Category Archives: Written Word

All written posts

Sousou no Frieren

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Sousou no Frieren

A manga about the elf Frieren who was the magician in the hero’s party who saved the world. A story follows Frieren decades later as she decides to start traveling the lands right after the hero passes away.

I really like this manga! The story setup feels like an extended epilogue to a role playing game. Because Frieren is one of the only living survivors of her party, there’s a lot of flashbacks that show how a small kind gesture she did in the past has largely effected a town. It gives the who series a real melancholy tone as Frieren remembers her short time with the other adventurers fondly. Really great job by Tsukasa Abe and Kanehito Yamada bringing this somber tale to life!

~dakazu

Mogura no Uta

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Mogura no Uta

A manga about an undercover cop who digs himself deep into the world of criminals in order to arrest a drug dealing yakuza boss.

Mogura no Uta is manga artist Noboru Takahashi‘s most famous and still ongoing series. When I started reading there were already over 50 volumes available and as Takahashi has been drawing this since 2006. Takahashi has a really unique style to his character work that sometimes even looks poorly drawn. Despite this, I got intensely invested in Reiji Kikukawa’s ability to bluff his around enemies and allies alike to keep his secret identity a secret. It’s a fun and entertaining crime drama that’s been adapted to multiple live-action movies as well. I’ll keep reading this series as long as it keep going in Big Comic Spirits!

~dakazu

Suicide Girl

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Suicide Girl

A manga about a young energetic teenage girl who is denied of her wish to commit suicide and must instead stop others around her from committing suicide by battling against suicide causing monsters known as Phobia by using a magical noose to transform into a magical hanged girl.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

….yeah this manga is a whole can of YIKES.

Based on other Atsushi Nakayama manga I’ve read, I don’t think he’s trying to consciously trying to make a statement about suicide or lynching. My guess is that he wracked his brain for something unique and it brought him to this concept. But mixing magical girls with not only suicide but hanging makes for imagery too triggering for me. And when the main girl has to hang herself with a magical noose to unlock it’s powers? It makes it hard to look past these things to see a story of a teen dealing with loss and then blaming suicide on evil monsters instead of the serious issues that can lead to such a terrible choice. Nakayama may be a super talented artist but this book is just too problematic.

~dakazu

Ryu to Ichigo

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Ryu to Ichigo

A manga about an authority-hating middle school girl who turns out to be a genius at shogi.

We’ve discussed this on an previous episode.

This is Mitsuharu Yanamoto’s new manga but I find it hilarious because it’s same protagonist from his previous series Hibiki – Shousetsuka ni Naru Houhou. Ichigo is exactly the same as Hibiki was, right down to a “zero fucks given” attitude. The only difference is that Hibiki was a genius writer and Ichigo is a genius shogi player. While it’s pretty audacious of Yanamoto to just repeat what he did with Hibiki – Shousetsuka ni Naru Houhou, I’m really enjoying this series because I love seeing that character-type and I also love shogi manga. My only concern is whether this manga will be successful in Weekly Shonen Sunday as shogi manga don’t typically do well in shonen serializations.

~dakazu

Yokosuka Kozue

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Yokosuka Kozue

A manga about Kozue, a dog that lives in Yokosuka, Japan.

This is a real nice easygoing slice-of-life manga. Kozue has a distinct look that makes her look like a middle-aged woman and it fits her personality well. She’s very intelligent for a dog and uses her intellect to get adopted by a family. It’s fun to see her interact with all the members of the household and also animals around her. Sometimes the chapter are told from the perspective of humans around her and sometimes it’s from Kozue’s perspective. It even has a supernatural element when statue gods at the local shrine become regular characters. Tobia Oda was known for their Danchi Tomoo series which also had a similar vibe of easygoing comics.

~dakazu

This Communication

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This Communication

A manga about a cutthroat military genius who takes command of immortal teenage warriors to protect one of the last human strongholds against alien monsters.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

This manga is so interesting! The military leader has a history of killing off incompetent allies and sacrificing them for the greater good. He’s clearly not moral or just but so deliciously ruthless. Then you pair him up with a group of emotionally unstable genetically manipulated teenage weapons who just happen to regenerate from death but forget their last hour of being alive. It leads to many situations where the military guy will kill off the teens in order to preserve his superiority. It’s fascinating to look at such an unstable alliance being tasked with protecting humanity. My only complaint is that all the teenagers are female while the military leader is male. This means that most instances of murder happening is male on female violence and that has Maruei Rokudai sending an uncomfortable message in their manga.

~dakazu

No Guns Life

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No Guns Life

A manga that takes place in a future where cybernetically enhanced soldiers called Extended are common place. Juzo Inui, a Gunhead Extend with amnesia, works as a detective and has just had a kid with a mysterious power everyone wants is put in his care.

This manga is aesthetically super cool. Tasuku Karasuma deserves some high praise for the unique design of Inui. But while I was interested to learn more about the hardboiled cyberpunk world Karasuma created, I ran into the same complaints I had with Yasuhiro Nightow and Sui Ishida works. It was hard to parse what was happening during the action sequences. Sometimes you just couldn’t tell what was occurring based on the perspective presented in the panels. I ended up dropping the book and now I’m watching the anime instead which is always a shame.

This is available in English from VIZ.

~dakazu

Totsuidemo Otaku desu

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Totsuidemo Otaku desu

A sequel to Renai Sanjigen Debut ~Sanjudai Otaku Mangaka, Kekkon e no Michi.~ that follows manga artist Ayami Kazama‘s heavily otaku-like married life.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

While I enjoyed Renai Sanjigen Debut ~Sanjudai Otaku Mangaka, Kekkon e no Michi.~ a lot I was disappointed to learn Kazama had married Azure Konno. I honestly should’ve stopped there but in my haste I bought this sequel already so I figured I’d read it. Kazama continues with her eccentric otaku approach to most practical things. Instead of stopping her husband from spending money on mobile gacha games she encouraged him. When Kazama and Konno visit cake shops together they compare them to sleeping with different types of girls This book is filled with many of these types of stories and they’re all well drawn and equally humorous.

~dakazu

Okera no Tsubasa

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Okera no Tsubasa

A comedy manga about rich playboy who is saved after a fatal car crash by a god of misfortune and now is unable to use money in any form until he dies.

This is such a beautifully cruel manga. The main character Tsubasa is such a scummy and shallow guy it’s both hilarious and satisfying to see him get put into this terrible situation. He argues and cries and tries to weasel his way out of paying for rent or anything but eventually he ends up homeless. His journey takes him to an ocean side town where a caring man feeds him and houses him and it ends up teaches him humility and the importance of kindness. All in all Masaharu Noritsuke ended up writing a nice story under the premise of a comedy. Not bad for a manga he drew between while making his main Afro Tanaka series. Well done!

~dakazu

Destroy and Revolution

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Destroy and Revolution

A manga about a teenager with a supernatural ability called “oneness” who teams up with his friend to become terrorists in order to destroy the corrupt Japanese government.

This is another entertaining series by Kouji Mori. I was initially surprised that Mori started this science fiction story but it shares a lot of introspective scenes from the main characters which is a common theme in his other works like Jisatsutou and Holyland. Mori does a great job building the story slowly as the protagonist takes time opening up to his friend’s ideals about forcefully fixing society. Even after they being performing acts of terrorism there’s plenty of moments showing how complex the issues are. They actually don’t succeed despite growing more members who can access the powers of “oneness” and the story eventually leads to them taking on the American government as a world power. It’s all well drawn and engaging to read.

Mori is such a talented manga artist and this is just another example to his amazing body of titles.

~dakazu