The Weakling Gazette

After finishing reading Vinland Saga last week I was looking for a way more low stakes manga to read and happened on Hirayasumi by chance. I was super drawn in by the art style and decided to check it out. I can honestly say with no hyperbole this is one of my favorite things I’ve seen all year.

The story follows Ikuta Hiroto, a 29 year old slacker who inherits a house from an older woman he had become friends with a few years prior. He also invites his 18 year old cousin comes to live with him since it’s close to the art school she’ll be attending next year (no freaky shit I promise).

It’s a slice of life manga that ranges from being light hearted and wholesome to actually getting me choked up. Shinzou Keigo is a fuckin master of not just putting these characters and their friends in situations anyone who’s ever been their age can relate to, but also making their reactions feel so real.

Fear of change, self consciousness and anxiety when it comes to one’s creative ventures, jealousy of a friend’s success, and all kinds of the confusing shit we’ve all felt. There was one panel though that made me feel more validated than any other media I’ve ever consumed.

“If I’m happy, I might not be able to paint anything good again”

This shit right here. I’ve dealt with depression and anxiety on and off for as long as I can remember and something I’ve struggled with is the fact that the only time I ever seem to feel motivated to do something creative is when I’m really not feeling good about myself. It’s something I’ve expressed to a lot of my friends and family but have never heard anyone else say in real life or any media. I was already hooked on the series before I got to this chapter but seeing that put it in a crazy high tier for me.

And dude the art style. There are so many panels in this thing that made me stop reading and just admire them it’s crazy. Even more impressive is the fact that in a lot of the characters faces you can pretty much tell what their personality is going to be (or the personality they project outwardly at least). Both the art style and tone feel very Bryan Lee O’Malley-pilled to me in the best possible way.

I can’t recommend this thing enough, dude. If you’re the kind of person that just sees anime/ manga as a weird niche thing with giant robots and fat tits this can be the perfect gateway into what the medium is capable of. I caught up to the most recent chapter in less than a week and am stoked to see where they go from there. Check this shit out dude it’s good.

8/10