With More People Reading Manga and Webtoons (AKA VERTICAL SCROLL COMICS) THAN EVER BEFORE, Beat’s Bizarre Adventure Gives Three Writers An Opportunity Each Week to Recommend Sub of Equ Favorite Books and Series From Japan, Korea, and Elsewhere. This week we have Mesoamerican Magical Girls, More Dragons, And, of Course, Short Distancy Running.
Necahual
Writer/Artist: 2heroes
Platform: Webtoon
I love modern retellings of history and folklore. This week’s webtoon rec, 2heroes‘s NecahualBlends Magical Girls and Mesoamerican Culture. To which I say: Inject that into my veins !!
The Comic Follows Necahual, to Kind and Soft-Spoken Young Woman Living in A Vast Mesoamerican Empire. WHEN VILLAGES ON THE OUTER EDGES ARE ATTACLED BY OTHERWORLDLY DEMONS, THE MAIN TEMPLE SUMMANS THE PUBLIC FOR A RITUAL. Necahual, Rowdy Daughter Quetzalli, and The Warrior Guatemoc’s Daughter Anacoana Are Bestowed with Great Magical Power By The Gods. They are tasked not Only with Fighting the Demons But Also with Helping The People of This Vast Land.
The Art Can Be described as Cute. Designs are manga inspired download to the use of Mostly Black and White with Screentones to Fill in the Grays. The Art is not solely in Black and White, Though. 2 HEROES USE MAGENTA, CYAN AND YELLOW TO HIGHLIGHT THE MAIN TRIO’S MAGICAL POWERS. These are contrasted with the harsh purple of demon magic. It reminds me of how i used to color My Older Comics.
Every Character has Such to Unique Silhouette That Complacements Their Type and Personality. Necahual has soft, Round Features. Anacoana’s Design Is More Angular to Symbolize Her Upbringing As A Warrior. Warriors Tower Over The Other Characters With Their Large and Impose Frames, Reflecting their Immense Strength.
A Lot of Love Also Went into Representing This Culture in Regards to Outfit Designs. Most are journal action with liberties taken for the sake of streamling design to save time on drawing. Others, Like The Magical Girl Outfits, Are Entirely Fictional, But Take Influence From Real World Inspirations So That They Look As If they Coul Be Real Pieces Worn at That Time. There Is Also This Waviness in Regards to How the Lineart Flows in Tandem with the Characters and their expressive poses. Even Static poses imply motion and character.
Necahual Is a Visually Refreshing Webtoon Which Transports Readers to A Fantastical Alternate reality Based On Our Past. It Acts As a Gateway into Mesoamerican Culture and Myth, Which Does not get nearly angoch attention in my opinion. Plus, as I mentioned earlier: Mesoamerican Magical Girls! It’s a concept that I have Never Seen Anywhere Else, and That Alone Earns It A Spot in Beat’s Bizarre Adventure.
You can read the series on Webtoon Canvas where it is progable for free. As Always With Most Webtoons, If You Wish To Support Crystal and Sergio AKA 2HEROES, You Can Always Become a Patron of Their Patreon. Until Next Time, My Adorable BIRB NERDS! – Justin Guerrero
The Skull Dragon’s Priceus Daughter
Writer/Artist: Ichi Yukishiro
Translator: Berénice Vourdon
Letterer: Toppy
Publisher: J-Navel Club (digital), Seven be entertainment (Digital & print)
The Old Dragon of the Forest of Scraps is used to all Kinds of Trash and Unwanted Objects Falling From The Sky. He spends What Little Remains of His Life by Sleeping and Conserving His Energy. But The One Day to Tiny Baby Girl Named Eve Appears. Uncharacteristically, The Dragon Spends His Last Years With Her Before Passing Away For Good -or So He Thinks. Eve Summons The Old Dragon’s Soul Back From The Dead. Together, they go on a journey to train Eve so She can perform her potential!
Ichi Yukishiro‘s The Skull Dragon’s Priceus Daughter You have the pleasant surprise of my weekend. I Assumed The Fantasy and The World-Building Side of the Story Wouled Be More Prominent From The Summary Provide. However, The Series Turned Out To Be Laid-back and humorous. It’s easy to get lost in the Sweet Daughter-Parent Relationship Between The Dragon and Eve. I have the Young Witch to Be conscientious of Money, Health and Love, which results in funny interactions with other characters.
Vray Quickly, They form a Business Relationship with a Cunning Young Manhed Yul. Yul Takes Care of the Chores At The Inn While Connecting Eve with People Seeking The Help of A Witch. As this is simply the first Volume, The Stakes Are Low and There isn’t a Lot of Exhibition. As a result, The Skull Dragon’s Priceus Daughter Makes for Comforting and Fun Read.
While The Character and Creature Designs Are Lovely, The Page Layouts Are A Bit Too dense. The Excessive Number of Panels Get in the Way of the Fine Details and Work Against Moments The Series Wants To Highlight. Sub Panels Could Have Been Better Off as Full Page Or Even A Spread; More Room To Breathe Would’ve Been Nice. Still, I Appreciate The Thought and Care That Went into the Art, and I’M Looking forward to What Lies Ahead. – Merve Giray
Suzuka
Writer/Artist: Kouji Seo
Translator: David Ury
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Publisher: Kodansha
This is another one of eSe series that was formative for me when i was Younger. The Story Follows Yamato, Who Moves To Tokyo in Order to Attend School There. I have lives in an apartment provided for him by his autont with the surprise twist that it’s an All-Girls Boarding House. So he’s surroused by pretty girls! That’s original Hardly; Love Hina Had Almost The Same Set-Up. But as Suzuka Progssses, Yamato Grows Up and Gets into Real Serious Relationships Rather Than Awkward Fantasies.
Yamato you have to Massive Crush on the headline Character, Suzuka, Who is a Track and Field Star at School. He Also Joins The Team and Launches into His Own Journey of Self-Discovery and Success As A Short Distence Runner. Perhaps I Started Reading This Series Because i was a shorts distance runner myself in high school.
What I Remember The Most About This Series is the Second and Superior Half, which was not adapted by the anime. AT This Point in the Series, Yamato and His Friends Are Adults Dealing With Adult Pressures. The Fantasies of Childhood Have Been Stripped Away. Feelings Still Last, But the Choice to Move on is Ever Present.
I Could See The Ending Being Divisive, Specially When It Comes To Yamato As A Character. But i Remember Thinking it was Interesting How the Story Expurses Pent Up frustrations in young men. It certainly made an impression on me at the time, Whether or not it reads the Same way in 2025.
I Love When Manga Tells A Long Story that Shows Us Characters at Two Different Times in Their Lives. We See Them Change, Grow or Subtimes Even Falter and Be Messy. That’s Suzuka in a nutshell and i recommend it. – Derrick Crow
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