Shibatarian

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This manga is very promising! It puts a unique spin on the zombie apocalypse genre, where instead of zombies, its an apocalypse of the protagonist's enigmatic former friend, Shibata.

Story: In terms of plot, this manga (so far) is structured similarly to common zombie apocalypse movies. The hero and heroine attempt to flee the horde of Shibatas while trying to discover a method to end the apocalypse. Since only 10 chapters have been out since I am writing this review, the plot of the manga is unfinished, but I wouldn't say the story of the manga particularly stands out so far.

Characters: The main character and ... the titular antagonist are what makes this manga stand apart from the generic zombie apocalypse flick. The relationship between the two characters and their clashing personalities is fully fleshed out in the first few chapters, and the main character in particular seems troubled, giving the transpiring events deeper context. Unlike a normal zombie apocalypse, each 'zombie' is a Shibata, which makes each encounter with the zombies an opportunity for character development. There is also the archetypal romance subplot between the main character and the heroine, which works well in zombie films in general because of the suspension bridge effect.

Art: Similar to many zombie apocalypse films, this manga amply employs body horror, but gore is not what the manga uses to unsettle the reader. It's Shibata's uncanny face, often plastered on strangely proportioned bodies, writhing messes of flesh, and even some characters that are not Shibata.

Overall, this manga goes beyond the zombie apocalypse genre in meaningful ways, and is definitely worth a try!

Shibatarian has a lot of promising elements and an interesting premise, but unfortunately it just didn't quite hit hard enough for me. Sato meets a boy called Shibata buried up to his neck under a cherry tree, and they become friends. But, after a falling out, Shibata disappears for 5 years, and when he returns, he and his many clones are out to destroy the world.

The art is of a fairly good quality. There were very few moments I looked at and wished they were better, and a few moments that I considered very nicely executed. The astro-boy like design of Shibata (especially along with ... its later variations) creates an interesting dichotomy between his design and the horror aspects. Unfortunately, it doesn't lean into that. The art just wasn't quite good enough that the uncanny design would carry it, nor did the story lean enough into the psychological aspects of the manga.

I think the only case where I would recommend it is if you're looking for something incredibly surrealist and like the sound of the premise. Otherwise, there are a lot better zombie-esque apocalypse manga out there. Maybe try something like Sweet Home instead.