Kara Dennison
June 2, 2025 
Looking for more monster-fighting manga with the scope of Kaiju No. 8 or Attack on Titan? Viz has just started simulpubbing a series you might enjoy! Snowball Earth is now available in print, digital, and on the Viz app. And to get you started, there are five whole volumes ready to read!
Who are Tetsuo and Yukio? What happened to Earth while they were away? And what makes this story’s kaiju so special? Read on for a first look at this frosty new series!
The Not-Too-Distant Future
Snowball Earth takes place in an alternate timeline where humans fight for their life against kaiju. Leading the charge is Tetsuo, the so-called “savior” of humanity. He devotes his whole life to getting stronger and fighting in his cool robot, Yukio. But this hyperfocus has stunted his social skills. And deep down, all he really wants is to make a friend. Well, a friend other than Yukio.
Little does he know, but he’ll have plenty of opportunities to build his social skills. After waking from cold sleep eight years after a deadly kaiju attack, Tetsuo returns to earth to find it changed. The whole world is frozen! Now, humanity fights to survive in this deep freeze, hunting kaiju for supplies.
The Battle Rages On
Of course, the battle is just beginning. As Snowball Earth progresses, we discover that the Big Freeze was the doing of the kaiju themselves. In this new society, some humans have forged mental connections with kaiju. While these are mostly for battle, at least one kaiju—the birdlike Land of Men—lives in harmony with humanity. Tetsuo begins to find his place in this new world, making new friends and fighting monsters with Yukio.
But the threat still lingers. A certain cadre of humans is anything but friendly with their fellow survivors. Some kaiju seem to have developed a human-like intelligence, furthering their plan to overthrow humanity. And Yukio, Tetsuo’s AI mecha friend, is hiding a sad secret from his pilot.
Join the Fray
With a fanbase including the likes of Hideaki Anno and Hideo Kojima, Snowball Earth is clearly doing something right. Besides the epic battles and cool art, we especially like the interrogation of the “young hero” stock character. What happens when your one and only duty is to protect humanity? Other parts of your life will suffer, as they have for Tetsuo. He may be a force to be reckoned with in combat, but he can barely make conversation. The fights are great; but seeing Tetsuo get to be a normal guy in between fights is really rewarding.
At present, Viz is filling a backlog between the released volumes and the simulpubbed chapters. You can read all the way up to chapter 25, after which three more volumes will need to be backfilled. Or you can speed straight ahead to the simulpubs and stay on track! Either way, it’s an exciting new addition to your manga reading list.
Snowball Earth is now available from Viz.
