Goldfisch 01

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

*Thanks to Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a review

Goldfisch has some similarities to other shonen manga I've read and anime I've watched but that does not make it any less creative or interesting. I wasn't really sure if I would like it at first because the first chapter jumped into things pretty quickly and I wasn't sure if I would like the character's personalities, but that feeling wore off very quickly.

The main character Morrey Gibbs is a very sweet kid who still seems a bit new in his King Midas everything-I-touch-turns-into-gold situation which is not working out in his favor for multiple different reasons ranging from not being able to feed show more himself or dress himself without his otter friends help to aspects of the story that are very spoilery in nature. I really appreciated his role as the protagonist because he is very innocent, regrets the mistakes he makes and actively works to fix them. I also really loved his reasoning behind wanting to get rid of his Midas's touch and how he isn't completely driven, as some adventure driven manga are, by wanting to be the best or achieve his goals solely for himself. His character developed itself very well even in just the first volume and I already feel like I know who he is as a person pretty well. With that being said, he isn't the smartest character and makes some mistakes and poor choices that could have been easily avoided.

I also really liked most of the other characters. Shelly is the only one I didn't really care for because she seems to care less about Morrey as a person and a kid than she does about what he can do for her research when they first met. She did grow on me quite a lot by the end though she still isn't my favorite type of character in general and can be kind of judgemental.

Without giving too much away regarding the plot, Morrey is being chased by a very shady group of bounty hunters because they think he has something they want, largely because of his Midas's touch. I think that all of the different plot points are tying together very well too especially some of the mystery surrounding his father and his brother which both seem like they'll shape up to be very important even beyond what has already been shown. Apart from Shelly there wasn't anything I particularly disliked about it and I am very much looking forward to reading the next volume when it's published in English!

Check out this link (https://www.tokyopop.com/goldfisch/) to read the first chapter of the book and for a short interview with the author. This review is also posted on my blog https://themusingsofabookaholic.wordpress.com/2018/01/19/goldfisch-by-nana-yaa/ show less

I love shonen. It’s probably my absolute favorite genre of manga. So when I received a copy of a newly translated shonen manga I jumped on it. Goldfisch by Nana Yaa is a great action story set in a slightly dystopian world with endearing characters.

Goldfisch is a story about Morrey, a young boy who has the ability to turn whatever he touches into gold. Of course, this is more of a curse than anything else, leaving Morrey unable to do much without his otter friend to help him. Together with Shelly, a new friend and inventor, Morrey sets off to break this curse. With bounty hunters hot on his trail, Morrey and Shelly must navigate their flooded, ruined world overrun with mutated creatures in order to turn Morrey back to normal once and show more for all.

The world the story is set in is an interesting one. There is something dark in this world’s past, something that is hinted at but not explicitly stated, at least not yet. Much of the world is flooded, but the water can’t be swam in for fear of contamination. Great beasts changed by this water attack indiscriminately, protecting their lairs from all who dare trespass. People have also been changed, either through a lack of immunity to the water or else seemingly born with special powers, such as the healing abilities certain characters exhibit. It is clear that something happened, something catastrophic, but not what.

Morrey is a great character. He’s enthusiastic, friendly, but sometimes doesn’t think things through. Behind his smiles is a past that isn’t quite as care-free as we might think. The nature behind his powers, the mistakes he’s made, and the knowledge that all might not be as it seemed with people Morrey trusted all come to light.

A rather lighthearted, fun story begins to get darker as the story continues. Bounty hunters are searching for Morrey, and getting rid of his Midas Touch curse is proving to be much more complex than either Morrey or his friends suspected.

The art in Goldfisch was fantastic. The colored pages included at the start of the volume are gorgeous. Plenty of fun, wonderful moments are included. My favorite example is a moment when Morrey physically tears through the page to voice his displeasure at something Shelly says.

A wide range of myth and legends are incorporated Goldfisch. The most obvious is the story of King Midas who turned everything he touched to gold. Plenty of the monsters are simply that – regular creatures that have been somehow changed by the water. Others are based on creatures from myth. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so terrified by a water nymph, of all things. I always like references to mythology and seeing myth used in new ways, and this manga certainly delivered.

The only gripes I have are with the English translation of Goldfisch by TokyoPop. If you are familiar with TokyoPop’s older titles you will most likely know exactly what I’m talking about. These are the lazy, generally completely avoidable mistakes that have always plagued their releases. ‘Fail day’ isn’t localized, making the dialogue feel awkward. Morrey is misspelled in one place, only having one r while there are two everywhere else. On is misspelled as one in another place. However, this is hardly a fault on the mangaka, but must be addressed nonetheless.

I really, really loved Goldfisch Vol. 1 by Nana Yaa. This is a series I will absolutely be continuing with, and one I hope you will read as well. If you like shonen you will love this manga.

I received a copy of this manga from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review and more can be found on Looking Glass Reads. show less

In a fantastical world where chemical-laden waters are mutating any living creature that steps into them, a young boy miraculously can freely swim in the waters *and* gains the ability to turn anything into gold with a simple touch.

This book was really not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate the work the author did with world building. However, neither fantasy nor manga are my preferred types of books, so I'm not going to pursue this series, even though the main storyline is interesting enough. The three main characters are also intriguing, although I felt like it took most of this title to get to that point -- before that there was too little information about each character to make any at all well-rounded or compelling. I also think show more this book would benefit from full-color illustrations to make the action on each page clearer and so that the main character's Midas Touch could be revealed visibly rather than through clunky text work. show less