343 – Triple Dip 50 – Tokyo Revengers, Oishinbo, Generation Witch
This week dakazu learns about the birth of the first weekly seinen manga magazine with Losers ~Nippon Hatsu no Seinen Mangashi no Tanjo~! He also decides to stop reading Meisou Senshi Nagata Kabi Gurume de GO!! For our main topic, we check out Tokyo Revengers, Oishinbo, and Generation Witch for a new Triple Dip!!!
Continue reading338 – One Shot 36 – Mermaid in the Bottle & Leaper & Mine-kun is Asexual
On this episode we answer lots of emails and dakazu reads about the devastation on the Sanriku Railway during the 2011 Tohoku tsunami in Santetsu! Then we review Isaki Uta’s Mine-kun is Asexual, Mermaid in the Bottle, and Leaper! All three doujinshi are available from Irodori Comics!
Continue readingTeigakusei Otto no Kozukai Banzai
A chronicle of how manga artist Kouji Yoshimoto and others around him budget their monthly allowance.
We’ve discussed this on a previous episode.
I’ve talked about Kouji Yoshimoto‘s manga like Black Jack Sousaku Hiwa and Sabishii No Wa Anta Dake Ja Nai before. I’m happy to report that this new series is a big hit! Readers are really relating to Yoshimoto as he struggles to budget his allowance against his penny pinching wife. It’s hilarious to watch him seriously agonize if he can afford to blow 300 yen on snacks when there’s still a week left before his new allowance. Not only does Yoshimoto share his allowance but the rest of the series introduces other adults who manage their meager allowance by using coupons or point cards. It’s hilarious and resonates with anyone who’s had an allowance. I love it!
~dakazu
287 – Triple Dip 41 – Doraemon’s Long Tales: Noby in Devilfish Castle, Noby vs. the Mecha Army, Noby and the Dino Knights
We’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doraemon by doing a Triple Dip on Fujiko F. Fujio’s Long Tales manga adaptations of the anime movies! We’re reading VOL. 4: Noby in Devilfish Castle, VOL. 7: Noby vs. the Mecha Army, and VOL. 8: Noby and the Dino Knights!!!
Continue readingBlack Jack Sousaku Hiwa
A documentary manga filled with interviews and behind-the-scene stories about the god of manga, Osamu Tezuka.
A great non-fiction series. It’s filled with so many interviews and little revelations about who Tezuka was. Whether it’s former assistants, fellow manga artists, his children, or his editors, everyone has a unique take on Tezuka himself.
I also love Kouji Yoshimoto’s art style. It’s cartoony and delightful. Yoshimoto has drawn some story manga but I prefer his non-fiction work. I also recommend the documentary series about Japanese composer Mamoru Samuragochi, Sabishii No Wa Anta Dake Ja Nai.
~dakazu
Sabishii No Wa Anta Dake Ja Nai
A manga examining the controversy behind Japanese composer Mamoru Samuragochi claiming to be a deaf by interviewing people with hearing disorders and also Samuragochi himself.
I’ve enjoyed Kouji Yoshimoto’s non-fiction stuff ever since I read his series on Tezuka Osamu and this title was no exception. I was really impressed at how Yoshimoto takes the time to try and explain the struggles and situations being deaf brings in modern Japanese society. It’s always great to see proper representation of disabilities, especially for Japan.
Yoshimoto also gets into the process it took to interview Samuragochi and there are various scenes with his editor where they reflect on what was discussed. This gave the story a much more open ended feeling showing Yoshimoto openly struggling to see if Samuragochi was truly lying about being deaf or not.
Fascinating series and I want to read more! There is also a documentary about Mamoru Samuragochi called Fake that I want to check out as well.
~dakazu