It’s time for many students to go back to school, and for me to write another VIZ Media Pubwatch! This month we’re following up on some series and creators covered in Pubwatches past, including Spy x Family and Ghost Reaper Girl. But first, the news!
Anime Character Ranking Polls Sweep Twitter
This is not technically VIZ news but I’m arguing it is VIZ related because there are characters from VIZ series in these polls, and also, it’s very funny and more people should know about it. The current trend on anime Twitter is polls to determine which little cartoon creature is the “best Twink”, “best DILF,” “best MILF”, and other such titles. Reigen Arataka from the Dark Horse title Mob Psycho 100 won several such polls in a row, only to lose “best Tumblr Sexyman” to Sans from Undertale (a loss commemorated with a fanfiction posted by Toby Fox himself, and also, a loss that coincided almost exactly with the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing.) There was a lot of fanart. It was a fun few days.
Ten Thousand Year Blood War Promotion Ramps Up
The next arc of the Bleach anime comes out next month, and everyone’s excited! Ichigo’s dub voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch made a short video for VIZ sharing his thoughts on coming back to the series after such a long time and what it’s like to voice Ichigo again. The show will be simulcast, but it is not yet confirmed which streaming platform will carry it. The first episode will premiere on October 10th, and an advance screening will take place at New York Comic Con on October 8th. It’s happening!
VIZ Makes Junji Ito Look At Scary Internet Videos Again
Horror manga legend Junji Ito is back and offering his professional critique on… creepy old-timey commercials? Apparently! In this short video, Junji Ito is watching a bunch of old videos and deciding if they’re scary or not. An ’80s toy commercial probably does not contain the secret to true horror, but it’s always interesting to hear the insights of a master. And he says they’re his favorite kind of internet videos, so at least he’s having fun.
But enough about weird internet things, it’s time to talk about…
What I’m Reading
Ghost Reaper Girl, Volume 2
Akissa Saiké
September 6, 2022
I’ve actually been enjoying this series a lot more than I expected to. It feels like it’s straight out of 2005, but in the best way. Sure they have smartphones, but the energy is of a simpler, rougher time in the near past without such things. Volume 2 of Ghost Reaper Girl introduces some more quirky characters to round out the cast and develops the world more, explaining how Chloe and her familars’ powers work and how Chloe can use them and learn to get stronger. Saike references Romero and Shoggoth in this volume, and the Western horror media influences are unusual for manga but work well in helping a very common “protagonist exorcises demons” type of story stand out from the crowd. Chloe is a fun protagonist, being 28 years old and primarily motivated by her desire to make money instead of an overly-idealistic teenager like most shonen protagonists. I like how unconcerned she is with Kai and Noel fighting for her affections. I didn’t love everything in this volume (Chloe’s boss is a bit too forward with propositioning her to be funny for me personally) but the action sequences are dynamic and exciting and the character dynamics are solid. This fairly standard take on the demon-exorcising manga genre manages to distinguish itself with its unusually good art and clever character details you don’t see often. I recommend it!
Spy x Family, Volume 8
Tatsuya Endo
September 20, 2022
I continue to love Spy x Family. The anime episodes that have aired so far were great, and rereading this arc (which I’d followed as it was updating in Weekly Shonen Jump) was a good reminder of why I enjoy this series so much. The Forger family is on a cruise! But while Lloyd and Anya are having fun, Yor is working as a bodyguard for a mafia woman and her son. The tension between Yor’s duty to her work and to her family keeps ramping up throughout this volume right up until the striking climax, as is the comedy of Anya trying to keep Lloyd distracted while he worries about how to be a good and not suspicious father to his secretly clairvoyant child. It’s funny, it’s exciting, it’s heartwarming, it’s everything a good manga should be. If you’re not reading Spy x Family yet, what are you waiting for?
Look Back
Tatsuki Fujimoto
September 20, 2022
WWAC will be posting an in-depth analysis of Look Back soon, so please look forward to that! So as not to steal that forthcoming analysis’s thunder, I will be brief in my assessment of this print edition of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s brilliant one-shot from last summer: The review PDF I got cut off the first page of the comic for some reason, which was not fun, but otherwise I didn’t notice any major changes from the digital release. Look Back is a story about friendship and camaraderie between two young artists and how their lives intertwine, and what could have happened if they’d made different choices in their youth. It’s a beautifully drawn, tightly crafted work, and as noted in the August 2021 pubwatch where I last mentioned this comic it “made me feel feelings”. I’m glad it’s getting printed.
That’s all I’ve got for this month! Tune in next month for more VIZ news and reviews!
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