Married Again: The Billionaire's Enemy Turned Lover

This book is something else, love it sooo much

Moyashimon is a narrative centered around an agricultural university in Tokyo and its students. The tale begins with Tadayasu Sawaki, a freshman who has the unique ability to see microbes. The story unfolds around him and Professor Itsuki's lab, where other students congregate to conduct experiments. Despite spanning just one year, the 159 chapters are packed with numerous events. Primarily, it showcases the daily lives and challenges of the students, with a strong emphasis on comedy. The author skillfully maintains interest throughout all the chapters, even though some don't reach the highest standards but remain decent, which is a significant advantage. What makes this story unique is its fusion of slice-of-life comedy with biology/chemistry lessons covering topics like fermentation, various alcoholic beverages (including their history and preparation), and bacteria. While enjoying the characters' misadventures, readers can also learn many fascinating facts.

Although some defining traits of the main characters might seem generic, such as Aoi's constant desire to get drunk or Tadayasu's passivity allowing others to lead him, these characters develop over time, and their interactions work well. They experience misunderstandings, conflicts, and feuds but grow to understand each other better and adjust their behavior. Notably, despite being portrayed as the protagonist with a remarkable ability, Tadayasu doesn't gain much advantage from it, nor does it significantly influence the plot. Consequently, the focus isn't solely on him for much of the story, allowing other characters ample opportunity to shine and be better understood. Each character has an extreme trait (ability to see microbes, greediness, cleanliness obsession, alcoholism) that often places them in uncomfortable situations. Their reactions trigger others', leading to increasingly complicated and absurd scenarios, or they attempt to exploit each other, becoming rivals. However, these situations aren't overused due to the author's creativity with humor, keeping the jokes fresh and engaging.

The manga distinguishes itself by seamlessly blending storytelling with educational content, supported by compelling characters and diverse situations referencing specific chemical processes or bacteria. It deserves recognition and a high ranking.

Lastly, I want to address newcomers regarding Kei Yuuki to prevent misinformation from certain websites. There are minor spoilers ahead. I've noticed some places inaccurately label Kei Yuuki as "trans" and refer to him as "she." Kei is Tadayasu's childhood friend, and despite their close relationship, any hints of romance were used for comedic effect (Kei would do something, shocking Tadayasu and others, leading to misunderstandings, which Tadayasu would awkwardly try to clarify). Just as Aoi loves alcohol, Kaoru seeks profit in every situation, or Haruka always wears leather, Kei cross-dresses and values his friendship with Tadayasu. The author plays with the boundaries of their bond, but no romantic outcome occurs—this is the joke. In chapter 155, Sawaki explicitly tells him they will always be inseparable friends, without implying anything more. Furthermore, Kei consistently identifies as male, as confirmed by character details: "he's without a doubt a man among men," "I think all of you are aware of this, but he's a guy. Just in case," "Even if he wears gothic lolita fashion, he identifies as a man. He's the best friend of Sawaki, the main character." For further clarification, chapters 118 and 133-134 address this topic thoroughly. I wrote this because I disapprove of Kei's image being misrepresented to cater to someone's fetish. <p>

Moyashimon is a manga centered around fermentation. Sounds unusual, doesn't it? It's tricky to give a concise pitch for this manga, which is why I'm opting for an epic narrative instead. Moyashimon is a character-focused college slice of life about students and their professor making sake and learning extensively. In fact, by finishing this manga, I feel like I've absorbed an entire semester's worth of knowledge on microbes, alcohol, and the sake industry. I wonder if that was the purpose behind setting it in a college environment? Nonetheless, the educational aspect of this manga is really engaging. The author, Masayuki Ishikawa, clearly knows his subject matter and is genuinely passionate about it. A sign of a good writer is their ability to make anything sound interesting, and Moyashimon largely succeeds at that. The lectures on the sake industry can get a bit complex and confusing, but otherwise, the material is presented enjoyably, whether through chibi-style microbes or detailed flowcharts and diagrams. The professor character, in particular, goes all out with the infodumps, humorously filling up entire pages with copious amounts of text. In that sense, he serves as a conduit for the author. The professor also has a bit of a perverted side, which, unfortunately, reflects the author's tendencies.

The author proudly displays his fetishes. His frilly, laced sleeves are a testament to that. A standard review would discuss characters after covering the basic plot. But this isn't a standard review, and this isn't a standard manga. I'm talking about the author's fetishes before delving into the characters because I believe he creates characters not to develop the plot, but to indulge himself. Almost all female characters seem to have been created on a whim of "I want to dress someone up in a maid outfit / bondage gear / a cheerleader outfit," with any plot relevance added retroactively. It's not like the author is naive or trying to hide this; he even gets into arguments with his editor in the margins over things like which girl is the best and whether glasses are attractive or not and how you should always have at least one girl with droopy eyes. Things deteriorate further when, near the end of the manga, the main story halts so all the female characters can participate in a beauty pageant. It's a ridiculous diversion that only seeks to further diminish these characters who don't have much depth to begin with.

I'm not against fanservice as a concept, but it frustrates me when fanservice takes precedence over everything else. The ensemble cast for Moyashimon is quite impressive - there are over a dozen relevant characters that weave their way in and out of the story. The protagonist, a boy with the power to see microbes, becomes surprisingly unimportant to the plot once it gets rolling. With so much space dedicated to the rest of the cast, there are many possibilities. It's also rare to see this many female characters in a non-harem setting, something Moyashimon could leverage to deliver an empowering message about women in science. Because of all this, it's frustrating to see characters often reduced to eye candy, left at the mercy of the author's whims. There even seems to be a moment when one of the female characters realizes how uselessly she's been written, and vows to have a meaningful campus life. A few volumes later, and she's dressed as a bunny girl for the rest of the story. Great. This all is disappointing, but these are issues present in most media to some extent. Moyashimon also faces a more specific situation. Let's talk about how it handles Kei Yukki.

But first, some tangents.

Admit it: you adore Japan. You're captivated by their aesthetics that are minimalist yet deeply beautiful. You dream up airy plans of traveling to Tokyo one day - riding the Yamanote line, visiting quirky shops, maybe even seeing Mount Fuji. You spend hours engaging people online about Japanese culture, specifically their media. And sometimes, when you're watching a really good episode of anime, you think to yourself "Maybe there really is something special about the Japanese, something that sets them apart from the rest of us."

If you strongly relate to all of these statements, you might need to do some soul-searching. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with being a weaboo! But if you truly want to love something, you need to approach it critically. That's where I am with Japanese culture right now, and Moyashimon has helped me evaluate that further.

The unfortunate reality is that Japan is conservative. Their social climate is by far the most traditional of any first-world country. The pressure to work hard in school, become a businessman, and start a family is immense. For better or worse, adulthood in Japan seems to mean the death of the individual self.

Ever wondered why the bulk of all anime are about high schoolers and not anyone older? Demographic reasons aside, high school is the last time for many Japanese teens to truly express themselves. Once they graduate, their life's expectations are perfectly plotted out for them, and they're expected to take them all on without complaint. Graduation ceremonies in anime are often treated rather sadly, as if the characters are going away forever. In a sense, they are, facing an inevitable death of self. This style of thinking only leads to further fetishization of youth, which is why so many anime seem to worship high school.

With social conservatism comes intolerance for those who deviate from traditional expectations. What I’m trying to say is, Japan is highly bigoted, especially when compared to similarly-developed countries. There’s no same-sex unions, no LGBT workplace protections, gay people can’t adopt or donate blood, and there are extreme barriers for transgender people (more on that later). But that’s just the legal side of things. Socially, LGBT rights are a rather taboo topic and simply aren’t discussed. You might be saying “b-but my yaoi and yuri” but those usually aren’t valid for a multitude of reasons. The primary demographic for yaoi is straight women – it’s not created for representation, it’s created for fetishization. So much of yaoi and yuri also feature uncomfortable power imbalances and sometimes, even rape. The mild popularity of these genres doesn’t signify public acceptance of gay individuals – in some ways they exist as parodies and mockeries rather than progressivism. If you’re interested in truly representative queer Japanese media then I strongly recommend the manga Shimanami Tasogare (which I hope to review one of these days), but for now I have to move on. So what does any of this have to do with the manga at hand? Well, I just want you to have all this fresh in your head while I talk about Kei.

Kei is the childhood friend of the main character Sawaki, showing up alongside him as early as the very first chapter. However, very early on in the manga Kei decides to drop out of college. He completely vanishes from the plot for 2 volumes, which genuinely surprised me. That’s a pretty bold move as a writer, just letting go of a character that early for so long. When Kei does return to the plot, he’s now presenting as female, decked out in a full gothic lolita outfit all the time, and he all but confesses his romantic feelings for Sawaki. That’s a lot happening all at once. When asked about crossdressing, Kei responds with something along the lines of “When I started college, I decided to try out a whole bunch of things that are as extreme as possible for me, so I can experience as much as I can before I finish college.” Sure, maybe that’s true, but come on, the easy answer is that Kei is transgender.

Gender-nonconforming characters appear frequently in Japanese media, except it’s almost always played off as a joke or a kink, instead of valid trans representation. Think about all the times an anime throws in a crossdressing character so that all the other characters can make fun of them. Or even worse, they’re characterized as a predator – a wolf in sheep’s clothing desiring nothing but to ruin the protagonist. The whole culture around “traps” in anime is shrouded in erotic doublespeak as well, with viewers being sexually attracted to them yet also condemning their identity. This applies on a cultural level as well. Going back to the earlier paragraphs about Japan’s social conservatism, actual trans people are virtually invisible. Of course, there’s a nonzero amount of trans people in Japan, but they’re societally pressured and legally forced to blend in. In Japan, you can’t change your birth certificate until you’ve gotten the corresponding sex reassignment surgery and displayed that you’ve already fully biologically and socially transitioned. In other words, in order to be recognized as trans in Japan, you have to be able to pass as cis. That’s a whole level of messed up, and these high legal and social barriers prevent trans communities from organizing and celebrating their individuality. All they can do is just hope that nobody notices.

Back to Kei. The author is quick to remind us of Kei’s sex. In every one of Kei’s character bios in the margins, at some point it reminds us, “He’s a guy.” (From here on out I’ll be using she/her pronouns). Characters who didn’t know Kei before she dropped out consistently identify her as a girl, a label which she never objects to. Kei doesn’t really care about how other people view her (god, I wish that were me). She has one major goal throughout the series, and that’s to save and take over her dad’s shop by brewing the best sake possible. She takes so much initiative that she might as well be the actual protagonist of the manga. However, the author and the rest of the cast team up to consistently misgender and belittle her, an act of violence against trans people all too common in media and in real life.

Here’s a disclaimer that I probably should have mentioned at the start of the review, but it feels especially important here: I’m trans. I fully came to terms with my female identity and started coming out to people around the same time as I was reading through this manga. One of the things you do when you’re trans (or really any marginalized group) is that you seek out representation wherever you can find it. As such, whenever I find trans characters in media, I cling onto them with all my strength, desperately trying to relate them to my own life. If you’ve read my Himegoto review then perhaps my fixation on Kaito makes a little more sense now. Since there are so few legitimately canonically trans characters in media I also have to bend the rules a little sometimes to accommodate for other nonconforming characters. BMO from Adventure Time? Yeah, they’re trans. Kuranosuke from Princess Jellyfish? Traaaaaans. Kei from Moyashimon? Yeah, she’s trans.

There is an extra layer of futility in trying to pinpoint and identify with trans characters from Japanese media, and that’s that Japan doesn’t want you to. Most of the gender-nonconforming characters they throw onto the screen are intended to be both objects of sexual desire and ridicule. I don’t want to identify with a joke! This is why I’m not keen on “trap” characters. Every once in a while, you’ll run into something a little different though. In the case of Moyashimon (and a few other mangas such as Himegoto and Princess Jellyfish) it feels as if the author is genuinely trying to write a trans character, but they lack the experience and knowledge to do so, generally due to cultural constraints. If you subscribe to that perspective, then my role is a virtuous one, helping them actualize their trans characters through in-depth analysis and identifying with them. That’s right, the real protagonist is ME.

There’s one part of Kei’s arc that really bothers me. When Sawaki and some others travel to the United States to meet up with a friend, Kei and the professor track them down, traveling halfway across the country before finally meeting up with everyone in New Orleans. Upon encountering her, Sawaki expresses his admiration of Kei’s self-expression and vows to face things head-on as well. Kei takes this as a confession of love, and despite a) being a girl and b) very clearly harboring feelings for Sawaki throughout the manga, she yells at Sawaki that “Two boys shouldn’t be doing this kind of stuff!” Whoa, whoa, whoa. That chapter is so out of character that it genuinely baffles me. While I’ve given the author the benefit of the doubt on some questionable handling of queer characters, this is literally a gay panic situation. Coming from a queer character, no less. Everyone else is quick to address the absurdity and hypocrisy of Kei’s outburst, but it still left a terrible taste in my mouth. First off, the concept of gay panic is rooted in centuries of abuse and murder, and it’s a shitty thing to make light of. But beyond that, it made me feel like the author really was playing every single aspect of Kei as a joke, even the parts that felt more genuine. Thankfully, nothing like that ever happens again, but it still sticks out so strangely. There are a lot of random panels where characters will express their support of Sawaki and Kei as a romantic couple. However, it doesn’t feel legitimate nor does it feel like queerbaiting, it feels like it’s always just done in jest. Because that’s what Kei’s identity is to the author. A joke.

Kei’s arc ends exactly how you’d expect it to. Tired of being so dependent on Sawaki, she decides to live as a woman, in order to distance herself from him and also force her to make her own decisions. However, she just keeps coming back to him, romantically and platonically, so she resolves to try to make friends on her own while preserving her relationship with Sawaki. I really don’t see how the ‘dress up in girl’s clothing and present as female’ part is super necessary in order to become independent, so I still treat it as a separate thing that Kei was doing around the same time. To all prospective authors out there: trans characters don’t have to be metaphors for other things, they can just be trans.

So let me sum up the whole situation. Kei is written very inconsistently, but I love her nonetheless. Trans characters are important. It’s futile to seek out positive queer representation in Japanese media due to their societal conservatism, but damned if I won’t try. Support your queer friends, if you’re a boy and you think about wanting to be a girl then you’re probably trans, etc. etc.

Going into this manga almost blind, only knowing it’s about microbes, I was surprised by how many directions it takes. It starts off as a fairly straightforward college manga, with the focus on campus events, eccentric clubs, and brewing sake. However, around the halfway mark it turns into a travelogue for a while. The cast travels to Okinawa, France, and America, and the focus changes from sake to different alcohols, like wine and beer. That’s awesome! While I wasn’t a fan of all the plot development they tried to cram into these trips, the change of setting and studies was great. Hearing the author’s comments on America was fun. At one point the characters point out that the American flag isn’t really flown everywhere, only certain regions, and the division is essentially on party lines (conservatives are visually patriotic, liberals are not). This is the kind of thing that’s really easy to miss if you’ve lived in the US for all your life, so I sure appreciated its inclusion.

It’s a shame that the overarching plot and themes are rather uninteresting. The drama is predictable and isn’t very exciting (oh no, rich girl’s rich parents are trying to arrange a marriage!!!) and sometimes they just seem to repeat the same situations (oh no, the parents of wine girl/sake girl/Kei are all worried that they’ll hurt the legacy of their brewery!!!). Sometimes the drama allows them to travel somewhere, which is a plus, but then actually resolving the problems feels like a chore compared to the fish-out-of-water interactions a new setting brings.

The author waits until the last stretch of the manga to throw in a legitimate romantic interest for the protagonist. This is a bold move! Introducing a romantic interest near the end has the potential to throw everything off in a romance anime where there are already multiple established characters sizing up the protagonist. But this is Moyashimon, and before her there were somehow no girls interested in our main character (I can’t say I blame them), so it’s not as controversial as it might otherwise have been. When she was first introduced, I wasn’t pleased with her character, especially since her problems were unoriginal and she was rather immature compared to the cast of adults. Of course, her intense romantic overbearingness also shot off red flags everywhere. I was worried she’d completely derail the plot that had finally begun to pick up. But over time she started to grow on me, and I appreciate her search for genuineness in a world of already-jaded college students. I don’t think she’s particularly compatible with Sawaki, but overall she’s an alright character.

With the introduction of the high school girl as well as Sawaki's deadbeat brother, the last quarter of the manga takes a turn for the "let's talk about youth and growing up." This is stuff we've all read and seen a thousand times, so I wasn't really interested in those topics. However, Sawaki's brother does have some interesting thoughts about being a savant versus trying to accumulate wide breadths of knowledge, as well as accepting or rejecting your family legacy. It's a shame that these themes never really get properly concluded, they fizzle out once the gang leaves America and never return.

Even though this is only a 13-volume manga, it’s VERY wordy, so I recommend taking it at a relaxed pace. Take all the time you need to absorb the information, and don’t worry about losing the plot, the margins usually brief you on what each character is trying to do. So with all of these discussions out of the way, let’s get to the review!

Here’s the problem. I have no idea if Moyashimon is actually any good.

It’s clear that I’m very personally compromised on the subject, due to my fascination with Kei. However, it’s that fascination in particular that makes me hesitate on recommending this manga. For starters, this is a technically competent, informative manga with a wide cast of characters and a good mix of drama, education, and humor. But anyone could tell you that. What I’ve been doing throughout this essay is telling you my emotional connection to the material, because I think that’s more interesting and valuable than just a formal analysis. The drawback to this style of review is that nobody will be able to have the exact same emotional response as the reviewer. Therefore, the main takeaway isn’t “you will surely feel X,Y, and Z from reading this” but is rather “this manga made me feel X, Y, and Z and it might inspire similar emotion in you too,” the notion being that the reader can connect in a similar, but unique way, and that’s the true value of the work. However, I know that I’m twisting Moyashimon to fulfill my personal narrative. This isn’t a progressive manga, and if anything, a lot of its moments are downright degrading. I’m just doing my best to reclaim and reshape them, cataloguing my efforts in this essay.

So take of that what you will. Moyashimon is far from perfect, and might not even be good, but it’s not the kind of work that made me go “this is problematic” and discard it. This is the certain kind of problematic that motivated me to further engage with the source material, to work in and around it until I made it something I could truly identify with. Clearly, there’s some value in that. I just don’t think it’s the kind of value that makes you want to recommend something to others. Still, if you’ve been on my wavelength throughout this essay, if you’ve understood this messy dysphoric word salad, then I have a feeling you can get a lot out of Moyashimon, just like I did. I believe in you.

I have no idea how to conclude a review this long, so I’m going to make it a choose-your-own adventure. You decide which one of these conclusions is valid:

A. “Though Moyashimon has severe flaws and isn’t for everyone, it’s been so formative on me and I’ve been so formative on it that I have to recommend it. While you surely won’t get the same emotional response out of it that I did, you might get even better ones, so you should definitely check it out.”

B. “It doesn’t matter whether Moyashimon is good or not, and it doesn’t even matter whether you should read it or not. The point is, you should seek out manga that allows you to have the strongest, most personal responses, regardless of whether they’re good or not. Of course, you can never know until you try, but once you get invested in a work like this, it’s your imperative to make yourself heard. Write long-winded, passionate reviews of it. Tell all your friends your thoughts. Make a video essay. It doesn’t really matter how you do it, just that you flexed your critical analysis muscles on your own accord and let the world know.”

C. “In conclusion, manga is bad. Don’t read it.”

D. All of the Above

(I think it’s D)<p>

Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture (or Moyasimon as Del Ray spells it for the North American release) is a slice-of-life manga with an informative focus and comedic character-driven interactions. The standout feature, of course, is the super adorable microbes who just want to ~brew.

Moyashimon is ongoing, currently at 11 volumes, though only 2 have been officially translated and released, with the first one available online. The first two volumes align with the anime.

Despite Tadayasu's "super power" of seeing and interacting with microbes, the manga doesn't dwell on this aspect but rather follows Sawaki Tadayasu's life with his friends and colleagues at agricultural university. If you're seeking a sci-fi backstory or an angsty protagonist, this may not be for you.

As typical for slice-of-life works, the characters are crucial. The cast is unique in personality and appearance, from Hasegawa, who could fit into a gender-swapped Detroit Metal City, to Tadayasu's senpai Takuma, obsessed with bugs and resembling a bobblehead doll. Our protagonist, Tadayasu, is relatable yet distinct, and watching his reluctance to attend university after being ostracized for his "gift" fade as he connects with the cast brings all my 'awws'. Enjoyably, the microbes aren't devoid of character, whether Japanese L. yoghurti sporting a chonmage or L. fructivorans (the microbe that spoils sake) looking super drunk.

Each chapter is set up for easy entry, with notes in the margins providing key facts about the situation or characters, subtly adding humor - like the rumor of Misato having a liquids fetish - to otherwise plain summaries and introductions of microbes. Each volume also includes omake material, mostly showcasing cute microbes, which suits me fine (why isn't there a microbe-only K-On, the world should ask).

The art is consistently attractive, featuring large almond-shaped eyes and expressive faces for most characters (except Takuma), avoiding the easy route of chibi effects. Most cuteness is reserved for the microbes, especially A. oryzae's big grin.

The university setting is familiar yet a refreshing change from high school stories, with adequate backgrounds, though not particularly remarkable.

Though set in a specialized field, the manga never makes you feel inadequate or bombards you with information, allowing you to learn alongside Tadayasu and the other first-year students. The activities at an agricultural university are surprisingly engaging, whether exploring bizarre fermented foods worldwide or dealing with the less glamorous aspects like inserting your arm into a cow's rear.

In conclusion, Moyashimon is one of those rare mangas that makes me laugh and feel a bit smarter after reading. The cast and their antics are hard not to enjoy and even harder not to recommend; I can only hope Del Ray releases more volumes and that this series gains the recognition it deserves.

Moyashimon stands as a unique creation in the manga world. Its density is remarkable, resembling an engaging college seminar rather than a typical light-hearted comedy within its genre. When a page of the manga is as text-heavy as any textbook, expounding on some fermentation process or critiquing the industry, one can't help but admire its informativeness and respect Ishikawa's passion, evident in the extensive research he must have undertaken to simplify complex concepts for readers. Ingeniously, he employs cute anthropomorphized bacteria as a Greek Chorus, smoothly transitioning from educational segments to commentary and then into the actual storyline. The ability to incorporate such dry contextual information in an accessible manner while balancing a large cast of characters and the overarching narrative of Sawaki and his ability to see microbes is a monumental achievement, so original that Moyashimon defies categorization and should be recognized as its own, new genre.  

That being said, Moyashimon isn't for everyone. I attempted reading Moyashimon years ago but couldn't fully appreciate it back then, grew disinterested midway, and ended up with a lukewarm impression. It's not a manga you'd want to revisit annually. It shouldn't be read casually, as a comedy manga, or even late in the day. Moyashimon demands to be read during a relatively free week, with full attention, early in the morning, and ideally with a screen open alongside Google to encourage deep dives and detours into various fermented food-making processes.  

The thematic focus of its characters is monotonous, centered on young adults striving to find their place amidst family expectations. Honestly, the character quality in Moyashimon is a mixed bag. While they can be refreshingly original and self-aware of their flaws, Ishikawa often compromises their depth by directly controlling them as vehicles for his rants. Organic groups of people don't take turns info-dumping every other conversation—at least, I've never encountered such a group. The other significant flaw is the formulaic use of characters, introduced and included when convenient or financially advantageous, and explicitly excluded from the action when not. Some characters are mere foils or clones of each other, accentuated by Ishikawa's tendency to draw all female characters with similar features, just to hammer home the similarities in their situations. This is so blatant that background characters and author annotations frequently lampoon their irrelevance and joke about these "clones." Even when character development is executed perfectly, like for Hasegawa "once shy, twice bitten" Haruka, the revolving door structure of the story dampens the momentum and keeps readers at arm's length from even the best characters. One can't help but wish for more opportunities to become invested in the lives of this vibrant cast.  

At its peak, Moyashimon is a captivating blend of information, comedy, wholesomeness, and awe. It offers plenty of quotable pages and trivia, along with some prescient insights regarding viruses, vaccines, and biofuels for a late 2000s manga. However, at its lowest, it becomes unengaging, filled with trivial activities and soapboxing every dozen pages. For me, the low point was volumes 10 and 11, whose premises were based on weak motivations and misunderstandings, making them a chore to process. Attempts at romance were more often clumsy than graceful, and older characters like Hasegawa were conspicuously infantilized, highlighting instances where absent characters made comebacks only to act out scenes more fitting for shounen manga.  

Moyashimon tries to mitigate these flaws by not taking itself too seriously and consistently reminding readers that it is fiction. However, this isn't a sufficient remedy when the manga becomes excessively indulgent. Ishikawa allows his characters to promote soy sauce/miso miracle-superfood-nippon-banzai narratives before Isekai novels popularized such themes and doesn't hesitate to mock other countries here and there, or reference imperialist Japan imagery. It's refreshingly candid, but these peculiarities of the characters and eccentric walls of text blur the line between the author's opinions and his characters.  

All things considered, the lack of development with its main character Sawaki, reflected by his absence even in this review, can be somewhat forgiven by the satisfying conclusion in volume 13. When accounting for the numerous parallel developments and the fact that Sawaki was still only a first-year throughout this time, the future looks bright for the Itsuki Seminar, even in the romance department.  

Like its title implies, Moyashimon is a work that improves with age, and eight years later, it has matured into a class of its own. What other manga would inspire one to spend Friday evening researching how to ferment soybeans and brew liquor? Not only is it educational and anthropologically valuable, but it also simplifies complex microbiology processes in a fairly approachable and entertaining way, far exceeding the scope of a comedy manga, or any manga, really. I would have never been interested in such subjects had it not been for Ishikawa's creative approach, which cannot be praised enough. The series has certainly earned its place on my shelves, and I suspect it will be a long time before we witness another auteur exert themselves as much as Ishikawa did in creating Moyashimon.

CONCISE REVIEW  

This is an engaging and enjoyable manga. If you're into well-developed characters and a compelling story, give it a try.  

Story & Characters  

A college setting is a refreshing change from the usual high school dramas that dominate the market, meaning the characters are older and more mature. If you feel there's too much information on certain pages, feel free to skim through them. I wasn't reading this manga for in-depth lessons on brewing alcohol; I just wanted an entertaining read. You'll likely find yourself skipping some pages filled with educational content, which is perfectly fine. There's even an inside joke where all the characters completely ignore the Professor in the background, who fills speech bubbles with knowledge.  

ART  

The artwork is a breath of fresh air—it's truly phenomenal. All characters feel real and lifelike. Despite the plot being based on a fantastical concept, everything remains grounded in realism. Goth characters are uncommon in mangas and are often portrayed as psychotic killers, but here we have not one but two goth characters who are fully fleshed out and normal. While many artists resort to using breasts or buttocks as fan-service, this manga uniquely focuses on thighs instead.  

Overall and Enjoyment  

The characters and the story are so captivating that they inspired me to look for other mangas set in college. This is my first review on this website because I noticed this manga receiving several mediocre reviews, which it doesn't deserve. Those reviewers probably didn't skip the extra educational parts, which they should have. The character development is outstanding, and no character feels like an extra—something rarely seen these days.  

Must-read.

Nahhhhh, nothing like that actually. You're in for a ride.

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