Manga Machinations

Seamus is absent this week but we use this opportunity to get Darfox caught up on some manga he missed while he was out! We revisit Golden Kamuy, Vinland Saga, and My Brother's Husband to get darfox's thoughts on these series! Also dakazu reads a cute series documenting a mangaka's husband becoming a ramen chef in Danna ga Kyou Kara Ramenya, but isn't sure how to feel about the fashion manga Fuku wo Kiru Nara Konna Fuu ni(Do it this way if you wear the clothes)! We also discuss the newly translated My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness!!!

This week we're joined by listener Miki's Stopwatch! He talks about his origins in anime and manga and then helps us dive into a huge discussion of recent anime we've all been watching. We'll discuss Orange, The Rose of Versailles, Patlabor, Gakuen Handsome, Keijo!!!!!!!!, Drifters, March Comes in like a Lion, Yuri!!! on Ice, Mob Psycho 100, and much, much more!!!

On this episode Darfox rates Mob Psycho 100 higher than One Punch Man while dakazu finishes My Love Story!! and Inside Mari(Boku wa Mari no Naka) while checking out a remake of Takao Saito's Survival and a manga adaptation of The Garden of Words that we covered on Manga in Motion 4(episode 64). Then we check out the starting chapters of Yu Yu Hakusho, Historie and WOMBS for our Triple Dip section!!!

This week darfox kicks things off by taking a look at Mizuki Shigeru's most famous series Gegege no Kitarou, we discuss the lack of mainstream American non-fiction comics, and dakazu considers checking out a "manga" exhibition at the local art museum. Then we conclude our A Silent Voice retrospective by covering the final chapters and sharing our final thoughts on this phenomenal series!!!(covers chapters 43-62)

On this episode we debate the value of sequel manga akin to Boruto, dakazu takes a look at Rensuke Oshikiri's generic horror manga Sayuri, we discuss the 40th anniversary/finale of Shonen Jump's longest running series Kochikame, and talk about the new anime seasons of The Eccentric Family and Yowamushi Pedal! Afterwords, we continue with our A Silent Voice retrospective! We delve into some new characters and the continuing drama of this touching series!!!(covers chapters 24-42)

In this episode Seamus looks at another Shigeru Mizuki work, Nonnonba,and dakazu is satisfied with the conclusion of Jisatsutou(Suicide Island). Then we jump into our newest retrospective, A Silent Voice! We explain the significance of the Japanese title, praise the detailed artwork, and examine the great cast of characters and the realism behind their relationships and motivations!!!(covers chapters 1-23)

This week we start off by thanking a listener, we examine characteristics of ONE's protagonists from One Punch Man & Mob Psycho 100, and Seamus breaks down the levity of lighter chapters in Golden Kamuy! Then we go over the final chapters of Billy Bat before breaking down the series, solving all the mysteries, and giving our overall thoughts on the series as a whole!!!(covers chapters 163-165)

On this episode we reveal our plans for next week, Seamus drops The Highschool Life of a Fudanshi(Fudanshi Koukou Seikatsu) but picks up Houkago Edge, dakazu talks about Nana to Kaoru and Jisatsutou(Suicide Island) ending, we examine the Orange anime and live action adaptations of Yowamushi Pedal and Bleach, and Darfox gets into the popularity of variety shows in Japan! In our Side by Side segment we compare 2 very different baseball manga, Ace of Diamond and H2, but Seamus may be sick of all these sports manga!

Welcome to our 100th episode and 2 year anniversary!!! We're joined by special guest Ryan Higgins from the Comic Conspiracy podcast to talk about the history of manga published in America, our secret origins for manga, the end of Bleach, Gundam anime, and Hayao Miyazaki's take on Lupin the 3rd in The Castle of Cagliostro!!!

On this episode Seamus explains the relevance of certain characters related to Norse Mythology in Vinland Saga, dakazu loves the Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji comedy spin-off about evil organization middle management in Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues(Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa), and we catch up on another chapter of Billy Bat! Then for our One Shot retrospective, we look at Rensuke Oshikiri's tragic tale of murderous middle schoolers in Misu Misou!!!

Welcome to another solo-cast with dakazu! He'll be talking about the other weekly shonen magazines and the manga series he reads in them, including Shonen Magazine, Shonen Sunday, and Shonen Champion!!!

This week we discuss the trailers for the Blame! and A Silent Voice movie trailers, dakazu is excited about the re-serialization of Hi Score Girl, and we have a discussion about various manga that cover geek culture, such as Genshiken, Knights of the Dinner Table and Record of Lodoss War! Then we check out 3 new manga for another edition of Triple Dip! This time we look at Shamo, Detroit Metal City, and Delicious in Dungeon(Dungeon Meshi)!!!

We kick off this week's episode with an emergency Billy Bat update and discuss the megaton reveal from the newest chapters! Then it's time for another Saikyo Selections! We check out various cases(covers chapters 40-44, 62-67, 92-98) from the most popular shonen mystery series Case Closed(Detective Conan) while trying to break down the series and the genre!!!

On this episode dakazu laments over terrible manga but loves twisted relationships in the autobiographical Nikkan Yandere Fuufu Manga(Yandere Married Couple), Seamus checks out a cute Korean web comic Spirit Fingers, and darfox digs the distinct art style of the Mob Psycho 100 anime! Then we compare and contrast the 2 cycling manga Yowamushi Pedal and Over Drive for another Side by Side!!!

On this episode Seamus finishes A Drifting Life while dakazu talks about boys who love yaoi in The Highschool Life of a Fudanshi(Fudanshi Koukou Seikatsu) and an autobiographical manga about overcoming anxiety and connecting with others in My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness! We also start a new section called One Shot where we'll be doing single episode retrospectives on a shorter manga. Listen as we discuss Shojo Fight manga artist Yoko Nihonbashi's previous work G Senjou Heaven's Door!!

After taking a quick wrestling tangent, Seamus continues with Yoshihiro Tatsumi in A Drifting Life, dakazu talks about the new 3D Berserk anime, and darfox explains the wackiness of Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ! Then, for Triple Dip, we revisit some newly translated manga dakazu has talked about! We discuss the beginning of Chimamure Sukeban Chainsaw, Mustard Chocolate, and Shojo Fight!!!

This week Seamus dives into Yoshihiro Tatsumi's autobiography manga A Drifting Life while dakazu and darfox hash out all things grim dark with Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and it's polar opposite sequel, the upbeat Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. Then darfox leads us our discussion of our Manga in Motion selection Trigun: Badlands Rumble! Love & Peace!!!

Welcome to the final episode of our retrospective on Naoki Urasawa's Monster!!! We finish covering the final chapters, examine the controversial ending, and give our final thoughts on the series as a whole!(covers chapter 142-162)

On our penultimate retrospective of Monster we move on from Martin's arc, learn about the twins' origins, and prepare for the finale by having Seamus predict who will live and who will die!!!(covers chapters 123-141) Also, dakazu has been re-reading Hunter x Hunter, Seamus finds more political elements in A Bride's Story(Oyomegatari), and we take a quick tangent with soccer and comic strips!

This week dakazu checks out Junji Ito's take on a political thriller in Yuukokuno no Rasputin, darfox examines Naruto expanded fiction Boruto, Seamus likes the post-war supernatural investigators in Ubume no Natsu, and we dive into the prison break arc of Monster!!!(covers chapters 105-122)

Seamus has started reading A Bride's Story(Oyomegatari) again, darfox talks about the Yowamushi Pedal movie, and dakazu is moved by the biography manga about Cambodian Deminer Aki Ra in Mitsurin Shounen Jungle Boy. Then, secrets are revealed as we wrap up the 'Mr Grimmer arc' in Naoki Urasawa's Monster!!!(covers chapters 87-104)

This week darfox8 checks out Tsutomu Nihei's take on Western comics in Wolverine: Snikt! and dakazu returns to incompetent child soldier stereotypes of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Our retrospective of Monster continues as we wrap up the Mr Schuwalt arc and are introduced to new characters of Mr Grimmer and Agent Suk!!!(covers chapters 69-86)

On this episode Darfox gives Yu Yu Hakusho some anime love, dakazu checks out the Satoshi Kon & Katsuhiro Otomo joint project World Apartment Horror and also learns about quirky routines of everyday people in Sono "Okodawari", Ore ni mo Kure Yo!!. Then we continue our Monster retrospective as Tenma and Johan close in on each other!!!(covers chapters 51-68)

Seamus starts us off this week with pop culture references to The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in Time Prisoners(Space-Time Prisoner). Then dakazu can't believe a mangaka's real account of living in the woods in Disappearance Diary while discovering Rensuke Oshikiri range in his works Misu Misou, Dero Dero, and Dohii! Obake ga Boku wo Penpen Naguru!(Gosh! The Ghost Keeps Slapping Me!). We close out with our Monster retrospective as we delve deeper into the characters of Eva Heinemann and Inspector Lunge!!!(covers chapters 33-50)

On this episode Seamus takes a break from manga to talk about the Vertigo comics, we discuss Robert Rodriquez directing Alita: Battle Angel, darfox revisits the Prison School chapter from last week that has been re-edited, and dakazu finds a manga from his youth that was released from Dark Horse as single issue comics called Grey. Then it's time for more Monster! Now that the prelude is over, we get into the dramatic thriller storyline of Dr Tenma pursing Johan!!!(covers chapters 17-32)

On this episode Seamus catches up on March comes in like a lion(3-angatsu no Lion), darfox gets into translating slander in Prison School, and dakazu reads a horror version of Mushishi in Tsubaki and salary negotiations of professional baseball in Gurazeni: Money Pitch! Then we begin our newest retrospective of Monster, the work that made Naoki Urasawa what he is today! Listen as we discuss the story, characters and have dramatic read-throughs of the select scenes in what we're calling Monster-piece Theater!!!(covers chapters 1-16)

On this week's mega sized episode Seamus tries reading Happiness, dakazu forces himself to read the gore porn Elfen Lied and lite novel fluff Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? but rejoices in the return of Hunter x Hunter and Beet the Vandel Buster! Special guest and resident anime expert Kenzo talks about Gintama, Bleach, Boku Girl, and Tomo-chan is a Girl!(Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko!). Then we run through the new shows of the Spring 2016 season, discuss some news about upcoming anime adaptations, and rant about shows that just wrapped up like Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and Mr. Osomatsu(Osomatsu-san)! Finally we discuss the anime movie Miss Hokusai!!!

On this episode Seamus is still reading Golden Kamuy, darfox is over classical monsters, dakazu found another manga about Jobs and Wozniak in Steves, and laughs about the real model photo-shopped manga Gun Dragon Sigma. Then we compare two sports manga in our Side by Side segment! This time we look at the polar opposites The Prince of Tennis and Baby Steps!!!

Wrestlemania weekend won't stop us from bringing you a new episode! Seamus talks about the newest arc of Vinland Saga, darfox is enjoying One Punch Man, dakazu loves the hilarious behind-the-scenes stories in Anime Prison School wo Tsukutta Otoko-tachi(The Men who made the Prison School Anime) and looks at Shuzo Oshimi's earlier work Avant-Garde Yumeko. Then we jump into Tokyo Ghoul, Trigun, and Shuumatsu no Laughter for our latest Triple Dip!!!

This week darfox talks about the weekly wait for new chapters, dakazu talks about the popularity of battle royale style mangas in Weekly Shonen Magazine, and we explain what Mahjong is. Then it's time for our new segment Side by Side!!! We'll be looking at 2 different manga that cover the same sport and compare them! In our 1st episode we'll be examining basketball manga Kuroko's Basketball(Kuroko no Basket) and Ahiru no Sora!!!

This week Seamus gives A Bride's Story(Otoyomegatari) another chance, we examine character archetypes from Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion, dakazu is surprised by the success of Mr. Osomatsu(Osomatsu-san) and applauds the end of Assassination Classroom, and we discuss how Italy loves Lupin III: Part IV. We then compare The Life of Gusko Budori against our last Manga in Motion, Night on the Galactic Railroad and see if the same creative team made another hit!!!

On this episode we have a lengthy discussion about Zack Davisson's article Confessions of a Manga Translator involving what the role of a translator should be and the difference between translating manga compared to other mediums. Then we look at the super popular One Piece for Saikyo Selections! We examine the Arlong Park arc(covers chapters 69-95) to examine the major themes in Eiichiro Oda's blockbuster mega-hit manga!!!

Welcome to our new segment Saikyo Selections where we'll be looking at a single story-arc from a long running popular manga and analyze it's major themes! The first series we'll be covering is Naruto and the search for the 5th Hokage arc!(covers chapters 150-171) We also talk about March comes in like a lion(3-gatsu no Lion), Hyakushou Kizoku, and Billy Bat!!!

On this episode Seamus is reading about androgynous Richard III in Requiem of the Rose King(Baraou no Souretsu), dakazu likes the simple shoujo manga Mustard Chocolate, and we find out who's involved in the Black Bat religion in Billy Bat! Then it's the return of our Triple Dip section! We check out the beginning of Assassination Classroom author's prior series Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, the magical fantasy world of The Ancient Magnus' Bride, and examine Warring States Japan through glazed pottery in Hyouge Mono!!!

Itadakimasu! This week Seamus sees the connections of Ainu to Princess Mononoke from new Golden Kamuy chapters while dakazu loves more childhood tales of Hi Score Girl author Rensuke Oshikiri in Pico-Pico Shounen. Darfox is concerned about LGBT representation in Jisatsutou(Suicide Island) but dakazu appreciates how My Brother's Husband handles the issues and we look at the newest chapters of Billy Bat. Finally, we discuss the 1985 adaptation of Kenji Miyazawa's classic fantasy novel Night on the Galactic Railroad!!!

Welcome to our last Goodnight Punpun retrospective! We'll be covering the final chapters and discussing what happens, talk about our favorite moments from the series, and ponder if the ending leaves Punpun happy or in hell!! GOOD VIBRATIONS!!!(covers chapters 122-147)

After taking a sidetrack talking about wrestling, dakazu loves the Dragon Quest 5 fanfic web comic Katachikubi dashita ossan no ato tsuketara tenkuu no tsurugi wo mitsuketa(How I stalked some dude with an exposed nipple and stumbled upon the Zenithian Sword) and the touching recollection of a mangaka's recovery from the ICU, Shinde Ikikaerimashita Repo(I died and came back to Life: The Report). Then we dive into Goodnight Punpun and the dark choices that awakens Punpun to whom he always was!!!(covers chapters 100-121)

We kick off this episode with more Billy Bat! Then dakazu learns the true powers of licensed Disney songs in Sexy Joyuu-chan - Girigiri Mosaic while Seamus learns about the final twist in Orange. After that we explore more Goodnight Punpun and discuss Sachi and Punpun's somewhat healthy relationship.(covers chapters 79-99)

Welcome to part 3 of our continued retrospective of Goodnight Punpun! We'll be discussing the truth behind God and the eccentric Pegasus ensemble!!(covers chapters 57-78) Also, Seamus gets to the twist of Orange, we look into the science of 'shipping' characters, and we breakdown the next chapter of Billy Bat!!!

On this episode dakazu is in love with a Edo period Japanese astronomer in Tenchi Meisatsu, Billy Bat starts its final arc, we lament the 3D animated BLAME! movie coming out this year, and spend lots of time getting into dark topics for our continuing retrospective of Goodnight Punpun!!!(covers chapters 35-56)

This week we discuss the holiday break for manga magazines, darfox8 explains why he didn't start Fairy Tail at the beginning, and dakazu talks about popular manga getting bloated. Then darfox8 revisits A Silent Voice, Hajime no Ippo, and Berserk from Triple Dip 9. Finally, we begin our retrospective read-through of Inio Asano's Goodnight Punpun and discuss everything from the dark plot to the crazy side characters.(covers chapters 1-34)

Happy New Year! Darfox8 is back and it's time to get caught up on manga! This episode Seamus reads a new shoujo manga Horimiya, dakazu learns about the Japanese prison system in Keimusho no Naka(Doing Time), we have a quick update on new Billy Bat chapters, and we triple dip into Vagabond, Dragon Head, and Saint Young Men(Saint Oniisan)!!!

Happy Holidays! This week Seamus explains what St. Stephen's Day is, while dakazu talks about the journal manga My Darling is a Foreigner and Blue Giant; a new manga about Jazz from the author of Gaku! Then Seamus gets his shoujo manga fix with Orange and we talk about the technical achievements/shortcomings of our Manga in Motion title Steamboy; from AKIRA creator Katsuhiro Otomo!!!

On this episode dakazu examines post World War 2 Japan and Japanese occupied China in the sobering Areyo Hoshikuzu. Then we revisit recently translated Golden Kamuy and My Brother's Husband from dakazu's Whatcha-Been-Reading, along with listener suggested Sakuranbo Syndrome for our Triple Dip!!!

Seamus is back to talk about popular shoujo manga; including AKB49 - Renai Kinshi Jourei, Whispered Words(Sasameki Koto), Tenbin wa Hana to Asobu, and Kimi ga Suki!! Then dakazu explains the comedy of the long running Afro Tanaka series and we talk about teacher/student romances done right in The Garden of Words for Manga in Motion!!!

Seamus and darfox are both out this week so dakazu solo-casts this episode, talking about all the current series he reads(or doesn't) in Weekly Shonen Jump!!!

This week Seamus deals with cheesy storylines in Vinland Saga and dakazu can't stop praising the Sci-Fi epic Imuri! Then, it's time for more Triple Dip! We discuss gratuitous panty shots of Video Girl Ai, horror design in Ushio to Tora, and gush over male harems in feudal Japan from Ooku: The Inner Chambers!!!

On this episode Seamus finishes Planetes, dakazu talks about the JSDF in Rising Sun and kids playing golf in Rising Impact. Then we get into a lengthy discussion about manga spin-offs of other manga and look at Mamoru Oshii's anime art film Angel's Egg(Tenshi no Tamago)!!!

Kenzo joins us this week to tell us about dropping Bleach, lamenting the end of Gintama, and his guilty pleasures of My Girlfriend is a T-Rex(T-Rex na Kanojo) and Boku Girl! Then it's time for another Triple Dip! We look at the 1st volumes of Hajime no Ippo, Berserk, and A Silent Voice!!!

On this episode we welcome the return of the mangaka in Billy Bat, then we reach the ends of the Megastructure and Killy's journey as we finish our Blame! retrospective and we give our final thoughts on the series and the cyber dungeon.(covers chapters 51-65)