DFTG’s February manga recommendations are here to bring another monthly dose of manga inspiration to add onto that ever-growing list of series to read. Just like the variety there are in novels, there’s plenty to offer in graphic novels. So, why not advise a few of a fellow reader’s choosing?

This month, we’re laying 4 different titles on the table – Catharsis, Hidden Surface Town, Jigokuraku, and When Killing Slimes for 300 Years, I Became the Max Level Unknowingly. Phew, that last on is a mouthful! The first selection is a thriller from a LINE Webtoon artist named Ahniki, where one’s worst nightmares will manifest itself to destroy its host. Sounds fun! If you’re looking for action, I highly recommend Catharsis and Jigokuraku. For a moderately paced storyline or some leisurely reading, the remaining two are the way to go!

Take a look at the list below and let us know which ones you’re dying to give a whirl. In more mainstream news, have you seen or read Black Clover? Everyone I know is raving about it. Let us know what you think of the selections this month on DFTG’s Facebook page and join the lovely discussions with fellow manga enthusiasts! Without further ado, here they are as followed and in alphabetical order:

Title: Catharsis
Author: Ahniki
Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Drama

Each night, Leon is haunted by nightmares, but he’s never in his own body. Everyone radiates a color that only he seems to see and much of his abilities have remained a mystery until an unfortunate run-in during a night out on the job. During a routine food delivery, Leon finds himself in the nightmare he has dreamt of so many nights before running from a malicious entity seeking to take his life. There he meets a duo from a mysterious organization called Catharsis, whose mission is to eradicate those beasts they call Timorem.

These Timorem begin as mere thoughts, but as they continue to feed on the fear and desires of people, they grow until the source lacks the supply they need – that’s when these creatures will try and kill you. Leon isn’t quite sure how he fits in this puzzle, how he managed to get caught up in the organization’s affairs, but he’s intent on running away for as long as possible. The only problem getting in the way? Those same guys he met and the Timorem that follow him everywhere he goes. Nowhere is safe, and he must learn to adapt.

This is an ongoing series on LINE Webtoon.

Title: Hidden Surface Town
Author: ChongChong JiaJia (author), Wuya Sanbu (illustrator)
Genre: Romance, Fantasy

As a spin-off based on a larger series titled Restraining Order of Ant, Hidden Surface Town is a romance story about the complicated relationship between a beautiful small-town student and an actor. Before her trip abroad for a medical procedure, Wei Sheng Bai befriended a many-eyed creature in the woods as she gathered herbs and vegetables. Years have passed since then and she has returned home to the Hidden Surface Town, but somehow her friendship with a strange creature has become a popular past-time?

Pulled into attending an opera performance by a childhood friend, she witnesses a play that tells of a story eerily similar to hers. Could the actor have witnessed Bai’s interactions with the beast long ago, or is there a supernatural explanation for their overlapping stories? This series is fully colored in a gorgeous and elegant watercolor-like art style. It’s a lively romance story with some ominous themes and characters to spice things up.

This project is currently being translated by Aquarium Tourmaline.

Title: Jigokuraku
Author: Yuji Kaku
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama

Gabimaru the Empty is indestructible. Despite the number of lives he has taken as a ninja assassin without care nor retribution, he wanders the world waiting for a person mighty enough to kill him. Whether they’re attempts at beheading or burning him at the stake, all efforts to take his life are futile. In fact, he wants to die already. If someone could epitomize dispassion, it would be Gabimaru… or so he tells himself.

Not long after he is “caught” by the government, Gabimaru meets a renown executioner who offers him a deal – an official memorandum of pardon from all crimes and to live as free and merry as can be. That is, as long as he can retrieve the elixir of immortality. To do so, Gabimaru must venture to Nirvana and retrieve the Elixir of Life, a task that has already sacrificed numerous human lives. Aside from the story of Gabimaru the Empty, this series also tells of the female executioner Asaemon the Beheader’s journey as she finds the resolve to kill others without fear and hesitation.

This is an ongoing series currently being translated by a scanlation group called Fallen Angels.

Title: When Killing Slimes for 300 Years, I Became the Max Level Unknowingly
Author: Kisetsu Morita (author), Shiba Yuusuke (illustrator – manga), Benio (illustrator – novel)
Genre: Fantasy, Humor, Slice of Life

Azusa Aizawa is a regular office lady who sold her early twenties away as a “corporate slave”. Day in and day out, she overworked herself and has lived a tedious life without romance or an ounce of excitement. Then, one day, she collapsed from exhaustion and awakens in the realm of spirits. There, she meets an angel that wishes to fulfill Aizawa’s greatest desires.

Choosing this opportunity to start her life anew, she asks for immortality and a leisurely life in a small, cozy home. So what better way than to live in an alternate dimension as a witch with a youthful, energetic body? This is the story of Aizawa’s newfound chance at life of living in an MMORPG-like world and as the titles goes – her strength becomes a force to be reckoned with. This series began as a novel in Japanese and has since been illustrated with a cute and lively art style.

Both the novel and manga are current projects by online translation groups such as Insane Translations.