My Manga favorites from 2022

This is the first time I publish my top 10 manga of the year on Substack instead of Twitter. The focus will therefore be more on my writing than on screenshots. I read 51 volumes last year, excluding all the titles I worked on as a translator or proofreader.

But before I start, I want to thank everyone who read or even shared my last piece on Shingeki no Kyojin. I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback and enjoyed the discussions that followed.

Also, I would like to thank you for comments from those of you who checked out manga I recommend on Twitter. That really means the world to me. In that sense I hope the following list will offer some suggestions for what to read in 2023.

Let’s get started!

10. Hime-sama no Helmet. Kitoh Mohiro Short Story Collection 1987-2022 by Kitoh Mohiro

“Pochi’s Place” in Hime-sama no Helmet by Kitoh Mohiro (2022)

I believe there is no better way to find out if a manga artist is a good story teller than reading their short stories, and Kitoh Mohiro’s early short stories are some of the best I have ever read in the medium. Papa’s Song and Pochi’s Place in particular are some of my favorite short story manga of all time. While the first seven stories in this volume were already released in the 2004 short story collection Zansho, this new volume has several additions, including His Murder Scheme (Kare no satsujin keikaku) and the titular story Hime-sama no Helmet. In the author’s comments we learn that at some point Kitoh changed his approach and moved on from his early, more realistic nostalgic tales to more fast-paced science-fiction. I think these later short stories are significantly weaker than his early works. The titular short story Hime-sama no Helmet reads like a clumsy self-parody. So unless you are a Kitoh fan or prefer to physical books – the paper quality is excellent and the color pages are a nice bonus – I recommend the earlier Zanshō, which is also available as ebook.

9. Momo Kanchō no himitsu kichi by Tsuruta Kenji

Momo Kanchō no himitsu kichi by Tsuruta Kenji (2022)

Nudity, space, cat. It is not easy, and often not appropriate, to sum up a work of fiction by just listing three nouns, but this case is the rare exception. My first manga by Tsuruta Kenji.

8. Gamma Draconis by Eldo Yoshimizu and Benoist Simmat

Gamma Draconis by Eldo Yoshimizu and Benoist Simmat (2021)

After a career as one of the most renowned contemporary sculptors in Japan, Eldo Yoshimizu (Ryuko) turned to manga as a form of artistic expression and since then he has released one stunning work of art after the other. This single-volume manga is the result of a collaboration with the French author and journalist Benoist Simmat, who contributed the story.

In Gamma Draconis, we follow Moriyama Aiko, a Japanese student of religious art in Paris, down the rabbit hole of occultism and conspiracies. Everything in this manga looks stunning: the characters, the fashion, the locations (London, Berlin) architecture, every tiny little detail is drawn with meticulous attention. Last year I attended one of his talks at a German comic convention, where he explained that almost everything he draws has real life inspirations. For example, the house of the protagonist’s grandmother was based on a real building in Omotesando (if I remember correctly). The same goes for fashion brands. Even the characters are inspired by real life humans. For example, one of the guarding sprits in Hen Kai Pen – another manga of his that deals with environmental issues and the fate of humanity – was inspired by one of his students. It should be mentioned that he always asks for permission before he draws any person or object in his works.
Yoshimizu is currently working on the third part of his yakuza-series Ryuko, which will take place in a fictional version of Hong Kong and, as most his works so far, will likely contain some form of political commentary.

7. Karakida-ke no kosho gurashi by Tōme Kei

Karakida-ke no furuhon gurashi by Tōme Kei (2022-ongoing)

For my first Tōme Kei manga, this might have been a strange choice. But as someone who has worked in a Japanese antiquary bookstore and who loves old books, this manga feels like it was drawn specifically for me. The story takes place in Tokyo’s used-book centre Kanda, Jinbōchō　– a place I make sure to visit every time I’m in Tokyo – and follows Tsugumi who decides to run her grandfather’s antiquary book store after he has passed away. Tōme shares a lot of insight into the behind-the-scenes of the antiquary book trade, explaining for example terminology like “itami” (damaged) or “yake” (sunned), that are used to describe a books condition. There’s old books, coffee and donuts. What more could I ask for?

6. Made in Abyss by Tsukushi Akihito

Made in Abyss by Tsukushi Akihito (2012-ongoing)

Last year when I caught covid for the first time, I spent my time lying in bed finally reading Made in Abyss, which was on my list for a long time (I hesitate to read titles that are too popular). The early world-building is some of the most detailed I’ve seen in a manga since I read Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. I loved the Bondrewd arc, but was slightly underwhelmed by what followed. My impression was that the Ilblu arc felt unnecessarily long and moved too far away from the original premises of the manga. However, the current arc starts with one of the most intriguing character introductions I’ve read in some time, so I am excited about what volume 12 will have to offer.

By the way, Made in Abyss was one of the manga Eldo Yoshimizu recommended during the talk I previously mentioned. He praised the manga for taking advantage of the digital medium that enabled Tsukushi to make extensive use of grayscale. Yoshimizu explained that greyscale was expensive to print and therefore a privilege usually only granted to veteran artists.

5. Utsubora by Nakamura Asumiko

Utsubora by Nakamura Asumiko (2010-2012)

Utsubora is Nakamura Asumiko’s (Dokyūsei) take on the (traditionally male-gazey) literary author–young muse story archetype. The central mystery of this manga is the suicide of a young woman and the manuscript of her literary story Utsubora, that gets published later on by the kimono wearing, mustache wearing novelist Mizorogi under his own name. When he meets Sakura, a girl that bears a striking resemblance with the dead woman, he is confronted with his actions. New twists are revealed almost every new chapter, which makes this manga a page-turner. It was a bit confusing to find out the truth behind the mystery, but ultimately that was not what mattered to me after those 460 pages. What remains at the end is a powerful commentary on what it means to be an author and what it means to live, rejecting the fatalistic and suicidal tendencies of male-centric modern literature in Japan.

Personally, I think the cover art is one of the weakest artworks in the manga. Just look at the old geezer on the chapter cover above. I want someone to put her art style in my veins. Utsubora is thrilling, sensual, utterly captivating, and Nakamura Asumiko is one of the most exceptional artists in the industry.

4. Witches by Igarashi Daisuke

Witches by Igarashi Daisuke (2003-2004)

My first encounter with Igarashi Daisuke was through the Children of the Sea Anime film, which I watched at the Tokyo International film festival. The film didn’t leave much of an impression on me, but when I read Designs by the same author, my mind was blown away (Designs took the first spot in my 2021 ranking), so it was only natural for me to check out his other works. Witches is a poetic piece of fiction consisting of five different short stories. I read the English omnibus edition, which contains both volumes released in Japan (same is true for Utsubora). Aidan Clarke’s English lettering is beautiful and compliments the art.

Igarashi’s style reads more like visual poetry than story-driven manga. However, Witches is not only visually poetic. It has some of the best lines I have read in the medium, questioning our perception and understanding of the world. I don’t feel I can do them justice, so forgive me for taking the easy way and let me quote some lines from Kathryn Henzler’s English translation that stayed in my mind:

»Your world is finite. Ours is infinite. Your words are a knife that cuts all possibilities into specific natures. A tool that carves the world at your convenience. We see the world as it is. We are the ones who can know words, yet set them aside.«

»I’m sure in your big book it is written how to get out of your small room. But that room is still within your house. You don’t even realize there is a real world outside your home. You’re still just a foolish child.«

Let that sink in.

Notable mentions:

Before I enter my top three, here are some titles that didn’t make it into this list, but I still think they deserve a few words.

• 17/21 + 22/26 by Fujimoto Tatsuki: I enjoyed the first volume a lot more, maybe because I am a sucker for Tatsuki’s edgy twists. My favourite short story was Shikaku about a genius hit-man girl and a vampire weary of life. But what stayed in my mind more than any of his stories was Fujimoto’s reflection on the purpose of art after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami.

• Mashle by Kōmoto Hajime: A friend from Japan sent me the first two volumes (only a few days later I learned that the series got licensed in Germany). As you might have guessed from the previous entries of this last, I tend to prefer dark and gritty manga. I hardly ever read comedy. That is probably why I bursted out laughing several times reading Mashle (I haven’t read One Punch Man or Mob Psycho 100). The author’s comments were hilarious as well. Love the school uniforms.

• Beautiful Darkness (French: Jolies Ténèbres) by Kerascoët : Not a manga, but a reminder to myself and others to leave the manga-sphere from time to time and see what the larger world of visual storytelling has to offer. A dark fairy tale that encourages readers to interpret. Just check it out.

3. Call of the Night by Kotoyama

Call of the Night by Kotoyama (2019-ongoing)

As someone who loves long night walks like few things else, this manga hits home for me. Kotoyama’s art is stylish and does a great job of portraying seemingly unremarkable suburban streets or apartment flats. The humour is playfully horny, without ever getting too vulgar or crossing a line it shouldn’t (unlike the similarly night-themed Insomniacs After School, which often comes across as voyeuristic).

At the same time, there are countless genuine moments explaining why these characters escape into the night. One chapter about an office lady offers insight into what many women in Japan have to endure due to workplace sexism.

Call of the Night is a love letter to the freedom, excitement and solitude that comes once the sun has set. The darkness of the night makes even a simple walk fascinating. And like the manga’s protagonist Yamori Kou, the freedom of the night is something I’d never want to miss in my life.

2. Dead Dead Demon’s DeDeDeDeDestruction (Vol. 11-12) by Asano Inio

Dead Dead Demon’s DeDeDeDeDestruction by Asano Inio (2014-2022)

When I encountered this manga with the absurdly long title in 2015 during my first exchange year in Japan, I didn’t know what to expect judging from the cute cover art. Once I had read volume 1, I knew I had to write about this manga. Dead Dead Demon’s DeDeDeDe Destruction is a treasure chest for anyone studying contemporary Japanese culture and future “pop culture” historians. The manga encapsulates the everyday reality and mood of post-Fukushima Japan like no other work. Asano’s commentary is scathing and not always unproblematic, but the dense web of references alone makes it worthwhile to dissect this series. Since my first encounter with this series, I wrote a term paper on it, that I later revised and published as an academic article (here’s a link to the German text) and have given several talks explaining the post-Fukushima reality depicted in the manga.

Asano’s previous long-running series, Oyasumi Punpun, plays with the idea of the world ending as well, but it never crosses the line and returns to the status quo, a pattern common in his work. That is what makes volume 11-12 of Dead Dead Demon’s DeDeDeDe Destruction so remarkable. After the spectacular Akira-esque apocalypse in volume 11, Asano enters completely uncharted territory. A “new” protagonist appears, Japan turns into a near-future dystopia and there are mecha battles as well. And while Asano has experimented with various kinds of styles and narratives in his manga short stories before, he never went this far in a longer serialisation.

At some point around volume 7 or 8, the series moved away from its satirical depiction of everyday life and turned into a more story-driven SF-spectacle, which I think is the weaker part of this manga. Still, I want to recognise Asano’s courage and ability to reinvent himself and constantly challenge his own style, not only in visual terms, but in the final volume of DDDD on a narrative level as well.

1. Toratsugumi / Tsugumi-Project by Ippatu

Toratsugumi / Tsugumi-Project by Ippatu (2019-ongoing)

In a recommendation text for volume 2, Horikoshi Kōhei, the artist behind My Hero Academia, wrote that Toragtsugumi’s Ippatu was even able to depict the heat and air temperature with his drawings. “It’s a scary thing.” A quick look at the last page of the second volume reveals that it got 7 reprints in just half a year. Other artists recommending the manga include: Tsukushi Akihito (Made in Abyss), illustrator Terada Katsuya (Blood: The Last Vampire) and Ishizuka Shinichi (Blue Giant Explorer)

The series was initially released in France (with notably different cover art) two years before the first volume came out in Japan in 2021. It takes place on a desolated Japan of the future, after nuclear attacks wiped out most of the country and its population. The reason behind these attacks was the rumoured existence of a horrific new weapon. 260 years in the future, a group of convicts on death row are sent to the island to find out more about the weapon. I am a sucker for post-apocalyptic settings like these, but it should be noted that Toratsugumi is definitely more a visual than a story-driven manga.

At the end of the first volume of the German release, there is a short interview with the artist. It turns out Ippatu – similar to Ichikawa Haruko (Hōseki no Kuni) – is an “outsider artist” of the industry who didn’t read manga before starting to work as an assistant (he applied after reading a job advert). He was then told to start with Tezuka, whose work he devoured (Tsugumi’s bird girl design is directly inspired by Tezuka’s Birdman Anthology). It is this outsider perspective that leads to some of the most impressive artwork I have seen in any manga.

I read only volume 1 last year, but once I saw a double-page spread of the post-apocalyptic Tokyo cityscape the story takes place in, I knew this was the best thing I read in manga all year. It is a work that has to be read to be believed.

人類は滅亡する。

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That’s it from me for last year. The writing process took longer than I had expect, so it probably take me a few weeks until I release my next piece. I have already started diving into several new series. I hope some of the titles mentioned in my list caught your interest and am glad to hear your thoughts.