Lost Lad London, Vol. 1

Lost Lad London #1

by Shima Shinya

A murder on the London Underground and a mysterious bloody knife draw a regular university student and a grizzled New Scotland Yard detective into a web of crime and suspense…

Genres: Manga, Mystery, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Crime, Thriller

198 pages, Paperback

First published January 12, 2021

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up. If ever there was a manga just begging for a live-action adaptation, this would be it. When Al, the adopted South Asian son of white British parents, is in the wrong place at the wrong time, he becomes a suspect in the murder of the London Mayor. At first it just looks like bad luck, but very soon things begin to appear a lot more sinister, and when Detective Ellis shows up at Al's door - bearing his own load of baggage from a past case - he quickly realizes that there's a lot more going on than meets the eye. Someone appears dead set on framing Al for the mayor's murder, and Ellis knows that a brown kid who killed a white guy isn't going to fare well in the public eye. Reading like a British crime drama and with overt acknowledgement of racism in a way we don't often see in manga, this is a solid mystery that I think I may be on the way to solving, but it's well enough written that I can't possibly be sure.

[Dreamcatcher (HIATUS)]

Review for the entire series (COMPLETED)

For just eighteen chapters, this was a lot more compelling than I had initially thought. The mystery itself aside (because it's not mind blowing, though still pretty solid) the story touches upon a lot of things briefly in the short amount of chapters it has.

The ending was fine, I have no qualms against it, although a tiny bit of an aftermath about Royce would've been nice. How his younger sister reacted, whether Al further interacts with his aunt or Emma or even just a few pages showing Royce's point of view.

The whole thing felt very day-in-the-lifeesque. The side characters, and even Al and Ellis, all have a past and a future. Al says "A single incident can't define my entire life." And that's the kind of feeling you get from this. Everyone will move on.

Lastly, the art and panelling of this one was really nice! The abstract style and sharp lines make it look really distinct, including the facial expressions, and I think that's the strongest point of the story. Overall, if you've got an hour to spare, please do give it a try!

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a crime mystery manga ready to be pieced together and solved..

[Sam S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim, and really enjoyed it! The art style is clean and easy to follow, but distinct to the artist. The text and narration is fast moving and makes me want to read the next volume immediately.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to get swept up in a mystery manga series, but here I am!!! Requesting the next book right now!

[Annaëlle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les dessins sont bien faits et l’intrigue est lancée! Hâte de lire la suite

[Sekhmet-Sa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Très fan des illustrations, mais les dialogues sonnent assez faux

[Emma]

C’était super cool : le dessin est hyper nice et change un peu de ce qu’on a l’habitude de voir, le lieu est aussi intéressant et l’intrigue est très cool ! vrmnt hâte de lire les deux autres tomes

[Angee Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mystery manga that I devoured. And have plans on picking up the subsequent volumes soon!

When Al suddenly finds himself as the prime suspect for the murder of London's mayor, Detective Ellis becomes his only hope. And while the detective is carrying a large load of baggage himself, from a previous case, Al never expects to have to carry a heavier load himself. Someone is out to frame Al for this murder. And so far, they are doing a good job at it.

There is a fascinating aspect to this story that is not overly shared in mangas - obvious racism. Al is South Asian, adopted by white British parents. A brown kid being accused of killing London's mayor will not end well for the kid. Detective Ellis addresses this and is set on uncovering the truth.

I am definitely intrigued to see where the story goes.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first ever manga! I love detective mysteries and will definitely be checking out the next one.

[Saoirse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un manga comme un polar. Les dessins sont très chouettes, j’ai hâte de voir où nous emmène l’auteur.

[Estibaliz · Rating 4 out of 5]

For such a clever story, I just wish the characters were a little bit easier to relate to; even though, I get it, their distinctive and kind of aloof personality is part of what makes this story precisely what it is.

This is a compelling murder mystery, anyway, and I do wish to know what's going to happen next, even though I think I have a good inkling of who might be behind all this plot.

To be continued...

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 stars*

[yunise · Rating 3 out of 5]

La portada me llamó la atención pero la historia si está interesante

[Ester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pues me ha gustado y me ha sorprendido el giro de los acontecimientos. Si bien el inicio me parecía aburrido y temía que no me gustara, finalmente la trama coge ritmo y gancho y ves que está todo muy bien montado. El final te deja con ganas de más porque el misterio del asesinato está muy bien llevado.

Leer la reseña completa:

https://unabibliotecaentremundos.blog...

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This first volume introduces the situation and the characters. The detective has been injured prior to this mystery. He should be on desk duty but he's drawn to this particular case for unspoken reasons.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...

[Liana · Rating 4 out of 5]

im a sherlock girlie what can i say? you give me london you give me crimes you give me detectives im all over this ish

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque le falta algo (no sabría decir qué) me ha gustado mucho, tanto la ilustración como la historia, original y misteriosa

[Enairolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cette nouvelle sortie de chez Ki-oon me faisait vraiment envie. Le résumé a pas mal titiller ma curiosité. En bref, il fallait que je découvrir cette nouvelle histoire. Et bien je peux vous dire que ce premier tome est très prometteur! Et je suis déjà plus qu’impatiente de découvrir la suite, ça va être dur d’attendre! Je suis fan du coup de crayon du mangaka! Ici on a un manga très épuré, avec des traits très basiques, un peu grossier. Mais ça fonctionne parfaitement, on ne s’arrête pas aux illustrations mais entièrement sur l’histoire. Mais ce style simple m’a vraiment énormément plu! Comme je le dis, c’est très simple et très épuré mais franchement je trouve ça génial!

Dans ce premier tome, on va suivre le personnage d’Al. C’est un étudiant londonien d’origine asiatique qui vit en colocation, à distance de ses parents. Son ambition? Obtenir son diplôme sans faire de vagues. Mais sa vie bascule lorsqu’il monte dans le métro où le maire de la ville est retrouvé assassiné. Ellis, inspecteur bourru mais compétent, est chargé du cas malgré un bras et une jambe dans le plâtre. Hanté par le souvenir d’une enquête qui a mal tourné, il est bien décidé à ne plus jamais se tromper de coupable. Quand Al apprend la nouvelle, il ne se sent pas concerné : la veille il est descendu à sa station comme d’habitude sans rien soupçonner. Et pourtant, il découvre un couteau ensanglanté dans la poche de son manteau! C’est le moment qu’Ellis choisit pour sonner à sa porte…

Moi qui suis fan des histoires de meurtres, j’ai adoré celle ci ! On part sur un fond de complot, on essaye de faire porter le chapeau à un autre… L’enquête s’annonce difficile. Tout le long de ma lecture, je me suis posée énormément de questions. On essaye de trouver des indices qui peuvent nous mener sur la piste. Mais il n’y aucune piste, du moins dans ce premier tome. J’ai vraiment hâte de découvrir le second tome, je vais encore passer mon temps à essayer de trouver certains éléments et j’en passe. Je sens que ce manga ne va cesser de monter en puissance, tome après tome, je sens que l’histoire va se complexifier pour nous offrir une enquête incroyable. Après avoir tourné la dernière page, j’ai le cerveau qui fume clairement.

J’ai beaucoup aimé le personnage d’Al. C’est u jeune étudiant londonien qui n’aime pas dépendre des autres. Il est très indépendant. Par exemple, il ne vit pas chez ses parents, il est en colocation avec un ami, il travaille pour être indépendant même financièrement etc. C’est quelqu’un de très posé, très calme. J’ai beaucoup aimé l’inspecteur Ellis également. C’est un homme un peu ronchon mais au final c’est un inspecteur très compétent. Il est encore hanté par l’erreur judiciaire dont il est responsable et ne compte bien ne jamais répéter cette grosse erreur.. J’aime beaucoup le duo que ces deux forment et c’est très plaisant de les suivre dans cette enquête!

Ce premier tome nous met l’eau à la bouche et est surtout très prometteur. Le style simple et épuré du mangaka m’a. vraiment beaucoup plu. C’est très agréable à lire, on ne voit pas les pages défiler. L’histoire est super bien amené, on se pose plein mal de questions, l’enquête est pleine de mystères. Je suis vraiment très impatiente de découvrir la suite de cette histoire, je sens que je vais énormément aimé ce nouveau manga. Ce premier tome a été une excellente découverte, cette nouvelle sortie me faisait de l’oeil et je n’ai pas été déçue le moins du monde!

[Lorie Ham · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I decided to start reviewing mystery manga for KRL published by Yen Press, I expected most of them to be set in Japan like the majority of the other manga I read, but so far that has not been the case. Lost Lad in London by Shima Shinya is actually set in London, as you would suspect from the title. And this one is a bit more of a traditional mystery than some of the other manga that I have reviewed lately.

Amazon description: The whole of London is shocked when the mayor is found dead on an Underground train, but perhaps none more than university student Al Adley. Though he took the Tube at the time of the fatal stabbing, he doesn’t remember seeing anything unusual—certainly nothing to explain how a bloody knife found its way into his pocket that night. However, in spite of this damning evidence, Detective Ellis believes Al’s claims of innocence. Now the two must work together to conceal Al’s involvement and clear his name in the face of shadowy forces working to see Al take the fall for a crime he didn’t commit…

I sped through this intriguing story, hoping to get some answers by the end of Vol 1, but with a manga I should have known better—I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of the volumes to find out who the killer is. An interesting twist to this story is Detective Ellis’ obsession with finding the truth, even if it means hiding some evidence from his superiors until he does. This obsession seems to come from a past investigation where he feels that he was responsible for sending the wrong person to jail. He is determined not to let that happen again. Ellis is in pretty bad shape physically in this Vol and I hope the remaining volumes provide some insight into what happened to him.

The artwork isn’t my favorite and at times it can be a little hard to tell some of the characters apart, but there is no mistaking Ellis. The story itself makes Lost Lad in London very worth reading and I can’t wait to find out what happens next! Vol 2 also came out in 2022 and Vol 3 came out in early 2023 and I believe it may be the final volume. I can’t wait to read them both! If you love a good mystery, I highly recommend Lost Lad London.

[Swampscott Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content warning: light violence

Lost Lad London is a manga by Shima Shinya. When the mayor of London is found dead on a train in the Underground, the entire city enters a state of shock. Al Adley, a university student who took the Tube at the time of the murder, finds a mountain of evidence piled up against him. Despite all this, Detective Ellis believes that Al is innocent. The two must work together to clear Al’s name of a crime that dark forces are working to see him take the fall for.

I didn’t really start enjoying this book until the end. In other words, it had a slow start. However, this is to be expected, as Lost Lad London is volume 1 of 3. Personally, I am not a fan of the manga style books. If you do enjoy this type of book, though, you will love Lost Lad London. One thing that I think is really great about this book is the representation. Al is adopted as well as south Asian and struggles to fit in and find his identity in London. Overall, I would rate Lost Lad London a 3 out of 5 stars.

--Teen volunteer Lucy, 8th grade

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. I bought this book because I was really drawn to the artstyle. It's aesthetically pleasing while also being unique. The only thing I didn't understand was the lack of motion in each panel. Just a few simple lines would have made the panels more dynamic, since throughout the book they all seemed disconnected from each other.
Now, onto the story. It had an interesting concept, but the execution was a little underwhelming. The dialogue was really expository while also lacking emotion. Everyone around Al was dying and he just did not seem to care at all. He wasn't exactly likeable or easy to empathize with since, again, he just seemed really out of it the whole time. I think his only redeeming quality is that his character design is very pleasing to the eye.
It's fast-paced and intriguing, though I think there could have been more potential for emotional exchanges between the two main characters. I will say that I appreciate the diversity of the cast, and the story being set in London also makes for an interesting step out of the realm of most Japanese manga.

[ribbonknight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone in my comics club recommended this, and I found it for $5 in a bookstore last week and picked it up.

This was great, with a lot of themes that don’t often come up in manga. A political murder-mystery, transracial adoption, racism in the UK, etc. It’s best to go in knowing nothing so that the twists surprise you.

The manga-ka’s art style reminds me of Natsume Ono (House of Five Leaves, etc.) without being derivative. I would confidently hand this to a newcomer to manga; there aren’t opaque tropes or references that make it impenetrable to someone unfamiliar with the medium.

I’m really excited to see what happens next, and find myself empathizing a lot with the two main characters: a Black British detective whose life and physical body are a bit of a wreck but he’s determined to do the right thing, and a young South Asian British boy in college who’s sort of drifting through life until he finds himself in the middle of this thing.

Really refreshing to read something different.

[Danielle Booey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of manga, but I have never read a manga that falls full on in the mystery genre and I have never read a manga set in London. What fun Lost Lad is!

At its heart Lost Lad London is the story of a university student in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Al had nothing to do with the stabbing death of the mayor of London, but finding the murder weapon in his coat's pocket and the fact that he was on the tube where the murder took place makes him not only a suspect, but an excellent patsy as well. Lucky for him one of the detectives on the case believes that Al is being setup and decides to help him by investigating the murder off the books. The case becomes even more complicated when a connection is found in Al's past that leads directly to the mayor.

Volume 1 sets the mystery up nicely and comes with a compelling cliffhanger that made me quite pleased that I have volume 2 and 3 just waiting for me at home.

Oh! The art is beautifully stark. The artist does more with the spectrum of whites, grays, and blacks than most artists can do with the entire rainbow.

[Iván Alvarado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoy os traigo una de las novedades más intrigantes de Distrito Manga 📚: un viaje al mundo del crimen y el misterio que no os va a dejar indiferentes 👀🔪.
La sinopsis me pareció muy interesante y me llamó muchísimo la atención. Si es cierto que al empezar las primeras páginas me costó un poco conectar con el tipo de ilustración y los personajes, pero al poco rato se logra un ritmo mucho más interesante y plagado de misterios. Conocemos a los dos personajes principales y nos quedamos con ganas de saber más, sobre todo después del final del manga...

🔒 No quiero dar demasiados detalles para no haceros spoilers, ¡pero ya os digo que merece muchísimo la pena! Las primeras entregas nos han dejado con una sensación de querer saber más, y tengo la corazonada de que esta serie va a dar mucho de qué hablar en el futuro.

Y vosotros, ¿sois fans de las historias de asesinatos y misterios? 🔪📚 Contadme en los comentarios 💬👇🏻.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so I was stoked about this manga as soon as I saw the cover for it. The diversity in the characters!! I keep wracking my brain to think of the times I've seen Black or Brown characters in a manga set in the real world, and I can only think of Bleach, and that's bordering on adventure/fantasy. And most of those characters in Bleach aren't even the main characters of the story. Al and Ellis are the main characters of THIS story! I'm so excited!

After reading this volume, I am loving the intrigue of the Mayor's murder and Al being framed. This is only the first volume, and it already packs a punch! The art style stands out as very clean, and while not incredibly detailed, still showcases emotions, mood, and body language well.

Really can't wait to get this one for my library!

[Souhait Dupont · Rating 1 out of 5]

Vraiment déçu.e par ce manga en qui j'avais l'espoir de me réconcilier avec le polar noir. Hormis le style graphique charmant et des belles compositions entre les passages de chapitre Lost Lad m'a laissé un goût amer dans la bouche.

Les dialogues entre les personnages m'ont paru hyper théâtral et indigeste, je n'avais pas l'impression en les lisants qu'ils pourraient être des personnages crédibles et réels. Surtout que devant les évènements sombres de ce tome ils gardent généralement des expressions très stoïque ce qui m'a a plusieurs reprises sortie de ma lecture. C'est d'autant plus dommage que l'intrigue soit aussi classique même si elle m'a porté jusqu'au bout du tome.

À noter quand même certains débuts de conversations intéressantes sur les inégalités sociales et raciales bien présente dans notre société.

[Janetta harchenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW after binge reading the trilogy in one day I can say that this is very good. The ending of the last book was kindof slow and it happened sorta fast, but It was pleasent in its own charming way. It is a calm murder mystery. This story takes upon the characteristics as the main character, being cool and collected most of the time, and when it is not it corrilates with Al. I would be proud to have this story on my bookself. Thank you Ms. Shinya for writing such an amazing peice of art. The covers are just as charming as the story unraveling inside it. I enjoyed the artwork, it is not ur typical manga but a charming, more americinized version. I do not know if that was the intention, but i liked it. It gave the characters a different more unique persona. Thank you!

[Karma Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

👌 👏🏾 😍 👍🏾 🥰. This was my first Manga book and I loved it. This murder mystery follows a young South Asian collage student, who was adopted by a white British couple that stays in London. The mayor of London has been murder but no one knows why. The nite the murder takes place on the Tube[train] AL was on the same train. So Detective Ellis has a few questions for Al. Detective Ellis leave to go back to the station he doesn't know someone is watching him. AL curiosity leads him to a jacket he worn the nite he was on the train. When he reaches in he pulls out a bloody knife 🔪 😳. Read thebook to find out what happen 😆.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Menuda sorpresa! Un título que vi en las estanterías de la tienda y que me llamó la atención por su estilo y su simpleza de colores. Y lo he devorado en cuanto lo he tenido en las manos.

Londres. Un asesinato en el metro. Del alcalde nada menos. Y Al, nuestro protagonista, con el arma homicida en el bolsillo. ¿Qué tiene que ver con el caso?

Secretos y un pasado incierto es lo que empieza a destaparse, pero pinta ser solo la punta del iceberg. Necesito más.

Si bien es cierto que el poco texto a veces juega en su contra al elaborar a los personajes, pero se subsana con el arte y el estilo de cada uno de ellos a la hora de vestir (necesito la ropa de Al).