To be honest, I already knew about the ID Invaded manga’s existence for a long time. But for some reason, I didn’t put much hope of seeing the manga licensed for the English release.

Well, it makes sense why I was pessimistic about it.

Take a look at the manga and light novels that get an English release and you’ll understand why.

Most of the manga and light novels that we have here tend to be the isekai type for the most part.

And even if they’re not, they’re mainly in the fantasy genre, not so much in the mystery, thriller, and suspense genre.

It’s no wonder why I wouldn’t put much hope of seeing the manga licensed in English.

Any manga and light novels that fall under the mystery, thriller, and suspense umbrella don’t seem to do that well among the Western audience.

But guess what? The manga finally got an English release a year after the Japanese version of the manga came out.

Not only that, the manga also got a physical release which is something I don’t expect at all.

Will I be getting a physical release of the manga?

Well, you can bet I am since ID Invaded is my kind of manga.

What ID Invaded is all about

Here’s the book description that I got from Bookwalker.

When I open my eyes, I find myself in an unfamiliar car, in an unfamiliar town, in front of the on-ramp to an unfamiliar highway. Before I can process any of this, I see the fiery explosions of multiple car crashes in the distance, and without thinking, I stomp on the accelerator and race toward the scene. I soon find that I’ve driven straight into hell at full speed with no brakes, just like everyone around me…! In the midst of this insanity, I discover the corpse of a girl, and suddenly I know I am the brilliant detective. And I must solve the mystery of her death.

What got me to read the manga

It’s no surprise here that what got me to read the manga has a lot to do with me already watching the anime before.

And let’s not forget the fact that I got the first volume of the manga for free during the Bookwalker promotion.

Does it mean I won’t touch the manga with the ten-foot pole if it’s not available for free?

Of course, the answer is no.

I will still be willing to pay for the manga since it’s the kind of manga that I tend to enjoy reading the most.

If you’re wondering what kind of manga, light novels, and even nonfiction books I tend to recommend on my blog, you can find out more about my preference in this post.

What makes the ID Invaded manga worth reading

What comes to your mind when it comes to how the police solve murder cases?

Things like gathering the evidence at the crime scene and identifying the witness to find the perpetrator tend to come to your mind, right?

Well, here’s the cool part about how the police solve cases in ID Invaded.

You’ll still be seeing the police doing the boots-on-the-ground investigation.

But they’re also using a device called Wakumusubi to collect cognition particles that the culprit left behind.

They will then use cognition particles collected to replicate the victims and situations in the virtual world through a system known as the Mizuhanome system.

Since we’re talking about the virtual world here, you must be thinking they must be using AI to find the culprit, right?

Guess what?

You won’t be seeing AI involved in solving the cases at all. You will still have humans on both sides to analyze whatever clues they can gather from the virtual world.

That’s where our main character, Narihisago Akito, comes into play. He will dive into the virtual world to solve the mysteries and puzzles in the virtual world.

But the mysteries and the puzzles that he solved in the virtual world don’t exist in isolation. They still tie back to the murder case they’re working on.

And that’s where humans on the other side come into play. They will piece the information that they retrieve from the Mizuhanome system together and proceed with the arrest from there.

If the manga somehow gives you the same vibe as the PSYCHO-PASS manga, it sure is.

But unlike the Sybil system in PSYCHO-PASS, the special police squad known as Kura is in charge of the Mizuhanome system.

The civilians don’t even know such a sophisticated system exists.

What I didn’t expect when I read the manga

We tend to assume the manga must be the original source material considering that seems to be the case in most anime.

Well, guess what?

The manga turns out to be a sequel to the anime, with the anime being an original anime.

Here I am, thinking the manga was the original source material.

That means you will need to watch the anime first if you want to have a better understanding of how the Mizuhanome system works and Narihisago’s past.

Sure, you can jump straight into reading the manga without having to know anything that takes place in the anime.

But knowing how complex the story is, it’s not wise for you to jump straight into reading the manga head-on.

It can be hard to make sense of the story in the manga if you’ve never watched the anime before.

Who should read the manga?

There’s no doubt if you’re looking for a murder mystery manga that is similar to Kindaichi Case Files and Psychometrer Eiji, then you will certainly enjoy reading this manga.

Yes, the investigation approach in ID Invaded is different since they rely on technology to pinpoint the culprit.

But the story is still not that different from your typical murder mystery manga.

This manga is certainly not for you if seeing people dying terrifies you, you expect there’ll be comic relief in between the serious stuff and you don’t enjoy reading anything complicated.

The story in ID Invaded is as serious and complex as it can be.

And it’s even harder for you to grasp the concept if you’ve never watched the anime before.

Where to buy the manga

As always, you can buy the manga in digital or print format on Amazon. You can get the manga in whichever version you prefer right here:

Buy ID Invaded manga on Amazon

Can’t buy the manga on Amazon? You can get the digital version of the manga on Bookwalker as well. That’s where I got mine, in case you’re wondering:

Buy ID Invaded manga on Bookwalker

Just so you know you can also buy the Japanese version of the manga in print on CDJapan. But for some strange reason, you can only get the first volume of the manga, though.

You will need to rely on their proxy shopping service or use a shopping service like Buyee to buy the rest of the manga.

If you’re fine with that, you can buy the print version of the manga in Japanese right here on CDJapan:

Buy ID Invaded manga at CDJapan

And if you’re thinking about giving Buyee a try, you can read more about my experience with using Buyee right here.

Over to you

What do you think about the ID Invaded manga? Are you interested in giving the manga a try after reading about it on my blog?

Let me know in the comments.

P.S. If you want more of a story that falls into the mystery, thriller, and suspense genre, then you may want to have a look at my thriller light novel series, Trigger Locked.

Wondering what the story in the Trigger Locked series is all about? You can take a look at the first book of the series right here on my Payhip store:

Trigger Locked Book 1: The Mind Control Assassins

Interested in buying the book? Use the coupon code SEKINAMAYUBLOG to get 25% off on your purchase.

The book is also available in print and on other retailers such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Apple Books.

But you can only get a discount when you buy the book from my Payhip store.