For those of us that came of age during the early anime period of the 1990s, 3×3 Eyes is a name many will recognize on the old fansub VHSes passed around among friends and local anime clubs. Based on the manga of the same name, the anime consisted of seven episodes of an OVA that…
How is a Mutant Like an ESPer: Tokyo ESP and X-Men
“Tokyo ESP? What’s that about?” “Oh, it’s like X-men for Japan.” Ever have one of those fridge logic moments where you say something off the cuff and it’s so brilliant, you wonder why you never saw it before? Okay, so I only just finished up the last volume of the manga not that long ago,…
Retrospective Chronicle: Two Female Comic Creators Discuss CLAMP
CLAMP is an all-female group of comic creators from Japan, made up of four manga artists: Nanase Ohkawa, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi. Originally formed in the mid-80s, their work spans several decades and countless genres, including Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, X/1999, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, and Magic Knight Rayearth. They’re also the main reason why…
Review: The Seven Princes of the Thousand-Year Labyrinth
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, the emperor’s son was murdered by his seven formerly-loyal vassals. This created a lot of trust issues around the throne, so the kingdom decides on a totally foolproof and not weird at all way of deciding their next rulers. Every generation, they throw a bunch of pretty…
Women in Men’s World: The Feminism of Basara
Stories about gender and women have always fascinated me. Seek me out as a kid and you’d find me watching Mulan with a copy of Bruce Coville’s The Dragonslayers clutched to my chest. Discovering a relatively obscure series called Basara during my college years was just an extension of that. Basara follows the journey of…
Halloween Mini-Reviews Bonanza: Haunted Chunks to Chew On
It’s Halloween on Tuesday! Woah, scary! Want some comics with that? Yes you do! Try these. Coady and the Creepies Liz Prince (writer) and Amanda Kirk (artist) BOOM! Box October 11, 2017 Coady and the Creepies stars horror pop punk band The Creepies made up of triplet siblings Coady, Cory, and Criss. The band and…
The Strongest Hero, A Lonely Hero: Depression and Anxiety in One-Punch Man
In the first volume of the One-Punch Man manga, the main protagonist Saitama faces a villainous monster claiming to be the strongest being in existence. Instead of boasting, the villain ruminates about the death of his older brother and realizes that obtaining superhuman strength has cost him greatly. When Saitama jumps into frame to defeat…
7 Manga Characters with Heterochromia
As a resident of the United States, I will be the first person to say we love our national theme days. July alone has the ever-popular National Ice Cream Day and National Hot Dog Day– but the themes aren’t just confined to food! National U.S. Postage Stamp Day and National Father-Daughter Take a Walk Day…
Previously On Comics: Manga News from Anime Expo
Hello readers! It’s a holiday weekend for many people but regardless of whether that is the case for you, I hope the past few days have been treating you well. While you’re gearing up for the week ahead, why don’t we catch up on some headlines from the world of comics? This past weekend was…
What Is Going On in Attack on Titan?
Say what you like, but Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan stirs a lot of emotion in people. Sometimes it’s love for the giant-killing action and cool aesthetic. Other times it’s frustration for the uneven pacing. And, for another group of people, it’s bewilderment. I currently fall into the third category. On a superficial level, I…
Bridging Relationships and Secrets in My Brother’s Husband
My Brother’s Husband Gengoroh Tagame (Story and Art), Anne Ishii (Translation) Pantheon May 2, 2017 Ask any manga fan and you’ll learn that boys love, or BL, manga is a staple of the medium. Common are the romanticized stories of relationships–explicit or otherwise–between men. Entire niche manga magazines focus on these works, which do find a…
Previously on Comics: Yuri on Ice Meets Steven Universe?
Hello readers! What a week in comics we’ve had. Not only did the DC Expanded Universe finally release a movie that’s both a commercial and critical hit, Wonder Woman has set some serious milestones. Maybe we’ll finally get more superheroine movies directed by women and written by women. Can you imagine? But enough about live…