I forgot how fun it was reading manga (yup, it's been a while) and this one was good!! In 2125 the world has been ravaged by an infection called Cagaster that turns people into human eating giant bugs. Kidow is an interesting character, there's quite some mystery surrounding who he is, where he comes from, and what "crimes" he's committed as one of the best exterminators out there. Ilie, considering her recent loss, is also interesting and I'm curious how she'll make her mark in the story. The art isn't as detailed as I thought it would be but it's still really well done and while the topic is dreary, there are some fun dialogues throughout the pages. Can't wait to read more!

I really quit enjoyed reading Cagaster Vol. 1. I really like the art style it was very well done and the passing of the story was great, very fast pass but with a clear story line. It also had a little bit of all the things I like to read. It was full of action humor great characters Ilie was interesting and I can’t to learn more about her. Kidow is not my cup of tea but it was only volume 1 so I’m guessing he will improve. Will be looking for vol. 2 when it comes out.

This adventure/dystopian manga is a delight. This has the capacity to become a long running series. We have characters we instantly like and the premise of a disease that turns people into bugs is intriguing. Add in a mysterious killer and a band of orphans - its got promise to be something bigger. It reminds me of To Your Eternity in the potential for scope - there is this whole world and we are only occupying a small region of it.

One in a thousand people are turning into giant bugs, and they procreate with each other! A group called Exterminators are hired to take out the bigs and protect people. I enjoyed reading this. I wish there was a little more action with Exterminators and bug killing, but getting to know the characters is also important! This is also an anime on Netflix that I will be checking out, as well as volume 2.

I admit that I wasn’t expecting much with this manga. While the idea was interesting, there wasn’t anything about it that screamed it was new or genre changing. As I was reading, I kept guessing the plot beats that would occur and not being too surprised when they came.

The art was fine, but you can tell there was some cost cutting involved. Many of the scenes had blank backgrounds, and unpolished designs.

In the end, I was a little bored. If it had done something different or spiced things up then maybe it would’ve been stronger.

Thank you to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for a free e-book of this manga for my true and honest opinion.

The story is set in a strange place called Cagaster in the year 2125. During this period, there is a strange plague going around infecting people. It turns ordinary human into terrifying, cannibalistic insects who only think about hunting and killing humans.

We follow a kidow, an expert bug exterminator, who's job is to terminate those who have turned into human killing insects or to kill the humans within 30 minutes that they have been infected (to avoid full transition). While, on a hunt he finds a dying man and makes a promise to get his daughter Ilie to her mother.

I really enjoyed it and am eager to see how this story unfolds. It reminds of Walking Dead mashed with Attack on the Titan with Mad Max setting vibes.

Even better, I found that it has been adapted in a anime series on Netflix.

4 stars!

Cagaster Volume 1 was a book that interested me based on the premise. A young kid forced to kill former humans before they turn into monsters is something that other apocalypse media has dealt with but never as directly. The way the world and Ilie view and find out about Kirow is what drew me into this book. Some view the Exterminators as butchers who kill for fun who are protected sadists. Others view them as a necessary service to keep society safe since without them fear of neighbor’s turnings and killing them all, stop by the exterminators. Across this first volume we see and interesting society unfold through the viewpoints of multiple characters which gives the world a nice level of depth and development. This story does contain some sections I personally found problematic. The owner of the boarding house where Kirow and Ilie stay is portrayed very stereotypically and is very flamboyant and even referred to as just the cross dresser by characters. There as is a scene early on where Kirow does slap Ilie as well, but the story does try to justify as Kirow shocking her to get her to try and focus and leave a dangerous are despite her father just dying. Cagaster started as a self-published project that only got picked up years after it finished. The art is impressive for a one man show and characters like Ilie and Mario were drawn quite well and I feel stand out on the page. Other simple smart things like making Kirow have a black shirt where most other characters have lighter clothing help distinguish him on the page as well. Overall I like the first volume of Cagaster and am interested to see where this story goes.

I admit I wasn't entirely sure how I'd feel about this after having been less than wowed by the first chapter in French, but once the story moves beyond that, it's an engaging shounen action series that toys with moral gray areas in a post-apocalyptic world. While hardly the only series to use the "humans become literal monsters" trope, Cagaster does a better job than others by juxtaposing the monster fighting with humans who are actually far worse because, unlike the giant bugs, they can think about what they're doing. Kidow feels a little underdeveloped even by the end of the volume, but this is an interesting book nonetheless, and one that gets better as it goes on, which bodes well for future volumes.

I really could not finish this book, which hurt like mad.
I wanted to love it. It's a sci-fi action manga, with a fantastic premise.
But the characters were flat, and two-dimensional, which isn't aided by the way the conversation flows, or doesn't really. It's tangled and grammatically butchered, and had me questioning more than once if it had been mistranslated.
The world and the art were the best part to me.
I really hope that this isn't published, and that there's time to correct it. It has a great deal of potential, but its' currently unrealized.

I believe this is a great start to a new series. I would have liked a little bit more of the monsters and a little less childish antics. Art is amazing though. Thank you Net Galley for accepting my request to review this ARC.

3/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this e-arc

What do i have to say about this? Well, that i'm not hooked and a big fan of the genre at all. Both shounen and dystopia. I wouldn't rate it lower due to the great art style and the great volume ending that could definitely intrigue people into purchasing the next volume

3.5/4 stars.

Dark and gritty, this is a fantastic manga for those interested in apocalyptic worlds and are also fans of human mutations. It flows together with a great amount of mystery about our main characters past, and the start of an interesting journey.

While it seemed quite cut and dry, I actually really liked the story and the characters and the world building so far. I feel like I wasn't able to get very deep into the world or connect to the characters quite yet, but that's understandable considering it's only volume 1. I'm definitely interested in the story and ready for volume 2!

The story follows the exterminator Kiddow, and a girl, Ilie. He takes her back after he promised her dying father he would help the girl find her mother. While Ilie is getting used to her new life in E-05, Kiddow gets more jobs as an exterminator.

The premise reminds me of the bug arc in Hunter x Hunter, but that's where the similarities stop. Cagaster is less shounen and especially Ilie's perspective gives a soft touch to the otherwise rough story. The characters are a blast though. The crossdressing Mario, the pickpocket queen, and the mysterious serial killer. One volume is barely enough to dive deep into the story, but it's enough to pique my interest. I'm curious how the relationship between Kiddow and Ilie evolves and if he will ever see her as more than a strange kid. Will they become friends?

This was not for me. The art was a alright and the story was fine. But there just wasn't much for me to grapple with.

It's an action manga with ZERO ACTION!
It had so much potential too - a future world that has been overrun by a disease that turns people into huge flesh-eating bugs (which we only get to see like twice) and our main characters are an "exterminator" and the girl he rescues when her father is killed by one of the bugs. And then NOTHING HAPPENS. There is a bit of a side story developing with a weird hooded figure who is killing a bunch of exterminators, but we don't even get enough about that to spark much interest.

The story is set in a dystopian post apocalyptic premises where the world is affected by a dangerous disease. A disease that turns humans into insects and is difficult to get rid of. Exterminators are front line warriors against these insects. Our protagonist Kidow is an exterminator. During one of his intervention with the insects he finds a father daughter duo. As a promise to Ilie's dying father, he accompanies her to find her mother.

The characters were interesting but the story was monotonous. The smudgy illustrations made the strips unappealing. Well it is just the first volume. Hope the next volumes turn up to better than this.

Set in the year 2125, the world is plagued by Cagaster which is a monstrous infection that changes whoever is infected into a giant cannibalistic bug. Kidow who is a strong bug exterminator and his friend go on a journey as they usually do try to find ways to survive in a world that they have always known. They hope that they can return to the times before the plagues even with them not knowing anything about that time.
This manga (yes, you need to read from right to left) starts with Kidow acting as a bodyguard or an exterminator protecting a merchant who is collecting riches left by those who have been killed by the bugs.
This is when he meets Ilie and her father who were attacked by a bug and he saves her and takes her back home with him. Back home to slowly gets to know her and she is not all she seems. He decides to help her find her mother and that takes them on an adventure.
I am quite excited about the second volume because the final chapter left me on my head.
I have to say that I really did not enjoy the art style, it was black and white and I really could not enjoy the graphic details that the story itself held. It was washed out by the lack of color.

I really enjoy these dystopian all hell breaks loose types of stories. In Cagaster the year is 2125 and this mysterious illness called cagaster turns people into human eating bugs just in 20 minutes. Killing these beasts isn't murder but extermination and Kidou is one of the exterminators. Kidou ends up saving a young girl named Ilie, because her father entrusts her with him just before he dies. They are trying to find Ilie's mother and the reason to this mystery all the while trying to survive this now barren land of death. In a sense there's Gunnm and Terra Formars in this and all in all the setting is surely interesting. The rhythm isn't the best though. Hashmoto uses a lot of time to set the money stealing part and the kid gang, which feels out of place and not enough with showing the bugs and setting the world with art. Just using text boxes feels lazy.

The art is quite angular though and somewhat stiff, but not too much to bother enormously. Hashimoto may get better with this along the way, I hope. Ilie's role seems slightly too big in this first part as her story parts are light and uneventful and the whole point should be Kidou and the state of the world at first. Ilie's role is to be the kid who needs saving, which isn't my kind of thing as it's cliched. Still, I did enjoy this, since seinen does scifi the best. Interesting!

This is a manga set in 2125 that has a plague where people turn into giant man-eating insects. The story itself begins thirty years later and follows an insect hunter, Kidou, who is also trying to find his long lost friend.

For me, this felt like Attack on Titan, just with insects. It's not that the story was bad as I actually thought it was pretty cool at parts, but I felt like it lacked depth. I wasn't really sure what was happening some of the time and got lost in the story a bit. Though I think, all in all, having insects be the main antagonist threw me off. It somewhat was more comical than anything as I just imagined my friends turning into big bugs. But it wasn't a bad thing, just gave me a few good laughs since it didn't feel as threatening (though the insects in the story were very creepy and intense). I think it was just the concept itself that left me unsure of how to feel.

I will say though that the art was great and I enjoyed the action scenes. The concept may be a bit comical to me but I think if I read more chapters and really got really familiar with the characters that it would definitely grow on me

*This book was given to me for free from NetGalley in turn of an honest review.