Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary

Review – Dinosaur Sanctuary, vol 3

Posted May 31, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Dinosaur Sanctuary, vol 3

Dinosaur Sanctuary

by Itaru Kinoshita

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Pages: 206
Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary #3
Rating: three-stars
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”)

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Review – Dinosaur Sanctuary, vol 2

Posted May 24, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Dinosaur Sanctuary, vol 2

Dinosaur Sanctuary

by Itaru Kinoshita

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Pages: 164
Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary #2
Rating: three-stars
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”)

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Review – Dinosaur Sanctuary, vol 1

Posted May 17, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Dinosaur Sanctuary, vol 1

Dinosaur Sanctuary

by Itaru Kinoshita

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Pages: 194
Series: Dinosaur Sanctuary #1
Rating: four-stars
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”)

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