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You know, there aren't enough manga about Christmas.
Not that I know every manga that's out there, but I can't really think of any long-running series that are specifically about Christmas. There might be Christmas arcs or the occasional reference to selling "Christmas cakes" as a seasonal job, but I really can only think of one specifically Christmas manga: Black Night Parade.
Hino Miharu is a convenience store worker at the end of his rope. He can't get into college. He hates his job. He absolutely hates his slacker co-worker. So when the opportunity to escape it all presents itself, he takes it—all the way to the North Pole. But it's not Santa who's giving him the immense salary, it's Knecht, a faceless, black-suited version of Kris Kringle whose job it is to deliver disappointment to bad children around the world. And since Miharu's had a shit life, he knows exactly all the ways to ruin Christmases.
What starts out as an exploration of a quirky alternate Christmas organization turns serious as Miharu gets deeper and deeper into the history of both the sinister Santa Claus House as well as his own family that already has ties to Knecht. Playful holiday fun runs alongside creepy Yuletide conspiracy in a manga that puts an unfamiliar, action-packed spin on Christmas. It was made into a live-action movie too!
Black Night Parade is available in print volumes, but also digitally (that's where I've been reading it).
Check back tomorrow for even more Heistmas Advent Calendar Goodies!
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