Glitch is the first volume in a story that has finished serialization in Japan at 3 volumes total. I'm bringing up this fact to frame the mixed impressions I've gotten from reading it, because it's one thing if this was going to develop over ten more volumes, and another altogether if this is one third of the whole story.

The art made me do a double-take: it's such a modern digital art style, one I'm more used to seeing in webtoons than published manga. It's delightfully fluent where characters' microexpressions are concerned (especially for comedy), but when it comes to backgrounds and landscape art, it's rough, like concept sketches thrown together as as intermediate stage in a creative process. A very new thing for me to see in printed manga.

The target audience & tone is another question I kept asking myself as I read this. The signs point towards middle school: that's the age of most of the characters, and of the two siblings, it's the younger one that seems more put-together, and the overall feeling I got from encounters with non-human creatures in town was a gentle lessons in tolerance & dialogue. On the other hand, a part of me kept waiting for the story to lean into the horror potential of the premise: a town haunted with paraphernalia that appears to be a mix of supernatual and extraterrestrial, and the way these things manifest are pretty creepy. The glitch-art style massive animals, a shopkeeper with wings for head -- this is some WTNV material right there. But with third of the story done, it hasn't really gone there. It's more of an Enid Blyton gang going about the city interviewing people, to the tune of me having a small meltdown waiting for the horrors to spring on them. Once the other volumes are out, I'll pick them up if only to resolve this dilemma once and for all.

Thank you to #Netgalley and Yen Press for a copy of #GlitchVol1.

4.5 stars
Capturing the same allure that many found with Stranger Things, Welcome to Nightvales and X-Files, Glitches Vol. 1 has begun the build-up to a mystery that begs to be answered, in this world.. and the next.

A new town, a new school and a family with hopes of a new beginning. Everything is normal... except the odd acceptance of strange glitching creatures and bookshop owners with biblical wings heads. The acceptance rules that keep them safe and allow their day-to-day life is without malice but could still put the town in danger. Ignorance can only be blind for so long, and the kids who can see the glitches are ready to bring the mystery to light.

This story did a great job with the subtle mystery breadcrumbs and maintaining a safe but eerie atmosphere. The innocence is still there, but I've seen enough to know it might not stay for long.

So I will say I'm pretty intrigued by the overall story, lots of weird things happening and the art is great. I think I'd like to read more in the future!

Unfortunately there's not a lot of depth to any of the characters. They're all quickly introduced and then their adventure begins. It feels hard trying to connect to them or feel invested in their wellbeing when they're just faces. Maybe that will improve in the next volume.

Overall a unique idea, I'd like to see more, but needs a bit of a polish.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

Glitch is a new sci-fi graphic novel centering a Minato and Akira, a brother and sister who have just moved to a new town that has some strange phenomena going on. When Minato and Akira start seeing animals appear out of nowhere, they form an investigation team with Akira's 2 new friends to see if they can figure out where these sightings might be coming from. they also team up with some strange creatures that also want to investigate the phenomena.

I really liked the 1st volume in this series. It was very interesting and held my attention. I thought each panel was well drawn and enjoyed the style it was drawn in. I am curious to see where this story goes in a future installment.

Something I was confused about that slightly detracted from the story was why can only some people see these "glitches", and what is going on with the weird guy with wings for a head. I assume that will be explained in the next volume so I am excited to get some answers.

One thing I disliked was that it seemed like some panels kind of time jumped...like there could have been an in between panel but there wasn't. It made the story feel slightly disjointed at some points.

Overall, I think this is a great read for middle grade and YA sci-fi fans. I would recommend picking it up and giving it a try, and I personally would like to continue on to the next volume. 4/5 Stars

Thank you so much to netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Glitch Volume 1
By Shima Shinya
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC copy for an honest review.
The art was replay nice and the story was interesting. I was able to read this manga in one sitting it was a quick read. I liked the concept of something being up with the small town this family moves to, it was simple but it works.
Rating: 4 Stars

When I saw the author of Lost Lad London had another short series in the works, I was very happy to see this as an ARC. Glitch is a simple premise, something is up with the new town a family moves to. There is a slight offness that works here. It's not a suspenseful feeling, it's just... off. The art is still distinct and the creature (?) deigns are a mix of natural and semi digital that really stood out to me. It's a good start!

Thank you Net Galley for an arc to review.

I felt like more could've been done with this as the first volume. The main characters were barely introduced before the author starting throwing in the glitches and other random characters. It just didn't flow well in my opinion.

ARC provided by NetGalley

I really loved the art in this story. The story itself seemed a little repetitive however, I believe more could have been done in the first volume. I do really like the concept of the glitches though. I'll definitely give the second volume a shot.

I devoured this book! I can't wait to see where the next volume goes! It's a must read for graphic novel lovers.