15/07/2020: Manga we've been reading lately

Hey everybody!

BTC no Pico hopes that your summer is going alright and that the cockles of your heart are always warmed. We're sorry for the slow output as we're all quite busy with internships or other matters. That said, it's been a pretty good month for manga readers because scanlators are picking up previously-dropped manga and existing series are heating up. Here's what we've been reading so far:

1) Hinamatsuri

Author: Masao Otake

This one's about a psychic girl from the future (Hina) who literally drops into the life of Nitta, a yakuza gangster and we follow Hina's attempts to fit into present-day Tokyo and help Nitta. We wrote about Hinamatsuri way back in our very first edition (before the site was up and we had to distribute physical leaflets around the school), but all good things must come to an end and the final volume of the series is coming out soon. In fact, all that the author has left is the omake pages to fill out the final volume, and the last (or penultimate, I'm not sure) chapter will be ready!!! Over the last few issues, Hina and the gang put together a mega concert that will go down in history, impersonated Nitta and even covered up a link between a yakuza gang and a multi-billion-dollar company! It's really an explosive finale to a great 10-year run. We're all a little sad that the series is going to be over, but we're excited for what will surely be a heartwarming but hilarious end to one of the funniest manga in recent memory.

2) Tonari no Furi-san ga Tonikaku Kowaii (Furi-san is scary!)

Author: Kinoue Seiichi

Here's another series that we wrote about. Furi-san is a delinquent high-school girl who's very scary. However, she's not really evil or bad at all (she just looks it) and she's actually got an adorable crush on her seat neighbour Taira.

This series went without releases for a good 3-4 months but Crows scans recently announced (with the release of issue 19) that they would be picking up the series. Great news!!!

3) Bakapple

Author: Yume Sakura

This is about an idiotic couple (hence the title: baka + couple) who love each other very much but have no social awareness and are completely idiotic!!! It's super cute and also very funny.

4) Starting Out As Friends With A Yankee Girl

Author: Kuroabam

This is kind of a reverse of (2) where it's some useless dweeb who asks a cute but scary looking yankee girl out. She immediately gets pissed off because she doesn't believe in his sincerity (how sincere could he be if he didn't know anything about her besides her looks?) but is fine with starting out as friends. We like this one because it's your standard romance manga but the girl is pretty spunky - she obviously likes the guy and has her moments where she gets flustered but she's usually on top of things and taking the lead by getting mad when the guy is doing those standard dating mistakes (e.g. talking about himself or being wishy-washy) and standing up for herself.

5) Hiyumi's Country Road

Author: Saito Umao

A city girl moves into the sticks and is really upset because there's nothing fun for her to do. Luckily, she makes a friend who shows her the fun side of the countryside! We read a lot of "countryside" manga and this is right up there with "Non Non Biyori" because the artist really knows how to make small rural phenomena look good. We like that our heroine isn't stuck up or annoying and it's nice that she genuinely tries to fit in, and her difficulties in doing so are entirely understandable (and fun to watch at her expense).

6) Sukinako ga Megane wo Wasureta

Author: Fujichika Kou

This is a romance manga about a boy who has a crush on the short-sighted girl who sits beside him and always forgets to bring her glasses. It's funny the first time she does something that gets his heart racing because of her almost-blindness and it's funny the next 30 times because the author finds new gags to keep things interesting. A pleasant time-waster.

7) Kuno Chiyo the Precog

Author: Seiichi Shiki

Standard lovey-dovey romance between a pyschic girl (our protagonist) and the boy who's constantly confessing to her. Quite cute drawings and we like that our heroine's hair looks a bit like the Major's from Ghost in the Shell.

8) Joyou wo Shiranai Tenkousei ga Guigui Kuru (The Transfer Student is Assertive)

Author: Kawamura Taku

There's a girl who gets bullied and named "The Reaper" (since she's very gloomy and depressing) but the transfer student doesn't get the bullying and becomes her friend. However, he's totally clueless and ends up saying stuff like "I totally like her" and "She's so cool" and it's kind of a sort-of-romance story as well. It's a nice fluffy "romance" manga and the embarrassed/flustered reactions (which are a staple in this genre) are done well enough. The only thing we don't like is how the other kids are so mean. I guess it might be a problem in Japan but we feel like kids wouldn't really go out of their way to be that mean for no good reason???

9) I'm Around Thirty and Finally In Love

Author: 310 (???)

Two people get introduced by a mutual friend and hopelessly fall in love with each other. The girl is really nervous because it's her first relationship and looks up to the guy. However, unbeknownst to her, the guy is just as apprehensive because it's the first time he's met someone that he likes so he's totally new to the dating game as well! Cliched but executed extremely competently.

See you guys next time! BTC no Pico