It’s tricky to keep on top of all the manga that I’m reading, and I mean that in a good way. I read and checkout a lot, sometimes a single volume and that’s enough for me. And other times I really want to checkout more but I just don’t get around to it, yet. So let’s talk about some of what has come in recently that I’ve read.

Manga Round-up

Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything with Low-Level Spells

Let’s get through all the ones with a title that is way too long first. This is the most recent one that I’ve read and thus far I’ve just read volume one. I am on the fence if i am going to read more of it. Mainly because I enjoyed the first one, but it’s more of an edgelord storyline and I’m not into that as much.

The main character is brought into another world by a deity to be a hero. Turns out that while everyone else who he’s recruited with is a high level adventurer, he’s not. So like whenever the deity brings in someone who isn’t that good, she basically banishes them to a place where they’ll perish. But he uses his skills to get through and out of that part of the world. Definitely a bit edgier, but it isn’t like he’s gone full on bad guy yet. So I think I want to checkout more.

Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship!

Now another Isekai, this one is set in space though. So I’ve had my eye on Reborn as a Space Mercenary for a while because of that. I like Isekai, but most of them are in more of a fantasy setting. Even one of my favorites, Life is Tough for a Mob, where he’s trapped in a dating sim has fantasy and sci-fi elements to it.

This one definitely leans into the main character whose skills are above most other people. And in all fairness it’s just his piloting skill and his starship. When it comes to the world itself he’s needing to learn a lot. It definitely has a harem manga feel to it, where he’ll collect girls and we’ll see how that goes because it’s a tired trope, but thus far, the story is interesting enough that I picked up more to read soon.

Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill is Actually a Legendary Assassin

Another one with a long name and one that I already have more that I’ve read of it. Hazure Skill again is about that main character who is really good at something. But instead of leaning into it, after he “assassinates” the demon lord, he just wants to lead a normal life. The king offers him everything, but nope, he just wants to lead a normal boring life.

As the story unfolds, turns out that interesting things follow him. But also that he has no idea what a normal life is. Whenever something is said to be normal, he goes all in on that. On the downside, like Reborn as a Space Mercenary, it does have that harem element to it. Less so than Reborn a Space Mercenary, but definitely has some of those vibes to it.

Sign of Affection

Now for something completely different we have Sign of Affection. The romance story of a girl who is deaf and the boy who reaches out to her and into her world. It’s a very cute romance and one that I need to keep reading more of. Thus far I’ve only gotten through the first one and I really liked it. My wife is much further into it, and it might be done, I forget.

But I enjoy it for the lighter and fluffier side of manga. It really provides an enjoyable story and enjoyable characters. Plus the anime is just coming out, so I plan on checking that out soon as well.

[Oshi No Ko]

[Oshi No Ko] looks like another cutesy manga and anime title. And I think for the idol element of it, that’s what drew people in and made it a pretty talked about anime in 2023. I didn’t check it out then, but once I looked into the story more I checked it out.

[Oshi No Ko] is much more of a mystery, there are some weird elements to it that make it definitely manga, but there is a mystery element as well. Who kills the main pop star, that’s what her son wants to know. Now, her son is a reincarnated doctor who was supposed to deliver her twins but murdered. So now he’s on the case of who killed him and who killed his mom and of course he has all his memories as well.

Dandadan

Finally we’re going to wrap up with one that I started reading a while ago but has really hooked me. Dandadan is a goofy action and horror manga where the main characters are dealing with all sort of supernatural things and aliens. But let’s talk about the plot.

The basics are that two classmates, who don’t know each other besides being classmates, get into an argument. One believes that the supernatural is real and the other scoffs at it. The other believes that aliens are real and the the first one scoffs at that notion. Of course, that night they both find out that the other one is right. And the manga really takes off from there. Dandadan is getting an anime adaptation as well this year.

Final Thoughts

If I were to pick my favorites thus far out of the group, I think that I like Dandadan the best. [Oshi No Ko], Sign of Affection, and Hazure Skill all have me reading more and enjoying them. And the other two are surprisingly similar. I already bought more of Reborn a Space Mercenary, so I might skip out on the other. But both are fun, so I’m not sure about getting more of it, at least until I read through some other manga.

I’ve been reading some other books as well. And Marvel comics, so this, though I’m sure I’m missing something, is through about October that I read. Like I said, I’m sure that I’m missing something. And there are some that I’ve likely missed as well just because it’s been a while.

Have you been reading any good manga lately? What’s the favorite thing you’ve been checking out?

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