Rice Shoulder
A manga about a giant woman who gets scouted to become a professional boxer.
This was a good sports manga! I’ve read Tsuyoshi Nakaima‘s golf series Ougon no Rough before and I’ve enjoyed his cartoony art work. Even though boxing is represented well through the action, this is filled with comical scenes that give it a whimsical feel.
A solid and fun read!
~dakazu
Nikujo no Susume
A manga about an office lady who has a complex about what she looks like when she eats her favorite food: meat.
I liked this series but man o man, does it feel like fetish bait. Various characters indulge in eating their favorite foods while giving orgasmic expressions. It’s very similar to Meshinuma in that sense.
The main character even cries because her boyfriend dumped her for how she looked while eating. This also leads a potential romantic relationship with a co-worker’s who’s erectile dysfunction gets fixed after he sees her devouring her meal. Eventually she makes friends with other female co-workers and they start hanging out together to eat various meat dishes.
It’s a weird concept where I really feel a culture gap with Japanese society. Is there as stigma against women who eat meat and enjoy it in Japan? Possibly, but this manga sure leans into that hard and it comes off a bit ridiculous.
~dakazu
Area 51
A manga where a human detective solves cases in the mysterious 51st state of America that is the collecting ground of mythological creatures, aliens, and even gods.
We discussed this on a recent episode.
This manga looks CRAZY good. Masato Hisa‘s art uses extreme contrasts with blacks and whites. It really reminds me of Frank Miller’s Sin City. Hisa’s style makes this series a fun read. I enjoyed the episodic nature of different cases that need to be solved and all the unique creatures that get introduced. There is a larger plotline dealing with the backstory of the protagonist but I’m not sure if it will lead to anything deep or interesting yet.
I’ll definitely keep reading this for now.
~dakazu
257 – One Shot 22 – not simple
On this episode dakazu talks about Kimi ga Bokura wo Akuma to Yonda Koro, Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler, and Ichigeki! Then we dive into the tragic tale of Ian in Natsume Ono’s not simple!!!
Continue readingClaymore Memorabilia
An art book of illustrations from Claymore.
One of the best parts of Claymore was the striking artwork by Norihiro Yagi. This book is filled with some really gorgeous pieces that capture the haunting world of the manga. My only complaint is that I wish it was bigger and contained more extras like BLAME! and so on.
~dakazu
Razor
A manga about a former Japanese policeman who ends up in New York city where he lives and does how he pleases during the turn of the 20th century.
It’s really, really, really fortunate that I didn’t find this manga before we did our Creator Cross Section on Kazuo Koike because everything in this series is awful.
The protagonists rapes every woman he comes across and that causes them to fall madly in love with him…
He somehow escapes death JUST BECAUSE…
The mob boss he fights against is a literal copy of Vito Corleone from The Godfather…
That mob boss is killed and returns to life at the end of the series to fight him…
A female assassin claims to be Maria Okulani, daughter of the last sovereign queen of Hawaii Liliʻuokalani, despite the fact that Okulani was NOT her last name…
This is so bad and clearly ripping off the settings of Gangs of New York. There’s no excuse for why Koike didn’t do any research into any of the historical context of the story.
This is probably the worst thing I’ve read in recent memory and I READ A LOT OF BAD THINGS.
~dakazu
Mousou Telepathy
A manga about a girl with telepathy who constantly hears the lewd thoughts of her classmate.
We discussed this on a recent episode.
This was a cute read. NOBEL uses a very simple art style that works well with all the characters. The one page chapters reminded me a lot of Tomo-chan is a Girl!.
Gotta thank CrossXhunteR for this recommendation. I’ll keep reading this one.
~dakazu
Koumon-sama: Suke-san no Yuuutsu
A manga about a rounin who is hired to become the 4th Suke-san to accompany Mitsukuni Tokugawa on his adventures across Japan.
I remember watching old reruns of the famous Mito Kōmon television show, where Mitsukuni Tokugawa would dress as a commoner and correct injustices across Edo Japan. Masaya Tokuhiro has taken this beloved story and turned it on it’s head. Here, Mitsukuni Tokugawa is a selfish old lord who seeks thrills and excitement at the cost of his expendable traveling companions. Our protagonist must somehow appease Mitsuhide’s bloodthirsty desires while keeping to his own code of bushido, as well as his life.
It’s a fun read filled with Tokuhiro’s low brow and 4th wall breaking humor. I’d love to read the rest of it some day.
~dakazu
Gintama
So Gintama finally ended after 77 volumes.
It’s both hilarious and appropriate that the series had to move to Jump GIGA and then to an app to conclude it’s final arc. Gintama will always hold a special place in my heart for it’s amazing blend of 4th wall breaking comedy and heartfelt storylines.
Yorozuya forever!
~dakazu
Saeism
A manga about a bullied girl saved by the school idol Sae, only to become the target Sae’s obsessive and controlling love.
We discussed this on a previous episode.
This one is pretty interesting. My only complaint is that the story sets Sae up to be this omnipotent character that is impossible to beat. She counters any obstacle put in her way with ease and it makes her way overpowered.
I’ll keep reading it for now mostly to see if Sae will ever get her comeuppance and hopefully it won’t feel like it’s dragging on.
~dakazu