This is shojo manga of the oldest school.  Both in the sense that it was originally published in 1953, and created by a man — none other than Osamu Tezuka himself.  Its concept is bizzare enough to loop back around to being kind of groundbreaking for its time.  A mix-up in heaven causes a girl […]

There are series where I wait months for a new volume, and then there are series where I wait years for a new volume.  However long the wait is for a new volume of “Blade of the Immortal” it never, ever disappoints.  That’s just one of the many reasons why it has been my favorite […]

This is probably the most sane work I’ve read from mangaka Usamaru Furuya, who was also responsible for the deranged, psychosexual coming-of-age story “Lychee Light Club” published earlier this year.  It starts out with a metafictional twist as Furuya is struggling to come up with an idea for his next serial and is directed to […]

With my expectations properly adjusted, it’s much easier to appreciate this series’ considerable virtues.  Though chapters devoted to things such as breadmaking, embroidery and the title character “obtaining the heart of a bride” could’ve come off as tiresome history lessons, mangaka Kaoru Mori’s skill with character development and art that is both rich in detail […]

I’m a social drinker and generally see alcohol as more of a “social lubricant” than something that’s meant to be savored or enjoyed.   My poison of choice is usually Malibu Pineapple Rum, with their Mango variety coming in second.  The Banana variety is also good, though they don’t put it in the oversize bottles […]

Last week I mentioned how surprised I was to see Osamu Tezuka’s “The Book of Human Insects” on the New York Times’ manga bestseller list.  This week had an equally unexpected and welcome surprise as vol. 17 of “20th Century Boys” debuted at #7.  While seeing a Tezuka work on the list was gratifying just […]

Most weeks whenever the New York Times list of the bestselling manga hits Anime News Network, it’s usually “a whole lot of shonen and shojo manga that I’m not reading,” with a few exceptions.  “Yotsuba&!,” “Chi’s Sweet Home,” “Claymore,” “Berserk,” “Battle Angel Alita,” and even “Biomega” are the ones that I can recall popping up […]

This volume’s official subtitle is “Gag and Serious,” but it may as well be, “What to do when your series is cancelled.”  It’s another eventful look at the process of creating Shonen Jump manga, and for all that I talked about the kind of bloat that tends to be a token part of series from […]

This was the summary given on the back of the volume: “After a hellish battle against ravenous sea monsters, Guts the Black Swordsman and his companions are forced to seek refuge on a small island so that their ship can be repaired.  But this island is not the safe haven they’d hoped for — it’s […]

“Trigun,” the anime, is a true classic of the medium.  Not only did it thrive on the sometimes whiplash-inducing shifts from comedy to drama, its creators also told a satisfying story after they adapted the entirety of the manga published at the time (something that all Shonen Jump anime seem to have a problem with).  […]