228 – Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection part 1
This week we dive into the wonderful horror of Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection! We’ll specifically be reviewing Ito’s take on Frankenstein!
Continue readingHigh-Rise Invasion
A manga where people are summoned into a world where they must survive on top of high-rise buildings while avoiding killers wearing strange masks.
Checked out this series because the author Tsuina Miura also does Ajin: Demi-Human. Initially I thought the premise of survival on rooftops was pretty stupid but I got wrapped up in the mystery behind the world and the different masks that control victims. I think the art work isn’t anything special but sufficient for the actions scenes and violence.
It’s available in English from Seven Seas Entertainment.
I’ll keep reading it for now and hopefully the mysteries won’t take too long to unfold.
~dakazu
Seikatsu
A manga about people who form a group to enact vigilante justice against wrongdoers in their city.
I’m a huge fan of Shigeyuki Fukumitsu and while he’s most known for his autobiographical work about his wife, I always enjoy most of his fictional work like this one.
I really liked how the story focuses on these individuals who feel the need to punish petty injustices like rude people talking loudly on the train. Their group eventually grows into a large organization that maintains the peace of the community but corruption ends up getting the original members ostracized. It’s a pretty common story line but Fukumitsu has a really unique way of drawing action scenes so that carried me through til the end of the book.
Also Fukumitsu must really like hammers as a weapon because this isn’t the first manga I’ve seen him use them in.
~dakazu
The Full-Time Wife Escapist
A manga about a woman who enters into a common-law marriage with a man to make a job out of being a house wife.
We covered this series recently but afterwords I ended up diving into it and read the whole thing. Although it is ultimately a straight-up romance manga with numerous cliche, I really loved how they approached these overused storylines. Breaking down the relationships of love and physical contact logistically was hilarious and refreshing. I also appreciated that this was a story about adults dealing with love instead of younger teenagers.
I loved it so much that I even watched the live-action drama, which was also excellent!
~dakazu
Mustard Chocolate
A manga about a high school senior who wants to get into a fine arts college to find a place where she belongs.
I discussed this manga for the podcast a long time ago but recently reread it and it still holds up wonderfully. Tomoko Fuyukawa’s simple artwork shines and she makes great use of the 4 panel layout for some really effective storytelling. The growth of the main character Rinko throughout the book is particularly satisfying but just about every other character is also great.
A lovely single volume release.
~dakazu
My Love Story!!
A manga about a giant high school boy, who has no luck with women, suddenly finding himself is a romance with a beautiful girl.
A wonderful heartwarming romance manga. I love Aruko’s art work and the way draws Takeo as the most manliest of men. The story is filled with great characters and their earnest feelings for each other.
While to focus is on Takeo and his girlfriend Rinko, I think the best relationship in this series is the friendship between Takeo and his good looking friend Suna. Suna cares about Takeo more than even himself and there’s a really touching moment where Takeo supports Suna during a family crisis.
Suna/Takeo forever!
~dakazu
What Did You Eat Yesterday?
A food manga about a middle-aged gay couple and the meals they eat together.
This is the manga that introduced me to Fumi Yoshinaga and it’s still one of her best series. I absolutely love the relationship between the more serious and closeted lawyer and his effeminate hair dresser partner. As you read the series the lawyer starts to open up about his sexuality slowly to his family and friends and it’s just a wonderful character progression. Also Yoshinaga does not skim over any details of the food and the recipes are covered thoroughly.
A fantastic LGBTQ+ couple and food manga combo. Highly recommended and available in English from Vertical Publishing! I’m looking forward to the live-action drama this year!
~dakazu
227 – Anime Interlude 9 – Run with the Wind
*We had some technical issues during recording. We apologize for the audio quality this episode.
On this episode Miki’s Stopwatch helps us review anime from the 2018 Fall season and check out some from the current 2019 winter season!!
Continue readingRojica to Rakkasei
A manga where a human boy lives in a post-apocalyptic Earth that is now filled with fantastic creatures and relics of the past.
I really love the aesthetic of this manga. It’s VERY similar to Adventure Time with it’s basic premise but it focuses more on the human Rakkasei and his guardian creature Rojica just interacting with the various other residents around them.
It’s a web-manga series on Kurage-Bunch to read in Japanese for free!
~dakazu
Boss Renoma: Shuujin Riku Gaiden
A prequel to Shuujin Riku that follows the character Renoma as he first arrives at the Gokuraku island super-max prison facility.
I like Shuujin Riku a lot. This prequel is done well but seems like more of the same, and ultimately pretty unnecessary. I always prefer manga artist to try their hand at creating new manga so I’m glad this ended quickly and now Shinobu Seguchi can move on and try something else.
~dakazu