Yasuko to Kenji

Posted on by

Yasuko to Kenji

A manga about a high school girl and her overprotective ex-delinquent older brother.

It’s been a while since I’ve looked at a shojo manga with all the usual troupes but I should’ve known I’d love anything done by Aruko. This series is just as funny and heartwarming as My Love Story!!. The cat & dog dynamic between the siblings is especially hilarious. Unfortunately it ended after 4 volumes and the story didn’t reach a full conclusion but I hear there was a live-action drama so I might hunt that down instead.

~dakazu

Uzumaki

Posted on by

Uzumaki

A manga about a young woman trying to survive in her small coast town as an obsession with spirals leads everyone into madness.

My absolutely favorite series by Junji Ito. I love how each separate story is connected through the theme of spirals. Ito’s artwork shines as you get to experience his horrific designs in a astonishingly wide variety of forms.

A pinnacle of illustrated horror and a must-read for any manga fan. I’m looking forward to the upcoming anime adaptation.

~dakazu

THE OUTER ZONE

Posted on by

THE OUTER ZONE

A manga about a mysterious woman named Misery who guides you through tales of strange occurrences ranging from the occult to science fiction.

This is essentially Tales from the Crypt or The Twilight Zone turned into a manga. Each chapter is usually a standalone story about someone’s interaction with a cursed object that becomes a morality play. Sometimes the people survive and sometimes they brutally die. I remember reading this as a child and having nightmares from Shin Mitsuhara‘s creepy monster designs. Looking back know it’s really tame by today’s standards.

~dakazu

14 Sai

Posted on by

14 Sai

A manga about a humanoid chicken named Chicken George born inside a futuristic chicken manufacturing plant.

I remember finding this randomly in my brother’s room. It was my first experience with Kazuo Umezu manga and I have to say it positive. I thought the famous ‘Umezu face’ looked pretty stupid and the story wasn’t scary but just really weird. I’ve gone back to the series as an adult and can now appreciate the artwork. I still think the story is more strange than scary though.

~dakazu

266 – One Shot 24 – H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories

Posted on by

266 – One Shot 24 – H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories

Happy Halloween everyone! This week Seamus continues his quest to catch up on Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Morgana enjoys Jujutsu Kaisen, and dakazu reads a heartwarming epilogue for Jitsuroku: Nakumade Bokorarete Hajimete Koi ni Ochimashita! Then we get spooky with H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories by Gou Tanabe!!!

Continue reading →

Pink Royal

Posted on by

Pink Royal

A manga about a high school girl who is mysteriously transported to a world filled with monsters and villains from sentai shows that she must fight after transforming into a Pink Ranger.

This manga might seem like it has an interesting premise but rest assure, is just some real edgelord shit. The opening chapter features a bunch of women who are violently slaughtered until the protagonist realizes she can transform into a Pink Ranger. If the gore wasn’t an indicator, there are also excessive shots of bodysuit cameltoe all over the place. This really feels like gross fetish fuel in way too many ways to be anything of substance. Like, even less than GANTZ.

Hard pass.

~dakazu

Metamorphose no Engawa

Posted on by

Metamorphose no Engawa

A manga about a 75 year-old lady befriending a 15 year-old girl over Boys’ Love manga.

We’ve discussed this series on a recent episode.

This series is fantastic. I just adore stories that bridge generational gaps and create genuine relationships. There’s such a good setup to get this odd couple to start opening up to each other. The granny tells the girl she enjoys BL because she just wants to cheer on the boys but I felt the same way about these two.

Seven Seas Entertainment will be releasing an English edition in April 2020. I can’t wait for it.

~dakazu

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun

Posted on by

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun

A manga about a poor boy who gets sold by his parents to a demon lord and now he must attend demon school while hiding the fact that he’s human.

A pretty fun series. It runs in Weekly Shonen Champion and it’s something I read but don’t pay too much attention to. The anime adaptation is doing it wonders by really enhancing the characters and the comedy. It’s definitely a case where the anime is adding a lot to the manga.

~dakazu

ORESUKI Are you the only one who loves me?

Posted on by

ORESUKI Are you the only one who loves me?

A manga about a high school boy who tries to secretly manipulate his childhood friend and the student council president into falling in love with him but utterly fails. In turn he’s manipulated by the basic looking library aide who says she’s in love with his scumbag side.

This manga is on Jump+ but I never paid much attention to it. After watching the anime I am 100% aboard because I couldn’t stop laughing at all the great jokes. This series really takes a lot of typical romance troupes and flips them into hilarious punchlines. Even the protagonist who at first seems like a complete shallow bastard turns out to have an actual good side to him.

~dakazu

Hiyokko Ryourinin

Posted on by

Hiyokko Ryourinin

A food manga about a woman who runs a cooking class for children.

This was such a heartwarming read! I really like how the series starts off with a genuinely positive relationship between the main character and a young boy who wants to cook for his single father. It seems like the story might pursue a possible relationship between this father and the woman but I didn’t find anything wrong with that.

If anything I kinda felt like this book was suggesting that a woman in the kitchen who can cook was the best thing possible but the young boy who quickly becomes a good chef on his own counterbalances that. I might have to read more to see if it truly pursues some sexist stereotypes. Otherwise I’d say this is an absolutely adorable manga.

~dakazu