While we're all taught not to judge books by their covers and accordingly read reviews and ask around to gauge the values of the stories they tell, it's hard to deny that an eye-catching, unique cover plays a big role in increasing interest in a book on a store shelf. KT certainly thinks so, and KT's blog, Yoi Comic ("Good Comics"), has gained the attention of book designers in Japan for its reviews of the binding, cover, and backs of manga. It's also named the best-designed manga of the year every March since 2009. On March 22, KT unveiled the best-designed manga of 2015.





KT's choice for the top prize is The Black Museum: Ghost & Lady, a fantastical romance about Florence Nightingale by Kazuhiro Fujita of Ushio and Tora fame. In keeping with the 19th-century British theme, the manga is designed in the style of an old Western book, with elegant gold leaf. KT also appreciates how the first volume spotlights the Ghost, with a corresponding "G" on the back, while the second volume highlights the Lady, with an "L" on the back.

Second, KT chooses Mimori's manga adaptation of Megumi Hatakenaka's Yaoyorozu ("Eight Million," referring to the numerous gods in the Shintō faith), a fantasy-romance set in the Edo Era. The cover is arranged in two stacks, with a gate, characters, a fox mask, and flowers on the right and various text (the title in different scripts, author, artist, excerpts from the novel, a synopsis, and even English translations) on the left. KT finds the stacks well-balanced and the overall effect unique.

Blame! by Tsutomu Nihei (Knights of Sidonia) takes third place. KT enjoys the stark color scheme (pretty much just white, black, and red), the detailed illustrations, and nice touches like the font selection (which recalls the logo for East Asian Heavy Industries, a fictional company from Nihei's works) and the way the image is duplicated from different angles on the back and sleeve.

Here are KT's other choices, up to number 10.



4. Dungeon Meshi ("Dungeon Food"), Ryōko Kui

5. Onisan, Dochira ("An Ogre, Who?"), Ine Arinaga

6. Gyōseki no Kuni 4 ("Jewel Country"), Haruko Ichikawa

7. Yoku-Oni 1 ("Lustful Ogre"), Mitabi Irohara

8. Sandaime Kusuriya Kyūbee ("Third Generation Pharmacy Kyūbei"), Yōko Nemu

9. Akitsu 2, Daisuke Muroi

10. Hakuba no Chronicle 6, Masami Yūki

KT examined manga published between December 2014 and November 2015. Excerpts from KT's blog were published in 2015 as Yoi Comic Design ("Good Comic Design").

[Via Kai-You and Yoi Comic]