Category: Manga of the Month

Manga of the Month: A Sign of Affection

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A Sign of Affection by Suu Morishita

“Ever since you showed up and widened my world it feels like even my breath is a different color. I want this to be love. I choose love.“

Cute and fashionable Yuki has made her college debut. She is spreading her wings, expanding her world, making new friends, and, when she has a chance encounter with friend of a friend Itsuomi on the train, falling in love for the first time. Itsuomi loves to travel, learn new languages, and has a generally curious nature. With a little encouragement, Yuki decides pursue Itsuomi and put in the effort to get to know him. And Itsuomi finds himself more interested in somewhere (someone) closer to home than he ever has before.

Yuki is a Deaf character who uses a hearing aid. The manga incorporates many different forms of communication: sign language, speech, lip reading, writing, and texting. Each way is portrayed in a specific way. There’s also notes from Morishita about the way they’ve depicted sign language, the different forms of sign, and real-life details about living without hearing.

The romance in A Sign of Affection is the swoony, stomach butterflies kind. Every time Yuki and Itsuomi have a close moment, the pages illuminate; the intimate moments are stretched out and indulged in. This is my favorite current romance manga and winter is the perfect time to pick up this cozy love story!

-Kate

Manga of the Month: Kowloon Generic Romance

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Kowloon Generic Romance by Jun Mayuzuki

While the story of Kowloon Generic Romance does take place in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City, it is anything but generic.

Real estate agents Kujirai and Kudou work side-by-side day in and day out at Wong Loi Realty Co. dealing with eccentric residents and maintaining the properties around the neighborhood. There’s more than a little sexual tension brimming between the two but Kujirai isn’t quite sure what to make of Kudou or her feelings for him.

Kowloon Walled City is a character itself. Based on the real area which was demolished in 1993, Mayuzuki brings the walled city back to life in vivid detail using a nostalgic 1980s art style. An immensely crowded place filled with shops, restaurants, apartments, vice, crime, and maze-like corridors, it is a place that has inspired endless curiosity. In the KGR version, the neighborhood is also dealing with two corporations trying to exert their influence on it. The walled city is a place where the past, present, and future collide.

From the start you’ll figure out that the title is a bit tongue-in-cheek as little details about the setting are just off. And by the end of volume one the story really starts to reveal itself. Honestly, I hope I have you intrigued because I don’t want to give away too much. As soon as I finished the first book, I wanted to read it again with the new information.

Part romance, part comedy, part science-fiction, part mystery, Kowloon Generic Romance blends so many things that it becomes hard to define but it all intertwines mirroring the walled city’s mesmerizing existence.

-Kate

Manga of the Month: Wandance

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Wandance by Coffee

Stories centering dance have a long history in manga especially when it comes to ballet, but Wandance takes us out of the formal theater and into the world of student led dance troupes highlighting hip-hop, house, breaking, and other styles and fusions of street dancing.

During his high school club fair, Kabo ignores the dance club presentation as it reminds him of an embarrassing episode in middle school. Later when he sees fellow 1st year student Wanda dancing by herself on the school grounds, the joy of dancing hits him. As Kabo and Wanda become friends, they realize neither of them is always comfortable communicating verbally. But dancing is a way to communicate, too.

The student led dance club is filled with dancers of all levels, but the best of the best are aiming to compete with other schools. Kabo is a novice and sticks out due to his tall stature and being one of the few (and currently only regularly attending) guys in the group. However, through a supportive club president, Wanda’s presence and partnership, and Kabo’s own self-determination he soon leaves behind his self-consciousness and embraces his love for dance.

Kabo is an earnest and sweet person so watching him gain self-confidence is really rewarding. I quickly became invested in Kabo and Wanda’s growth as dancers and their budding romance. The ease they feel with one another and their deep connection is beautifully depicted.

Manga-ka Coffee uses a fresh, frenetic line style that gives movement, energy, and a fast pace to the dance sequences. Plus, Wandance integrates plenty of dance theory, ways of approaching dance, and instructional sections into the story in a way that feels natural and helps you see each character more clearly. All of this for someone like me with zero dance knowledge has been illuminating.

Wandance is part coming-of-age manga and part sports manga, and doing both types of stories justice!

-Kate