Despite being very much alive, Merit finds herself lost in the Realm of the Dead! To get back home, she'll need help from the god Anubis. Only one problem…he's been cursed and wants nothing to do with humans or his job anymore. But the handsome, good-for-nothing god may care more than he lets on, and Merit is no quitter!

Merit and the Egyptian God has a story by Fuyu Tsuyama and art by Yukari Sakai. English translation is done by Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley. Lettering is done by Lys Blakeslee. Published by Yen Press (April 28, 2026). Rated T.

Erica Friedman
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What a fun idea! Mashing Ancient mythology up with romance tropes worked incredibly well. This sulking, hunky human Anubis will definitely make me look at the Anubis in my house much differently for sure. The male tsundere type isn't ever going to be my favorite romantic partner choice, but Merit here is not a shrinking violet or a comedic complication. She's a smart, strong-willed, and very decent human who is going to force the gods of the Egyptian Underworld to face some of their problems head-on. In volume one, we're getting to see her right a few wrongs between Horus and Anubis and take Osiris down a few pegs…I can't wait to see her take on Set.

Original takes on ancient mythology has always been a favorite of mine, and I definitely got a thrill at the fingerprints of the Egyptian Culture Advisor's input, so right away, we are introduced to the land of Kemet (more properly Kmt. We don't know exactly what vowel sounds were used in spoken Egyptian in the 11th-12th dynasty, also known as Middle Kingdom). That was such a strong start that the idea that Anubis, the god who weighs human hearts against a feather to see if they were worthy of being guided into the Underworld, was a misunderstood outsider, just made sense. Merit, not truly dead but no longer alive, is forced to insert herself into Anubis' life. You just know they'll make it past Anubis' inability to relate to humans anymore. Along the way, we'll be introduced to the gods of the Egyptian pantheon, their roles, the games they play (who among us doesn't have a Senet board somewhere in the house?), and other fun little insights into a culture from almost 4000 years ago.

It looks like the next volume we're set to meet Mom, that is, Nephthys, goddess of mourning and darkness. Sounds good to me.

Rebecca Silverman
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I don't know who at Hana to Yume loves ancient mythology, but Merit and the Egyptian God is the second English translation of a title from the pages of that magazine to be based in it. The first is, of course, Colette Decides to Die, which is rooted in Greek myths. As the title suggests, Merit and the Egyptian God takes inspiration from the Egyptian pantheon…in kind of a similar way. Merit, like Colette, ends up in the afterlife completely alive, and she also takes up with a god of the dead. In this case, the god in question is Anubis, the god of funerary rites and the deity in charge of guiding the dead to the underworld. Except this Anubis is shirking his duties, having grown disillusioned with people as they became more “civilized.” His father, Osiris, cursed him to lose his jackal-headed form and appear as a dog-earred human. Merit, apparently, can break the spell, something Osiris isn't keen for her to do just yet.

While the Egyptian setting is historically suspect (but I guess actual Middle Kingdom clothing would have shown too many bare breasts for Hana to Yume's age rating), it still definitely did its research. Nowhere is that more clear than in the heroine's name: there's a lesser goddess in Egyptian mythology named Meret, sometimes spelled “Merit” or “Mert.” Meret is the goddess of joy, associated with singing and dancing, and since Merit's role in this story is to help Anubis regain his joy, it feels very deliberate. (We'll ignore the bit where Meret is Hapi's wife, not Anubis'.)

Merit is a force of nature as she applies her sibling-wrangling skills to Anubis and, to an extent, Horus. She's not quite sure what to make of the gods, because they seem so human. This especially goes for Horus and Osiris, who can throw a temper tantrum like toddlers, but there's something charmingly harried about Thoth as well. We see a few other gods (I'm pretty sure I spotted Bastet) in crowd scenes, and I'm looking forward to actually meeting them and seeing how they act.

Merit and the Egyptian God may make Egyptologists cringe, but it's a lot of fun. Slightly more grounded in its setting than Colette Decides to Die, it reminds me how very, very badly I want someone to take a chance and license Ouke no Monshou. Until that day, this will certainly do.

Bolts
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Of all the different types of mythologies out there, I do feel like anime and manga don't really touch a lot upon Egypt. I think the closest I can maybe remember off the top of my head is the Fate series, but even then, that's more of a small footnote in a larger narrative compared to something that tries to be all about that mythology. Merit and the Egyptian God takes an interesting character in the form of Anubis and tries to expand on that story, though arguably in a very generic way. It is ultimately the story of a young mortal girl hoping to be the one who teaches Anubis what it means to appreciate humanity again, while also using that as a springboard into a romantic relationship between the two. I say it's generic because of the setup, and it's hard not to feel a lot of familiar plot beats that have been prevalent throughout the past couple of decades here. But I appreciate the fact that stylistically and lore-wise, it is a step up from what I am typically used to.

There is a bit of a style over substance appeal at play here because this is a very gorgeous-looking volume. I love the design for Anubis, both his human form and his more accepted one. The backgrounds feel very lush, and there is a solid sense of comedic timing here. This isn't a serious story, even if it will occasionally bring up really dark subject matter. Any attempt at the story trying to get overly serious is kind of undercut, especially when you get to the latter third of the book, when other gods are interfering in preventing Anubis from naturally learning his lesson.

Part of me wonders if his story could've been wrapped up in a single volume, but more conflict needed to be introduced because the story is really playing up that air of mystery about how this young girl is a trial that Anubis needs to go through. Is she a bringer of peace or an omen of destruction? That's fine as a hook, but honestly, I kind of just thought that the blossoming relationship between the two leads was strong enough to carry the story on its own. Humanity does suck, so Anubis being jaded about them is already a strong thing that would take time to convince him of anyway. But now it feels like that story gets undercooked a little bit towards the latter third for the sake of introducing this larger conflict.

Ultimately, I like the first half of the book more than the second half because when the focus is on the two leads, it is quite enjoyable. I feel like there are more unique designs and concepts that are brought up, there are more interesting discussions that are hard, and the drama is surprisingly compelling, even if I know where a lot of this is going because of how familiar this setup is. If you like these kinds of stories of the jaded dog-like character being tamed by the beautiful young woman, I think this will be right up your alley. The coat of paint that it's given feels just fresh enough to carry it, and fingers crossed that future volumes will focus more on that appeal than anything grander than it needs to be.