I was surprised on this one!! I received this from NetGalley and it seemed interesting. I read it and it was not at all what I expected in such a good way! I really loved the story and twist within it. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next volume.

Completely different from what I expected but so happy it was, it looked like it was going to be a sad story following the siblings, but then it took such a twist and such an interesting turn. I was completely hooked and
I’m very interested in where this series is going looking forward to the next

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Kodansha USA and NetGalley for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Erased, so I was excited to read one of Kei Sanbe's latest works, Island in a Puddle. I was immediately drawn in by Sanbe's portrayal of contemporary Tokyo as a character unto itself. Sanbe's characters are strongly characterized each with their own motivations, and I'm excited to continue the series.

Translation: Iyasu Nagata
Lettering: Evan Hayden
Cover Design: Adam Del Re
Editing: Nathaniel Gallant

Right on par with some of my fave horror mangas (with less gore and more mystery). This was so so good! I enjoyed so much riding beside these characters and trying to find out what the heck is going on! And the art style is so fresh, loved it!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Coming from mangaka who wrote Erased, a favourite of mine, i looked forward to the new series and Im amazed how much this one really delivered the message. I always love the focus on siblings and family relationship in the mangaka's stories. Mostly they are about children and how irresponsible parents acted that caused them to be abandoned and unloved. This manga centred on a pair of siblings, an older brother and younger sister. They are left by their mom to fend for themselves and its heartbreaking but this was common in the society.

The series highlighted this topic. Combined with slight fantasy where the older brother changed souls with another bad guy who now inside the boy's body. So now it become a sort of a game of cat and mouse where the brother tried to save his sister from the man who is now inside his little body. Im invested and cannot wait to read more

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars
I liked it and it really took me by surprise because I wasn't waiting for such a twist. It's scary and gripping, a little bit like the scary movie Chucky but you don't have a doll here. Now, I just need to now what will happen to those kids. The only thing that I didn't like is this mangaka's style, you have a good story but the art does not impress much.

I don't know what to say at the start i was hoping to be a story about a big brother taking care of his younger sister while his mother is absent and it starts like that but then you put some gang thing over and change bodies. I am really without words, the art is not the one i love the most but it is not bad i feel conflicted because i think it clashes a lot of things while it could focus in one specific theme

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC

This was a hard read but a good one, Can't wait to see where this goes!

Thank you so much to the publishing company, Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing me with a copy!!!

I’m always thankful to Kodansha Comics for accepting my request for new mangas. I always manage to find some great reads. And this was definitely one of them!

I did not expect to like this one so much. This was just so gripping. Had me on the edge of my seat.

Definitely recommend if you are into the “Freaky Friday” premise…(and emphasis on the word Freaky)

I did not expect the dark and eerie turn it took.

So many things left unanswered. AND I NOW AM EAGER TO PICK UP THE NEXT ONE.

I'm previously acquainted with Sanbe's work on <i>Erased</I> so I was excited to receive this copy of volume one of his new manga and I was not disappointed at what I received! I can't go into much detail about the story without revealing much because there is a rather sudden plot twist that occurs. But I will say that the mood and visuals are very much on par with Sanbe's typical story telling. If you aren't much of a reader of mystery or intrigue it might come off as boring at first, but I urge you to stick around because the story takes a sudden turn in a way that makes me want to wait until many more volumes are out to find what happens. At this point. there's just too many questions! But that is a good thing!

Sanbe writes Minato and Nagisa in a similar way to the main children from Erased, with a depth and nuance that we don't really see children characterized as in much of Western writing. Their story does not start off as a happy one and it's quite obvious that they have been dealing with issues no child their ages should have to. But that is again, one of the questions that comes to mind and how does this play into the plot twist of the story.

A nice change of pace of the usual stories I read that got me flipping back pages to look for any clues. I'm both excited and nervous about where the story is going.

It's been a few months since I read some manga that had more of a crime element mixed in, so I decided to give Island in a Puddle Volume 1 by Kei Sanbe a try. However, the cover may throw you off here – as it looks super sweet.

Minato and her sister, Nagisa, may only be children, but they're pretty good at being on their own. Their mother is out a lot. Sometimes she doesn't come home for weeks at a time. But so far, she has always come home eventually.

On the most recent return of their mother, she took them to the local amusement park for some fun. Only to abandon them shortly after. This is the tragic backstory for what is about to happen – and Minato's life is about to change with the strike of lightning.

Wow. I feel like Island in a Puddle Volume 1 is two stories in one. There's a whole plot before the lightning strikes and then an entirely different one after that point. Each one is a pretty solid story, the sort of thing I would have been happy to read as a standalone.

But together? They had me reeling. The transition was admittedly a little jarring, but I think that's the point. It raised so many questions, alongside my anxiety. Once again, readers will find themselves rooting for Mintao, but with whole new stakes on the line this time.

This Manga was a bit strange for me.
i think the combination of an absent mom and a magical/supernatural moment with body swap stuff going on -neither explained of why or how or whats going on- just felt like too much to happen in under 200 pages, let alone without a real way to explain it in the format this story is in.

the art is okay, the story itself is okay too.
but the plot felt a bit all over the place and underexplained -which i guess could be talked about more in the next volumes but i don't love it if a first book just gives you questions without any answers at all. I am not a huge fan of stories just leaving you hanging not only with a cliffhanger -which this manga has too - but also with any and all questions. I want to at least know if this story is partly fantastical or if the body swap stuff was just something unexplainable and the reader has to just role with it?

This wasn't the best for me.

But i guess if you like a bit of a strange story and a child focused story but at the same time have some crime elements thrown in and if a story has no parents present for those kids?
go for it.

Kei Sanbe is back with his favorite trope : traumatise poor children ! In this thriller packed manga, Minato, a ten years old boy neglected by his mother, meets a strange destiny and a threatening man. And I was here for it ! It got tension, black humor and brutal cruelty. I don't like thriller, but I like it !

This manga follows a boy, Minato, who is looking after his younger sister mostly by himself because their mother is barely around.

I hadn’t read the description in a while and had no idea what to expect from this manga - and it certainly took me by surprise! It seemed like it was going to be a melancholy story following these siblings, but then it took a dark and interesting turn. Once this twist happened, I was completely hooked and I didn’t want the ending to come,

I’m very interested in where this series is going to go from here - I can’t wait for volume 2!

rating: 4/5 stars

The premise of this book is an interesting twist on the Freaky Friday premise. I really appreciated how quickly both the main characters figured out what was going on. Both of them seem intelligent so it will be interesting to see what happens when they actually interact. My biggest complaint is people’s responses to the mother. The two kids are frequently left alone but no one calls the authorities. I know that kids in Japan are expected to be more independent at an earlier age than American kids are, but her absence seems excessive. Why do none of the teachers or the friendly neighbor call the authorities? Still, I did enjoy the plot of the book and am definitely interested in where it’s going next.

I'm so gutted. I went to read this and couldn't find it on my phone where I downloaded it and now it's archived!

I'll try and pick it up later!

What started as a sweet and heartbreaking story took a very dark turn very fast. I didn't feel like I even knew the characters enough to continue the story after it switched.

I wanted to see what this was about since I am (kinda) familiar with the author's other work, Erased. The idea for the story seemed interesting enough, but at one point it got really confusing, and then at the end I kinda lost interest again. It wasn't bad necessarily, just not good either. The art style was also not my favorite. Sometimes the people were really well drawn, and at other times they looked very weird.

I didn’t think twice when the chance to review the first volume in a new series by Kei Sanbe presented itself. How could I possibly have said no to the brilliant mind who created Erased, one of the most thrilling stories out there? And boy, if Island in a Puddle isn’t just another gripping series!

Readers are hit by an emotional wave as soon as they find that two kids, a boy and a girl, are left alone tending to themselves and struggling to survive. Where is their mother, and what’s behind her infrequent visits? Minato is such a caring boy—and, fortunately, mature for his age—who does anything in his power to not let his little sister worry, while also trying hard to hide their dramatic situation to others. He can’t fool everyone, though. A task that becomes quite complicated on a rainy day after a lightning strikes the ferry wheel the kids are riding . . . The unimaginable happens, and your mind starts to wonder while your heart pumps at big speed, but not as fast as Minato’s. Trust me when I say the horror this poor kid finds himself into is creepily twisted, and it keeps readers on the edge of their seats!

A suspenseful story with a great pacing and an artwork that suits perfectly the characters—and their moods. Are you ready for your life to turn into a living nightmare? Minato wasn’t, but you shall be as brave as him and follow his dark journey until the end!

This series is from the same creator as Erased and while it seems like it's treading familiar ground with a child, adult, a sci-fi gimmick, and a mystery, there are plenty of interesting differences while still scratching the same kind of story itch. The first volume is mostly setup, but I am very interested in where the story is going to go. This has a lot of interesting potential!