Happy Anime Expo, and to celebrate, we have some Fourth of July Manga Minis! We’re reviewing the debut works of Mad Cave Studios’ Nakama Press as well as the first volume of highly anticipated series Veil! Check out our thoughts below!
Indigo (Nakama Press)
As a reporter for the Mars occult magazine, Ella investigates the death of a beloved professor. While doing this, she gets caught up in an extraterrestrial plot that threatens the universe. From reptilians masquerading as humans to the origin of the Indigo children (those with extraordinary powers who hid on earth), Ella realizes she might be more special than she might have thought. But what does her presence have to do with everything strange going on?
The art in this Manhua is exceptionally pretty, especially when celestial space is involved. However, this unfortunately doesn’t carry into the story itself, which feels like 3 volumes compressed into a one-shot volume. I understand bits and pieces of the main narrative (which boils down to “The chosen one needs to save the world”), but the pacing is haphazardly quick. Plot points jump from one event to the other without giving the characters or reader time to breathe.
The skeleton for a good plot is here, but there’s no meat, just bones. By the time I finished the story, I was left confused and felt the resolution undeserved. With a few more chapters to expound upon Ella’s heritage, I might have rated this a little better.
Other than art, it might be hard to recommend Indigo to those looking for a new title to sink their teeth into. I commend Nakama Press for publishing something unique, but I would endorse something else for those wanting a sci-fi epic.
Rating: 2 out of 5 UwUs
God Tier Volume 1 (Nakama Press)
I’m seeing a ton of new reading material with Greek mythology in the modern world, especially with young adult literature. From Percy Jackson to Lore Olympus, it’s a topic with no shortage of series to binge read. Nakama Press recently released God Tier, which highlights a wrathful view of the residents of Olympus Mons and the humans who wish to survive.
God Tier is framed as a tale from the lone survivor of “The Old World”, where Titanomachy occurred. Recalling his tale to some travelers, we go back to a place where the Greek gods exist on earth (separated between the alphas and omegas). Here, a little boy named Pablo is caught in the crossfire as riots start to break out in the city. Running away with his sister Anna and her boyfriend, Pablo sees firsthand the fury of the gods.
Leading the charge of chaos is Typhon, who mysteriously transforms humans into mythological figures who wreak havoc on the streets. Meanwhile, the police force unsuccessfully tries to quell the rebellion. Officer Perseus valiantly defends the streets, but is it enough to fight the gods?
Now, I get how Pablo is supposed to be a central character in this story, but he’s the least interesting person here. If anything, the rest of the story hints at Perseus being the protagonist, which I think works best since he’s the most heroic character here. The buildup to current events takes a while to set up, but now we’re in a Purge-esque riot sequence, which is a nice touch.
Having the gods depicted here be malicious and showing off how deadly they can be works well too, though the art feels a bit inconsistent right now. (Kudos to how the medusa uses her powers, I liked that a lot.) I feel like this is a work that would work better in full color rather than black and white, but my mind might be changed in the next volumes.
Speaking of inconsistency, my main gripe with the story is how it handles its stronger content. I didn’t realize until heading into the Poseidon interview scenes that this was marked 18+ from Nakama Press, but for some reason a lot of the harsher language is censored. Reminiscent of my earlier review of Viral Hit, it feels weird to have some depicted nudity while not allowing characters to say the F-word in an adult graphic novel. I did see more uncensored language later in the volume, but hopefully this gets fixed in the future.
If you’re into Greek gods wreaking havoc on earth, God Tier should be something you should pick up!
Rating: 3 out of 5 UwUs
Happyland Volume 2 (Ablaze)
Last October, I reviewed the first volume of Happyland and thought it was interesting but very flawed. With the second half of this story available now, does this end up come up with a satisfying conclusion to the deadly game or causes more questions than answers?
In this final volume, the Komiya family continue their quest for survival in a killer theme park. After the children admitted their deepest secrets to their parents, it’s time for Kenji and his wife Misa to endure their struggles. From a deadly kart race to a haunted hospital, there’s no shortage of trauma for the family to experience.
In addition, longtime friend Hiiragi Fujigaya joins the family as he and his fiancé also end up in the fray. His presence causes strain for Kenji and his wife as more secrets come to light. Will the Komiya family be able to survive this treacherous trial together?
The structure for this volume still follows the “baring your truth” conceit that this story hopes to accomplish. However, the stages this time feel more interactive to the characters involved (in that they must actively survive rather than just admitting their faults). It does help that the conflicts and secret truths within Kenji and Misa feel believable rather than Ritsu and Rin’s.
However, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that this feels like a worse version of Alice in Borderland. The story ends with a twist that comes out of the left field and doesn’t have an ending that wraps up every question a reader might have. It’s more of the same from the first volume, which unfortunately is a little less than average in terms of narrative structure.
In the end, I didn’t feel like my time with Happyland was wasted, but I think there’s other survival series to check out if you’re interested in high-stakes death games.
Rating: 2 out of 5 UwUs
Veil Volume 1 (Udon Entertainment)
What better way to celebrate the fourth of July with some great romance? I’ve been hearing tons of positive word-of-mouth feedback about Veil recently. It’s not usually my cup of tea, but I decided to pick up the first volume at my local bookstore.
My goodness, what an experience.
In a chance encounter, police officer Alex meets Emma, a runaway heiress who cannot see. As Emma looks for employment, Alex suggests that she work as a telephone operator at the police station. After some choice dialogue, the two enter a relationship. More than friends, but maybe less than lovers, this story chronicles the couple as they live life in the city.
While there isn’t a distinctive plot or narrative to follow, the story is shown in vignettes that are framed as scenes. Alex and Emma continue to warmly grow on each other as we are slowly introduced to their personalities. It’s a pure romance that invites you in and enraptures you into its setting. It’s a genuine treat to see such a loving duo, and I ate the whole volume up.
I can’t believe how enamored I was with the whole package. This manga is in full-color, with the aesthetic looking like a European comic album. It highlights a sketchy style, but everything fits cohesively together. In addition to the manga scenes, there are short written dialogue passages featuring the point of view of the characters. I thought this prose works perfectly and it gives a lot of perspective to how the two feel. Veil’s first volume was also something I bought physically (the volumes are out of stock right now, so you’ll need to wait for a bit), and it looks and feels lovely.
A perfect romantic series into which to sink your teeth, Veil is one of the best stories of the year!
Rating: 5 out of 5 UwUs
Have a lovely Fourth of July, and hope you’re enjoying Anime Expo! Stay tuned for more anime and manga news and reviews here on Miso!
