The Spring 2017 Manga Guide

DAYS Vol. 1

What's It About? 

An original manga with spinoff elements from creator Tsuyoshi Yasuda's previous soccer manga (Furimukuna Kimi wa, not available in North America), DAYS is a Weekly Shōnen Magazine slice-of-life comedic sports series. In this first installment, Tsukushi Tsukamoto, a first-year Seiseki High School student with severely low self-esteem and coordination issues, is rescued from a pair of bullies who've harassed him for years by Jin Kazama, a long-haired, cool-headed boy who turns out to be going to the same high school as Tsukushi. Concerned that Tsukushi attempted little to defend himself, Kazama follows him around for a while, meeting up with Tsukushi's childhood friend, Sayuri Tachibana, and inviting Tsukushi to play some “futsal” with him and some adult friends. Although Tsukushi has never played soccer, he's excited to be of use to a new friend and plays his heart out—even going so far as to play through pain and wounds with a smile on his face. At the encouragement of his new pal, Tsukushi decides to join the Soccer Club at his school. Although his complete inexperience with the game and with exercise in general causes him to come in last in every way, Tsukushi's determination not to slow down any of his potential teammates with his own lack of skill causes him to push himself beyond the limit with willpower that's second to none.

DAYS (04/25/17) is available for $10.99 from Kodansha as a digital-first release. A 24-episode first season of an anime adaptation is streaming in its entirety on Crunchyroll.

Is It Worth Reading?

Amy McNulty

Rating: 3.5

Compared to the anime adaptation of this manga, the opening to this series is bizarrely unexpected—and much funnier, although whether that darkly comedic tone serves as a good introduction to the series as a whole remains to be seen. The anime opening is much more realistic and even hopeful, whereas this strange tale of stalking delinquent bullies going so far as to beat Tsukushi to a pulp—all while trying to steal Sayuri's phone number to get a date—is so over-the-top as to be laughable. Still, it does demonstrate Tsukushi's gung-ho attitude. He literally gets knocked down and gets up again (then runs six miles in the pouring rain) without blinking. Tsukushi's work ethic and ability to take abuse without flinching is often a source of comedy and it's admirable in a way—although his abysmally low self-esteem must be a result of a lifetime of such treatment by peers. Still, since Sayuri and Kazama are so kind to him and even most of his Soccer Club teammates don't mistreat him, either, his constant apologizing without cause does seem jarring. It's clear his mother has been nothing but supportive his whole life as well—and kudos to the manga for showing a character with a disability, especially without making a big deal about her disability for the most part. The cause, then, of such an extreme reaction is somewhat mysterious. Tsukushi's self-esteem issues are so overriding, they're actually a larger presence than soccer itself, especially since Tsukushi is rarely even shown playing the game yet. This is clearly a portrayal of a character with a mental illness—a main character in a shonen series at that. It certainly makes him more memorable than the typical rough-and-tumble shonen hero.

Yasuda's character designs are pleasant to look at, if sometimes a touch rough at the edges. The comedic and older characters particularly stand out, whereas Tsukushi's design is rather meek and bland—although that goes well with his character. There are a number of full-page and even two-page panels that punctuate emotional or active moments nicely, although there haven't been many moments of soccer at play yet in this soccer-centered manga. More darkly comedic than its anime adaptation, this first volume of DAYS is worth a read both for fans of the anime and newcomers to the series, even if the tone is a little out of sync with the typical neophyte-to-sports-star story.

Nik Freeman

Rating: 3

A lot of sports manga have mild-mannered protagonists, but DAYS trumps them all. Tsukamoto is one of the most emotionally sensitive, unintimidating characters to have a leading role in a manga. Throughout the volume his behavior ranges from sympathetically vulnerable to annoyingly pathetic, and his clumsiness and weakness are emphasized just a bit too much. Tsukamoto's big heart and single-minded dedication make him stand out to his friends, but amidst contemporary series that feature entire teams with these qualities, he seems a bit bland. The moments where he proves he's got guts are given proper build-up and emotion, but it's as if there's some cosmic joke at play that prevents Tsukamoto from having any dignity even in his shining moments. The guy nearly concusses himself when he scores his first ever goal, and beyond that, all of his defining moments seem to involve him collapsing face-first in exhaustion. It all makes him kind of difficult to root for despite his admirable qualities.

DAYS has a bit of a different take on the usual sports manga formula. There's no passionate declaration by the hero that he'll win the national championship or play in the Koshien or the like, instead Tsukamoto just wants to play soccer because it gives him a sense of purpose and belonging. It's a refreshing take on the genre, because speaking realistically, not every single person places winning championships as the number one priority when they join a high school sports team. Tsukamoto's budding friendship with Kazama feels like sufficient reason for him to go on this new journey, despite his clear lack of preparation for it. I wish that this dynamic had gotten a little more focus in the volume, because Kazama starts to fade into the background as it wears on. Kazama's claims of how special Tsukamoto is are the greatest validation he really gets in the manga, since Kazama himself is so obviously impressive at first glance. Between his cool demeanor, assortment of eccentricities, and physical prowess, it's almost like Kazama was originally going to be the hero of the story, but then the focus was shifted to his hard-luck comic relief sidekick at the last minute. The manga is more interesting the way it is, but one with Kazama as the lead would have probably been more entertaining.

Aside from being light on action, DAYS pushes the likably pathetic angle a little too hard with Tsukamoto. It wouldn't be surprising if a number of readers weren't able to get into the story as a result, but those who are should like it just fine. It's very restrained for a sports manga, not playing up the drama of competition or exciting over-the-top action and instead playing up the personal meaning characters attach to the game and the friendships it helps to strengthen. It's one of the few sports manga that's perfect to recommend to anyone who doesn't actually care much for sports.

Rebecca Silverman

Rating: 3.5

Despite not enjoying sports in real life, I do love sports manga. I'm not entirely sure why, but it's probably got something to do with the fact that many of them are underdog stories, and in that regard DAYS is no exception. While the soccer/futsal parts are exciting and interesting, what's really making this first volume work for me is the hero, Tsukushi. He's not only a major underdog, he's also fully aware of it in a way that makes him overreact to every little drop of kindness someone sends his way. In some cases that backfires on him, but in others it makes people realize what a determined, earnest soul he is, and to see them recognize Tsukushi's worth is pretty wonderful.

It's very clear that Tsukushi, who is about to enter high school when the story starts, has been dealt a difficult hand in life. We immediately see that due to attending different schools he stopped getting to interact with one of his close friends, and in her absence he was latched onto by a couple of detestable thugs in typical manga fashion. Tsukushi won't stand up for himself when they harass him, but when they try to transfer their attentions to his friend, he says no. He doesn't care that they can (and probably will) beat him to a paste; what they want to do will expand the scope of their bullying and he's not going to stand for it. It feels very likely that somewhere along the line Tsukushi was told that he was a worthless idiot who just causes trouble for everyone around him, because that's how he sees himself – unless he's actively helping someone else, he thinks he's not worth anything.

All of that begins to slowly change when he meets Jin Kazama (of the lovely hair), a boy who goes from random passerby on the street to Tsukushi's first real friend. Jin's invitation to play futsal, a form of soccer, finally gives the other boy something to aspire to, even if he doesn't truly believe that he can make it as a player. At first Jin doesn't either, and that's my favorite part of the volume – after realizing that he's been a jerk to his new friend, Jin really looks at Tsukushi trying and suddenly sees that this is a very worthwhile human being who was so beaten down that no one bothered to see who he actually is. Jin gets mad at himself for not seeing it, and at the rest of the world for the same thing.

Of course, it's kind of hard to read about someone with such low self-esteem, and after the one futsal game, the rest of the volume is decidedly low on action. The art has some trouble with movement, which is going to be a much more dire issue going forward, and facial expressions can be fairly wooden. But DAYS has potential. If nothing else, seeing Tsukushi gain a little faith in himself will be worth it.