Manga: Our pick for March, a mix of initial quest, feel-good and thriller

The editorial staff of franceinfo recommends “Les secrets des Wilson”, “Ramen Akaneko”, “Higo no kami”, “Witchy” and Les Cours de Japon” by Julien Fontanier.

Our selection offers you a thriller filled with numerous enigmas, a fantastic story and an initial quest that is very interested in the human soul, but also in numerous social topics. This is also the case Ramen Akaneko, feel good manga. Finally, we recommend a textbook if you want to start learning Japanese.

Secrets of the Wilsonsfrom MILL2, in Kotoon

This thriller captivates us without us even realizing it and mixes enigmas and lies.

After the sudden death of her grandfather, known as one of the richest entrepreneurs, Anna goes to the mansion he once owned. Once there, solving many puzzles, he will discover many secrets about his family. Meanwhile, everyone more or less discreetly searches for the place where the treasure is hidden, but only Anna has the answer. Little by little, he will realize that many things are not going right. Indeed, why did his grandfather need to hide his wealth? Will she be able to solve the mysteries that haunt her?

Be careful, don’t be fooled by appearances. Nothing is obvious in this story. The graphics emphasize this impression of confusion, sometimes darkness and fear, which makes the story very exciting. The characters are likeable, especially Anna, and we want to solve the mysteries as soon as possible. Many themes are covered, including death, abandonment and even racial segregation.

Akaneko RamenAngyaman, in Kurokawa

Billed as a new sentimental manga that makes Japan purr, this title casually tackles many social issues. Ramen restaurant, cat bosses, manager of human happiness…

Tamako goes to a ramen restaurant for a job interview, but this place has something special: it’s run by cats! When she confesses to her boss that she prefers dogs, he decides to hire her… She will quickly discover that her primary task is taking care of the restaurant’s employees.

Underneath its funny and caring exterior, this manga sometimes takes a more serious turn and deals with many topics. Although the characters are cats, they actually face the same problems as people who work in restaurants. This manga intelligently deals with delicate topics such as employment discrimination, online harassment due to “bad clients”, understaffing, labor law or even the difficulty of maintaining originality. The characters are likeable and the story makes us want to know more about them.

Higo no kami – He who weaves flowersIchiko Tanno, in Vega

A fantastic story that focuses on the qualities and weaknesses of men.

There are things we don’t see. There is a “ghost area” where gods and evil spirits reside. The “present world” in which people live, and the “false kingdom” that is in the depths of the earth… In the “realm of spirits” stands a large and magnificent tree called the “Divine Tree of the Deceased”. Due to the incident, Sera, the goddess of protection whose duty it is to guard the God Tree, must now descend to the present world and begin a journey to collect all the God Tree seeds that have been scattered.

In that fantasized medieval Japan, close to Japanese folklore, the goddess observes numerous events through which she is confronted with sadness, memories and especially desire. Feelings accepted by many men and gods. Each chapter corresponds to a story in which the seed will be returned and the man banished. The drawing is quite good, and the mangaka plays a lot with the shadows to give a more or less harsh atmosphere. This is especially the case when contamination occurs. This first volume, dark and melancholic, sets the mood and the foundation of the adventure the characters embark on, which has its share of mystery.

witchAriel Slamet Ries, in Akileos

A rich opening quest, a witch hunt set against a backdrop of magic and fantasy, that deals with many themes.

In Hyaline, the witch kingdom, the power of our magic is determined by the length of our hair. The Guard recruits those with the greatest power. The Guard enforces the law and protects our country during war. But those whose hair is considered too long are declared enemies of the kingdom. They are neutralized. Burned. We call it Hunting. Hunt killed my father and I’m next.

This title, between manga and comics, deals with many themes such as the search for identity, the fight against a despotic government, the weight of family heritage. Discrimination here is not related to gender, origin or the usual reasons, but to the length of the hair. A choice that reflects the control over women’s bodies in many societies. The characters are very interesting because of their complexity and fit perfectly into this world of magic. The character design is a bit unusual, but it fits the story well. We notice a very nice use of colors that gives a unique style to the drawing and allows you to quickly enter the story.

This webcomic was discovered by Ariel Slamet Ries on the international scene. In the United States, the series is published by Lion Forge and won Best Webcomic at the 2020 Ignatz Awards.

Japanese lessonsJulien Fontanier, at Hachette

Don’t hesitate any longer and start learning Japanese.

Julien Fontanier, who revolutionized learning Japanese on YouTube, is publishing his first book on learning Japanese, published by Hachette. Julien Fontanier has 315,000 students on YouTube. He recently released a manual accompanied by a box for mastering Japanese writing from scratch.

This method, recently released, offers a manual of 32 lessons to master Japanese writing, accompanied by detailed explanations to avoid gray areas, 500 vocabulary words sorted by topic, 64 exercises and 1 full exam to confirm progress. Added to this is a YouTube video per lesson so we can also work on speaking as if we were in class! And to top it all off, Hachette also offers a box of 148 cards for learning two Japanese letters: hiragana and katakana.