Category Archives: Written Word

All written posts

Wave, Listen to Me!

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Wave, Listen to Me!

A manga about a young disgruntled woman who ends up becoming a late-night radio talk show host.

We’ve discussed this manga on a recent episode.

If you’re familiar with Hiroaki Samura‘s works like Blade of the Immortal this this manga will shock you with how different it is. We follow foul-mouthed Minare as she’s basically blackmailed into working at a local radio station. The witty dialogue reminds me a little of Gintama. Samura’s dramatic art works great in contrast for hilarious moments between all the characters. I’m cautiously optimistic for this one and I really hope I won’t run any of Samura’s commonly used themes of sexual assault you find in his other stuff.

Great anime adaptation is airing right now and the manga is available from Kodansha Comics.

~dakazu

Rokuhōdō Yotsuiro Biyori

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Rokuhōdō Yotsuiro Biyori

A manga about four men who run the Rokuhōdō tea house and the customers they serve.

A story about four pretty-boys running a cafe isn’t typically what I look for in my food manga but I love this series. It has a really pleasant tone because all the characters are very caring and supportive of each other. Whether the customers find some comfort food or the four men work together to overcome a problem, everything here is super heartfelt and just gives me warm fuzzy feelings.

There was an nice anime adaptation as well!

~dakazu

Sensei Hakusho

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Sensei Hakusho

A manga about manga artist Yoshihiro Togashi told from the eyes of his former assistant Kunio Ajino.

I’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

This book was a fun read as a fan of Yoshihiro Togashi. While Ajino doesn’t really share any interesting backstories behinds the creation of Yu Yu Hakusho, he does draw Togami as a caring manga artist who looked after his assistants. There were a few fun stories in there, like how Togashi lost his pet snake or how we casually beat Resident Evil in record time.

Though I wish there was more content, it still was really enjoyable to get a little glimpse into Togashi as a person.

~dakazu

Yamada Meshi

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Yamada Meshi

A manga about a teenager girl who visits and chronicles her meals at different eateries that are named “Yamada”.

Pretty good food manga. This book is very similar to Shizuka Itou‘s other food manga Misoji Meshi as it features real life eateries you can visit in Tokyo. I still really love Itou’s sketch-like ink work but I though the story of a girl trying to connect with her separated father was a little underwhelming. I think it’s a good thing that this is a single volume short series.

~dakazu

Nodame Cantabile

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Nodame Cantabile

A manga about music university student Chiyaki, who wants to become a conductor. However he has a fear of flying and also becomes the object of affection of eccentric weirdo pianist, Nodame.

This manga was a huge hit in Japan and my mother started reading it. As someone who has gone to a music conservatory myself, I could highly relate to all the jokes revolving around performers and musicians. I think Tomoko Ninomiya did an excellent job taking the setting of a music university and mix it with some hilarious comedy. My only complaint is I wasn’t really into the ending because it abandoned the fun side characters and I didn’t like how Chiyaki and Nodame were being manipulated by others.

Still an excellent manga about classical music and that onto itself deserves high praise!

~dakazu

Ranma 1/2

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Ranma 1/2

A zany comedy about a teenage martial artist who transforms from male into female from water after falling into a cursed spring in China.

My brother and I read this series while growing up. When I think of Rumiko Takahashi I think of this fun mix of shonen battles and slap stick comedy. I loved the story and it became the first manga where was actively shipping different characters together.

Looking at it now, I see the representation of Chinese people that are problematic stereotypes along with some outdated gender narratives. It still doesn’t quite ruin my nostalgia for the manga but I now feel like I should give Rumiko Takahashi‘s newer series more of a chance instead of dismissing them as inferior to Ranma 1/2.

~dakazu

Vagabond

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Vagabond

A manga about the historical life of one of the most well known Japanese swordsman and philosopher, Miyamoto Musashi.

Vagabond is a beautiful manga. Takehiko Inoue mixes finely detailed ink links with Japanese ink painting. His depiction of the famous Miyamoto Musashi is as equally complex as his varied art techniques.

It’s almost hard to imagine how the creator of SLAM DUNK went on to draw an acclaimed historical opus. And it’s also a damn shame that the series is on infinite hiatus since 2015.

Available in English from VIZ.

~dakazu

Doraemon

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Doraemon

A manga about a cat based robot that time travels back from the 21st century to help a boy change his future with amazing gadgets.

We’ve discussed this for a Saikyo Selections and a Triple Dip.

My first manga. Literally the first manga I ever read when I was a child. It’s also how I learned how to read Japanese so Doraemon will always have a special place in my heart.

Doraemon is world famous and beloved because it’s timeless. It’s filled with creative ideas that spark the imagination of young readers. Every character from Noby to his friends are all a delight and chapters range from comedy to edutainment to even suspense. It’s a finely crafted franchise but unfortunately not well known in USA.

Although Fujiko F. Fujio passed away in 1996, his creation continues to entertain children around the world. Celebrating it’s 50 year anniversary, Doraemon is available in English digitally from Shogakukan.

~dakazu

Basara

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Basara

A post-apocalyptic fantasy where a young woman assumes the identity of her brother to lead a rebellion against a ruthless Empire.

This was a series a classmate from Japanese school lent me. The fantastical setting and gripping story completely sucked me in. Little did I know I was reading one of my first shojo manga. It should’ve been obvious considering the heroine falls in love with the enemy king but neither of them know each other’s true identity. Also almost every character is a pretty boy bishonen and there is even a BL guardian figure. Not that any of this matters because Yumi Tamura‘s art work is equally lovely and dynamic. The only thing I’ll say is that it’s an older series from the 90s so you have to deal with some offensive stereotypes here and there. Otherwise an excellent series that can help bridge male readers to some quality shojo manga.

Available from VIZ.

~dakazu

Ashita no Joe

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Ashita no Joe

A manga that follows a young teenager, Joe Yabuki, who gets sent to juvenile prison where he begins his journey training to become a boxer.

Easily considered one of the greatest manga ever made. I remember my first time reading through the series and being genuinely surprised how good it was. Asaki Takamori and Tetsuya Chiba masterfully take Joe through his naive teenage years into bitter adulthood and even eventually into an almost self destructive anti-hero. I think it’s a damn shame there hasn’t been a Western release of this masterpiece yet.

~dakazu