Author Archives: dakazu

Bokko

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Bokko

A manga about how a single man named Kakuri answers the call to defend the city of Ryo from an invasion army of Cho during the warring states period of ancient China.

Revisited this manga recently and it’s still so very good. Hideki Mori of Lone Wolf and Cub does some amazing art work that brings Ken’ichi Sakemi novel to life. I find it a little funny how the king of Shin is depicted as the ultimate bad guy in this series but in Yasuhisa Hara’s KINGDOM he’s a hero.

Great series and fun read.

~dakazu

My Darling is a Foreigner: We moved to Berlin

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My Darling is a Foreigner: We moved to Berlin

Another volume of Saori Oguri’s chronicle of interracial marriage. This one follows Oguiri as she relocates to Germany.

I loved Oguri’s series since I found it. Her cute drawings work well with a documentary-style storytelling as she explains everything about moving from Japan to life in Berlin. Super fun to read and very informative. I approve!

~dakazu

Ichinichi Gaishutsuroku Hanchou

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Ichinichi Gaishutsuroku Hanchou

A lighthearted spin-off of Gambling Apocalypse: KAIJI that follows foreman Ootsuki as he leisurely enjoys his 1-day vacations from the underground debt labor camp.

Compared to Mr. TONEGAWA: Middle Management Blues this spin-off is not purely a comedy. Sometimes the foreman just has a nice time eating good meals and other times he gets into some wacky adventures with his two underlings. I personally like this spin-off more.

My favorite part of this manga is that whenever the series needs to take a short hiatus from it’s serialization in Young Magazine, there’s a page that shows the foreman’s saving are depleted along with the message “We need to save up more money before we can go on another 1-day vacation!”

~dakazu

Mr. TONEGAWA: Middle Management Blues

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Mr. TONEGAWA: Middle Management Blues

A comedy spin-off of Gambling Apocalypse: KAIJI that follows the hardships of Yukio Tonegawa as the 2nd in command of an evil corporation run by the crazy old coot Kazutaka Hyoudo.

My initial reaction to this was “another spin-off?” but I was shocked at how great this is. Taking the aspects of KAIJI and turning them on their head for laughs works amazingly. The creators Tensei Hagiwara & Tomohiro Hashimoto do a perfect copy of Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s art style and storytelling. I laughed so hard at the parody of the inspirational ‘Brave Man Road’ monologue that I was crying.

The anime adaptation is even better with the narrator being my favorite character. If you’re a fan of KAIJI than you should definitely check it out!

~dakazu

206 – Triple Dip 30 – Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Asahinagu, Tobaku Haoden Zero

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206 – Triple Dip 30 – Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Asahinagu, Tobaku Haoden Zero

On this episode we each selected a manga for another Triple Dip! Seamus picks Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Darfox picks Tobaku Haoden Zero, and dakazu picks Asahinagu!

Continue reading →

Busa-men Gachi-Fighter

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Busa-men Gachi-Fighter

A manga about a man who is sent to a fantasy RPG world to relive his ruined life. He joking uses the exploit of lowing your physical appearance to get bonus status points and ends up becoming a super overpowered god.

This seems like another typical novel based male empowerment fantasy as the gimmick of being ugly makes you godlike is equal parts gross and stupid. However I was surprised that after the protagonist realizes he’s immortal, he slyly uses his powers to help his fellow teammates. Constantly trying to hide his god-like stats from them and help protect them. The more I read of this I liked.

I’m willing to stick with it for now. Hopefully it won’t devolve into the typical harem style story of most lite novels.

~dakazu

Tokyo Ghoul:re

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Tokyo Ghoul:re

I’m happy to say that in the end I really enjoyed Tokyo Ghoul:re. Sui Ishida’s confusing dramatic panel layouts ended up growing on me in the end. I was surprised that the ending was a happy one because they were setting up the finale to be tragic. Still liked it though.

I will definitely watch the 2nd half of the anime coming this fall. Maybe Ishida can get back to writing more of THE PENISMAN (no, it’s not a joke and it was actually really good)

Available through VIZ.

~dakazu

Blaster Knuckle

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Blaster Knuckle

A manga about an ex-Heavyweight Boxer fights against the KKK who are secretly demons that devour African Americans in the Wild West.

This book is trying so hard to be Berserk it’s hilarious. The hero’s secret weapon is a modified gauntlet that shoots shotgun shells on impact. Sound familiar?

After this series ended in 3 volumes, Shizuya Wazarai went on to make an awesome gladiator manga called Kentou Ankokuden Cestvs which is so much better. Kinda sorry to see he started off with a blatant copy of Berserk.

~dakazu

Sono Musume, Musashi

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Sono Musume, Musashi

A sports manga about a former middle school ace female volleyball player, Musashi Kaneko, who gets roped back into the sport by the high school volleyball team captain Ritsu Koga.

Although the story initially focuses on Musashi rediscovering her interest in volleyball, the later half of the series dives deep into her seniors who suffered abuse the hands of their previous violent coach. The trauma that each character carries afterwords is laid out well and handled with lots of nuance. I really enjoyed Ai Tanaka’s storytelling that dived into the psyche of these athletes as they brought their rivalries to a climactic final match.

I still think Shojo Fight is my favorite volleyball manga but this one is great as well. Also at 3 volumes it’s short and sweet!

~dakazu