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Desert 9 is a series that couldn’t be more unique. Every book will bring unexpected surprises that will have you on the edge of your seat during the whole read. Volume 1 is definitely its slowest paced, but even then the manga is jam packed with story all the way. It’s unfortunate that the series was cancelled, so the author had to abandon parts of the story and rush through the last volume, but even still the ending is very satisfying and positively jaw-dropping.
The sheer amount of times this book had me stunned, in shock, then screaming and gushing about it to people I knew! ... Mind-blowing, mind-boggling, mind-bending! It is truly a masterpiece of a story, one you could not see anywhere else even just a little. It is fantasy, it is science-fiction, it is post-apocalyptic, it is hilarious and emotional and incredible. It has a strong story with solid worldbuilding and intrigue, heavily story-driven though characters are very lovable and fun! My favorite manga that I have read in a long time, absolutely. When is it getting an anime?! A movie! Anything!


I’ll include the preliminary I made below, mainly from after I read book one, where I go into more details and you can see my thoughts more fully in the moment. I rescind my previous statement, Desert 9 is in fact a life-changing story, to me. Gives me hope for the future of manga and art, even! Kei Deguchi, I’m looking forward to your next series!

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Desert 9, as is its french title and translation, is a very interesting manga. Its biggest strength is, without a doubt, its very unique and in-depth worldbuilding. Desert 9 is at its core a fantasy, but through volume one it becomes gradually more clear that Desert 9 is set in a post-apocalyptic world, a reality that happens in our world in a far, far future. The hints are sometimes pretty subtle, sometimes very obvious. In many ways, it likens itself to science-fiction with the way many things are explained or set up. Finally, Desert 9, though narratively an adventure, is also a mystery. What is the nature of Desert 9? What is Diamante (the "final boss" figure of eternal ice, probably under a different name in other versions than french), really, and what happened for the world to end? Who are these characters, and what does that mean for what has happened and what will happen? Was this really our world once, and if so is that foreshadowing for a bigger twist and reveal? The story wants you to ask all these question, and in the end what drives readers to keep reading before anything else is likely that boundless curiosity for this intricate, magical world that was expertly crafted and holds up under scrutiny. It is surprisingly pleasant to get lost in the world and have things make sense, in their strange fantastical way.

The premise of a boy searching for his father who has gone somewhere legendary and unknown of man is not unique at all, but the setting is, and the execution is as well, in my opinion. You may be afraid that the novelty of the world’s concept will wear off, that it’ll get boring quickly, but in volume one alone there were many interesting spins in how an hydra, the water monsters, could fight and how to defeat them, and then there are other deserts with different sets of quirks and enemies altogether! It’s a read that will keep you on your toes.
The characters are also not particularly original, but still charming in their own ways. I didn’t immediately care about them at all, but I did end the first volume feeling fondly about them and wanting more of them, enjoying them as characters in their own right, all with their own unique traits, usually story-driven as well. They are lovable even if they take some time to steal your heart, is what I’m saying. Not anything terribly new, but the main characters are plenty unique enough to stick. The dynamics between the characters are very lovable and comedic as well!

It is not a life-changing story, not so far anyways, but it is definitely a world and a story I am glad to have been hooked onto.
If you enjoy comparisons, I would call Desert 9 a mix of Made in Abyss and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
Rating: 8/10

Update: Read the second tome, and upped the rating higher to 9/10! The first book is rather slow paced, but this second book? Oooh boy it is the wildest ride I have read in a long time. This confirms the worldbuilding for every desert is vastly different, and the overall mystery and post-apocalyptic vibes continue to take importance. For every desert, the people of its lands fight for a part of what life requires. In the first desert, humans must fight to have water, and in the second, they struggle to have any ground to live and belong on, in the third they must fight for oxygen, to be able to breathe...
This second book, on top of my Nausicaa comparison from earlier, is a mix of Pandora Hearts and Evangelion. Yes, you heard that right! It gets a 10/10 for the coolness factor, I want to make everyone I know ready this, holy hell. The first book was interesting enough, but this second one made me a fan for life. Not only is the story rather plothole-proof, but its emotional moments genuinely hit rather well, and every new character is highly memorable and likable! I am holding myself back from spoiling every cool moment, do give this series a chance!

It is a shame this manga appears only to be in japanese and french, but I do recommend it to anyone who can pick it up. This manga is essentially a breath of fresh air, you start reading it and are swept away in a very rural setting where kids run around on adventures, riding on manta rays and exploring caves. The characters are very likable and have layers to them. The story is very realistic and offers bites of interesting culture, but it can be pretty wild at times, as shown with how a character claims she can speak to god through her cellphone! ... A very fun and lovable gimmick might I add, since this god exclusively communicates through emotes.
It’s a manga I read in my childhood which is very dear to me, and very unique in many ways. The story is not some shocking masterpiece, but it’s very good at what it does: chill you out and make you embark on an adventure, learning the ways of the island along the main character. Not many mangas capture this warm islander feel, and as someone who loves mangas about fishing and other such things this manga offers that same kind of atmosphere and comfort. It will make you learn a decent bit about science stuff as well. It reminds me of nostalgia and summer days, and it is something it does well.

I should reread it to offer a more thorough review, but a summary review like this works well for this series I think; it’s the sort of manga that you have a nice time reading and that stays with you with warm hazy memories, and that you may like to revisit some times. I will translate some french reviews listed on the wikipedia article for this manga for convenience below:

In France, the first volume is considered by 9emeart.fr as: « pleasant to read » : « With the story of a Tokyoite landing on a small Japanese island, we inevitably think of Barakamon. And if the tone, the rhythm, and the themes addressed in this manga are very different, we find in any case this very soft, a little contemplative way of setting up the story, and this affectionate look at the Japanese countryside ». For Frederico Anzalone from BoDoï, « closer, in truth, to a mix between Silver Spoon and Amanchu! than The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – the link is rather the symbols of independence and of sincerity of childhood –, the series by UME is a dive color turquoise blue, invigorating, into an unprecedented space of Japanese culture. Between folklore, manta rays and island daily life, the authors of Tokyo Toybox teach us, present to us the happiness and difficulties of a people who know the most beautiful heights of the thermometer, with a lot of humor, kindness and accuracy in human relations ».