Author Archives: dakazu

Ogeha

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Ogeha

A manga about an expressionless boy capturing an alien humanoid insect and keeping it.

This manga has a really disturbing tone. The boy who finds the alien creature is just a complete sociopath as he doesn’t freak out about finding a humanoid insect and just brings it home and calls it Ogeha because she looks like a disgusting version of an ageha butterfly.

What proceeds is basically a kidnapping and confinement story as the boy doesn’t even bother to take care of Ogeha until she almost dies from malnutrition. And since the boy broke the egg sac prematurely Ogeha comes off as a child who knows nothing and only receives food on the whim of the boy. When Ogeha’s guardians try to steal her back she’s developed such an attachment to her captor the story ends with her returning to him. It really comes off as a creepy story of Stockholm syndrome. A shame because the overall design and look of Ogeha by Oimo is unique.

~dakazu

SOUL CATCHERS

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SOUL CATCHERS

A manga about a high school boy who is cursed to see the true hearts of everyone and uses that ability to lead the concert band to the nationals as their student conductor.

We discussed this on a recent episode.

I remember reading this series when it ran in Weekly Shonen Jump and enjoyed it. It was sad when the manga was moved to another magazine and I couldn’t follow it anymore but I finally finished it this year.

Hideo Shinkai would represent various musicians with expressive visuals that the protagonist could see and that was definitely the most unique and interesting part of this manga. I did roll my eyes at some of the pseudo facts Shinkai threw in about concert bands to create drama between the members but otherwise it was an enjoyable series.

Glad I finally got to read the ending.

~dakazu

261 – Manga in Motion 40 – A Letter to Momo

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261 – Manga in Motion 40 – A Letter to Momo

This week Darfox explains why he didn’t finish the graphic novel Lighter Than My Shadow, Seamus catches up on more To Your Eternity, and dakazu enjoyed the colorful web manga Mousou Telepathy! Then our hosts discuss themes of rural romanticism with the anime film A Letter to Momo!!!

Continue reading →

Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku

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Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku

A manga about an unkillable ninja on death row who is recruited to investigate a mysterious island to find an elixir of immortality in exchange for his freedom.

We talked about this series on Darfox Dabbles.

The extreme high quality of this series can’t be understated. I can’t say enough about Yuji Kaku‘s fantastic artwork. Stylish action sequences and gorgeous backdrops help bring the story to life. Even the first chapter could be a stand alone one shot for it’s wonderful storytelling. This series would’ve been popular in any magazine but I think they chose to serialize it as a web manga because of the violence. Currently it stands as a flagship manga for Jump+.

You can read all the available chapters on VIZ with a subscription and I highly recommend it.

~dakazu

Infection

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Infection

A manga about a group of high school students who try and survive during an outbreak of a virus that transforms humans into cannibals.

Wow this is not very good but somehow it’s been running for a long time on Magazine Pocket. Probably because of the absurd amount of fan service. Even in the first chapter a girl has to pee in a can and beyond the extreme crotch shots she basically has an orgasm while relieving herself. It’s really stupid.

T&A aside this is essentially just a zombie series. The infected look fairly creepy as they have hundreds of tiny maggots coming out of their eyes and mouth. Beyond that I couldn’t stop my eyes rolling from the over sexualization of all the female characters whom were mostly manipulating men to white knight them. Hard pass on this one.

~dakazu

Colorful Crow

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Colorful Crow

A manga about a wannabe delinquent who ends up signing a contract to become the guardian protector of an old shrine run by crows.

We’ve discussed this manga on an older episode.

This is my first experience reading a Matsuri Akino series and I really enjoyed it! Akino has a really retro style that makes characters look like they’re straight out of a shojo series from the 70’s. It worked perfectly with the story as the spiritual crows are represented as old school delinquents.

Unfortunately the series concludes abruptly after 3 volumes but reading this has gotten me more interested to read Pet Shop of Horrors so I might look for that next.

~dakazu

SPY x FAMILY

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SPY x FAMILY

A manga about an elite spy who forms a fake family with a deadly assassin and a telepathic child to carry out his next secret mission.

This is such a fantastic series. I love the premise of a fake family where everyone is hiding a secret. The dynamic between the spy trying to carry out his mission and the contract killer hiding her identity all being completely known by their fake telepathic child is ripe for comedic moments. I’ve never read any of Tatsuya Endo‘s previous work but they’re a master of stylish action scenes that help keep every chapter exciting to read.

It’s available to read on MANGA Plus and I highly recommend it.

~dakazu

Libidors

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Libidors

A manga about a high school boy who gets infected during an outbreak of a virus that mutates people into monsters when they get aroused.

This is Masaki Kasahara‘s current manga after he wrapped up Gunjou Senki. The premise really feels like an X-Men story with an erotic twist that I’m not really sure if I personally like. The protagonist is miraculously able to control his mutation without losing his mind and eventually ends up fighting to protect the girl he has a crush on while being targeted for his unique status. Obviously the title is take from the fact that the mutations are directly linked with one’s libido.

I think Kasahara’s artwork and storytelling are really helping me push pass the pretty stupid premise. There’s some interesting body horror happening with the transformations but then they’re tied to different fetishism like long socks and young girls that really made me roll my eyes.

It’s currently serialized in Young Jump so I’ll probably keep reading it as I read new issues.

~dakazu

Rocking You!!

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Rocking You!!

A manga about a high school boy who ends up joining the rock research club and starting a band with it’s solitary member.

Pretty decent music manga. I give Kaori Ishikawa lots of props for having a super kinetic art style that really gave off the intensity of rocking guitars and vocals. Chapters titles were songs that I would listen to as I read through it.

This was serialized on Jump+ and I was kinda sad it ended abruptly. I guess it didn’t have enough popularity to continue.

~dakazu