I took a chance on this because the description immediately brings into mind The Way of the Househusband, and I need to stamp out any expectations on that front, as they will be to the detriment of the reading experience of Shimizaki.

Househusband lives firmly tongue in cheek, intending to be light and humorous and a bit silly but with loads of heart. Shimizaki follows the same basic idea of a man of violence retiring to a quiet life, but it does not intend to be light or heartwarming. Parts of it certainly are heartwarming as Shimizaki builds his new life, but it's a more quiet sort of story. There's no goofiness here, not really. It's pretty straightforward and more serious, as each chapter provides more of the violent backstory of Shimizaki's life.

Kidnapped as a child and raised in a terrorist organization, Shimizaki has a lot of heaviness on his shoulders as he returns to his childhood home of Japan and tries to retire and live a quiet life. He makes friends. He has a job. But the specter of his past is constantly hanging over him, and certain events means he still has to use his deadly skills to keep his quiet life quiet.

This is a decent story, but ultimately it fell flat for me. It's just...well, it's boring. I don't have much to say beyond that. Even with getting good chunks of backstory, I didn't find myself caring much for Shimizaki as a person.

The art is serviceable, but not very dynamic or exciting either. Characters often exist in blank white space in panels, and when backgrounds or other people are drawn, they're mostly there as a reminder that the world exists and that this isn't taking place in a completely blank void.

It's fine. Chapter 1 is free on the Kodansha website - give a try, it's a great indicator of if this story will work for you. It didn't for me, unfortunately.

Many thanks to Kodansha and NetGalley for the eARC for review. Shimizaki in the Land of Peace Vol 1 is available now.