百姓貴族 1

Fun, but slow as a learner

This book is about Arakawa's experiences growing up in rural Hokkaido as a farmer, and it's hilarious. The running theme is 「農家の常識は社会の非常識」, and there's a constant back-and-forth between Arakawa herself telling crazy stories from home, and the editor (who also appears as a character) being shocked or amazed.

By slow, I don't mean the pace of the content. Jokes are flying constantly, usually multiple per page; I'd actually say it's written in a fast-paced style. I say it's slow as a learner because there are crazy fonts and handwritten text everywhere. It's also in a style that is very dense with jokes, so it's important to keep up with every bit of information, including the small asides written outside of speech bubbles or even between panels. This makes it great for language learning though! Plus you get more bang for your buck if it takes longer to read.