not simple
A manga about the unlucky life of a man named Ian.
I love Natsume Ono’s work but I was surprised with the somber tone of this book. It follows the life and death of Ian, a man who’s very existence was never really wanted. The story starts with his end and then begins with his childhood. The complex circumstances that fill Ian’s life lead to tragedy but Ono is still able to insert moments of strong relationships.
A sad but good tale. It’s available in English from VIZ media.
~dakazu
Shougi no Watanabe-kun
A manga diary about the daily life of Megumi Ina’s husband Akira Watanabe, a professional shogi player.
This is such a light hearted and fun read! Ina’s simple and cute artwork really brings out the humor of her eccentric husband. I personally loved how the behind-the-scenes look at professional shogi was mixed with weird quirks Watanabe has, such as his obsession with stuffed animals.
~dakazu
Kyoushirou 2030
A manga where Japan has become a dystopian military state filled with mutants where men and women must live separately. A brutal soldier travels across the land to in hopes of meeting his wife he has only interacted with through a virtual reality machine.
I remember reading my cousin’s volumes of Masaya Tokuhiro’s Shin Jungle no Ouja Ta-chan as a child and being both fascinated and traumatized by the stylish fight scenes and brutal dismemberment. Tokuhiro takes those elements and mixes them with more adult themes to make Kyoushirou 2030 a tale of violence, sex, and adventure.
Although there is a lot of sex, rape, and torture in this book, I felt like it wasn’t necessarily used for titillation. The love Kyoushirou feels for his wife he’s never met in real life really drives through the story, as they both suffer through terrible experiences. They both struggle with the guilt of what they’ve done to survive while trying to find solace in each other through virtual reality. I appreciated how Tokuhiko often used lots of slapstick and 4th wall breaking humor to liven the tone within this dark apocalyptic world.
A mature sci-fi adventure about two lovers against the world. I liked this one a lot.
~dakazu
Misu Misou
A manga about a middle school girl who takes murderous revenge on a group of bullies who burned her house down and killed her family.
Man the violence in this manga is something else. It’s quite shocking to read this if you only know Rensuke Oshikiri from his video game romance Hi Score Girl. The book is filled with so many gritty scenes of dismemberment, gore, and blood splatter, it really feels like a terrifying horror movie. The reactions of the victims particularly bring a real unsettling sense of reality to the violence that is often forgettable in other manga.
I really like how Oshikiri tells this tragedy. A single event compounds the problems between the students that lead to circumstances where everyone meets a gruesome end. Also, it has the worst and pathetic teacher I’ve ever seen in fiction
It’s a dark story but enjoyable if you can stomach the violence.
~dakazu
Renjou Desperado
A manga about a wandering warrior woman traveling through the wild west in search of the perfect husband.
This one surprised me with how good Ahndongshik’s art work was. Everything from the action scenes to the mystical monsters were beautifully drawn here.
This series mixes the western cowboy setting with a feudal Japan aesthetic. It’s not original by any means but the quality of the designs are just so impressive. I didn’t even mind the girl having a prosthetic arm that looks and works as a revolver. And you gotta love the use of English onomatopoeia that gave this manga a nice comic book feel.
My only minor complaint is that the main character’s motivation is to become a wife and every episode revolved around some potential male suitor. I’m not sure if that gets fleshed out in future volumes but so far it came across as pretty shallow. Also there’s a lot of fan service with the female characters but luckily it didn’t distract too much from the awesome action.
I’d like to read more to see if the story improves and find out if this is more than just some flashy action.
~dakazu
Ten wo Iru
A manga about a young samurai during the edo period of Japan who dreams to win the Dosha-archery competition.
Really enjoying this new series in Big Comic Spirits. I applaud Yumie Nishiogi for his writing that introduces a real historical sports event that I knew nothing about. Ryosuke Tobimatsu’s art is also impressive with both character details and scenery.
A historical sports manga and it’s good to boot. What’s not to like?
~dakazu
I am a Hero in Ibaraki
A spin-off series of I am a Hero that follows a boy and his dog surviving against the ZQN outbreak.
This was just OK. I thought Kazuya Fujisawa was able to capture the horror of the Kengo Hanazawa’s zombies pretty well but the story wasn’t really anything special. It follows the boy who’s become a target of bullying from his childhood friends. As the ZQN start to attack it’s revealed that the bullies were all being bullied themselves but that just seemed like a pretty rote outcome.
If you’re a fan of I am a Hero you should check out 8 Tales of the ZQN instead.
~dakazu
Crocodile Baron
A food manga about a gentleman crocodile and his rabbit apprentice traveling around and eating food.
We discussed this manga on a previous podcast.
Man, this series is very strange but enjoyable. It’s a mix of comedy, drama, and food and if that sounds like a weird mix to you then you’d be right. But somehow it still manages to be interesting.
There’s just something charming about a dapper crocodile going around spouting Wikipedia levels of knowledge on food and then being overcome by his feral instincts that puts a smile on your face.
A different manga for sure and something you should check out for yourself. Available from Kodansha Comics.
~dakazu
Stalker Koui ga Barete Jinsei Shuuryou Otoko
A manga about a man with a hobby of stalking women who is blackmailed into helping a girl with her stalker.
I think regardless of the quality of this manga the subject matter is just awful. And yes, they do present that stalking is a terrible thing to do and the main character is a scumbag but making a story about utilizing stalking skills for good? I would believe it more if the book didn’t rely on a good amount of fan service.
In comparison Stalker Jokers does a much better job with it’s premise of a group of stalker hunters. It presents a similar themes in a crime drama without turning off the reader with a stalker protagonist.
~dakazu
Sugar
Sugar
A manga about a young man who discovers his natural talent for boxing and his journey to become a professional boxer.
I really, really like this manga. It might be my favorite Hideki Arai book and the reason I got into Arai in the first place.
At it’s core it’s a sports manga but Arai fills it to the brim with a complete cast of wild characters that get into some very adult situations. It gives it a completely different feel than something like Hajime no Ippo. At the center is the protagonist Rin Ishikawa.
Rin is a fascinating individual. He takes life in stride and is constantly joking around without taking things too seriously. The story follows him as he slowly begins to change his perspective about fighting and by the end he’s completely morphed into a literal dynamo inside the ring. On the way he stumbles and ends up in crazy situations but that just makes his journey that much greater.
~dakazu