I'm curious about this one too. It looks different to your average manga. Looks like i will check out the anime version of Demon Slayer, previous comments have convinced me.
A great shame, I've seen so many tributes to him. I never got around to 'Berserk'. I've always been aware of it of course, but I've never gone out of my way to read it. There's so many good Manga out there its impossible to keep up with all the good stuff (or at least, I don't have unlimited funds).
Yeah, I knew him in reputation alone as well. Never imagined that he'd leave the coil before I finally stepped into his work. ooo I read more manga than I actually purchase - public libraries are the best! - but in the past few years the majority of volumes that I actually plunk down for, without intentionally chasing the other person that shares authorship, have been brought to the English-speaking world by a fella named Ryan Holmberg: Another one of my current heroes, Brian Baynes, compiled a ton of Ryan's writings into a well-produced little book. I'll let the page on his site do the proper describing of what all it contains, but I'm here to report that what I've read so far of it has been fantastic. Have a look, and consider treating yourself to a window into all that goes into bringing these wonderful picture books over the ocean and fit for our gaijin eyes. Check out Brian's amazing zine, Bubbles, while you're there.
Chainsaw Man was good. The art was rough in a few spots but it was very entertaining. Kinda like action/supernatural with a decent amount of comedy mixed it. Interesting characters too.
If we're talking anime here, and not just manga, I just finished 食戟のソーマ (Food Wars). I don't watch a ton of anime, but I really enjoyed it. Iron Chef in anime form? It reminded me a bit of High Score Girl, in that you learn a little bit about food/cooking in each episode similar to how you'd get some video game history from HSG. I'll probably give Demon Slayer a try next, based on your recommendations.
My most recent buy. The english translation is out of print and i kept seeing it for more than double the original price. I luckily found one on ebay for less than the RRP with free postage ... The blurb: When Louis Vuitton decided to produce a series of deluxe travel books for the new century they invited only hand picked artists from around the world and placed them in settings unfamiliar to the artists to bring this vision to life. For one of the world’s most visited and romantic cities, Venice, they chose Jiro Taniguchi to glorify this magnificent city with his beautifully painted scenes. Being Taniguchi he wove a storyline around the wide open vistas, narrow canals and crowded piazzas of ‘La Serenissima’. . . After his mother’s death aged 78, the author discovers a beautifully lacquered box which contains what appear to be old photos and hand-drawn postcards of Venice. One photo of Piazza San Marco particularly catches his eye. It is of a Japanese couple feeding a multitude of pigeons in the square dressed in what looked like 1930’s styled clothes. Who were they? What relevance did they have for his mother? Armed with the contents of the lacquered box he travels to Venice to track down the places and events displayed in the images and to discover the identity of the young couple in the old photographs. With very few but well chosen words and his artist’s eye for detail, Taniguchi portrays the Venice of today in a most deserving light.
"Here's the problem. We had it on the Backwards setting. Gotta burn all those books now." I remember old Tokyopop manga would have a massive disclaimer/instruction page when you opened their books. "No, dummy! Go the other way!!"
Yeah, he quickly became one of my favorites. He was still producing better and better works right up to his death, the man was a true master and innovator.
This is my most recent purchase that I enjoyed a lot. Its a beautiful one-shot hardback, which also includes a bonus short story (a modern western, very different to the main book). Her art is a wonderful mix of styles, I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next. Blurb: My Broken Mariko, the debut manga by Waka Hirako, is a raw and searingly emotional account of domestic violence, guilt and grief from the perspective of an intimate observer. Tomoyo Shiino learns of her best friend Mariko’s suicide from a television news report. Devastated by Mariko’s death and familiar with the domestic abuse her friend endured, Shiino finesses her way into the parents’ home and steals Mariko’s ashes. She proceeds on a road trip to scatter the ashes while processing her grief. Hirako excels at capturing the intensity of guilt that survivors of suicide experience. Her artworks are unfiltered expressions of pain and empathy. Loss and grief in 'My Broken Mariko' is an open-ended, chronic condition that alters the trajectory of the lives of the survivors.
Sazan and Comet Girl by Yuriko Akase Seven Seas Entertainment 512 pages. This is the best impulse buy I've bought in ages. It initially grabbed my attention because the whole book is full colour throughout, which is highly unusual for Manga. And not just colour, but glorious watercolour painted by the author herself. Its a sight to behold, and luckily the story is great too. A full-on nostalgic space opera with an art style similar to classic manga from back in the day. It reminds me of Rumiko Takahashi, Go Nagai and Hayao Miyazaki to name a few. The latter comparison partly because the main space pirate in the story is a pig, very reminiscent of Porco Rosso. Its an action packed adventure, not taking itself too seriously, and was a blast to read. Its pure unashamed fun, that can be enjoyed by Manga newbies and seasoned readers alike. Highly recommended. Blurb: Sazan, a young man from Earth, works construction on other planets and has seen his share of galactic oddities. But when he meets Mina, a vivacious redhead who zooms into his life on a space scooter, he knows he's run into someone special. Almost as suddenly as she arrived, Mina races out of Sazan's life, yet Sazan is determined to find her again...no matter how far he must chase her across the galaxy.
"You're already dead". The Viz Signature edition finally dropped in the UK. A new translation and a beautiful hardback (matt cover with glossy varnish highlights). Its another quality bit of publishing by Viz, the paper stock is thick and the print reproduction is flawless. There were grumblings on Facebook about the sound effects being too intrusive but considering they're designed to cover the space that the original Japanese occupy, i thought they've been done rather well. Let's hope Viz can publish the series to completion this time! Anyway, if you were on the fence about buying this new version of an old classic, purchase with confidence. They've done a great job with it.
Taiyo Matsumoto No. 5, Vol. 1 Viz media, 318 pages. Blurb: A powerfully imagined vision of the future from Taiyo Matsumoto. In a world where most of the earth has become a harsh desert, the Rainbow Council of the Peace Corps has a growing crisis on its hands. No. 5, one member of a team of superpowered global security guardians and a top marksman, has gone rogue. Now the other guardians have to hunt down No. 5 and his mysterious companion, Matryoshka. But why did No. 5 turn against the council, and what will it mean for the future of the world? Taiyo Matsumoto has always impressed me with his unusual drawing style, probably best known for 'Tekkonkinkreet' outside of Japan, his artwork is a weird blend of Manga and European stylings. Viz attempted to publish No.5 before, and only managed two volumes (in print) before cancelling it. I assume because Taiyo is better known nowadays they're willing to give it another go, hoping it will sell better. I've been waiting to read No.5 since 2008, I first came across the large format books when I was in a used manga shop in Kyoto. The unusual artwork and setting really impressed me and stuck in my mind. Fast forward to 2021 and I finally get my hands on an English copy (I wasn't aware of the previous attempts at translation). Being honest I have mixed feelings about the book, it is early days but I'm not confident people are going to enjoy No.5 enough for Viz to ever successfully complete the series in English. The artwork is as good as I remembered it, very surreal and dreamlike, with a spontaneous feel to it. The style varies dramatically throughout the book, sometimes detailed but often very sketchy. It reminds me of Moebius, and has a lot of weird 'camera' angles that can look like hastily drawn director storyboards. Similar to Moebius, the art has an otherworldly look that is very individualistic and different to the mainstream. But, also like Moebius, the story itself can be hard to follow and the characters lack depth. You don't really have any emotional connection to the people involved. Admittedly this improved towards the end of the book, so I'm going to give it a chance and buy the next one. I don't want to judge the lack of coherence too quickly, and the weird fever dream artwork is almost worth the price on its own, but if you don't make a solid connection with the characters, stories like this leave you wanting. I wouldn't discourage manga fans from buying this, but I'd say approach with caution. If you're a casual manga reader, the chances are this isn't for you.
Just finished Hi-Score Girl 7. I love this series. It seems the manga is going under the radar a bit in english, even though it was a hit in Anime form. I'm finding less and less options to purchase it as time goes on ... Its well drawn and a lot of fun. The author really knows his retro gaming culture, and the manga is packed full of insights into Japanese arcades back in the day. Its a nostalgic tribute to Street Fighter etc, woven into a charming love triangle.
I had a good feeling about this series from the first book, and the second installment didn't disappoint. The story centres on a plucky girl and her relationship with a war hero pilot, and her becoming a talented young pilot herself. But, running in the background is a story about a mysterious Kaiju. So far, at the end of book two we've only seen a giant footprint, the tip of a massive tail rising out of flood waters and huge scratch marks on a tree in the wilderness. Its a Manga with a lot of heart, written and drawn by a master of the form. I highly recommend it, book 3 is out soon.
Another interesting one from Seven Seas Entertainment, from the mangaka behind 'Dorohedoro!', a sturdy little paperback, which is one of the weirdest series debuts I've read in a while. It reminds me of the old 2000ad series 'Nemesis the Warlock' with fascinating alien world building and weird organic technologies. Its often funny and has a kinda light-hearted feel but visually its a gloopy, creepy and dark book. I'm definitely going to buy the next volume ... Info: Zaha Sanko, a dark alien teen with a mysterious past, lives as a vagrant and fugitive to avoid capture; a legend of him claims that possessing his bones will grant the owner any wish they desire, resulting in most aliens being hostile towards him. Travelling with his guardian and 'Package of Darkness' Avakian, the duo are seeking the person offering wishes for his bones. The pair regularly crosses paths with Shimada Death, another dark alien feared as the God of Death, who commonly feeds off the corpses they create. Evading a series of attacks and using the skeletons to purchase equipment, Sanko uses a Black Core to create a sentient ship named Moja. While highly durable in nature as a dark alien, Sanko also protects himself from weapons using a 'Skin of Darkness', a malleable robe of shadow. He also wields a bone axe dubbed 'Flesh of Darkness', the cut of which immediately strips skeletons of flesh and muscle. Avakian 'The Package of Darkness' is a giant skeleton that has acted as Sanko's guardian for several years. Equipped with significant internal storage capacity and able to reconfigure his skeletal shape, Avakian commonly disguises himself as a novelty backpack to evade notice.
I've had books 1,2,3,4,9,16,17,18,19,20 of Attack on Titan for a few years and the other day found more in a charity shop. I now have 1 to 21. Of course its only now I look up exactly how many books are in the complete run and its 34. I was assuming 21 would be near the end, but its not even close!