Throughout different sports manga, we’ve seen protagonists be introduced to the sport for the first time, some that find their calling, some that start out struggling but eventually become better players. Deep 3 took me on a journey, one that I had not been on before by showcasing a player with incredible talent from the start who still needs to overcome a different kind of hurdle.
While some manga can feel the pressure of rushing out its story, especially for a single volume series, Flip Flip Slowly does the opposite and takes a leisurely stroll with how it feels to get to know someone over time.
We’ve all had those friends we’ve fallen out of touch with. Not necessarily for negative reasons, but oftentimes because life just becomes busy. You can’t help but wonder about that person. Sometimes you might feel the urge to reach out and try to make a connection again, other times you might run into them again because the world can sometimes feel small.
Don’t let the cute cover of this manga fool you, there is more to this story than a childhood best friends to lovers romance. Not in a negative way, but buckle up because this manga is an emotional journey.
I can count on one hand the number of stories that have gripped me in the first few pages. Some of my all time favorite series have taken me several chapters, even volumes before I became truly hooked on their stories. If you’ve read The Lord of the Rings you know what I’m talking about. Yet on rare occasions, something will resonate with you immediately and you’ll know, this is a story just for you. Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku is just such a story.
Since I loved Kei Sanbe’s previous work, Erased, I immediately took note of The 13th Footprint being published by Yen Press earlier this year. Eager to see more of his writing, I went into this manga with higher than usual expectations for his new series.