Graphic novels read in July 2025 - Japanese gold
In July, I continued my manga reading. Some brief thoughts and ratings below:
Berserk Deluxe vols 2-5 by Kentaro Miura (9.5/10) - I finished The Golden Age arc and it was just as good as everyone says! Dark fantasy perfectly executed. It’s gut-wrenching emotionally, and I’m taking a break after the Golden Age arc, but I’m very much looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Golden Kamuy vols 11-31 by Satoru Noda (9/10) - I finished Golden Kamuy and it really was a wild ride! Some of the best craziness, action and humour that I’ve come across (in any medium).
Insomniacs after School vols 1-2 by Makoto Ojiro (9/10) - I decided to take a little break from the intensity of Berserk and read something a bit lighter. I picked this up after reading Seth’s recommendation. It was delightful, beautiful and romantic, with stunning artwork that superbly captures the full gamut of emotions and effortlessly moves between cartoony, naturalistic and romanticised.
Reading volume 1 was a blissful experience. But also I caught myself thinking that I am going to flip out if all this ends in tragedy! I don’t want any Inio Asano-style angst here, please - I just want this to stay feel-good and optimistic. I just want to be happy for this boy, girl and cat!
So it was with some trepidation that I picked up vol 2. Fortunately, it largely carried on in the same cosy tone. But it also didn’t add that much to vol 1.. So I’ve actually decided that I don’t want to read any further because, in this instance, I don’t want any drama and I don’t want any change. I want these characters to permanently stay in their happy bubble, always on the cusp of falling in love (even if they don’t know it yet). They are fictional characters, so they can do that!
Pluto vol 5 by Naoki Urasawa (8/10) - This series got overshadowed by Berserk, but I will come back to finish it off.
Tower Dungeon vol 1 by Tsutomu Nihei (7/10) - I love the setting of this new fantasy series - a huge floating tower, teeming with undead and weird monsters. The first volume is very much an intro to this tower crawl, and there’s not much drama to get attached to yet. The art is awesome in some places and confusing in others. I look forward to further volumes and hope the setting will get increasingly weird and the story will become more character-driven.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run vol 1 by Hirohiko Araki (7/10) - I’ve seen this rated as the second best manga ever (behind Berserk), but this volume was good, but far from great. I imagine it will improve as the series progresses..
Dogsred vol 2 by Satoru Noda (7/10) - Seems to have lost some of the momentum of the first volume. The main character’s quirky (and strong) personality is carrying this.
The Bugle Call: Song of War vol 1 by Mozuku Sora and Higoro Toumori (5/10) - I was keen to try another fantasy series, and saw this praised and described as a fantasy version of the X-Men. I was looking forward to it, but was left disappointed. The story elements were very derivative, and the characters were neither convincing nor interesting. Also, I hated the aesthetic designs - especially the whistle helmet and the representation of sound as a Tron-like circuit line.
Link to reddit discussion here.