"New Game!" by Tokunou Shoutarou

2021-10-20 : previous : next : index : [books]


"New Game!" by Tokunou Shoutarou. It's much better than the average slice of life 4koma. The features that makes it much better than average include: lots of cute girls, a good mix of realism, and great character development. These features by themselves don't automatically make a manga enjoyable, but in this series they fit together very well, consistently well from beginning to end.

The most puzzling claim above might be the "realism" bit that immediately followed "lots of cute girls". That kind of staff composition just doesn't happen in real life even if there if there exists a director who selects employees solely based on their looks, and naturally that's not the part that I found to be realistic (but that is a part that I greatly enjoyed). No, the realism is in the small company atmosphere -- the camaraderie between coworkers who share the same passion in their work, the fact that no one is malicious yet conflicts arise due to differences in business versus personal interests, the various small acts such as buying donuts for everyone before a deadline. These are the human elements that might strike a chord with anyone who has worked at startups, and it's something I greatly appreciated in this manga.

Also consistent with the startup feel is the rapid character growth -- most characters in this series have acquired new skills and responsibilities throughout the series, including mentoring of new characters who join the team. This is not a series where characters stagnate because they never change (although Aoba never grew in physical height throughout the entire series). Instead, the characters are ambitious and actively sought to better themselves, and the joy they show when they are successful is very heartwarming to the readers.

This is a manga series that portrays a great work environment through very positive and lovable characters, and it's just the kind of relief for people who are stressed about work. Definitely worth reading again.


Previous (2021-07-24): "Seishun Butayarou wa Nightingale no Yume wo Minai" by Kamoshida Hajime
Next (2021-12-03): Cowboy Bebop

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