Tokkou no Shima
A manga about Japanese soldiers during World War 2 that were assigned to man suicide torpedoes for the Kaiten squad.
A power manga about a horrible real life war story. Sato Shuho’s inking and shadowing shine to convey emotions of the main character and the tense submarine battles.
It’s a book I think that deserves to be brought over in English but probably won’t because of the subject matter.
~dakazu
Drifting Dragons
A manga about a troupe of hunters who take to the skies to hunt and eat dragons in a fantasy world.
Food manga is a favorite genre of mine. Sometimes manga about eating fantastical creatures can be good(Delicious in Dungeon) and other times it can be bad(Youkai Gohan: Shinsen no Ryourinin). This book is definitely one of the good ones, as the dragons are a fantasy stand in for whaling.
I also love that this series feels like it belongs in the world of Hayao Miazaki’s Castle in the Sky, with airships taken right out of that movie.
Available in English from Kodansha Comics.
~dakazu
Kaisha no Yatsu niwa Zettai Shiraretakunai
A manga about a bullied office lady who must fight to survive as her co-workers start transforming into pig-men who attack humans.
An interesting single volume manga. This book explores the dark desires of getting revenge as the protagonist who ends up using this fantastical situation to channel her pent up rage against everyone who’s wronged her. Thematically it reminds me a lot of Moyoco Anno’s In Clothes Called Fat. I thought the story imploded at the end as the scientific explanation on how humans eventually became pigs didn’t really work but the obvious symbolism and themes of this book still worked well thanks to it’s short length.
I also liked the meaning behind the title “I don’t want anyone at my job to find out”.
~dakazu
Ichi-F
A documentary manga about the daily life of the cleanup crew at the No. 1 Fukushima nuclear plant after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011.
An incredibly fascinating look at what actually happens at ground zero of a nuclear disaster. Kazuto Tatsuta details everything behind the lives of worker from the process of getting hired to the daily Geiger counter checks.
There is some controversy surrounding this book as readers have been critical about how the companies behind the Fukushima cleanup in it are portrayed too positively, thus suggesting that the manga artist is in cahoots with them some how. While I’m not very familiar with the Japanese politics behind everything, I will still say that this manga is still a wonderful resource for learning about how nuclear fallout is contained and cleanup crews work.
We dedicated an episode to this book if you’d like to listen for further analysis.
~dakazu
Happiness
A manga about a boy who’s world turns upside down after he’s bit by an ancient vampire.
This series starts kind of slow but once you get to the part with the protagonist looking up at the sky that looks just like Van Gogh’s Starry Night you’ll be hooked.
Shuzo Oshimi takes his art to a whole different level in this on-going series. Story-wise it goes into some truly twisted places but that shouldn’t any surprise to fans of Oshimi’s work.
Highly recommended and also available in English through Kondasha Comics!
~dakazu
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
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
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
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
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