Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for giving me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This manga follows a young girl Suzume who gives a mysterious stranger directions to a ruin before finding herself on an adventure with a "chair" chasing a "cat." The series gives me Studio Ghibli vibes and the main character is very likable. I am interested in seeing where the series goes.

gahhhhh!! I love this so much. I love Makoto Shinkai's movies, Your Name and Weathering with You are among my favourites! I saw the Suzume film about 8 months ago and had planned on reading the manga, I was lucky to find out it was on NetGalley, I couldn't help myself!!

The manga captures the initial events of the film, where Suzume encounters Souta Munakata, discovers the mysterious door, and learns all about the keystone and the role of closers.
What begins as an ordinary day on her way to school quickly spirals into a wild adventure with Souta—who was cursed to take the form of her childhood chair—as they chase after Daijin, the keystone.

This is such a magical story. Also, the first few coloured pages were breathtaking, just like the movie was!! I almost wish the whole manga was coloured!

This was a cute read. I am a fan of the movie and I knew better than to think it would be copy/paste of the film. Where this manga did differed from the movie, I actually thought was better in forms of storytelling. The way the information and background of the story was revealed in the manga made more logical sense than the film and added to the believability of Suzume’s responses. One scene I liked was when Suzume is babysitting the children and she sees them play with the chair, but instead of the chair she sees Souta instead. It was very sweet. Overall a good read and the art style was very clean. I particularly loved the coloring of the Suzume’s flashback at the beginning of the manga. I am looking forward to vol. 2.

Not at all what I was expecting, but intriguing all the same. I'm really interested to discover if they can close the doors and catch the cat before the world is lost. The whole "turning into a chair" thing totally threw me for a loop. But the author made it work.

4.5 stars
I watched and really enjoyed this movie, so jumped on the chance to read the manga. It followed the movie extremely closely. As this is only volume 1, it did not cover the whole movie. It left off where you are really wanting more and thought it was a clever place to end.
The art style was absolutely beautiful. It was just like the movie's art style and it really gave the whole vibe of the movie even though it was black and white.
While I already knew the plot of this book, it was very fun to consume it in a new way (reading vs watching). I didn't get bored at all despite knowing what was going to happen. Trying to look at it as someone who has not seen the movie, I don't think anything would be confusing.
The only thing that confused me at first was the format. You turned the page by tapping the right side in the app, but you read each page right to left like a manga. I just wish each page read left to right and tapped the right side to turn, or it read like a proper manga, you read right to left and tap the left to turn the page.
I'm looking forward to reading volume 2!

I went into this having already watched the movie and I really enjoyed it! The art style was so unique and captured each scene perfectly, and the story was captivating and has made me excited to read the second part. It was a bit predictable for me though as it is very similar to the movie with hardly any new details, so I would recommend it to those who have not watched the movie yet for a better experience !!

I loved the movie adaptation and other Makoto Shinkai works, so I just had to read this series too! I love the story and characters and loved reading the manga version.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

The premise for Suzume sounds really interesting, but unfortunately, this was one of those that was just not my cup of tea. While I can see that there are those who will enjoy this, and despite my feelings for this, I will still encourage people to read to see if this suits them, I am just one of those who will not continue reading the series.

Suzume, to me, was just a very annoying character, while she does have her own issues, to me there are times she was just an insipid love-struck idiot who does more harm than good. The only character I actually liked is Souta, but he is stuck in a chair form, indirectly caused by Suzume.

As noted above, while I will not be continuing with this series, I still encourage people to read to get their own opinion, as everyone has their own likes and dislikes.

a solid manga adaptation of a movie that I absolutely adore. the art is nice and the manga follows the movie pretty faithfully, with a few tweaks to keep things more straightforward and added lines of dialogue to expand on some concepts or conversations that are not present in the movie. the translation seems solid to me as well, although at times Souta appears to be a bit ruder (?) than how he is in the movie, although I’m not sure if that is a change that has been made for the manga to give Souta some character development moments. still, I would be interested to see how future volumes adapt the rest of the movie!

I loved this book as much as the movie. It was a perfect book to have an relive the same feelings as watching Suzume for the first time all over again!

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read this ARC in exchange for a review.

I absolutely loved the movie Suzume, so getting the chance to read this in advance made me so excited.
This was perfect, image by image exactly like the movie, it was like watching it all over again.

So I watched this a last year when the movie came out and I fell in love with the story right away. I'm so excited we are getting this manga adaptation as well because it really is such an incredible story. I mean a love story between a girl and a man who is trapped in a chair? obviously there is so much more to the story than that but if you put it that way it immediately draws people in to what to know more. I felt like even though i had watched the movie already and there wasn't any changes I was able to enjoy my time with this manga and pick up on the crumbs that were left to hint at the big reveal that I may have missed the first time around which was cool. I will certainly be picking this one up as well as the rest of the volumes when they release.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this for a review!

This manga is something I have wanted to read for a while. I haven't watched the film based on this yet but after reading I definitely will as soon as I can. Suzume lives in a small and quiet town, one day on her way to school she meets a man who is searching for something, intrigued but this she follows him and sees a freestanding single white door amongst a deserted area. She is enchanted and opens this door (I think we all would have) and this is the beginning of the adventure that follows this one innocent act. Disaster pours out and she then has to go with the man she met to close these doors that are opening up to save Japan.

The art in this book is beautiful, easy to follow and really helps you to see the minor details of the story that might not be explained in dialogue. The plot of this is also very interesting with the doors but we also get to learn about Suzume and her past which makes you fall in love with her more with each chapter. There are a lot of really fun characters that we are introduced to that I am looking forward to seeing more of in the series.

I found the story a bit fast paced, there were parts where I thought I had missed a page which is the only thing I would critique. Whilst we do follow the story I wish it were a bit more fleshed out, hopefully this will be the case in later volumes. I did really enjoy this manga though and I will definitely continue the story as it drew me in enough to want to know more and root for the characters.

I watched the movie recently and absolutely loved it, so when I saw the first installment of the manga version on NetGalley, I just had to request it! The art is amazing and the story is almost identical to the movie with a few small changes here and there. Not sure about the choice of the end point for the mange but otherwise really enjoyed this!

In this first volume of the Suzume manga we explore the story from the film through the illustrations of Denki Amashima. The first pages are these beautiful color illustrations; I really enjoyed Amashima’s art style and felt like it really captured the characters well. The character interactions in the manga were handled well and felt like there was more breathing room to get to know them in this format and the still images could really express the feeling of abandonment and loss in a different way from the film. The pacing at times felt a bit abrupt in its transitions but for those who love the movie and want to explore the story in a different way this is a beautiful depiction. I really love this story and am interested to read the rest am excited for the next volume!

Highly recommend for fans of the film and for those looking for a story exploring loss and human connection with humor, love, and hope.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher. I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

As a fan of the anime "Your Name," I eagerly sought out the "Suzume" manga, and I'm delighted to say it exceeded my high expectations! The artwork is stunning, with each page alive with vibrant colors that enhance the narrative. The color pages added an extra dimension to my enjoyment. What made my experience even more special is that I hadn't seen the movie, allowing me to enjoy the story with fresh eyes, making it feel all the more magical. It's a tale full of wonder and excitement, beautifully balanced with cozy moments that provide comfort. "Suzume" isn't just a story; it's an enchanting adventure that captivated me from start to finish.

Likeable characters and an intriguing plot. The first few pages of color were nicely done.

The book has some funny moments but I felt it was moving way too fast in the beginning. Compared to the movie there is way less transitional elements so the scene changes feel abrupt and it's a bit hard to understand the plot if you haven't already seen the movie.

Did I request this immediately after watching the movie on Netflix? Yes, yes I did.

Did I already decide it was a 5 star read before even opening it?, Yes, yes I did.

And I wasn't wrong! Definitely worth the read, and c'mon it's a Makoto Shinkai movie too, it's perfection x 1000

Suzume by Makoto Shinkai, Denki Amashima (illustrator) is a manga based on the animation Suzume no Tojimari by Makoto Shinkai.

We follow the story of Suzume, who one day encounters a mysterious young man named Souta, who is searching for a certain door. Curious, Suzume follows him and discovers an old, magical door standing alone in ruins. When she opens it, she accidentally unleashes a disaster linked to a supernatural world on the other side of the door.

The manga is a mix of fantasy, adventure, and coming-of-age themes. I enjoyed it a lot and will definitely be reading the next volume. Also, I have to watch the anime now! 😍

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

I like the art style and that the beginning is in color. Very intrigued by the story, it's not at all what I expected. Will definitely go on reading.