Yui Sakuma, the manga artist known for imaginative adaptations and a knack for atmospheric storytelling, is returning with a brand-new series titled Watashi-tachi ga Mita Mono wa (What We Saw). Announced in the April issue of Be Love, the new work is billed as a "countryside horror" set in 2010 and promises a color opening page when it debuts in the magazine's next issue on April 1. For fans of slow-burning, uncanny mystery and emotional resonance, Sakuma's latest looks poised to deliver both dread and human drama.
What to expect from Watashi-tachi ga Mita Mono wa
Be Love describes Sakuma's new manga as a rural horror tale unfolding in a small town of an unspecified N-prefecture. Set in 2010, the story centers on a string of strange incidents that residents interpret as either a curse or mere misfortune. The combination of recent-past setting and localized folklore hints at a narrative that will explore how communal memory, superstition, and private grief interact when unexplained events begin to accumulate.
Atmosphere, pacing, and the promise of color
Sakuma's choice to include a color opening page is significant: in a genre that relies on mood, an opening splash can immediately set tone and give readers a striking visual foothold. Expect careful framing, muted rural palettes, and close attention to environmental detail—fog-obscured fields, empty schoolyards, and the kind of quiet domestic spaces that suddenly feel wrong. The 2010 setting also allows for subtle period touches (flip phones, early social media dynamics) that can deepen the feeling of a community on the cusp between analog trust and digital rumor.
Yui Sakuma’s recent track record: adaptations and finishes
Readers familiar with Sakuma's work will recall her varied projects across genres and formats. She adapted the puppet-based action series Thunderbolt Fantasy: Tōriken Kōki into a manga, which ran in Morning from July 2016 until April 2017 and was collected into four volumes; the English omnibus release was handled by Seven Seas Entertainment. More recently, Sakuma illustrated the manga adaptation of Shusui Hazuki's light novel series Reincarnation of the Unrivalled Time Mage: The Underachiever at the Magic Academy Turns Out to Be the Strongest Mage Who Controls Time!, which launched on Square Enix's Gangan Online in October 2020 and concluded with its sixth volume in June 2024. Square Enix's Manga UP! Global made that adaptation available in English.
What Sakuma’s previous projects suggest about her approach
Across these adaptations, Sakuma has demonstrated an ability to balance spectacle with character-driven moments. Her Thunderbolt Fantasy manga translated dynamic staged action into effective panel choreography, while her work on a time-mage adaptation revealed a facility for worldbuilding and emotional stakes. With a horror story rooted in rural mystery, we can anticipate Sakuma leaning into subtle, character-led suspense rather than overt gore—focusing on how fear fractures relationships and reshapes small-town life.
Why a countryside horror in 2010 matters
Setting a horror story in 2010 gives the series a very particular social texture. This was a moment when mobile internet and social platforms were changing how information — and rumor — spread across communities. For a tale about curses or misfortune, that context offers fertile ground: digital traces of local incidents, chains of messages that exaggerate or redact, and the uneasy interplay between eyewitness testimony and evidence. A rural setting also invites exploration of generational divides, migration from villages to cities, and the loneliness that can make a town vulnerable to its own legends.
The cultural resonance of "curse vs. misfortune"
The announcement frames the incidents in the town as possibly a “curse” or simply “misfortune” — a duality that many Japanese horror narratives exploit to examine how communities assign blame and meaning. Sakuma can use that tension to probe deeper themes: how grief is ritualized, how scapegoating works, and how everyday tragedies are reframed into myth. That thematic richness suggests the series could appeal to readers who enjoy psychological and social horror as much as supernatural chills.
How early readers and long-time fans might react
For longtime followers of Sakuma, Watashi-tachi ga Mita Mono wa represents an opportunity to see her tackle mood-driven storytelling in an original (rather than adapted) context. The color opening will likely draw attention, but the sustained interest will depend on character nuance and the slow reveal of the town’s mysteries. New readers drawn to rural horror—fans of series that emphasize creeping dread over jump scares—may find this an excellent entry point into Sakuma’s broader work.
Where to follow release updates
The series will appear in the next issue of Be Love on April 1. For international readers, watch for licensing announcements and English serialization options from publishers that have handled Sakuma’s past titles. For example, Seven Seas Entertainment has released Sakuma’s earlier manga work in English, and Square Enix’s Manga UP! Global was the English home for her most recent serialized adaptation. You can check Be Love’s official site for magazine details and issue schedules. Be Love (official) | Seven Seas Entertainment (publisher)
What to watch for in the first chapters
When the series begins, keep an eye on:
- How Sakuma establishes the town’s atmosphere in the opening color page.
- Whether the narrative centers one protagonist as an investigator or takes an ensemble approach through multiple townspeople.
- How the story uses the 2010 setting for plot devices (phones, forums, local news) and thematic resonance.
- Gradual hints that push the incidents from “misfortune” to something more uncanny, or conversely, how rational explanations complicate belief in curses.
Final thoughts
Watashi-tachi ga Mita Mono wa looks like an intriguing next step for Yui Sakuma: a return to original serialized storytelling with the tools she’s honed across adaptations—strong pacing, clear characterization, and a cinematic sense of composition. By placing the narrative in a 2010 rural setting and branding it as countryside horror, Sakuma has signaled a focus on atmosphere, communal psychology, and the uneasy boundary between superstition and reality. Keep an eye out for the April 1 issue of Be Love to see if the first chapter lives up to the promise of its color opening and unsettling premise.
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