Rojica to Rakkasei, Vol. 1

by Kinome

Living on a planet, Rojica and Rakka. They dig a hole to kill time and throw a "mysterious disk" or find a "secret dungeon" in the forest and have fun every day. There are still a lot of things these two do not know about the planet ....

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Adventure

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 9, 2018

Reviews

[Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly charming post-apocalyptic sci-fi surreal comedy that has a lot more worldbuilding and wonder than it has any right to have. It almost reads like a comic strip, but eventually the worldbuilding takes it in a very interesting direction.

Recommended for fans of Girls' Last Tour or panpanya (Invitation from a Crab).

[Leila ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ojoooo. Lo arranqué porque me lo dieron de intercambio pero sin mucha fe la verdad, porque no parece del tipo de manga que disfruto. However, viene más interesante de lo que esperaba. Todavía no comprendo del todo de qué va la historia, pero me gusta como todos los capítulos te dejan con un sentimiento de tristeza/ desolación 👀

3.5 de 5 estrellas.

[Spaghett · Rating 5 out of 5]

(read in Japanese)

This was probably the easiest thing I've read in Japanese aside from dedicated learning materials, and even then it was probably easier than some of those. I got through the first two chapters on my e-reader without looking anything up and while the lookups do get a bit more frequent as it goes (and the final chapter introduces a lot of new vocab), it was great to get into flow and just enjoy the ride. But just because the verbiage was easy and everything is cute, doesn't mean the story is*simple*. The manga certainly *looks* unassuming at first glance, but it has a surprising hidden depth to it and true beauty as a work of art.

On the surface, it's about a girl and her weird cartoony friends having fun adventures, but there's always kind of a hint that something bigger is going on and as you dig into each of the characters you see the complexities each individual carries. I never had the chance to get too far into Adventure Time but it kind of feels like that but a bit less sardonic.

It's also a fine example of something where reading it in the original language reveals hidden depths that might not be apparent in a translated version, even though I *really* wish this was available to a wider audience. I won't give anything away, but there are a couple bits near the end where finally reading a particular word or phase in *kanji* reveals what it *really* means, after only seeing that particular word in Kana the whole time. It's one of those really great "aha" moments where you truly appreciate the nuance of another language.

This was phenominal and I would love to see an anime version (by the people who did D.I.Y, just imagine!) but I think even that would lose some of the nuance since *character readings* are part of certain reveals (though I guess they could show them on screen). Reading in Japanese can be exhausting at times, but this had me eagerly wanting to read the next chapter and learn just a little more about this world and its inhabitants.

[Dana Salman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not even through reading all the chapters yet, and I already know it's a five-star read. Having been an anime and manga fan for a little over a decade now, and becoming less and less patient to actually push past the first dozen chapters of any new manga I try before deciding I'm just not interested in continuing, Rojica and Rakkasei immediately caught my eye with its cute, simple art style, its charming character designs, and its wonderfully engaging, sometimes dark and disturbing stories of a girl and her undefinable creature companion/guardian navigating the post-apocalyptic world they live in. This series is perfect for fans of Adventure Time or the Moomins books and 90's anime.

[Eszter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is very charming. It is about a girl who lives on a foreign planet and discovers it together with her friend. Together, they meet many interesting creatures. It is full of comedy and I had many good laughs.

[Nathan Ponnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a while back .. but hadn't added it to my gr cos I wanted to keep my novels n comics separately but now I ain even noting down my comics .. so now Imma start adding them here

I'll add my thought on this on the last volume ...

[Idyusah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only words I have are beautiful, just beautiful 😍

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world created in this book is fascinating. There is a good balance of lightheartedness and some surprisingly serious themes. Really recommend this one!

[alexandria · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a lovely little read!! i really hope this gets an official english translation, the worldbuilding is so fun & the characters are so cute. :)