by Weekly manga ranking as of February 4th: 1. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (28) / Taiki Kawakami, Fuse and others / Kodansha 2. I’m used to being alone. I’m neglecting my fiance! (2) / Haruta Meguru, Arase Yahiro / Ichijinsha3. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (28) Special Edition / Kawakami Taiki, Fuse, et al. / Kodansha4. Tokyo Aliens (10) / NAOE / Square Enix5. Two People Smoking Smoke Behind the Supermarket (6) / Jinushi / Square Enix6. Aircraft Carrier Ibuki Great Game (15) / Kawaguchi Kaiji , Yagi Katsuhiro, et al. / Shogakukan7. The Scarred Bride (6) / Tomoaki Aoi , Fujimaru Mamenosuke / Kodansha8. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in the Demon Country (11) / Tono Tae, Fuse, et al. / Kodansha9. Two People Smoking Smoke Behind the Supermarket (6) Special Edition / Jinushi / Square Enix 10. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime　Clayman REVENGE (6) / Kajika Wataru, Fuse, and others / Kodansha
From the weekly manga rankings surveyed by Nippan on February 4th, we picked up NAOE’s latest work, “Tokyo Aliens” (Square Enix), the popular “Seishun x Machine Gun” that was also made into an anime in 2015. It is a science fiction work in which a large-scale battle unfolds in a world where exchanges with aliens are secretly conducted and aliens who are hostile towards earthlings while casually lurking in everyday life.
The story is centered around the buddy duo of the friendly Gunji Akira, who joins AMO, an organization under the police system that is only known to a select few, following in the footsteps of his late father, and the tall, high-achieving, athletic, and handsome Tenkubashi Sho, a highly skilled character with outstanding athletic ability.
The appeal of this work is that it is not large-scale like “Kaiju No. 8,” but rather a worldview in which people fight in secret in their daily lives, and the way the mysteries scattered throughout the story are unraveled from the first volume onwards, and the cleverly crafted setting.
In addition, this SF work features dynamic battle scenes that use the entire space. The artistry and expressiveness of the series have been further refined from the previous work, “Seishun x Machine Gun,” which was set in a realistic world. The latest volume, 10, sees the climax of the dark auction arc. In addition to the rare battle scenes of AMO’s head, Amemiya Reiji, some depictions give a sense of the change in the relationship between Akira and Sho.
In the following Moechu Mona arc, Nina, the queen of Planet Wapa Wapa, appears stylishly, including bob hair, a belly button-baring look, and ripped abs. It won’t be just a battle with a villain, but we can expect a revival of the excitement of the Nadeshiko, Raika, and Ririka arc. Many fans are devoted to their favorite characters, and there are many excited posts from readers, such as “I got Tenkubashi-kun!!!!!!” and “I’m at a loss because there are so many people who like his visuals.”
This work is also popular because of the humorous and everyday posts posted by NAOE, who works as a manga artist while raising a child. Fans are watching over NAOE’s doting nature, such as when he cannot tell his daughter, who thinks manga is a picture book, about his manga work. When his daughter thanks him for her lunch box, he turns to ashes because it is so precious.
The book’s volumes have entered double digits, and the total number of copies published has exceeded 2 million. Although nothing has been announced yet, this is one work not to be missed, and we look forward to seeing it adapted into an anime in the future.
