Halcyon Days

A Man and His Cat

Manga Status: Ongoing
My Status: Currently Reading
A Man and His Cat might be the cutest and most wholesome manga I've ever read. I ended up binging all 7 volumes currently out in English and I was tearing up throughout. It's so lovely! A Man and His Cat is a slice of life manga that follows widower Kanda Fuyuki and his new cat, Fukumaru. After the death of his wife, Kanda decides to get a cat and chooses Fukumaru, an 'ugly' Exotic Shorthair that was constantly passed over by other potential owners for his unconventional looks. Through their daily adventures, you get to learn more about Kanda and Fukumaru, as well as meet a colorful cast of supporting characters. The manga explores grief as Kanda learns to live again and focuses on the interpersonal relationships between characters. The characters are all great and I loved watching the bonds between them grow. I especially loved how wholesome Moriyama's admiration for Kanda was. His (platonic) crush was very adorable. I do feel like sometimes certain relationship issues are resolved too easily/quickly, but I'll give this manga a pass. At its core, it's a charming slice of life manga, not one focused on intense drama. Another minor complaint I have is that the official English translation leans a little too hard into the cat puns. Having 'you' replaced by 'mew' and 'my' replaced by 'meowy' is a bit much. I mean, it makes sense since it's from Fukumaru's narration but still, it was a little annoying before I got used to it. Anyway, if you're looking for a wholesome and cathartic read, I'd recommend it!

Witch Hat Atelier

Manga Status: Ongoing
My Status: Currently Reading
Witch Hat Atelier is a cozy fantasy manga with absolutely gorgeous artwork. It was actually screenshots of some manga panels that convinced me to pick it up and boy am I glad that I did. The characters are really sweet and I love the friendship between Coco, Agott, Tetia, and Richeh. It has a hard magic system that I think is neat and the worldbuilding is charming. If I had to criticize it, I'd say that the story in Witch Hat Atelier is its weakest aspect. It starts a little slow and seems slice-of-lifey, but the story does pick up pace and gets a little darker in the later volumes. By the way, did I mention that the artwork is amazing? You should read it solely for that. Kamome Shirahama's art is such an inspiration for my own.

Made in Abyss

Manga Status: Ongoing
My Status: Undecided
Originally, I started Made in Abyss after seeing images of two of its characters, Bondrewd and Ozen, posted online. I thought that they looked cool, so I decided to check it out. Unfortunately for me, I didn't know that the manga was... like that. If you don't know what I mean, Made in Abyss is, quite frankly, pedobait. The mangaka is a disgusting degen and should probably get his hard drives checked. The manga contains gratuitous scenes featuring naked children and many of its adult characters look like children also. The mangaka has a piss fetish and a scent fetish (that's a thing??), which are featured throughout the manga in various instances.

And so, you might be wondering why I read it. The thing is, when you ignore all of its degenerate aspects, Made in Abyss is an interesting dark fantasy manga. The worldbuilding is intricate and unlike anything I've ever encountered. It felt new to me. And the artwork is absolutely stunning at times. The creature designs are pretty cool. The characters are (mostly) interesting. I'm pretty ambivalent towards the main crew that we follow, but I really like some of the side characters, namely the White Whistles, Bondrewd and Ozen. I'm also fascinated by the mystery of the Abyss— what it is, why it exists, and what is at the bottom? And so, despite the manga's obvious flaws, I've read through most of the available chapters. However, I'm not sure if I will continue. The latest completed story arc, the Ilblu Village arc, was incredibly boring in my opinion. It tread old ground in terms of character development and was way too long. By the end of it, the chapters felt like they were dragging and I was more than ready for it to be over. And since the chapters take forever to come out, I often forget what is happening currently in the story. And so, I'm undecided if I want to continue.

Anyway, Made in Abyss is a dark fantasy manga with a lot of potential but is brought down by its sheer degeneracy. The world built by the mangaka is super cool, and Bondrewd and Ozen are fascinating characters. I just wish that the weird pedoshit was cut out. I would recommend it cautiously if you are aware of these factors, and are still willing to give it a try. The 1st chapter has an example of what I mean by its degeneracy, so you can use that as a test to see how willing you are to continue reading it. I should also warn you that the manga contains horror elements, and features some pretty graphic gory scenes.

Natsume's Book of Friends

Manga Status: Ongoing
My Status: Currently Reading
Natsume's Book of Friends was recommended to me by a friend, as it's her favorite manga series. It is a long running urban fantasy slice-of-life manga about a teenage boy named Takashi Natsume. I've only read one volume so far, but I like it. While reading it, I felt kind of nostalgic even though the manga was new to me. It reminded me a lot of the older manga I used to read when I was younger, where much of the focus was on characters' emotions and healing from past trauma. It can be a bit melodramatic at times, but I think that's part of its appeal. If you're looking for a wholesome, laidback read, check it out!

The Ancient Magus' Bride

Manga Status: Ongoing
My Status: Need to Reread/Continue
I've read the first few volumes of The Ancient Magus' Bride before but a lot of time has passed since then, so I need to do a reread of them before continuing on in the manga. I don't remember much, aside from liking Chise and Elias, and thinking that the art was good.

Daija ni Totsuida Musume

Manga Status: Ongoing
My Status: Dropped
This manga went semi-viral a while back because of a certain scene in it. It's basically a monster romance manga between Miyo, a young woman offered as tribute, and Daija, a giant snake god that resides in the mountains. The scene that went viral was them consummating their marriage. And so, I got curious and checked this out. Aside from the novelty of a romance with a gigantic sentient snake, this manga is pretty so-so. The art style was fine, but didn't really appeal to me. I thought the characters were pretty average, although Daija is surprisingly cute and wholesome. He strives to be a good husband and is always conscious of Miyo's feelings. The story didn't really interest me, although to be fair, there aren't many chapters currently out. I do have to give the mangaka some credit though. They really said 'this is for all of the monsterfucker girlies out there'. Even though I thought this manga was pretty meh, I'd recommend it if you're a monsterfucker or are morbidly curious about the sex scene between Miyo and Daija.