Sengoku Komachi Kuroutan: Noukou Giga

This is a very enjoyable manga. Its a top tier example of Isekai/time-travel. I'm very surprised I hadn't found this earlier.

The story is very fun and engaging, and the characters are interesting (though not really unique, but thats not a problem). The art isn't going to wow anybody but its detailed enough that it won't detract from the experience for almost anybody.

The MC is likeable and someone you won't really get tired of, its harder to screw up a female MC in an Isekai I guess. Though - even considering she is an agricultural student - she is still in highschool and her having the skills she does is unusual, though not totally impossible. Sticklers for historical accuracy will notice some anachronism but again for almost anybody you will be able to main your suspension of disbelief.

If I had to point to one thing this series does really well, its that it maintains some semblence of realism with charecter interactions and the world the MC has dropped into. Its not hardcore at all, but you won't suspect that th author is using the uncommon setting as smokescreen to distract from a bad story full of bad tropes, fan service, unreasonable characters. Something that is special (unfortunately) is that there is no romance in this manga (Spoiler: the only guy who is interested in the MC is a bit of a joke it seems he will be forever a gag).

Highly recommend this, very disspointed it only had some 30 odd chapters when I started reading.

WARNING: In the text below I reveal an event in the plot, which some may consider to be a spoiler.

I was initially quite pleased to discover this comic. In a moment when Japanese publishers have decided to flood the market with miserable adaptations of dire webnovels which are essentially blighted Dragon Quest fanfiction, in the worst sense of fanfiction, here was a traditional time travel story! Moreover it was one in which our modern farmgirl heroine had to survive the fickle whims of Oda Nobunaga armed with only her wits and education in agricultural science. Here were actual dramatic stakes, a likeable and relatable protagonist, and an interesting set of challenges to overcome. What more could one ask for?

Over the course of a few chapters I was genuinely eager to see what happened next. Would she be able to build a rapport with the village she'd been assigned to, when even her existence challenged the norms and traditions that they relied upon? How would her personal relationship with the fickle and volatile Oda Nobunaga going to develop as she cleared the expectations set on her by leaps and bounds? The art was not stretching its legs but did yeoman's work in giving weight to the drama, whether it was in our heroine's range of expression or Oda Nobunaga's convincingly intimidating mien. The real research the author had done manifested in minor moments, such as the difference in value and cultivation of shiitake mushrooms from the past or matters of etiquette in addressing Oda Nobunaga by name, that lent a sense of authenticity to the setting. Red flags had popped up in here and there, but I had subconsciously chosen to ignore them.

Up until the enchantment vanished, as if I'd been splashed with a bucket of ice water.

My suspension of disbelief shattered into a thousand pieces, as Oda Nobunaga received the heroine's hunting crossbow from his spy as if here were being handed Excalibur or Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. Wondering if I'd accidentally picked up the wrong book I turned a few pages to make sure of what I was seeing. Sure enough in the next chapter he invites our heroine over to a banquet with all his important retainers, as an excuse to show off a crossbow.

HE ALREADY HAS GUNS.

NOTHING ABOUT CROSSBOWS ARE NEWS TO THE JAPANESE. JAPANESE PIRATES HAVE BEEN ENCOUNTERING POWERFUL KOREAN AND CHINESE CROSSBOWS (arguably demonstrably superior to the western style of crossbow our heroine uses) FOR CENTURIES. AND THERE IS NOTHING ANY OF THOSE CROSSBOWS CAN DO THAT ODA NOBUNAGA'S GUNS CAN'T DO BETTER. HE WOULD NOT BE IMPRESSED.

I couldn't really go on. Oda Nobunaga is well known as the man who mastered the use of firearms in his time, and infamously broke the back of the Takeda clan's horsemen with volleys of musketry. How did one survive Japanese public education - which covers Oda Nobunaga in excessive detail - and write this with a straight face? I was utterly baffled.

In a certain sense this is compliment. The comic had to be doing quite well for me to be so disappointed. For some this may seem a rather petty issue. I can hear someone ask: So what if Oda Nobunaga would have no interest in crossbows? It's not as if this affects the virtues I attributed to this comic earlier.

However my problem with this moment and what it says about the rest of the narrative goes deeper than that of mere didactic historical authenticity. When I spoke of red flags earlier, it's worth mentioning that our Heroine fell back in time with a catalogue of modern weapons systems her sister had asked her to buy. In later chapters she advises Oda Nobunaga's son by quoting Sun Tzu's Bingfa at him. In other words, this moment with the crossbow represented a clear shift in the narrative from tackling the questions of land development and agriculture to questions of warfare in which the author was clearly clueless.

If you are intrigued enough by the character drama itself, then that may be enough reason to continue. I simply could not.

I cannot fathom how underrated this Manga is, not only by being hardly known at all, but it has a score of 7/10 by the time I am writing this, which is, in my opinion, grossly lower than it should be. This should be the only manga that has a 10/10 score, for it is my favorite Manga of all time! This story is about a girl student who gets suddenly transported into the Sengoku period and then. . . I won't say, for that would be spoiling wouldn't it?
Story: 10/10
The sequence of events felt natural, and even though there are time skips, they feel in-place and boost the storyline.
Art: 10/10
I don't have much to say about art. Nothing stood out to me to be abnormal whilst reading this Manga, but then again artstyles don't bother me at all. The art well-depicted what was happening in the story.
Character: 10/10
This is the most outstanding element of Sengoku Komachi Kuroutan: Noukou Giga. Since the manga isn't finished, and thus you can't judge character development from the beginning to the end, you have to make do with the character development that happened from the beginning to the middle. And this is what I have to say: The character development from the beginning to middle is superb! I don't want to provide examples, for I feel that would be spoiling.
Enjoyment: 10/10
This is the first Manga that I COULD NOT simply put down. No matter how tired I was, I just could not stop reading! I had to force myself to stop due to my own health this Manga was so good!
Overall: 10/10
If you wish to try something new, please consider Sengoku Komachi Kuroutan: Noukou Giga! I promise you won't regret it!

MODERN SCIENCE MEETS MEDIEVAL JAPAN

A really wholesome manga that puts emphasis on comparing and contrasting how today's notion of "common sense" would radically effect the past.
Common sense being: viruses cause sickness, basic math, etc.
You get to see skills you consider common sense, to be super powers to productivity. This manga makes you appreciate modern life a little more and the things we take for granted.

Summary:
Agriculture and history nerd Shizoku, is sent to medieval japan(sengoku era), a time where hunger, famine, and war over unification of japan was active. Luckily she studied agriculture and history and uses her knowledge to advance civilization.

God-tier manga about an agricultural student using modern farming techniques and historical technologies to advance Japan's Sengoku Era. The cast of characters itself is distinct and often taken from history. The protagonist is relatable because she's nerdy. She uses her love of agriculture and history growing up to make a place for herself in a new scary and violent world.

At its core, it's a unique and engaging story about a nerdy girl overcoming expectations and making the best of her situation. In a word, I'd describe the manga as heartwarming or wholesome.

I highly recommend you try even the first chapter of this hidden gem. You won't be disappointed.