Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

From what I can tell, this is closer to an autobiography than anything else. I'm not one hundred percent sure that is based on a true story, but I'm fairly sure it is. It's a fun story so far! A burnt-out editor decides to get a fresh start in life by moving to the countryside and becoming a rice farmer after the magazine he's worked for for 13 years goes under. It's interesting to watch as he navigates how to leave his old job as an editor and try to acclimate as a farmer. He and his wife are both used to living in the city, so living in the countryside is something completely new for them. It's fairly slow-paced and is basically like a slice-of-life story.

I love reading manga like this, just day to day life with its struggles and insecurities, eye-openers and simple joys.

An attractive cover, a perfect reflection of the story, that takes place in two “worlds”.

Yohei Sakuma was a manga editor who became a rice farmer and moved to the country with his wife. He tells his story to a man who then asks him to make a manga of it.

4 years ago he was an overworked burnt out manga editor when the magazine he was working for, was being canceled. He worked there for 13 years and gets the opportunity to work for a new magazine but he realizes he can’t work that hard anymore and he wants to quit his job. When he goes home to his newlywed wife Miyu-san, he is affraid to tell her and he worries about what will happen if he quits his job. So he starts searching for other ways to make a living. Google guids him to a way of living on the countryside, as a rice farmer, about 2 hours (by car) from Tokyo. He goes there and not only learns about rice paddy plots, made for city people to rent but also starts working on one.

His wife makes a living as a cosplayer. She starts to investigate why he is acting strange. He turns down her invitations at the weekends and sneaks out of the house. So she starts thinking he’s cheating on her. She follows him to the rice paddy and thinks he’s there to see a woman who’s just a staff member, so he tells her the truth about everything.

I love the way she reacted and why, learning about rice farming, their house hunting struggles with the various houses with their unique troubles, the funny reactions of random background wildlife in this book haha and how their new life begins, thanks to some amazing new friends.

Thank you NetGalley, for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was really interested in the premise of this book. I will say that the pdf version of this manga doesn't feel good to read. I felt that the words were too big and the art a little too hard to navigate. I eagerly await the physical book.

The story and art otherwise is fantastic and I will be recommending it as an adult / Older teen selection for our library. The slice of life slow burn is exactly what our patrons may be looking for as the world gets busier.

Thanks.

3/5

This title is the one out the set Kodasha put on Netgalley that I was the most curious about.
It's definitely something new and different and it's fun how the author decided to use a manga aditor as a protagonist.
I hoped to go deeper in the behind the scenes manga scenery, but there are still some curious part in it.
The whole volume revolves around the desire of our protagonist to basically become a farmer and his main challege was to find the house of his dreams.

I honestly was confused at first because I wasn't sure if this person was still working in the manga industry or not and the story jumps here and there. I think that towards the end I finally got the storyline, but it was probably too late to fully enjoy the read.

It's difficult to review this one because I really struggled to get into it and took me about two weeks to finish. It starts off a little stiff, and I wasn't a huge fan of the first two chapters, but it picked up and each new chapter is better than the last.

Probably my favourite thing about this is that the artist draws in some cute little critters in the countryside pages, and some of them share little opinions and jokes. There's one panel with a snail on top of it, and another of a gecko getting frightened by the noise of the main characters and crawling to hide behind the comic panels, which was a delightful touch.

One thing to know is that this is very much a slice of life manga. It’s cozy, introspective and heartwarming.

The main plot revolve around the struggle of a city guy who is burned out and want to quit everything and go live in the countryside. His inner struggle and hesitation are completely relatable as I believe plenty of us have already dreamed of doing the same thing!

I found the beginning harder to get into. There was a bit of a back and forth in the storyline that was confusing at first, but the story settled after the second chapter. At first i was also annoyed by the main character relationship with his wife. She isn’t really present in the beginning and he doesn’t talk to her about life changing decisions, but it get quickly resolved.

The story itself got better with each chapter. It felt as if it gradually found its tone. Which is a light cozy read, with a dash of humour combined with a few informations on countryside life. In the end it convinced me to want the read the next one.

There were a few frames/dialogues that completely flew over my head (they might be cultural references). Since they didn’t impact my understanding of the story it didn’t change much, just puzzled me.

As other have mentioned there is a small incoherence in the first or second chapter in which the protagonist mention living in an apartment although we see him living in a house by the end of the volume. It’s slightly confusing, but not a catastrophe.

A lovely, introspective look at new lives and old jobs. Beautifully illustrated, a fun and light read.

This is such a real, wholesome look at life, and work and I adored every second of it and can't wait to continue this series!!!

This isn't a romance, but does have an adorable couple, and is a true adult slice of life featuring a male lead.

The male lead gives me Yuri from Yuri on ice vibes. So cute 🥺.

And the main plot has such a real life struggle many of those in the job market can relate to, and how one person makes a big change for the betterment of his state of mind. I can't get over how wholesome this story is even with the reference to being burnt out. The art style is great and I can't wait to read more.

Thank you, Kodansha Comics, and Netgally for the advance reading copy.

This was a pretty cute title. It was interesting learning about rice paddies because I know absolutely nothing about them. It was very slow (which makes sense since that's kind of what the protagonist is looking for).

I loved this!
This book caught me completely off guard.

The way the story began, showing the character's state of mind and how he reached a resolution. It was exceptional, for showing that we don't always have a plan in life, sometimes it's just a direction.

The characters are fantastic and the drawings reinforce their personalities. They do everything with surprise fun and embrace change and what it has to offer them.

It's a fun book, full of adventures that focuses on things and emotions in life, and I couldn't put it down until I finished reading it.
I found it an inspiring story that reached my heart.
We see the contrast between nature and the city, but with the author's vision of it the image became intimate.
I also love pulling weeds in my greenhouse, and having that connection with the author, and knowing his opinion on pulling weeds in rice fields was divine.

Looking forward to getting my hands on the second volume.

I love this manga for what it is as it is!

Such a refreshing read from all the books I have read so far!

Not romance, not fast paced thrillers, not young readers’ books but a very good slice of life realistic fiction which we can apply when our all time consuming jobs are killing us everyday.

This manga gives a new perspective on how changing/challenging our present situation and doing something about it makes a whole lot of difference.

A manga editor is burnt out from all the work and decides to do something about it for real! This might sound a blink of an idea but what works best is when we actually try out these ideas and work on them consistently.

Love the manga! The art style and the characters are awesome.

Thank you, Kodansha Comics, for the advance reading copy.

Seven chapters of fun! Kuma's shonen manga magazine shuts down leaving him uninspired and ready for a change in life. He decides to farm rice on a rental plot to ensure that he and his wife will have food while he figures out what to do with himself. He never dreamed that his wife would support his agricultural spirit and agree to move to the countryside!

What a fun manga volume full of fun and likeable characters! This is a manga series that I would continue to read!

The title sums it up pretty well; although the first volume is the reasoning, decision making, and finally making the move for a new life in the countryside. He does keep it the whole farming thing and wanting to quit his job from his wife, his reasoning makes sense but leads to some misunderstanding. Information is provides about rice fields/farming, which is nice. It is a cute slice of life manga, so if you are looking for a more peaceful and chill read would recommend. I like how instead of being taken to another world entirely it is the same world just different living environment and it is something others can relate to a bit in some way.

This was very funny and relaxing, and educational, too. I liked learning about part-time farming. It actually seems like a pretty sweet deal! I will read the next volume in this series.

Having been absolutely fascinated by the 'countryside revival' movement in rural Japan (the successful tea field-to-cafe D:Matcha venture n Kyoto, Mukai craft brewery in Kochi and all the fabulously renovated akiya),I jumped at the chance to read this manga!

Facing the abrupt closure of his division, our hero Yohei Sakuma is at a crossroads of moving into another manga editor role by default or chasing his new found excitement in becoming a rice farmer.
Written in an autobiographical tone, Yohei shatters any romantic illusions that city dwellers might have, at the outset.

"I'm a ten minute walk away from a Starbucks"

This first volume deals with the themes plaguing working age adults - dissatisfaction and burnout, job loss and professional envy, cost of living making earning a substantial salary a baseline for any decisions.

I love how the author approaches the lifestyle change methodically - researching and presenting statistics, all the highs and mostly lows of renting dilapidated akiya, 'best practices' for proper weeding, and even exploring other income streams.

Highly recommended - a cozy but realistic manga for DINK couples :)

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for this honest review

This was a quick and relaxing read. The art was nice and pleasant to look at.

The author does bring to our attention what is like to work in the manga editing sector, and how working in an environment that is constantly demanding more and more from you can affect you and the people around you. It is a commentary on our fast-paced life, over-swamped by work and the immense stress and issues that come with it. Not having time for anything else but worry about your job and bills.

Personally, I did relate to the story quite a lot. I used to work myself to the bone and although I miss my old job I am also glad I have the tranquility and the time for family and friends and myself.
We often forget how important quality time with ourselves and our loved ones is. It is time we never get back and once it is gone is gone.

Overall I did enjoy the read, it made me reflect, and I too like our main character Kuma would like to go to the countryside and just live unbothered by the everchanging world with its technologies and whatnot. Peaceful and content like our great-grandparents and grandparents had before us.

I only wished the author touched more on the emotional and psychological aspects as it was not very explicit and you had to draw your own conclusions, which is not a bad thing per se, however, it would have been better to have that perspective of the writer as more people would be able to relate and reflect upon these matters.

I do recommend it!

That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life tin the Countryside
By Kumagae
Thanks to Netgalley. for the ARC Copy for an honest review.
This was a really nice read, it was a cozy and chill story and it felt very relatable and down to. I liked the relationship between the main character Kuma and his wife Miyu it was cute. The artwork looks nice.
Rating: 4 Stars

This story connected with me in a way I did not expect going into it. I covers the struggle many of us go through with unexpected changes that are often out of our hands. Seeing Sakuma struggle internally but finding a new passion was great. Having the support of his wife and community and taking that leap of faith is so heartwarming to read.

This is a story I recommend as I feel it has a message many of us can relate to at various stages of our lives. Thanks for the opportunity to read this.

Dad Needs To Talk (Rob)

Thanks NetGalley for the arc.

I too want to leave my job to farm rice in the countryside. It’s such a great representation of our society. I totally understood the main character motive and he was honestly super entertaining.
I loved how his mariage seemed healthy! And despite being quite depressed they both tried their best !

"People might laugh at me for saying this, but in that moment, it looked as if my husband was a hero from another world, protecting his princess."

That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside, volume 1 by Kumagae, is, as stated, a manga editor who, after the company he's working under changes, re-evaluates his job career and instead moves to the countryside to pursue a new dream of being a part time rice farmer while trying to figure out what he wants to do in his life.

Right from the start, our main character Youhei Sakuma provides insight into his struggles and dissatisfaction with an office job, alongside the struggles of facing this alone as well as with your romantic partner. As the manga continues, Kuma learns first hand what his new dream consists of, and the manga showcases these situations with real world knowledge in the field of rice paddies, rice growth, and statistics from agricultural surveys. We're given an intimate view as the reader of what Kuma is experiencing and how he is feeling in each moment, from plainer feelings and observations to more philosophical.

The manga dives a touch deeper into philosophy through the common trope of isekai-- starting over in a new world, in this case, leaving the real world behind for the daydreamy world of farming in the countryside, which has become an ever-popular fantasy for working-class individuals in the present day.

For being so early in the series, it already handles real-world struggles relatable to many adult readers of the seinen genre regarding job loss, job change, and approaching a new, tough situation when you have no clue how to take that first step forward. With it being based around the author's first hand experiences in his own life, the details both feel lived in, personally engaging, and empathetic. With a positive and emotional beginning to their new lives at the end of the first volume, That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside is a cozy, yet personally relatable manga focusing on interpersonal adult relationships and lifestyle choices perfect for fans of Silver Spoon and similar titles with a focus on relationships and slice of life.