Kumo no Graduale
A manga about an elite aerial operatives that destroy weapons in a world filled with airships.
I remember this manga because my brother was reading it. He never had the final volume so I’m glad I got to track that down and read it. Too bad it was one of those “End Part 1″ deals.
I liked a lot of the characters and they barely finished recapping the origins of the main girl when it ended. I’d recommend it with the caveat that it’s unfinished.
~dakazu
Farewell, My Dear Cramer
A sports manga that follows a group of high school female soccer players as they work to build a team that can compete in the nationals.
We’ve discussed this on several episodes found here, here, and here.
Our co-host Seamus recommended this one and I really liked it. There are plenty of soccer manga out there but this one is solely focused on female players. I liked how the series even addresses the problems these female athletes face in today’s society where they have such a limited opportunity to pursue a career because of how minor female soccer is in Japan.
A solid sports manga. I’ll be reading more. It’s available digitally through Crunchyroll and comiXology.
~dakazu
237 – One Shot 18 – My Solo Exchange Diary vol. 2 with Jocelyne Allen
Translator Jocelyne Allen returns as we finish the trilogy of Kabi Nagata books by reviewing My Solo Exchange Diary vol. 2!!!
Check out Jocelyne’s awesome blog and hire Jocelyne for translation and interpertation!
Continue readingTakaga Tasogare
A manga about a world where men no longer exist.
Another new series by Kengo Hanazawa. Hanazawa is following his slow burn storytelling he perfected in I am a Hero here. Nothing much happens in this 1st volume until the end. I expect him to slowly get into the backstory of why all the men in this world have died out and it’s even illegal to write the word.
Currently running in Big Comic Superior.
I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.
~dakazu
Rhyming Man
A manga about a boy who’s pushed by his former hip-hop star father to become a rapper.
It’s nice to see Kiminori Wakasugi return a bit to his Detroit Metal City roots with this one. It was pretty enjoyable but I think it ultimately fails because it tried to be more of a straight drama and Wakasugi is much better with comedy. The story of Rhyming Man and his eventual acceptance of becoming the rapper he was groomed up to be is something pretty unoriginal. The real star of this manga is his wannabe father, Shaka King. Shaka King is a great and hilarious character that clings to his former glory, raps while excelling in his real talent of cooking, and talks a big game but always cowards out. This series might have lasted longer if it all about the father instead of the son.
~dakazu
Fujimi no Tokkouhei
A biographical manga about the World War II suicide bomber Tomoji Sasaki who was ordered to fly 9 suicide missions and returned each time, disobeying his orders to die.
This is one of those crazy stories that make you question if it’s actually true. The late Tomoji Sasaki was interviewed by writer Shouji Koukami who penned a biography that became a best seller in Japan. This manga adaptation by Naoki Azuma started recently in Young Magazine and I’m excited to read more!
~dakazu
Sono ‘Okodawari’, Ore ni mo Kure yo
A documentary manga about different people and their unique ‘commitments’ that they follow to enrich and enjoy their lives.
I’ve discussed this series on a previous episode before.
This is such a fun one to read! I love everything from the man obsessed with potato salad to the man who enjoys walking home. Each commitment is strange and unique but also super relatable and mostly easy to understand. I even tried the combination of canned tuna and the grapefruit chu-hi for myself and enjoyed it.
There was a Japanese TV mockumentary which was extremely different and strange as well.
~dakazu
Kaida-san no Kaidan
A horror manga about a high school girl, Kaida-san, who loves scaring the boy sitting next to her in class with her creepy stories.
This is Franken Fran creator Katsuhisa Kigitsu’s current series that runs in Shonen Champion. Fans of Kigitsu might be a bit disappointed with this one because the horror is pretty tame compared to Franken Fran but it’s probably due to it running in a shonen magazine.
The most interesting thing about this one is how Kaida-san tells her creepy tales. It’s almost always a 2 page spread filled with text and images illustrating the story but there are zero panels to separate anything. This format really changes the tone and almost makes you feel like you’re not reading a manga anymore. I found the large amount of text to be a bit annoying to navigate but the effect itself was pretty interesting.
I will say this series has some images that might trigger someone with Trypophobia so be warned.
~dakazu
Shin Jidoyogo Shisetsu no Kodomotachi
A manga about a young girl who’s abandoned by her mother and suffers countless horrors as she’s moved through various horrible nursing homes.
I’ve talked about this on a previous episode.
This manga made me so mad because it’s just sadness porn.
I think the manga artist Yumi Endo is maybe trying to convey the horrors of child abuse through this series but the plot is so heavy handed it honestly feels exploitative for the sake controversy. The main girl travels to between child care facilities were the staff are either incompetent, fully abusive, or pedophiles. When you put the main character through the ringer it fails narratively to make me care anymore because it’s just becomes unbelievable.
This would have worked if the stories were episodic. Each chapter could examines a child abuse problem with different tales of different children. Putting one character through child neglect, child abuse, traumatizing care takers, sexual abuse, bullying, and everything under the sun just makes things laughably unrealistic and ultimately a detriment to the severity of actual child abuse.
~dakazu
236 – Give My Regards to Black Jack part 4
This week we reach the end of Give My Regards to Black Jack! Join us as we give our final thoughts on Shuho Sato’s medical drama that asks, “What does it mean, to be a doctor?”!!!!
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