punchline: existential dread's Manga

a woman sits binging cigarettes and watermelon on the balcony of a Kowloon apartment, in a twice-built city both old and new, gritty and mysterious, both on the brink of technological revolution and haunted by what was--a thronging city of crowds and tradition, mahjong and waterlogged walls, and a mysterious floating structure hanging above like the sword of damocles. but her life, like her apartment, her job, and her identity, seems to be something robbed, or perhaps something borrowed. what is her true nature? who is she without her past? can she love, as her stranger self did? what defines the soul: memories?

or autonomy?

a little Ship of Theseus, and a little Never Let Me Go

Traveling Japanese musicians marry in and tour America. There is a tragic or storied past here left yet unexplored, and this is going to be darker than the first chapter suggests. The guitarist appears to have suffered extensive injuries in an unexplained incident and harbors no little (unmerited) guilt for keeping his vivacious husband, the bassist, by his side. Their love for each other is never in question, however.

A modern-day Scheherazade romp. Arab prince tracks his childhood friend to Japan, where he works as a bellboy, and makes him his "wife" on the spot. While it's still too early to comment substantively on the narrative, this manga has quite a few interesting moving parts to it--a wild child oil tycoon as the (plot twist!) power bottom, the unflappable boss who, in a moment of almost incongruent despair, harriedly hands the bellboy a half-used tub of hemorrhoid cream, a hysterical gaggle of flight attendants, and breathtakingly gorgeous art. Keep an eye out for this one!

a little... odd, but ok, i'll play ball

Sakutaro and Kuji, ex-corporate rivals with history, reunite in their thirties and begin working together in Kuji's private translation gig. Their chemistry remains unchanged, so they inevitably sleep with each other. Over time, they set to unpacking their pasts, their demons, and slowly begin to carve out a future together.

A story to watch out for.