269 – New Chapter Check-in 1 – Haikyu!!
Welcome to New Chapter Check-in where dakazu and Darfox8 will be talking full spoilers about the newest story arcs for popular manga every month! Our inaugural episode will cover Black Clover, Haikyu!!, My Hero Academia, and more!!! Also bonus discussion about Death Stranding!
Continue readingDai Dark
A manga about a young man who is hunted through the darkest reaches of space for his bones that will supposedly grant any wish if captured.
This is Q Hayashida‘s newest manga and it’s just as strange and wonderful as Dorohedoro. This one takes place in space but everything has that unique Hayashida aesthetic. Spaceships and spacesuits alike have a very flesh-like look to them. Even the protagonist Sanko wears a skin of darkness that looks like a tattered robe. He wields an axe that easily separates the bones from it’s victims. Even his backpack transforms into a walking skeleton companion.
It’s really interesting to see the theme of bones throughout this manga so far but like any Hayashida series I’ll have to read more to learn about everything.
~dakazu
Gohan Sukieeee
A series of stories involving food that Toru Seino experienced.
I really love Toru Seino‘s manga. His non-fiction storytelling is so witty and hilarious. He’s totally that friend you have who has the craziest stories to share.
This series is focused on sorely on food stories but they’re all hilarious and great. One of my favorites was how he went with a buddy to a restaurant that said ramen but looked like a sushi place. They entered and found the sashimi and raw fish dishes tasted amazing but the chef won’t serve sushi because he’s switched to making ramen. While they wait for ramen they notice another drunk customer who has wet himself but wants ramen. They predict that the ramen is so good it’s worth pissing yourself over but the end result is unspeakable.
One note about Seino is that he continues to include real life photography of these people. You can see the customer’s crotch is clearly damp but if he didn’t put a mosaic over the face I would call this exploitative.
~dakazu
Monkey Circle
The sequel series to Monkey Peak.
The murderous monkeys are back, baby!
This sequel stars a whole new group of people who are investigating the forests by Mount Fuji. I kinda love that they’re led a by scummy vlogger group. Keeps things very relevant for current times. I can’t wait to see which human survivors are involved with the Monkey killers and for all the treacherous backstabbing to begin!
~dakazu
Joshikousei ni Korosaretai
A manga about a man who’s ultimate wish is to be killed by a high school girl.
This is an interesting one. While I didn’t like how they never explained why the man became obsessed with getting killed, they do tie it to his sexual urges as a form of autassassinophilia. And despite his desire to be killed he also takes into the account of whether a young girl has the strength to strangle him and to find a way where she wouldn’t end up being charged with murder afterwards. This realistic approach kept me reading what would otherwise be a simply exploitative story going for shock. I will say there were some really forced plot elements they included that needed to happen so everything would play out for the sake of the story. I was willing to ignore them just to see if all the meticulous planning by the man paid off.
I won’t spoil it but I think it helped that this was only a short 2 volume manga that was paced appropriately. Not sure I would recommend it though because I don’t it was interesting enough to outweigh the problematic themes.
~dakazu
Eisei Otome no Tatakai-Kata
A manga about a 17 year-old high school girl who battles in the Ladies Professional Shogi League.
Another great shogi manga. This one is unique in that it focuses specifically on the Ladies Professional Shogi League and that they’re considered inferior to the Japanese Shogi Association players.
What I really like about this book is that it really emphasizes the severity of each game for professional players. Many shogi manga like 81 Diver and March Comes in like a Lion say “to lose in shogi means death” and it’s really shown through the artwork here. There’s a panel with the protagonist’s opponent strangling her underwater as she struggles to literally escape her clutches. When she finally finds a way to turn the tides it shows her lunging at their neck to bite it. It’s intense to say the least.
This is a newer series running in Big Comic Superior and I’ll definitely be reading more.
~dakazu
81 Diver
A manga about a man who failed to become a professional shogi player who is lead into the world of underground gambling shogi by a busty maid.
I love this series. It’s completely ridiculous and over the top in the best way. I feel like Yokusaru Shibata honed in his craft of drawing someone giving a crazy reaction with this series. Unfortunately I’d say he also started to really lean into busty characters. I think this series skirts that fine line that doesn’t feel exploitative because the main character often comments on how ridiculous everything is.
One thing to note about any of Shibata’s works is that they occur in the same universe. Many fighters from his previous series Air Master appear here and it’s really humorous to watch them play shogi.
~dakazu
268 – Guest Gaiden 5 – Sailor Moon Translations & Taisho Era Feminists with Anne Lee
We’re joined by a very special guest this week! Anne Lee from Shojo Power! is here to talk about her love of Sailor Moon, geek out about Takarazuka Revue, ask us about translating onomatopoeias, and tell us about feminists of Taisho Era Japan!!!
Continue readingOusamatachi no Viking
A manga about a genius but socially awkward hacker who teams up with a wealthy investor to “conquer the world”.
A decent thriller series. I really liked the dynamic expressions of the characters by Sadayasu. I liked the story in the beginning but towards the end it went into a wonky plot about government conspiracy and I kinda lost interest.
The hacker is the type of genius who suffers from communication disabilities but is obsessive over any computing. It wouldn’t be far off to say he has asperger syndrome but it’s never clearly stated. Probably for the best because I tend to have issues with misrepresentation of autism anyway.
~dakazu
Rin
The sequel series to Sugar. It continues to follow the exploits of genius boxer Rin Ishikawa.
This is a fascinating character study of human behavior as Rin has reached superhuman status, toying with his opponent that he wins the championship from. He mocks others openly because they have no understanding of the world he sees from his talent. He’s contrasted by the serious Tachikawa, a ex-criminal who’s attained his own championship through grit and determination. After Rin sucker punches Tachikawa he challenges him to fight in the ring. While Tachikawa begins to lose himself to prepare for their match Rin’s world is rocked when his childhood sweetheart rejects him for his heinous behavior. Rin falls into a dark spiral filled with brothel visits until he hits rock bottom. Ultimately, he finds Tachikawa’s intense animosity in the ring to be better than any sexual gratification he could ever hope to achieve.
Hideki Arai is a master of crafting charismatic characters and Rin is one of his best. It’s intense and very adult but that’s what I loved about this.
~dakazu