REVIEW: Animal Crossing New Horizons: Deserted Island Diary (manga, vol. 1) story and art by Kokonasu Rumba, translated by Caleb Cook

Animal Crossing New Horizons: Deserted Island Diary is a humorous manga based on the Animal Crossing: New Horizons game. I checked my copy out via interlibrary loan.

Review:

Four characters - Corouyuki, who loves fish, Benben, who's constantly reading the dictionary, Himepoyo, a spoiled young lady who's used to getting others to do everything for her, and Guchan, who's always sleeping and talks via snot bubbles - move to one of Tom Nook's deserted islands. They were expecting a proper vacation near actual civilization, but they soon adapt to their situation, learn what sorts of things they can do on the island, enjoy island life, and just generally drive Tom Nook crazy.

I have a Nintendo Switch Lite and Animal Crossing: New Horizons now

And wow, is it addictive. I didn't research the game much at all before getting it (I already knew enough about the Animal Crossing franchise to know it was probably my kind of thing), so the real-time aspect took me by surprise. It's kind of nice that the game was literally built to have a slower pace, though. Oh, and another thing that took me by surprise: wasps (so many wasps) and tarantulas (OMG). After my poor avatar passed out for the third or fourth time, I looked up whether that has any negative effects, and it seems like it doesn't. Thank goodness.

I played until way too late last night and managed to pay off the first bit of debt and acquire new debt. But at least I have a tiny house (with storage!), a bunch of flimsy tools, and the ability to cross the river now. I haven't actually crossed the river yet, but I hope to do it during my lunch break today.