The Best New Manga of June 2015

The Science of Attack on Titan, by Rikao Yanagita
One of the many pleasures of Attack on Titan is the way author Hajime Isayama stops to explain different aspects of the world—the walls that must keep out the 50-foot Titans, the technology that allows the Survey Corps to soar through the air, the Titans themselves. This book takes that and runs with it, explaining how the walls were constructed and why the Titans behave the way they do. Author Rikao Yanagita is a Tokyo University dropout who has written a number of books on the science of fictional universes, so I think we can class this as “alt-science” rather than a reference book, but given the way Isayama has woven the biology and technology of his walled city into his story, it’s a safe bet that it will be an entertaining read.

Non Non Biyori, Vol. 1, by Atto
Non Non Biyori is a slice-of-life comedy about a quartet of girls who attend a one-room school in a small country village. One of them is from Tokyo, but there isn’t a lot of city mouse/country mouse humor in this story. What comes through instead are the strong personalities of the main characters: curiously intense fifth-grader Renge; nonconformist Natsumi; Natsumi’s older sister Komori, who doesn’t get the respect she thinks she deserves; and outsider Hotaru, who has a crush on Komori. Fans of Azumanga Daioh will find a lot to like in this series, with its outsize personalities and quirky humor, told in short chapters rather than the four-panel gag format.

Furari, by Jiro Taniguchi
Jiro Taniguchi is one of a handful of manga creators whose work has strong crossover appeal for fans of art comics and literary graphic novels. His best known book is the critically acclaimed The Walking Man, which follows an anonymous middle-aged man on strolls around his town. With a crisp line and minimal dialogue, Taniguchi brings his character’s world to life, taking in sweeping vistas, small details, and occasional interruptions. At first glance, Furari looks similar—it’s about a guy who takes walks—but this time Taniguchi has taken the inspiration from a real person, Tadataka Ino, a cartographer who set out to make the first complete map of Japan at the dawn of the 19th century. Like Ino, this nameless character not only observes but measures, draws, and records what he sees around him as he walks through old Edo (Tokyo). The combination of an interesting lead character, a richly rendered historical setting, and Taniguchi’s storytelling skill, this book might be an instant classic.

Fragments of Horror, by Junji Ito
In his full-lengh stories Gyo and Uzumaki, Japanese horror manga master Junji Ito takes ordinary things (fish, spirals) and makes them go haywire, catching the human characters unaware in a tangled web of insanity. In Fragments of Horror, he works the same magic on a small scale, with stories about a stranded hiker who survives with help from a mysterious bird-woman, a novelist who keeps fans in a dungeon for inspiration, and a woman who falls in love with a house—literally. These stories are not for the squeamish, but this is a great collection for fans of Ito’s unique brand of uncanny horror.

So Cute It Hurts!, Vol. 1, by Go Ikeyamada
At first glance, So Cute It Hurts! looks like the shojo-est shojo manga ever, and indeed, it delivers generous servings of exuberant screentones, big hair, super-cute chibis, and high schools with ridiculously overdetermined social structures. But Ikeyamada doesn’t always color within the lines, and by the end of the first volume, she has set up a story with some original twists. Twins Megumi and Mitsuru switch places, because Mitsuru, a kendo champion and ladies’ man, is about to flunk history, and Mitsuru, his sister, is a history nerd. Mitsuru goes to a tough all-boy’s school where students rank themselves according to who is the best fighter; Megumi’s school is dominated by a bully, Azusa, a model who is also the daughter of the top school official. Both twins arrive at their new schools with no clue about any of this, and immediately start mixing things up: Megumi knocks out one of the top fighters, while Mitsuru defends a bullied girl, who turns out to be deaf; he not only learns sign language to communicate with her, he starts hanging out with Megumi’s nerdy friends. Ikeyamada’s lively take on the standard shojo manga tropes makes for a highly entertaining read.

Wandering Son, Vol. 8, by Shimura Takako
The first volume of Shimura Takako’s Wandering Son won critical acclaim for its sensitive portrayal of two fifth-graders experimenting with cross-dressing and changing gender roles. The series gets deeper and more complex as it goes along, as the two protagonists move through junior high school and learn to deal with society’s expectations as well as their own conflicts—and first crushes. This volume finds Nitori and Yoshino pushing the boundaries of their own comfort—and occasionally crashing into conflict with the outside world.

Alice in Murderland, Vol. 1, by Kaori Yuki
Not to be confused with the grade Z movie of the same name, Alice in Murderland is a battle royale story that starts at a Mad Tea Party: As nine siblings gather for the annual event, their mother announces that the next head of the family will be chosen by a fight to the death. Kaori Yuki is known for her gothic-style manga The Cain Saga, Godchild, and Angel Sanctuary; this is her most recent work, still ongoing in Japan.

Tony Takezaki’s Neon Genesis Evangelion, by Tony Takezaki
Misato cuts loose, an Eva slings poop bombs, and a young Rei fights a bear-suit clad Fuyutsyki in this collection of gag comics based on Neon Genesis Evangelion. Filled with in-jokes and new takes on the familiar characters, this one-shot is a real treat for fans of the NGE anime and manga.
What manga are you reading this month?