Despite threats from Kakao Entertainment, I am going to proceed with the creation of a new weekly general thread. So, please feel free to post any comments/questions/updates that are on your mind. It has been an eventful past week in the world of digital manga consumption (at least for Android users), but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue revelling in the love that we have for this medium.
Like normal, please be careful with spoilers. I wrote a guide about spoilers in case you need a refresher on how to handle them (also linked in the sidebar).
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Fukushuu wo Koinegau Saikyou Yuusha wa, Yami no Chikara de Senmetsu Musou Suru aka The Hero Who Seeks Revenge Shall Exterminate with Darkness aka Raoul is such a fun ride. It’s around ch85 already, near the end; the series is so edgy that it almost sings “craaawwwling in my skiiin!” for you, but it doesn’t take itself seriously. The title is a rather good summary already - he got isekai’d, used, dumped, and now he wants revenge.
It’s bittersweet to see Noragami - Stray God ending. It’s the story of Yato, a minor god with big ambitions, and a human girl called Hiyori. There is romance and a bit of comedy, but expect drama and adventure the most.
On the other hand, Akuyaku Reijou no Naka no Hito aka The One Within the Villainess is still going strong. The premise is a twist of the “good villainess, bad heroine” stories, with Remilia (the actual villainess) - paying back every fucking body who dared to hurt her precious Emi (the isekai’d girl). If you’re into otome IMO you shouldn’t miss this series.
Raoul is one that I read a chunk of a long time ago and then set down after I finished the backlog but never picked back up. There are certainly points in that series that are so absurd in their edginess that it feels like a parody. Not only him either, but I remember basically every other character that he was revenging against (is that a word?) was cartoonishly evil. The end of that series might push me to just binge the rest.
Also, the premise for The One Within the Villainess sounds interesting. I think I will throw that one on the pile of villainess series I have in Tachiyomi right now. Until I started this community, the only series I had read that fit that description were Bakarina, Raeliana, and Level 99 Villaness (airing this season!). However, I have read and enjoyed so many more recently, that when I see Akuyaku Reijou in a series title, my thumb hits the add to library button of its own volition.
I’m a bit biased to talk about villainess series because I read a lot of them. They feel refreshing - no two series are identical, they all have “something” to fish you.
I’ll use the opportunity to share a few recs for those stories:
An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess aka Jishou Akuyaku Reijou na Konyakusha no Kansatsu Kiroku aka Bertia. The narrator of the story isn’t the isekai’d girl herself, who’s extremely good-natured and hard-working; it’s instead the cold prince supposed to ditch her, at first amused with her antics and then becoming emotionally attached to her. Warning: even Katarina looks smart in comparison with Bertia, but she’s still lovable. The manga is already complete.
Villager A Wants to Save The Villainess no Matter What! aka Chounin A wa Akuyaku Reijou wo Doushitemo Sukuitai. This one plays a bit like The Otome Game is Tough for Mobs at the start, as the MC is reincarnated into a mob character (a slum boy) of a game he was forced by his sister to play. Past that, everything is different - the story is way more serious and heartwarming, and it’s a joy to see the relationship between Allen (the MC) and Anna (the villainess) slowly developing. The novel is complete but the manga is still being published.
There’s No Such Thing as a Villainess Route? Not in My Book! aka Akuyaku Reijou Route ga Nai Nante aka Ophelia. Reminder, boys and girls: give developers feedback, they might include some villainess route into the game just for you, and it can literally save your life! This one “plays” a bit more like a typical otome series, as the MC is the reincarnated villainess and the heroine is an arsehole. The manga is still being published but I feel that it’s nearing the end. The art is rather pleasing IMO.
Akuyaku Reijou Tensei Oji-san. Old bald guy, office worker, becomes the noble villainess of the game that his daughter is playing. He’s supposed to bully the heroine and be all high and mighty, but [s]he forgets about both all the time, doing stuff like encouraging her, picking beetles with bare hands, so goes on. Fun story, and most of the fun is from the blatant contrast between what motivated his actions as old office worker guy vs. how her actions are seen as the daughter of a ducal house.
I see that the road to Villainess enlightenment is a long one. I have my work cut out for me. Thanks for the recommendations!
This past week, despite all the drama on the ml instance and then all the tachiyomi drama, I still managed to read some manga! Some of the highlights from the past week:
- Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete! - Picked this up from last week’s general thread and it was pretty fun. It is about two former school delinquents that end up in a relationship. Only 20 chapters total, so it is quick to knock out and worth the time in my opinion. Thanks for the recommendation @[email protected]!
- Star Tripper: Planetarium Ghost Travel - I have been really enjoying this series even though just a couple chapters have been translated. The art style reminds me a lot of Western art (Adventure Time, Steven Universe, etc.), but the story is exceedingly melancholy and ponderous. The basic premise is that the galaxy is slowly falling into eternal slumber, one star system at a time. The MC is (for some reason we don’t know) immune to these effects, and travels around the galaxy visiting these “slumbering stars” and tries to preserve culture that they come across. It won 5th place in the 2023 Kono Manga ga Sugoi awards, so I feel a little justified in my love for this series so far. Also, it won for the female reader category despite being published in a seinen publication, so idk what’s up with that.
- Kono Sekai no Kouryakuhon wo Hirotte Shimaimashita - A fantasy story in which a random shopkeeper’s daughter finds a book that details tons of information about the world she lives in including hidden treasures, future events, and detailed crafting recipes. As a reader, we recognize it as a game strategy guide, but up to the current chapter, there isn’t anything resembling a player with outside knowledge yet, so I am not sure whether to call this an isekai or just a fantasy with a twist. In either case, it has been fun even though it is still early. The art is great too, and in full color.
- Yuusha to Yobareta Nochi ni: Soshite Musou Otoko wa Kazoku wo Tsukuru - This one is a mix between fantasy OP protagonist and family-oriented slice of life. I have been really enjoying it even if it isn’t breaking too much new ground. Just a silly story about a family of OP beings and their daily lives.
- Mahoutsukai Rose no Sado Life - A new discovery this past week. It features a witch from a fantasy world that isekais themself into our world. Specifically to a small island off the coast of Japan called Sado. I was not familiar with the island prior to reading this series, but it spends a lot of time going into a lot of detail about the local lay of the land. It almost feels like a travel brochure turned into a manga at some points. However, it still has story too, and it has been fun. It reminds me a lot of Shinryaku! Ika Musume with its fish out of water vibe.
That is all that I have the energy to write about right now (I typically draft these posts before bed Sunday night). I hope everybody is figuring out how to navigate a post-Tachiyomi world. I haven’t really done anything to migrate yet. My extensions are still working, but I know that if I put it off too long, things are going to suddenly break and I will be too out of date to smoothly update. If anybody has had success in migrating to something else, I would be interested to hear your success story.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
As for the Tachiyomi issue, AntsyLich (one of Tachi contributors) and Jobobby04 (maintainer of TachiyomiSY) already announced they’ll be continuing their work under the name Mihon. There’s no public repo (yet?) but there is a discord server and a subreddit (currently empty).
I’m still on Tachiyomi for now since I mostly use it as an RSS feed and read on PC (I’m also really lazy until things become unusable) but will probably keep an eye on those two. Both are able to use Tachi backups so migrating shouldn’t be a problem.
Didn’t read much last week due to lack of time and some health shenanigans so I mostly stuck to reading ongoing series (mainly what I post here) and a single oneshot I stumbled upon randomly.
Oneshot is called Scales of Briars (Ibara no Uroko) and presents a short story about a school girl who wants to die. She’s has a normal family, isn’t bullied or anything like that - the only reason for her wish is that she thinks of death as a comfortable state of peace and quiet.
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it to be honest… On one hand I’m all for exploring various topics in media, on the other I’m kind of wary of presenting suicide in a (somehow) positive light. Because of that I’m not going to link this title, I’m still mulling it over for now.
Edit: Almost forgot! I also reread Pen Pal at the End of the World. It’s another oneshot set in a post-apocalyptic world where young girl ends up writing letters with another survivor. It’s a much lighter and happy story than the previous one (and just better in general, I think).
I also read Scales of Briars and opted not to post it for similar reasons. It is certainly thought-provoking though. I am definitely going to check out Pen Pal at the End of the World though. I am on mobile and traveling for most of the day, so it will be a bit, but the synopsis has me intrigued.
One thing I do appreciate about Scales is that
Scales of Briar spoilers
author didn’t lean all the way in with “suicide looks good” and showed the last minute regret many survivors talk about.
Still doesn’t make it feel right to post though.
Reading through Pen Pal on the other hand just makes me happy.
Not a manga but I’m reading through the Solo Leveling manhwa. I’m at chapter 132 and so far it’s good. It’s a classic isekai based in South Korea where “awakened” individuals can use skills and depending on their rank can participate in raids of dungeons whose gates appear randomly throughout the country. I liked that it started off immediately with despair and a ruthless one-sided slaughter, and the art of some bosses is really cool:
Its anime adaptation also debuted recently.
Just a little correction. It’s not isekai since Sung Jin-woo doesn’t get transmigrated nor transported to another world (literally isekai in Japanese), nor it’s a reincarnation (tensei).
This specific genre is dungeon/gate (it’s interchangeable) action.
Apologies about my nerd outburst. 😅
nor it’s a reincarnation (tensei)
late chapters spoiler
it kind of does lean towards that near the end though 🤔
I haven’t gotten a chance to watch the anime yet nor have I read the manhwa before, but everything I have seen about the manhwa talks about how incredible the art is. I am planning on watching it this season when I can find the time.
