In a future Earth ravaged by radiation, the Northern Base is one of humanity's last bastions of survival—and that survival depends on keeping nonhuman life forms out at all costs.

Anzhe, a mushroom disguised as a human, knows that stepping foot in the Northern Base is risking instant extermination. But he has no choice: The humans have taken his spore, and he is instinctually driven by the need to reclaim it.

His mission depends on passing flawlessly as a human. While Anzhe is able to fool the Base's advanced technology, he's unlucky enough to have caught the keen eye of the handsome but merciless Judge—a man licensed to kill to keep the Northern Base safe from parasites, and invaders. Can Anzhe survive under the watch of those beautiful eyes?

Little Mushroom has a story by Yi Shi Si Zhou and art by kKen. English translation is done by Yu, amixy, with an adaptation by Lex Reno. Published by Seven Seas Entertainment (August 4, 2026).

Content Warning: violence, attempted sexual assault

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Come for the danmei, stay for the intricate worldbuilding and tense post-and-ongoing-apocalyptic drama. I can see why Little Mushroom made the jump from digital-only to fancy new hardcover with revised translation. Not all niche genres are easy to recommend to readers outside of their target audience, but I'm very comfortable in saying that fans of dark science fiction or post-apocalyptic fiction should absolutely pick up this two-volume series, because as of this first book, it is spectacular.

Set in a future where the earth is near-uninhabitable due to radiation and other man-made horrors, the plot follows a sentient mushroom who has taken on the form of a young man who died in the cave where he lives. Anzhe met An Ze (these names are not pronounced the same and are written using different characters; the glossary at the back explains it decently) after he'd become separated from his squadron of explorers. An Ze knew he was dying, and allowed Anzhe to take on his DNA and memories in order to become him, something Anzhe was keen to do in order to track down his lost spore, which was stolen by a different team of human explorers. Now disguised as An Ze, Anzhe infiltrates the Northern Base, one of two remaining human cities on the planet…and he has to take care not to be clocked as a mushroom/human hybrid, because one of the greatest threats to humanity is mutation into giant insects.

The love interest is Lu Feng, better known as the Judge for his ability to immediately spot aberrations and kill them…but Anzhe stumps him. Is it the instant attraction he feels for the mushroom man? Unlikely, since Lu Feng has no problem gunning down children if he has to. But he is fascinated by Anzhe, because he knows there's something off about him – he just can't figure out what it is, and tests show him to be fully human. Anzhe doesn't seem to feel much for Lu Feng at this point, but it also could simply be that he's still acclimating to being human; things like “eating” are still strange to him, and the entire 400-page book takes place over a single month. Assuming they both survive the next novel, he may come to understand what he's feeling.

But really, this takes a back seat to the world Yi Shi Si Zhou has created. Everything is explained in just the right amount of detail so that we get a good sense of where and when everything is taking place, as well as how humans have adapted to survive – and what that's cost them. The new illustrations by kKen are beautiful, as are the color images by Tamtam, and the whole book is in line with current publishing trends for gorgeous romantasy hardcovers. By all means, read this if you're a danmei fan, but also consider picking it up if you like good worldbuilding and a solid science fiction story.