Author Archives: dakazu

I am a Hero

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I am a Hero

A manga about a failing manga artist who must survive a zombie apocalypse with his hunting rifle.

I really have lots of mixed feelings about this manga. We covered the whole series for a Retrospective but looking back this had such an amazingly strong beginning that just fizzled out towards the end. The slow burn reveal of the ZQN is some of the best storytelling I’ve seen in the manga medium. Even as the story starts ramping up, Kengo Hanazawa does a stellar job with creative monster designs and weaving the narrative around an unreliable hero. Unfortunately things start to fall apart towards the last quarter of the story. I think the reused character artwork is really shameless and it’s sad to see.

I would still recommend this series but with the caveat that the ending is nowhere as strong as the beginning is. Available from Dark Horse Comics.

~dakazu

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai

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Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai

A manga based on the video game franchise Dragon Quest. The story follows a human boy raised by monsters named Dai who dreams of becoming a hero and defeating the Demon King.

This series is the pinnacle of my childhood nostalgia for shonen battle manga. I grew up reading this series and loving every cheesy, sappy, cliche, shonen moment. I still stand by the fact that Pop is the greatest side character ever created. Rereading this many years later as an adult did not change my excitement for the challenges and perils the characters fought against until the exciting final battle. My only complaint is that the creepy prevy master character comes off really poorly in modern times.

A masterpiece of shonen battle manga. I’m super excited for the upcoming anime reboot this year.

~dakazu

Hoshin Engi

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Hoshin Engi

A manga adaptation of the famous Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods.

A decent shonen battle manga. When I first started reading it I was really taken with Ryu Fujisaki‘s unique character designs and the blackhearted protagonist Taikobo. He really feels like a prototype of Senku from Dr. STONE the way he constantly bluffs and plays mind games to outwit his stronger opponents.

I think this series really benefited from the fact that Investiture of the Gods is the least known of the 3 great Chinese novels. Journey to the West inspired Dragon Ball and Suikoden became a popular role playing game series. Fujisaki was able to really shape the story and characters as he sought fit to make an engaging tale about powerful Sennin battling over the fate of 2 kingdoms.

It’s available to read from VIZ.

Side note- I still think it’s crazy that they decided to reboot the anime with Hakyu Hoshin Engi just so they could cover the story arc they never got to in the original.

~dakazu

Patlabor

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Patlabor

A manga about a future Japan where construction robots called Labors are being used for crime. To battle against Labor crime the Tokyo police form the Patrol Labor squad known as Patlabor.

My brother was really into Patlabor and I read it while I grew up. Going back to it now, I’m surprised I was able to enjoy it because Masami Yuki really focuses on political storylines. I especially noticed this when I read Birdy the Mighty.

Regardless, Patlabor is fantastic. And that’s mostly due to the thought and care Yuki put into the world and characters. The eccentric cast of special division 2 bumble their way through the complex politics of terrorists and Labor manufactures. It’s all very entertaining and fun to read. Also major props for the female protagonist Noa and barely focusing on any sex appeal, fan service, or even romantic relationships. I only wish VIZ would get back to putting the English editions out but I doubt it will ever happen.

~dakazu

Assassination Classroom

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Assassination Classroom

A manga about a class of reject middle schoolers who are tasked to assassinate their alien like teacher before he blows up the Earth in 1 year.

Reread this today and it’s still so very good. Yusei Matsui over-the-top facial expressions shine through along with the excellent design of Koro Sensei. It’s such a bizarre concept for a series but it works perfectly as a shonen manga.

It’s available from VIZ along with a great anime adaptation.

~dakazu

Ai… Shirisomeshi Koro ni…

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Ai… Shirisomeshi Koro ni…

The sequel to Manga Michi. Follows Michio Maga and Shigeru Saino as manga artists living at the famous Tokiwa-sō in Osamu Tezuka‘s former housing.

This is essentially a continuation of Fujiko Fujio A.’s autobiography from the unfinished Manga Michi series. I love how Fujiko Fujio A. goes into a lot of background stories of fellow manga artist legends like Shotaro Ishinomori and Fujio Akatsuka who also lived in Tokiwa-sō. There are also a lot of extras included in each volume. Some contain pages of the manga the duo drew in the story while others have photos of the time they shot a Western movie on 8mm film.

This is a must read for manga history buffs. I absolutely love this series.

~dakazu

288 – Manga in Motion 42 – BEASTARS

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288 – Manga in Motion 42 – BEASTARS

It finally time for Manga Machinations to review the BEASTARS anime! We have A LOT to say about the choices made adapting Paru Itagaki’s phenomenal manga and we’re not pulling any punches when it comes to this beloved series!!!

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287 – Triple Dip 41 – Doraemon’s Long Tales: Noby in Devilfish Castle, Noby vs. the Mecha Army, Noby and the Dino Knights

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287 – Triple Dip 41 – Doraemon’s Long Tales: Noby in Devilfish Castle, Noby vs. the Mecha Army, Noby and the Dino Knights

We’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doraemon by doing a Triple Dip on Fujiko F. Fujio’s Long Tales manga adaptations of the anime movies! We’re reading VOL. 4: Noby in Devilfish Castle, VOL. 7: Noby vs. the Mecha Army, and VOL. 8: Noby and the Dino Knights!!!

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286 – New Chapter Check-in 3 – We Never Learn

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286 – New Chapter Check-in 3 – We Never Learn

Seamus is out this week so Darfox and dakazu dive into the current arcs of popular series! Chainsaw Man continues to entertain them and they have a lot to say about the unorthodox ending of We Never Learn!!!

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