438 – Planetes part 2
This week we discuss monster girls in Sons of the Forest, Junichiro Saito’s Musashino, the Blue Giant movie soundtrack, and more! Then we conclude our Retrospective on Makoto Yukimura’s hard science fiction series on space development, Planetes!!!
Continue reading437 – Planetes part 1
On this episode we talk about Sailor Moon translations, Something New, Gokurakugai, Demon Slayer – To the Swordsmith Village, and more! Then we start our long awaited Retrospective on Makoto Yukimura’s Planetes! We discuss the near-future story about space debris collectors and what puts the “hard” in hard science fiction!!!
Continue reading335 – The Flowers of Evil part 3
This week Seamus catches up on Vinland Saga,dakazu struggles to read Meisou Senshi Nagata Kabi Gurume de GO!, and we examine the new license announcements! Then we return to our Retrospective on Shuzo Oshimi’s The Flowers of Evil, where a time skip has lead to a much more digestible story arc!!!
Continue reading327 – Manga Machinations Awards 2020
Welcome to the final episode of 2020! We’re doing things a bit differently this year by launching the Manga Machinations Awards! Darfox8, dakazu, Morgana, and Seamus have all created unique awards to go with their top manga picks from 2020! Enjoy our picks and have yourself a safe and happy holidays from all of us here at Manga Machinations! See you next year!!!
Continue reading299 – Yu Yu Hakusho part 6
On this episode Seamus finishes rereading Vinland Saga, Morgana enjoys BL Metamorphosis, and dakazu loves creepy girls with mind powers in Meiko no Asobiba! And we’ve finally arrived at the end of our Yu Yu Hakusho Retrospective! We discuss why Yoshihiro Togashi’s ended the series, compare the manga ending to the anime ending, and share our final thoughts about the eternal bromance of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei!!!
Continue reading292 – Yu Yu Hakusho part 1
The time is finally here! We’ve been waiting over four years to start a Retrospective on Yu Yu Hakusho! Join us as we examine the first three volumes of Yoshihiro Togashi’s beloved series about the delinquent Yusuke Urameshi, who goes from ghost to spirit detective! Morgana and Darfox have lots of love for the anime but dakazu has issues with the loose English translations! We also answer emails and Seamus rereads Vinland Saga!!!
Continue readingPLANETES
A manga where space travel has given way to space pollution and follows a group of astronauts who collect debris.
Makato Yukimura is now well known for his current series Vinland Saga but before that he was known for this minor hit series. I really enjoy this book for the hard science approach to space exploration. Yukimura put a lot of thought into the nuances that would go into the daily lives of these astronauts who are basically blue collar garbage men. The story may be based on space but the focus is on human characters and their connections to each other.
There is also a fantastic anime adaptation that really fleshes out the journey of main character Hachimaki from jaded debris collector to enlightened Jupiter explorer. However the story arc that follows Fee Carmichael and explores the politics of space travel hurting 3rd world countries isn’t in the anime. Both are great and I recommend you check them out! English edition available from Dark Horse.
~dakazu
275 – 2019 Year End News & Manga Review
Welcome to the final episode of Manga Machinations for 2019! Seamus is back, which means all the hosts are ready to discuss all the news stories from this year before sharing their personal top 3 manga, honorable mentions, and worst manga of the year!!!
Continue reading273 – Morgana’s Manga Makeup 1 – Vinland Saga, Golden Kamuy, Shojo FIGHT!
We’re launching a new episode where our new host Morgana will read her way through some of Manga Machinations favorites! It’ll be Morgana’s first time reading through these manga and we’re excited to hear what she thinks! She’ll be checking out Vinland Saga, Golden Kamuy, and Shojo FIGHT!!!!
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