Published By: Kodansha Comics
[dropcap]K[/dropcap]odansha Comics gives even manga fans something to be excited about with a pretty good collection of their titles. In fact, this may be one of the better manga samplers I’ve ever seen. And with 6 different titles, it ends up making for a pretty varied group of titles. Kodansha gives each title a little summary which is a great idea for such a limited amount of space to try to hook readers. I’ll briefly review each sample.
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Attack on Titan
Created By: Hajime Isayama
Honestly, at this point I feel like nothing really needs to be said about Attack on Titan because it’s one of the more recent titles in anime to absolutely explode in popularity. For those unfamiliar, Attack on Titan is about these strange human-like giants who feast on people. Humanity has managed to survive by living inside of a city that’s surrounded by 3 different concentric walls. Until one day the wall is breached. Kodansha gives us a nice taste of the first volume which features Eren, Mikasa, and Armin before the wall is breached and ends right as it is breached. It’s a pretty good way to showcase the series and the initial talk between the 3 characters regarding how they feel about living within the city sets a nice mood. Ultimately it’s nothing that will sway fans of the series already but it does serve as a nice intro the manga and may convince people to pick the manga up.
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Attack on Titan: Before the Fall
Story By: Ryo Suzukaze
Art By: Satoshi Shiki
On the other end of the Attack on Titan spectrum, Attack on Titan: Before the Fall gives a glimpse of a prequel that many fans might not be familiar with and which has a premise that sounds incredibly intriguing. Taking place in the same world as the main series, it details a creepy cult that worships the Titans. When one of the cultists opens a gate, a Titan enters and immediately begins consuming everyone it can get its hands on. After the attack, two young Survey Corps members are surprised to discover that an unborn baby has managed to survive inside the body of its half-digested mother.
To be honest, the blurb that Kodansha gives us tells us more than the actual preview. It’s extremely short, doesn’t have much to it, and doesn’t really tell us anything. The art is great but without the summary from Kodansha I’d have no idea what the series was supposed to be about.
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Noragami
Created By: Adachitoka
Noragami is about a god named Yato who’s technically homeless because he has no shrine or even any worshipers. Yato decides to set up a service in which he does odd jobs for people for a small fee all in the hopes of raising enough money to build his own shrine and essentially build himself his own home. This preview has him helping a middle school girl who’s bullied and also seems to have something special about her.
This was a pretty fun read and I’m a pretty big fan of supernatural based manga and anime so I was more or less sold as soon as that element was introduced. The characters are a blast as well and the premise can lead to all sorts of interesting adventures. Yato himself is a fun character, with his ultimate disdain for really helping anyone (his ideal solution is to just kill anything causing the problem) as well as his entire plan to get rich and build himself the biggest and fanciest temple just to spite everyone who thought he was a lesser god. I’m also curious to see if he ever even gets that temple built.
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Vinland Saga
Created By: Makoto Yukimura
Vinland Saga is about a boy named Thorfinn who was raised by a band of Vikings who slaughtered his family. He becomes a fierce warrior with dreams of revenge and hopes to one day make it out to the fabled land of peace called Vinland.
The selection here was slightly confusing due to the way you get thrown into the action with little set up. However, it does tremendously well with the action scenes and those essentially sell the story themselves. After all, you’re not reading a Viking story for some deep monologues are you? Creator Makoto Yukimura does a wonderful job of incorporating some old methods of warfare and even includes some cool Viking legends. I can see action fans getting into this heavily.
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Inu Yashiki
Created By: Hiroya Oku
This is a newer manga by the creator of Gantz and I was pretty much hooked. The manga follows an older man who discovers he only has 3 months to live. Faced with this terrible news, he realizes that his kids and his wife hate him and that the family dog is the only living thing that seems to care about him. After realizing how rough his life is, he’s knocked unconscious by a blinding white light that crash lands at the very spot he’s standing. He wakes up and finds himself unharmed and feels that something may not be quite right.
Out of every preview here, this was the one that I found myself wanting to pick up immediately. Hiroya Oku does an amazing job in making you feel for the main character right away. As the story takes a bizarre turn it gets almost too bizarre for words and I can’t even begin to imagine what’s in store. The preview promises a bunch of twists and turns and I can believe it. What’s also interesting is that Hiroya Oku seems to incorporate some real images over his illustrations which creates a very odd vibe and lends to the absurdity of the entire story. Fans of Satoshi Kon’s work will probably feel right at home here.
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Your Lie in April
Created By: Naoshi Arakawa
Your Lie in April is about a young piano prodigy named Kosei Arima who was taught by his strict mother. When his mother dies, Kosei loses all interest in playing the piano and is ready to give up on music altogether. He soon meets a girl named Kaori Miyazono who just so happens to be an amazing violinist with an unconventional style. Will she reignite his passion for music?
This is a fairly cute anime with some great art (especially in scenes featuring Kaori). While it definitely won’t be for everyone, it does look like it would be a great title for readers who like K-On! and similar titles.
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[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his collection serves as a pretty great look into some of Kodansha’s titles and I have to say that I certainly became interested in more than one featured here. Attack on Titan fans have more than their fare share of material to preview and there is definitely something here for everyone else. It’s an absolute must for manga fans.
Free Comic Book Day takes place Saturday May 2nd at participating stores. For more information about Free Comic Book Day and a list of stores participating in events, go to FreeComicBookDay.com.
