ロジカとラッカセイ 1巻

This was probably the easiest thing I've read in Japanese aside from dedicated learning materials, and even then it was probably easier than some of those. I got through the first two chapters on my e-reader without looking anything up and while the lookups do get a bit more frequent as it goes (and the final chapter introduces a lot of new vocab), it was great to get into flow and just enjoy the ride. But just because the verbiage was easy and everything is cute, doesn't mean the story issimple. The manga certainly looks unassuming at first glance, but it has a surprising hidden depth to it and true beauty as a work of art.

On the surface, it's about a girl and her weird cartoony friends having fun adventures, but there's always kind of a hint that something bigger is going on and as you dig into each of the characters you see the complexities each individual carries. I never had the chance to get too far into Adventure Time but it kind of feels like that but a bit less sardonic.

It's also a fine example of something where reading it in the original language reveals hidden depths that might not be apparent in a translated version, even though I really wish this was available to a wider audience. I won't give anything away, but there are a couple bits near the end where finally reading a particular word or phase in kanji reveals what it really means, after only seeing that particular word in Kana the whole time. It's one of those really great "aha" moments where you truly appreciate the nuance of another language.

This was phenominal and I would love to see an anime version (by the people who did D.I.Y, just imagine!) but I think even that would lose some of the nuance since character readings are part of certain reveals (though I guess they could show them on screen). Reading in Japanese can be exhausting at times, but this had me eagerly wanting to read the next chapter and learn just a little more about this world and its inhabitants.