Ichigeki

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Ichigeki

A manga about a group of country peasants who are recruited and trained to become an assassination squad against the Satsuma during Bakumatsu era Japan.

Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by Jiro Matsumoto that’s this grounded in reality. It doesn’t come close to the strange psychological nature of his other works like Freesia or Joshi Kohei. I assume this is because the writing is handled by Yoshio Nagai.

Matsumoto’s brutal violence fits extremely well with the historical setting of feudal Japan. It honestly might be the easiest of his series to recommend for newcomers.

~dakazu

258 – State of Shonen 1 – We Never Learn

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258 – State of Shonen 1 – We Never Learn

When Seamus is away, shonen will save the day! Morgana is back as an official member of the hosts this episode so we discuss the current arcs and happenings of our favorite shonen manga series, such as We Never Learn, Black Clover, Fire Force, and more!!!

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Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler

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Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler

A manga biography by Shigeru Mizuki about the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler.

Another power non-fiction work from Shigeru Mizuki. I was really impressed with Mizuki’s ability to seamlessly mix his cartoony characters with realistic backgrounds. There’s extreme attention to detail as Mizuki also recreated many famous photos of Hitler but through his own unique drawings. The subject matter is tough to read at times but this book handles these events with a serious tone that you’d expect from a history novel.

~dakazu

Motokare ga Fudanshi ni natte orimashite.

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Motokare ga Fudanshi ni natte orimashite.

A manga where an office lady accidentally runs into her ex-boyfriend from high school who has become a BL otaku because of her.

Pretty entertaining series. Definitely similar to Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku with a similar cast of adult otaku. The only difference here is that the guy is into BL and also a huge fan of the doujinshi that the main character puts out. She keeps this a secret from him and it leads to hilarity between them.

The themes here are definitely adults who have to hide their perverse hobbies. It’s playing with troupes of adulthood in society and poking fun at otaku culture.

A fun read.

~dakazu

Pop Team Epic

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Pop Team Epic

A series of irrelevant 4-panel strips staring Popuko and Pipimi.

Yeah… This really isn’t for me.

The humor is completely random to the point of not being appealing. I can deal with wacky humor to an extent, and that extent being anything by Kyosuke Usuta. Bkub Okawa on the other hand seems to have written jokes while they were tripping on some drugs.

I will say the anime is enjoyable because they filled it with creative alternative animation. The paper animated Hellshake Yano segment is particularly impressive.

I say just watch the anime and skip the manga.

~dakazu

Rice Shoulder

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Rice Shoulder

A manga about a giant woman who gets scouted to become a professional boxer.

This was a good sports manga! I’ve read Tsuyoshi Nakaima‘s golf series Ougon no Rough before and I’ve enjoyed his cartoony art work. Even though boxing is represented well through the action, this is filled with comical scenes that give it a whimsical feel.

A solid and fun read!

~dakazu

Nikujo no Susume

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Nikujo no Susume

A manga about an office lady who has a complex about what she looks like when she eats her favorite food: meat.

I liked this series but man o man, does it feel like fetish bait. Various characters indulge in eating their favorite foods while giving orgasmic expressions. It’s very similar to Meshinuma in that sense.

The main character even cries because her boyfriend dumped her for how she looked while eating. This also leads a potential romantic relationship with a co-worker’s who’s erectile dysfunction gets fixed after he sees her devouring her meal. Eventually she makes friends with other female co-workers and they start hanging out together to eat various meat dishes.

It’s a weird concept where I really feel a culture gap with Japanese society. Is there as stigma against women who eat meat and enjoy it in Japan? Possibly, but this manga sure leans into that hard and it comes off a bit ridiculous.

~dakazu

Area 51

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Area 51

A manga where a human detective solves cases in the mysterious 51st state of America that is the collecting ground of mythological creatures, aliens, and even gods.

We discussed this on a recent episode.

This manga looks CRAZY good. Masato Hisa‘s art uses extreme contrasts with blacks and whites. It really reminds me of Frank Miller’s Sin City. Hisa’s style makes this series a fun read. I enjoyed the episodic nature of different cases that need to be solved and all the unique creatures that get introduced. There is a larger plotline dealing with the backstory of the protagonist but I’m not sure if it will lead to anything deep or interesting yet.

I’ll definitely keep reading this for now.

~dakazu

257 – One Shot 22 – not simple

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257 – One Shot 22 – not simple

On this episode dakazu talks about Kimi ga Bokura wo Akuma to Yonda Koro, Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler, and Ichigeki! Then we dive into the tragic tale of Ian in Natsume Ono’s not simple!!!

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