Takao Saito is most enduringly famous for his Golgo 13 series. Stoic man shooting bullets through endless swathes of human corruption. But what if, in 1984, he started a new series? What if it was about a woman? What if she were a … Hotel Detective? Well, what if? The series is newly translated (and available…
Shinbun Saturday: Famous Mangaka Bids Twitter Farewell
Bleach creator leaves social media Fans of the series were caught off-guard by Tite Kubo’s sudden departure from Twitter on September 10, sans a specific explanation from the creator. Kubo’s only message was “[Notice] Tomorrow night, after about 24 hours I will delete my Twitter account. Until that time, please direct message me.” His account…
Nice Sex Comics: No Tears, No Chafing, No Pushing It
Sex: a lot of us do it! Naturally, it features in a lot of stories. There are a lot of comics with sex in them, out there. There are plenty of bad ones. And there are a lot of really well-drawn, clear-eyed comics about bad sex, too. Or functionally good sex, between people who are bad…
Shinbun Saturday: Manga Continues Its Digital Expansion
More Manga Hits ComiXology Earlier this week, VIZ Media announced that manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump would now be available on ComiXology. Now English-language speakers can read the latest chapters of One Piece and Bleach on the same day they’re released in Japan. Kodansha Comics also joins the digital platform, adding more than 350 manga…
Playing Off Nostalgia and First Love in Fuku Mizutani’s Love at Fourteen
Love at Fourteen, Vol. 1 and 2 Fuka Mizutani Yen Press 2015 I don’t know about you, but my middle school years weren’t half as dream-like as Love at Fourteen envisions. Fuka Mizutani takes a simple love story between two middle-schoolers and splits it into interludes, operating under the assumption that the reader will go along…
Incredible Indie Tuesday: Comixology Digital Domination Expands
Comixology’s digital marketplace got a little larger this week with Black Mask Studios and Weekly Shonen Jump comics coming to the site. I’m particularly excited to start picking up We Can Never Go Home from Black Mask Studios which has been getting tons of critical acclaim. For manga fans, the Weekly Shonen Jump anthology is…
Even Bleach Has an Expiration Date: The Fall of a Big 3 Manga
If you ask a manga reader from the mid-2000s what the big 3 manga were, chances are you’d hear the following responses: Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. It’s now a decade later. Naruto has ended. One Piece is still going strong. And Bleach… Well, Bleach is still going.
Shinbun Saturday: Science Fiction Manga Beginnings and Endings
Naruto writer to possibly delve into science-fiction for next project Masahi Kishimoto discussed his post-Naruto career with a Japanese magazine, briefly mentioning his tentative plans to work on a science-fiction themed manga. While nothing is completely set in stone– It hasn’t all been worked out, and I haven’t showed my editor yet, but I’ve already…
Circus Dreams Come True in Karneval: A Review
Karneval, vols. 1 & 2 Mangaka: Touya Mikanagi. Translation: Su Mon Han. Lettering: Alexis Eckerman. Yen Press March 2015 & July 2015 Review copies were provided by Yen Press. Just imagine: what if Cirque du Soleil were actually a band of government-sanctioned assassins dedicated to fighting an underground ring of genetically engineered criminals? Can you…
MAN PLUS: A Conversation/Review
MAN PLUS Titan Comics, July 8th André Lima Araújo, Arisa Rozegar, Luis Guerrero, Tom Williams Ghost in the Shell lifers J. A. Micheline and Claire Napier (that’s me!) discuss what was the first issue, but has since become just a section of Titan’s ongoing web release, of André Lima Araújo’s passion project Man Plus. Do they like it?…
Shinbun Saturday: Reflections on History in Manga
Manga artist’s rendition of war experiences on exhibit Shigeru Mizuki’s manga Soin Gyokusai Seyo! (Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths) and Rabaul Senki (Memories of Rabaul) explored the experience of war through semi-fictional characters, but a recent exhibit at Chofu City Culture Hall brings his personal memories of World War II to a new audience. Mizuki’s work is placed in…
Shoujo Stereotypes?! Nakamura’s Skip Beat! and Subversion
(Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for Skip Beat!) Shoujo manga—or manga produced for girls—is often dismissed by casual readers as manga brimming with stereotypes. In fact, oftentimes shoujo stories are not taken seriously solely because they are aimed at young girls. Despite the popularity of serious manga like Fruits Basket and Boys Over Flowers,…
