Summer is the perfect time to discover the world of manga. The problem is that many cult works consist of dozens of volumes that are very difficult to fit in your suitcases. Fortunately, manga also include short and yet excellent series that allow you to appreciate the richness of this medium. Here is a Top 10 of these short sagas.
Manga in less than three volumes
- Tezuka Metropolis (Taifu Comics): Before becoming a great animated film, Metropolis is an early work of the father of manga published in 1949. All the style of the manga and its questions are already present: the man-machine relationship, the myth of Prometheus, futurism, all encompassed in an incredibly modern narrative inspired as much by the detective novel as by German expressionism.
- Daedalus (Doki-Doki): Two young students, Reika and Youko wake up in a gigantic building. The place is strange, the rooms seem to repeat themselves, the rules of physics are destabilizing. They discover that they are the only human occupants of the place but that strange creatures roam this labyrinth. Only one hope to get by: a message posted by Tagami, a video game creator. Here is a very original manga-survival that multiplies the false tracks based on a marvel of staging.
- Poison City (Ki-oon): A year before the start of the Olympic Games, Japan is overwhelmed by a moral wave. In the viewfinder of these neo-puritans, the art world that must be expurgated of what defenders of good morals consider decadent. Mikio Hibiono, a young Magaka, decides to publish a horror story and becomes the target of these Puritans. This short story (2 volumes) is terribly powerful and resonates with current events. It reminds us that nothing is definitively taken for granted and that freedom is a permanent struggle.
- The Divorcees' Club (Kana): This work published in 1974 is a fascinating dive into Japanese society. Author Kazuo Kamimura is interested in divorce and the life of a divorced woman who must juggle her role as a mother, her job, her feelings and the gaze of society. In two volumes this manga takes us to the other side of the mirror to reveal the weight of traditions through a magnificent heroine.
- Amnesia (Glénat): 2038, the "incident" has just hit Tokyo. Hundreds of Japanese people have been victims of a terrorist attack that has robbed them of their memory. Now called the Kid'z they are parked in an underground city. Among this cohort of banished, Noa Ikurimi intrigues many people. In the meanders of his mind would be hidden the secrets of the "incident". This manga will delight lovers of science fiction, investigation and thriller. The plot is clever, the pace breathless.
Manga between 4 and 6 volumes
- 6000 (komikku): Under the Philippine Sea, at a depth of more than 6000 meters, two Chinese and Japanese companies built the Cofdeece. But the place was the scene of a terrible accident that claimed the lives of all its occupants. Three years after the tragedy, a new team of engineers descends into this realm of the night to understand the causes of the incident and prepare for the reopening of the station. This manga is a subtle mix between Abyss, Alien and Lovecraft. A horror story, it maintains a constant tension reinforced by an agonizing staging.
- Kamen Teacher (Pika): When Gôta Araki enters Kyokurant High School, he actually enters one of the worst high schools in the city. The offenders enforce the law until the arrival of a new professor Hayao Jumonji. The latter has the particularity of resembling the superhero Kamen Rider by wearing a helmet at all times. His expeditious methods, punching, shaving his head and marking his victims, bring back some calm. But the man intrigues and the teachers investigate to understand who this funny teacher works for. This manga is a kind of parallel narrative to that of G.T.O. It will please the fan of Onizuka by offering a hero in more angry while maintaining the severe analysis on Japanese society.
- Demokratia (Kazé): the Motoro Mase manager loves to deliver stories offering a vision of our future worthy of black mirror. After the remarkable Ikigami, he delivers in 5 volumes a fable that turns into drama. In her manga, Maï, a female robot, is led by "démokratia", an I.A particular. It is the result of the collaboration of 3000 randomly chosen people who via a social network submit their proposal for actions. The I.A then adopts the majority decision. The magnificent idea quickly clashes with reality and Motoro Mase offers a striking mise en abyme of our modern democracies.
- Versailles of the Dead (Kana): You liked the series The Revolution, so this manga is for you. A few years before the Revolution, Marie-Antoinette on her way to France was attacked by zombies. It is his twin brother Albert who decides to take his place. But he himself is no ordinary human and as zombie attacks multiply, forces come out of the shadows. A daring work, this manga mixes codes, offers an uninhibited horror uchrony that delighted the editors.
- Thermae Romae (Casterman): during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, the architect Lucius Modestus encountered difficulties in completing his thermal baths project. As he travels to the bathhouse, a time portal propels him into present-day Japan. Believing he has landed in a section of the baths reserved for foreigners, he will be inspired by their strange ideas to improve his own baths and make them the most popular baths in Rome. This manga is a double treat. A feast for the eyes with its meticulous reconstructions of Ancient Rome. A treat for the spirit by weaving links between Roman culture and Japanese culture.
Happy reading and have a good summer!!
