Category Archives: Written Word

All written posts

Black Jack Sousaku Hiwa

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Black Jack Sousaku Hiwa

A documentary manga filled with interviews and behind-the-scene stories about the god of manga, Osamu Tezuka.

A great non-fiction series. It’s filled with so many interviews and little revelations about who Tezuka was. Whether it’s former assistants, fellow manga artists, his children, or his editors, everyone has a unique take on Tezuka himself.

I also love Kouji Yoshimoto’s art style. It’s cartoony and delightful. Yoshimoto has drawn some story manga but I prefer his non-fiction work. I also recommend the documentary series about Japanese composer Mamoru Samuragochi, Sabishii No Wa Anta Dake Ja Nai.

~dakazu

Atarimae no Zehitaku.

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Atarimae no Zehitaku.

A food manga where manga artist Shota Kikuchi introduces gourmet recipes he and his wife cook at home.

Shota Kikuchi is a more of a minor manga artist but I’m a fan of his adorable super deformed characters. This series is all about Kikuchi sharing his favorite things to make and eat.

Kikuchi comes off as a bit of a foodie but he backs it up with these recipes that look great. I tried his version of ginger pork and loved it.

A food manga that’s all about the food. It makes me hungry every time I read it.

~dakazu

ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.

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ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.

A manga about a special government inspection committee that oversees the affairs within fictional kingdom of Dowa. As agent Jean Otus travels around the 13 territories he gets wrapped up in a plot to over throw the monarchy.

A terrific series. We reviewed it on an episode. This manga made me fall in love with Natsume Ono’s distinctive art style. I love manga artists that are able to craft dense worlds and Ono gets full marks. Each territory has it’s own unique culture and environment that is inspired from real world locations. Yakkara is a tiny but rich gambling district that exists within the larger an poor dessert territory of Pranetta: an obvious reference to Las Vegas in Nevada. There’s even influence on the people living within these places; Residents of Jumõku are taller due to the plentiful agriculture.

It’s available in English from Yen Press and I highly suggest you check it out for yourself. Also the anime has one of the best opening themes.

~dakazu

Meshinuma

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Meshinuma

A manga about an office worker with an endless appetite.

Man, this series cracks me up because the main character loves to eat and when he does he makes the most erotic expressions ever.

Flushed cheeks, heavy breathing, eyes filled with ecstasy, sweating, slight drool, etc… Everyone that sees him eating becomes attracted to him. The artist, amidamuku, is completely shameless in the way they draw him. I can’t stop laughing about it.

But hey, the food does look pretty good…

~dakazu

KINGDOM

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KINGDOM

Wow, this series sure has been going for a long time.

I’ve been a huge fan of this for a long time. I’m fan of the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China but less knowledgeable about the Warring States period that this series covers. I’ve heard lots of complaints about how the story glorifies Qin Shi Huang and makes him super noble. Unfortunately Fortunately it doesn’t bother me because I’m willfully ignorant with history.

I’m just here for Yasuhira Hara’s awesome artwork and epic war battles.

~dakazu

Sanzoku Diary

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Sanzoku Diary

A manga about the real-life hunting adventures of manga artist Kentaro Okamoto.

Love this series. Okamoto’s artwork is simple but his storytelling is great. It focuses equally on his various experiences hunting for wild game and eating it. I really liked how he carefully explains the process of getting a hunting license and owning a gun in Japan.

Equally informative and entertaining, this one is easy to recommend.

~dakazu

Iso Asobi

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Iso Asobi

A food manga about a middle school boy who helps a young high-class girl catch and eat food from the ocean.

This series focuses on seafood and reminded me a little of Houkago Teibou Nisshi. There’s a stronger romantic element in this one with the main boy having a crush on the girl but I don’t think this manga will go into anything deeper with human relationships.

I’ll keep reading more for now.

~dakazu

Houkago Assault x Girls

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Houkago Assault x Girls

A manga where a class of high school girls are magically teleported to a world right out of a multiplayer first person shooter.

Our podcast guest Chris accidentally started reading this series when he confused it for Joshi Kouhei. I checked it out afterwords myself and it slightly entertained me. It’s clearly inspired by games like Battlefield as the girls can choose classes like the Medic or Engineer. They even get limited respawns and shields. But the character designs were moe-like and the story was pretty basic so I don’t think I’ll keep reading it

If anything I checked it out just to see what a manga-version of Battlefield would be like.

~dakazu

GTO – Paradise Lost

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GTO – Paradise Lost

A sequel series to GTO where Onizuka is in prison after an incident from teaching a special class for high school-aged celebrities.

I like GTO and I felt it’s original ending was a bit sudden so initially I was happy to read sequel series like GTO: Shonan 14 Days. Unfortunately it now feels like Tohru Fujisawa is just trying to cash in on his most popular series with this one.

If you’re a fan of GTO then you might like this but I’d rather see Fujisawa work on something new.

~dakazu

Kyuushoku no Jikan desu.

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Kyuushoku no Jikan desu.

A manga about elementary students who befriend each other over school lunch.

A really cute series. I liked that it was another manga that’s more about human relationships and friendship than the food itself. A slice of life starring younger children was pretty refreshing and I enjoyed the upbeat stories that had happy endings. It was short with only 3 volumes total but I think it wouldn’t have worked as a long running serialization.

~dakazu