Okiayu becomes a college freshman, and he and his female classmate Itsumi Aramaki join the Far East Asia Investigation Committee (極東アジア調査會), an extracurricular group led by Ryūhei Sueyuki (a junior) and Tae Soeuchi (a sophomore).

Following the end of World War II and the onset of the Japanese economic miracle, nationalism declined as Japan tried to distance itself from the Imperial government.

[1][2] Professor Jean-Pierre Lehmann noted that when the Japanese asset price bubble burst and China began to resurge economically, nationalism rose.

[2] It was also noted that Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea remained prevalent, particularly with rap group DJ DOC's song "F Japan".

Yamano was inspired by Yoshinori Kobayashi's Neo Gōmanism Manifesto Special – On War in creating the manga.

[4] Historian Sheila Miyoshi Jager stated that the manga's content related to the Japanese colonization of Korea is a "gross oversimplification" and that it misunderstandings its legacy.

[2] Manga Kenkanryu's plot has been compared to efforts by Japanese nationalists to whitewash history textbooks and controversial visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.

[3][7] Norimitsu Onishi of The New York Times noted that this aesthetic dates back to the Meiji Restoration in the 19th century, where Japanese intellectuals such as Yukichi Fukuzawa felt that the best way to resist Western colonial powers was to emulate them.

[6] A spokesperson for the Embassy of South Korea, London said "[Manga Kenkanryu] contained numerous factual errors and that it would be dangerous if Japanese readers treated the comics as an accurate view of the real world".

[8] The third volume of Manga Kenkanryu discusses the murder of Lucie Blackman [ja] and its alleged perpetrator, Joji Obara, who is of Korean descent.

[1][2][3] Scholars Matthew Allen and Rumi Sakamoto doubted that it actually influenced views of young Japanese people.

[1] Journalist Steven K. Vogel wrote "[Manga Kenkanryu] may be able to pique the curiosity of some comic book lovers and Net surfers, but they cannot stop Japanese housewives from pining for Korean soap opera stars" and pointed out that a majority of Japanese people still viewed Korea positively.