I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked up Run On Your New Legs - but it wasn't this. I would say, as manga readers go, I intentionally shy away from sports themed manga. Why? It's just not really my thing. However, I take a particular interest in any title I see that feels like it touches on real life subjects that are often shied away from - Run On Your New Legs definitely fits that mold. Right at first glance it's clear that this series is going to feature a subject that isn't often covered in manga but which is a reality of every day life for millions of people around the world - the use of prosthetic limbs. 

The story centers around Shouta Kikuzato, a high school student and former soccer player whose leg was lost in an accident. Shouta's accident, occurring in his first year of high school, causes him to miss the majority of the year and thus be forced to repeat the school year. As all of his former classmates are now a year ahead of him in school, the sense of social isolation and awkwardness only serves to amplify the fallout from his accident. Now a loner with no real ambition or interests, Shouta finds himself adrift until a couple of chance encounters send his bleak existence packing. In short order Shouta finds himself with a new friend as well as a new prosthetist who is determined to see Shouta run again. 

The artwork here is definitely attractive, and I feel that Wataru Midori has absolutely mastered nuance in his art as he often manages to convey so much about the dynamic between characters without a single word (without giving away too much - the scene on the stairs! You'll know what I mean). The deeper I got into Run On Your New Legs the more invested I became in Shouta's story and the deepening question building in my mind: How, exactly, did Shouta lose his leg? The answer seems just barely out of our grasp for the time being, but there are definitely pieces to the puzzle lurking in the pages of volume 1. 

As a big fan of Rie Aruga's Perfect World I saw some similarities between the backstory for Midori's Shouta and Aruga's Itsuki - and much like Perfect World I found myself learning more about the real world complications and details of the protagonist's circumstances than one would typically expect from a manga and I LOVE THAT. The similarities, however, end there as this is all about Shouta's journey to regain pieces of himself and his life that he had thought were gone for good. 

I truly loved this one more than I expected and cannot recommend it enough. If you're on the fence - grab it! You won't regret it.