is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by Masahiro Totsuka. It was serialized in

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

's manga magazine ''

Monthly Shōnen Gangan is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company merged with Square to form Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in t ...

'' from 2002 to 2007, followed by chapters and a short series subtitled ''Saikō Shōnen'', published from 2007 to 2008. A prequel series by Kimitake Yoshioka, titled ''Material Puzzle: Zero Kreuz'', was serialized in ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' and ''

Gangan Online is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company merged with Square to form Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in t ...

'' from 2008 to 2009. Nine years after the original series' finale, Totsuka started another series, titled ''Material Puzzle: Kaminaki Sekai no Mahoutsukai'', in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

's manga magazine ', which ran from 2018 to 2022.

Plot

Set in a fictional world where

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

is used, Mikaze is sent by the two elders of his village to ask the 3 great immortal magicians to help his village from being overtaken by a large

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

called the Yamakuidake (Mountain eating Mushroom). So he starts his quest and climbs up the mountain that the Three Magicians live on to ask, but upon meeting the 3 Magicians, he learns that the other two are gone and he is left with Aqua, a young girl who uses candy as a wand. Eventually, they agree: she will go and help his village as long as he brings her back safe and sound to the mountain afterwards. The only problem is that, as a sign of their agreement, he has to wear a mask until the agreement is fulfilled.

Publication

Written and illustrated by , ''Material Puzzle'' started in

's manga magazine ''

'' on January 12, 2002. The main series finished on June 12, 2007. A story started on August 11, 2007, and finished on March 12, 2008. A four-chapter story, titled , was published in the same magazine from June 12 to September 12, 2008. Square Enix collected the ''Material Puzzle'' chapters in 20 volumes, released from June 22, 2002, to September 22, 2007, and the ''Material Puzzle: Saikō Shōnen'' chapters were collected in two volumes, released from September 22, 2008, to February 21, 2009. In 2018,

started re-releasing the manga volumes in a new edition as

ebook An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...

s, which were numbered 1–22. A prequel manga by , titled , started in ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' on October 11, 2008. The series was later moved to ''

'' in 2009 and finished on March 22, 2012. Square Enix collected its chapters in nine volumes, released from September 22, 2008, to May 22, 2012. In 2018, Kodansha republished the series in 10 ebooks. Nine years after the original series finale, Totsuka published a chapter in

's manga magazine ' on January 22, 2018, and another series, titled , started in the same magazine on May 22 of that same year. The magazine ceased print publication and move to a digital release starting on August 4, 2022. The series finished on December 22 of that same year. Kodansha collected its chapters in ten volumes, released from February 22, 2019, to February 21, 2023.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Morning Two Fantasy anime and manga Gangan Comics manga Kodansha manga Seinen manga Shōnen manga

Plot

Publication

Notes

References

Further reading

External links