I’ve not read a book in ages. Actually, I had started reading Murakami’s Killing Commendatore 2 years ago and err… stopped 2 years ago. And this is me being a fan of his works. Also, when it comes to books, I prefer having a physical book. Pages to flip, the smell of the paper and that kind of sentimental jazz. Until recently when I felt that lack of shelf space and the need to read something but not keen on keeping a copy in the library meant obtaining electronic copies of books or comics.

I wanted to check out this manga called デッドデッドデーモンズデデデデデストラクション / Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction (thanks to the *koff* missus) by Asano Inio, and noted that Amazon sells Kindle version as well as a physical option.

I have bought Kindle versions of the Marvel Star Wars comics recently, and I have to admit buying it on Amazon is so easy that one could go too far clicking buy every single time you see something you like. Some of you may say that manga can be read *koff* for free online (did that with a certain manga about shinigami, Arrancars and Hollows) but I think I should err start paying my dues.

Anyway, DDDD is a somewhat unusual story based at a time when a large extraterrestrial saucer-shaped vessel hangs over Tōkyō, reminiscent of those seen in the films Independence Day. The only difference is that the aliens don’t fully lay waste to the city but has occasional incursions by smaller alien crafts usually ending up with it being gunned down. Also, the presence of this large vessel causes a high level of A-rays (emitted by the vessel, fictitious obviously) and the blocking of natural sunlight. This is the background of the main story, though.

The main storyline is actually pretty slice-of-life fare (getting ready to yawn then?) about a bespectacled high schooler named Kadode and her (really weird) best friend Ouran.

The things they talk about in school, what they do after school – that kind of thing. I find the conversations Kadode and her friends in school quite amusing, and am uncertain if this is a reflection of current day topics school-going teens speak about daily, even after translation from the original Japanese. The story then introduces you to Kadode’s other school friends who seem to be a right mixture of caricatures, as well as Kadode’s home room teacher who initially looks like the story would involve a teacher-student scandal but nothing comes out of it. from the As the story goes on, it tells of how Kadode’s father disappeared on the day (8/31) when the alien vessel first appeared causing chaos in the city, as well as her mentally unstable mom (affected by events of 31/8) who later goes away to live with a new guy, much to Kadode’s indifference.

The artwork by Asano is actually superb. I love scanning the pages looking at how he draws the backdrop in so much detail. At the moment, I’ve finished the first volume and I do admit there’s quite a lot to take in – the conversations at school, Kadode/Ouran’s daily activities plus regular interjections from soc media/news about daily events involving the aliens, although nothing much has really happened from the perspective of the alien invasion. There have been clues, but I still have yet to see what the aliens are like. And why exactly they are here (indications from the background makes the aliens to have a seemingly weak predisposition, but if that is the case, why are they still here).

Currently, I have just started reading the next volume (there are nine in total). I hope the unravelling of the storyline happens earlier than later, though.