The Full-Time Wife Escapist
A manga about a woman who enters into a common-law marriage with a man to make a job out of being a house wife.
Finally finished this wonderful josei series! I really enjoyed it but was bummed that Tsunami Umino broke up my favorite couple by the end. I hope Kodansha Comics will bring over the final 2 volumes for English release soon!
~dakazu
The Fable
A manga about a legendary hitman known as ‘The Fable’ who is ordered by his boss to live quietly as a normal person for one year.
We’ve discussed this on an older episode.
Love this series. Katsuhisa Minami has a very particular art style that mixes realistic body proportions with expressive faces. It works perfectly as we follow this elite killer awkwardly assumes the role of an average joe. It’s hilarious to see him interact with his boss and coworkers at his part-time job while finding joy watching the third-rate comedian Jackal. Minami does a great job transitioning seamlessly into action scenes and some serious drama. It allows our assassin to use his ridiculously overpowered skills to protect people around him without them even noticing.
This series ended part 1 in 2019 and part 2 is set to start later this year. I’ll definitely be checking that out.
~dakazu
Yukionna to Kani wo Kuu
A manga about a man who decides not to commit suicide until he eats crab in Hokkaido is joined and aided by the woman he sexually assaulted.
Premise of this manga is absolute garbage. Perhaps Gino0808 wanted to create intrigue with a mysterious woman but when she agrees to sexual assault and then serves her rapist coffee afterwords you’re only going to get eye rolls from me. I’ll spare you the details but as the two travel to Hokkaido the man becomes afraid of dying when it becomes clear that the woman is determined to die herself. They try to add a sympathetic back story to the man on why he wants to die and how it’s connected with his past job but it just came off as justifying why he raped a woman to me. Hard pass.
~dakazu
Blue Lock
A soccer manga about an elite Japanese training facility, Blue Lock, that pits high school athletes against each other in a cutthroat elimination contest to create the ultimate egoist striker.
I wasn’t sure about this series when it started in Weekly Shonen Magazine because the magazine already had a well established popular soccer manga DAYS. However the author Muneyuki Kaneshiro has made the smart choice of ignoring the usual focus on high school soccer leagues and creating an almost reality game show scenario where different athletes butt heads and compete against each other to become the best. The story starts with players setup into teams to fight against each other and eventually moves on to individuals playing against each other. The mix up of competition helps keep things interesting and moving at a good pace. Yusuke Nomura‘s art has also really improved as the series has progressed and now every chapter has some really stylish action scenes.
A very solid soccer manga that is trying something different and making it work.
~dakazu
Dansei Kyofusho datta watashi ga AV Joyu ni naru made no Hanashi
An autobiography by former adult film star Nazuna Nonohara about how she went from being afraid of men to working in the porn industry.
We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.
This was very rough to read. Similar to Fumiko Fumi‘s Ai to Noroi, this is a terrible story about sexual molestation and trauma. I was impressed by Nonohara’s willingness to be so open about the horrible experiences she went through. The first volume was extremely dark but I’m going to keep reading since I know she found some fulfillment working as an adult video star. Hopefully she will reach that point soon in the story.
~dakazu
Last Order -Saigo no Sentaku–
A manga were targets of assassination are given 24 hours to have their last meal.
We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.
This manga is a 100% a case of bad writing. I’m can kind of tell that Hanta Kinoshita was going for a heartfelt drama but the execution here is just bad. An assassin who informs the targets of their death and making them wait a day so they can eat isn’t compassionate. He’s psychotic and torturous. And while some people were legitimately doing bad things that would make them a target, others were innocent victims like the high school girl who’s killed by a jealous girl. Also you can’t feel an emotional connection to these characters who come to terms with their imminent death because we just met them and it’s way too unnatural to be OK with suddenly dying. The only positive I can give for this series is the artwork by Hikari Sumi, which was done very well. Not recommended.
~dakazu
Derodero
A horror comedy manga about a middle school delinquent Hino Mimio, who’s enhanced sixth sense frequently gets him mixed up with ghosts and apparitions.
We’ve discussed this on an older episode.
Before Rensuke Oshikiri became famous for Hi Score Girl he focused on a lot of horror and comedy series. It’s fitting that he got his start with this horror comedy hybrid Derodero. It’s filled with hilarious jokes that poke fun at horror cliches and take advantage of many spooky urban legends in Japan. The chapters are short vignettes that either end with Hino getting punked by a ghost or Hino punking the ghost. It’s all hilarious.
Since this is Oshikiri’s debut his artwork is still pretty green but it was interesting to see how where he started from. I really enjoyed this.
~dakazu
To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts
A manga about how experimental monster soldiers who helped win a war are losing their humanity and becoming true monsters themselves. These sacred beasts are hunted down by their former captain who is in turn hunted by a young woman who swears revenge for her murdered father.
I checked out this series after the anime adaptation started. It’s a completely decent action series but the story is predictable. You have episodic arcs where the captain hunts down a former comrade and the young woman sees the prejudices the scared beasts endure and that leads to some dramatic payoff as each soldier is put to rest. There’s supposed to a major mystery about the origin of the sacred beasts that tied with the captain’s lover along with a betrayal of a childhood friend but this too seemed pretty rote. By the time I reached the flashback I wasn’t interested with the storytelling or art work so I dropped this.
It’s available from Kodansha Comics if you’re interested. Not for me.
~dakazu
Fire Rabbit
A manga about genius Mahiro Todaka who quits his dream of becoming a professional gamer after a fighter fighter Itsuki Tendo loses his life saving him. Mahiro is aided by the ghost of Tendo and joins the Fire Rabbit squad to become a fire fighter who will someday surpass Tendo.
I really enjoyed this manga. The setup was pretty straight forward but I liked the dynamic of the Mahiro and the ghost Itsuki. They make a competitive ranking system for the different fire fighter squads. I thought it was pretty silly but it made sense since the Mahiro analyzes everything through statistics and video games.
Unfortunately this series ended after six volumes. It’s a shame because I felt like there could’ve been more story to tell but I guess it wasn’t popular enough to continue. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more works by Aya Hirakawa in the future.
~dakazu
Butakai Ouji to 100 Kai no Kiss
A manga adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen‘s fairy tale The Swineherd.
We’ve discussed this on a previous episode.
Yeah, this manga has some serious problems. The original fairy tale is already ridiculous with the prince disguising himself to seduce the princess and then shaming her after he reveals his identity. Tsunami Umino takes it even further with the prince then forcing the princess to become his sex slave. And after the princess learns about the princes true feelings she falls in love with him? Yikes!
Umino commented in the after thoughts that she just wanted to draw some sexy stuff. I just wish sexy stuff didn’t have to include sexual assault and ridiculous logic. And it’s a shame because she mixes in some fun modern day elements into the story.
~dakazu