In a world divided by power, Geniearth takes you on a high-stakes, sci-fi adventure where society is torn apart by a new genetic phenomenon. A gene has surfaced, granting one in every thousand people incredible abilities, and the “New Humans” – or “Geniuses” – declare themselves superior to “Old Humans.” Fuwa Masaru, a Genius, leads a violent uprising, sparking a brutal civil war that threatens to obliterate the planet. Amid the chaos, a mysterious “Old Human” with an enigmatic aura appears – potentially the only hope to end the conflict and save the world.

Geniearth has a story by and art by Rensuke Oshikiri. English translation is done by Motoko Tamamuro and Jonathan Clements, and lettering by Jezael Manahan. Published by Titan Manga (June 30, 2026).

Erica Friedman
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Tales about outsiders with exceptional abilities defeating those who would keep them down are not very original, but of course, that story can be told with an original spin. Unfortunately for Geniearth, this is not obviously apparent in the first volume. Instead, we meet a child, Kai, whose powers activate after days and days of physical and psychological violence against him by schoolmates. The revenge he takes is bloody. Kai and a friend, who insists he is normal, are nearly captured by the government, but are rescued by a girl in a wheelchair who runs a school for mutants. Let's be generous and call it an homage.

The primary problem here is that powers develop through significant abuse, which we'll have to watch, for them to watch the Geniearth take its revenge. It is absolutely meant to feel cathartic. And maybe you might feel that it is. For me, it is just another excuse for us to spend time watching the trauma of children as a plot device, the manga equivalent of fridging.

The art, likewise, has no emotional depth. Pudgy-faced kids beat up bullies and, presumably, protect each other while trying not to get caught by, or overthrow, a government that hates them. It's all been done before and kind of famously, so unless this story has something really unique to offer in future volumes, I don't see the point. Maybe future volumes will give this story a lift. I hope so.

Kevin Cormack
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Geniearth is basically the manga version of X-Men, but with really ugly-looking characters. The setup is identical: across the world, a new evolution of humanity is emerging, as one in a thousand people develop the X-gene – no, sorry, the Geniearth gene, making them mutants – no, sorry, “Geniuses”, with sometimes terrifying abilities. There isn't anything new about this concept, but that's not necessarily a problem if the writer manages to do something creative with it. In Geniearth's favor, it's certainly very… visceral, with some shocking violence, brief but potent moments of really grisly gore, and a bunch of truly nasty characters all kinds of messed up in the head. It's not exactly a pleasant read, but sometimes the cathartic application of violence on hateful bullies can really scratch a certain narrative itch, as it sometimes does here.

The problem is, most of the characters aren't particularly good people, and it's hard to root for any of them. Even the one kid who is victimized continually by others “brings it on himself” so he can utilize the bullies' bad karma to empower himself to beat them bloody and broken in return. The messaging here is mixed, and I'm not sure what author Oshikiri is trying to say, but it comes across as a little too close to offensive exploitation for my liking.

I'm only aware of Oshikiri through my exposure to the animated adaptation of his most famous manga, Hi Score Girl, which I adored. His wonky art style and stylized characters really suited the awkward adolescent whimsy of that title, but here they make the characters look so weird that they're ugly and off-putting. I don't think there's anything wrong with his competence as an artist – plenty of the action panels are fantastically well-drawn and easy to follow, so this is more of an issue: I don't vibe with his style at all. I can't see myself reading more; I struggled to get through this one volume.

Bolts
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Sometimes you just want to read some over-the-top and exaggerated violence. I'm convinced that's why some series like Baki are so popular, and if you like stories like that, then you're probably going to love this one too. Geniearth is an interesting story because, after reading the first volume, I still don't fully know what it's actually about. There seems to be this prevailing idea that there are unique humans out there who were born with the specific mutations that allow them to exist as superior beings compared to typical humans. So far, a lot of these mutations don't really seem to be similar, with one person being able to store up the violence that is dealt to him so he could release it on other people. In contrast, another person can morph his body into different animal parts for some reason. However, what a lot of these characters have in common is that they feel a calling from the Earth itself. If you're wondering what all this amounts to, I couldn't tell you, and I feel like that's not really the point.

The early chapters seem to focus on a different character, showcasing some of their abilities in a gruesome display. Then many of these characters start crossing paths, building up to a larger confrontation towards the end of the book. The explanation for much of how these abilities work, or even how some of these characters get away with the sheer violence they commit, doesn't really make sense under scrutiny, but I don't think it matters. The point of reading this is to see muscular cartoon characters contour their bodies in ways that don't make sense under any modern-day understanding of how the body works, to completely decimate other characters in creative ways.

There is one frame in this book where a character gets punched so hard that their skull gets obliterated in excruciating detail. The choreography and the way the characters move feel so messy and primal, but kind of in a rewarding way. I found myself constantly surprised by just how over-the-top these characters made something as simple as a kick or punch. This is definitely not my type of story, but even I was impressed by just how far outside the box the artist was thinking when it came to highlighting the different ways some of the most evil people I've ever seen on paper could be brutally maimed. This is not a story that is for the squeamish or faint of heart. This is the kind of story that you read when you just want to let loose and revel in some violence, which I do think is healthy to partake in from time to time, depending on your sensibilities. If you're somebody who likes stories that are all about that self-indulgence, then please pick this up because it has that in spades.