Manga Machinations

This week Seamus reads another volume of Kiss and White Lily for my Dearest Girl, dakazu finishes Steve Jobs and Magical Girl Apocalypse, he questions the motivation of making an Amish girl the protagonist in Dare ga Kenja wo Koroshita ka?(Who Killed the Sage?), and we discuss if sharing stories of real people is exploitative in Uhyo! Tokyo-to Kita-ku Akabane! Then we talk about our main topic, Brave Story! We examine the novel it’s based on and compare it to the manga adaptation Brave Story: Shinsetsu!!!

This week Seamus checks out a new yuri manga After Hours, dakazu checks out both the manga and live-action drama of Otoko Meshi, darfox gives a questionable synopsis of the Rurouni Kenshin anime as we discuss it’s re-serialization in Jump SQ, and we do a quick update on new Chi no Wadachi and BEASTARS chapters. Then we take a look at Cobra for Saikyo Selections! We examine the originality of Buichi Terasawa ’s design, see the influence of James Bond and Total Recall in the story and characters, and discuss the pop culture significance the series had on future anime, manga, and media all around the world!

On this episode our buddy Miki's Stopwatch stops by to join us in discussing this season’s hot(mostly not) anime and older stuff as well: Welcome to the Ballroom, Magical Circle(Mahoujin Guru Guru), Made in Abyss, Restaurant to Another World(Isekai Shokudou), Haibane Renmei, Ashita no Joe, Snow White with the Red Hair(Akagami no Shirayuki-hime), Love and Lies(Koi to Uso), Gamers!, Kakeguri: Compulsive Gambler, My First Girlfriend is a Gal(Hajimete no Gal), Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun(Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun), and RIN-NE(Kyokai no Rinne)! Also, Miki praises BEASTARS & The Ancient Magus’ Bride, we talk about the money behind anime streaming services, we talk about finding a theater that will show obscure anime movies, we talk about the New York Review of Books reviewing Ichi-F, darfox notices a change in Shuzo Oshimi’s art style, dakazu loves a tale of imaginary girl training victims in Chuni no Danshi to Dairokkan, and we debate the appeal of dark, weird, interesting manga like Naraku no Hitsuji!!!

This week dakazu’s been reading a lot! He’s amazed that Mizuki Shigeru was writing Watashi no Hibi when he was 91, checks out a decent rugby manga called Full Drum, sick of edgelord gore manga like Pygmalion, and finds a similar loser protagonist in Boys on the Run. Also, Seamus checks out volume 2 of Girl’s Last Tour, we check in with our weekly BEASTARS update, and dakazu has been deceived by the false advertising of GAMERS. Then we examine Netflix’s version of Death Note! We recap the original source material and weigh in on whether this movie is a good adaptation or not!

On this episode Seamus talks about going to Worldcon 75 and meeting Yumiko Shirai, creator of WOMBS! Then we finally finish off our retrospective of I am a Hero. We discuss the events of the final chapters, share our favorite story arcs, and give our thoughts about the whole series!(covers chapters 229-264)

This week we’re joined by fan of the show Dwayne! He takes a break from sending an email to talk about getting into manga with D.Grey-Man & Hellsing, reading sci-fi/fantasy novels, and watching Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Also, Dwayne’s been reading Knights of Sidonia, we talk about the newest chapter of Chi no Wadachi, dakazu’s finds the erotic faces in the food manga Meshinuma hilarious, and we’re disappointed with the upcoming arc of Boruto: Naruto Next Genereations. Then we jump into our Triple Dip review by looking at The Girl from the Other Side, Girls’ Last Tour, and Kekkaishi!!!

Welcome to our mega-sized 150th episode! Seamus is out but Dawn “Usamimi” from the Anime Nostalgia Podcast returns to talk about horror manga! We take an in-depth look at Junji Ito’s earlier work Tomie and talk about Junji Ito’s other works, the live-action movie series, answer what qualifies as horror, and suggest other horror manga! We also discuss rewatching Eureka Seven: AO, seeing Kiki's Delivery Service in theaters, praise for Goodnight Punpun, the lovable delinquents of Slam Dunk & Yu Yu Hakusho, the guilty pleasures of Dragon Ball Super, finally watching My Hero Academia, the bad seasons of Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories, the reboot of Magical Circle(Mahoujin Guru Guru), the upcoming Netflix’s CG reboot of Saint Seiya, the live-action Ajin: Demi-Human, the Psycho-Pass season that ‘shall not be discussed’, hate watching The Lost Village, hype for Devilman Crybaby, Masaaki Yuasa’s The Night is Short, Walk On Girl & Lu Over the Wall, bio-flesh horror in A.I.C.O. Incarnation, the anime adaptat

On this episode Seamus is eager to read more of Girl’s Last Tour which is similar to BLAME!, we do a quick update on new Chi no Wadachi and BEASTARS chapters, dakazu finishes Chimamire Sukeban Chainsaw(Bloody Delinquent Chainsaw) and Inio Asano’s Reiraku, and he checks out a manga adaptation of the hit 2016 Japanese novel I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. Then we return to the world of ZQN with our I am a Hero retrospective! We go over the events that are leading to a big finale in Tokyo and discuss Hideo and Hiromi’s official relationship!(covers chapters 192-228)

This week Seamus is keeping up with BEASTARS, darfox talks about the end of Fairy Tale, we discuss the Hollywood TV adaptations of One Piece and Cowboy Bebop, we praise the casting of Willem Defoe as Ryuk in Netflix’s Death Note, dakazu loves Ono Natsume’s new manga Lady and Oldman but doesn’t like the reboot of Osamu Tezuka’s The Three Eyed One called Mitsume Mokushiroku: Akuma Ouji Sharaku(Three Eyed Apocalypse), and dakazu rants about accepting commissions for scanlations. Then we continue our long retrospective review of I am a Hero and discuss major events that take place during the Hakone Hot Springs arc!!!(covers chapters 156-191)

On this episode we give our opinions on light novels, we discuss the newest chapters of Chi no Wadachi and BEASTARS, dakazu finds Paru Itagaki’s Prototype of BEASTARS called Beast Complex and checks out Restaurant to Another World(Isekai Shokudo), and Seamus and Darfox review the second season of The Eccentric Family. Then we return to our retrospective of I am a Hero! We wrap up the Kurusu-arc and get into the Hakone hot springs-arc!!!(covers chapters 118-155)

This week we answer an email, we discuss the newest arc in BEASTARS, dakazu finishes Coppelion and watches the Welcome to the Ballroom anime, darfox is looking forward to FLCL2+3, we rejoice in the news of A Silent Voice getting a US theatrical release, and the teaser trailer of the live-action adaptation of BLEACH scrounges up mixed feelings. Then we take a break from our I am a Hero retrospective to check out the live-action adaptation that came out last year. We break down pros and cons of the film and compare it to the manga!

On this episode we answer an email about In Clothes Called Fat, Seamus finds more shiritori in Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, darfox is rewatching Eureka Seven, dakazu finds two bad manga in Rock Me Amadeus and Otogibanashi Battle Royal(Fairy Tale Battle Royale) but loves the world of RAFNAS by WOMBS creator Yumiko Shirai! Then we discuss the new trailer for the Netflix Death Note movie, rejoice in the announcement of the Junji Ito Collection anime, and explain why Welcome to the Ballroom is streaming on Twitch. Finally, we continue our retrospective review of I am a Hero by wrapping up the Gotemba Outlet Mall arc and diving into the Kurusu arc next!!!(covers chapters 82-117)

This week we interview Jocelyne Allen of Brain Vs. Book who translated My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness! She talks to us about the process of pitching projects to publishers, the lack of transparency for translators, the problem with scanlations, and the difficulty of translating Japanese puns! Then  she continues to answer our questions as we share our thoughts on My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness!!!

On this episode we answer an email about Platinum End, darfox gets into tanuki lore for The Eccentric Family, Seamus watches the anime film Red Turtle, dakazu find a violent manga version of the Lion King with Jasmin, and we report on news about the Pluto and Yuri!!! on Ice! Then we get back to our retrospective of I am a Hero!!! We’ll be discussing the translations for the message boards, the plot twist with Hiromi, and the tense Gotemba Outlet Mall arc!(covers chapters 47-81)

This week darfox weighs in on season two of The Eccentric Family, dakazu finishes WOMBS and is still reading Reincarnation no Kaben, we get hyped for our special guest, dakazu discovers the collection of stories from various mangaka based on Parasyte in Neo Kiseijuu and he finds another spin-off of Kaiji in Ichinichi Gaishutsuroku Hanchou! Then we dive into our newest retrospective review for I am a Hero!!! We revisit the beginning of the story, examine the main character Hideo, and discuss what makes this manga stand out from other zombie stories!!!(covers chapters 1-46)

On this episode we answer an email, we examine species profiling within the new BEASTARS chapters, Seamus continues with Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, darfox examines the manga offered through his new Crunchyroll subscription and prefers the characterization in the anime compared to the manga of BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS, dakazu loves the world of ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department and gets hungry for fantasy cuisine of the high flying dragon whalers in Drifting Dragons, and we discuss news of death threats over Touken-shipping in Tokyo Ghoul:re! Then we look at one of the most popular anime from the 90’s, Ninja Scroll! We share stories about the culture of the fandom during that time period and how the film holds up now!!!

This week Seamus catches up on BEASTARS, Chi no Wadachi continues to entice us, reddit introduces darfox to 8-Sai Toshishita no Dousei no Ko ni Koishita(Fell in Love with a Girl 8 years younger) and Deai-kei Site de Imouto to Deau Hanashi(Met my Sister on a Dating Site), and dakazu’s next manga/anime binge will be ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department! Then we jump into a bloody battle themed Triple Dip with Blade of the Immortal, Battle Angel Alita, and Fist of the North Star!!!

On this episode Seamus revisits Ōoku: The Inner Chambers but hates the early modern English translations, dakazu is sad that Musume no Iede(I’m a Runaway Girl) has ended, he talks about photoshopping Gundam models to create Moblie Suit Gundam Thunderbolt Gaiden, darfox comes for the cat but stays for the lesbian confessions of Watashi no Kawaii Koneko-chan(My Cute Little Kitten), and dakazu is fed up with the filler episodes of ATOM: THE BEGINNING! Then, with a heavy heart, we review the Netflix 3D anime adaptation of BLAME!. Listen as we complain about nearly everything, struggle to find positives things, and discuss what we would have wanted from this movie.

This week Seamus likes the secondary couple in the yuri manga Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, the other shoe finally drops in Chi no Wadachi, darfox and dakazu compare their reading styles, darfox shares his thoughts on the newest arc of Happiness, dakazu comes across the most bizarre and blatant health scam in X-POWER~4th Dimensional Body Enhancement~, and he takes a look at the new Tsutomu Nihei series APOSIMZ(Ningyou no Kuni). Then for our Triple Dip, we discuss BEASTARS, Moteki, and Ichi the Killer!!!

On this episode we answer an email and talk about Junji Ito manga, while dakazu checks out the end of Naruto Shippuden, (unfortunately)revisits Bunny Drop, and rants about Rin Okamoto’s new manga Parallel Paradise! Then for our One Shot section we discuss Ghost in the Shell!!! We compare the characters in the manga to their anime counterparts, cringe at Masamune Shirow’s love of fan service, and breakdown all plot points that were taken for the various anime adaptations!