Grashros

Grashros

A manga that takes place during the time of early man about a boy born with a curse that vows to kill the Mammoth who destroyed his tribe.

This series was pretty unique with it’s Paleolithic setting. The only other series with a similar backdrop is Sousei no Taiga.

The same creative team made the As the Gods Will shonen series and you can tell they’re taking full advantage of now doing a seinen series as they don’t shy away from sexual content. The final confrontation was particularly ridiculous as it involved the protagonists literally manifesting his hatred into a “rage boner”.

I will say the writer did a good job of introducing fictional verbiage used by these characters to reflect them being early man. They used that along with including some modern influences into the world, such as a tribe who’s into rapping, that somehow awkwardly worked.

I liked it.

~dakazu

Dangerous 1969

Dangerous 1969

A manga spin-off of the Sentou Hakai Gakuen Dangerous light novel series that’s set during era of student protests of 1969. This series focuses on the twisted abilities of humans with extraordinary powers called majin.

I don’t know anything about this franchise but I was immediately taken back when they start this series with a corrupt cop with the ability to ejaculates super-sticky semen and follow that up later with a torture scene.

Story-wise this is very similar to X-men. You have people with powers that are feared by normal humans and factions that want to either reach negotiations or fully rebel against the government. That’s all good but I didn’t feel like bothering when it seemed like the author was just trying to make the most absurd powers, like the ability to control elementary school girl’s urine, for pure shock value.

Juvenile and lame. Not recommended.

~dakazu

218 – Scum’s Wish part 1

218 – Scum’s Wish part 1

Welcome to the first part of our Retrospective review of Scum’s Wish! There’s lots of unrequited love to deal with from both the manga and even our hosts?!

Continue reading

Black Clover

Black Clover

A manga about a young boy determined to become the Magic Emperor, defender of the kingdom, despite being born with no magic power. He uses anti-magic swords and competes against his childhood friend and rival as he climbs the ranks of the Magic Knights.

…Yeah so this is 100% the plot of Naruto except you’ve replaced ninjas with magic.

Despite the unoriginal setup for this shonen battle manga, Black Clover is really enjoyable. Yuki Tabata’s art style is perfect for his action scenes that use dynamic paneling.

One aspect of this series that I want to praise is it’s refreshing take on the rivalry between Asta and Yuno. Unlike other shonen battle series where the main rival usually hates the protagonist, Yuno respects and believes in Asta and purely wants to compete with him.

One of the highest quality by-the-books shonen titles right now.

~dakazu

Spice Beam

Spice Beam

A manga about a young man who starts working at the Thai restaurant Chang run by the mysterious master and the beautiful Paula.

This series is EXACTLY the same another series by Akira Fukaya called Spicy Cafe Girl. This book is almost feels like a remake considering it came out 5 years later.

While I liked this book I think I preferred the characters and stories from Spicy Cafe Girl in comparison.

~dakazu

Terror Night

Terror Night

A manga about a young man who ends up forming a “Teller” and “Terror” duo with the Slit Mouth woman.

A manga focusing on Urban Legends isn’t uncommon but this book mixes terror with comedy as the main character has to deal with appeasing the affections of the Slit Mouth woman or being sliced up instead. Eventually the series turns into a battle manga as different allegories pair up with humans who “Tell” the tales of “Terror”. I would’ve personally been better with just a light-hearted romantic comedy instead. Besides, I feel like this manga has to end with the boy ending up with the Slit Mouth woman so you might as well keep it light.

I will praise Takashi Tsukimi’s character designs as the Slit Mouth woman is a super cute and endearing character.

~dakazu

The Girl from the Other Side

The Girl from the Other Side

A manga about a young girl protected by a demonic looking man who is an Outsider.

This manga is fantastic. Nagabe’s art work is phenomenal and gorgeous looking. The plot might be a little slow but I really liked how they used that slow pacing to maintain a sense of dread and uncertainty with barely any actions.

We’ve discussed it on this episode if you’d like to hear our detailed thoughts. Highly recommended you check this book out for yourself.

~dakazu

Uramichi Oniisan

Uramichi Oniisan

A manga about a man who works on a children’s television show who ends up showing his dark, cynic, and pessimistic personality sometimes.

I love this kind of dark comedy. Uramichi bitching about responsibilities of being a functioning adult to the children on his show are priceless.

On an interesting side note, I learned about this web manga series after creator Gaku Kuze posted a small Uramichi Oniisan short on twitter complaining about the state of manga piracy. Somehow it was very fitting for this character to explain why Japanese publishers were hesitant to crack down on manga piracy. It’s a good thing they’ve recently changed their attitude about it.

~dakazu

Yokohamasen Doppelganger

Yokohamasen Doppelganger

A manga about a man accused of murders he didn’t commit that travel back in time 11 years to team up with his younger self to find the true killer. 

An interesting murder mystery with a sci-fi twist. I really liked the idea of a protagonist who can literally trust himself. There’s some great parallels happening with the future version being obsessed with killing the killer and the past self wanting more to save the victims. I won’t spoil it but I really liked the ending too.

~dakazu

217 – Triple Dip 32 – Kasane, Give My Regards to Black Jack, Higanjima

217 – Triple Dip 32 – Kasane, Give My Regards to Black Jack, Higanjima

Get ready for another Triple Dip this week with Kasane, Higanjima and Give My Regards to Black Jack!

Continue reading