There are two universal truths in today’s rapidly changing comics industry. The first is that Dog Man remains the defining comic of our era. The second is that more people are reading manga and Webtoons (aka vertical scroll comics) than ever before. Therefore we at Comics Beat are continuing our Beat’s Bizarre Adventure. Every week we’ll have three writers recommend some of their favorite books and series from Japan, Korea and elsewhere. This week we have a classic Shonen Jump romance from the ’90s, a cat-centric romance from the 2020s, and, of course, motorcycle romance.
I”S
Writer/Artist: Masakazu Katsura
Translator: Joe Yamazaki
English Adaptation: Lance Caselman
Touch-up & Lettering: Freeman Wong
Design: Hidemi Sahara
Editor: Kit Fox
Publisher: VIZ
Masakazu Katsura is a prolific manga artist with a long history of popular works. Some may remember his romantic comedy series Video Girl Ai, or his superhero manga Wing-Man, which recently got a live action TV adaptation. His most influential comic for me though was I’’s. I remember buying volumes as they were first released stateside.
I’’s follows Ichitaka, a high school student crushing on his classmate Iori. Just when the two become close, though, Ichitaka’s childhood friend Itsuki re-enters his life. So begins a long-winding love triangle. Of course, it isn’t just these two that Ichitaka has to contend with through a story that follows him from teenagedom into adulthood.
The realistic paintings of the characters on the covers stood out from the general manga style you saw back then. While the story is initially rather lighthearted, it matures as the characters mature. Katsura’s art likewise has such detail and emotion that it was easy for me to be sucked into the story. Also, I absolutely love the ending.
I think that I”s is often overlooked by VIZ and manga readers. I don’t even think it’s currently available on their VIZ manga app. But it is still in print, and available digitally, which is nice to see. This is a series I will always recommend, even though it has a certain flavor that not everyone will enjoy. I hope that those of you who do find as much to like about it as I did. — Derrick Crow
A Kiss With a Cat
Writer/Artist: Miko Senri
Translator: Anh Kiet Pham Ngo/ Local Manga
Lettering: Chana Conley/ Local Manga
Publisher: Kodansha
Erina is a proud cataholic. From her pen case to Insta feed, there’s not one thing around her that’s not cat-related. Her heart belongs to those cute button noses and soft toe beans, while she’s equally uninterested and cold towards boys—a relatable queen to many. One day when she’s in her room, a black and white cat scratches at her window. She jumps at the chance to pet this cute, uninvited guest. In fact, he’s so well-behaved for a stray that without thinking, she smooches the cat. Because who wouldn’t? The next thing she knows, she’s sitting across from her unsociable and currently naked classmate Nekoyama.
Another week, another shojo manga recommendation from me! A Kiss With a Cat is a romantic comedy set in high school with fantasy elements sprinkled on top. Nekoyama can only shapeshift between a cat and a human by kissing, though the subject doesn’t have to be human. In human form, he still has some cat-like sensitivities, such as his dislike of loud noises or onions. In turn, he can speak perfectly even when in cat form.
In the afterword section in the first volume of A Kiss With a Cat, Miko Senri shares that they decided to draw this manga because they couldn’t get a cat themselves. (They already had two small kids and two dogs.) You can tell that Senri has observed cats quite well because Nekoyama’s behavior is so on point! Just like how you don’t adopt cats, they simply choose you, Nekoyama decides by himself that Erina is his “owner” now. He knows how cute his cat form is, and doesn’t hold back from using his soft paws or squishy tummy to get what he wants. Count yourself lucky that this isn’t a full-length review, or you’d be going through my extensive “Nekoyama being his adorable furry self” screenshot collection.
I’ve only read two volumes so far and have to note that the plot is kind of wacky. If you were to go into it expecting a somewhat believable story, you’d be disappointed. I’m not just saying this because there’s a boy who turns into a cat. My guy suddenly starts living in Erina’s house, and uses his charms to butter up her mother so that they “adopt him”. All sorts of hijinks ensue in school because even when he’s a human, he can’t help but react to birds, for example. But the character designs are utterly gorgeous, Erina and Nekoyama make a fun pair, and I find myself flipping through the pages. The series is completed with six volumes, so you won’t be wondering what happens next! — Merve Giray
Mars
Writer/Artist: Fuyumi Soryo
Translator: Shirley Kubo
Retouch Artist: Roselyn Santos
Editors: Stephanie Donnelly and Robert Coyner
Associate Editors: Trisha Kunimoto and Eric Althoff
Associate Editor: Paul Morrissey
Publisher: Kodansha
When I first started reading shojo manga in high school, I was surprised just how many different kinds of stories were available. Mafia thrillers (Banana Fish), epic romantasy (Basara), science fiction (Please Save My Earth) and love letters to Shin Megami Tensei (Angel Sanctuary) just to name a few. Sure, these stories were all romances with comparable art styles. But the scaffolding around the romance could be very different depending on the author’s ambitions and interests.
Mars is a fascinating case study in that respect. It is, in every way that matters, a traditional romance comic about two gorgeous teenagers who fall deeply in love with each other. Rei is a dreamboat who rides a motorcycle and leaps down full flights of stairs to rescue his girl. Kira is an everywoman artist whose glistening eyes hide unexpected reserves of strength. The two of them first meet in a park, where Rei asks shy Kira to sketch him a map.
Just after their meet-cute, though, Rei has a long conversation with a friend and fellow motorcyclist who lost his leg in an accident. “My body was floating in the air, and the next thing I knew, everything was dark,” the motorcyclist says. “It was like I was dreaming.” This sequence is a roadmap for what Mars will become: not just a heartwarming romance but also a psychological roller coaster with digressions into motorcycle racing and art history.
In a conversation with manga artist Naoki Urasawa, Mars artist Fuyumi Soryo admitted that “I preferred gruesome images over fluffy and cute things…for romance, I like to focus on the suspenseful aspects.” She would later pivot into psychological science fiction (ES: Eternal Sabbath) and historical fiction (Cesare.) But don’t discount Mars. Crowdpleaser it may be, it balances shojo manga sparkle and Soryo’s own preferences perfectly. It’s also the rare manga romance where both partners (rather than just one or the other) shoulder deep repressed trauma they must help each other through. — Adam Wescott
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