Ranma 1/2

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Ranma 1/2

A zany comedy about a teenage martial artist who transforms from male into female from water after falling into a cursed spring in China.

My brother and I read this series while growing up. When I think of Rumiko Takahashi I think of this fun mix of shonen battles and slap stick comedy. I loved the story and it became the first manga where was actively shipping different characters together.

Looking at it now, I see the representation of Chinese people that are problematic stereotypes along with some outdated gender narratives. It still doesn’t quite ruin my nostalgia for the manga but I now feel like I should give Rumiko Takahashi‘s newer series more of a chance instead of dismissing them as inferior to Ranma 1/2.

~dakazu

Vagabond

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Vagabond

A manga about the historical life of one of the most well known Japanese swordsman and philosopher, Miyamoto Musashi.

Vagabond is a beautiful manga. Takehiko Inoue mixes finely detailed ink links with Japanese ink painting. His depiction of the famous Miyamoto Musashi is as equally complex as his varied art techniques.

It’s almost hard to imagine how the creator of SLAM DUNK went on to draw an acclaimed historical opus. And it’s also a damn shame that the series is on infinite hiatus since 2015.

Available in English from VIZ.

~dakazu

Doraemon

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Doraemon

A manga about a cat based robot that time travels back from the 21st century to help a boy change his future with amazing gadgets.

We’ve discussed this for a Saikyo Selections and a Triple Dip.

My first manga. Literally the first manga I ever read when I was a child. It’s also how I learned how to read Japanese so Doraemon will always have a special place in my heart.

Doraemon is world famous and beloved because it’s timeless. It’s filled with creative ideas that spark the imagination of young readers. Every character from Noby to his friends are all a delight and chapters range from comedy to edutainment to even suspense. It’s a finely crafted franchise but unfortunately not well known in USA.

Although Fujiko F. Fujio passed away in 1996, his creation continues to entertain children around the world. Celebrating it’s 50 year anniversary, Doraemon is available in English digitally from Shogakukan.

~dakazu

293 – Yu Yu Hakusho part 2

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293 – Yu Yu Hakusho part 2

This week Darfox is finally ready to read Gambling Apocalypse: KAIJI while Seamus and dakazu discuss the unpredictable changes in To Your Eternity! Then we continue our Retrospetive review of Yoshihiro Togashi’s Yu Yu Hakusho as Yusuke and the gang fully transition into shonen battle manga antics!!!

Continue reading →

Basara

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Basara

A post-apocalyptic fantasy where a young woman assumes the identity of her brother to lead a rebellion against a ruthless Empire.

This was a series a classmate from Japanese school lent me. The fantastical setting and gripping story completely sucked me in. Little did I know I was reading one of my first shojo manga. It should’ve been obvious considering the heroine falls in love with the enemy king but neither of them know each other’s true identity. Also almost every character is a pretty boy bishonen and there is even a BL guardian figure. Not that any of this matters because Yumi Tamura‘s art work is equally lovely and dynamic. The only thing I’ll say is that it’s an older series from the 90s so you have to deal with some offensive stereotypes here and there. Otherwise an excellent series that can help bridge male readers to some quality shojo manga.

Available from VIZ.

~dakazu

Ashita no Joe

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Ashita no Joe

A manga that follows a young teenager, Joe Yabuki, who gets sent to juvenile prison where he begins his journey training to become a boxer.

Easily considered one of the greatest manga ever made. I remember my first time reading through the series and being genuinely surprised how good it was. Asaki Takamori and Tetsuya Chiba masterfully take Joe through his naive teenage years into bitter adulthood and even eventually into an almost self destructive anti-hero. I think it’s a damn shame there hasn’t been a Western release of this masterpiece yet.

~dakazu

Claymore

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Claymore

A manga about half demon female warriors who wield Claymore swords with superhuman strength to hunt down evil demons.

Both Darfox8 and I are huge fans of this series. Norihiro Yagi‘s monster designs are really elegant and his fight scenes are excellent. My only complaint about the series is that all the Claymore warriors have emotionless expressions and similar faces so it’s almost impossible to tell them apart aside from their hairstyle.

An exciting shonen battle manga. It’s available from VIZ and I recommend it.

~dakazu

Devil Ecstasy

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Devil Ecstasy

A manga about the brothel Devil Ecstasy that’s run by succubi who consume the life essence of men and kill them.

We’ve talked about this manga on an old episode.

This book is not good. It’s probably one of the worst things Shuzo Oshimi has ever done. It makes light of the main character’s experience as a child being molested. It’s filled with pretty excessive sexual content. This was also the first manga we read for Manga Machinations that Darfox and Seamus absolutely hated.

However I still find some enjoyment in the innocent romance of a loser guy and a flat chested succubus. The ridiculous fear of giant breasts is entertaining enough and I really enjoy the impotent side character Kageo.

It’s only worth reading to see how far Shuzo Oshimi has come as a manga artist but still a guilty pleasure pick for me.

~dakazu

Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san

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Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san

A manga about the high schooler Masaru Hananakajima, who starts a school club for the mysterious martial art known as Sexy Commando!

This manga is probably within my personal top-3 comedy series. Kyosuke Usuta electric debut in Weekly Shonen Jump shocked readers for it’s absolutely wacky absurdist humor. Sexy Commando was all about distracting your opponent and that would usually involve unzipping your fly and pulling something out. It’s pure comedy.

It’s similar to Pop Team Epic but before the era of memes so it was mostly just strange inside jokes for Usuta himself. Although the series was ultimately canceled Usuta became known for as a titan of comedy and his Pyu to Fuku! Jaguar was serialized for 10 years.

It’s equally ridiculous and hilarious. I loved the anime as well.

~dakazu

Space Brothers

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Space Brothers

A manga about an older brother pursing his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut by following in his younger brother’s footsteps.

We did a Saikyo Selections on this recently.

Space Brothers is a feel good family friendly series. Watching our main character, Mutta, stumble through his astronaut selection process is extremely hilarious. Chuya Koyama has spot-on comedic timing that accentuates the heartfelt dramatic moments. My only reservations for recommending this manga is that it’s long running and still not finished.

Available from Kodansha and also has a great anime adaptation.

~dakazu