Thank you to NetGalley, VIZ Media, Josh Tierney, and Agroshka for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I must say, this is very different than what VIZ normally serializes. The premise is certainly...unique. Lucas is a basketball player whose mom is an archaeologist. When he joins her at one of their dig sites where a library mysteriously vanishes, he touches an artifact and is taken to another planet. Upon arrival to Affin, he find himself holding a basketball-sized object in his hands and it's...Earth? Lucas makes some interesting new friends while trying to navigate and survive on Affin, also while trying to find a way to return the Earth to its normal size. Apparently stealing and/or eating planets is a norm for some of Affin's residents, proving Lucas' quest to be quite the challenge.

It was a bit hard to get into this manga at first, mostly because the pacing of the Earth-becoming-small was a bit strange to follow. The plot of a boy having to save Earth by finding a way to make it normal-sized again is certainly unique and interesting, something I have not seen before. The art is quite eloquent and the characters have some decent development early on. Quite an intriguing manga, to say the least. I recommend to shounen fans, fantasy-lovers, and anyone looking for something that goes against the grain!

I haven’t heard much coming out of VIZ Media’s VIZ Originals line since it was announced a couple years back, but with the release of Fangirl, we’re starting to get more manga-like works coming to western shores. Likewise, World Piece debuts its first volume this summer, and I’m impressed with this volume and can’t wait to see more of it!

High schooler Lucas is having the time of his life, but his world is turned upside down when he comes across a mysterious artifact that makes his planet shrink to the size of a basketball! After being found by a wealthy girl called Lully, the duo joins the solider Mitton in order to try and find a way to reverse his planet’s condition, all the while trying to avoid the planet-eating Damas and his goons.

Growing up in Canada, I really loved the anime-esque style of shows like Martin Mystery and Totally Spies, and World Piece evokes the feeling of nostalgia I had for those titles. The art style is a mix between manga and western comics, and as such has a clean look to the whole thing. It looks like a polished webcomic, as the writer and the artist have both worked on one beforehand too.

While the plot initially feels basic (and I would have liked more interactions in Lucas’ earthly life before the shrinkage), I did enjoy the dynamic between the three main protagonists as they try and grapple with the fact that they’re constantly on the run. It’s a simple sci-fi tale with some great art, and I’m excited to see where the series goes from here!