This start to the year 2020 is rich in big manga releases, with the long-awaited new title from the master of suspense Naoki Urasawa, "Asadora", but also the action / youth sensation "Jujutsu Kaisen". Among the dozens of titles published since the start of the year, we have chosen six, to suit all tastes.
Our favorite: "Asadora!", The return of the master of suspense
Tokyo, 2020. On the eve of the Olympic Games, a godzilles-sized monster ravages the Japanese capital. Sixty years earlier, a typhoon was threatening another city, Nagoya. In the middle of its narrow streets, empty of all their inhabitants, runs Asa, an extremely characterful and determined young girl, looking for a doctor to help her mother give birth. She finally crosses paths with a thief, who kidnaps her for a ransom. The two characters will finally be trapped by the weather.
Each novelty of Naoki Asadora is expected as dessert during a good meal. The author of the commercial and critical successes “20th Century Boys”, “Monster”, “Pluto” or even “Billy Bat” returns with what he knows how to do best: suspense, a race against time, back and forth- Back in time, a traumatic past and a mystery.
What a rhythm! In a few pages, this first volume of "Asadora" succeeds in winning us over. In this breathtaking tome, Naoki Urasawa installs his plot brilliantly, without answering any of the questions he does not ask.
"Asadora! ", Naoki Urasawa, Kana, 7.45 euros
Exorcism and fighting: "Jujutsu Kaisen"
Yuji Itadori is a high school student, member of a spiritism club, without believing in ghosts and spirits. The members of his group will put their hands on the mummified finger of a demon. Strong-headed and gifted with spectacular physical strength, the adolescent finds nothing better to do than swallow it to prevent the relic from releasing its power. Destined for certain death, Yuji survives ... by hosting Ryomen Sukuna, the thousand-year-old demon. Endowed with a supernatural force and henceforth considered as an evil being, the high school student will be forced to cooperate with the exorcists, on pain of being himself eliminated.
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Humor, combat, exorcism, "Jujutsu Kaisen" successfully aligns all the codes of shonen (manga for teenagers), adding a touch of violence, rarely seen in this kind of highly codified manga. New hit of the Japanese prepublication magazine Shonen Jump, this title by Gege Akutami will undoubtedly be the big success of Ki-oon editions, which publishes it in France.
"Jujutsu Kaisen" (two volumes available), Gege Akutami, Ki-oon, 6.90 euros
Two veterans in post-1945 Japan: "Sengo"
After the defeat of 1945, Japan and especially Tokyo are in ruins. Kadomatsu, an ex-soldier, falls on Toku, his superior. But his former mentor is disenchanted, far from the point guard he has known. The two men gradually reconnect and learn to live again, between scam, black market and prostitution.
In "Sengo", Sensuke Yamada succeeds in mixing cynicism and humor in these little adventures of the "bromance" type. The bittersweet subject is carried by a superb design, close to the Franco-Belgian style. A work that won him the Osamu Tezuka Prize and the Japan Cartoonist Association Grand Prize in 2019. Indispensable.
"Sengo" (two volumes available), Sansuke Yamada, Casterman, 9.45 euros
A drama against the backdrop of a societal crisis: “Weed”
Yamada is a sad and aging lieutenant. When a prostitution ring for minors is dismantled, he comes face to face with one of the young girls arrested, Shiori, who dramatically reminds him of his missing child. While his police position prohibits him, he feels obliged to help the young runaway and hesitates to accommodate the one who, immediately "released", returns to the street to sell. A link will be formed between the two drifting characters.
This overwhelming manga aptly speaks of despair, through the portrait of two different characters in every way. A social drama, of great accuracy, which plunges us into one of the great evils of Japanese society: loneliness.
“Weed”, Keigo Shinzo, Editions Le Lézard noir, € 13.
Schoolchildren and the legend of a birdman: "Birdmen"
Eishi Karasuma's anti-sympathetic anti-hero as possible, spends his time complaining. Intelligent, but lonely, his only friend is also the grouchy type, but more robust. In the company of a girl they have just met, the two accomplices are going to be victims of a dramatic bus accident. In agony, they meet what they believed to be a legend: the birdman ...
This shonen can destabilize the reader by its rather slow rhythm (we would have appreciated that the first two volumes were published at the same time), but let yourself be carried away by these characters. Immerse yourself in this boring daily life of a shy and reserved high school student: the total reversal of his daily life will mark you all the more!
Carried by a chiseled and dark graphics, "Birdmen" is an excellent adventure combining superheroes and fantasy. Published in Jump magazine, the manga, the author of which has just announced the next end, should have a little more than fifteen volumes.
“Birdmen”, Yellow Tanabe, Editions Vega, € 7
The sequel that nobody expected: "Death Note Special One-Shot"
"Death Note" is no longer to be presented. Cult manga, released in 2007 and adapted animated then in film on Netflix, it follows Light Yagami, gifted teenager, greedy for justice. One day, he inherits the notebook of a god of death which allows him to eliminate the people of his choice, by simply indicating their name, the date and the cause of death. A terrible power, which will be talked about. Very quickly, the police how to investigate unexplained deaths, the author of which is none other than Light.
We will not say more to avoid any spoiler… Monument of suspense, this manga was published in France by Kana between 2007 and 2008. This new new chapter of 87 pages has been available for free for a few days only on the Manga PLUS application from Japanese publisher Shueisha. The only problem is that it is only available in English and Spanish.
"Death Note Special One-Shot", free, Manga PLUS