81 Diver

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81 Diver

A manga about a man who failed to become a professional shogi player who is lead into the world of underground gambling shogi by a busty maid.

I love this series. It’s completely ridiculous and over the top in the best way. I feel like Yokusaru Shibata honed in his craft of drawing someone giving a crazy reaction with this series. Unfortunately I’d say he also started to really lean into busty characters. I think this series skirts that fine line that doesn’t feel exploitative because the main character often comments on how ridiculous everything is.

One thing to note about any of Shibata’s works is that they occur in the same universe. Many fighters from his previous series Air Master appear here and it’s really humorous to watch them play shogi.

~dakazu

268 – Guest Gaiden 5 – Sailor Moon Translations & Taisho Era Feminists with Anne Lee

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268 – Guest Gaiden 5 – Sailor Moon Translations & Taisho Era Feminists with Anne Lee

We’re joined by a very special guest this week! Anne Lee from Shojo Power! is here to talk about her love of Sailor Moon, geek out about Takarazuka Revue, ask us about translating onomatopoeias, and tell us about feminists of Taisho Era Japan!!!

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Ousamatachi no Viking

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Ousamatachi no Viking

A manga about a genius but socially awkward hacker who teams up with a wealthy investor to “conquer the world”.

A decent thriller series. I really liked the dynamic expressions of the characters by Sadayasu. I liked the story in the beginning but towards the end it went into a wonky plot about government conspiracy and I kinda lost interest.

The hacker is the type of genius who suffers from communication disabilities but is obsessive over any computing. It wouldn’t be far off to say he has asperger syndrome but it’s never clearly stated. Probably for the best because I tend to have issues with misrepresentation of autism anyway.

~dakazu

Rin

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Rin

The sequel series to Sugar. It continues to follow the exploits of genius boxer Rin Ishikawa.

This is a fascinating character study of human behavior as Rin has reached superhuman status, toying with his opponent that he wins the championship from. He mocks others openly because they have no understanding of the world he sees from his talent. He’s contrasted by the serious Tachikawa, a ex-criminal who’s attained his own championship through grit and determination. After Rin sucker punches Tachikawa he challenges him to fight in the ring. While Tachikawa begins to lose himself to prepare for their match Rin’s world is rocked when his childhood sweetheart rejects him for his heinous behavior. Rin falls into a dark spiral filled with brothel visits until he hits rock bottom. Ultimately, he finds Tachikawa’s intense animosity in the ring to be better than any sexual gratification he could ever hope to achieve.

Hideki Arai is a master of crafting charismatic characters and Rin is one of his best. It’s intense and very adult but that’s what I loved about this.

~dakazu

The Magnificent Grand Scene

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The Magnificent Grand Scene

A manga about a young girl’s journey into becoming a ballerina.

Really solid sports manga! Initially I was more curious about reading a non-hentai work by Cuvie but I ended up being pleasantly surprised at how good this series is. Our main character Kanade shares a lot of similar characteristics you find in shonen sports protagonists. She’s upbeat and friendly even to harsh rivals, she fails but always gets back up to try again, and she has her own unique talent that others acknowledge and envy. I also like that it’s a ballet manga that actually focuses on female ballet dancers unlike Dance Dance Danseur, though the artwork is not quite as dynamic in comparison.

A great sports series that focuses on female characters. We need more sports series like this one. It’s available digitally through Kindle & comiXology.

~dakazu

Africa Salaryman

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Africa Salaryman

A manga about African animals working in a modern society.

This series might seem similar to BEASTARS but it’s nothing alike. It’s a comedy series through and through as it’s mostly presented in a 4-panel style manga. I will say that the jokes here are pretty funny. There’s a great dynamic between the scumbag toucan, straight man lizard, and their air headed lion senior. I’m enjoying the current anime as well.

A decent comedy. Just don’t expect a lot of logic or depth.

~dakazu

Kiriko

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Kiriko

A manga about a group of former classmates who are anonymously invited to their middle school where they get hunted down by a horrific monster who is the girl they bullied to death.

Decent horror manga. The premise and plot is really generic but Shingo Honda‘s design of Kiriko is great. She has long limbs covered with cigarette burns and a terrifying face and as she kills off the classmates she grows larger and larger. The horrific designs were the highlight of this single volume manga. If you want to enjoy more of Honda’s creepy monsters I recommend checking out his Hakaijuu series as well.

~dakazu

Killer Ape

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Killer Ape

A manga that takes place in a peaceful 2199 Japan where a man joins a paramilitary company so he can vlog his experiences reliving historical battles through a virtual reality soldier training program.

The setup for this manga is quite busy but was really enjoyable once it got going. The protagonist slowly starts to change his life view as he interacts with famous historical figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte and William the Conqueror. The transformation from a peace knowing citizen to a seasoned soldier matches the title’s Killer Ape hypothesis that suggests human evolution is tied to war and aggression. As the series progresses it eventually leads to an actual conflict in the present times that the main character must now participate in.

This was an entertaining series that mixed historical settings with science fiction well. It’s a shame that it recently ended but that also means it didn’t overstay it’s welcome either. Solid manga for sure.

~dakazu

267 – Random Readings 1 – The Pits of Hell

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267 – Random Readings 1 – The Pits of Hell

Due to technical difficulties we were unable to record the planned Guest Gaiden with Anne Lee this week. So instead Morgana, Darfox, and dakazu do a prolonged Whatcha Been Reading section to talk lots about Chainsaw Man, The Pits of Hell, Yasuko to Kenji, Shiyakusho, and other manga!!!

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Fechippuru ~ Bokura no Junsuina Koi~

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Fechippuru ~ Bokura no Junsuina Koi~

A romantic comedy about a man with a hair fetish and a woman with a back fetish who start dating.

This one was pretty decent. There’s lots of jokes around their fetishes that break the usual romance troupes. I appreciated that their relationship is weird but it works for them. As the series progresses we’re introduced to other characters that have their own fetishes and that keeps things funny.

~dakazu