Popular New Title Ratings & Reviews

[Grogzilla]

Hi everyone, Grogthony Zillatano here, internet's busiest manga nerd

It recently came to my attention that I have the title "PNT Connoisseur" and I post a lot of my thoughts and ratings on Popular New Titles in our Discord channels, but I've yet to actually post these thoughts here on the forums or create a thread to discuss them with the userbase.

My goal for this thread is to provide criteria, give you my honest thoughts based on the criteria, and provide ratings on titles as they get added to the Popular New Titles list. Expect new updates to the thread as new titles get added!

Spoiler: Criteria

• Premise: What is the story about? Is the premise interesting? Has it been done before? What sets it apart from other titles?
• Art: What paneling choices were made? Is is drawn well? Is it impactful or does it add depth to the story? How are the characters designed?
  • Art can be subjective, sure, but there is a big difference in art between Dragon and Chameleon vs. generic romcom #114987
• Writing: This covers a wide variety of things that aren't immediately covered in Premise and Art.
  • Do the author's choices make sense? Are the characters well written? How well is the premise being executed?
• Scan Quality: It goes without saying that a good title can have misguided or poor effort put into it. Likewise, good effort can be put into an otherwise bad title ("you can paint trash gold but it's still trash"). This impacts score the least, but it is worth considering the quality of the scan when determining if something is worth reading or not.
• Bias: Sometimes, I just like or dislike something with no rhyme or reason. This will also minimally impact the score, but is listed just so you are aware I am a human being, subject to my own biases, and am not infallible.

Spoiler: Scoring

In case it needed to be said, scoring will follow MangaDex's own rating system:

 

[Grogzilla]

To officially start the thread, the first item on the chopping block is Kyuuketsuki-san wa Chitoraretai!

• Premise: Vampire girl sucks priest-slash-childhood friend's blood for food, and realizes his blood tastes way better after watching fellow vampire girl and roommate suck from her personal blood bag.
  • While not overly interesting at first glance, there is room for this manga to have interesting twists and turns that would be very welcome to the series.
  • While not done exactly like this, it brings to mind two manga: one of which I cannot for the life of me remember the name of and XX Shinaide! Tsukimine-san.
  • A little unwelcome, but the thing that sets it apart from some other blood-sucking manga is the addition of netorase.
• Art: Pretty good all things considered. The female characters are drawn attractively and there were a few stand out panels but I can imagine the quality will start to decline as serialization continues. I hope I'm wrong.
• Writing: Standard fare as far as writing goes, not too bad but not mind-blowing either. A few notes:
  • Naming your MC Santa (not sure if a translation mistake) is kind of a weird choice, but I'm willing to look past it.
  • I am generally against NTR but seeing as the FMC is conflicted about her role in this "relationship" while simultaneously appealing to her base instincts as a vampire ("it makes the blood taste better"), you get this internal struggle between love and hunger that could be interesting if well developed.
• Scan Quality: Could use a little help on the TS-ing, but I can look past it.
• Bias: As previously stated, I am typically against NTR which definitely impacts my perception of this manga a bit.

Overall, it's fine, but not earth-shattering by any means. With the only two English chapters out, I can only give this a

Spoiler: Score

 

[Grogzilla]

Tonari no Seki no Inkya Joshi ga Oshi Utaite Datta ~Ore no Kyoku wo Uttatekure!~​

• Premise: A pair of loner classmates uncover each other's YouTube accounts in an effort to help each other. Romance may ensue.
  • I love a good wholesome romcom as much as the next guy, so I was willing to pick this up with no hesitation. It sounds a little cliché, but it could be interesting.
  • I could name several manga that follow a similar premise, but I'd be stuck here trying to list them all. I'll touch on this briefly in the Writing section.
• Art: The character art is good, but overall the art is fairly generic looking. You could swap the art from almost any other title in the genre and it would be almost indistinguishable.
• Writing: Oh boy, I have a lot to say and a short attention span to write it all down. A few bullet points with my reactions:
  • "Does everyone in this manga have a YouTube account?" Genuinely what is up with this.
  • There are a lot of over used tropes throughout the first few chapters but I'll pick a few:
    • Biggest offender here is the FMC taking off her glasses to reveal her beauty.
    • The popular guy being a jerk.
    • Popularity being directly tied to follower/subscriber counts.
    • Dead dad and controlling mother combo.
  • I feel after a while this manga will just become another predictable title in the bottom of my library. I can't imagine there being any sort of longevity to this series despite otherwise pretty good writing.
• Scan Quality: This one is in the name folks: Nerissa's Barely Competent Jailbird Scans. I'll leave it at that.
• Bias: I don't have much to account for with this one, most of it has already been said.

I'll be honest, I've been dragging my feet to write this one. I find it so incredibly mid that I'm not even sure it's worth recommending. Alas, it's still slightly better than the last title fine and I give it a

Spoiler: Score

 

[Grogzilla]

Houkago, Bokura wa Uchuu ni Madou​

• Premise: A high school rocketry club member goes viral online after posting a vlog and people find out she's cute! But she might have someone she wants to call her cute instead...
  • I'll be honest, I really like this premise. So far nothing in the two chapters available have led me to believe this is going to be overly dramatic. I expect nothing but cute moments from this series.
  • I don't have anything specific to compare it to, but if you've read Pseudo Harem I would expect more of the same.
• Art: Saitou Yuu's artwork largely remains unchanged from the previously mentioned Pseudo Harem. However, I will say the one thing that I think has improved the most is character designs. They feel fun, fresh, and reflect the personality of the characters.
• Writing: Saitou Yuu has once again managed to capture the essence of what makes characters unique and quirky. So far not much has happened as far as the premise is concerned, but we have gotten a nice character introduction to three cast members. I expect pretty good writing from here on out.
• Scan Quality: @stupid_chris and the team over at Sho Habby Scans (you too [redacted]) always do such a good job, it's hard not to shout them out every chance I get.
• Bias: If you can't already tell, I absolutely loved Pseudo Harem so it's hard not to compare the two considering they belong to the same author. However, I think we're starting off on a stronger foot, and I can't wait to see this series blossom into what I know it can be.

With all this being said, I think it's only fair I give this brand new title a

Spoiler: Score

with the expectation that it only gets better with time.

 

[Grogzilla]

The Villain Wants to Live​

• Premise: A game designer gets transmigrated and now lives as the "evil" mid-boss in his game. His only mission: survive.
  • The premise isn't too overly engaging. We've seen this same old song and dance routine before.
  • Korean manhwa with this exact or similar premise are a dime a dozen. (Scroll through the Villainess tag, I dare you.)
• Art: Even if the art is good it still feels somewhat generic by manhwa standards. There's nothing that really makes it stand out amongst a sea of copies. Also, some of the characters feel too same-y in their design. But keep in mind it is still good.
• Writing: This is really the 'make it or break it' point for this manhwa. While the premise is over played I do think that the character choices and interactions are well thought out (with one exception, but that's a spoiler). One complaint I do have is that the author has introduced too many characters at once and you start to lose track of them.
• Scan Quality: Reaper Scans' stuff is okay. I think they need someone to properly proofread/quality control their releases because I've noticed a bunch of simple mistakes.
• Bias: I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of long strip titles in general. I think the format is just bad. However, I cannot count that against the author/artist and their work.

Despite not being great, I'll admit it is pretty good against my better judgement. This gets a

Spoiler: Score

 

[Grogzilla]

Akuyaku Reijou no o-Yome-sama​

• Premise: "Evil" queen-to-be gets banished, immediately meets wolf-girl wife.
  • The premise is interesting enough. I'm a big yuri fan, even bigger monster girl enjoyer. Love it when these two tags come together.
  • Finally a villainess manga that isn't an isekai or transmigration and is just good ol' fashioned fantasy.
  • Like my previous review, I think the villainess trope is becoming a dime a dozen these days. In broad strokes I would liken this title to something like Gal Maid & Villainess (also done by the same scan group). This one strikes me as a little more suggestive, but I think it's an apt comparison.
• Art: The art and characters are very good.
  • A high point is that characters are very expressive in this title. Even just by skimming the first chapter you can tell what characters are thinking and feeling.
  • Something I have not talked about in my other reviews is paneling. In this title, the balance is a little off. What I mean by that is some pages feel too cluttered while others feel too sparse. I think some of this was done intentionally to evoke this overwhelmed feeling to reflect our main character's emotions, but I think they toe the very thin line a little too much for my liking.
• Writing: It's hard to really get a sense of the author's direction right now with only one and a half chapters available. But from what I've read so far I think it's good.
  • Some lines are absolute bangers: "a strong sense of pride is another kind of beauty."
  • One choice I think is fantastic is making the lead a villainess. Not because she's evil or wicked, but she came to be like that as a by-product of her upbringing, her surroundings, and her naturally strong will. Despite it being in the title and having the tag, I don't actually think she's a villain, just a person who is deeply misunderstood.
• Scan Quality: Scienceyscans has done a pretty good job so far. No notes.
• Bias: I'm a sucker for monster girls and yuri, but that's just to get my foot in the door. I don't think I have any strong biases to work through this time around.

I realize I've yapped a lot for this title, probably more-so than any other title I've reviewed thus far. I think it's really good, and I give it a

Spoiler: Score

 

[Grogzilla]

YUNOREVIEW: March 2025​

Okay gang, the PNT carousel has given me way too many titles to review at once and I don't feel strongly about them to write about them. So my goal for this (and similar reviews) is to just give you a quick rundown of all the titles that were popular enough to get noticed, but I don't think deserve a full review.

• Boroboro no Elf-san wo Shiawase ni Suru Kusuriuri-san
  
  • This manga is an adaptation of the light novel that was an adaptation of the original webcomic. I really, really, liked the original webcomic this title is based on. Give it a read if you haven't done so already!
  • The paneling has greatly improved from the original. The art and story seem greatly unchanged through two chapters, but I do appreciate them taking a darker route and leaning in a bit more to the apothecary's backstory. Hopefully it gets fleshed out some more?
  • Score: Strong 8 (for now)
• Tokage (Hontou wa Shinryuu) wo Shoukan Shita Seijuu Tsukai, Ryuu no Senaka de Kaitaku Life
  
  • Mouthful of a title. If you've read any isekai whatsoever, this is the same old song and dance. The art's not even that great to make it stand out. The sky dragon's cool though.
  • Presented without context @umnin:
    
    • 
  • Rithar Scans has some issues, especially with whatever they did to chapter 1.1.
  • Score: Decent 5
• Yukizuriman's One Night Stand
  
  • Love monster girls, that's undeniable.
  • Spoiler: relevant meme

    
  • Hamita strikes again with an absolute nothing burger of a twicomi series. I just hope it doesn't end in eventual tragedy.
  • Score: Light 6
• Yarikonda Otome Game no Akuyaku Mob desu ga, Danzai wa Iya nanode Mattou ni Ikimasu
  
  • Another mouthful title, another isekai villain manga, another Japanese person bringing modern items to a fantasy land! Do you really expect me to believe this guy knows the chemical formula for conditioner?
  • Absolutely nothing special about this title.
  • Score: Strong 6
• Mujihina Akuyaku Kizoku ni Tensei shita boku wa Shouaku Mahou o kushi shite Mahou Sekai no Chouten ni tatsu ~Heroine nante inai to Akiramete itara Mukou kara katte ni Yottekimashita~
  
  • Genuinely what is with the length of these title names
  • Genuinely what is with isekai manga and reincarnating as a villain
  • Story's bland and uninteresting like the rest of them.
  • At least the art's better than the others?
  • Believe it or not, this was in PNT for exactly one day
  • Score: Light 6

Tran-sition

Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, and I'll see you next time