Dogsred

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This manga has the potential to do for ice hockey what Slam Dunk did for basketball and Haikyuu did for volleyball. It employs a familiar zero to hero arc but it executes it with the confidence of a supreme figure skater going into a triple axel. It contains humorous beats without dumbing down the relate-ability and humanity of the characters and employs a steady pace magnifying the world, the characters and the intricacies of the sport for those unfamiliar.

First praise I give is to the art style, which I characterise as clean and shows both the fluidity of skating and the brutality of the contact ... in hockey. I don’t need A level art in my sports series but whenever I read something that can convey the speed and the hustling nature of competition a series is better served for it. Of course without a deep knowledge of the game the art can only score a series up to a few points. Fortunately in the action presented so far the mangaka has proven their knowledge and done so without burdening anyone not familiar with the game.

In Rou we have a fantastic protagonist, who follows in the footsteps of similar prodigious idiots, but has enough personality to distinguish himself. His background makes the journey into ice hockey more believable with the moves he is able to pull off. We have conflict set up with his family and teammates and we have a good idea where the series is going.

With all these aspects combined, Dogsred is a must read. It packs action and humour and pathos into a well structured story and scores nines to tens across the board as the best new sports series to hit the shelves.

I was thinking about Golden Kamuy the other day. I really loved the manga. The plot, the great cast of characters, the history and the artwork! Everything was amazing and it made me wonder what Noda Satoru was up to, since I knew he was working on a new series. That's how I discovered Dogsred. A sports manga about hockey.

As a Canadian, I've grown up around hockey. While I've never been rich enough to actually play it, I've played road hockey and watched the NHL both on TV and at the arena. But a hockey manga? I didn't know if I wanted to read ... it. Even though I grew up with hockey, my feelings towards it has waned throughout the years, to the point that I no longer watch it. I don't think a hockey manga would do anything for me, but Noda hasn't failed me yet so I took a chance and read it.

By chapter 23, I stopped and came here because I'm angry. I hate how much I've been sucked in by another sports manga. I don't really read much sports manga or watch sports anime, but when I do I get sucked in and Dogsred is no different. Actually, no, it's a classic sports manga set up but the characters and the situations we find them in is classic Noda. Chapter 23 was possibly one of the most epic chapters that I've ever read. Not just in a sports manga, but in life. It's that amazing.

And it's only the first day of training. If it's that hardcore now, what is going to happen in the future?

I love this. I'm already hooked and I want more. If you've been wanting a Golden Kamuy fix, try this. If you want a sports manga fix, try this. If you just want to see the epicness of chapter 23, try this!

Just try it, because I've been having a smile on my face since the first chapter and it hasn't gone down yet. So I'm going to go back and catch up to see what happens next.