Now Loading...! Manga Review

Love is a two-player game.

Creative Staff:

Story & Art: Mikanuji

Translation: Amber Tamosaitis

Lettering: CK Russell

Editor: Shannon Fay

Cover Design: KC Fabellon

What They Say:

Takagi just started her dream job at a gaming company! Not only that, but she’ll be working for her idol, the famous game designer Sakurazuki Kaori! When Takagi finally meets her hero, she’s in for a shock: Sakurazuki is harsh, blunt, and better at playing video games than dealing with people. As Takagi and Sakurazuki work together, the two women grow closer and even fall in love. Can they keep it professional, or will the whole workplace find out?

The Review:

Content: (Please be advised, the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

One-shots in the world of yuri manga aren't really anything to write home about. In fact, roughly half of the yuri material I've consumed at this point in my life has been in and out almost instantaneously. Suffice it to say, I've learned to never get attached to anything after just one volume. Sometimes, however, the thought of attachment doesn't cross my mind at all. In fact, there are even times when I wish to forget things shortly after consuming them. This, my friends, is one of those times.

Now Loading is a one-off shoujo-ai manga that takes everything audiences loved about the New Game franchise and turns it into something so generic and boring that I'm considering going back for a refund. But hey, at least the book is kind enough to give you a preview of its poor quality in the form of a disorienting grammatical error as early as page six. In the grand scheme of things, this could have just been Seven Seas warning us to not push any further at the risk of being let down. On the other hand, though, I think it's more along the lines of this -- Now Loading is not only a rehashed and completely meaningless iteration of New Game, it is a blatant and borderline-offensive ripoff with just as little care pumped into its localization as its conception.

Now, the woes of Now Loading aren't exactly omnipresent. In fact, the artwork is actually pretty darn good. From a sheer aesthetic point alone, I'd go as far as saying this is one of the nicest manga I've read all year. However, once we get into the actual 'writing' part of the grading scale, the entire thing crumbles faster than Vic Mignona's recent recording schedule. You see, Mikanuji isn't exactly known for her/his ability as a storyteller. This mildly popular Pixiv artist gained traction through the simple means of shoujo-ai fanart, the same way many others of that ilk have become notable. So, despite not knowing exactly what sort of blood, sweat, tears went into the construction of this story (Which I'd imagine is minimal), I'd say it's safe to surmise that we've got another case of someone who doesn't really know how to write attempting to...well, write a story.

Sure, I'm positive there are a handful of readers out there who approached Now Loading as a Mikanuji artbook of sorts. But the fact of the matter is, there isn't enough substance here to actually create a compelling manga. Hell, the first chapter alone goes through so many pacing issues that you'd think it was attempting to run a forty-yard dash on its hands. And once it finally reaches its end, it screeches to a halt without accomplishing the only thing it sets out to do -- making you care about literally any of the characters it has to offer. Sure, there probably would have been a bit more luck in this department if the characters weren't copy-pasted New Game clones (Hell, the graphic design girl in this book even dresses and wears her hair the same way Yun Iijima did), but things like that are unavoidable when you've got nothing to base a product on other than the success of something else. Now Loading is the result of turning fanart into a 'full-fledged' story and, without Mikanuji's artwork, I don't think anyone would have ever greenlighted its production.

At the end of the day, we're left with a property that can be summarized by a simple industry lesson: Some people can write, some people can draw. There aren't many people who can do both. Know your strengths and find others who can compensate for your weaknesses. Don't try to do everything on your own, or you might end up with this -- a failed and heartless fanfic. 

In Summary: 

Never judge a book by its cover. Now Loading lures readers in with vivid artwork and decent cover design, only to let them down when it comes to everything else. Even the localization department drops the ball in this blatant New Game ripoff with several grammatical errors that somehow managed to make it through quality assurance. Fans of the shoujo-ai genre, I can promise you that there is nothing here you haven't seen before. In fact, there is nothing here at all. I'm sure that one day, many years from now, there will be a 'true' yuri gaming series, but this is not it. This isn't anything.

Content Grade: D

Art Grade: B+

Packaging Grade: B

Text/Translation Grade: C-

Age Rating: 13+

Released By: Seven Seas

Release Date: January 29, 2019

MSRP: $12.99

Re:Zero ~ Chapter 3 Vol. #01 Manga Review

Change the world, one life at a time

Creative Staff:

Art: Daichi Matsuse

Original Story: Tappei Nagatsuki

Character Design: Shinichirou Otsuka

Translation: ZephyrRZ

Lettering: Bianca Pistillo

What They Say:

Having survived both his encounter with the demon beasts and the nigh endless week at Roswaal manor, Subaru returns to the capital of Lugunica with Emilia and Rem. Reuniting with friends and foes alike in the city where it all began, Subaru also lays eyes on other candidates for queen -- Emilia's rivals! Can Emilia win against suck formidable opponents? And how will Subaru react when he discovers the shocking identity of the final candidate?

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

With a very fanservice-heavy volume closing out Makoto Fuugetsu's rendition of the Re:Zero world in chapter two, the time has come to pass the torch back to the same artist who handled the pilot volume of the series. That's right, Daichi Matsuse has returned and, even though I much prefer the artistic stylings of the former, I'm not about to write this new arc off just yet. I mean, at least in terms of content, chapter three of the Re:Zero manga is the longest and most complex one yet and, at least at the time of me writing this, is still publishing. If there's anything we learned from the animated counterpart it's that this story has a lot to show us and, in a sense, it hasn't really begun to show us anything before this point.

Now, before we get into talking about the actual content, I want to point out that the jump between chapters two and three of Re:Zero is rather disorienting when taking into account the weird gaps and overlaps of the respective publications. I mentioned it in an earlier review, but the decision to have both of these chapters publishing simultaneously is something I still can't understand. Hell, I think it's been around a year since this volume came out and I didn't even want to touch it until its predecessor was wrapped up. But, as you have probably surmised, the time has finally come. I just needed to beat away a few layers of confusion before finally figuring out exactly where in the timeline this book was.

Chapter three begins several days (Weeks maybe?) after chapter two's fourth volume. Subaru had just defeated the demon beasts of the nearby village and was finally resting up after the longest week of his life [so far]. Luckily for him, that week is about to be rounded out with a trip back to capital city as Emilia has some important political meeting or whatever to attend. The reason for dragging Subaru along is so that he can "Reunite with old acquaintances and heal his wounds," but that quickly changes once he's introduced to the first of several new characters in the series -- Priscilla Barielle.

Priscilla, a purebred ojousama stereotype, believes that the world is her oyster- and for good reason. She isn't blessed with any sort of physical prowess or unrivaled magical ability, she just sort of...knows stuff. Priscilla's bid on the kingdom is that "she is a winner." Anything she wants, she takes and so on, so forth. Well, at least that's how it seems until Subaru's entire existence sort of contradicts that. You see, Priscilla also tries to take Subaru as she finds him "entertaining,' but thanks to likes of good old Roswall, this ultimately fails. And despite just how interesting Priscilla is, the most interesting part of her is actually the companion/bodyguard she keeps at her side -- a shirtless, helmeted wanderer by the name of Al. This Goblin Slayer lookalike is actually the only other character (So far) who was also transported to this world, and he wastes no time in bringing up that similarity to Subaru. The only difference is that Al was transported here 18 years ago rather than just a week. Oh, and he also has one less arm than Subaru- but that's beside the point.

The addition of Al into the story is actually one that turns things on their head in a way. it's now clear that there's some sort of reason for people from other dimensions to come to the "Grand Cascade," but it's one that we likely won't understand for quite some time. But either way, having someone to relate to is sure to make Subaru feel a bit more 'at home,' especially considering everyone else he meets in this volume kind of sucks. Among this demographic are the other royal candidates, Anastasia and Crusch, as well as their subordinates in the form of the royal guard. And while I won't waste much time on them now (They will be much more important later on in the story), I will say that finally getting into the more political side of things adds a bit more depth to Emilia's story- something many fans tend to whine about.

The last important landmark of this volume, however, may come as a bit of a surprise to some. Remember how Reinhard sort of kidnapped Felt after the huge battle with Elsa? Well, lo and behold, she's also a royal candidate now. And despite not being a big fan of this herself, there are certain qualities she possesses that hint to their being more to her character than previously let on. And while those qualities are still a bit uncertain at this point in time, they will definitely make things a bit more difficult for Emilia, to say the least.

In Summary:

Despite the departure of Fuugetsu, Re:Zero continues to stand tall as one of the most complex and layered isekai stories on the market. And now that the character roster is expanding and we're finally getting into the bigger aspects of the world, that will only ring truer in the volumes to come. A recurring idea in this volume seems to be throwing the reader for a loop. In the span of just four chapters, we meet another adventurer who came here from a different world and discover that an old, unlikely character might be named queen soon enough. And even though it may seem like the bulk of this book focused on exposition, I assure you that it was needed in order to set the stage for the events soon to come. If you haven't already acquainted yourself to the kingdom of Lugunica, do yourself a favor and start now. We've only just begun.

Content Grade: B

Art Grade: B

Packaging Grade: B

Text/Translation Grade: B

Age Rating: 13+

Released By: Yen Press

Release Date: October 31, 2017

MSRP: $12.99