in a hostile and racist era, while being dragged around by a gangster, lead to the answer he seeks?
Insanely good art, engaging and multidimensional characters, gripping story, original setting...
Me and the Devil Blues is nothing short of a masterpiece. That it got mostly ignored during its initial run is something of a tragedy, and it's a relief that the manga resumed serialization, 8 years after its original closure.
Solanin by Inio Asano
A bunch of young adults are trying to live in Tokyo. Their lives are pretty ordinary and peaceful, yet they can't help but be worried about their future, about their relationships, about their dreams. Should they be happy with how things are? Or should they try to aim for something different?
Solanin depicts pretty ordinary and realistic characters, with little contrived drama, and is overall deeply anchored in normalcy. Despite this, or rather, thanks to it, it's a really endearing tale, as the characters feel fleshed out,
human, and deal with their worries in a human way, which makes it all the more relatable. More than a simple story,
Solanin is letter of love to life, to living, to society.
Genkaku Picasso by Usamaru Furuya
Picasso, an introverted high schooler and artist, and Chiaki, his classmate, are victims of a helicopter crash. He survives, but now must help solve his entourages' troubled hearts, lest his body starts rotting. How will he achieve that? With his drawings of course! Or rather, by diving into the drawings of the deepest parts of one's heart.
Alternating between a somewhat ordinary high school setting and surreal depictions of one's thoughts permeated with symbolism,
Genkaku Picasso tells the story of its characters through art, and Usamaru Furuya doesn't disappoint with his creativity in how various mental worlds are depicted, but also in the care and details of their portrayals. True to its name, it is the story of an artist.
Terrarium in Drawer by Ryoko Kui
What can you find in a terrarium? Well, if you just bought one fresh from the store, probably nothing much, but generally speaking you'll find a plethora of organisms in a well-kept one, each with their own lives, their own personalities(?), their own stories.
Terrarium in Drawer is a collection of short stories that can be humorous, often quirky, or outright bizarre, sometimes heart-warming, maybe thought-provoking, with a wide display of artstyles, which can go from simple and cutesy, to a more conventional and detailed one, and everything meshes to form a veritable kaleidoscope of tales, of characters, of manga.
Ponko of the Stars and Reiko of the Tofu Shop by Shinji Ohara & Takezaki Tony
What happens when an impoverished family bring in a
Pokemon space alien? Absolute mayhem, that's what.
A short and rather quirky manga that, just like the eponymous alien, is more than meets the eye.
TL.
