The Drifting Classroom

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The Drifting Classroom

A horror manga about an Elementary school that gets transported to a strange remote world.

The Drifting Classroom is a classic horror manga by the famed master of horror Kazuo Umezz. The series is pretty tame compared to more extreme horror works but that is due to The Drifting Classroom being targeted for children. In that sense this manga may not be suited for most horror fans but if you want to see where Junji Ito got his inspiration from then I recommend you read this series.

It’s available in English from VIZ.

~dakazu

Tomie

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Tomie

A collection of various horror stories about a femme fatale named Tomie.

We’ve discussed this on an older episode.

Tomie is Junji Ito‘s debut work and in that sense it isn’t his greatest. Most of his stories aren’t supernatural or even that scary. However this series definitely established Ito on his journey into the master of horror he is today. I recommend it to fans of Junji Ito who want to see where he got started.

Available in English from VIZ.

~dakazu

AV Danyu Hajimemashita

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AV Danyu Hajimemashita

An autobiographical manga by a former male adult porn star, Erefante Kaeruno, explaining how he got started and behind-the-screen secrets behind making adult videos.

This series started this year over on Kurage Bunch and I’ve been enjoying it a lot. After Kaeruno became unemployed and divorced, he met an adult video producer who convinced him to participate in a bukkake scene but he was suddenly put on the spot to do a 1-on-1 scene. This manga follows him as he gets started on his career while explaining the ins and outs of shooting Japanese pornography. Much like Sexy Joyuu-chan – Girigiri Mosaic, you learn a lot of secrets like how they utilize the mosaic censorship to hide a dropper behind the penis that can squirt fluid to simulate ejaculation.

This is definitely a book for adults but a very entertaining one if you’re interested in the process of making adult entertainment.

~dakazu

Sousou no Frieren

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Sousou no Frieren

A manga about the elf Frieren who was the magician in the hero’s party who saved the world. A story follows Frieren decades later as she decides to start traveling the lands right after the hero passes away.

I really like this manga! The story setup feels like an extended epilogue to a role playing game. Because Frieren is one of the only living survivors of her party, there’s a lot of flashbacks that show how a small kind gesture she did in the past has largely effected a town. It gives the who series a real melancholy tone as Frieren remembers her short time with the other adventurers fondly. Really great job by Tsukasa Abe and Kanehito Yamada bringing this somber tale to life!

~dakazu

314 – New Chapter Check-in 5 – My Hero Academia

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314 – New Chapter Check-in 5 – My Hero Academia

Morgana and Seamus are out this episode so Darfox8 and dakazu settle in for a New Chapter Check-in! They’re excited to dive into full spoiler discussions on My Hero Academia, Chainsaw Man, Black Clover, and more!!!

Continue reading →

Mogura no Uta

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Mogura no Uta

A manga about an undercover cop who digs himself deep into the world of criminals in order to arrest a drug dealing yakuza boss.

Mogura no Uta is manga artist Noboru Takahashi‘s most famous and still ongoing series. When I started reading there were already over 50 volumes available and as Takahashi has been drawing this since 2006. Takahashi has a really unique style to his character work that sometimes even looks poorly drawn. Despite this, I got intensely invested in Reiji Kikukawa’s ability to bluff his around enemies and allies alike to keep his secret identity a secret. It’s a fun and entertaining crime drama that’s been adapted to multiple live-action movies as well. I’ll keep reading this series as long as it keep going in Big Comic Spirits!

~dakazu

Suicide Girl

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Suicide Girl

A manga about a young energetic teenage girl who is denied of her wish to commit suicide and must instead stop others around her from committing suicide by battling against suicide causing monsters known as Phobia by using a magical noose to transform into a magical hanged girl.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

….yeah this manga is a whole can of YIKES.

Based on other Atsushi Nakayama manga I’ve read, I don’t think he’s trying to consciously trying to make a statement about suicide or lynching. My guess is that he wracked his brain for something unique and it brought him to this concept. But mixing magical girls with not only suicide but hanging makes for imagery too triggering for me. And when the main girl has to hang herself with a magical noose to unlock it’s powers? It makes it hard to look past these things to see a story of a teen dealing with loss and then blaming suicide on evil monsters instead of the serious issues that can lead to such a terrible choice. Nakayama may be a super talented artist but this book is just too problematic.

~dakazu

Ryu to Ichigo

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Ryu to Ichigo

A manga about an authority-hating middle school girl who turns out to be a genius at shogi.

We’ve discussed this on an previous episode.

This is Mitsuharu Yanamoto’s new manga but I find it hilarious because it’s same protagonist from his previous series Hibiki – Shousetsuka ni Naru Houhou. Ichigo is exactly the same as Hibiki was, right down to a “zero fucks given” attitude. The only difference is that Hibiki was a genius writer and Ichigo is a genius shogi player. While it’s pretty audacious of Yanamoto to just repeat what he did with Hibiki – Shousetsuka ni Naru Houhou, I’m really enjoying this series because I love seeing that character-type and I also love shogi manga. My only concern is whether this manga will be successful in Weekly Shonen Sunday as shogi manga don’t typically do well in shonen serializations.

~dakazu

Yokosuka Kozue

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Yokosuka Kozue

A manga about Kozue, a dog that lives in Yokosuka, Japan.

This is a real nice easygoing slice-of-life manga. Kozue has a distinct look that makes her look like a middle-aged woman and it fits her personality well. She’s very intelligent for a dog and uses her intellect to get adopted by a family. It’s fun to see her interact with all the members of the household and also animals around her. Sometimes the chapter are told from the perspective of humans around her and sometimes it’s from Kozue’s perspective. It even has a supernatural element when statue gods at the local shrine become regular characters. Tobia Oda was known for their Danchi Tomoo series which also had a similar vibe of easygoing comics.

~dakazu

This Communication

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This Communication

A manga about a cutthroat military genius who takes command of immortal teenage warriors to protect one of the last human strongholds against alien monsters.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

This manga is so interesting! The military leader has a history of killing off incompetent allies and sacrificing them for the greater good. He’s clearly not moral or just but so deliciously ruthless. Then you pair him up with a group of emotionally unstable genetically manipulated teenage weapons who just happen to regenerate from death but forget their last hour of being alive. It leads to many situations where the military guy will kill off the teens in order to preserve his superiority. It’s fascinating to look at such an unstable alliance being tasked with protecting humanity. My only complaint is that all the teenagers are female while the military leader is male. This means that most instances of murder happening is male on female violence and that has Maruei Rokudai sending an uncomfortable message in their manga.

~dakazu