Psyren

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Psyren

A manga where humans who use a mysterious phone card are chosen by psychic Nemisis Q and sent to a post-apocalyptic world of Psyren where they must fight with psychic powers to survive.

Revisiting this series recently. I really enjoyed this manga while it was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. Toshiaki Iwashiro‘s previous work Mieru Hito never caught on and ended prematurely so I was glad Psyren was much better received. Still, it struggled to gain popularity as it was being pitted against titans like One Piece and Naruto. If it ever got an anime adaptation it might’ve been a bigger hit but that never happened. And that’s strange considering a battle manga with a solid premise wouldn’t be adapted to an anime.

Rereading this I now see how Psyren seems to be a combination of a lot of other series. Having human participants teleported and being forced to fight monsters is very similar to GANTZ. Extreme sadistic villains and allies are also very similar to Bleach. I still find this series to good but besides Iwashiro’s ability to draw creepy antagonists, nothing stands out as exceptional.

~dakazu

Meiko no Asobiba

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Meiko no Asobiba

A manga about a creepy girl with her strange left eye that trap targets in her mind. There, she murders them using children’s games.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

I’m a fan of Sakumo Okada‘s work. I enjoyed both Mazarian and Oni Shine. This book is my favorite of his titles. I really enjoyed the setting of 1970’s Japan and all the different games the children of that era played. Unfortunately like his other series, this one has already ended quickly. I really hope Okada will someday find a series that brings him continuing success because I’d love to read it and I don’t want him to disappear from the manga industry.

~dakazu

Muteki no Hito

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Muteki no Hito

A manga about an undefeated online mahjong player known as ‘M’ who reveals his identity playing in live broadcasted games to prove he isn’t cheating to win.

I’m pretty surprised this series was ever started in Weekly Shonen Magazine. Trying to do a mahjong manga in a shonen magazine is already a challenge and Shinobu Kaitani made this manga super technical and wordy. It honestly reads like a seinen series, which isn’t surprising since Kaitani’s most famous works like Liar Game are targeted at adults. I haven’t seen a mahjong manga succeed in a shonen magazine since Legendary Gambler Tetsuya. It’s no surprise that this book ended in 4 volumes.

I will say that I like this series and I think Kaitani did a good job making an engaging story once we got past the complex introduction. When you make ‘M’ a victim of a traffic accident that gives him perfect memory while removing his emotions, you can tell his character arc will be winning matches that will end with him gaining back his humanity. The story is further complicated by a poor teenager who discovers ‘M’, tries to take advantage of him for profit, and eventually becomes his friend and ally in proving he isn’t a cheater to the public and the online mahjong company.

I personally liked this series but I can see why it didn’t resonate with most of the shonen audience.

~dakazu

Kumauchi no Onna

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Kumauchi no Onna

A manga about a female hunter who is obsessed with shooting brown bears.

This is a pretty interesting manga. Compared to other manga about hunting like Sanzoku Diary, this one has a strong fictional story revolving around the main character Chiaki Kosaka. She’s a hunter who agrees to be accompanied by a young writer looking for an interesting story. As the writer follows Chiaki around, it becomes clearer and clearer that her obsession with hunting down bears is dangerous. Yabuta Ajima does a great job telling this story. I think their art work is a little rough but that’s a minor note considering how engaging the story is. I will say there are some very graphic scenes of violence as this manga doesn’t shy away from the dangers of a bear attack.

It’s currently serialized on Kurage Bunch but not available in English yet.

~dakazu

300 – Guest Gaiden 6 – Manga Lettering & Sweat and Soap with Sara Linsley

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300 – Guest Gaiden 6 – Manga Lettering & Sweat and Soap with Sara Linsley

We’ve reached another milestone on Manga Machinations with 300 episodes! To celebrate, we’re joined by the wonderful manga letterer Sara Linsley! She’s here to answers our questions about her job, tell us how she utilizes her background in software development for lettering, explain the differences between lettering manga and lettering Western comics, and give context for her lettering choices in Kintetsu Yamada’s Sweat and Soap!!!

Go follow Sara Linsley and check out her website!

Continue reading →

Yuusha ga Shinda!

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Yuusha ga Shinda!

A manga about a villager who is accidentally kills the legendary hero that falls into his spike trap. He’s then forced by a necromancer to possess the hero’s rotting corpse and save the world from a demon invasion.

This was a decent comedy. I felt like a lot of the story here was filled with standard troupes. The villager is a pervert who’s obsessed with thick thighs in knee high socks. There’s a childhood friend who was in love with the hero and accompanies the villager on his journey. The necromancer is actually a demon but she’s a cute lolita character. A handsome teammate of the hero is actually a jealous villain in disguise. The list goes on and on. Creator Subaruichi is a decent artist but I don’t know if I’ll keep reading this because nothing in this manga is really holding my interest.

~dakazu

INVESTOR-Z

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INVESTOR-Z

A manga about Dojuku Academy where the top student of each grade level are inducted into a secret investor club that is in charge of funding the school. The newest member, Takashi Zaizen, dives into the world of investing to learn about the importance of money.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

Oh, boy. Where to start.

I’ve read a few of Norifusa Mita‘s different manga like Archimedes no Taisen and enjoyed them. Mita is not a great artist but he’s decent at storytelling so his creativity has garnered fandom. Unfortunately INVESTOR-Z is really hampered with an really awful premise of investing, and therefore money. This series puts a strong emphasis on the importance of money, for usually the worst reasons. While it does a good job explaining things like venture capitals and real estate, Mita doesn’t put any emphasis on how these capitalist systems are exploiting others or why this is bad. The ultimate message of the series is “Love Money” and I could write a whole essay on why that message is problematic.

The fact that early on they say “Money was invented and people began to trust each other!” should say everything about this. I recommend you try reading something else by Mita.

Available from in English from Cork.

~dakazu

After School Dice Club

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After School Dice Club

A manga about three girls who bond over board games and establish a board game club at their high school.

A very cute slice of life series. I checked out the recent anime before diving into the manga. I ended up enjoying it more for introducing various board games than the story of the girls and their friendship. Especially since later on the story follows a romance between a high school freshman and a much older man.

If you’re a fan of board games I highly recommend watching the anime as the manga hasn’t been licensed officially yet.

~dakazu

Haruwaka

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Haruwaka

A manga about twin sisters, Haru and Waka, who both end up dating the same guy, Ono, who uses them as inspiration for his hentai manga stories.

This is Mengo Yokoyari‘s debut series. It’s filled to the brim with cliche dirty jokes and fan service. Definitely not as good as Scum’s Wish but I can respect her for saying she drew what she wanted to with this one. I didn’t really like this but it was interesting to see how Yokoyari started her manga career.

~dakazu

The Full-Time Wife Escapist

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The Full-Time Wife Escapist

A manga about a woman who enters into a common-law marriage with a man to make a job out of being a house wife.

Finally finished this wonderful josei series! I really enjoyed it but was bummed that Tsunami Umino broke up my favorite couple by the end. I hope Kodansha Comics will bring over the final 2 volumes for English release soon!

~dakazu