Kaijuu-iro no Shima

nivlex Jun 13, 2023

9.5

Unfortunately there's not much of this manga out just yet, but the few chapters available were really nice. On top of being few, the chapters are also short, so in the 12 chapters I read the story doesn't progress a huge amount. That being said, the initial and subsequent meetings between our two love-struck protagonists feel truly magical and spectacular. The manga does a great job at representing kon's awe and surprise when she meets furuka with beautifully drawn pannels with spectacular effects which give off an otherwordly mystical feel. The plot itself is very interesting too - both the romance and the mystery aspect that is. The premise of a island native who has never left but feels ostracised and can't relate to her classmates feelings of love, and a girl who escaped from the big city and has also always been alone because she likes women and not men, meeting up and falling in love due to their similarities, despite their many more numerous differences, is really great and I love to see how their feelings towards each other progress more. In terms of the namesake monster of the monster island, the entity is shrouded in a ridiculous amount of mystery, but also is shown to intervene and interefere with the real world around our two lovers; saving them from drowning when neither of them could swim, or shooting a bully so far into the air she lands on a roof. The monster seems to have a very mysterious relationship with kon, and it appears to be at least somewhat real - but at the same time the manga is written masterfully as to not reveal anything and certainly not confirm anything either - which is amplified by the fact our protagonists also have bouts of missing memories. I'm super intrigued and can't wait to read more in the future.