Author Archives: dakazu

Kami Appli

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Kami Appli

A manga about a young man who receives a mysterious “God Tool” smart phone with apps that let him hack security cameras and control combat drones. He must team up with other “God Tool” users to capture criminals and uncover the mystery behind the creation of this powerful phone.

Wow, this was surprisingly enjoyable! I’ve read some of Shosho Kurihara‘s other manga and I’ve always though his art was pretty lacking. That’s why when he was the writer for Nano Hazard I thought his talents were being used effectively. But diving into this I get the same kind of vibe you get from a Nobuyuki Fukumoto series where the storytelling outshines the limitations of the art.

I like the initial setup of this where the protagonist gets this powerful phone and immediately starts abusing it’s powers. Before he realizes that the apps cost money to use he’s in a huge amount of debt. That leads him to capture people the “God Tools” organization has deemed to be criminals. But as he teams up with other users he begins to question the organization itself and that helps keep the plot going at a good pace. The battles against the criminal and other “God Tools” users feature some really unique ideas that make them feel more like mind games than straight up fist fights.

I’m enjoying it so far and will be reading more for sure!

~dakazu

Ai to Noroi

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Ai to Noroi

A manga about a girl who is sexually molested by her father that traumatizes her for the rest of her life.

We discussed this on a recent episode.

This is one of the most powerful and disturbing series I’ve ever read. There is such an strong emotional connection you feel from the pages as you read about this young girl who is abandoned from any form of salvation around her. Her mother won’t intervene against her father’s sexual assault and she’s shunned at school after she rejects the local religion everyone buys into. What follows is a real downward spiral of tragedy as she solicits herself to strangers, becomes a shut-in, and can’t find happiness in a marriage. To top it all off, this is semi-autobiographical. My heart aches at the thought of Fumiko Fumi going through any amount of these awful things.

It finished it’s run on Kurage Bunch and I would love for it to get an official release someday.

~dakazu

The Last Saiyuki

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The Last Saiyuki

A manga about a boy who must protect a girl with prosthetic limbs that has the power to shape fears into reality.

Welcome to the latest manga to come and go quickly in Weekly Shonen Jump. When this debuted my initial thought was this is way too complex and it wasn’t in a good way. When you have to explain the way the girl’s power works in the 2nd chapter with text so much text it fails to “show not tell”. A shonen battle series really needs to present it’s characters doing some cool stylish actions instead of discussing them. Especially a new one trying to win popularity against the likes of My Hero Academia and One Piece.

Also establishing the girl as a limbless character with a potentially evil power isn’t bad but why does she need to be helpless and saved by her adoptive brother? This protector and protected scenario is overplayed and can be seen in lots of shonen series like Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru. I would have preferred it if they removed some prosthetic limbs from the girl and have her on a journey around Japan, meeting comrades, all while trying to control her powers that manifest fears. It would’ve made more sense when the title is a reference to Journey to the West.

~dakazu

Dokunie Cooking

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Dokunie Cooking

A manga about an elf who wants to be a live sacrifice to repay her debts but the monster refuses to eat her because her feet stink.

Yeah, the synopsis makes this series seem paper thin and it really is at the beginning. Every chapter follows the bodacious elf as she tries to find a way to be eaten only to be rejected by the monster. I liked how the monster only spoke through signs he held but the obvious fan service was eye rolling.

Luckily the story takes a turn as angel characters appear to try and defeat the monster, which makes the elf reveal her dark side as she threatens them from taking away her objective. This revelation of the elf’s super strength and sadistic side really added to the comedy and kept me reading. I’m glad I did because the relationship between the monster and elf evolve and the story does some good twists at the end that made them really likable. All I had to do was completely ignore all the gratuitous fan service.

~dakazu

Shinjuku Swan

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Shinjuku Swan

A manga about a young man who becomes a scout man for the red light district of Shibuya, Japan.

We’ve discussed this on an older episode.

This is essentially a crime drama. It’s a well done story that follows the main character’s decent into the seedy underbelly of the red light districts. There’s a fair bit of exploitation as the scout men recruit women to work at cabaret bars and brothels while taking a cut for themselves. This manga doesn’t shy away from those elements and the main character strives to uphold a sense of righteousness to protect his clients. Eventually it turns into all out war with other scout groups and criminals that makes this feel like a delinquent series that stars men instead of teenagers. Ken Wakui really evolved his art work as the series progressed and it’s almost completely different for his current manga Tokyo Revengers.

~dakazu

271 – Fantasy Magazine – Horror

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271 – Fantasy Magazine – Horror

This week we launch our new format called Fantasy Magazine! Morgana, Darfox8, and dakazu have all drafted non-licensed or out-of-print series to create their ultimate horror-themed manga magazine! Listen in as we present our picks of Petshop of Horrors, Dai Dark, and Jisatsutou and then debate whether or not they fall under the category of horror!!!

Continue reading →

Ase to Sekken

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Ase to Sekken

A manga about a soap maker who finds a co-worker with a scent he can’t get enough of.

Yup, this is problematic.

On the surface this is a romance series that leads to a relationship between a man and a woman but I really take issue with how everything starts. The soap maker smells the woman and literally drags her to a wall where he starts sniffing her. He apologizes and explains that her scent is the key to his new product and she reluctantly agrees to him using her as “inspiration”.

The poor woman is already self conscious about being overly sweaty all the time and now she has a man invading her personal space. When she implies that their smelling time is over because he finished his new project, the man ends up putting his hand up her skirt because he wants to keep smelling her. Though he does realize what a horrible thing he did after she shoves him off and runs away, I thought is was REALLY convenient that he ends up saving her from a creeper smelling her on a train later. It’s hard not to roll your eyes as she tells him he’s nothing like the train pervert and she actually wants him to smell her more.

Eventually they start dating and seem to genuinely love each other but this romance is justifying that a man’s aggressive approach is just what a woman wants. And that is a bad message to sell, even if the rest of your story is about them being in love.

~dakazu

Ninja Papa

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Ninja Papa

A manga about a balding office worker who is a former ninja assassin.

Pretty good! The story starts with the ninja being pushed to the edge by various evil criminals that he punishes with death. Later on he must defend against other ninjas from his clan who seek to punish him for desertion, all while hiding his real identity from his family.

They spend a lot of time emphasizing that the ninja is an ugly guy but he’s simply balding and has a large button nose. Despite his mother-in-law and boss nagging at him I’m glad his wife was there to tell him she thinks he’s handsome. I feel like manga generally emphasizes good/bad facial features and it’s nice to see this book stars an unattractive man who cares for his family.

~dakazu

Musume no Iede

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Musume no Iede

A manga about a high school girl who runs away from her mother to the home of her divorced father and his boyfriend.

We’ve discussed this manga on a Triple Dip episode.

This is my favorite work by Takako Shimura that I’ve read. I like this much better than Wandering Son because each the story jumps from different character to character. Most of the stories involve some kind of family issues. I love how they setup an unfaithful scumbag and then dedicated a chapter to flesh him out with his relationships to other characters in the story. I also give a lot of credit to Shimura for including characters with bigger body types and exploring them.

It’s a lovely series and I wish it would get an official adaptation.

~dakazu

The Heroic Legend of Arslan

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The Heroic Legend of Arslan

A manga about the crown prince of the Pars, Arslan, who must retake the kingdom from the invading Lusitania army.

The Heroic Legend of Arslan is a well known and popular fantasy novel series by Yoshiki Tanaka from the 90’s. It’s had multiple anime adaptations and a previous manga adaptation but this one is drawn by Hiromu Arakawa of Full Metal Alchemist fame. Arakawa’s artwork is a perfect match for the fictional Persian setting. Her expertise in fight scenes work well with all the sword fighting. Also Arakawa’s penchant for manly men characters also fits nicely with all the male soldiers and generals.

A new anime started a few years back but has unfortunately already overtaken this manga’s plot. Arakawa works slowly so it’ll be a while until she finishes this whole series but I look forward to reading more when it comes out.

Available from Kodansha Comics.

~dakazu