2020 In the Rear View Mirror (and Holiday Giveaway Winner)

 First of all, I have to thank everyone who participated in this year's Holiday Review Giveaway.  I've never gotten so many responses in the 8 1/2 years I've been running this blog, and it was interesting seeing all of your responses.  Still, I had to pick a winner and this year the winner of the $25 RightStuf gift certificate  is....Ahavah22!

Witch Hat Atelier has been absolutely fantastic--the art is gorgeous, the characters are interesting, and the fantasy world has been slowly but surely getting more complex. Highly recommended!

Congratulations!  Please send me a DM at the Manga Test Drive Twitter account and we'll get that gift certificate to you as soon as possible.  Also I am in perfect agreement with this comment - Witch Hat Atelier was one of the best manga I read last year, and my love and admiration for it has only grown with each new volume.  It absolutely deserved all the awards it won this year.

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Like most people, I'm more than ready to put this accursed year behind me.  It was a year where a lot of personal plans got put on hold, if not outright cancelled.  It was a lonely year.  It was a distracting year, something a lot of you probably noticed with how frequently I failed to finish theme months.  

Still, there were positives to be found.  The manga market as a whole managed to thrive even in the face of a terrible economy and extended shutdowns, and these days it's hard to keep up with all the titles getting licensed.  I too managed to thrive, at least as much as anyone could under such circumstances.  I did a couple of podcasts, my Disaster Report on Weiss Kreuz got a lot of views and positive feedback, and I got a panel into Otakon Online (and thus made my first video ever).  I even managed to finally hit my first monetary goal on Patreon (at least, for a little while) and gave the site a long-needed make-over.

It's hard to say at this point what 2021 and the 9th year of the Manga Test Drive will look like.  I want to hope that will be a productive one.  I'd certainly like to keep my Patreon income growing.  There is one thing that I do know for certain: so long as you keep reading them, I'll keep writing reviews and more.  

Holiday Review: THE ROSE OF VERSAILLES

Yeah...anyone who has been reading this blog for a while or follows me on Twitter knows that this review has been a long time coming. 

After all, my fascination with old shojo is very well-documented.  Then there's the fact that we waited FIVE YEARS for this series to finally reach print, and if not for shipping delays it would have taken this same spot last year.  So all that's left to ask is this: was it worth the wait?  

THE ROSE OF VERSAILLES (Berusaiyu no Bara), by Riyoko Ikeda.  First published in 1972 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Marie Antoinette is the precocious and pampered youngest child of Austrian empress Maria Therese.  When young Marie is sent of to France to wed the young Dauphin, her family wonders if she will be able to adapt to the responsibilities of royalty within the decadent, scheming court of Versailles.  Their fears are soon proven correct, as the young princess begins to lose herself in spending and her own emotions.

Oscar Francois de Jarjayes is the youngest child of a French general.  Raised as a boy and her father's heir, her first assignment as a soldier is to protect Marie Antoinette on her way to Versailles.  At first Oscar is skeptical of the coquettish princess and court life, but soon find herself caught up in its many scandals and won over by the princess's innocent and tender heart.

Holiday Review: SPY X FAMILY

The holidays are a time about gathering with family and loved ones, something that's a lot harder to do this year, so why not read a manga that's all about found families and other heartwarming things?

Y'know, like espionage and assassins.

SPY X FAMILY, by Tatsuya Endo.  First published in 2019, and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Twilight is one of the finest spies in the world, but he has his work cut out for him with his latest mission.  To get close to his target, he has to infiltrate an elite academy as a family man.  He happens upon an orphan to play his daughter, oblivious to her ability to read minds.  He also happens upon a pretty, quiet young office worker, unaware that she sidelines as a deadly assassin.  The only thing more challenging for them than hiding their secrets may be figuring out how to act like a normal family.

Holiday Review: ENIALE & DEWIELA

Speaking of making great art this year, there are few mangaka making art as great as Witch Hat Atelier creator Kamome Shirahama.  This year saw the release of her first manga, but could it possibly be as divine as its premise?

ENIALE & DEWIELA (Enidevi), by Kamome Shirahama.  First published in 2012 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Eniale and Dewiela are an angel and demon respectively.  They're meant to save/harvest souls on behalf of their respective bosses, but these two are just as likely to get distracted with earthly pleasures and petty fights than anything else.  Still, when opportunity presents itself, be it a lost baby or a desperate young girl, they work all the magic and miracles they can employ to succeed.

Holiday Reviews: KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF EIZOUKEN!

We've spent most of this month honoring some of the best (and worst) art that manga in 2020 had to offer.  It's only fitting then that we look at a manga that's all about making art - animation, in this case.

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF EIZOUKEN! (Eizouken ni wa Te o Dasu na!), by Sumito Oowara.  First published in 2016 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Ever since she was little, Asakusa has been fascinated by animation and exploration, filling up sketchbooks full of wild landscapes and mechanical ideas.  One day, she and her money-best friend Kanamori get swept up in a chase with Mizusaki, a rich girl with a keen eye for drawing people and motion.  Together they decide that they should found a club to make their own anime, but it's going to take a lot more than talent to make their dream come true.

Holiday Reviews: BLOOD ON THE TRACKS

If you wanted something just as serious as My Broken Mariko but far more chilling, then 2020 delivered just that with Vertical's release of Shuzo Oshimi's latest manga.

BLOOD ON THE TRACKS (Chi no Wadachi), by Shuzo Oshimi.  First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Seiichi is in many ways your average pre-teen boy.  He hangs out with his friends at school, roughhouses with his cousin, and tries to navigate his crush on a pretty classmate.  Yet his mother, Seiko, dotes on him like he's still a little boy.  Even his relatives have noticed how overprotective she is to him, and Seiichi isn't sure just how to feel at this point.  He certainly could have never anticipated the terrible act his mother would commit while on a family camping trip....

Holiday Review: MY BROKEN MARIKO

There was another notable josei one-shot that came out late this year.  It's all about grief and loss.  In that sense, it feels like the perfect compliment to a year like 2020.

MY BROKEN MARIKO (Mai Buroken Mariko), by Waka Hirako.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Tomoyo Shiina was enjoying a quick meal of ramen when she learned that Mariko died.  Mariko had been Tomoyo's best friend since they were kids, and now she feels guilty for not being able to do enough to save Mariko from the abuse and mental torment she suffered in life.  In her grief, Tomoyo makes a decision: she will put Mariko to proper rest, even if it means stealing her ashes and going on the run.

Holiday Review: MAKEUP IS NOT (JUST) MAGIC

The strangest josei manga we got this year was also technically another nonfiction manga in the same vein as something like My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness or The Bride Was a Boy.  This one is far less emotionally fraught than those two, focusing instead on more straightforward instruction.

MAKEUP IS NOT (JUST) MAGIC: A MANGA GUIDE TO COSMETICS AND SKIN CARE (Meiku wa Tada no Mahou ja nai no: Beginners), by Ikumi Rotta.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Before Ikumi Rotta was a mangaka, she was a beauty consultant at a store.  Now she's using her skills to help people understand makeup, going over everything from cleansing to priming to more specific things like eye and lip makeup.

Holiday Review: SWEAT AND SOAP

Is it strange that one of the sweetest, sexiest romance manga I read all year wasn't the one about buff fireman but instead one involving a scent fetish?

SWEAT AND SOAP (Ase to Sekken), by Kintetsu Yamada.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Asako has struggled all her life with excess sweating.  That's why she's so happy to work at a place like Lillidrop, a company that manufactures great smelling toiletries that allow her to manage her condition and hide any hint of BO.  That's not enough to throw off Kotaro, a product developer with an uncanny sense of smell who finds her scent irresistible.  She finds his attentions embarrassing at first, but the more time Kotaro spends with her the more these two find themselves drawn to one another.

Holiday Review: FIRE IN HIS FINGERTIPS

 This year has been a stellar one for manga aimed at adult women.  Not all of them are strictly josei, but the variety and amount out there is proof the the Josei Reinaissance is still alive and well.  Today's review is the rare printed example of the smuttier side of josei.  Is it as burning hot as the title implies or merely a damp squib?

FIRE IN HIS FINGERTIPS: A FLIRTY FIREMAN RAVISHES ME WITH HIS SMOLDERING GAZE (Yubisaki kara Honki no Netsujo: Chara Otoko Shobashi wa Massugu na Me de Watashi o Daita), by Kawano Tanishi.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Ryo is a capable young woman, but her life is thrown into chaos when her apartment building is destroyed in a fire.  Her only option for housing for the moment is to temporarily move in with Souma, an old friend and one of the firefighters who saved her.  Soon enough the two start having sex, but Souma can't figure out how to get his non-horny feelings through to her.  Meanwhile, Ryo is conflicted between her growing lust for him and her desire to be more than just one of Souma's many easy lays.

Holiday Review: THE WITCH AND THE BEAST

 But that's enough of high fantasy.  Let's wrap up this subject with some urban fantasy aimed at an older audience.

THE WITCH AND THE BEAST (Majo to Yajuu), by Kousuke Satake.  First published in 2016 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Ashaf and Guideau are a strange pair.  One is a mage who works on behalf of a mysterious organization.  The other is a monster trapped inside the body of a slender young woman.  Together they will hunt down witches one by one until they can find the one that cursed Guideau in the first place to make her remove it.

Holiday Review: A WITCH'S PRINTING OFFICE

Naturally we have to cover at least one isekai title.  The more of them we get in the US, the more esoteric their particular gimmicks get.  At least this one didn't involve someone getting reincarnated as an inanimate object.

A WITCH'S PRINTING OFFICE (Mahotsukai no Insatsujo), written by Mochinchi & art by Yasuhiro Miyama.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Mika Kamiya was heading home after Comiket when she was whisked to a fantasy world.  There are countless magic users in this world, but they can only specialize in one kind of spell.  Mika decides to use her knowledge of doujin printing and distribution to create a spell market where mages from all over can trade copies of their spells with the help of her own magical printing press.  This way, Mika can help others, make money, and just maybe find the spell she needs to get back to Japan.

Holiday Review: WHO SAYS WARRIORS CAN'T BE BABES?

That being said, there was a lot more fantasy manga starring women this year, especially after the success of series like Ascendance of a Bookworm and My Next Life As a Villianess.

Of course, just because the protagonist is a woman doesn't mean a manga series will be fair or decent to her.

WHO SAYS WARRIORS CAN'T BE BABES? (Onna Senshitte Motenain Desu!), by Taijiro.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Long ago, a young girl was inspired by a handsome hero.  She trained hard so that she could fight at his side as a warrior.  Now she's a super-powered warrior woman, but she's so strong that no one (least of all the Hero) thinks of her as a girl! Now she's on her own personal quest to make the Hero love her, and she will fight anyone or anything that gets in her way.

Holiday Review: TO SAVE THE WORLD, CAN YOU WAKE UP THE MORNING AFTER WITH A DEMI-HUMAN?

Fantasy manga continued to dominate 2020, the majority of it being isekai stories.  You'll still books about older trends like 'monster girl harems,' but to compete they seem to be pushing ever closer to straight-up erotica, good taste be damned.

TO SAVE THE WORLD, CAN YOU WAKE UP THE MORNING AFTER WITH A DEMI-HUMAN? (Sekai wo Sukuu Tame ni Ajin to Asa-chun Dekimasu ka?), by Rekomaru Otoi.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

In a fantasy world not all that different from our own, a chosen one once vanquished a wicked demon king.  This is ancient history to Hironori Tabata, who simply wants to be able to confess his feelings to the cute elf girl in class.  Those plans are thrown awry when beautiful, curvy representatives from all sorts of demi-human races start throwing themselves at him.  It turns out that Tabata has the potential to sire the champion needed to defeat the reborn demon king.  That means Tabata will be forced to spread his seed far and wide, even if he's not particularly willing...or even conscious.

STORY:

Why isn't this porn?  This was the question I couldn't stop asking myself while reading this.  This premise reads less like a smutty story pushing the edges of ecchi and more like a neutered ero-manga and that's only partially because of the censored dialogue.

This is not a manga that anyone can pretend they are reading for the story because there really isn't any story there.  There's just the bare bones of a premise fronted by the blandest of Potato-kuns.  He's only there to get nervous and ogle whatever variety of monster girl is thrown at him in any given chapter, feebly protesting about his love for an elf girl who never so much as speaks a word in the entire book, much less gives him the time of day.  Then we are meant to laugh as Tabata passes out from a boner yet again, waking up only as the latest girl wipes herself off.

That's right, the biggest punchline in this entire series is a rape joke, and they keep repeating every single chapter.

Then there's the matter of the girls.  None of them are particularly compelling, as they are little more than a stock personality type combined with a random monster girl type, there to shove various round bits of her anatomy towards the reader.  Many of them have a gimmick that does double-duty as fetish fodder: the dragon girl shoots lightning from her crotch, the mermaid serves as one long squirting joke, and the dwarf girl is a loli with some truly distasteful jokes about...*ugh*...not being able to stretch wide enough.

I can't imagine why anyone would read this.  Why bother reading a manga build entirely around teasing the reader with sex they will never see when one could just sign up for Fakku and find actual monster girl porn with a bit of character and doesn't revolve around non-consensual sex to boot?

ART:

Like most ecchi artists, everything that isn't T&A is pretty much an afterthought.  Otoi uses the "modernized fantasy world" concept to just draw yet another round of ordinary schoolrooms and interiors.  The monster girl designs themselves lean far more heavily towards the 'girl' than towards 'monster,' with only the odd tail, horn, etc, all clad in ridiculous costumes that are strained to the seams or vacuum-sealed into place.

No, Otoi's only priority are all the curves.  He draws the girls a little more plumply than normal, so the pages are filled to bursting with bountiful boobs, puffy nipples, bulging labial mounds, and butts and thighs that seemingly thrust themselves off the page.  He uses low, extreme angles to highlight their roundness, filling the panels with little but flesh.  The only time things loosen up visually is the one or two-page spread of the girls cleaning up after their encounters, as they tidy up their clothes and swab up the various fluids on them.

RATING:

Don't bother with To Save The World, blah blah blah.  If you want to jack it to monster girl manga, then I certainly can't stop you at this point.  All I would ask is that you skip this particular series and put that money towards something that's more honest in its intentions and doesn't lean upon rape as a gag.

This series is published by Yen Press.  This series is ongoing in Japan with 3 volumes available.  2 volumes have been released and are currently in print.

Don't forget that our annual Holiday Review Giveaway is underway! Let us know what your favorite manga of 2020 to get a chance to win a $25 RightStuf gift certificate.  Click on the link above for more details!

Holiday Review: GOODBYE, MY ROSE GARDEN

 Yet my favorite yuri series of the year wasn't a modern series, but instead a beautiful historical melodrama that evokes the history of the very genre.

GOODBYE, MY ROSE GARDEN (Sayonara Rozu Gaden), by Dr Pepperco.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Hanako can't believe her luck.  She travelled all the way from Japan to England to meet her favorite author, only to be denied.  At that moment, she was taken in by the beautiful and elegant noblewoman Alice Douglas.  Now she's working as Alice's personal maid, but her mistress has a tragic secret.  Alice is a lesbian who has once already dealt with scandal, and wants Hanako to help her kill herself.

Holiday Review: HOW DO WE RELATIONSHIP?

Thankfully, there's been a lot more yuri manga in 2020 that have focused not just on older couples but also on relationships that are a lot more complicated and ordinary like this one.

HOW DO WE RELATIONSHIP? (Tsukiatte Agetomo i Kana), by Tamifull.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Miwa has known she's a lesbian for some time, but now that she's finally starting college she's hoping to finally be able to be more open about it.  On her first day of classes she meets Saeko, a bubbly, impulsive young woman who invites her to join her friends' band.  The two stumble into a relationship after a drunken night out with the band, but deciding to date turned out to be the easiest part of being a couple.  The hard part is dealing with communication, sex, and how open they want to be with the world about their relationship.

Holiday Review: BREASTS ARE MY FAVORITE THINGS IN THE WORLD!

The market for yuri manga continues to grow with each year, and as it does we see a wider variety of yuri manga out there.  We have your classic tales about schoolgirls, more modern tales about office ladies, and now there's even room for rock-stupid gag series like this.

BREASTS ARE MY FAVORITE THINGS IN THE WORLD! (Sekai de Ichiban Oppai ga Suki!), by Wakame Konbu.  First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Chiaki Ichihara is beloved by all the girls at her school for her charm and skill with a bow.  What they don't know is that she's obsessed with big, squishy boobs.  She gets her fix by feeling up Hana Harumi, whose chest is perfect for Chiaki's needs.  As time goes on, Hana wonders if Chiaki cares more about her breasts than her (and why such a thing would bother her in the first place).

Holiday Review: GIGANT

This year saw the announcement of a lot of new titles from established creators.  Unfortunately, that included Hiroya Oku.

GIGANT (Giganto), by Hiroya Oku.  First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Rei Yokoyamada wants to stop obsessing over movies and start making his own, but in his search for an actress he stumbles acrosss Chiho "Papico" Johansson, his favorite porn actress.  The two bond, giving Chiho a positive outlet away from her shitty, abusive boyfriend and the ungrateful step-family she's supporting.  Then things get strange when Chiho gets a strange device stuck upon her wrist that allows her to change size at will.  At the same time, a strange website with even stranger polls goes viral when whatever option wins happens, whether it's a popular actor streaking or poop raining from the sky.

Holiday Review: MY DRESS-UP DARLING

Thankfully, shonen romances from this year weren't all as bad as Rent-A-Girlfriend.  Square Enix made their debut this year as a manga publisher and among their first titles was a really charming, underrated example of just such a thing.

MY DRESS-UP DARLING (Sono Kisekae Ningyou wa Koi wo Suru), by Shinichi Fukuda.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Wakana Gojo grew up obsessed with the hina dolls his grandfather makes, but he prefers to keep it secret.  After all, he has no friends as-is.  The last thing he needs to do is open himself up for mockery as a guy who likes old-fashioned dolls.  You can imagine his surprise when his popular, fashionable classmate Marin Kitagawa discovers him working on doll clothes and asks for his help.  It turns out she's got a secret interest in cosplay and she needs someone with sewing skills to make her dream happen.  Thus, Wakana finds himself getting close to Marin in more ways than one.

Holiday Review: RENT-A-GIRLFRIEND

 Sadly, I must inform you all that shonen romances in 2020 can still be pretty dire, if today's review is any indication.

RENT-A-GIRLFRIEND (Kanoji, Okarishimasu), by Reiji Miyajima.  First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Kazaya only intended to use the rental girlfriend service once.  He hoped it would help him get over his first girlfriend, who had just dumped him after a month.  He was matched up with the charming and lovely Chizuru, only to be infuriated by what he sees as her giving people a false front and a false sense of hope.  She privately chews him out for his hypocrisy and things might have ended there if not for a chance encounter on campus and their grandmothers getting the wrong idea about them.  Now they have to keep up this pretense of a relationship for their sake, and the lines between rental girlfriend and real girlfriend start to blur.

Holiday Review: THE GIRL WITH THE SANPAKU EYES

Even shojo manga is turning more and more to pixiv and other webcomic sites for new material, and one of Denpa Book's latest titles is a good example of this.

THE GIRL WITH THE SANPAKU EYES (Sanpakugan-chan wa Tsuteitai), by Shunsuke Sorato.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Amane Mizuno might have a fierce, mean-looking face but on the inside she's as nervous and romantic as any teenage girl.  The object of her affection is Katou, an exuberant classmate of hers.  Can she ever figure out how to communicate her feelings to him without scaring him off or weirding him out?

Holiday Review: CUTIE AND THE BEAST

Seven Seas picked up a number of interesting shojo titles over the courses of the year, and this one might simultaneously be the most problematic yet the most endearing of them all.

CUTIE AND THE BEAST (Pujo to Yaju: JK wa Akyuyaku Wrestler ni Koi Shita Hanashi), by Yuhi Azumi.  First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Momoka seems like the most put-together girl in her class.  None of her classmates would guess that she's actually a big wrestling fan.  Her favorite is Kuga, a big, buff heel whom she regularly chats with on Twitter.  He's just amazed that he has a female fan at all.  When the two finally meet in person, they discover that their feelings run deeper than just celebrity and fan.  The only problem is that he's 29 and she's 18.

Holiday Review: NOT YOUR IDOL

While shojo manga still largely falls under the radar for most manga readers, this year saw one of the most interesting slate of shojo licenses yet, including this one.

NOT YOUR IDOL (Sayonara Miniskirt!), by Aoi Makino.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Until recently, Nina Kamiyama had been the star of the idol group Pure Club.  Then she suffered a terrible attack at a fan meet-up.  Now she is both physically and mentally scarred, to the point where she leaves the group, adopts an alias, and rejects all things feminine and cute.  Her new classmates regard her as either a curiosity or a freak, but Hikaru Horiuchi sympathizes with her even before he figures out her true identity.  Nina isn't sure what to do about Hikaru.  She wants to trust him with her secret (and maybe more), but her attacker is still on the loose.  One of the few things known about him is that he's good at judo and has a ear affliction common to the sport...just like Hikaru.

Holiday Review: BL METAMORPHOSIS

So this next series has two things in common with our last review: a title that begins with "bl" and a story about people unexpectedly falling in love with a kind of art.

BL METAMORPHOSIS (Metamorphose no Engawa), by Kaoru Tsurutani.  First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Ichinoi is a 75-year-old widow who up to this point has been content to while away her days with household tasks, teaching calligraphy classes, and plenty of reading.  While browsing the local bookstore, she finds herself picking up a BL manga.  It turns out that Urara, the teenage clerk at the bookstore, is also quite the secret fujoshi and is a particular fan of that series.  Together, the two forge a cross-generational friendship that brings some necessary comfort and support to both their lives.

Holiday Review: BLUE PERIOD

Let's keep this 'blue' mood going with a manga about finding one's passion for art. 

BLUE PERIOD (Burupiriodo), by Tsubasa Yamaguchi.  First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Yatora Yaguchi has great grades, good looks, and a congenial air.  Yet to him it's the result of calculated preparation and effort and it brings him no satisfaction whatsoever.  One day that ennui is broken when a simple art class project unlocks something within him.  Soon enough he joins the art club, starts to hone his skills, and finally finds a goal he believes in: to get into the oil painting program at the Tokyo University of Art.  It's the most competitive art school in the country, but with enough practice and inspiration Yatora just might make it.

STORY:

On the surface, Blue Period could be viewed as just another shonen series about competition.  You could say that Yatora wants to be the very best, like no one ever was, except that in this case it's the best at getting into art school.  That certainly helps to give Blue Period some structure but it's not really what the story's about.

What Blue Period is truly about is Yatora's emotional awakening.  Like a lot of academically gifted kids, his academic performance isn't motivated so much by personal desire or interest but inertia.  The world tells you that you need to go to college to succeed, so you focus on doing that without questioning why or what for.  He can memorize facts and make pleasant chit-chat, but he sees neither cause nor reason for doing or saying anything beyond that.  

A big part of that awakening is his almost instinctive recognition of art as a method of communication.  This is what initially pierces through the inertia of his life - the recognition that art can communicate something about the artist's mindset and mood.  It's what motivates him to get into art in the first place, to improve, and what impresses him most about other artists.  Yamaguchi captures this very ephemeral idea impressively, and it's this core idea that forms the beating heart of this story.  It's this passion that elevates Blue Period to something above the norm and if maintained could become something very powerful.  

ART:

There were two things that struck me about Yamaguchi's characters.  The first is how much attention they put on the eyes.  While there's a lot of interesting and varied character designs, the faces tend to be kind of wonky at times.  Yet you don't notice this very often because Yamaguchi puts so much care and focus on communicating emotions through their eyes.  There's a lot of very intent staring here and it would come off creepy if not for how soulfully they're drawn.

I was also struck by how much attention Yamaguchi put into posture and poses.  There's a lot of subtle body language on display here that's used to communicate both mood and personality.  The two combined go a long way towards selling the reader on Yatora's growth as an artist and as a person as well as telling us a lot about his clubmates without a lot of exposition.

PRESENTATION:

Aside from the usual author's note and gag comics, the special thanks section is unusually long because Yamaguchi credits all the artists whose work was used in-series to represent the work of Yatora and his classmates.

RATING:

Blue Period is a good manga about learning to stop worrying and love art.  This would be a great work to pair with something like Blank Canvas and a good series for anyone who's ever considered becoming an artist themselves.

This series is published by Kodansha Comics.  This series is ongoing in Japan with 8 volumes available.  1 volume has been published and is currently in print.

Don't forget that our annual Holiday Review Giveaway is underway! Let us know what your favorite manga of 2020 to get a chance to win a $25 RightStuf gift certificate.  Click on the link above for more details!

Holiday Review: BLUE FLAG

We'll start things off with a sort of blue Christmas mood, by which I mean a couple of titles with "blue" in their title.

 BLUE FLAG (Ao no Flag), by Kaito. First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Taicihi Ichinose was content to be just another anonymous dork in his class.  Then he discovers that his mousy, terminally shy classmate Futaba Kuze has an enormous crush on Toma Mita, a popular athlete and Taichi's former childhood friend.  Taichi is initially annoyed by her efforts, but eventually decides to help her win Toma over.  Things only get more complicated after this, as everyone involved is either mistaken about who is attempting to get together with whom, but the truth about who Toma is actually crushing on.

It's Christmas (and Giveaway) Time!

 It's finally December, which means that it's time for our annual Holiday Reviews!  That means from now until Christmas, we'll be reviewing one new manga title from 2020 to explore some of the best and worst books to come out this year.  Goodness knows we could all use the entertainment, as many of you are still dealing with quarantine and may be facing the prospect of far fewer in-person get-togethers.

That means it's also time for our annual Holiday Review Giveaway! As always, the rules are simple. Just note in the comments below (or on the relevant Twitter post, for those you who may not be able to comment on Blogger) what your own favorite manga of 2020.  Long or short, new or old, it doesn't matter - if it was new to you, then it counts! I'll be accepting comments until the end of Christmas Day, after which I will pick a commenter at random to receive a $25 RightStuf gift certificate!

In the meantime, enjoy the reviews, share them widely, and if at all possible, show The Manga Test Drive some love by supporting us on Patreon.  Every dollar counts, and every dollar is appreciated.