Monthly Archives: December 2019

Gannibal

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Gannibal

A manga about a police officer who gets stationed at a remote village in the country where the residents might all be cannibals.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

Good horror manga. Masaaki Ninomiya has a realistic art style that works well with horror. I noticed that he would have panels with closeups of peoples’ mouths and teeth. It all added to the suspicion the cop has for the townsfolk when he finds bite marks on a corpse in the woods. The residents themselves seem to be on edge and slyly imply that he should mind his own business or he might meet the fate of his predecessor who went mad and died. The fact that he’s moved here with his family and young daughter make matters oh so much worse.

Horror stories with fantastical monsters usually don’t get to me but this manga made me sweat. While crazy cannibals are a common troupe of horror they’re way more scary because it seems like a remote possibility. Humans can be cruel and this series effectively captures that fear.

~dakazu

Nigakute Amai

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Nigakute Amai

A manga about a woman who befriends and starts living with a gay man who’s knowledgeable about vegetarian meals.

We’ve discussed this manga on an older episode.

I really like this series. The pairing of a straight woman and gay man felt questionable at the beginning because the story hinted that she was attracted to him and they might end up together. Luckily that never happens and this series is more about processing the drama both characters are going through. The woman hates vegetables because it’s her family business and the man has a rough relationship with his mother due to the death of his talented brother. Things get more complicated as side characters enter the fray and they all work through their issues. It’s done well but I didn’t like how thirsty the gay man was. He flirted with almost every attractive man, and that included the woman’s father.

Like many food manga each chapter features a dish. This series is unique because every recipe is vegetarian. I really liked the focus on vegetarian meals and even made a few of them myself. I also loved Yumiko Kobayashi‘s unique art style.

A really solid food manga, mainly because the although the food is great the main focus was the interactions with the characters and resolving their drama. It matches well with the title, which means ‘Bitter and Sweet’.

~dakazu

Futari Solo Camp

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Futari Solo Camp

A manga about a veteran loner camper who is blackmailed into helping a woman learn how to solo camp.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

This is a really solid camping manga. Yudai Debata is really thorough and explains every aspect of camping. From the key points to pitching your tent to various ways to start a fire, you can tell Debata really loves camping and this manga is his vehicle to get that across. I did think the woman character was added for the “male gaze” as this is a seinen manga but she also fulfills the role of the student who’s the audience surrogate for learning about camping. There’s a few instances that highlight her looks and some fan service that seems inserted as a hook for the male readers but it’s not overbearing and easy to skim past. I’m here for all the fun knowledge about camping I’ll never use.

~dakazu

King Bottom

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King Bottom

A manga about a horny teenager who’s the victim of bullies. It leads to him joining the gymnastics club and discovering his natural talent for it.

I personally didn’t like this one very much. You have a pretty orthodox sports narrative about a bullied kid that discovers a natural talent for a sport(in this case gymnastics) similar to Hajime no Ippo. But he’s also a pervy scumbag who was peeping on the female gymnasts with his friends. They’re caught in the act of voyeurism by their bullies who threaten to leak evidence to the rest of the school and that leads to them being forced to try vaulting. It’s here where our protagonist shows off his natural ability to jump high. Afterwords the bullies leak the photo of them peeping and they’re ostracized in school. He’s invited to join the gymnastics team by the very girl they were spying on, who is completely oblivious and naive about his horny nature.

Eventually he starts competing and building his skills as a gymnast. There’s even a reveal that his bully is the brother of the lady coach and was a former gymnast who quit. At the end, photos of the nice girl are leaked throughout the school and the horny teen is blamed for the act. He’s forced out from the team but he’s come to love gymnastics and in the end his innocence is proven.

My biggest problem with this series is the voyeurism. Why do we need to keep perpetuating the concept that peeping as a thing male teenagers do? The act of voyeurism is treated lightheartedly and that really annoyed me. Also the teen would constantly rub one out so he could enter ‘Sage Time’ and become super focused. It’s really tasteless humor and when paired with the peeping it just made me cringe.

This manga really wasn’t for me.

~dakazu

My Home Hero

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My Home Hero

A manga about a father who murders his daughter’s criminal boyfriend when he plans to kill her. He must then work with his wife to dispose of the body while evading the yakuza who investigate the whereabouts of the boyfriend.

This is the current series by vetern manga artist Masashi Asaki. I’ve read a few of Asaki’s works like Psychometer Eiji, Kunimitsu no Matsuri and Shibatora. Those series took place in the same world and were all related but this one is done by a different writer, Naoki Yamakawa, and seems separated from Araki’s other works.

Asaki is no stranger to mystery stories but this manga is unique as the protagonist is the murderer, albeit it’s to save his daughter and protect his family. The father, Tetsuo, is a mystery writer. A talent that comes in handy when disposing corpses and out thinking the yakuza goons who suspect him and his family of some wrong doing. His wife is surprisingly understanding of his predicament but the current story arc dives into her troubling background that helps give context about that.

I really liked the tense narrative about a man trying to conceal a murder and outwit the yakuza. They wrap up most of his problems in Act 1 but the ongoing Act 2 seems to suggest that Tetsuo won’t be able to escape his crimes. I’m looking forward to seeing what his fate is.

~dakazu

273 – Morgana’s Manga Makeup 1 – Vinland Saga, Golden Kamuy, Shojo FIGHT!

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273 – Morgana’s Manga Makeup 1 – Vinland Saga, Golden Kamuy, Shojo FIGHT!

We’re launching a new episode where our new host Morgana will read her way through some of Manga Machinations favorites! It’ll be Morgana’s first time reading through these manga and we’re excited to hear what she thinks! She’ll be checking out Vinland Saga, Golden Kamuy, and Shojo FIGHT!!!!

Continue reading →

Matorism

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Matorism

A manga about 2 narcotics officers and the people they arrest who abuse illegal drugs.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

This series is done by Masakazu Suzuki. I thought his series “Kodomo wo Koroshite kudasai” to iu Oyatachi, about adults with mental issues, was really well done. I’m slightly less enthusiastic about this manga because I feel the message about drug abuse is outdated.

The series follows different people as they either get involved with drugs or are in proximity to some kind of drug addiction and/or abuse. Some of the stories were very good but others were more than a little absurd. One story follows a teacher who confiscates marijuana from a student, only to later partake it himself. By the end of the story he was using cocaine and heroin and it’s hard not to roll your eyes when you’re saying that smoking a joint is a gateway to hardcore substance abuse. It seems like a narrative straight out of the 50’s.

I wonder if Suzuki is either ignorant of different drugs and their effects or he’s simply propagating a narrative that’s in line with Japanese policy. In any case it’s a shame because I think he’s a talented storyteller who’s been misinformed about certain drugs. Also I don’t think you can just mail order drugs like in this manga.

~dakazu

Senshi ni Ai wo

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Senshi ni Ai wo

A manga where artificial humans wage war for their human creators in hopes of having their lifespan extended.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

This might be the most political manga I’ve read in while, and it seems much more in tune with politics of USA than Japan. I couldn’t help but feel like the artificial humans were a stand in for lower class minorities as they are discriminated against and unable to find employment outside of military service.

Because the artificial humans were created specifically to clean up after the toxic wasteland and have their lifespan capped at 40 years, there’s upheaval and protest among them. When some of them resort to terrorism, the police force sent to take them out is also only comprised of artificial humans. Even on the battlefront you see artificial humans who were specifically created for fighting battle against the other counties artificial humans. It’s tragic and very fucked up.

I give the creator Hideo Miura a lot of credit because his art is pretty mediocre and at times ill equipped to handle war battles and large action scenes. But you can’t deny his excellent storytelling and scarily realistic portrayal of a possible future for humanity.

~dakazu

Kojinsa Arimasu

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Kojinsa Arimasu

A manga about a married man who suddenly changes genders and becomes a woman.

When this series started in Morning magazine I was really unsure about what to expect. Gender swap narratives are pretty common in manga and they’re not really done well because they’re rarely representative of any transgender issues. And honestly, it’s kinda hard to parse if this manga isn’t just that.

The man’s relationship with his wife wasn’t great but once he becomes a woman she shares her more blunt personality with ‘her’. But is this saying a woman can only be open about themselves when their with another girl? After the man becomes a woman, she becomes attracted to her co-worker and even ends up sleeping with them. But just because you change gender, does that mean it changes who you’re attracted to? A possibly maybe? But why does it have to be just from a change of gender? After this affair she transforms her back into a man and he’s no longer attracted to the co-worker. That just comes off as a really close minded take on gender and how it relates to sexuality.

The story becomes even more complex as the another gender swapped character demands to know how the married man switched back. When she finds out she blackmails him into having sex so she might change back into a man. Meanwhile the married man is now terrified to have sex with his wife because if he swaps again he’ll change back and reveal the truth about why he changed back. It’s a hot mess on all accounts.

This narrative is interesting to read but I can’t help but feel the themes of attraction being based on gender to come off as really naive or just obtuse. That being said this series is still on going so maybe thing won’t end up being one step removed from a She’s the Man or Just One of the Guys. Though I’d bet it won’t.

~dakazu

Kunihachibu

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Kunihachibu

A manga where a middle school girl is randomly picked to be the next “kunihachi” and must spend a year being ignored by everyone in Japan.

I’ve ranted about this on a recent episode.

This is the worst manga I have ever read in recent memory.

I cannot being to explain this premise because IT MAKES NO SENSE!

There is no logic behind this law that gets enforced by the Japanese prime minister. It’s supposed to end bullying in Japan by making everyone experience what it’s like to be a bully or something? But how the hell are you ending bullying when you arrest anyone who acknowledges the “kunihachi”? IT MAKES NO SENSE!

After this girl is chosen, she must be ignored by her classmates, teachers, random strangers, etc. Her family has to act like she doesn’t exist and locks her out of her home. She can’t buy anything because she must be ignored. When a man refuses to run her over with his car he’s arrested and jailed. She even gets bullied by her former classmates for trying to attend school. Yes, you read that right. THE LAW THAT’S SUPPOSED TO END BULLYING CREATES BULLIES!

This manga seems like it only exists to make a masochistic narrative about putting a girl through terrible atrocities like some kind of torture porn. That shit makes my skin crawl and makes me sick to my stomach. And remember, IT STILL MAKES NO SENSE!!!

Absolute trash.

~dakazu