Sazan & Comet Girl

by Yuriko Akase, 赤瀬由里子

Sazan, a young man from Earth, works construction on other planets and has seen his share of galactic oddities. But when he meets Mina, a vivacious redhead who zooms into his life on a space scooter, he knows he's run into someone special. Almost as suddenly as she arrived, Mina races out of Sazan's life, yet Sazan is determined to find her again... no matter how far he must chase her across the galaxy.

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Romance, Comics, Adventure, Young Adult

500 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2020

About the author

Yuriko Akase (赤瀬由里子, Akase Yuriko) is a Japanese illustrator and comic book author, born in 1990. She is best known for her full-color sci-fi manga Sazan & Comet Girl (2018).

Reviews

[April Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a blast! The story drew me in right away, and held my attention until the very end. For such a simple story- boy meets girl (in this case, the girl wreaks destruction wherever she goes, and is being hunted by half the universe), girl gets captured by a bad guy, boy rescues girl- there's a lot of depth to the characters, who are endearing and likeable and people you want to hang out with. This is a rollicking space opera adventure, with a crew of lovable space pirates, a sweet, ingenious hero, and a truly stellar heroine. The villain was quietly menacing rather than cartoonish, and was fleshed out well. The older school art style is gorgeous, especially lovely in full color throughout the book, and the action plays out in cinematic style- it felt like I was watching it rather than reading it. All the emotions were brought out- there was humor, pathos, intensity, bang! pow! fighting, edge of your seat dramatic moments, and some swoony romance. I can't think of one negative thing to say about this manga, it was just glorious!

[D.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

If we can all stop DROOLING over the gorgeous, FULLY-COLORED artwork (I don’t even wanna think about how long it took to use watercolors for each scene), let’s talk about the story. This is a spaced out, quirky love story when you boil it down to its ingredients. There’s even a ragtag bunch of pirates who are fun and more than just fodder for the good guys to beat up.

Sazan’s bashful and a little dopey but kind-hearted, and he meets Mina when she gives him a ride home from work. Trouble follows her everywhere, but Sazan doesn’t mind. I like that Mina has more character than the usual manic pixie girl. She doesn’t just fall in love with the first person who shows her kindness. Sazan also has more agency than just sitting around waiting for somebody to make him interesting.

The initial connection between the two is fast and cute. The way Mina innocently looked at him so wide-eyed honestly, reminded me of Ponyo, and I try my best not to rely on comparisons. It’s insta-love, but it works so well. the story's romantic without there really being a kiss. there was a peck tho ;) Also, the characters are in their twenties too! I’m so used to reading YA fiction I was a bit taken back to see characters my own age.

Lastly, y’all never learn with these doggone robots! well-intentioned robot or AI without emotions goes down the destroying-humans path? It’s been done before, but it’s how ya do it. I didn’t mind the trope here

I loved reading this! I felt like I just watched a movie. I had a great experience, and I was cheering the characters on every step of the way.

[Michael Ben Silva III · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this! It was fun and sweet, and featured a pirate captain who is a pig who can grow and shrink at will. What's not to like about that? Alas, the book unironically used the word "friend-zoned" about a quarter of the way through, so automatic reduction of one star.

[Melissa S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely out of my comfort zone with this manga! But I really enjoyed the story and the gorgeous artwork and colours throughout. Comet Girl is pretty badass, even in a bikini, and Sazan and the Picnic Pirates really grew on me. And the ending was just lovely. :-)

[Coke Fernández · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia es muy típica y con un desarrollo de manual, pero lo compensa con un coloreado precioso y buen diseño de personajes y escenarios. Es casi como estar leyendo una película de anime.

[Juliette · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute delight. Let me start here: please read this book! This is the story of a bounty hunter in space who has powers and is chased by pirates, including the lovely Picnic Pirates. She's known as the Comet Girl and when she gives Sazan a lift home, he gets the biggest crush on her. When she leaves with no explanation, he decides to look for her and things unfold from there.

First of all: the freaking artwork is one of the best I've seen ever, and definitely the best in a manga! The entire thing is coloured BY HAND! A watercolour manga! In space!

Second, the characters are all so freaking lovely. Sazan is officially one of my favourite characters now, and I love the Picnic crew so much too. Sazan is the definition of kindness and determination, and everyone is just sweet and funny. All the characters in this book are well-developed, none of them were one-dimensional and I think the author did a great job at delving into everyone's past in a concise but efficient way.

Third, the themes in this story are really interesting, we talk about kindness, acceptance, as well as humanity's flaws and qualities. I won't go into much detail here because that would spoil it, but just know everything comes full circle and when Akase starts a conversation, she finishes it.

This manga is probably around 550 pages which is great because there's so much space to really understand what's going on and add extra details here and there that makes this story so well-rounded and amazing. My eyes even peed a little at the end.

If you're a lover of sci-fi and authors like Becky Chambers and Tillie Walden then this is absolutely the book for you. Sazan & Comet Girl is easily one of my best reads of 2021 and I will come back to this manga time and again because it is truly a masterpiece. You best believe I will also be buying whatever the author publishes next because goddamn, I'm so impressed!

I would recommend this for all ages, and if you're looking to get a child into sci-fi or reading in general then I would definitely start here.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an exhilarating ride! The phrase 'Space Opera' perfectly describes this journey of Mina, the Comet Girl, who is chased throughout space by pirates and other nefarious beings in pursuit of her energy. She ends up meeting Sazan, a blue collar human worker who shows her friendship and kindness that she never knew before. I absolutely loved so much about this - the pacing (500 pages of awesomeness), the characters (Sazan! The Picnic Pirates! Mr. Conscience Guy! And of course, Mina!), the art (FULL. COLOR. Also, WATERCOLORS!!)...it's such a fun read, and I couldn't put it down.

That being said, I had a few criticisms that kept this from being one of my top favorites:
* ‘Friendzoned’ - just absolutely hate that term, which Sazan thinks after he tells Mina he loves her and she says she loves him back and has never had a friend before. However, he never once expected anything more from her, and continues to be that friend, so I'm willing to mostly overlook this.
* Mina loses her awesome powers at the end. I get it, she expended all the energy to save Sazan and create life on the planet…but I really wish she still could’ve kept her powers!! Why do so many powerful women in stories need to give up said power in the end? :/ Honestly I think I just dislike the “losing your powers” trope in general.

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a blast to read!!

I was hoping I would enjoy it and I VERY much did enjoy it! I honestly didn't expect to read it in one sitting, but once I started, I couldn't put it down!

Firstly, the story is good (and I'll talk more about that in a moment), but the colored art is STUNNING! This manga is a feast for the eyes visually and honestly, I felt overwhelmed at times because the art is so bright and colorful, and didn't know where to focus because I wanted to focus on EVERYTHING! I was surprised by the smaller attention to detail such as buildings in the distance and the tiny stars to bring the galaxy to life, but they were always there from start to finish. Even during the big fights closer to the end, the sense of texture and the vividness of each of the pipes were incredible. Truly, I have never read a manga as colorful as this one where it felt like at times my eyes were seeing all the colors of the rainbow on page!

Secondly (and going back to), the story was extremely engaging! I thought this might be a romance, but I would say that it is very much on the back burner. While many of Sazan's motivations center around his love for Mina, it took her a longgg time to take him out of the "friend zone." LOL! So I think if you like a non-focused romantic sci-fi story, this is definitely one I would check out!

Mina was an AMAZING character and I can totally see why Sazan fell for her! She was so so so cool at numerous parts of this story that I couldn't help getting excited to see her show off her strength! Many times Sazan's excitement in seeing her kick butt matched my own and found a relatability with him because SAME!

Sazan himself had such satisfying character growth! It felt so subtle and steady-going that it wasn't by the end that I fully realized just how much he HAD grown because it just felt normal to see him get stronger and braver. I loved it and was definitely touched by how much he was willing to help Mina despite being one of the weakest races/species in this story world.

When it comes to other characters, I never imagined I would like Kidd and the crew! He had some amazing character growth as well and really became a huge fan of them by the end!

The story itself was extremely engaging and I was worried with how long this manga is that I might find a moment boring, but I never did. There is SO much action that keeps you on the edge of your seat and "dreaded" anticipation of wondering if Mina fully runs out of energy or strength and what will happen if/when she does. There was also the worry and concern of the whole AI-related plot, which I was completely caught off guard by.

Overall, this was such a wonderful read!! I would love to come back to it again and not get so swept away by the art and focus more on the story, but both were so good, and enjoyed both! LOL! Definitely would recommend it if you're looking for a josei manga with a VERY light romantic subplot that is never the focus, a scifi story, and/or really really colorful and good art!

[Sean Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art and character designs were wonderful in this full color manga. The overall story was great, but it felt like the plot was moved forward by twists and turns that did not play into the overall story that had been told up to those points. The afterword mentions it was originally going to be a 15 page story and was stretched out at the publisher's request, which explains a lot of the plot issues.

Overall, it was a nice read though.

[Veronica Feliciano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so freaking good! I cried, I laughed and I felt all of the emotions! I loved it!

[Nicolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une très belle aventure (complète dans cette édition), entièrement colorisée sur l'histoire d'un garçon qui rencontre une fille, qui s'avérait être une comète. Une grosse vibe années 80/90 type Urusei Yatsura, avec des pirates de l'espace anthropomorphes, des voyages spatiaux, des réflexions sur les androïdes.

A la fois frais et nostalgique, un must have pour tous les fans de manga.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The story and characters are very typical and didn't really manage to capture my heart. The story was oldfashioned in many ways that were charming, but some ways that were just old. The extra half star is for the gorgeous full-color artwork. I wish the book had been larger and had glossy pages to really show that art off. As it is, the ink bleed made some of the art hard to truly appreciate.

[Kieran Westphal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sazan and Comet Girl is superman ice cream at the beach on the hottest day of the summer.

displaying full confidence in both its originality and its clear homage to what’s come before, this book is an absolute triumph. the joy is non-stop. the color is unbelievable. and the dips into real thematic beauty late in the narrative come as a wonderful surprise.

this is the DEBUT WORK of Yuriko Akase. the thought of that makes my head swell. it is so impressive what she’s made, here.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art is amazing and the story adorable! By far one of the best and beautiful graphic novels I’ve ever read for a sci-fi romance. It definitely has that flavor of adventure and definitely give me that treasure planet and AE world building vibe.

[Zoë Jane McClelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty colors

[Kyle Dinges · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!

I feel like it's not often that I'm genuinely shocked by a book the way I was by Sazan & Comet Girl. I read a lot of manga and comic books. Just an absolute ton of both. But I'd never heard of this before. Nor had I heard of the creator Yuriko Akase. I saw this on the "New Arrivals" shelf at the library and picked it up because it looked cool and went in with no other previous knowledge.

I was really blown away by the book. It is an absolute mammoth of a volume of manga, clocking it at over 500 pages of story with little-to-no chapter breaks. Sazan & Comet Girl is a sci-fi adventure about a young man named Sazan that meets, and falls for, a dangerous young woman colloquially known as Comet Girl. The two find themselves caught up in a galaxy spanning adventure that features spaceships, aliens, robots, AI, comets, and more.

The first major distinction between this book and most other manga is that it's fully colored. And let me tell you, the colors are absolutely spectacular. It's one of the best color jobs I've ever seen in a comic. Akase's art is reminiscent of the best of late-80's to mid-90's anime. I'm not sure how best to describe it but if you're familiar with that era of the medium I hope it gives you a good idea. The coloring here heightens that feel. The entire (again 500 plus pages!) book is water colored by Akase. Every color is pitch perfect. The science fiction visuals are just stunning. It's bright and bombastic. At it's best, it brings to mind something you'd expect to see out of a Moebius/Jodorowsky joint.

Akase's story is no slouch either. Maybe it's my nostalgia for the aforementioned era but it's just the right mixture of cheese and adventure. It is a tad formulaic in it's "Knight In Shining Armor" plot at times but manages to break free just enough to hit the mark. I oscillated back and forth through reading on if it felt too old school in its narrative reliance on Sazan always trying to save the day. I would have liked to see Mina shine a bit more. I ended up landing on the idea that Akase mostly pulled it off. As mentioned, it's a bit cheesy but I felt it was emotionally resonant. The primary themes are uplifting. The books emotional beats focus on resiliency, love, and the importance of telling and showing people that they have value, even if others tell them they don't.

I'd consider the book to be suitable for most ages. There is a mild amount of sex appeal and violence but neither are heavily featured...certainly to a much lesser degree than you'd expect from the pages of a Shonen Jump manga or a DC/Marvel comic. Akase needs neither to tell a very effective story.

The further I got into this one the more I fell in love. I'm sure a bit of my reaction is colored by nostalgia for the media the book reminded me of. I just love this kind of adventurous science fiction and the art just creates such an incredible vibe. I figure this kind of pure surprise is rare in a lifetime of reading so I'll continue to shout about this one from the rooftops. What a delight. I'll certainly make sure it isn't the last thing I read from Yuriko Akase.

[rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have Sazan, an Earthen goober who does construction work on other planets. *cough* Little does Sazan know he's in for the ride of his life!



Sazan ends up having to stay the night at this galactic bus stop after he misses the last Earth-bound rocket to his mother planet after his shift.

In comes Mina, an epic hot fun spacegirl who zooms in on her galactic scooter. She offers him a ride. And he accepts! (This gif below is how I picture Mina in this moment as she zooms up to Sazan in her stylish scooter.)



They end up fuckalen with one of my favorite pirate crews, The Picnic Pirates. (Oh, how I adore Captian Kidd and his crew throughout this novel.)

Mina drops Sazan off to Earth but not too long afterward, my favorite pork boy, Kidd, comes back and magically appears into Sazan's room, demanding him to help them track down where Mina is.

Sazan hands him Mina's tear, as a means of tracking, that she left after leaving Sazan three days prior. He bargains to join them in hopes of finding her as well.

And thus the adventure begins.

There are some enjoyable characters throughout this novel such as The Picnic Crew, Mr. Conscience Guy (aka Agruda), and even Sazan and Mina themselves had me rooting for them multiple times throughout the book.

At the end of the book, I was clutching the book tightly with tears in my eyes, thinking my boy Sazan died but he, thankfully, ends up being revived by Mina.

Dammit, Sazan don't do that to me.

This book feels like a big comfy hug and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in checking it out.

P.S. I love you so much Kidd, Zenon, and Clappu. I cannot stress this enough <3

[Doc · Rating 5 out of 5]

An out of this world romance

When Sazan wants to make sure everything is perfect for his job he stays a bit to late to be able to get a ride back to Earth. Luckily for him while the temperatures begin to drop a strange girl offers him a ride that warms his heart at the same time he takes his first steps into his destiny. Known as Comet Girl and hunted for the incredible power that resides within her we get to see how this chance meeting not only changes Sazan's life but the lives of many across the known universe.

Originally designed as a much shorter story Yuriko Akase was given a chance to create something bigger and the results are as seen here a marvel to behold. Reminding me a little bit of the old Project A-Ko books (along with some influences from other art styles) we get a story with action, romance, some comedy, and some drama all while being illustrated with beautiful water color art on every page. If this sounds good to you check out the story for yourself to see what one man is capable of to reunite with the girl that stole his heart at first glance even if other more powerful people try to get in his way. :)

[Alexander Lisovsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

В спокойную жизнь землянина-разнорабочего Сазана врывается безбашенная рыжеголовая красотка на космомопеде, за которой гонится свора пиратов. Она обладает особыми силами, за которыми многие охотятся, а впереди — бурные приключения.

500-страничную цветную мангу comicsource рекомендовал как "Скотт Пилигрим в космосе", но на самом деле эта стилизация под начало 1980-х читается скорее как нечто среднее между Миядзаки, "Инкалом" и "Тайной третьей планеты" — сумасшедший водоворот добрых по своей природе космических приключений в компании колоритных героев и гипертрофированных эмоций. Здесь есть милый юмор и кое-какие отношения, но и то, и другое остаётся в рамках выбранной стилистики мультфильмов для среднего школьного возраста.

Тем не менее, манга очаровательная и бодрая, и её вполне можно рекомендовать как лёгкую, сравнительно небольшую, ни к чему не обязывающую приключенческую фантастику. Как обычно, прикладываю ознакомительную галерею.

[Aura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim from my local comics shop, lured by the lovely cover art, and I'm so glad that I did! Akase utilises watercolour masterfully and brings out the absolute best in the medium to paint breathtaking, colourful galactic vistas with nebulae, planets and what-have-you. The art style reminds me of older, classical manga, which I adore. Sazan & Comet Girl is worth picking up for the art alone, but the story and the writing are just as good. If you love wacky space opera scifi with space pirates and epic battles, combined with a touching story of friendship and love and even some existential themes, read this.

And seriously, this is a full colour manga. Full colour! Over 500 hundred pages! I look forward to whatever Akase makes next, because this was top tier in every way.

[Shadowzzz3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Score: 4.5 out of 5

It’s by no means a perfect story, but is still very well written and beautifully illustrated. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. It can be read in about two or so hours and actually makes you feel the emotions of the characters. The action is draw so well that you can actually follow what the characters are doing. It feels like an epic sci-fi space story.

The only problem I had was that there were not enough variation in the different places that Sazan and Mina go to. I would liked to have seen them on say, a lava planet or a snow planet.

Overall I guess I would say I want to see a short 100 page manga follow up of additional adventures that these two go on together. Nothing large scale, just some side stories.

[pata22 · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good and entertaining retro-inspired sci-fi manga. i read the Seven Seas 2-in-1 omnibus release which was unfortunately disappointing. the omnibus was shorter in size than a normal manga volume and the panels were cut off at the far-left and far-right of the page (a spanish publisher has meanwhile released it as a normal size 2-volume manga and without the cut-off panels). this is sad because Sazan has really beautiful watercolor art that deserves to be viewed properly. i still recommend reading it though and hopefully more of the author's work gets picked up by western publishers

[Yesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga did encapsulate the personality of the characters very well and tied in Sazan’s bravery & need for excitement. The plot was alright as it started off with the simple meeting then moving into Mina’s backstory and her avoidant attachment style. I quite enjoyed the humanization of Agruda and his farewell to Sazan. Ultimately this was a quick and easy going story that incorporated the importance of emotions.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una space opera a pleno color, merece sólo por ver cómo maneja los pinceles la autora: explosiones, exteriores de las naves y piratas galácticos envueltos en fenómenos astrales, todo ello pintado a mano con acuarelas.

Lo único que no alcanzo a entender de la historia a nivel argumental es la decisión de vestir a la protagonista con bikini de principio a fin. Me resulta incomprensible y ridículo.

[Salem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was adorable and exceptional! I think it's rare to find clichés that still excite me, but every cliche was written so well that I couldn't believe they were all such common "overused" tropes!

The art style is also very well done, I almost couldn't believe this was a recent manga because the retro art style was so authentic!

All in all, definitely one of my favorite manga now.

[Kyla Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a mystery book at Barnes and Noble, recommended by an employee. I had no idea what book it was when I bought it. I’m so glad I decided to grab it because this was my first ever manga and it was such a fun read!

[Allen Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This manga is GORGEOUS and HEARTFELT.
It can be a little cliché in its subject matter, and certainly doesn't have anything "new" to say, but that's okay! Not everything has to be "new".
I absolutely adored this crazy little adventure, and it makes me wish it was a series!

[Katie Spivey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect a ton from this standalone manga when I first picked it up, but I was pleasantly surprised! It was a really enjoyable read. None of the characters are unbearable/annoying, the plot is simple but fun, and there isn’t anything hard to understand either. 100% would recommend.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous full-colour manga. A standard but charming love story between a “fish out of water” ordinary guy, and a space woman coming to terms with feeling positive emotions for the first time. Also, space pirates.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast, fun and colorful read! Classic boy meets girl story. Girl is all powerful. Together they must save humanity with the power of love. But did she really need to fly around in a bikini? There’s no reason she couldn’t have a cool flightsuit instead.