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fanifestoI've fallen into a new manga head-first, and hope to maybe entice some of you out there to check it out, if it seems like it might be relevant to your interests :D If you enjoy OT4 ships, it can work as a mini-primer on them♡ too, but no need for shipping goggles to enjoy this series, it's really really good as it is! Crossposted to my journal.)
It was hard for me to figure out how to even start a promo post, because it only took one picture to get me to try it out:
...I didn't really ask any more questions after that. Bonus impact for stumbling on it in Japanese because the "kept pet" implied in the verb is lovely, and obviously plays with the K-9/"police dog" title.
Anyway, meet Oboro on the left - he's great - and Ren on the right - she's great. The art is beautiful, and everyone is very pretty.
This seems pretty simplistic at first glance, but that slowly changes as we drill deeper into the worldbuilding and learn the nuances of these abilities and how they manifest. The implications are deeply fucked up, with often devastating consequences that I'm totally here for as my heart gets shattered again and again.
Ren Hizuki: Badass cop beloved by her coworkers. Tragic backstory we learn about in the first chapter. Chain-smoker with extreme nicotine addiction. Pure heart.
Yuushirou Oboro: The sin user she's partnered with. Hard to pin down what he's really thinking. Often follows the Rule Of Cool, but sometimes very much not so. Dangerous and adorable.
Jin Fujimaru: How do I even begin to describe him? He's rough, in appearance and in how he speaks. But he's also really sincere in a lot of things he says and does, which makes him very appealing.
Yukito Kagari: An angel. May kill you with his sword. Stupidly, stupidly strong. I was so torn between picking the trash can baby pic or a cooler one. Sorry, Kagari. If you enjoy characters who trust someone else fully with their moral compass, this is the guy for you.
The power dynamic of this second pair is really interesting, and it only gets better with a delightful little twist that comes later.
TOGETHER THEY FIGHT CRIME! More specifically, crime related to sin users. But they also get their asses kicked and handed over to them quite a bit, haha.
I thought at first it'd mostly be two pairs with the occasional team-up, but I couldn't have been happier to be wrong. Once the intro arc kind of gets done, they're all extremely ride-or-die for each other (which is fantastic especially if you're reading with OT4 goggles on). They're a kickass, extremely fun combination of characters. Chapter 24 destroyed me, and now I too am ride-or-die for them.
The story quickly connects back to a larger arc, quite messed up in parts, and has utterly fascinating dynamics. Even if the main cast comes in two pairs, there are so many fun interactions between each and every character, and they all fall naturally in sync on the important (and sometimes not so important but very funny) stuff. A delightful read.
In English: There's an official simulpub translation on the Kodansha website, though if that's not accessible to you or whatever, I'm sure there are Other Ways. The first three chapters are free to read even without creating an account, if you want to see if this is to your taste!
In Japanese: Kodansha app/site. Likewise, the first and last 3 chapters (minus latest) are available for free, and if you create an account you can get a free chapter ticket per day and slowly catch up this way.
It was hard for me to figure out how to even start a promo post, because it only took one picture to get me to try it out:
...I didn't really ask any more questions after that. Bonus impact for stumbling on it in Japanese because the "kept pet" implied in the verb is lovely, and obviously plays with the K-9/"police dog" title.
Anyway, meet Oboro on the left - he's great - and Ren on the right - she's great. The art is beautiful, and everyone is very pretty.
About the world
Some people have special abilities, most of which are not well understood. Only one thing is known for sure: these abilities manifest after someone commits a crime. For example, the criminal from the first chapter is an arsonist and can control/become fire. (Somewhat unrelated, but this is pretty fun coming in from the Boku No Hero Academia world, because it's like a universe in which only bad guys get a quirk.) Here, these abilities are called "sins." In the Japanese, it's simply the kanji for crime with "sin" written in katakana beside it.This seems pretty simplistic at first glance, but that slowly changes as we drill deeper into the worldbuilding and learn the nuances of these abilities and how they manifest. The implications are deeply fucked up, with often devastating consequences that I'm totally here for as my heart gets shattered again and again.
The story premise
Our plucky detective Ren is selected to join Division 9, a newly created division that pairs a detective with a sin user in order to fight fire with fire -- what could possibly go wrong?! I love her. She kicks so much ass.
So, who's our main cast?
Ren Hizuki: Badass cop beloved by her coworkers. Tragic backstory we learn about in the first chapter. Chain-smoker with extreme nicotine addiction. Pure heart.
Yuushirou Oboro: The sin user she's partnered with. Hard to pin down what he's really thinking. Often follows the Rule Of Cool, but sometimes very much not so. Dangerous and adorable.
Jin Fujimaru: How do I even begin to describe him? He's rough, in appearance and in how he speaks. But he's also really sincere in a lot of things he says and does, which makes him very appealing.
Yukito Kagari: An angel. May kill you with his sword. Stupidly, stupidly strong. I was so torn between picking the trash can baby pic or a cooler one. Sorry, Kagari. If you enjoy characters who trust someone else fully with their moral compass, this is the guy for you.
The power dynamic of this second pair is really interesting, and it only gets better with a delightful little twist that comes later.
TOGETHER THEY FIGHT CRIME! More specifically, crime related to sin users. But they also get their asses kicked and handed over to them quite a bit, haha.
I thought at first it'd mostly be two pairs with the occasional team-up, but I couldn't have been happier to be wrong. Once the intro arc kind of gets done, they're all extremely ride-or-die for each other (which is fantastic especially if you're reading with OT4 goggles on). They're a kickass, extremely fun combination of characters. Chapter 24 destroyed me, and now I too am ride-or-die for them.
The story quickly connects back to a larger arc, quite messed up in parts, and has utterly fascinating dynamics. Even if the main cast comes in two pairs, there are so many fun interactions between each and every character, and they all fall naturally in sync on the important (and sometimes not so important but very funny) stuff. A delightful read.
Where to read? How many chapters are out?
As of this writing, there are 37 chapters and 3 volumes. Sooo, totally possible to catch up in a reasonable amount of time :D There are weekly-ish updates.
In English: There's an official simulpub translation on the Kodansha website, though if that's not accessible to you or whatever, I'm sure there are Other Ways. The first three chapters are free to read even without creating an account, if you want to see if this is to your taste!
In Japanese: Kodansha app/site. Likewise, the first and last 3 chapters (minus latest) are available for free, and if you create an account you can get a free chapter ticket per day and slowly catch up this way.
Bonus scythe, for fellow appreciators of the Rule of Cool
