The Fall 2022 Manga Guide

The Executioner and Her Way of Life

What's It About? 

The Lost Ones are strangers from another world, hailing from a place no one has ever heard of called “Japan.” These wanderers have been associated with catastrophes since many years ago, and the solemn duty of exterminating them without remorse falls to Menou, a young Executioner. But when her mission is complicated by a Japanese girl named Akari who refuses to die, Menou embarks on a peculiar journey to find something that can slay even an immortal who insists on traveling with her would-be killer!

The Executioner and Her Way of Life is based on the light novel series by Mato Satō (story) and Nilitsu (art). The light novel inspired a television anime that premiered in April. The manga is drawn by Ryō Mitsuya, with English translation by Jenny McKeon and lettering by Elena Pizarro Lanzas, and Yen Press will release its first volume both digitally and physically on October 18.

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Is It Worth Reading?

MrAJCosplay

Rating:

The Executioner and Her Way of Life is interesting, because the first quarter of the book does a good job of subverting expectations. What starts out as a typical isekai story quickly gets turned on its head with dramatic flair, leaving me with a sense of shock and excitement as the story looks to be doing something completely different with the formula, almost like a dark subversion of the same garbage we've been fed for the past decade. But then…Executioner just becomes derivative in a completely different way. Once the point of view character changes, the nature of the story changes with it, exchanging all of its subversive potential for something that is far less interesting to follow.

I know it's unfair to judge Executioner by what it could have been rather than just appreciating it for what it is, but it is undeniably disappointing when a story almost promises one thing and then just sort of cops out on it. To be fair, Executioner does still retain its dark edge as its seemingly cold-hearted protagonist takes center stage with what looks to be an escort mission. But outside of a few drops of world-building, everything pretty much goes exactly the way you expect it to. I would say give this first volume a shot, but if you start losing interest after the first two chapters then you're better off checking out something else.

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Jean-Karlo Lemus

Rating:

If you're sick and tired of all the Potato-kuns and their overpowered “useless” abilities, Menou the pure and proper priestess has a solution to your isekai woes:

The Executioner and Her Way of Life already wowed me when I watched the anime earlier this year. The manga retains all of the charm and sharp wit, with a bit of a speedier pace to go: it doesn't get bogged down as much in its own worldbuilding. The threat of the highschoolers that get isekai'd into Menou's world is only briefly touched upon, but given how disastrous just two of the powers we've seen so far—Null and Time—we are left with a pretty good idea for why Menou and her peers resort to stabbing first, asking questions never. Akari is a fascinating character as well, being imbued with a power that has horrible ramifications but wholly unaware of it... or so it would seem.

These isekai adaptations tend to have pretty phenomenal art, so if you're someone who's already read the light novels and has already watched the anime this is a perfectly great way to tide you over for a potential second season. And if it is your first exposure to this story, the basic concept is great and the first volume ends on a fantastic cliffhanger. I would have liked further insight into Akari, who otherwise comes off as a bit too shallow in these opening chapters, but I feel like I can give a good, strong recommendation to this potato-mashing story.