Monthly recs: graphic novels and manga

Happy February. This month’s Monthly Recs Topic is graphic novels and mixed media. I’m gonna put manga into the category, too. And honestly this is gonna be mostly if not solely manga 😛

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Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit by Motoro Mase

You should read this if you like psychological character studies or 1984.

I picked this one up on a whim and have since been morbidly fascinated. This is not a series for the feint of heart.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dear Citizen:

Thank you for your loyalty. You’ve no doubt noticed that the world is a troubled place. People are apathetic, lazy, unmotivated. You’ve probably asked yourself

WHY ISN’T ANYTHING BEING DONE TO STOP THIS SYSTEMATIC DECLINE?

Rest assured that measures are being taken. Beginning immediately, we will randomly select a different citizen each day who will be killed within 24 hours of notification. We believe this will help remind all people how precious life is and how important it is to be a productive, active member of society.

Thank you for your continued attention and your cooperation and participation…

Congratulations! You have been randomly selected by the government…to DIE in 24 hours!

Demon Diary by Kara

You should read this if you like fluff

This is a super cute and funny story of a ding dong who has no idea what he’s doing who finds himself the leader of demons. His advisor, understandably, gets frustrated. Seriously this series is adorable.

Goodreads synopsis:

Raenef is the black sheep of the demon court, with minimal knowledge of magic and courtly etiquette. In order to help him claim his birthright as a demon lord, the demon masters send him the wise and noble teacher Eclipse to be his tutor. As Raenef and Eclipse begin their journey of discovery, they find that the bonds of friendship are stronger than the teacher/student relationship.

Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki

You should read this if you like historical fiction

This is one of my absolute favorite series ever, people. I love it.

Goodreads synopsis:

A hundred and fifty years ago in Kyoto, amid the flames of revolution, there arose a warrior, an assassin of such ferocious power he was given the title Hitokiri: Manslayer. With his bloodstained blade, Hitokiri Battosai helped close the turbulent Bakumatsu period and end the reign of the shoguns, slashing open the way toward the progressive Meiji Era.  Then he vanished, and with the flow of years became legend.

In the 11th year of Meiji, in the middle of Tokyo, the tale begins. Himura Kenshin, a humble rurouni, or wandering swordsman, comes to the aid of Kamiya Kaoru, a young woman struggling to defend her father’s school of swordsmanship against attacks by the infamous Hitokiri Battosai. But neither Kenshin nor Battosai are quite what they seem.

Priest by Min-Woo Hyung

You should read this if you like westerns or Constantine

This was a recent acquirement – I picked it up at a clearance sale on a whim, having heard nothing about it but feeling drawn to it because the first volume was actually bloody there. Do you know how rare that is at a clearance sale?!

It turned out to be fantastic 😀

Goodreads synopsis

In the frontier of the American West, a veil of evil threatens to engulf humanity. Servants of the fallen archangel Temozarela are paving the way for their dark lord’s resurrection. One man stands in the way of the apocalypse– Ivan Isaacs– a fallen priest who sold his soul to the devil Belial for the power to fight evil armed with a wicked blade and silver bullets. Ivan will give the heretics a baptism of blood in his pilgrimage for humanity’s redemption.

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And that’s it! There are many, many more manga that I could throw up here, but these ones have stuck out the most and aside from Kenshin, I feel like I don’t talk about them enough. 😛

I feel like like these ones could be liked by many people. Happy reading!