Review: LUPIN III

 It's time once more for Old-School Month here on the Manga Test Drive (even if it's a little later than usual), and we're starting with one of the most iconic manga to come out of the 1960s.

LUPIN III (Rupan Sansei), by Monkey Punch.  First published in 1967 and first published in North America in 2003.

PLOT:

Lupin the Third is a legendary thief, always able to sneak his way into the most secure locations.  With his right-hand man Jigen at his side, Lupin travels the world while stealing treasure and the hearts of beautiful women, all the while evading the ever-vigilant Inspector Zenigata.

Review: MAID WAR CHRONICLE

I wanted to end this month on a tidy and hopeful note.  I don't know if I entirely succeeded with this choice of manga, but it's probably as good as anything I was likely to find in my boxes of books to review. 

MAID WAR CHRONICLE (Maid Senki), by RAN.  First published in 2007 and first published in North America in 2009.

PLOT:

The kingdom of Arbansbool has been without a king for years, waiting for the crown prince Alex to come of age.  On the verge of his coronation, the royal castle is attacked and young Alex must flee for his life with only a squad of royal maids to protect him.  Gifted with holy weapons from a hidden shrine, they must learn how to fight like knights to protect not just themselves but the future of the kingdom itself.

Review: THE FOOD DIARY OF MISS MAID

We could stand to read something more pleasant after that last review...perhaps a nice, soothing food manga?  With a maid?

THE FOOD DIARY OF MISS MAID (Maid-San wa Taberu Dake), by Susumu Maeya.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2022.

PLOT:

Suzume Tachibana was perfectly content working as a maid for her unnamed English master...at least, until his home was destroyed while she was away.  It's going to take a year to rebuild, so now she's stuck in Japan for a year with nothing to do but take care of herself.  There's only so many times she can tidy her tiny little apartment, so she spends most of her time wandering around and eating whatever tasty delicacies she comes across.

Review: HEROINE? SAINT? NO, I'M AN ALL-WORKS MAID (AND PROUD OF IT)!

Alright, time to tidy things up after that long, unplanned summer absence, and that means it's time to cover another round of maid manga.

HEROINE? SAINT? NO, I'M AN ALL-WORKS MAID (AND PROUD OF IT)! (Heroine? Seijo? Iie, All Works Maid desu (Horoki)!, based on the light novels by Atekichi and character designs by Yukiko with art by Keiko.  First published in 2022 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Ritsuko was once a bright young Japanese girl who became so fascinated with maids that she wanted to be one.  Now she is Melody, a poor young orphan eager to begin her career as a maid of all work for the Rudleberg family.  It'll take a lot of hard work and powerful magic to bring the family's decrepit estate and rough-around-the-edges daughter up to to the standards of nobility, but Melody is more than up to the challenge!

Melody's life is about to get a lot more challenging as she follows her young mistress Luciana to school.  There are multiple people trying to find her, whether it's because of the secret of her parentage or those with ties to her past life.

Review: DON'T TOY WITH ME, MISS NAGATORO

 It was inevitable that I would have to grapple with the series that gave us the go-to user icon/Favorite Anime Girl of online chuds everywhere.

DON'T TOY WITH ME, MISS NAGATORO (Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san), by Nanashi.  First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2019.

PLOT:

It began in the library, when Naoto accidentally dropped the manga he had been drawing in his spare time in front of a bunch of gyarus.  They all mocked it for a bit and then left...except for Hayase Nagatoro.

Despite being a year younger than him, she knows weakness when she sees it.  She needles him for ages, until he's on the verge of tears.  After that, it seems like she goes out of her way every day to tease him as he blushes and freezes.  Is it mere bullying, or something more complicated between them?  Naoto isn't sure, but neither can he quite gather up enough courage to make her stop.

Review: FUTABA-KUN CHANGE

Considering we're still in the midst of a Ranma 1/2 reboot, now's a good time to talk about its pervy weirdo cousin of a manga.

FUTABA-KUN CHANGE (Futaba-kun Chenji), by Hiroshi Aro.  First published in 1991 and first published in North America in 1998.

PLOT:

Futaba Shimeru thought he was just another ordinary high school guy.  He went to classes, hung out with his wrestling team, and pined for the pretty Misaki from afar.  Then something strange happens when he thinks of Misaki during a private session with a porno magazine: he turns into a woman! It turns out everyone in Futuba's family can change sex whenever they are excited, and can only change back when their thoughts calm down.  That's a hard thing for Futuba to do when his teammates are searching for the cute girl with the sweet wrestling moves, his sister keeps getting horny over him, and he's forced to enroll in school as his female self.

Holiday Review #19: TALES OF THE TENDO FAMILY

There was good shojo manga to be found this year, ones that relied not on webnovel buzzwords but on good old-fashioned drama and trauma.

TALES OF THE TENDO FAMILY (Tendo-ke Monogatari), by Ken Saito.  First published in 2014 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Ran Hojo was sent to settle her family's debts by marrying Masato Tendo, the middle child of a noble family.  In despair, she throws herself into the river only to be rescued by a nameless peasant girl.  The peasant girl offers to save Ran by taking her place, in the hopes that she will die a noble death by aiding another.  Masato is a cruel, twisted young man who immediately sees through "Ran's" deception, but her willingness to die has him intrigued.  If she wants to die so badly, she can do so by helping him navigate the intrigues of his equally twisted family.

Holiday Review #17: ROYAL TAILOR: CLOTHIER TO THE CROWN

Of course there were plenty of lady-led fantasy titles, and this is one of the rare ones that didn't involve reincarnation or villainesses or anything like that.

ROYAL TAILOR: CLOTHIER TO THE CROWN (Royal Tailor: Okyu no Saihoshi), by Nakasane Nowaki.  First published in 2021 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Long in the past, humanity reigned supreme over the various other supernatural creatures of the world.  There was a great war and humanity lost, and those that survived are pariahs in this world.  Hana is one of those humans, a young woman who learned how to make clothes during her time in an orphanage.  She's been hired by a prestigious tailor shop to help their clients to obtain the outfits that best compliment them, be they elven nobility, lioness princesses, or undead bridegrooms.

Holiday Review #16: FRIDAY AT THE ATELIER

Seinen magazines seems to be the place to go these days if you want quirky romance manga starring adults, much like this one.

FRIDAYS AT THE ATELIER (Kinyoubi wa Atelier de), by Sakura Hamada.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Emiko is so exhausted with her life that she's considering suicide, but then she comes across a man who has tripped in the street, spilling a bag of fish.  The man is Shunsui, an artist, and he believes Emiko to be the perfect model for his work.  That's how she finds herself at his studio, nude and covered in fish.  It's an odd arrangement to be sure, but Emiko usually gets a free meal of freshly cooked fish out of it so that's something.  The longer this goes on, the more Emiko wonders if Shunsui wants more from here than mere modeling...and if she does as well.

Holiday Review #12: IN THE NAME OF THE MERMAID PRINCESS

 Ok, after all that we need something cute, frothy, and feminine.  Surely a cute shojo manga from Shojo Beat can deliver that!

...right?

IN THE NAME OF THE MERMAID PRINCESS (Mio no Na no Moto ni), written by Yoshino Fumikawa with art by Miya Tashiro.  First published in 2020 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Princess Mio was born a mermaid, but her kingdom of Blognig severely persecutes demi-humans like her.  As such, she is hidden from the world, forced to take magical medicines to hide her true form.  Only her father and a select few servants know the truth, and all of them go out of their way to avoid touching her.

As her sixteenth birthday approaches, she is assigned a tutor to teach her the ways of her fiance's kingdom.  This tutor, Yuri, refuses to humor her kingdom's prejudices and encourages her to embrace her true form and abilities, putting the both of them in peril.  It's up to Mio to use her abilities to save Yuri and escape to a world where they both can safely exist.

Holiday Review #11: BUTAREBA: THE STORY OF A MAN TURNED INTO A PIG

 It's true that a lot of isekai protagonists could be described as pigs, but usually it's not THIS literal.

BUTAREBA: THE STORY OF A MAN TURNED INTO A PIG (Buta no Reba wa Kanetsu Shiro), based on the light novels by Takuma Shikai and illustrations by Asagi Tohsaka, with art by Minami.  First published in 2020 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Once he was a man who happened to eat some raw pig liver.  One moment he passed out at the rail station, the next he was reborn as an ordinary hog in a world far removed from modern-day Japan.  It's there that he meets Jess, a slave girl who is able to hear his thoughts and thus realize he is not just some pig.  Before they can work on changing him back, he'll need to help Jess with a scheme to obtain a magic crystal, a scheme that threatens to become deadly for one of them.

Holiday Review #9: THE ANGEL NEXT DOOR SPOILS ME ROTTEN

As far as straight romance manga goes, there was unfortunately plenty of light novel-based wish-fulfillment fodder like this one.

THE ANGEL NEXT DOOR SPOILS ME ROTTEN (Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken), based on the light novels by Saekisan and illustrations by Hanekoto, with art by Wan Shibata and storyboards by Suzu Yuki.  First published in 2022 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Amane is your average Japanese high school kid, the kind who lives in a messy apartment, subsists entirely off of take-out, and generally goes through life unnoticed.  He certainly could never compare to the likes of Miharu, the "angel" of their class and his next-door neighbor.  That's why he's so surprised to see her sitting alone in a rainy playground without so much as an umbrella.  What begins as a simple kind gesture to her leads to Miharu taking it upon herself to regularly feed him and clean his place.  Is this the beginning of a romance or merely a relationship of convenience?

Holiday Review #4: GANNIBAL

For those who wanted horror manga that was a little more recent and gruesome, there were also releases like this one.

GANNIBAL (Gannibaru), by Masaaki Ninomiya.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Officer Daigo Agawa thought he was getting a break when he was assigned to Kuge, a remote village deep in the mountains.  The people there seem friendly enough, even if they constantly tease him for being a newcomer.  Then he finds the gruesome remains of an old woman in the woods, seemingly the victim of a bear but also bearing what appear to be human bite marks.  

From that moment things become tense between Daigo and the many members of the local Goto family.  Daigo can't help but think about his predecessor, who claimed that the village was full of cannibals before disappearing entirely.  He's determined to find the truth, but doing so may put him and his family in terrible danger.

Holiday Review #1: EDEN OF WITCHES

This year might feature the most diverse line-up we've had since I started doing these holiday reviews.  A big part of that is that we've seen a lot of new manga publishers start up, including this debut work from a French manga publisher.

EDEN OF WITCHES (Majo no Eden/L'eden de sorcieres), by Yumeji.  First published in 2021 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Long ago, plants, animals, and humans lived in harmony.  Then the humans began indiscriminately began killing the animals, and the plants and animals hid themselves from humanity.  A select few humans possessed the ability to sense and communicate with the plants, but they too were driven into hiding inside their own personal oases while the rest of humanity clings to life.

Inside one of these oases is Pili, an apprentice witch.  She has never ventured into the outside world, but her hand is forced when her mentor falls ill.  Instead of finding help she inadvertently leads an imperial inquisitor to their home who proceeds to kill her mentor and steal their precious plants.  In all the confusion, Pili summons an amurd - a power animal-plant hybrid spirit that she had previously planted.  Together the two must wander forth into the world to fulfill the dying wish of Pili's mentor: to find Eden, the last enclave of the witches.

Review: FLYING WITCH

There are many manga that posit what it would be like if magic and witches were real.  This is possibly the most ordinary notion of that idea possible.

FLYING WITCH (Furaingu Witchi), by Chihiro Ishizuka.  First published in 2012 and first published in North America in 2017.

PLOT:

As far as Kei and Chinatsu knew, they were simply hosting their big city cousin Makoto while she went to school with them in rural Aomori.  What they didn't know is that Makoto is a witch in training who has come there to further her magical studies.  So while they help her get her bearings and make some friends, she helps them navigate some of the supernatural things she encounters.

Review: THE GOOD WITCH OF THE WEST

 This year things will be especially witchy at The Manga Test Drive.  Witches can take all sorts of shapes in the world of manga, including as innocent shojo heroines.

THE GOOD WITCH OF THE WEST (Nishi no Yoki Majo), based on the novels by Noriko Ogiwara with art by Haruhiko Momokawa.  First published in 2004 and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

Firiel Dee is a gentle girl growing up in the countryside alongside her loving foster parents, her reclusive biological father, and his brilliant but terse apprentice Rune.  On her fifteenth birthday, Firiel is given a beautiful necklace with a blue stone, an heirloom from her late mother.  In truth, Firiel's late mother was a runaway princess and this jewel marks Firiel as a potential candidate to become the next queen.  No sooner does Firiel learn about this than her life is thrown into chaos.  Her foster family is murdered, her bio father has fled, Rune has been captured by a cult, and the only way for Firiel to make it right is to embrace her royal heritage.

Review: A SCHOOL FROZEN IN TIME

Fittingly enough, we end this month on a distinctly spooky school, which has become the site of a very strange mystery. 

A SCHOOL FROZEN IN TIME (Tsumetai Kosha no Toki wa Tomeru), based on the novels by Mizuki Tsujimura with art by Naoshi Arakawa.  First published in 2007 and first published in North America in 2021.

PLOT:

It was seemingly just another snowy school day for Hiroshi, Mizuki, and their circle of friends.  It takes a while for them to realize that they are trapped in the school with no one else around, no cell phone service, and no way to get out of the building.  Stranger still, all their watches and clocks stop at the same time and mysterious messages start appearing on the chalkboards and coming through their phones.  It all seems to be tied to the suicide of a classmate three months prior, a classmate who has seemingly disappeared from their photos and memories.  In order to rediscover

Review: GAKUEN HEAVEN

 It's back-to-school time here at the Manga Test Drive, which in the manga world means attending anything but your ordinary Japanese high school.  That's certainly the case with our first review, a visual novel adaptation about a very special (and very gay) school.

GAKUEN HEAVEN, based on the visual novel by SPRAY with art by You Higuri.  First published in 2004 and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

Keita Itou is a lucky boy.  While he seemingly has no outstanding qualities, he has been accepted to the prestigious boys' school Bell Liberty Academy where every boy has a special talent or quality.  Once he gets there, he is welcomed by the very tall, handsome student body (and in particular by the student council president Niwa).  Soon enough Keita is swept up in a school scavenger hunt where the winner is granted whatever they want.  The competition is fierce, especially once a group of boys use this opportunity to get to Niwa by attacking Keita.

Review: YOWAMUSHI PEDAL

It's once again time for the Summer Olympics, so in turn I'm going to be looking at some sports manga (and in particular those featuring sports you're likely to see at the Olympics), and that includes bike racing.

YOWAMUSHI PEDAL (Yowamushi Pedaru), by Wataru Watanabe.  First published in 2008 and first published in North America in 2015.

PLOT:

Sakamichi Onoda is an otaku who loves nothing more than his regular trips to Akibahara.  It doesn't matter that he lives in the hilly countryside nearly 50km away from the heart of Tokyo - he's happy to bike his way there and back if it lets him save that much more money for another vending machine toy.  Eventually Sakamichi's endurance is noticed by a couple of classmates who are part of the school's biking team.  They eventually convince Sakamichi to give them a chance, but the transition from casual trips to Tokyo on an everyday bike to serious races on sporting models is a rough, even perilous one.

Review: THE RUTHLESS COMMANDER AND HIS REINCARNATED WARHORSE

 There's still not a lot of BL isekai out there, but this particular one stands out by virtue of having one of the wackiest premises I've seen.

THE RUTHLESS COMMANDER AND HIS REINCARNATED WARHORSE (Shouwaru Boukun Kishu to Nagasare Senba), based on the light novel by Sakashima with art by Nomoto Narita.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2023.

PLOT:

Deep in a forest, a young foal is born.  Once he was a modern-day Japanese man, but now he's enjoying the freedom and simplicity of life as a horse.  Then one day he encounters Lieutenant Commander Felix, a strict but handsome young soldier.  Felix takes this horse (now named Aleksei) for himself, and Aleksei commits himself to becoming his loyal steed.  When the two are attacked by bandits, Aleksei undergoes a strange transformation that allows the two to become closer than ever before.