Kaoru Mori changes up the tone with this volume, pushing it more towards overt comedy this time out.  The reasons for that are right on the cover.  We’re introduced to them after Mr. Smith falls off of his camel into a lake and is rescued by the twins Laila and Leily who find out that […]

Shigeru Mizuki may be one of Japan’s best-known and loved mangaka, but prior to this title’s publication in April 2011, none of his work had ever been translated into English.  Though his most famous series, “Ge ge ge no Kitaro,” is an enduringly popular kid’s  series that deals with the many denizens of Japanese folklore, […]

Another thing that occurred while reading the previous topic was, “How did this make it by Kodansha’s editorial staff?”  Granted, I could very well be in the minority when it comes to appreciating “Attack on Titan’s” virtues but those two volumes definitely left me with the feeling that it could’ve been greatly improved had it […]

Outside of the fact that they’re continuing to publish “Battle Angel Alita:  Last Order” and the “second season” of “Genshiken” Kodansha’s line of manga hasn’t really impressed me that much.  That’s mainly because a lot of it does seem skewed towards a younger audience, which is understandable since those titles tend to be the most […]

Carl Horn’s notes from the previous volume gave me the indication that this one was going to be something special.  After being put solidly on the backburner for the last several volumes, it looked as if we were finally going to get some momentum on the ongoing subplot of the origin of the spirit behind […]

As I’ve said before, if you’re going to do any kind of adaptation of film, TV or other media to comics you need to have talented people on hand if you want to have any hope of making it work.  That’s not the only way, though, but it’s usually the most reasonable compared to getting […]

Battle Angel Alita:  Last Order vol. 16 represents the first collection published after mangaka Yukito Kishiro packed up shop after a dispute with his former publisher Shueisha and moved over to Kodansha.  So if you’re wondering why this volume looks different, that’s why.  Fortunately the localization staff remains the same so the change is more […]

(A lot of places online have the title of this series as “The Limit,” however the book itself only has “Limit” on the cover and in the copyright text.  So I’m splitting the difference here.) This is a new series published by Vertical, so I’m already interested.  Konno is a high school girl who happens […]