The captivating first volume of Makoto Shinkai's manga adaptation of the critically acclaimed movie is titled Suzume 1. Follow Suzume, a junior in high school, as her everyday life takes an amazing turn when she meets a mystery visitor who is looking for a certain door. Suzume unintentionally unlocks this ancient portal, setting off a seismic journey that defies gravity and time. The ethereal imagery and poignant storytelling of Shinkai, who is best known for songs like Your Name and Weathering With You, are brought to life in this manga adaptation. Suzume 1 is a must-read for both fans and beginners alike since it captures the beauty and grandeur of the original movie with its fully detailed plot and breathtaking artwork.

I have read a number of the Makoto Shinkai manga adaptions of the films (the movies in these cases come first), and this like this rest is a perfect addition to the collection. I can't wait for the following volumes and to enjoy Suzume again in a different form.

It was as magical than the movie. Suzume and Souta were interesting and likeable characters and I am still amazed by how the author managed to make a simple chair an endearing character. I enjoyed the manga and I am looking forward to the next volume.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga. If you are looking for a beat for beat adaptation of the first part of the movie plus internal dialogue, this is for you. The art is pretty, and the internal dialogue was included seamlessly. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

I both liked Suzume as a main character and the journey she's now embarking on after meeting Souta-- a young man who asked for directions to an abandoned resort. While Suzume did give him the directions, she goes to check on him and discovers that he's a gatekeeper, needing to close the door to protect the world. An ancient supernatural forced called a worm lives underneath the Japanese archipelago and releases energy (which causes earthquakes) so Souta needs to protect others and Suzume is not a part of this protection.

The action is paced well for a first in the series and there's an element of discovering her purpose on this journey.

Rating: 5 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 5/5
-Story: 5/5
-Writing: 5/5
Genre: fantasy
-Fantasy: 5/5
Type: Manga
Worth?: Yes

Hated|Disliked|Meh|It Was Okay|Liked|Really Liked|Loved

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

Wow wow wow. I loved this manga so much! The story line, the chair, and everything else that comes with it. It has a bit of mystery to it that has me on the edge of my seat and I'd like to see where it goes. Though the ending left on such a cliffhanger! And for it to have come out in 2022 and the second volume in 2024? Crazy! Def going to watch the movie now!

So I really enjoyed the film and when I saw that there was a manga adaptation of it, I knew I had to read it!

Suzume is a film by Makoto Shinkai (who also brought us the masterpiece Your Name). This story follows Suzume, a high school junior, who one day runs into a mysterious stranger asking for directions to the local ruins. The ruins are all that’s left of a community that was once full of life before it was wracked by a devastating earthquake. As Suzume sits in class, she suddenly feels another shake, and she sees a dark cloud rising from the ruins in the distance. Suzume runs there and tries to help…but accidentally loosens the key and opens up a hole in space and time (oops). And thus starts her little road trip across Japan with the mysterious stranger (who has now turned into a chair — yes, you read that right), trying to stop tragedy from striking again by getting the key back.

It’s going to be hard to separate the manga from the anime I’ve already seen, but I’m going to try.

The story is still extremely captivating, and while we’re only halfway through it, I think Suzume really is a perfect road trip story. There’s the clear overarching goal, but even more so there are the interesting characters she meets along the way. It’s all tied together by the very strong themes of collective trauma and generational loss.

In fact, the world-building is the best part. Shinkai’s stories have always been great at combining real world and fantasy, and Suzume might be the peak of that. The community element makes the story very touching, and I’m sure that Suzume’s personal story will be intertwined with it well.

Suzume is a likable and spunky character who is fun to follow, and the story is offering small but present hints of a backstory that I’m excited to get to. Shouta, the mysterious stranger is a nice companion, but I do find the characterization a bit thin. His chair-ness is good comic relief though, and it sort of gives the story a little bit of charismatic quirkiness.

On the art and pacing, I don’t have much to say about it. The art is great and the pacing is pretty good. It was a really quick read — as most manga is — and I’ll be reading Volume 2 for sure.

I picked up this graphic novel because of I found the movie trailer interesting. I haven't had the chance to watch the movie. But, reading this novel made me want it even more. It was a great start to another graphic novel series.

4.5/5 ⭐️

For a first book, this provides a good introduction on what to expect. The art is beautiful and the story itself is compelling, offering a slight "slice-of-life" concept to it. We are not given too much information of Suzume yet but arguably enough information is given to peak one's interest to want to continue the series. Weirdly enough, a comparison I'd offer for this is Pokemon, with Suzume coming across and meeting kind individuals willing to help her on her "grand mission".

Perhaps I am one of the few people who have yet to actually watch the Suzume anime yet but I have been convinced with this novel. Also... there is a really cute cat that is important to the plot. What more could I ask form? Cute cat wins my heart anyways.

If you want an easy read in between heavier reads, don't be afraid to pick up this fantasy coming-to-age manga!

Thank you to NetGallery for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who loved the movie, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the manga. This gives those who have watched the movie a different perspective into Suzume's experience, especially regarding her fuzzy memories of the past. There were some parts that felt like they skipped background information, but that could just be because the film is still fresh in my memory. Still, it was easy to follow along with, so I think those who haven't seen the film will enjoy it just as much. I'll definitely be on the lookout for the next volume!

Suzume is a beautiful film that illustrates the devastation that can be caused by earthquakes and the heartbreak of the victims left behind--all with a fantastical twist of course. When I first watched it, I found it more light-hearted than I originally thought it would be (with an absolutely AMAZING score!) but overall enjoyed it a lot. So of course I had to jump on the chance of reading the manga version.

The first volume of this manga has quite the promising start. The art style is a little different from the film which I found interesting, and quite a bit of content was cut out, which I'm sure was to make the manga more concise, so I do have to say if you pick up the manga and like it, I recommend watching the film as well.

I think my only complaint would be some parts are a little too concise. I found myself going back to make sure I missed anything several times. But other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this volume and revisiting the story.

NOTE: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley for review purposes only. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for giving me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This manga follows a young girl Suzume who gives a mysterious stranger directions to a ruin before finding herself on an adventure with a "chair" chasing a "cat." The series gives me Studio Ghibli vibes and the main character is very likable. I am interested in seeing where the series goes.

gahhhhh!! I love this so much. I love Makoto Shinkai's movies, Your Name and Weathering with You are among my favourites! I saw the Suzume film about 8 months ago and had planned on reading the manga, I was lucky to find out it was on NetGalley, I couldn't help myself!!

The manga captures the initial events of the film, where Suzume encounters Souta Munakata, discovers the mysterious door, and learns all about the keystone and the role of closers.
What begins as an ordinary day on her way to school quickly spirals into a wild adventure with Souta—who was cursed to take the form of her childhood chair—as they chase after Daijin, the keystone.

This is such a magical story. Also, the first few coloured pages were breathtaking, just like the movie was!! I almost wish the whole manga was coloured!

This was a cute read. I am a fan of the movie and I knew better than to think it would be copy/paste of the film. Where this manga did differed from the movie, I actually thought was better in forms of storytelling. The way the information and background of the story was revealed in the manga made more logical sense than the film and added to the believability of Suzume’s responses. One scene I liked was when Suzume is babysitting the children and she sees them play with the chair, but instead of the chair she sees Souta instead. It was very sweet. Overall a good read and the art style was very clean. I particularly loved the coloring of the Suzume’s flashback at the beginning of the manga. I am looking forward to vol. 2.

Not at all what I was expecting, but intriguing all the same. I'm really interested to discover if they can close the doors and catch the cat before the world is lost. The whole "turning into a chair" thing totally threw me for a loop. But the author made it work.

4.5 stars
I watched and really enjoyed this movie, so jumped on the chance to read the manga. It followed the movie extremely closely. As this is only volume 1, it did not cover the whole movie. It left off where you are really wanting more and thought it was a clever place to end.
The art style was absolutely beautiful. It was just like the movie's art style and it really gave the whole vibe of the movie even though it was black and white.
While I already knew the plot of this book, it was very fun to consume it in a new way (reading vs watching). I didn't get bored at all despite knowing what was going to happen. Trying to look at it as someone who has not seen the movie, I don't think anything would be confusing.
The only thing that confused me at first was the format. You turned the page by tapping the right side in the app, but you read each page right to left like a manga. I just wish each page read left to right and tapped the right side to turn, or it read like a proper manga, you read right to left and tap the left to turn the page.
I'm looking forward to reading volume 2!

I went into this having already watched the movie and I really enjoyed it! The art style was so unique and captured each scene perfectly, and the story was captivating and has made me excited to read the second part. It was a bit predictable for me though as it is very similar to the movie with hardly any new details, so I would recommend it to those who have not watched the movie yet for a better experience !!

I loved the movie adaptation and other Makoto Shinkai works, so I just had to read this series too! I love the story and characters and loved reading the manga version.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

The premise for Suzume sounds really interesting, but unfortunately, this was one of those that was just not my cup of tea. While I can see that there are those who will enjoy this, and despite my feelings for this, I will still encourage people to read to see if this suits them, I am just one of those who will not continue reading the series.

Suzume, to me, was just a very annoying character, while she does have her own issues, to me there are times she was just an insipid love-struck idiot who does more harm than good. The only character I actually liked is Souta, but he is stuck in a chair form, indirectly caused by Suzume.

As noted above, while I will not be continuing with this series, I still encourage people to read to get their own opinion, as everyone has their own likes and dislikes.

a solid manga adaptation of a movie that I absolutely adore. the art is nice and the manga follows the movie pretty faithfully, with a few tweaks to keep things more straightforward and added lines of dialogue to expand on some concepts or conversations that are not present in the movie. the translation seems solid to me as well, although at times Souta appears to be a bit ruder (?) than how he is in the movie, although I’m not sure if that is a change that has been made for the manga to give Souta some character development moments. still, I would be interested to see how future volumes adapt the rest of the movie!