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.

The cover caught my attention with its eerie design, contrasting the cheerful face emerging from the ground. However, I couldn’t figure out why Shibata was always so cheerful in the manga — this remained unclear to me throughout the story. Maybe it's just a stereotypical face of Japanese people.

It’s interesting that both main characters share the name "Hajime"— one being Sato Hajime and the other, Shibata Hajime.
While the plot was engaging and I found myself anticipating the ending, the narrative often felt like it kept circling back to an "ending" without actually concluding. I wasn’t entirely sure if the conclusion was clear or if ... it required a reread due to the branching storylines.

The secondary romantic plot, which touches on themes of friendship, felt underdeveloped. The characters, although somewhat connected through the small town they reside in (or at least it seemed small), struggled with loneliness, seeking solace in movies. The manga includes subtle references to various films, which I found interesting, especially as one character’s zombie film played a pivotal role in the development of the story within the manga’s context.

As for the characters, there were two main living ones — Sato and Shibata — along with two secondary female characters. The rest of the focus was on non-living elements, particularly the Sakura tree, which plays an important role, though it’s not immediately obvious why it appears on the cover. The manga’s setting and film production were intriguing, but the actual camera work was shown only sparingly.

The storytelling style felt more dreamlike. Like a late-night film marathon which turned into a thriller dream where everything is fragmented, characters’ faces blend together, and surreal transitions occur — like moving from a garage to an aquarium, then to a school and a research lab. These shifts in setting, while adding to the surrealism, sometimes left me wondering about the narrative's grounding in reality.

The character design, particularly for the male protagonists, was quite appealing, with Sato starting off as a blonde but changing over the years. There was noticeable growth in the characters, especially as they learned to value their friendships and change their views on people as they navigated their twenties. However, I felt some character arcs, especially the side characters, were lacking depth — like the story of the blonde girl who quickly finds herself a boyfriend, but we don’t get much detail about him.

As for the art style, I found the males character designs mostly attractive and the further it goes, the more beautiful the main character gets, but not for long, as in old age he's already not that great. Though the anatomy sometimes felt off, especially in full-body shots. The lack of expansive backgrounds or panoramic shots made the world-building feel incomplete, and I think the manga would’ve benefited from more visual variety.