292 – Yu Yu Hakusho part 1
The time is finally here! We’ve been waiting over four years to start a Retrospective on Yu Yu Hakusho! Join us as we examine the first three volumes of Yoshihiro Togashi’s beloved series about the delinquent Yusuke Urameshi, who goes from ghost to spirit detective! Morgana and Darfox have lots of love for the anime but dakazu has issues with the loose English translations! We also answer emails and Seamus rereads Vinland Saga!!!
Continue readingMagi: The Labyrinth of Magic
A manga about a boy with a genie named Aladdin who teams up with Ali Baba the thief to explore mysterious dungeons in search of treasure.
I liked Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic while it was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday but the battle scenes became kinda excessive toward the finale. Also Shinobu Ohtaka perfected her technique of drawing really creepy expressions throughout the series and she really leaned into those towards the ending a bit too much for my tastes. Still, it’s an beautifully drawn shonen battle manga set in the the world of the Arabian Nights and worth reading if that interests you.
Available in English from VIZ along with a good anime adaptation.
~dakazu
Kashikoi Ken Rilienthal
A manga about a brother and sister who’s new family member is the talking super dog Rilienthal!
This was Daisuke Ashihara‘s series before he did World Trigger. While World Trigger has far better wide appeal, I was a big fan of this wacky sci-fi/slice-of-life story.
The biggest appeal of Kashikoi Ken Rilienthal is the how wholesome everything is. When Rilienthal and his friends get lost on a ghost ship they fix the problem while befriending a lonely ghost. When a friend’s jealous feelings manifest itself as a huge monster they resolve the problem by talking it out. Even many agents of the secret organization that want to kidnap Rilienthal show lots of heart and compassion. This really is an iyashikei shonen series. Unfortunately it never found enough popularity in Weekly Shonen Jump and was ultimately canceled but I still look back fondly at this cute manga. It was nice to reread it on Jump+.
~dakazu
GTO
A manga about former biker delinquent Eikichi Onizuka, a man destined to become the greatest teacher in all of Japan.
Looking back on GTO, it’s easier to see the glaring faults in the series. Onizuka’s endless perversion over students really doesn’t sit well and the dramatic moments are often setup by characters acting illogically for the sake of the plot. Still, Tohru Fujisawa was able to take his crass thug with a heart of gold from his previous book Shonen Junaigumi and create this mega-hit manga. It shows how readers loved the out-of-the-box methodology GTO brought to the school setting. I only wish Fujisawa would stop milking this series for sequels.
~dakazu
Death Note
A manga about a genius teenager who comes into possession of a Death Note that allows him to kill anyone by writing their name in it.
So here’s the thing…
I think Death Note is fine but I also think it’s way overrated.
The story builds nicely but I thought everything that happened after L was pretty boring. I had a better time with the recent one shot then trying to reread this series. I recognize the importance of this manga without having to really like it myself.
Available from VIZ in English.
~dakazu
Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto
A manga about Sakamoto, the perfect high school student who resolves any situation in a stylish way with his coolness.
On paper, this manga sounds completely stupid. But Nami Sano taps into the kind of serious comedy that popularized Prison School. The way Sano portrays Sakamoto as the guy who literally fences a hornet with his compass is the perfect level of absurd that puts a smile on your face.
Check out the great anime adaptation or the English edition from Seven Seas Entertainment.
~dakazu
Detroit Metal City
A manga about a wannabe pop singer who moonlights as the lead singer for the death metal band Detroit Metal City!
We’ve discussed this series on an older episode.
A solid comedy series. While extremely crude and vulgar, the over-the-top antics found within the book still crack me up. Kiminori Wakasugi utilizes a wonderful Jekyll and Hyde relationship for main character Negishi and his demonic alter ego Johannes Krauser II. Negishi is constantly failing at being a sensitive pop star and all his frustrations get worked out as Krauser II. It’s hilarious to watch as everything usually falls apart and I can’t help but feel Wakasugi captured lighting in a bottle with this debut series. There was a great anime adaptation and even a live-action movie featuring Gene Simmons!
Available in English from VIZ.
~dakazu
291 – One Shot 27 – Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen
Our wonderful co-host Morgana Santilli is back from her maternity leave! She’s been busy being a new mom while reading lots of manga like SPY x Family, Happy Mania, Blue Flag, Kakushigoto: My Dad’s Secret Ambition, and How Do We Relationship?! To celebrate Morgana’s return we review her top manga from 2019, Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen by Moyoco Anno!!!
Continue readingTrigun Maximum
A manga about an infamous gunslinger Vash the Stampede who travels across the desert planet Gunsmoke while avoiding bounty hunters.
I love Trigun. But when I say that I’m talking about the anime.
While the manga has a crazier story with the most elaborate fights, you just can’t parse what the hell is happening. Yasuhiro Nightow mixes extreme closeups and perspective angles along with inhuman monster designs. The end result is a garbled mess splashed on the page and nothing but confusion.
Since the manga isn’t even available from Dark Horse right now, don’t bother trying to track it down. Go watch the anime instead.
~dakazu
PLANETES
A manga where space travel has given way to space pollution and follows a group of astronauts who collect debris.
Makato Yukimura is now well known for his current series Vinland Saga but before that he was known for this minor hit series. I really enjoy this book for the hard science approach to space exploration. Yukimura put a lot of thought into the nuances that would go into the daily lives of these astronauts who are basically blue collar garbage men. The story may be based on space but the focus is on human characters and their connections to each other.
There is also a fantastic anime adaptation that really fleshes out the journey of main character Hachimaki from jaded debris collector to enlightened Jupiter explorer. However the story arc that follows Fee Carmichael and explores the politics of space travel hurting 3rd world countries isn’t in the anime. Both are great and I recommend you check them out! English edition available from Dark Horse.
~dakazu