Review: NEGIMA! MAGISTER NEGI MAGI

 It's back to school time here at The Manga Test Drive!  God knows there were plenty of magic school harem manga to pick from in the 2000s, and while today's title is not strictly a magical school title it did involve both schools and magic and was one of the most popular examples of its kind.

NEGIMA! MAGISTER NEGI MAGI (Maho Sensei Negima!), by Ken Akamatsu.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2004.

 

PLOT:

Negi Springfield is a magical genius, a boy who managed to graduate from the magic academy at the tender age of 10.  Curiously, his first assignment after graduation is to become an English teacher at Mahora Academy, a non-magical, all-girl's school in Japan.  He's got his work cut out for him, considering that he has to keep over 30 rowdy girls in check, share a room with the hot-tempered Asuna, and keep her from blabbing to everyone that he has magic powers.  

Review: VAMPIRE DORMITORY

 Don't think that I'm going to leave the ladies out of this month, though.  There's a long tradition of girls posing as boys in shojo manga and this...is not the best example of that.

VAMPIRE DORMITORY (Vanpaia Domitori), by Ema Toyama.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2021.

PLOT:

Mito Yamamoto just can't catch a break.  Her parents are dead, she's been kicked out of school, and now just lost her job.  She's been posing as a man to protect herself, but if anything that just brings her nothing but unwanted attention from girls and women.  It's enough to drive her to attempt suicide...until Ruka came along.  

It's been a decade since Ruka felt the urge to feed on a human, but he can't seem to keep himself away from this mysterious boy.  He makes Mito an offer they cannot refuse: to become his thrall.  Mito will be enrolled in his fancy vampire high school, stay in his lavish dorm, and work alongside him at a butler cafe.  In return, Mito will allow Ruka to drink his blood and accept whatever care and affection he can offer (since it will make Mito's blood even sweeter).  Mito's fine with all of that, but how is she going to keep her true gender under wraps in a school full of handsome bloodsuckers?

Review: YUBISAKI MILK TEA

Puberty is a time when a lot of people (be they real or fictional) explore their gender presentation.  This particular manga is not the best representation of it, though.

YUBISAKI MILK TEA (Yubisaki Miruku Ti), by Tomochaka Miyano.  First published in 2002 and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

Yoshinori isn't entirely sure what to do.  First, his childhood friend Hikari starting acting weirdly around him.  Then he finds himself drawn to his brainy classmate Kurokawa.  When Kurokawa starts tutoring him, jealousies flare and Yoshinari has to come to terms with himself, his friends, and his fondness for cross-dressing even as growing up makes all of these things more complicated.

Review: PETER GRILL AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S TIME

It's so hard (pun not intended) to find a good sex comedy manga, and crap like this isn't helping things.

PETER GRILL AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S TIME (Pita Guriru to Kenja no Jikan), by Daisuke Hiyama.  First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Peter Grill has proven himself to be the strongest warrior in the land.  He hopes that this amazing feat will finally allow him to marry his beloved but deeply sheltered girlfriend Luvellia, but things get complicated when he's cornered by the ditzy but determined ogre sisters Mimi and Lisa.  They want him to impregnate them both with the strongest warriors, and they're not above using both blackmail and Peter's own weak will against him.

Now Peter is caught in the midst of his hardest battle yet, as he tries to hide his affairs from Luvellia (and her extremely strict father/guild master) all while fending off a growing harem of demi-human ladies demanding his seed in increasingly outrageous ways.

Review: TO SIR, WITHOUT LOVE: I'M DIVORCING YOU

 February means another round of Bad Romance manga here at the Manga Test Drive, and it's only fitting to start with a romance that begins with a demand for divorce.

TO SIR, WITHOUT LOVE: I'M DIVORCING YOU (Haikei Mishiranu Danna-sama, Rikonshite Itdakimasu), based on the light novels by Kori Hisakawa and character designs by Airumu, with art by Iroto Tsumugi.  First published in 2023 and first published in North America in 2025.

PLOT:

The last thing Byletta wanted was marriage.  Unfortunately she does not get a choice in the matter, as her father has married her off to a promising military officer named Arnald Swangen.  No sooner is she brought to her husband's household than he departs for war.  That's no problem for Byletta, as it gives her plenty of time to focus on setting up her own dress shop, winning over her younger sister-in-law, and reforming her drunken, wayward father-in-law.  In return she has only one condition: when the war ends, she wants a divorce.

Eight years later, the war is over and the first letter Arnald receives is Byletta's divorce ultimatum.  He has no desire to let her go and she has no desire to stay, so the two make a wager: he will grant her a divorce...if he cannot manage to impregnate her within a month's time.

Review: GATE KEEPERS

Of course, for every successful sci-fi manga there are far more that fail to find an audience outside of Japan and this is just one of them.

GATE KEEPERS (Geto Kipazu), based on an original story by Hiroshi Yamaguchi with art by Keiji Goto.  First published in 1999 and first published in North America in 2003.

PLOT:

It is 1969, and Shun Ukiya is hoping just to make a good impression on his first day of high school.  On his way there he is waylaid by a strange man with a suitcase machine gun.  Shun escapes with the help of a girl in a mask named Ruriko and by producing an equally strange power from his own hands.  No sooner is Shun saved than he is swept up by AEGIS, a secret organization using his school as a front while protecting the world from alien invaders.  He is immediately declared captain of the "Gate Keepers," which just so happens to be a team of cute and quirky high-school girls ready to fight back against alien invaders and the human traitor worki
ng with them.

Review: SUIHELIBE!

 This one is a decidedly more lighthearted take on sci-fi, dug up from the dregs of the CMX library.

SUIHELIBE! (Suieribe!), by Naomi Azuma.  First published in 2006 and first published in North America in 2008.

PLOT:

Tetsu just wanted to join a club, but when he pokes his head into the biology club's classroom, he finds a cute girl climbing out of a crashed UFO.  This is Lan from the planet Noid, who needs to capture a variety of escaped alien lifeforms so she can graduate.  The student council are all too ready to shut down the biology club due to its lack of members, so it's up to Tetsu and Lan to convince others to join them all while capturing more alien creatures and trying (and failing) to keep Lan's identity a secret.

Holiday Review #23: KINGDOM

 They say Christmas is a time of miracles, and there certainly were a lot of manga license miracles happening this year, including this long-requested shonen title.

KINGDOM (Kingudamu), by Yasuhisa Hara.  First published in 2006 and first published in North America in 2025.

PLOT:

Over 2000 years ago, the land that would become eastern China is divided between many different warring kingdoms.  Far away from all that is Xin and Piao, two young orphans in the countryside forced to slave away for the town leader.  They sneak away to practice fighting whenever possible in the hopes of become great generals.  Their sparring attracts the attention of a passing lord, who buys Piao's freedom and offers to train him at the royal court. 

 Not long thereafter, there is a revolt at court by the emperor's younger brother and Piao is slain in the process.  With his dying words, he sets Xin on a mission of vengeance and a fateful meeting with the young king of Qin himself.

Holiday Review #18: WASH IT ALL AWAY

Ok, after all that horny nonsense we need a palate cleanser of a manga.  I thought this next book would be ideal for that purpose but after reading it I'm not entirely sure...

WASH IT ALL AWAY (Kirei ni Shite Moraemasu ka), by Mitsuru Hattori.  First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2025.

PLOT:

Wakame Kinme runs a small laundry shop in the seaside town of Atami.  The locals love her because of the care she puts into each order, whether it's the smallest repairs or her willingness to do deliveries.  You'd never guess that such a kind and happy young woman was suffering from amnesia, unable to remember anything prior to two years ago.

Holiday Review #17: GUSHING OVER MAGICAL GIRLS

Not all of this year's yuri titles were so sweet and heart-warming, though.  This one was particularly notorious, even before it got an anime, as well as a rare non-isekai release from J-Novel Club.

GUSHING OVER MAGICAL GIRLS (Maho Shojo ni Akogarete), by Akihiro Ononaka.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2025.

PLOT:

Hiiragi Utena loves magical girls, and in particular loves watching Tres Magia fight the forces of evil.  That's why when a strange little creature named Venalita offers to transform her, she accepts without a second thought.  Utena doesn't become a magical girl but instead a magical villain, one who uses magically kinky methods to punish her foes.  At first Utena is reluctant, but with each new battle she learns more about her favorite magical girls...and herself.

Holiday Review #13: BETRAYED BY THE HERO, I FORMED A MILF PARTY WITH HIS MOM!

 That last review represented one of the earlier, classier isekai offerings!  These days, it seems the only way these creators can distinguish themselves is by getting hornier and stupider than ever before.

BETRAYED BY THE HERO, I FORMED A MILF PARTY WITH HIS MOM! (Yusha ni Zenbi Ubawareta Ore wa Yusha no Hahaoya to Party wo Kumimashita!), written by Ishino Yassan with art by Makoto Kuon.  First published in 2022 and first published in North America in 2025.

PLOT:

Ceres had been happy to be a member of the Guiding Light adventuring group...until its dirtbag leader Zechs kicked him out in order to monopolize all the cute girls.  That's fine with Ceres, who prefers older women anyway (unlike seemingly everyone else in this world).  He happens upon Zech's mother Shizuko at the local slave market, whom he adored as a child.  Ceres takes it upon himself to purchase her and show her just how worthy of love she still is.  Lucky for him that she's also a former S-rank adventurer, and that her equally illustrious colleagues also just happen to be attractive, big-breasted older women in need of an escape from their unhappy marriages.

Holiday Review #12: CAMPFIRE COOKING IN ANOTHER WORLD WITH MY ABSURD SKILL

 Of course, most of the fantasy manga we got this year was nowhere near so ambitious.  Most of it was your bog-standard isekai light-novel adaptations, like this one which hit print for the first time this year.

CAMPFIRE COOKING IN ANOTHER WORLD WITH MY ABSURD SKILL (Tondemo Sukiru de Isekai Horo Meshi), based on the original light novels by Ren Eguchi and illustrations by Masa, with art by Akagishi K.  First published in 2017 and first published in 2025.

PLOT:

Mukouda was just another twenty-something salaryman when he found himself magically transported to a fantastical world by accident.  Possessing nothing but a bit of coin, the clothes on his back, and the ability to identify things and purchase food and supplies from his world via a magical stat screen, he ends up trading his services as a cook to a group of adventurers in return for protection on his travels.  His cooking ends up attracting the attention of a powerful fenrir, who is happy to provide Mukouda with fantastic beasts to cook up in return for three square meals a day.

Holiday Review #9: ASSASSIN & CINDERELLA

 Of course, there were plenty of spicy romance manga to go around as well.

Doesn't necessarily mean they were all good ones, though.

ASSASSIN & CINDERELLA (Asashin & Shinderera), by Yuzo Natsuno.  First published in 2022 and first published in North America in 2025.

PLOT:

Neneko (aka "Ri") was supposed to be spying on the notorious, cold-hearted assassin Mi and reporting all that she could gather back to her agency.  Unfortunately "Mi" (aka Omi) has known from the start that his adorable new girlfriend was actually a spy.  To literally save her life, Omi makes Neneko an offer she can't refuse: she can continue to pose as a spy...so long as she marries him.  How is she ever going to get any spying done with a deadly new fiance who can't keep his eyes (or hands) off of her?

Holiday Review #6: DON'T HOLD BACK, LORD HADES

 Of course, most of the josei we got this took the form of smutty ladicomi from Seven Seas such as this series, which itself is part of a wider trend of creatives trying to reframe the myth of Hades and Persephone into something more romantic and equitable.

DON'T HOLD BACK, LORD HADES (Gamanshinaide, Hades-Sama.  Reikoku na Meiou no Junai wa Sokoshirenaihodo Fukakude, Omoi ), written by Foxies Busho with art by Clione.  First published in 2022 and first published in North America in 2025.

PLOT:

Persephone is the youngest of the Greek gods and goddess, an eager-to-please newbie tasked with maintaining the gardens of Olympus.  On the rare occasion a flower in this divine realm dies, it is whisked away by Hades, lord of the dead.  This is how these two meet, and it is during this encounter that Eros plants his arrow into Hades at the command of Zeus himself.  Hades hides himself away inside his dark realm to contain his overwhelming desire for Persephone.  He could have never expected that she would take it upon herself to travel to his realm and offer herself freely in the name of ending his suffering.

Review: EUREKA SEVEN: GRAVITY BOYS & LIFTING GIRL

During the brief time period that Bandai Entertainment tried to be a manga publisher in the US, the majority of their titles were manga spinoffs to the shows they licensed.  They clearly hoped that name recognition alone would carry them, but titles like this one demonstrate why that strategy didn't work.

EUREKA SEVEN: GRAVITY BOYS & LIFTING GIRL (Eureka Seben Guravuiti Boizu & Rifutingu Garu), based on the original story by BONES and script by Dai Sato, with art by Miki Kizuki.  First published in 2005 and first published in North America in 2007.

PLOT:

Sumner Sturgeon comes from a rich family and everyone expects him to follow in his father's footsteps and join the military.  Sumner himself doesn't know what he wants to do with his life.  What he does know is that he loves lifting, a sport where people surf on the air.  He'll even sneak off-campus to participate in secret tournaments, although his real goal is to observe the rising star known only as B.B.

In truth, B.B. is actually Ruri, a poor girl who poses as a boy so she can get around the rules and use her lift boarding skills to get herself out of the slums.  The two meet by chance, the first of many intersections between their very different lives and what lifting means to them and those around them.

Review: BRAIN POWERED

I guess it's finally time for me to look at this manga adaptation of one of the worst mecha shows in history, albeit from a surprising source.

BRAIN POWERED (Buren Pawado), based on the story by Yoshiyuki Tomino with art by Yukiru Sugisaki.  First published in 1998 and first published in North America in 2003.

PLOT:

The earth is under attack as massive, strange discs rise from the bottom of the ocean, bringing destruction in their wake along with the strange organic robots inside them.  A mysterious group known as Orphan is gathering as many of these plates and robots as possible, to study them for reasons known only to their leaders.  Yu Isami doesn't care about any of that, though.  His parents may run Orphan, but he just tries his best to keep his head low and do what he's told.

When his beliefs are confronted by a mysterious pilot named Hime Utsumiya, he choses to defect and joins her on the giant floating fortress called Novis Noah.  There they nurture the robots (known as "Powereds") like children, working in partnership with them like parent and child to oppose Orphan.  

Review: I WAS SOLD DIRT CHEAP BUT MY POWER LEVEL IS OFF THE CHARTS

It's mecha month once more, and that includes isekai manga.  There's been a recent spate of isekai light novel adaptations featuring mecha and this is...certainly one of them.

I WAS SOLD DIRT CHEAP BUT MY POWER LEVEL IS OFF THE CHARTS (Class Saiyasunede Urareta Orewa, Jitsuwa Saikyo Parameter), based on the light novels by RYOMA and original character designs by Susumu Koroi with art by Cambria Bakuhatsu Tarou.  First published in 2021 and first published in North America in 2025.

PLOT:

For Yuta and his classmates, it was just supposed to be an ordinary class trip. Then their entire bus was magically transported to another world expressly for the purpose of being sold off as slaves.  Those found to possess a high magical power (such as Yuta’s crush and his best friend) are sold for a fortune to nearby lords and kingdoms to pilot powerful, ancient mecha suits to fight their own petty struggles.  Those found lacking are sold off for practically nothing for cheap labor…like Yuta.  What Yuta doesn’t know is that his magic levels are so strong that they could not be accurately measured.  He’ll unwittingly use that power to escape slavery, make some friends, and eventually find his way into the cockpit of one of those magical mecha on his own terms.

Review: SCHOOL ZONE

It's the perfect time of year to look at yet another series from a legendary horror mangaka...just maybe not her best one.

SCHOOL ZONE (Sukuuru Zoon), by Kanako Inuki.  First published in 1996 and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

It looks like just another ordinary school building, but within it boundaries are terrible things.  There are murderous ghosts, identity-stealing yokai, abandoned dolls, and more.  Only a few unlucky children can perceive these terrible apparitions, and none of them are quite the same afterwards.

Review: WILD 7

 Let's cap off this month with another 1960s gekika title, albeit one focusing on people fighting crime instead of committing them.

WILD 7 (Wairudo Sebun), by Mikiya Mochizuki.  First published in 1969 and first published in North America in 2002.

PLOT:

Sometimes, there are criminals that the police cannot handle.  They commit the most horrendous crimes, but they rely on loopholes, lawyers, and the basic decency of the cops to slip out of the grasp of the law.  In those cases, the only solution is to bring in Wild 7.  They are a gang of former criminals and societal outcasts, who are feared by the criminal underbelly and loathed by the everyday cops they outrank.  They have been deputized by the government to bring in the worst of the worst by any means possible - dead or alive.

Review: STEEL ANGEL KURUMI

We go from isekai maids to robot maids as I dig up this forgotten bit of nonsense from ADV's manga division.

STEEL ANGEL KURUMI (Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi), by Kaishaku.  First published in 1997 and first published in North America in 2003.

PLOT:

In an alternate version of the Taisho era, Dr. Ayanokoji is on the run.  The army wants to seize his plans for his "Automated Dolls," and he's willing to do anything to protect them.  Nakahito is a cowardly young orphan who happens to stumble upon Dr. Ayanokoji's hideout in the middle of a dare.  He awakens one of his Dolls with an (accidental) kiss, and she pledges her eternal devotion to him.  Now Nakahito has a robot maid who will protect him from anything, including her mechanical 'sisters' and those who would wield them as super soldiers.