Chikyuu no Houkago

tl;dr: A manga with the interesting concept of slice of life type in a post-apocalyptic like setting that does very well with its slice of life aspects though is only decent in terms of its more serious story aspects. 

The best way I can think of to describe this would be a casual post-apocalyptic slice of life. I’ve seen stories that were a bit similar to this, but none that were as light hearted and just lite overall. While there is an overarching serious plot relating to the mystery of what’s going on, for the vast majority of the manga it is only provided as small hints and glimpses up until things finally get revealed in the end.

What the manga is primarily composed of instead, is just the cast living their lives in a relaxed manner. This is in part explained as the protagonist simply being very competent, though some extra explanation is provided later, but ultimately despite living in a world where civilization has disappeared, it’s really not much a crisis with the only danger they face generally being pretty mild.  Thus, the majority of the manga is simply a guy and group of girls having fun doing various things in a world without anyone else.

I think this is handled quite well, and results in a lot of small stories that are amusing, humorous, and quite comfy. There isn’t really any character development, but there is also solid relationship and friendship development and it feels like the cast have good chemistry, and thus they’re all pretty likable and easy to get invested in. The solution to the mystery was solid enough in that it seemed to wrap up everything that needed to be wrapped up so I would have to say I was satisfied with it, even if it had to force it at times and the finer sci-fi related details were nonsense.

The ending in terms of characters was also solid, but less so, in that while it had some good moments it felt like things didn’t really go anywhere long term. Still, I suppose that fits the running theme throughout the book, that the characters were in a sort of after school period where they could temporarily relax and have fun, but that they’d have to move on to doing what they have to do eventually. The art was solid in terms of design and framing, though a bit weak of quality, but it was used effectively enough that I still consider it really good. 

It was an excellent slice of life.

Story:
It focuses on 4 characters, seemingly left stranded alone on earth. Every other human being was taken by so-called “phantoms” who turned everyone into thin sheets of paper. That’s all you really to know to enjoy this manga. Had a moderate conclusion.

Art:
nice, but not outstanding. They put a lot of effort to the backgrounds which helps strengthen the idea they’ve been stranded on this post-apocalyptic earth where everything is overgrown with vines and grass. I mainly focused on the swimsuits the girls wore pretty much every chapter.

Characters:
the main character was a badass, the rest weren’t developed that well. I’d say around half the chapters dealt with the erotic idea that since there’s only one man left, theyll need to repopulate eventually. Sanae and Yaeko were there just for that cliche love triangle. But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it.

Enjoyment:
I really enjoyed it.

You have just become one of the last 4 survivors on Earth after the consistent attack of creatures we have called Phantoms have been slicing up people like deli meat, taking the bodies, and disappearing into thin air. What do you do in this post-apocalyptic world?

Let's take a look at our main characters actions. We get to read and watch them go exploring a world that's been slowly being taken over by nature once again, whether its them casually going through a flooded town, or building a hot tub on top of the building for some night time relaxation. Many of the chapters have a very melancholic feel to them, but they're not allowed to rest all the time. The threat of Phantoms still linger, and they're out to find the last survivors.

As for our characters themselves, we've got the 4 survivors which you'll be spending all of your time with, 1 boy and 3 girls. Each of them has some decent character development for the short 6 volumes this story tells. You're not going to get copious amounts of development from them, but each character is given a story to them.

The art is simple, nothing grandiose, but there's a lot of detail put into the backgrounds and making them look beautiful. There were plenty of scenes were I stopped and just appreciated the view of the world that they lived in. I will say though that the characters suffer from "Same-Face Syndrome." Luckily the characters are far and few between so it's not a problem, but if the characters weren't immediately identifiable by their hair then you'd probably have a hard time telling who is who.

Even though the manga is short, I really really enjoyed it. It gave me everything I wanted and left me feeling satisfied. Obviously I wish it was longer so I could see more of the world and what the author could do with it, but I'm happy with what we got. It's fun, it's relaxing, it's dramatic, it's mysterious.

Chikyuu no Houkago is a great read, and it doesn't ask you for much of your time, so if you want a quick but satisfying story to go through, this is an excellent choice and I highly recommend it.

(First review, hopefully it was good enough to interest some of you into checking out this great work!)

Personally i like any story (game/movie/manga/anime/literature) about pre or post apocalypse. That is why, after finishing yet another story, i decided to look for something new and found "Chikyuu no Houkago".

Synopsis looked interesting so i jumped in right away and even blitzed it in one go.(because i'm nuts :))
It was better than expected, but still it could have been so much better!

Story is pretty short and centers around 4 character. It's your average Harem setting, 1 strong guy and 3 girls. Girls pretty much do nothing but talk about boobs or how to seduce the guy or repopulate the world while this guy is doing everything except for what the girls WANT from him. From all 4 characters, the only male is the best developed character, but i found him pretty boring and simple (typical "good at everything/knows everything MC).
Character development is the weakest side of this manga, but you can feel some personalities in them and they won't annoy you (maybe). Author should have spent more time on character development rather than spamming word "boobs" and "breasts"...

Art - Impressive. backgrounds are very well done. Definitely the strongest side of this manga.

Story - 4 kids seem to be the only survivors on planet Earth after an unknown enemy called "phantoms" made the mankind disappear. The story is 80% about what the kids do on their own in an empty world and 20% about finding answers on very important questions, some action here and there, and actually doing something important in the story!

If this genre is not new to you, you will most likely guess how the story ends even before reading the half of the story.

Don't expect thrill or horror, don't expect huge plot twists; there are one or two disturbing moments and nudity (95% censored). It's an easy read, but i certainly enjoyed reading it and would recommend this manga to you too, BUT...

If you want something better, try these instead:
manga:
1) Gakkougurashi - for horror/mystery/action
2) Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou - Drama/good atmosphere/well developed characters