Sleep Is For the Weak

PG-16 for violence and maybe some sex, I dunno yet; official series website (manga) and informational website (anime)

Sena, a limp-wristed teenager, has become used to running away from and errands for whatever local bullies catch him each week. As a result, he’s become ohmantotallysuperfast by the time he reaches high school; within about five seconds of passing his high school entrance exam, he’s forcibly recruited to the football team by a classmate who bears more than a passing resemblance to Satan.

This Shounen Jump series has been around for a few years (and is still ongoing in Japan) and has a rather giant following, so I admit that I’m late at jumping on the review bandwagon. But from what I’ve read of the beginning of the manga, you can add my approval to the pile you may have accumulated. The art and story are split between two creators, resulting in a tight script and fantastic art despite the weekly Jump deadlines, and there’s enough information on the technicalities of football to give even American readers a few new tidbits of trivia. (For example, I was a big football buff as a kid, but I didn’t know much about the differences between cleats and helmet grills.) For readers who find the start-from-nothing approach to explaining football in the manga a little boring, just remember that American football in Japan is about as common as onigiri (mmm) in the States. The bits of silliness present in this manga are excused for three reasons: 1.) The pace is symbolically fast and thus any silliness is zoomed through, 2.) Many of the jokes are genuinely funny, and 3.) This is shounen. Shounen wouldn’t be shounen if it weren’t a little silly and/or insane.

I haven’t seen the anime yet, but I hope to. And don’t knock sports manga until you try it, skeptics. Manga has the uncanny ability to get people to genuinely care about crazy shit, like sparkly dresses and battle musicians.

Initial impression: Worth a try. You know you want to. (Lianne)

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