Category Archives: Written Word

All written posts

Senshi ni Ai wo

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Senshi ni Ai wo

A manga where artificial humans wage war for their human creators in hopes of having their lifespan extended.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

This might be the most political manga I’ve read in while, and it seems much more in tune with politics of USA than Japan. I couldn’t help but feel like the artificial humans were a stand in for lower class minorities as they are discriminated against and unable to find employment outside of military service.

Because the artificial humans were created specifically to clean up after the toxic wasteland and have their lifespan capped at 40 years, there’s upheaval and protest among them. When some of them resort to terrorism, the police force sent to take them out is also only comprised of artificial humans. Even on the battlefront you see artificial humans who were specifically created for fighting battle against the other counties artificial humans. It’s tragic and very fucked up.

I give the creator Hideo Miura a lot of credit because his art is pretty mediocre and at times ill equipped to handle war battles and large action scenes. But you can’t deny his excellent storytelling and scarily realistic portrayal of a possible future for humanity.

~dakazu

Kojinsa Arimasu

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Kojinsa Arimasu

A manga about a married man who suddenly changes genders and becomes a woman.

When this series started in Morning magazine I was really unsure about what to expect. Gender swap narratives are pretty common in manga and they’re not really done well because they’re rarely representative of any transgender issues. And honestly, it’s kinda hard to parse if this manga isn’t just that.

The man’s relationship with his wife wasn’t great but once he becomes a woman she shares her more blunt personality with ‘her’. But is this saying a woman can only be open about themselves when their with another girl? After the man becomes a woman, she becomes attracted to her co-worker and even ends up sleeping with them. But just because you change gender, does that mean it changes who you’re attracted to? A possibly maybe? But why does it have to be just from a change of gender? After this affair she transforms her back into a man and he’s no longer attracted to the co-worker. That just comes off as a really close minded take on gender and how it relates to sexuality.

The story becomes even more complex as the another gender swapped character demands to know how the married man switched back. When she finds out she blackmails him into having sex so she might change back into a man. Meanwhile the married man is now terrified to have sex with his wife because if he swaps again he’ll change back and reveal the truth about why he changed back. It’s a hot mess on all accounts.

This narrative is interesting to read but I can’t help but feel the themes of attraction being based on gender to come off as really naive or just obtuse. That being said this series is still on going so maybe thing won’t end up being one step removed from a She’s the Man or Just One of the Guys. Though I’d bet it won’t.

~dakazu

Kunihachibu

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Kunihachibu

A manga where a middle school girl is randomly picked to be the next “kunihachi” and must spend a year being ignored by everyone in Japan.

I’ve ranted about this on a recent episode.

This is the worst manga I have ever read in recent memory.

I cannot being to explain this premise because IT MAKES NO SENSE!

There is no logic behind this law that gets enforced by the Japanese prime minister. It’s supposed to end bullying in Japan by making everyone experience what it’s like to be a bully or something? But how the hell are you ending bullying when you arrest anyone who acknowledges the “kunihachi”? IT MAKES NO SENSE!

After this girl is chosen, she must be ignored by her classmates, teachers, random strangers, etc. Her family has to act like she doesn’t exist and locks her out of her home. She can’t buy anything because she must be ignored. When a man refuses to run her over with his car he’s arrested and jailed. She even gets bullied by her former classmates for trying to attend school. Yes, you read that right. THE LAW THAT’S SUPPOSED TO END BULLYING CREATES BULLIES!

This manga seems like it only exists to make a masochistic narrative about putting a girl through terrible atrocities like some kind of torture porn. That shit makes my skin crawl and makes me sick to my stomach. And remember, IT STILL MAKES NO SENSE!!!

Absolute trash.

~dakazu

Khan -Kusa to Tetsu to Hitsuji-

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Khan -Kusa to Tetsu to Hitsuji-

A manga that explores the possibility that Minamoto no Yoshitsune escaped his fate in Japan to travel to Mongolia and become Genghis Khan.

Really interesting historical fiction. I wasn’t aware that there were actual Japanese theories about this. The manga begins where Yoshitsune was supposed to die and follows him escaping on a boat to Mongolia. There we follow him as he slowly integrates himself into a village. After the village is attacked by bandits he meets Jamukha, who proposes the idea of conquering and uniting the great plains. Eventually the two become rivals as they each establish their own clans and battle it out.

I love this type of alternate history manga. Takeshi Seshimo‘s art work is very good and I particularly liked the battle scenes. It’s a shame this isn’t translated because it would be right at home with works like Vagabond.

~dakazu

Chikyu Hyokai Jiki

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Chikyu Hyokai Jiki

A manga about an accident at a space mining facility that forces a group of survivors to risk travel across the frozen surface in search of help.

We’ve discussed this on a recent podcast.

I ended up picking up this book because while I’ve read Jiro Taniguchi‘s manga, I wasn’t aware that he’d written outside the genre of slice of life. And I was pleasantly surprised that his realistic art style worked well with this science fiction story. I will say that I got huge Alien vibes as the miners reminded me of space truckers. They were blue-collar workers that seemed like a perfect cast for men trapped on a facility that was losing power and supplies. When the group of survivors venture to the surface they meet an indigenous tribe and learn of a prophecy that foretells the resurrection of an alien race. All of this lore really makes it close to Prometheus or something of the sort. I enjoyed this.

~dakazu

Million Joe

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Million Joe

A manga about a manga editor who decides to hides the death of a genius manga artist to keep his mega hit series “Million Joe” ongoing.

Super interesting premise and execution. This manga has the feel of a heist movie as the editor, his shady friend, and the chief assistant all work together to pull off this challenging con job on the editor-in-chief and hardcore fans of Million Joe. There’s lots of tension between the 3 of them as they each question if they can trust each other. The editor feels guilt for not monitoring the genius manga artist’s health and doesn’t want to disappoint all the fans. The assistant needs money to cover his large debt but is stressing out about becoming the ghost artist. And the friend idolizes the editor for his bold plan but keeps a secret insurance in case everything goes south. Author Ryoji Toguchi did a great job setting up these tense relationships and the realistic challenges they have to face. Also Iroha Ichimaru‘s art work is very distinct. The characters all have very cartoony designs but it works well to contrast the tense tone of the series.

I won’t spoil have everything turns out but I will say I enjoyed all 3 volumes of this manga!

~dakazu

Kami Appli

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Kami Appli

A manga about a young man who receives a mysterious “God Tool” smart phone with apps that let him hack security cameras and control combat drones. He must team up with other “God Tool” users to capture criminals and uncover the mystery behind the creation of this powerful phone.

Wow, this was surprisingly enjoyable! I’ve read some of Shosho Kurihara‘s other manga and I’ve always though his art was pretty lacking. That’s why when he was the writer for Nano Hazard I thought his talents were being used effectively. But diving into this I get the same kind of vibe you get from a Nobuyuki Fukumoto series where the storytelling outshines the limitations of the art.

I like the initial setup of this where the protagonist gets this powerful phone and immediately starts abusing it’s powers. Before he realizes that the apps cost money to use he’s in a huge amount of debt. That leads him to capture people the “God Tools” organization has deemed to be criminals. But as he teams up with other users he begins to question the organization itself and that helps keep the plot going at a good pace. The battles against the criminal and other “God Tools” users feature some really unique ideas that make them feel more like mind games than straight up fist fights.

I’m enjoying it so far and will be reading more for sure!

~dakazu

Ai to Noroi

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Ai to Noroi

A manga about a girl who is sexually molested by her father that traumatizes her for the rest of her life.

We discussed this on a recent episode.

This is one of the most powerful and disturbing series I’ve ever read. There is such an strong emotional connection you feel from the pages as you read about this young girl who is abandoned from any form of salvation around her. Her mother won’t intervene against her father’s sexual assault and she’s shunned at school after she rejects the local religion everyone buys into. What follows is a real downward spiral of tragedy as she solicits herself to strangers, becomes a shut-in, and can’t find happiness in a marriage. To top it all off, this is semi-autobiographical. My heart aches at the thought of Fumiko Fumi going through any amount of these awful things.

It finished it’s run on Kurage Bunch and I would love for it to get an official release someday.

~dakazu

The Last Saiyuki

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The Last Saiyuki

A manga about a boy who must protect a girl with prosthetic limbs that has the power to shape fears into reality.

Welcome to the latest manga to come and go quickly in Weekly Shonen Jump. When this debuted my initial thought was this is way too complex and it wasn’t in a good way. When you have to explain the way the girl’s power works in the 2nd chapter with text so much text it fails to “show not tell”. A shonen battle series really needs to present it’s characters doing some cool stylish actions instead of discussing them. Especially a new one trying to win popularity against the likes of My Hero Academia and One Piece.

Also establishing the girl as a limbless character with a potentially evil power isn’t bad but why does she need to be helpless and saved by her adoptive brother? This protector and protected scenario is overplayed and can be seen in lots of shonen series like Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru. I would have preferred it if they removed some prosthetic limbs from the girl and have her on a journey around Japan, meeting comrades, all while trying to control her powers that manifest fears. It would’ve made more sense when the title is a reference to Journey to the West.

~dakazu

Dokunie Cooking

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Dokunie Cooking

A manga about an elf who wants to be a live sacrifice to repay her debts but the monster refuses to eat her because her feet stink.

Yeah, the synopsis makes this series seem paper thin and it really is at the beginning. Every chapter follows the bodacious elf as she tries to find a way to be eaten only to be rejected by the monster. I liked how the monster only spoke through signs he held but the obvious fan service was eye rolling.

Luckily the story takes a turn as angel characters appear to try and defeat the monster, which makes the elf reveal her dark side as she threatens them from taking away her objective. This revelation of the elf’s super strength and sadistic side really added to the comedy and kept me reading. I’m glad I did because the relationship between the monster and elf evolve and the story does some good twists at the end that made them really likable. All I had to do was completely ignore all the gratuitous fan service.

~dakazu