This was whimsical and weird and I actually really enjoyed it. It gives me kind of Spirited Away meets Alice in Wonderland vibes a little bit. I didn't realize it was a movie but this has made me want to watch it! I look forward to more in this series

This was such a lovely read. I love the artwork, and how the story flows naturally. I found myself rereading a lot of it because the art was so beautiful and the story hooked me in. This one is a must read for everyone who love manga and comics. Highly recommend this one. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc!

I love this! The movie was so good and so far so is the book, it is one of my favorite stories now! I can't wait to continue reading this in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley for the EArc in exchange for my honest review.

This is the Manga Adaption of the of the Golden Globes-nominated movie and worldwide hit directed by Makoto Shinkai. I do not know the movie but heard quite a lot of positive things about it, which made me quite excited for the manga adaptation. The art of the illustrations were really pretty and well made. It was really captivating. The story is about Suzume and the Souta. The story ended with a kind of cliffhanger that has me curious to read more. I really enjoyed reading this manga and will absolutely read more of it to learn more about the story and the characters.

I adored the Suzume movie so when I saw the manga was coming out I had to check it out! The story will be familiar to those who have seen the movie, no surprises there. And if you're not familiar with the story yet, this is a great way to get started.
The one thing that struck me is the art - it's absolutely beautiful! The color pages are gorgeous and the characters and detailed environments manage to do justice to the story and bring the magic to life.

Overall, this volume starts the manga as a pretty faithful adaptation, so if you enjoyed the movie and would like to revisit it in a fresh format or you prefer reading, this is the series for you!

✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.

So Adorable! Honestly, I am obsessed with this story, and can not wait for the next volume to come out!

This manga adaptation of the Golden Globe winning film of the same name might best be paired with watching the film in order to understand in more detail, but it still beautifully captures the story's highlights. The story was inspired by the trauma of the 2011 Tōhuko earthquake and tsunami.

High school student Suzume meets beautiful stranger Souta who is searching for ruins with a specific door. Curiosity strikes her, and she follows him to an abandoned onsen where she finds a door standing on its own in the center of a room. It opens to a vast starlit space, but when she tries to enter she only passes through the doorway into the same room. When she picks up an icy cat statue from the from the floor, it suddenly transforms into a live cat and flees. Later she views a huge column of smoke rising from the onsen, which nobody else around her can see. She rushes to the site to find Souta attempting to close the door in order to prevent a supernatural worm from escaping and causing earthquakes. Suzume comes to his aid and helps him on his quest after he is cursed by the cat Daijin and transformed into a chair.

This is such a magical little story. I loved the art; the color pages were especially gorgeous viewed on a large screen in ebook format. It also answers the question: Would you still love me as a chair? I'm very much looking forward to the next installment of this series!

Thank you to Kodansha comics, Vertical Comics, and Netgalley for this ARC to review!

Suzume, Volume 1 by Makoto Shinkai and Denki Amashima [Kodansha Comics #NetGalley]

I've heard rave reviews of the anime Suzume but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. But when I saw that it was now in manga form, I was curious and I decided to read it before watching it. Which is strange since usually you go from the original manga form to the anime. I thought that Makoto Shinkai really worked his storytelling magic again in this world of magic and portals to a different dimension. I'm definitely more intrigued and motivated to go watch the anime now.

Suzume is on my to-watch list on Netflix, and after reading the first volume, I am definitely going to move it up the list. Suzume is a high school girl who encounters Souta, a man looking for some nearby. After giving him directions, she then becomes concerned for his safety and follows him. This leads her to a random door within the ruins and she sets off a chain of events that has her chasing after a magical cat that could bring disaster to the world.

I loved Suzume. She's caring and energetic and was a joy to read. I loved her interactions with Souta and the other side characters as she travels through Japan chasing the cat. Her tragic backstory and connection to the chair really pulled at my heartstrings. The chair is amusing and brings some comedic relief to some tense situations. I wasn't sure about it at first, but then I really enjoyed that little twist.

The art style is beautiful. The first couple of pages are in color and they were gorgeous. I always enjoy it when a manga has some color pages and sometimes wish the entire manga was colored. I can't wait to watch the movie now. I don't think I'll be able to wait for the additional volumes to come out, but I'm excited to see where the story goes from here.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for the ARC.

I haven’t watched the film and am pretty much new to manga reading. I just picked this one based on the artwork. It didn’t disappoint me at all.

The characters are amazing , so are the illustrations. The conversations between Souta in char form and Cat Daijin is hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I can’t wait to know what happens in the second volume. How can Suzume close the doors and connection between her and Soutu.

I watched this on Netflix, so when I saw it offered in comic form on NetGalley, I requested it as fast as I could. I enjoy seeing the differences between different mediums since they each add something to the story. I ended up reading it in almost no time. But then I had to go back and scroll through it one more time so I could better appreciate the stunning art.
This is definitely a series I want for my collection, and I look forward to getting the rest of it.
Whether you've seen the animated movie or not, if you love manga, this one is a must read.

I was thrilled to delve into the manga adaptation of "Suzume no To" after being deeply moved by the movie, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the manga beautifully encapsulated the same emotional depth and resonance that had captivated me in the movies.

The characters in the story are enjoyable, and I particularly love the inclusion of the chair. It's a brilliant way to bring in something meaningful and important while adding a touch of humor. The chair has become quite iconic.

The world building in Suzume is captivating, and I hope to explore it further through this series. Overall, I highly recommend this manga to everyone. It's a story that is truly worth reading.

Suzume is an enchanting manga adaptation of the Golden Globes-nominated worldwide hit directed by Makoto Shinkai, the visionary creator behind Your Name and Weathering With You. As a fan of the movie, I was thrilled to dive into this all-new adaptation and experience Suzume's journey once again in a different medium.

High school junior Suzume's adventure begins when she encounters a beautiful stranger, Souta, who is searching for ruins and a certain door. Curiosity and concern lead her to an abandoned resort, where she unwittingly opens a door to a world beyond time and place, setting off a seismic adventure that captivated me from the start.

One of the most remarkable aspects of this manga is how closely it follows the film. The first few pages, in particular, are stunningly beautiful, capturing the essence of Shinkai's cinematic artistry. I found myself wishing the entire manga was in color to fully appreciate the visual splendor of this piece. However, I understand this is a common limitation in manga, and the black-and-white illustrations still manage to convey the story's magic.

The relationship between the characters is one of the manga's strongest points. The dynamic between Suzume, Souta, and the other characters kept me thoroughly entertained. The interactions involving the “chair” and the cat had me laughing out loud, adding a delightful layer of humor to the story. The evolving relationships kept me on my toes, and I was fully invested in their journey.

My only complaint is that just as the story was reaching its climax, it abruptly ended, leaving me heartbroken and yearning for more. Had I not seen the movie or known where the story was headed, I would have been eagerly anticipating the next chapter, desperate to know where the narrative would take me.

I want to extend my gratitude to the publisher and NetGalley for providing the ARC of this manga, which is set to release on 9/24/24. For fans of manga or anime, "Suzume" is an absolute must-read. It captures the essence of Shinkai's storytelling and offers a compelling, visually engaging experience that is sure to resonate with readers.

Based off the plot of the film Suzume, the first volume of the manga follows the beats of the film very closely. The art style is lonely and in keeping with the film. I do wonder how easy it is to follow parts of the plot if you haven't seen the movie, but if you have read other manga or are familiar with other magical realism storylines, most will be able to follow it.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Vertical Comics for an ARC on NetGalley. All opinions are my own. This book is due to be published  9/24/24.

Suzume has been on my radar for ages now and when I saw there was a manga adaptation I leapt to read volume one.

The premise is interesting and the characters seem intriguing. The dynamic between Souta and Suzume was fun to read. The art style is a bit too chaotic looking for my tastes, but this manga moved at a very fast pace so it makes sense.

I’d definitely recommend it to manga lovers looking for an interesting story!

Ohhh I just finished and I absolutely loved it.. I needed something like this as an amuse bouche between my reads and this was absolutely perfect.. Also because I’m a huge anime fan.. really need to see what’s happening with Souta and Suzume

I think a lot gets lots in translation between the movie and the manga. You don't really understand that someone's been turned into a chair until a couple pages later. Some middle and high school readers may like this a lot, but only if they're familiar with manga pacing.

<i>Thank you Netgalley and Yen Press for providing me an eARC of this manga</i>

3.5 stars.

This manga is an adaptation of the ononimous animated movie. I watched the movie before and loved it. The manga follows the movie exactly, even if it covers only the first third of it, but it falls a little short. First of all, the dialogues are sketchy and the translation sometimes felt off with expressions that I hardly hear in everyday language (e.g. "let's call a grown-up! / a grown-up could help...").
The story is beautiful, but here it moves very fast with too little explanation and it feels dry. In the movie I felt attached to every character, each of them was very well drawn, but here the characterisation is very bare bones.
My review is somewhat influenced by the fact that I saw the movie first, as I was able to recall the emotions I felt while watching it here while reading, but I'm pretty sure my opinion would be harsher if I hadn't seen the movie first, for the reasons I have listed above.
All in all, I would recommend watching the film and skipping the manga adaptation, which doesn't do justice to the source material.

I've been an avid Makoto Shinkai fan since his short Hoshi no Koe film forever ago. When the Suzume film was released in Japan in 2022 I was in Tokyo, and remember seeing Tsutaya in Shibuya wrapped in stunning advertisements for it. Still, I haven't seen the movie yet, so I was thrilled for a chance to read an advance copy of the manga adaptation. Thanks so much to Vertical and Kodansha for this opportunity.

It's difficult to rate a series based on reading only a third of the story, and just as our main character Suzume's adventure gets going, the volume ends. The supernatural concept is interesting but little is shown of the worm-like phenomenon in this volume. Shinkai has said that the film was inspired by the Tohoku 2011 disaster, and it's clear that grief and loss are important themes that will be covered in the story, but with only a third available to read, it's hard to judge how effective the storytelling is. Having seen some of the other reviews, it seems like most have seen the film, and are judging based on how close of an adaptation it is. But for those of us going in fresh, it feels like the depth is lacking.

Where I personally struggled was the art. Shinkai is notorious for favoring style over substance, so even if the plot is lacking, you can count on absolutely stunning visuals. It's notoriously difficult to make a manga - especially in black and white - as detailed and impactful as you can in a visual anime. When it's done well it's glorious; for example, the Planetes manga has a two-page spread that perfectly depicts the emptiness and loneliness of space, even in black-and-white. But Suzume fell short there for me, for example the supernatural snake phenomenon felt scribbled and dull, and the character designs felt unpolished and slightly amateur (for example Suzume's huge cartoony eyes) especially when compared to Shinkai's typical style. It made more sense once I looked up the artist and saw it appears to be their first published work.

Overall I can't speak to how good of an adaptation this is, but it seems like a decent start for a story that surely gets better. I just wish the art was more polished to better showcase Shinkai's style.

ARc Copy...Promising so far and I haven't seen the movie yet...feels like fans of "Your Name" and "Weathering with You" will enjoy this adaptation.