To anyone who wants to keep up with this unique series, follow the link:

https://global.bookwalker.jp/series/89218/pumpkin-scissors/

Kodansha has officially translated Pumpkin Scissors from volume 1 all the way to volume 23, which as far as I know is up to date with Japan. They are all available digitally in the link above.

My review:
It was back in 2006, when I first laid eyes on this series by way of its anime version.
24 delicious episodes made by Studio Gonzo, back in its heyday.
I instantly fell in love with it.

Now 15 years on, there's still nothing else like it, and I'm still loving it.
The closest I've found are probably Golden Kamuy and Gunka no Baltzar - both great series in their own right.
(In some ways it reminds me also of Ghost in the Shell, in that the main characters are part of a government Section solving problems, and there are other Sections and factions that they sometimes fight with/against.
Its all very cool.)

20th century military political drama thriller - there's never enough of this genre in the manga/anime scene and I have such a soft spot for them.

The story may appear simple at first glance to some, but there's actually a lot of depth and thought put into them. The author manages to show mature, complex issues in a smooth, easy to digest and fun manner. He depicts dark topics without being overly disturbing and without going for cheap thrills. A good story should not be overly convoluted (get off your high horse, nozomiEX) - it should be intelligent yet simple enough for readers to comprehend, without treating readers like children, but the message must be clear, and the author has managed to convey them in spades for every chapter with excellent use of characters, drama and show of morals. As I said, it may look simple, but only because it was executed at such a high level that you don't notice the quality. The stories simply flow smooth like butter.

Many people have commented that the anime is far inferior to the manga. Though I do think nothing beats the source material, I thought the anime was pretty good. The animation and direction were well above average and very true to the manga. The opening theme "Aoki Flamme" by Yoko Takahashi still haunts me to this day. The scene where Hans the flammenwerfer dude in a diving suit, burning mercilessly two hapless spec ops members (because burning people "warms his cold heart a bit" ) remains one of the coolest, well-crafted anime scenes I have ever seen. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvCFXgjf3Jc

Its a damn shame they never continued the anime because, as AValentin mentioned below, the overarching plot was just warming up.

Monthly series are a pain to wait for their next chapters, especially their next volumes, but to those new to this series, lucky you - there's already 23 fully translated, 200-page volumes at BOOK☆WALKER.
Knock yourselves out.

... Last updated on February 16th, 2021, 7:17am

couldnt find any news of this having a new update anywhere

You can't separate war from tragedy, where one goes the other is sure to follow. That is the theme of Pumpkin Scissors.

Note: Im a fan of war mangas like Groundless, Gunka no Baltzar and Alderamin in the Sky (all of which are serious war manga) so I may have slight biases towards the genre.

It's 2020 and if you're thinking about reading this manga, I highly suggest you do. It has 23 volumes so far but imo, they've outdone themselves after each one (it just gets better the longer the series go). Don't even consider nozomiEX's review, it's extremely outdated (making a review after reading only 9+ out of 122 chapters). I have to admit though, the first few volumes and chapters were a little light. The series' plot haven't matured yet. Nonetheless, I think the first few chapters did an excellent job of setting up for the rest of the series. It starts of easy, which I strongly believe is a good way of introducing the key characters and the world setting that make the world of Pumpkin Scissors so interesting (sections 1, 2 and 3, the Kauplan researchers, the secret 9, etc.). Even though the first few chapters aren't very heavy (maybe with the exception of the 908HTT arc) they all have a good amount of action, decent dialogue and a tiny hint of that bittersweet goodness known as tragedy (an gentle experimental soldier with a fucked up brain and an even more fucked up past, an old soldier who can't move on from the war, a tank crew who turned to banditry just to survive, the sole survivor of an experimental unit all destined to die, etc.) Once you've read all the way up to chapter 20, you'd have learned of three things in particular:
1. The Empire is a piece of shit who treats even its own people like trash.
2. The main characters are badasses trying their hardest to help victims of the war (see 1).
3. Tanks are the hottest technology out there.

So once you arrive Karousel arc, you've just hit the first of the major arcs. There are short stories between these major arcs that are all really good on their own (just too many for me to highlight). Each major arc has a theme:

Karousel arc focuses mostly on espionage, intelligence warfare, the effects of fearmongering and superior-subordinate relationships (romance tag wasn't a joke, btw).

The following arc isn't that big on war but damn I think it was good character development for Randel Orland. You get to know the MC better, his history, his reasons for joining the army and just how lovable/awesome his character actually is.

Then your next stop is the Anti-Ares Terrorist arc and you've reached the best arc in the series so far, hands down the best arc in any war manga I've ever read. So much good detail, character development and serious discussion goes into this arc that I'm not even gonna spoil it with a summary. It's over 40+ chapters long, a third of the entire series, including the build up to it. I'll bet everything I have that you'll get super into the series after reaching this arc. It's like reading a fucking documentary on terrorism (ISIS, start taking notes).

Overall, it's a 10/10. Because although the Pumpkin Scissors tag include ones like Comedy/Action/Drama/Romance (and it does have a decent a amount of them all), it's a war manga before it is anything else. And that's why it a goddamn mastah-piece..

This one is a series that looks like a pushover shounen in the beginning, but become a somewhat deep seinen later.

The beginning chapter tells a country who tried to rebuild itself after a long war (not win but not lose either). It explain the setting, the key characters, n the general plot briefly. Later, one by one components of the story then fleshed out (character backgrounds, the country's darkside, n how each arc intertwined to each others).

I must say this is not a complex read, but how the author tells the dreadful effect of war n terrorism is damn great. Each characters emotion is portrayed well, n it made us to root for their struggle. The author really learn on how to write by the time goes... n u can really see it.

Overall, this is a solid series, n I hope u can try to read it until later volumes before abandon it for good

This is just your generic action shounen manga, except it has an added layer of frustation because of how often it skirts the line of being something greater. For the first few chapters, it was very similar to Fullmetal Alchemist, but with it's themes more focused in a concrete manner (the horrors of war rather than the metaphysical concepts FMA muses on like the boundary of life and death.) The point is, it was showing promise that it could intelligently explore some higher-brow concepts while still delivering the action that so titillates us. I was a little concerned that it might not meet these lofty heights what with the eyebrow-raisingly stupid noble who cartoonishly mows down serfs in his tank, but I figured it was the first chapter, he's not that important, I can let it slide. This, however, was a portentous warning of things to come. Every time the series neared an intelligent analysis or waxed the philosophic in a thought-provoking way, it was quickly dashed by cliched drivel that completely invalidated the preceding moments of brilliance. By the time I got to chapter 9 or so, there was a certain development that came literally out of nowhere that sets up all the shitty tropes you could ever cram into a shounen action manga, and sure enough, over the next several chapters, it hit every single one with an ardent thud, as if taking pleasure in making me roll my eyes in exasperation. You can predict every single development from that point on, although it often may surprise you with just HOW stupid they can present it.

If Pumpkin Scissors had not that gleam of cleverness that ever so faintly shone beneath the ordinary surface, I would not be so impassioned to tell you what a misleading washout this is. Alas.

This has been one of my favorite series ever since I watched the anime. I love the dark, gritty, post-WWI-esque setting and both main characters are strong character leads with solid character development, which is very refreshing to see. The manga version is better as it avoids filler and is a bit less censored than the anime. Unfortunately, the last scanlation chapter was released in 2014, and Del Rey Comics canceled Pumpkin Scissors back in 2010, so it could be a while before we can see more of this manga (unless you are literate in Japanese, of course).

... Last updated on November 23rd, 2015, 1:38pm

I watched the anime first but I am enjoying the manga more. Its very interesting and fits the dark type I enjoy reading and even though I usually am not big on guns This one is already one of my favorites. I can't wait read more.

Seams most don't like the anime, I think it was great, compared to the manga, there are some fillers and a few changes in the plot (like how the guy of the silver wheel escapes on the 908 arc or the way the baby is handled), but overall it follows the same line.
Its a pity, that some of the arcs settings that come after those of the anime are too forced, makes the world created loose coherence, and it's not really necessary imo.
It's really a pity the group translating it is so slow, it's a good manga and very hard to read in japanese, lots of phrases per page and many complicated terms, need to use the dictionary too often >_<
Later on, the manga becomes kinda boring, about 80% of the pages are an explanation of the other 20% or the point of view of the chars. Also the story continues but hardly deals with any of the situations presented previously. I get the feeling the manga is loosing it's focus and headed in a bad direction, it would be a pity since it's an interesting setting and story, It's equally posible that reading it in japanease was making me loose focus.

Edit: Kodansha seams to be releasing it in english, almost cuaght up to were I stopped reading, that's great.

... Last updated on October 5th, 2017, 12:15am

agreed with the other poster, do not watch the anime, manga is way better.
I felt that the anime only serve as advertising purpose only for this series.This manga version is the only way to go.

i made a huge mistake. i watched the anime first. the manga is so much better. now it is like my favorite. i cant find a good japanese distributor so i kinda had to buy the english adaption, which is farther than the scanlations. but its good to see that somebody sorta picked it up again.
i think this deserves a 10, but i just have not read quite enough (4 tankobon) and the art was a little sketchy in the first volume (-0.2)

... Last updated on April 5th, 2009, 4:36pm