firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

political intrigue mixed with slice of life makes for an interesting first volume — despite the blood and gore, i really enjoyed this first volume. the art style was unique, and shimazaki’s depressing background was compelling. i also really enjoyed the snippets about food items featured in between chapters!

i’ll definitely look into continuing the series

I'm not going to lie - I chose this title because I thought it was a comic about one of my favorite actors, Mads Mikkelsen (the cover looks like a younger version of him!), but I wasn't disappointed! I'm still getting to know manga, and I can say that this one was different and very interesting. I definitely intend to keep reading this series!

Shimazaki has been trained as a soldier of the terrorist organization known as LEL, after they hijacked the plane he was on as a child. Many years later he seems to have finally escaped, and is getting a fresh start in his native country, Japan. However can he really be rid of his past this easily?

"The LEL's cause is righteous, and desertion is tantamount to sacrilege! We will hound deserters to the ends of the earth, and we will kill them!!"

Shimazaki in the Land of Peace is a highly character-driven story. While our titular main character is quiet and socially awkward, his actions show his big heart. Because of these reasons I feel this story needs more time to develop than just one volume, and I find it hard to judge it based on just this volume, as I don't feel very attached to the characters yet. I do however see a lot of potential.

Hamada has a realistic leaning, contemporary art style. There is a lot of drama and stark contrast to be found in the art of this manga, as well as dynamic action scenes. We get simple panels focusing on the characters, and panels with realistically detailed backgrounds or weapons. All of this is broken up by pages filled with greyscale watercolour. An intriguing combination.

"If you ask me, we need imagination to protect ourselves. It's art that can reach the human heart."

Shimazaki in the Land of Peace is the perfect manga for those that love character-driven stories that handle serious subject matter. Including politics, terrorism, indoctrination and murder. If you enjoyed Chainsaw Man, you should give this manga a shot.

This is amazing. One of the best new manga I've found in a while. Going in I was worried it was going to be another Sakamoto Days or Way of the House Husband but this definitely has way more to say then those two series and I'm very excited to see where it goes from here.