The Fall 2020 Manga Guide

The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter

What's It About? 

Noir is the son of a minor noble with very little to his name other than a job offer–which is canceled before he can even start his first day. He does possess one rare trait, though: the magical ability to consult with a great sage, even if using the skill gives him terrible headaches. Unsure of what his future holds, he accesses the sage for advice on how to move forward and is directed to a secret dungeon filled with rare beasts and magical items. It is here that Noir will train, compiling experience and wealth, until he's powerful enough to change his fate.

The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter is based on the light novel of the same name by Meguru Seto. The manga is drawn by Tomoyuki Hino and Seven Seas Entertainment will release its first volume on November 17 both in print and on digital platforms for $12.99 and $10.99 respectively. Seven Seas Entertainment is also releasing the original light novels in English for $13.99 (print) and $10.99 (digital) per volume.

---

Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter manga: Just Like the Light Novel, With Extra Boobs!

That may not be strictly true, because there's a lot of time devoted to describing or thinking about the female characters' breasts in the light novel as well, but now with the manga you can see them. So if you enjoyed the novel but wished there were more illustrations of the girls with the camera firmly at chest height, this is the manga for you.

Unfortunately, the adaptation doesn't do anything to fix the issues with the story itself. Noir's get-out-of-jail-free card is that in order to use the awesome skills he inherited from the (sexy) 200-year-old adventurer Olivia Servant, he must raise his LP, which I assume stands for “life points;” it's never actually stated. And how does he raise his LP? By indulging in sexy times with the ladies (and the text explicitly states members of the opposite sex, so that may be bad news for LGBTQIA+ adventurers, not that I think the author was thinking about that), eating really tasty food, or spending huge wads of cash. Since Noir is in desperate need of cash, that one's out, and that also sort of precludes him getting a lot of fancy food, since that also requires money. So really, he has no choice but to take advantage of his (sexy) friend Emma's crush on him or to hold the (sexy) guild receptionist Lola to her word and make her flash her underwear at him. You wouldn't want him to die, would you?

If this boggles the mind a bit, what's even more baffling is that so many women let him get away with it. Something about Noir is apparently irresistible to Emma, Lola, Olivia, and even his little sister Alice, who at one point lets him snuggle with her lap for LP betterment. Emma at least went into this with her eyes wide open – she's the one who discovered that kisses could help him manage magic-induced headaches, which still feels a bit too easy, but at least it was her idea. And on the plus side as well is that with the exception of Lola and her underwear, everything is done with explicit consent. But it makes the book, which adapts roughly half of the light novel, feel like an excuse for Noir to get smooches and gropes rather than a fantasy story about exploring a secret dungeon. Again, if that's what you want, that's great. But if it isn't what you're looking for, the volume is a disappointment in storytelling terms, its paper-thin premise robbing the plot of any value it may have had.

---

Caitlin Moore

Rating:

You know, I've read a lot of manga in my twenty years of being a fan. Of what I read, I've loved many, liked many others, and disliked a few. Of all the hundreds of series I've sampled, I don't think I've outright hated any like I hate The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter.

Our hero, Noir, gains godlike powers from a chained-up girl in a diaphanous, see-through dress at the bottom of a hidden dungeon. To use these powers, she explains, he must expend “life points,” and if he uses them all up, he dies. Lucky for him, he can gain life points by fulfilling his desires through such acts as accomplishing goals, eating good food, and having physical contact with people he's attracted to. Basically, the more hedonistic he is, the more powerful he becomes.

Already, you can tell this isn't exactly a morality play, but it goes in pretty much the skeeziest direction possible. Noir doesn't spend time seeking out delicious gourmet food, or finding satisfaction in a hard day's work. Oh no, not at all. He goes out and macks on every girl he sees, and of course they're all perfectly receptive. His childhood friend Emma, who is introduced tits-first, is always ready to make out with him, and the girl at the adventurer's bureau is totally hot for him from the moment he humiliates her and forces her to apologize while exposing her underwear. They're little more than walking, talking blow-up dolls for Noir to stick his dick into. Not that he does, because for some reason, this isn't a porn even though it might as well be.

It doesn't even have nice art to halfway redeem it. Every panel is completely stiff and lifeless in a way that makes me suspect the artist just modeled everything in one of those three-dimensional posing reference programs and traced over it. The design work, from the world to the characters to the costumes, is generic and uninspired.

In a couple months, I'm sure I'll be writing a scathing review of the first episode of the anime adaptation. For now, I can't forget this garbage fast enough.