Category Archives: Written Word

All written posts

I Want to Hold Aono-kun so Badly I Could Die

Posted on by

I Want to Hold Aono-kun so Badly I Could Die

A manga about a girl who can see her the ghost of her deceased boyfriend.

I’ve always seen this manga in the manga magazine Afternoon but never read it until recently. Really shocked to see how it really has a lot of horror elements. Whenever the boyfriend ghost merges into another human it reminds me of full on body horror from John Carpenter’s The Thing.

There are many questions that both the girl and reader have for the existence of the ghost and I’m interested in reading more to find out more about him.

~dakazu

Anime Prison School wo Tsukutta Otoko-tachi

Posted on by

Anime Prison School wo Tsukutta Otoko-tachi

A manga about the creation the Prison School anime and the men who were involved.

I love how this is a hilarious serious comedy just like Prison School. Almost each chapter is devoted to a specific person who was involved in the anime. My stories were about each voice actor who played the different characters were my favorite. I never knew the voice of Gakuto, Katsuyuki Konishi, was a giant fan of Prison School! There’s even a chapter dedicated the serious debates over the color of the vice-president’s underwear.

A perfect companion piece to the official series and a fun read.

~dakazu

Gunsmith Cats Burst

Posted on by

Gunsmith Cats Burst

A sequel to Gunsmith Cats: about 2 female bounty hunters in Chicago, Rally and Minnie-May.

This series has some old school roots as it was published by Dark Horse back in the late 90′s. I remember reading it back then and being amazed at how violent and full of sexual content. It makes me laugh sometimes that this is supposed to be representative of USA. Mad Bull 34 was similarly over the top with it’s representation.

Read this sequel series earlier this year and it was alright. Kenichi Sonoda’s aesthetic is really representative of anime during the 80′s and 90′s with it’s focus on sexy ladies and violence.

There was a recent Kickstarter campaign for a new anime staring the Bean Bandit character so I’m sure I’ll be checking that out when it comes out.

~dakazu

My Boy

Posted on by

My Boy

A manga about an office worker who befriends a lonely child at a park.

…ugh

OK, look…

This manga is unfinished so MAYBE it won’t go the Bunny Drop route. HOWEVER, based on what I’ve read I’m highly doubtful. The creator even specifically says this is a shouta story at the end of volume 1. The fact that the boy is so beautiful that he’s easily mistaken for a girl really doesn’t help either.

Do not get me wrong. I think there are plenty of good stories that can be told about a relationship between an adult and a child. But limit those to friendship. The moment you add any sexual attraction, I’m out. I have no time for anything that sexualizes children. 

~dakazu

Reborn no Kishi

Posted on by

Reborn no Kishi

A manga about a man who failed to become a professional shogi player who begins playing again in hopes of achieving his dreams.

I’m a fan of various shogi manga, such as 81 Diver and March Comes in like a Lion, and this new one is becoming a quick favorite. The setup is very much an comeback story with the protagonist remembering his love of the game and realizing his own lost potential. It’s an easily enjoyed tale because the main character is very positive and likable as well.

I look forward to reading more.

~dakazu

Tomo-chan is a Girl!

Posted on by

Tomo-chan is a Girl!

A manga about a tomboy who wishes her childhood friend would see her as a girl and not his best friend.

This is a cute and funny series. I feel like comedic timing always shines with 4-panel style manga because of the format. Both Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun and Tsuredure Children, that also use 4-panel style, are equally hilarious.

Available in English from Seven Seas Entertainment!

~dakazu

Sword Breaker

Posted on by

Sword Breaker

A manga where a hero who saved the world from the Demon Lord is reincarnated into modern Japan and must now travel back to his original world to defeat the evil once more.

I checked out this series because I wanted to see Haruto Umezawa’s take on the fantasy genre but I think he should’ve stuck to his usual slice of life stuff. On all counts it was unremarkable besides the fact that the hero’s weapon was a shield. Not surprising to see that it’s only 2 volumes long.

If you want to check out a Haruto Umezawa series I really liked Countach so check that out.

~dakazu

Takakura-kun ni wa Muzukashii

Posted on by

Takakura-kun ni wa Muzukashii

A manga about a transfer student who is so clumsy that he destroys everything he touches.

It’s pretty funny that this series is like an exact opposite of Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto. While Sakamoto makes everything he touches into something elegant, Takakura can’t even hold chalk without it crumbling to pieces.

The problem here is that in comparison, I feel like Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto does this gimmick way better with it’s jokes along with making some good characterization for it’s side characters.

A decent series but I’d rather read Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto instead.

~dakazu

Yama to Shokuyoku to Watashi

Posted on by

Yama to Shokuyoku to Watashi

A manga about an office lady who loves to eat food while mountain climbing.

Love the mix of food with an outdoor activity. I seems like hiking/climbing has been a booming genre for manga in the last 5 years with titles like this one.

I’m always up for good food manga and definitely recommend this one for it’s nice art and lovely meals.

~dakazu

Space Battleship Tiramisu

Posted on by

Space Battleship Tiramisu

A comedy manga about the stupid problems that a genius pilot in an interstellar space war struggles with on a daily basis.

This series falls into a category I like to call “serious comedy”. It’s where the characters are being 100% serious about their problems but from the reader’s perspective it comes off as lunacy and thus hilarious.

While I enjoyed the mix of everyday problems into the world of sci-fi mecha battles I got pretty bored with this series after the first volume. It felt like the gimmick wore out too quickly for my tastes.

~dakazu