Minecraft: The Manga, Vol. 1

MINECRAFT～世界の果てへの旅～ [Minecraft: Sekai no Hate no Tabi] #1

by Kazuyoshi Seto

Peaceful life in a perfectly constructed town bores ten-year-old Nico into mischief. Riding creepers while they explode is fun and all, but what he really wants is to escape the blocky confines of his home and take his crafting skills on an adventure to the end of the world. Just how big is the world, anyway, and what could stand in his way?

Nico gets his chance to prove how strong he’s become when zombies attack! After modding an innovative solution to repel the undead foes, Nico earns the right to go on the adventure he’s always wanted. But right away, he runs into another zombie…and this one can talk!

Genres: Manga

192 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2025

Reviews

[Dandy ˙ᵕ˙ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was actually really cute but the fact he kept saying "this... is MY CRAFT" kills me

[Peyton F · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read on my lunch break.

I’m not the biggest fan of manga. It was just something that wasn’t in my purview, then my coworkers told me I was insane for not liking manga, so don’t tell anyone, but I doubled down and claimed that I hated it. Just to enrage my peers. It’s not to say that manga can’t be strong; I secretely really enjoy books like Attack On Titan and Devilman, but similar to superhero books, you quickly realize the tropes and cliches that occur.

Nico White is a boy that lives in a village, who’s only ever known his village. His father was an adventurer, one of a few people that embark on a journey to “The End of the World.” Nico decides to go on this adventure as well, eventually teaming up with another human cursed with a “Mod” that turned him and his whole village into Zombies (this Zombie man is named “Gray”)

Something I really enjoyed about this is that the book utilized Minecraft screenshots as backgrounds. The models of these characters did differ and didn’t exactly sync up to the 2-block height limit, but 90% of the background came from the game.

If it’s not obvious, this is a story meant for children. It took me 40 minutes to read. Nico is a character whose best trait and also fatal flaw is that he is fearless and thinks everything he sees is the coolest.

Most characters are fairly one dimensional, though I can feel that there are seeds here that could take these characters on darker, more intricate paths. Nico lives in the shadow of his father. Gray wants to save his sister from the zombie affliction, but he needs to ask himself if he wishes to save himself.

The Campbellian hero’s journey is slightly synced up here, however, the shonen archetype of Nico (his blocky design with the spiky hair aligns himself with characters such as Naruto and Luffy) doesn’t really allow for much in terms of a refusal to call; Nico is pretty adamant about his call to adventure. Idk, I really hope that by the end of this adventure, he returns to his village, forever changed. I want him to go into exile. But this is probably not that type of book.

It plays upon the game mechanics, doing stuff that only the medium of manga/sequential art can do. It makes me hesitantly interested in “A Minecraft Movie.” Releasing in about a month.

For a first manga in like 10 years it was a bold choice. One piece next? lol

[Matthew Gasperoni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, this was pretty rough. I went into it knowing it would be geared toward a younger audience, but that’s not the issue here. I just wanted to sit down and enjoy a story. Unfortunately, this wasn’t just fast-paced—it was like drinking from a fire hose.

Everything was introduced so quickly that there was hardly any development or time to care about what was happening. If it hadn’t been a manga, it probably would’ve been a DNF for me, but I pushed through since it was a short read.

I love Minecraft and enjoy both graphic novels and manga, so I thought this would be a fun fit. The art style isn’t bad—it does capture the Minecraft world well—but the story was just too rushed to be enjoyable. The pacing really hurt it.

[Mary-Anne Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun Minecraft manga. looking forward to the next one

[Shadow Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know what you're probably thinking - 'Has Steve played Minecraft?' 'Does he build in Minecraft?' 'Has he watched the movie?' Here are my answers - no I haven't played Minecraft no I haven't built things in Minecraft & I haven't watched the movie in cinemas coz of the chicken jockey chaos in various cinemas where they shouldn't spoil on Tiktok - thanks spoil sports at Tiktok 🙄

But I heard great things about Minecraft when it 1st came out as a public alpha in 2009 & then it's official release in 2011 on phones tablets & pcs before being ported to consoles

I even saw a friend on Instagram streaming Minecraft on Twitch years ago

& since then it became a global phenomenon

It got a lot of expansions with character skins including various pop culture franchises console exclusives it even teaches chemistry & environment to kids

Plus it has a lot of toys spin off games books a live action movie & of course a manga so here's what I think about the 1st volume

Inspired by the game it circles around 10 year old mischief Nico White as he's determined to go on the adventure to prove how strong he'll become to find zombies... & met a zombie who talks like a human

I still don't know much about Minecraft the character illustrations looks cute especially for kids with excellent action just like from the games amazing sense of humour & the backgrounds are just like the game

Well Minecraft isn't my cup of tea I'm sure a lot of kids & all Minecraft fans will definitely enjoy this volume & hopefully I'll get into more Minecraft with the next volume soon

🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️.5/5

Have you played Minecraft?

[Alice LS · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's pretty bad because it's a Minecraft manga that poorly represents Minecraft. As an example, there's a whole chapter where the characters are suffering from heat and thirst when that's just something that doesn't happen in Minecraft. I do think they could've still made a very enjoyable manga while staying true to the material.
A big part of the plot is characters having "mods", which seem intended to reference Minecraft's enormous modding community. However, the "mods" don't really function any similarly to how modding videogames works. If anything they function closest to client-side cheats. However, I did find this poor representation of modding to be so bad it's good. That's how I feel about this whole volume.
Something I found cool about this manga art-wise is that they use screenshots from the actual game for backgrounds. It's a very unique look that perfectly suits a Minecraft manga.
Other than the poor representation of Minecraft, it's a fun tropey kids manga, down to having the protagonist use a catchphrase ("this is... my craft!") everytime he uses his mod. I found that catchphrase to be hilarious in particular.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in the world of Minecraft, this manga follows standard hero protagonist Nico on his quest for meaning. Or something like that. He's specifically looking for the end of the world, but that feels less like a real dstination and more like a construct representing adventure and freedom. There's nothing at all surprising or ground breaking about the story or the characters, but there doesn't need to be. It's competently executed, and the main characters are actually kind of endaring despite their lack of depth. The art is soldily on model, and many of the backgrounds look like doctored screenshots. A solid choice for young Minecraft fans, but probably not a lot of crossover appeal for older readers.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is something about a manga book that clearly lays out what you need to enjoy it. That is how I would describe Minecraft the Manga volume 1. The first pages describe exactly who is who and then we proceed to jump right into a fun story that feels very straight forward. The main characters name is Nico White and he dreams of always being an adventurer. The art and story duties of this book fall to Kazuyoshi Seto who does a fine job. The style is simplistic to go with the theme of Minecraft and is done well. The art because of the subject matter will definitely make you feel as if you could do it, but there are a lot of subtle things in it which may be ignored if you're reading this too fast. A non-stressful read that is interesting and for all ages.

[Nami Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The MC pretty set on adventuring despite being a kid and got power to craft anything with out a craft table,lol. Pretty interesting so far and he loves meeting monsters and learning new things plus to help ppl. Enjoyable minecraft manga so far.

[Meia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Primera vegada que llegeixo un còmic manga, m'ha costat adaptar-me i anar al revés del què estic acostumada. Tot i així, m'ha semblat una lectura infumable, però com que me la va recomanar el meu fill, l'havia de llegir. Espero que les seves recomanacions millorin d'aquí en endavant 😂

[Kimberlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this did a good job of incorporating good Minecraft knowledge/jokes while still making the overall story entertaining for kids.

[Ayansh Saxena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

[Theodore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and creative book! Some of the stuff were original too! Not just from Minecraft!

[hannah blaha]

shoutout patrick for this as a gift bc he knows i like pictures and minecraft :)

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comedic and informative. Will read volume 2.

[Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Combining two huge fandoms - manga & Minecraft - this book will definitely be popular. The main character, Nico, encourages youth to use their imagination to identify solutions as he models the behavior with problems in the story.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very goofy! Will not make a lot of sense to those unfamiliar with Minecraft.

[Beachback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute!!

[Slimegamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW PURE QUESTO È UNA FIGATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
10000000000000000000000000000000000 SU 0,000000000000000000001

[Fake_jaja · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Coca Cola Fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so good way better than I thought it would be.

[Arnaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun enough :-)

[Wicked Enigma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pacing was pretty fast and it's full of the classic trappings of the shonen "genre" but I found it charming and really enjoyed it nonetheless.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.

This is an adventurous and humorous manga that would be perfect for elementary library shelves. Readers don't have to have much familiarity with the Minecraft game to read this story, though it probably would help cement favoritism with characters and the story.

Reviewed for Booklist Magazine.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 3-7