It has been a year. I moved into my own house, which is good! I was made redundant, which is bad! There have been many ups and downs, but hey, it wasn’t a dumpster fire like 2020 was so I can’t possibly complain too much.

Despite a middling year for anime, I again didn’t find myself dipping into j-drama to find something good to watch. I did, however, read an absolute mountain of manga. It took until 2023 to really get my manga-reading setup perfected (note: on my phone, in bed) but once I got over that difficult hurdle, it was just a case of figuring out what was good.

So that’s why I’m here – to save you some of the hard work, on the very large assumption that your manga tastes align with mine. Here are the stories that are still stuck in my head, out of everything that I read this year.

Dinosaur Sanctuary

Want to read a manga about what it’s like to run a zoo, except all the animals are dinosaurs? Of course you do – that’s rad. Dinosaur Sanctuary isn’t about how cool dinosaur zoos are, however; it’s about how they’ve lost their popularity after a whole bunch of them opened after dinosaur clones became widely available, and the daily struggles of a small zoo trying to keep visitors coming.

The story reminds me of the first half of The Aquatope on White Sand. Specifically, seeing a small and dedicated team of people who love their job caring for animals, despite the looming question of whether the operation can remain sustainable. Definitely worth a go if you want to read about people like that, but also the animals are dinosaurs.

Blue Giant

After watching (and thoroughly enjoying) the Blue Giant movie at this year’s Scotland Loves Anime, it didn’t take all that long to dive headfirst into the manga. There are a lot of great character moments that made it an instant-favourite, from Dai’s amazing music teacher performing with him at his high school culture festival, to Dai securing his kickass bassist while thoroughly out of his depth in a foreign country during Blue Giant Supreme.

Oddly enough, transitioning from the film’s extended jazz numbers to a medium that, y’know, doesn’t have audio, was less jarring than expected. It’d still be great to see a full adaptation one day, whether it be an anime series or a collection of movies, but until then the manga does a fine job of selling Dai’s skill as a jazz musician, and his ongoing mission to become the best tenor saxophonist in the world.

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity

This one comes with a bit of an asterisk attached to it, mostly because of how some people will 100% find some of the dialogue in this one eyeroll-worthy, but it’s worth talking about this one as a rare case of young men actually being open about their troubles. Rintarou and his three best friends are so tightly knit that it’s genuinely refreshing to see them not bottle their emotions up and stew on them.

As for the story itself, it’s basically Romeo and Juliet, except the houses are an all-boys and all-girls school that are next door to each other. Most of the story is about getting over prejudices and learning that their neighbours are human too, despite what the long-standing rivalry suggests. But also, and most importantly, the lead couple are very cute.

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You

This one was some real comfort food earlier in the year; two overworked adults shooting the shit behind a convenience store after long, grueling shifts. Also, protagonist Sasaki is an idiot and doesn’t realise that his favourite angelic store worker Yamada, and his sick-of-your-shit smoking buddy Tayama, are literally the same person.

Sasaki might be the only person on the planet who’d fall for a Team Rocket disguise, but you can’t help but root for the guy. Not in romance, though there are some hints of that here and there, but rather just for his ongoing friendships. He’s middle-aged and a bit lonely, so seeing him relax after a hellish day with someone happy to see him, to chat about anything and everything is just nice.

The Summer You Were There

Here’s a pick for those of you who just want to have a bit of a cry. Shizuku is a loner at school, traumatised by something that happened years ago. She decides to pour her feelings into writing a novel, making plans to destroy it after it’s finished. She’s caught trying to throw it away by the popular girl in her class, Kaori, who runs off with the novel before Shizuku can protest. Despite being horrified at this turn of events, Shizuku is eventually encouraged by Kaori to continue the story, who suggests that it become a romance novel about their own relationship.

The Summer You Were There is a story about Shizuku seeking redemption, with Kaori showing her that it’s okay to move on. The ideas behind the story are not super original, but the execution is extremely effective. It’s a story that can’t end well, and despite that, I can’t wait to read more of it.

Barakamon

I’d always meant to get around to the Barakamon manga after enjoying the anime from… 2014!? At any rate, nearly a decade later, it was time to finally get stuck into the further adventures of Handa-sensei, the young man with big aspirations in the calligraphy world, and Naru, a child from an island village who takes an instant liking to him.

What I like most about this manga is that there really isn’t much of an overarching plot. Sure, there are small stories that begin and end, but it’s very much a one-year snapshot of Handa-sensei’s life. Because of that, you get to see characters grow and learn in what feels like real-time, something that I haven’t seen done as well as it is in Barakamon. The original 14 volumes of this manga take place over a single year on the island, so you get to see relationships develop, interests change and people coming and going from the village. Handa changes from a cranky calligrapher who wants to be anywhere but the boonies, to a cranky calligrapher who cares deeply for his found family and friends.

I say original 14 volumes because oddly enough, a 15th volume was released this year some 4 years after the end of the manga. Despite the story ending, this new volume picks up as if it had never happened (and even jokes about it). But it can do that without weird retcons – it’s still another few days in Handa-sensei’s life on the island, so it’s like we never left.

The draw to this manga, though, is the relationship between Handa and Naru, a first-grader who lives in the village with her grandpa. Despite initially wanting nothing to do with her and the other kids on the island, Handa-sensei becomes her father figure. She also, unintentionally, keeps giving Handa what he needs to grow, in both his calligraphy and as a person. Their relationship is fantastic, and best of all, it doesn’t throw it all in the bin by doing a Bunny Drop. Whether or not you’ve watched the anime, I very much recommend you give Barakamon a shot.

Have a great 2024 everyone!