Dinosaur Sanctuary

by Itaru Kinoshita

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Pages: 200
Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary #7
Rating:

Synopsis:

Suma Suzume, the newest dinokeeper at the struggling Enoshima Dinoland, stops by the lab to see her old friend Benkei...but will he have a place to stay much longer? Back at the park, the crew from a local TV station that's hoping to capture a day in the life of a rookie dinokeeper gets more than they bargained for when an unexpected visitor shows up in the Dilophosaurus paddock! And to top it all off, it's time for Suzume to learn the ropes at the park's facilities for disabled dinos...

Volume seven of Itaru Kinoshita’s Dinosaur Sanctuary is the last one that’s already out in translation at the time of writing, and I feel bereft. I love this series and how sweet it is, with Suma’s deep care for the dinosaurs, the supportiveness of (most of) her coworkers, and the sheer enthusiasm of the series’ consultant in the fact files between chapters!

This particular installment includes Trom, a blind Deinonychus, who has been trained with a clicker! He doesn’t go on display because he’s blind, so the park just takes care of him, and Suma learning to understand that he’s not necessarily to be pitied is pretty neat. We also get a bit with the psittacos in the petting zoo, which is so cute.

But really, the fact files are full of such enthusiasm, they especially made me smile in this volume.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

Dinosaur Sanctuary

by Itaru Kinoshita

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Pages: 200
Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary #6
Rating:

Synopsis:

SUZUME MOVES ON AGAIN, AND BENKEI RETURNS!

Rookie dinokeeper Suma Suzume is continuing to make the rounds through every department in the struggling Enoshima Dinoland. Now that Umeko the Centrosaurus is out of surgery, Suzume’s time with the ceratopsians comes to an end. Can she find a way to get close to Fuzuki, the decidedly peculiar head of the pterosaur department? And what happens when Benkei, the Troodon chick she raised, scampers back into her life?

Volume six of Itaru Kinoshita’s Dinosaur Sanctuary covers Umeko’s surgery and initial recovery period, and then has Suma moving on to a rotation with the pterosaurs and visiting Benkei in the lab. There’s some really cute stuff here, and of course Suma’s usual near-magic ability to eventually get along with everyone.

We do also get a moment between Suma and Kaidou (with Karin bailing) which gives us some more interpersonal background; I kind of wondered for a second if there’s a hint of romance there? I don’t know how I’d feel about that!

Anyway, as usual, it’s a fun volume and based in science, and I enjoyed it a lot. I’m not so appreciative of the slight cliffhangers between volumes (Umeko’s prep for surgery between five and six, and now the fate of the lab between six and seven), but it makes sense as a way to keep people buying the manga…

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

Dinosaur Sanctuary

by Itaru Kinoshita

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Pages: 200
Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary #5
Rating:

Synopsis:

RELATIONSHIPS ARE COMPLICATED--BOTH HUMAN AND DINO!

Suzume is getting to know ankylosaur section head Katase Shogo. They're the same age, so they should get along, right? Wrong... Can Suzume keep from butting heads with him until it's time for her to move on to ceratopsians? The humans aren't the only ones with drama on their hands at Enoshima Dinoland, either! Centrosaurus sweethearts Umeko and Shoukichi are going through ordeals of their own...

Volume five of Dinosaur Sanctuary gives us some more of the uneasy working relationship between Suma and Katase, which continues to be a bit rocky, and some background into the vet, Shiranui, along with a glimpse of Karin handling a group of schoolkids as well.

Dinosaur-wise, we get some more time with the centrosauruses, which is really the main plotline of this volume and extends into volume six. As a warning, this volume includes a dinosaur (the Centrosaurus Umeko) with an osteosarcoma, and the story doesn’t conclude in this volume.

About that: I remember learning from David Hone’s books The Future of Dinosaurs that dinosaurs and birds can isolate infection in a certain part of the body rather than seeing the kind of systemic spread that humans do. Maybe that gives Umeko a better chance with cancer, too, since there’s less chance of metastasis? The manga doesn’t mention it, but I’m going to let that give me hope!

Slightly less light-hearted overall than some of the volumes, but still fun, and the variety does help to add depth.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

Dinosaur Sanctuary

by Itaru Kinoshita

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Pages: 202
Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary #4
Rating:

Synopsis:

DINO ON THE LOOSE!

Suma Suzume is getting ready for her first winter as a dinokeeper at the struggling Enoshima Dinoland, but she’s got more to deal with than just keeping dinosaurs warm and cozy. When a report comes in that a Velociraptor is roaming the streets of Japan, Suzume and her coworker Kaido are sent to help! Can they bring the raptor back unharmed?

Aaahh, I loved some of the chapter opening images in vol 4 of Itaru Kinoshita’s Dinosaur Sanctuary — the Sherlock Holmes-esque one really made me laugh. We get a bit of variation here in that Suma ends up away from the dino-park, trying to track down a velocipraptor who escaped from smugglers. I love that the plots and how they work out are carefully based on trying to extrapolate how dinosaurs lived, and how they could live now.

The rest of the book gets back to the problem of the park’s social media somewhat, and pairs Suma up to work with yet another guy who is sceptical of her ability and seriousness about the job. I kinda hope that she doesn’t easily win him over within the next volume… though I get that her arc (inasfar as character development is happening) is all about proving herself. That doesn’t have to mean everyone likes her!

Still really fun, mostly-low-stakes, and full of dino-facts.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

Dinosaur Sanctuary

by Itaru Kinoshita

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Pages: 206
Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary #3
Rating:

Synopsis:

THE NEWBIE LOOKS FOR HER DINO HOME.

Suma Suzume, the newest keeper at struggling Enoshima Dinoland, has reached the end of her three-month orientation period. It’s time for a new challenge: working alongside each of the department heads to find her permanent place on the staff! First on the list is Igarashi Keisuke, and Suzume will learn what makes him tick as they care for the park’s pachycephalosaurs and stegosaurs.

Each volume of Itaru Kinoshita’s Dinosaur Sanctuary is pretty similar because it’s mostly “dinosaur has problem, solve it, dinosaur is happy”, but I’ve been enjoying that somewhat predictable format.

Volume three has pachycephalosaurs, which was exciting! I used to adore them as a kid. I didn’t know we think maybe (probably? I need to look this up more) Dracorex was just a juvenile form of Pachycephalosaurus, or that we have little skeletal evidence below the wrist for their anatomy. I’ve seen so many reconstructions, I’d assumed they were based on a greater number of bones!

It also delves into some realistic stuff about how to keep a dinosaur park afloat, positioning it as very akin to a zoo. If dinosaurs are commonplace, does the shine fade? Given the success of zoos, I kinda doubt it, to be honest — but combined with the accident previously mentioned, maybe that would be enough? Or maybe if you don’t have any of the most glitzy, high status dinosaurs? Perhaps yes.

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)

Dinosaur Sanctuary

by Itaru Kinoshita

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Pages: 164
Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary #2
Rating:

Synopsis:

A richly detailed manga about a rookie zookeeper learning how to care for dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, sure to delight dinosaur lovers!
Dinosaurs are alive! In 1946, a remote island was discovered where dinosaurs never went extinct. Through breeding and genetic manipulation, dinosaur populations increased and dino-mania reached a fever pitch worldwide...until a certain terrible incident occurred. Afterward, dinosaur reserves like Enoshima Dinoland fell on hard times. Enter Suma Suzume, a kindhearted rookie dino-keeper! Can she be the one to save Dinoland from extinction?

The potential drama from the first volume of Itaru Kinoshita’s Dinosaur Sanctuary passes over really quickly, actually, giving us a bit more of the characters’ backstories and motivations without major personal drama.

It’s still overall fairly low-stakes, with one of the main stories being Suma getting to look after a baby dinosaur who imprinted on her. Benkei is adorable, and Suma’s arc of understanding what Benkei’s good at and what might be good for him was pretty fun.

It remains really cute and fun, including the dinosaur expert’s bits. I love that they had a consultant to make sure the facts and art look right (as far as we can be sure).

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)

Dinosaur Sanctuary

by Itaru Kinoshita

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Pages: 194
Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary #1
Rating:

Synopsis:

A richly detailed manga about a rookie zookeeper learning how to care for dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, sure to delight dinosaur lovers!

Dinosaurs are alive! In 1946, a remote island was discovered where dinosaurs never went extinct. Through breeding and genetic manipulation, dinosaur populations increased and dino-mania reached a fever pitch worldwide…until a certain terrible incident occurred. Afterward, dinosaur reserves like Enoshima Dinoland fell on hard times. Enter Suma Suzume, a kindhearted rookie dino-keeper! Can she be the one to save Dinoland from extinction?

The first volume of Itaru Kinoshita’s Dinosaur Sanctuary was definitely the light reading I needed on the particular day I finally picked it up. It’s aimed at a younger audience, but it’s a lot of fun, including the fact files in between chapters by an actual dinosaur expert. I love that they have a dinosaur expert consulting on it!

Obviously there’s a hint at big potential drama, from the fact that two of the characters (at least) are linked to a big and deadly incident that’s been alluded to several times… but it’s fairly low stakes. Mostly it’s about taking care of dinosaurs, which, yeah. Obviously I am very into that, and the theorising about what they might need in order to be kept in what is essentially a zoo.

I actually found this by stumbling onto a thread on Bluesky about how they translate thagomizer in the Japanese version (the answer is ” サゴマイザー/sagomaizaa”, apparently). And they say Bluesky doesn’t sell books!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)