Kara Dennison
November 12, 2024 
This month, Kodansha is releasing Volume 1 of Shimazaki in the Land of Peace in English. The series hails from Umigami author Gouten Hamada and Invincible artist Takeshi Seshimo. And fans of series like The Fable and Sakamoto Days may want to give it a look. Because if you’ve got an itch for stories about assassins trying to live their best life, this will scratch it.
Join us for a look at what makes this story great in its introductory volume. And be sure to pick it up when it goes on sale later this month!
The Story
Shimazaki in the Land of Peace stars Shingo Shimazaki, a seemingly normal guy who’s just a little bad with kanji. He likes to draw. He wants a job. Oh, and he was kidnapped as a child and inducted into the terrorist organization LEL. Now, he’s free of them. And all he wants is a normal life.
Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. While Shimazaki does get a job at the café Lupaso and assists a manga artist, the rest of his life isn’t so easy. After he chooses to take revenge on a gang that assaulted a fellow manga assistant, there’s a brand new target on his back. And sometimes, LEL influences creep into his life in unexpected ways.
The Art
Takeshi Seshimo’s art of Shimazaki in the Land of Peace strikes an admirable balance between action-packed and laid-back… just like the story. Shimazaki is just a normal-looking dude (although we think he looks a bit like Mads Mikkelsen from some angles). And the world around him, and the art used to depict it, is equally normal-looking. This fairly grounded art works well with both Shimazaki’s pleasant day-to-day and his more violent encounters. Both feel equally at home here.
What we especially like is that Shimazaki as a character has lots of artistic flexibility. He can look hard-boiled and aggressive, but he’s also very sweet. When he receives a compliment or is doing something he enjoys, he looks absolutely adorable. He’s not a killer with hidden sweetness or a normal guy with hidden aggression; he’s a single, great, multifaceted character.
The Vibe
Balancing action-packed fights and slice-of-life story can be difficult. But when it’s done well, it’s amazing. Stories like the aforementioned The Fable and Sakamoto Days, as well as SPY x FAMILY and Kill Blue, are masters of this. And so is Shimazaki in the Land of Peace.
What starts as a story about a little old lady sharing baked goods turns into a reflection on revenge and trauma. A story about the tense return of a violent gang flips instead to be about finding your place in a new work environment. And, regularly, we get glimpses of international cuisine Shimazaki has learned to make during his life. It’s a story that fully inhabits both of its genres, blending them seamlessly together into a story about a man—and a world around him—that craves peace and understanding.
