December’s Harta!

Probably riding off of momentum from that rundown post I made, I read the whole magazine in a whole evening for the first time in a long while! It was a good time, and it feels good to be completely caught up again – it makes it easier to feel grounded in like, what the magazine’s announcing at the end, or how this is an issue that gets all of the regular series, before a two month break for the next issue.

A few highlights:

This bit in 殺し屋の推し by 大島琳太郎 this issue made me appreciate certain fans more! The stereotypical women’s professional wrestling fan in Japan is an old man with a big camera taking pictures. I like how the idol fans here think of taking photos of their favorites – as a potentially powerful way of supporting them by raising their profile with cool photos. (and the central joke of the chapter – the hitman using sniper training to take the perfect shot, was fun too)

I liked this 読切, 乱数エレベーター by 田房遊友! It’s about an elevator operator for an elevator where different sequences of buttons pressed can open the doors to various parallel worlds and other zany things. Probably that concept couldn’t hold a whole series, but I’d like to see the author take a swing at one!

I really liked this issue’s いやはや熱海くん by 田沼朝, with a fuller scene than usual of (the frequent happening of) Atami getting confessed to by a girl.

スパイゲーム A.D.1600 by 加藤清志 concludes this issue! I would have liked to see this one develop more, I think. One of the more fully shonen-y Harta series, it was at least intriguing!

Included with the issue is a bonus booklet of art related to ミギとダリ by 佐野菜見, bittersweet because Sano passed away earlier this year.