Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction, Vol. 1 (Volume 1)

Reading this I was struck by how it seemed a like a metaphor for climate change- this huge thing that hangs over us, but mostly people try and ignore it and get on with their lives. We see it mostly from the perspective of a group of young women nearing the end of their secondary schooling. They live mostly comedic lives in a context of increasing tension and adult irrationality and occasional localised violence. I also recognised the situation. My secondary school life involved going into Belfast every day from 1970 to 1977, so there's a lot about the story is familiar and perhaps it gives me an appreciation for the dark comedy I sometimes lack. Linking these ideas feels like part of an answer to why I haven't done much about climate change. I'm hoping facing how my earlier experience has still been affecting me will help me be active now. So for me this is art which has led me to re-examine my life and has presented me with a challenge to change it. I don't know it gets better than this.

A good start. It as a weird feeling of impending doom whilst everything carries on as normal around it....nothing really much happens but the characters are starting to develop. The backdrop of the alien invasion enables the slice of life type story to carry an edge to it. It enables suspense and a creates a feeling that something "BIG" is going to happen soon.....this pushes the story forward. I am interested to see IF anything does happen and that's a simple but no less clever writing device to drag you along.....

It's been a while since an anticipated manga has paid off in full, but this really hyped me up. This first volume feels like the start to an amalgamation of everything great about Asano Inio. The feelings, setting, characters, pacing and relationships just exude melancholy. But the step up from Punpun seems on the table for sure. Really hope the series continues to be as good as this volume, I can't wait to see where one of our generation's greatest will take it :)

being over 30 and loving Manga isn't always easy. I wanted a book with detailed art and fresh themes, and this book delivers. How do you build a life when you or any loved ones could be killed by a UFO anytime? Yet life must go on.

The cover was covered in what smells and feels like liquid soap, which had turned to a gross goo at the bottom of the back cover. Books good, Inio Asano never misses, but like, it was really gross getting the soap off the book, and its stained the lower sections of some of the later pages. Made my bookshelf smell nice though, so I’ll give two stars instead of one.