Yakusoku no Neverland Volume 11
The Goldy Pond arc is thus completed. Really enjoyable volume, feels good to finally see Leuvis go down (although it's weird that his body is missing when they're showing all the dead demons at the end of the arc, there could be some fuckery going on here). It's a very action-centric volume so there hasn't been a huge amount of plot development (which isn't an issue) so I'm guessing the manga will now veer back towards developing the intrigue.
I seem to remember reading something about the series entering its final arc recently, am I remembering this right? Since I only read this manga when the volumes come out I don't really venture in the OT. I like the series but I'm not unhappy about that - not every series need to be running for 10+ years. I won't say no to a short(er) series that's good all the way through and knows how to end on a high note (which it hopefully will).
Radiant Volumes 9 & 10
These two volumes conclude the Caislean Merlin Arc, the second big arc of the series which started on Volume 5. I found them to be a really good conclusion to the arc, I couldn't put the books down after starting haha. They're a big emotional rollercoaster, I went through pretty much every emotion in these two volumes.
Just like the latest Yakusoku no Neverland Volume they are chock-full of action - for the first time in the series we get simultaneous 1-on-1 fights on top of a big all-out war. We get some good character development for most of the main cast and Seth's team gets a new member (Ocoho,
the girl on the cover of the fifth volume - just an awesome, badass, and fun character all around, shame she won't be in this season of the anime). Finally, Volume 10 ends on a more fun and light hearted note and starts hinting at what's coming in the future.
The next volume was supposed to come out next month but the author missed a deadline so it's reported to around March next year... It's gonna be a long wait.
But otherwise for all you English-speakers, a fan has started translating the manga into English. From what I've seen of it it's quite obvious English isn't their native language, but it's not Duwang tier either lol - it just sounds kinda weird.
Green Mechanic Volume 1
A French-language shounen manga from a Swiss author. I originally ordered it to kinda pad my order because paying 18 euros in shipping for just 2 volumes was a bit much haha.
The story takes place in a future where outside of main cities the earth is just a bunch of deserts littered in trash and the average life expectancy is 35 years of age. The main character, Misha, is a teenage girl with the ability to sense other people's feelings. Due to that, she doesn't go out much and tends to keep to herself, as it can be quite overwhelming. The manga starts as she discovers a morphing robot and repairs it, asking it to take the form of her long lost (boy?-)friend. She then begins meeting other people and learning about the Ersatz, humans that were contaminated and can turn (voluntarily or involuntarily) into grotesque monsters. After the basics of the world are laid down, she starts looking for that long lost friend with the help of her morphing robot and her new acquaintances.
This volume mostly sets up the world and the main intrigue, and concentrates a lot on developing Misha as a character as she starts to learn how to interact with other people and take initiatives. There are a couple of short action scenes, but they do not seem to be what the manga is focusing on so far.
In terms of art, some of the panels are pretty cool (kinda hard to find pictures online but
this article has two), the Ersatz designs are grotesquely well done, and the author likes playing around with the panels arrangements which can be interesting, but I guess nothing really made me go 'goddamn' so far.
I think a fair assessment is that I am interested but I'm not loving it either yet. I think it could become pretty good but I'll have to see how things evolve in the next few volumes - apparently they're a bit more heavy on the action side. I'll probably order the next two (or maybe three if it's come out by then) volumes at the same time as the next volume of Radiant in March next year.
