Destroy All Humankind. They Can’t Be Regenerated. is not only a Magic: The Gathering manga done in the style of Yu-Gi-Oh! in terms of complexity and interactive fighting scenes but is one hell of a romantic comedy.
It’s obvious that the manga was written by a Magic: The Gathering fan who was knowledgeable of popular terminology and the game’s history. Luckily, this highly proprietary content is presented in such a way that it doesn’t negatively affect the reading experience for readers who are unfamiliar with Magic, as the manga goes through great lengths to subtly explain things in detail without ruining the plot or tempo of the story.
For example, when an otaku named Hajime and his popular friend Sawatari are trading some of their new MTG cards, Sawatari tries getting one of Hajime’s valuable cards by pawning off one of her own that wasn’t remarkable at the time, City of Traitors. Of course, Hajime realizes that she’s trying to pull a fast one on him and flat-out refuses. But then the narrator proves he shouldn’t have been so hasty, saying, “The card would go on to jump in price and become the highest-value card in Exodus. But back then, nobody knew how much it was truly worth.” Of course, the manga also keeps card matches interesting when they would otherwise be boring by making it appear as though the cards are coming to life and attacking each other and the players.
But what truly drives the story forward isn’t some supernatural insanity like in Yu-Gi-Oh! Instead, it’s the relationship between Hajime and Sawatari, two characters who couldn’t be any more different but are, at the same time, also alike. Of course, they started out not caring for one another. Hajime was always the number-one student until Sawatari transferred to his school so there’s resentment there, and Sawatari always made fun of Hajime for wasting his time playing a stupid, childish game like Magic: The Gathering.
But things get spicy when Hajime decides to shake things up by going to a trading card store out of town and, naturally, finds that Sawatari not only frequents there but is renowned for being the best Magic: The Gathering player. It doesn’t take long before the two become reluctant friends. And from that point on, the manga follows the two as they face various obstacles in their friendship, from Sawatari not wanting anyone at school to know about her love of Magic so she can maintain her perfect facade, to Hajime always getting beaten by Sawatari. But soon that friendship begins to grow into something more, a change that neither of them dare to admit, which creates a host of other problems.
Destroy All Humankind. They Can’t Be Regenerated. is essentially a version of the manga Yu-Gi-Oh! for more mature audiences. It’s for those who crave and love to nerd out to all things Magic The Gathering, but don’t want to deal with the more supernatural elements and would rather read a sweet comic book romance.
