Kano was the top of his class until transfer student Sawatari got there. Now, he’s bested by her on all tests no matter how much he studies. But he finds release from his frustrations in playing his favorite card game - Magic: The Gathering. He takes a trip to a new card shop an hour by bike and discovers a group of hardcore players, including a girl playing a killer mono White deck. He challenges her with his mono Black, White’s antithesis, and is dismayed when he not only loses, but finds out his opponent is Sawatari!

Choosing to set this series in the 90s was definitely interesting and will appeal to original fans of the game who will be along for the nostalgia. For current players, this is a chance to learn a bit of history and peak at what playing Magic used to be like. For people who have never played before, don’t worry. There are plenty of explainers and help text to guide you through so your can understand what the characters are saying as they play their matches. And there is plenty in this story besides playing Magic to appeal to manga readers. Volume one hints at a friendship and possibly a romance between our two leading characters.

VIZ rates this as Teen Plus (ages 16+), but in volume one, this series would be fine for high school audiences, possibly even mature middle school. There is some mild language, and following along with Magic can be complicated, but younger players who are familiar with the game might be fine keeping up.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Middleschooler Hajime Kano has an intense rivalry with Emi Sawatari as to who is the top student in their school. He also has an intense obsession with Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a card collecting game that is all the rage there in the 1990s. So when he learns she is a secret MTG player, their rivalry hits new peaks. Interestingly, a relationship between the two teenagers also grows in secret as they frequent a local game store and play in the MTG tournaments there. So, what will bloom out of this rivalry? We will have to tune in to the next volume to find out!

Thanks Netgalley and Viz Media for the chance to read this volume!

Your arch nemesis - as far as class ranking goes- is actually more like you than you think. Kano lost his spot at the top of the class when Sawatari transferred. Each new school event pits these two against each other. Kano's outlet is Magic the Gathering (MTG). For those unfamiliar with MTG, components are explained throughout via footnotes. Sawatari mercilessly teases Kano throughout. Kano visits a new card store that hosts the game with hardcore players. He challenges the victor with his mono-white deck and discovers the opponent is Sawatari.

It's 1998. One of the biggest card games in the world is Magic the Gathering, MTG. Magic has now reached Japan and has taken a hold of Hajime Kano and his group of friends, with them playing during lunch. At a comic shop Hajime notices Emi Sawatori, the top student and Hajime's academic rival, defeat multiple people at Magic. They play a match and that's when their relationship begins...

Destroy All Humans is a looking glass into late 90s Japan. From school attire to the exchanging of VHS tapes, the various references will give anyone who remembers that time a warm smile. This volume is full of 90s media references. For me, it was Hajime mentioning he stayed up playing Xenogears as reason for why he placed 2nd in the exams. He also labels himself as "Soldier 1st Class", a reference to Final Fantasy VII, which I thought was awesome. For Emi, she's described as wearing something similar to the legendary J-pop singer Namie Amuro (who was huge in the 90s and early 2000s in Japan) which had me going, "I remember Namie!" This is only the tip of the iceberg of references.

If you are unaware of any pop culture references, there is a helpful translator note at the back that explains the context of the references. For instance, I thought the tv show Far East Research 200X was made up for this manga. The translator notes at the back not only confirmed it's a real series, but also covered what the series is about.

As someone who is unfamiliar with Magic the Gathering, I was concerned whether you need to understand Magic before reading. I am happily here to report that the manga teaches you how to play. There are notes next to the panels explaining what certain terms mean, which I really appreciate. To add, while Hajime understands the basics of the game, he (and thus the reader) are educated on more of the competitive play aspects.

The relationship between Hajime and Emi is the volume's strongest aspect. It's your rivals-to-friends relationship (at least it seems like it's going that route) where both start annoyed with each other whether because one lost their status as the smartest in the school (Hajime) or how one is annoyed that the other disrupts the peace of the classroom (Emi). Both will retort one another with sassy remarks, but as they spend time with each other, you start to see a friendship blossom. It's just two teens bonding over playing Magic. It's simplistic, but shines as you read.

Overall, if you're looking for a series nested in deep 90s Japanese entertainment culture mixed in with a budding rivals-to-lovers relationship, or you want a manga about Magic the Gathering, you will love Destroy All Humans! I had a lot of fun with the series and will continue reading!

Thank you to Netgalley and Viz Media for an advanced digital copy of Destroy All Humans: They Can't Be Regenerated.

One of my coworkers let me know about this book and I just had to read it. I have never played Magic: The Gathering, but I do have a ton of family and friends who play the game (I do play other TCGs though). I also work at a library and primarily work at our Teen Library. We have several groups of teen patrons that love MTG and come in almost weekly to play, as well as we have done a few programs for MTG drafts for all ages.

This is a book that I will be getting for our teen manga collection and I will be recommending it to all of our patrons. Even if you don't play MTG this is still a fun read for those that may play other TCGs, or even if you don't play.

For the MTG enthusiast, with this book it's fun to see a throwback to early MTG days. From playing the game, making new friends, trading cards, and playing in tournaments. For those that don't play MTG and may not have much knowledge of the game, this book does a great job of explaining what is happening when the card are being played.

Over all if you are fan of MTG or other TCGs, this is a fantastic read. Even if you aren't it is still a great read because of the characters and story.

One of the most anticipated October manga releases has to be Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. This coming-of-age story begins in 1998, when Magic: The Gathering was just five years old and looked rather different to its current iteration. Middle schooler Hajime is an eager player, besting peers with his mono-black deck despite model student Emi chiding him for bringing his cards to school. But when Hajime goes to a local gaming café, he makes a discovery: Emi is an expert player with a mono-white deck!

The two become unlikely friends, sharing their love of the game and building new decks together. But Emi believes (or at least claims to believe) in the prophecies of Nostradamus—including one that states the world will end the following year. How will this pair spend their alleged last year on Earth? Who’s the better player? And are they ever going to date, or what?

The manga and its English translation are both stellar, packed with footnotes and endnotes to ensure that every reader knows what’s going on. Long-time fans will appreciate the index of cards featured in the volume, as well as the history baked into the story. But even the most fan-pleasing series of references can’t survive without a story. Fortunately, Hajime and Emi’s blooming relationship is so endearing that even the least informed manga reader will be entertained.

The book is worth picking up if only for loving dedication to its extremely high concept. It is a manga not just about kids playing Magic: The Gathering; it is about kids playing Magic: The Gathering a mere six years after its debut, giving loving attention to the cards, strategies, and releases for the individual years the book covers. This first volume also includes many interesting details from the culture of Japan in 1998-99, fairly heavily footnoted at the book’s end. Particularly interesting is the sense of impending doom hanging over the cultural landscape due to media coverage of one of the prophecies of Nostradamus that specifically mentioned the year 1999.

But that is all merely the concept and the setting. The plot so far has been a competent but not particularly compelling rivalry-to-friendship-to-(both-of-them-denying-it)-budding-romance. There is a mild subversion of the unobtainable girl motif by having Kano be a fellow academic champion who views Sawatari with bitter resentment before they begin to bond over M:tG. Fanservice is thankfully mild, limited to carefully-angled shots of Sawatari in tight outfits.

The art seems good, with some interesting character designs, especially among the older nerd characters. It may be overly reliant upon screen tones, and the intricate art and small text of the Magic cards may not always come though well on the page, or both of those might just be a side effect of the poor quality of the pdf given me for this preview. A very minor note is that somewhat strange choices seem to have been made for the translation’s roman-alphabet sound effects, such as ‘rabbl rabbl rabbl’ to indicate crowd sounds.

I have never played Magic: The Gathering, certainly not when it first came out, but I know enough about the game and its history to get a few of the references. Yet, I’m also to be slightly bugged by the fact that two-and-a-half decades of revision, bans, and rules and lore overhauls means that we are seeing the character’s in this manga master intricacies of technique and strategy that mostly no longer exist. The flip side of that frustration is the pleasure of knowing you are not reading an advertisement for the massive, over-exploited Hasbro IP that the game is today.

This book does well with its high concept of a portrait of early M:tG culture and of Japan in the late 1990s, but the narrative beats of the relationship that form the narrative in which that rests are lacking in subtlety.

This immediately caught my nerdy eye. You mean there's a manga about Magic: The Gathering? Sign me up. Destroy takes place in the 1990s, following middle school rivals who step up their rivalry through MTG. The manga does a good job of introducing the reader to the different types of cards and how the game is played, and will appeal to existing fans of the game as well as newcomers interested in learning it. The art is very cool, bringing the in-game action to the reader. Fans of Yu-Gi-Oh or After School Dice Club will really enjoy this. As a fan of MTG, it's fun reading a hobby manga about something I'm into myself.

This manga offers a nostalgic journey back to the early days of Magic: The Gathering, blending the rise of the iconic card game with the relatable struggles of middle school life. Set in the 90s, the story follows Hajime Kano, a self-proclaimed geek who constantly finds himself in second place to Emi Sawatari, the perfect honor student. Their dynamic shifts when the two discover the world of Magic: The Gathering.

The manga does a great job of capturing the excitement and culture of trading card games during this era. The blend of competition, strategy, and passion for the game is clearly conveyed, making it a treat for both fans of the game and newcomers. The rivalry between Hajime and Emi is fun to follow, and their evolving relationship adds depth beyond the gaming aspect.

The art style is sharp and captures the essence of 90s manga, enhancing the nostalgic feel. The only drawback is that the story sometimes leans too heavily on clichés, making certain plot points predictable.

Overall, Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated is a fun and engaging read for fans of Magic: The Gathering and those who enjoy school life with a gaming twist. While it doesn't break new ground, it delivers a solid and enjoyable experience.

I received an ARC from Viz Media via NetGalley. This manga follows two middle school students who play Magic the Gathering in 1998. An avid MtG player myself, I liked this slice of life story and there was plenty of explanation for those unfamiliar with the game. The artwork wasn’t my favorite, but the cute relationship between the main characters was sweet.