Is Rojica & Rakkasei Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read

Quick facts
Format	Manga (seinen)
Run	completed
Content	None significant
Where to read	Amazon Kindle — official

Overview

Rojica and her companion Rakka live on a planet that's clearly seen better days, though the manga never treats that as cause for alarm. Their days are filled with small adventures: digging a hole to kill time, finding a mysterious disc, wandering into a secret dungeon in the woods. Kinome's Rojica & Rakkasei runs with that premise for 25 chapters in Shinchosha's Kurage Bunch, starting in 2017, and later got an official English digital release.

What it does well

The manga's clearest strength is its tone. Most post-apocalyptic stories use a ruined world to generate dread or survival stakes; this one strips all of that out and treats the setting as a source of whimsy instead, which is a genuinely distinct choice that gives the whole book a different, more relaxed register than the genre usually offers. Rojica and Rakka's relationship carries that tone well — their companionship doesn't need a dramatic backstory or crisis to justify itself, it's just easy and warm from the start.

The episodic structure suits that approach, too. Each chapter's small adventure is self-contained, so you can enjoy the book's charm without needing to track a larger ongoing plot. And because the whole thing runs a short, complete length, it works well as a single-sitting or weekend read rather than a long-term commitment.

Where it falls short

The flip side of all that low-key charm is a real lack of tension or forward momentum, which will be a dealbreaker if you want a more plot-driven read. The worldbuilding behind the setting — what actually happened to this planet, what Rakka actually is — stays deliberately vague throughout, and that ambiguity won't satisfy readers who want concrete answers. Character development, similarly, happens gradually and subtly rather than through clear, dramatic arcs.

Verdict

Rojica & Rakkasei is a genuinely charming, low-stakes comedy that finds something unusual to do with a post-apocalyptic setting: treat it as whimsical rather than bleak. If you want a short, gentle read with real warmth and no urgency, this delivers. If you need your post-apocalyptic stories to carry real danger, this isn't that kind of book.