Category Archives: Written Word

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Teigakusei Otto no Kozukai Banzai

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Teigakusei Otto no Kozukai Banzai

A chronicle of how manga artist Kouji Yoshimoto and others around him budget their monthly allowance.

We’ve discussed this on a previous episode.

I’ve talked about Kouji Yoshimoto‘s manga like Black Jack Sousaku Hiwa and Sabishii No Wa Anta Dake Ja Nai before. I’m happy to report that this new series is a big hit! Readers are really relating to Yoshimoto as he struggles to budget his allowance against his penny pinching wife. It’s hilarious to watch him seriously agonize if he can afford to blow 300 yen on snacks when there’s still a week left before his new allowance. Not only does Yoshimoto share his allowance but the rest of the series introduces other adults who manage their meager allowance by using coupons or point cards. It’s hilarious and resonates with anyone who’s had an allowance. I love it!

~dakazu

Denjin N

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Denjin N

A horror manga about a poor idol fanatic who becomes digitized and able to freely control all electric devices after suicide. He promises to get revenge on those who mistreated him and help his favorite idol become world famous.

This is the current series by the creative team behind Starving Anonymous and Fort of Apocalypse. Interesting enough there is also a draft credit to Kuu Tanaka, the artist behind The Vertical World.

As far as horror manga goes, Denjin N is very good. Our idol is horrified as rival idol groups and talent agencies fall to gruesome accidents caused by our digital stalker. The story even advances to a state where the digital stalker sheds his superego and his destructive id that forces all of Japan to worship the idol. While this doesn’t include the usual creative monster designs Kazu Inabe is known for, Yuu Kuraishi join him in creating a horrifying look at extreme stalkerism.

Currently serialized on Comic-Days.

~dakazu

Shiori Experience – Jimi na Watashi to Hen na Oji-san

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Shiori Experience – Jimi na Watashi to Hen na Oji-san

A manga about a boring school teacher who ends up meeting the ghost of Jimi Hendrix. Now she must become a musical legend before her 28th birthday or she will die!

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

It’s a shame I’ve never heard about this manga til now because it is extremely my jam. It’s a music manga, it’s about teachers inspiring students, and it’s about pursuing your dreams. All things I love reading about! I also think the gimmick that the members of the 27 Club are agents of the devil who grant talent is great. I’ve only read two volumes so far and those mostly focus on the teacher starting a rock music club at school and recruiting students as band members but I’m looking forward to other members of the 27 Club appearing.

Bravo to author Kazuya Machida and artist Yu-ko Osada! Definitely going to keep reading this one!

~dakazu

The Way of the HouseHusband

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The Way of the HouseHusband

A comedy manga about a former infamous yakuza who now lives as a househusband.

I’ve been enjoying this series since it started on Kurage Bunch. It’s absolutely hilarious to watch our househusband, Tatsu, bring intense yakuza energy into house chores and grocery shopping. One of my favorite jokes is Tatsu scaring shoppers at the supermarket when he goes off about that “premium white powder” known as flour. But the most surprising thing about this series is how creator Kousuke Oono has been able to keep this joke going for over fifty chapters! Oono continues to bring over-the-top moments full of big laughs. I fully recommend this comedy.

Available in English from VIZ.

~dakazu

Himeno-chan ni Koi wa mada Hayai

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Himeno-chan ni Koi wa mada Hayai

A manga about a 9 year-old girl who thinks she’s ready for romance.

This is a cute slice of life comedy. The joke revolve around the titular Himeno-chan who has a crush on her classmate Ouji-kun. Ouji is oblivious to Himeno’s romantic advances and it’s hilarious to see him misunderstand the note she give him that says “Meet me behind the gymnasium. Come alone” as a threat. Creator Yuzuchiri does a good job balancing these jokes along with some sweet moments where Himeno and Ouji get along and just have fun as kids. My favorite character is Ouji’s brother, who is a stand up guy who helps his brother’s friends and starts getting noticed by Himeno’s older sister. I also like the wordplay with Hime meaning ‘princess’ and Ouji meaning ‘prince’.

Currently seralized on Kurage Bunch.

~dakazu

Pocha Koi

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Pocha Koi

A romantic comedy manga about Maru-chan, a chubby office lady who tries to lose weight but can’t help herself from eating.

This seems like a cute and lighthearted comedy but I take issue with how Kouji Murata is making jokes about a woman’s weigh. You get situations where Maru-chan is embarrassed because she wore the same outfit as the rival skinny girl and hers is super tight. Or Maru-chan get’s a bike ride from the handsome co-worker but her weight pops the tire. Everything seems to go back to the main character being overweight. And while Murata does exemplify Maru-chan’s cuteness when she’s happily eating, it doesn’t take away the fact that her weight is constantly being made fun of. A shame because I was hoping this would just be about a woman who loves eating.

~dakazu

Hunter x Hunter

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Hunter x Hunter

A manga about a young boy who decides to become a professional hunter to locate his hunter father. He’s joined by his friends Leorio, Kurapika, and Killua as he begins his journey to pass the hunter exam.

Yoshihiro Togashi current series and mega-hit manga since Yu Yu Hakusho. I’ve been thinking about this series again since we just wrapped up our Retrospective on Yu Yu Hakusho. In many ways Hunter x Hunter is the amalgamation of everything Togashi wants to accomplish creatively. He continually creates new characters, story arcs, and various games with completely designed mechanics throughout this book. While I enjoy much of his creativity, at times it seems like the ideas really needed to be streamlined and edited down because the pages can end up being cluttered by the abundance of exposition and explanations.

This manga is currently on infinite hiatus as Togashi battles against health issues. While I understand the fans want to read more, I think it’s more important that Togashi is allowed to create this series at his own pace. The horror stories of his struggles during the serialization of Yu Yu Hakusho are not something I would wish on any creator. I sincerely hope fans of Hunter x Hunter will join me and wait patiently for its return.

BTW it’s ‘hunter hunter’. The x is silent.

Available in English from VIZ.

~dakazu

East, Into The Night

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East, Into The Night

A manga about a mysterious man who’s joined by a young huntress as they traverse their pitch black surroundings in search of the legendary ‘morning’.

We’ve discussed this on an older episode.

A decent adventure series. I was serialized on Jump+ and it was notable for being done in full color. Lots of good coloring and lighting of the backgrounds that worked hand in hand with the story about a world without daylight. Unfortunately it was canceled after only 12 chapters due to poor sales of the first volume. I think it’s really sad that the creator ANGYAMAN had to publicly say he felt awful that his editors were being badmouthed for his inability to make sales. But if volumes sales decide the cancellation of a series, this one was doomed to start because it was only being sold digitally due to the coloring.

You can read this manga on MANGA Plus for now but I’m not sure how long it will be available.

~dakazu

A Bride’s Story

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A Bride’s Story

A historical manga that follows a young woman and her new younger husband in late 19th century Central Asia.

I recently revisited this series after one of our Discord users talked about it. Kaoru Mori‘s art work is absolutely stunning. Her visual recreation of Central Asian culture through the clothes and oriental tapestries is absolutely gorgeous. Although the main romance between Amir and Karluk invokes some ‘older woman/young man’ or shota qualities, their relationship was common for the time and is historically accurate. Also while Mori is interested in developing their relationship, she doesn’t seem interested in showing saucy intimacy, which I appreciate.

This is an absolute wonderful manga and I fully recommend it. Available in English from Yen Press.

~dakazu

Kyoryū Senki

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Kyoryū Senki

A manga about a young man who swears revenge against the legendary dragon, Yamata no Orochi, that has resurrected and is wreaking havoc across Japan.

I was really surprised to see that Shingo Honda started this series in Weekly Shonen Magazine. His Hakaijuu series was a decent hit but it was more like a big fish in a small pond. This manga struggled against more popular series and ended up being canceled after 3 volumes. I just think Honda’s brand of horror and monsters isn’t suited for popular platforms.

~dakazu