#mangamonday — Public Fediverse posts

#MangaMonday 128 “Cocoon” by machiko kyo

This #manga is a fictional story based on the #history of the Himeyuri Student Corps in Okinawa. This was a group of female students and their teachers drafted into service as nurses during the Allied invasion. Although they were told they would be serving in Red Cross hospitals behind the lines, they were sent to the front to tend to battlefield wounded.

The story follows a group of students, with each chapter a vignette of a particular time, from before they were called up, to their service in front line caves, to their disbandment/abandonment. It doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war. The loose art style mitigates it a little, but there’s a lot of violence happening around, and to, them. There’s a poignant contrast between the current situation and the young girls trying to hold on to their past selves.

Just don’t get too attached. As with the real life Himeyuri, the majority will not survive.

Complete in one volume (Viz.)

#Cocoon

#MangaMonday 128 “Cocoon” by machiko kyo

This #manga is a fictional story based on the #history of the Himeyuri Student Corps in Okinawa. This was a group of female students and their teachers drafted into service as nurses during the Allied invasion. Although they were told they would be serving in Red Cross hospitals behind the lines, they were sent to the front to tend to battlefield wounded.

The story follows a group of students, with each chapter a vignette of a particular time, from before they were called up, to their service in front line caves, to their disbandment/abandonment. It doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war. The loose art style mitigates it a little, but there’s a lot of violence happening around, and to, them. There’s a poignant contrast between the current situation and the young girls trying to hold on to their past selves.

Just don’t get too attached. As with the real life Himeyuri, the majority will not survive.

Complete in one volume (Viz.)

#Cocoon

#MangaMonday 128 “Cocoon” by machiko kyo

This #manga is a fictional story based on the #history of the Himeyuri Student Corps in Okinawa. This was a group of female students and their teachers drafted into service as nurses during the Allied invasion. Although they were told they would be serving in Red Cross hospitals behind the lines, they were sent to the front to tend to battlefield wounded.

The story follows a group of students, with each chapter a vignette of a particular time, from before they were called up, to their service in front line caves, to their disbandment/abandonment. It doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war. The loose art style mitigates it a little, but there’s a lot of violence happening around, and to, them. There’s a poignant contrast between the current situation and the young girls trying to hold on to their past selves.

Just don’t get too attached. As with the real life Himeyuri, the majority will not survive.

Complete in one volume (Viz.)

#Cocoon

#MangaMonday 127 “Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Technique” by Kazuhiko Torishima with Takanaka Shimotsuki

This isn’t a manga, but a book about #manga. Torishima is a manga editor and served as the sixth Editor-in-Chief of “Weekly Shonen Jump.” In this book (Viz,) he lays out the “Torishima Method” of creating successful manga.

This isn’t a “How to Draw Manga” book, although it does touch on things like layouts. There’s more emphasis on story crafting and the business side of manga. It’s skewed towards the type of action stories that work in WSJ, but things like “kishōtenketsu” plot structure are widely applicable.

Torishima edited some famous manga creators—including the people behind “Dragon Ball Z” and “Bakuman”—and he taps them for illustrations and interviews.” (“Dr. Mashirito” is a character one of his artists based on him.) The layout does a good job of presenting left-to-right text alongside right-to-left examples.

#DrMashiritosUltimateMangaTechnique

#MangaMonday 127 “Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Technique” by Kazuhiko Torishima with Takanaka Shimotsuki

This isn’t a manga, but a book about #manga. Torishima is a manga editor and served as the sixth Editor-in-Chief of “Weekly Shonen Jump.” In this book (Viz,) he lays out the “Torishima Method” of creating successful manga.

This isn’t a “How to Draw Manga” book, although it does touch on things like layouts. There’s more emphasis on story crafting and the business side of manga. It’s skewed towards the type of action stories that work in WSJ, but things like “kishōtenketsu” plot structure are widely applicable.

Torishima edited some famous manga creators—including the people behind “Dragon Ball Z” and “Bakuman”—and he taps them for illustrations and interviews.” (“Dr. Mashirito” is a character one of his artists based on him.) The layout does a good job of presenting left-to-right text alongside right-to-left examples.

#DrMashiritosUltimateMangaTechnique

#MangaMonday 127 “Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Technique” by Kazuhiko Torishima with Takanaka Shimotsuki

This isn’t a manga, but a book about #manga. Torishima is a manga editor and served as the sixth Editor-in-Chief of “Weekly Shonen Jump.” In this book (Viz,) he lays out the “Torishima Method” of creating successful manga.

This isn’t a “How to Draw Manga” book, although it does touch on things like layouts. There’s more emphasis on story crafting and the business side of manga. It’s skewed towards the type of action stories that work in WSJ, but things like “kishōtenketsu” plot structure are widely applicable.

Torishima edited some famous manga creators—including the people behind “Dragon Ball Z” and “Bakuman”—and he taps them for illustrations and interviews.” (“Dr. Mashirito” is a character one of his artists based on him.) The layout does a good job of presenting left-to-right text alongside right-to-left examples.

#DrMashiritosUltimateMangaTechnique

New Read - Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz

This is a biography of Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comics.

I mean, it's the life of him...in manga form. It's cute and I did learn some things I didn't know about him. Like that his nickname was Sparky; that he had 5 kids with his first wife; and that he was a big hockey player.

Schulz had an interesting life; sad at times, especially with the early loss of his Mom and breakdown of his first marriage after having five kids. But, overall, he (according to this) seemed like he had a pretty happy life.

I picked this up on a lark from my local public library, but glad I did. Ended up enjoying it more than I expected.

#Manga #MangaCollector #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #Bookstodon #LibraryFinds #MangaMonday #CharlesSchulz #UdonPress #KukiYuzuru #YuzuruKuki

New Read - Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz

This is a biography of Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comics.

I mean, it's the life of him...in manga form. It's cute and I did learn some things I didn't know about him. Like that his nickname was Sparky; that he had 5 kids with his first wife; and that he was a big hockey player.

Schulz had an interesting life; sad at times, especially with the early loss of his Mom and breakdown of his first marriage after having five kids. But, overall, he (according to this) seemed like he had a pretty happy life.

I picked this up on a lark from my local public library, but glad I did. Ended up enjoying it more than I expected.

#Manga #MangaCollector #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #Bookstodon #LibraryFinds #MangaMonday #CharlesSchulz #UdonPress #KukiYuzuru #YuzuruKuki

New Read - Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz

This is a biography of Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comics.

I mean, it's the life of him...in manga form. It's cute and I did learn some things I didn't know about him. Like that his nickname was Sparky; that he had 5 kids with his first wife; and that he was a big hockey player.

Schulz had an interesting life; sad at times, especially with the early loss of his Mom and breakdown of his first marriage after having five kids. But, overall, he (according to this) seemed like he had a pretty happy life.

I picked this up on a lark from my local public library, but glad I did. Ended up enjoying it more than I expected.

#Manga #MangaCollector #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #Bookstodon #LibraryFinds #MangaMonday #CharlesSchulz #UdonPress #KukiYuzuru #YuzuruKuki

New Read - Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz

This is a biography of Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comics.

I mean, it's the life of him...in manga form. It's cute and I did learn some things I didn't know about him. Like that his nickname was Sparky; that he had 5 kids with his first wife; and that he was a big hockey player.

Schulz had an interesting life; sad at times, especially with the early loss of his Mom and breakdown of his first marriage after having five kids. But, overall, he (according to this) seemed like he had a pretty happy life.

I picked this up on a lark from my local public library, but glad I did. Ended up enjoying it more than I expected.

#Manga #MangaCollector #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #Bookstodon #LibraryFinds #MangaMonday #CharlesSchulz #UdonPress #KukiYuzuru #YuzuruKuki

New Read - Animal Crossing: New Horizons Deserted Island Diary, Volume 11

As it always is, this manga is extremely silly and extremely fun.

For those who never have seen the ACNH Deserted Island Diary manga, think of it as follows: it's a low stakes sitcom style gag manga where each chapter is self-contained story set on the creator's Animal Crossing island where silliness ensues.

This volume included a fishing tournament and Turkey Day celebrations.

All around silly and fun for all ages.

#Manga #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #MangaMonday #VizMedia #ACNH #AnimalCrossing #ACNHCommunity #FediCrossing #Nintendo #NintendoManga #あつもり #あつ森 #Photograph #DesertedIslandDiary #KokonasuRumba #Bookstodon

New Read - Animal Crossing: New Horizons Deserted Island Diary, Volume 11

As it always is, this manga is extremely silly and extremely fun.

For those who never have seen the ACNH Deserted Island Diary manga, think of it as follows: it's a low stakes sitcom style gag manga where each chapter is self-contained story set on the creator's Animal Crossing island where silliness ensues.

This volume included a fishing tournament and Turkey Day celebrations.

All around silly and fun for all ages.

#Manga #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #MangaMonday #VizMedia #ACNH #AnimalCrossing #ACNHCommunity #FediCrossing #Nintendo #NintendoManga #あつもり #あつ森 #Photograph #DesertedIslandDiary #KokonasuRumba #Bookstodon

New Read - Animal Crossing: New Horizons Deserted Island Diary, Volume 11

As it always is, this manga is extremely silly and extremely fun.

For those who never have seen the ACNH Deserted Island Diary manga, think of it as follows: it's a low stakes sitcom style gag manga where each chapter is self-contained story set on the creator's Animal Crossing island where silliness ensues.

This volume included a fishing tournament and Turkey Day celebrations.

All around silly and fun for all ages.

#Manga #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #MangaMonday #VizMedia #ACNH #AnimalCrossing #ACNHCommunity #FediCrossing #Nintendo #NintendoManga #あつもり #あつ森 #Photograph #DesertedIslandDiary #KokonasuRumba #Bookstodon

New Read - Animal Crossing: New Horizons Deserted Island Diary, Volume 11

As it always is, this manga is extremely silly and extremely fun.

For those who never have seen the ACNH Deserted Island Diary manga, think of it as follows: it's a low stakes sitcom style gag manga where each chapter is self-contained story set on the creator's Animal Crossing island where silliness ensues.

This volume included a fishing tournament and Turkey Day celebrations.

All around silly and fun for all ages.

#Manga #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #MangaMonday #VizMedia #ACNH #AnimalCrossing #ACNHCommunity #FediCrossing #Nintendo #NintendoManga #あつもり #あつ森 #Photograph #DesertedIslandDiary #KokonasuRumba #Bookstodon

#MangaMonday 126 “Billy Bat” by Naoki Urasawa with Takashi Nagasaki

Sometimes a #manga starts off looking like one thing, then reveals itself to be something else. Sometimes it does this more than once.

The first chapter is mostly a funny animal pulp crime adventure, starring Billy Bat, before revealing that the story is a #comic drawn by a Japanese-American artist in the late forties. A chance remark leads him to believe he may have inadvertently copied his main character from something he saw while working for the occupation forces in Japan. He returns to Japan to investigate and gets mixed up in… a pulp crime adventure story, with mysterious cabals and murders (and some nudity.) It seems like a neat little package, until the last panel reveals that the scope is far larger than that.

And then volume two happens, and we start jumping around history (note: even the list of characters can be spoilery.)

Complete with two of 20 volumes in English (Abrams ComicArts)

#BillyBat

#MangaMonday 126 “Billy Bat” by Naoki Urasawa with Takashi Nagasaki

Sometimes a #manga starts off looking like one thing, then reveals itself to be something else. Sometimes it does this more than once.

The first chapter is mostly a funny animal pulp crime adventure, starring Billy Bat, before revealing that the story is a #comic drawn by a Japanese-American artist in the late forties. A chance remark leads him to believe he may have inadvertently copied his main character from something he saw while working for the occupation forces in Japan. He returns to Japan to investigate and gets mixed up in… a pulp crime adventure story, with mysterious cabals and murders (and some nudity.) It seems like a neat little package, until the last panel reveals that the scope is far larger than that.

And then volume two happens, and we start jumping around history (note: even the list of characters can be spoilery.)

Complete with two of 20 volumes in English (Abrams ComicArts)

#BillyBat

#MangaMonday 126 “Billy Bat” by Naoki Urasawa with Takashi Nagasaki

Sometimes a #manga starts off looking like one thing, then reveals itself to be something else. Sometimes it does this more than once.

The first chapter is mostly a funny animal pulp crime adventure, starring Billy Bat, before revealing that the story is a #comic drawn by a Japanese-American artist in the late forties. A chance remark leads him to believe he may have inadvertently copied his main character from something he saw while working for the occupation forces in Japan. He returns to Japan to investigate and gets mixed up in… a pulp crime adventure story, with mysterious cabals and murders (and some nudity.) It seems like a neat little package, until the last panel reveals that the scope is far larger than that.

And then volume two happens, and we start jumping around history (note: even the list of characters can be spoilery.)

Complete with two of 20 volumes in English (Abrams ComicArts)

#BillyBat

New Manga Read - I Wanna Be Your Girl (Volume 4 - Final Volume)

Wow. Finished I Wanna Be Your Girl this past weekend. It ended well, but I have feelings and thoughts.

First, for those who don't know, the basic premise begins as the story of longtime friends Hime and Akira. Akira came out to her best friend Hime as trans and decided in high school to live outwardly as a trans-girl. This follows the two of them in high school and how Hime handles realizing that she has a crush on Akira. That's where it starts.

The final volume deals with some aftermath of Volume 3, it deals with Hime finally grappling with her feelings and saying these things out loud, it deals with Akira really becoming more comfortable in herself, and does two sets of flash forwards that I think are well done overall. The first flash forward is to the group of friends graduating, the second is well into adulthood as they all come together for Yukka's marriage to her girlfriend.

#Manga #MangaCollector #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #Bookstodon #LibraryFinds #IWannaBeYourGirl #カノジョになりたい君と僕 #UmiTakase #TakaseUmi #MangaMonday

New Manga Read - I Wanna Be Your Girl (Volume 4 - Final Volume)

Wow. Finished I Wanna Be Your Girl this past weekend. It ended well, but I have feelings and thoughts.

First, for those who don't know, the basic premise begins as the story of longtime friends Hime and Akira. Akira came out to her best friend Hime as trans and decided in high school to live outwardly as a trans-girl. This follows the two of them in high school and how Hime handles realizing that she has a crush on Akira. That's where it starts.

The final volume deals with some aftermath of Volume 3, it deals with Hime finally grappling with her feelings and saying these things out loud, it deals with Akira really becoming more comfortable in herself, and does two sets of flash forwards that I think are well done overall. The first flash forward is to the group of friends graduating, the second is well into adulthood as they all come together for Yukka's marriage to her girlfriend.

#Manga #MangaCollector #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #Bookstodon #LibraryFinds #IWannaBeYourGirl #カノジョになりたい君と僕 #UmiTakase #TakaseUmi #MangaMonday

New Manga Read - I Wanna Be Your Girl (Volume 4 - Final Volume)

Wow. Finished I Wanna Be Your Girl this past weekend. It ended well, but I have feelings and thoughts.

First, for those who don't know, the basic premise begins as the story of longtime friends Hime and Akira. Akira came out to her best friend Hime as trans and decided in high school to live outwardly as a trans-girl. This follows the two of them in high school and how Hime handles realizing that she has a crush on Akira. That's where it starts.

The final volume deals with some aftermath of Volume 3, it deals with Hime finally grappling with her feelings and saying these things out loud, it deals with Akira really becoming more comfortable in herself, and does two sets of flash forwards that I think are well done overall. The first flash forward is to the group of friends graduating, the second is well into adulthood as they all come together for Yukka's marriage to her girlfriend.

#Manga #MangaCollector #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #Bookstodon #LibraryFinds #IWannaBeYourGirl #カノジョになりたい君と僕 #UmiTakase #TakaseUmi #MangaMonday

New Manga Read - I Wanna Be Your Girl (Volume 4 - Final Volume)

Wow. Finished I Wanna Be Your Girl this past weekend. It ended well, but I have feelings and thoughts.

First, for those who don't know, the basic premise begins as the story of longtime friends Hime and Akira. Akira came out to her best friend Hime as trans and decided in high school to live outwardly as a trans-girl. This follows the two of them in high school and how Hime handles realizing that she has a crush on Akira. That's where it starts.

The final volume deals with some aftermath of Volume 3, it deals with Hime finally grappling with her feelings and saying these things out loud, it deals with Akira really becoming more comfortable in herself, and does two sets of flash forwards that I think are well done overall. The first flash forward is to the group of friends graduating, the second is well into adulthood as they all come together for Yukka's marriage to her girlfriend.

#Manga #MangaCollector #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #Bookstodon #LibraryFinds #IWannaBeYourGirl #カノジョになりたい君と僕 #UmiTakase #TakaseUmi #MangaMonday

#MangaMonday 125 “Pink” by Kyoko Okazaki

Yumiko is a typical Tokyo office woman. She’s flashy, shallow and keeps a pet crocodile. The croc eats a lot, and cute clothes aren’t cheap, so she turns tricks on the side.

OK, maybe the details are a little unusual, but this is really a fairy tale of Japan’s late economic bubble. Or, going by Okazaki’s brief afterword, capitalism in general. It’s a pretty explicit fairy tale; Yumiko’s carnal encounters aren’t skipped over, although the drawing style and panel design don’t overly emphasize them. Okazaki got her start in erotic #manga, so that is definitely a choice. (The interstitial portraits are much more lovingly rendered.)

This story was originally serialized in 1989, a couple years before the bubble burst, with the English edition published in 2013. Surprisingly, it’s still available in print (as well as digital) from Kodansha/Vertical.

#Pink

#MangaMonday 125 “Pink” by Kyoko Okazaki

Yumiko is a typical Tokyo office woman. She’s flashy, shallow and keeps a pet crocodile. The croc eats a lot, and cute clothes aren’t cheap, so she turns tricks on the side.

OK, maybe the details are a little unusual, but this is really a fairy tale of Japan’s late economic bubble. Or, going by Okazaki’s brief afterword, capitalism in general. It’s a pretty explicit fairy tale; Yumiko’s carnal encounters aren’t skipped over, although the drawing style and panel design don’t overly emphasize them. Okazaki got her start in erotic #manga, so that is definitely a choice. (The interstitial portraits are much more lovingly rendered.)

This story was originally serialized in 1989, a couple years before the bubble burst, with the English edition published in 2013. Surprisingly, it’s still available in print (as well as digital) from Kodansha/Vertical.

#Pink

#MangaMonday 125 “Pink” by Kyoko Okazaki

Yumiko is a typical Tokyo office woman. She’s flashy, shallow and keeps a pet crocodile. The croc eats a lot, and cute clothes aren’t cheap, so she turns tricks on the side.

OK, maybe the details are a little unusual, but this is really a fairy tale of Japan’s late economic bubble. Or, going by Okazaki’s brief afterword, capitalism in general. It’s a pretty explicit fairy tale; Yumiko’s carnal encounters aren’t skipped over, although the drawing style and panel design don’t overly emphasize them. Okazaki got her start in erotic #manga, so that is definitely a choice. (The interstitial portraits are much more lovingly rendered.)

This story was originally serialized in 1989, a couple years before the bubble burst, with the English edition published in 2013. Surprisingly, it’s still available in print (as well as digital) from Kodansha/Vertical.

#Pink

#MangaMonday 124 “Spacewalking with You” by Inuhiko Doronoda

Kobayashi is a high school delinquent. He’s disengaged from school, but unable to hold down a job. When Keisuke transfers into his class Kobayashi is bemused by his loud voice and odd mannerisms. He ends up looking out for him, and then befriending him, to the annoyance of his current friend group.

It’s not stated outright, but Keisuke is probably #autistic. Kobayashi, who has thought of himself as a screw-up, realizes he may have some kind of learning disability and adapts one of Keisuke’s coping strategies to break down the complex tasks that have always befuddled him. It doesn’t go completely smoothly—among other things, Kobayashi has face-of-a-thug syndrome—but he gets there in the end. Eventually his coworkers realize what he’s doing is also useful for them. An unstated theme of this #manga might be “there is no neuro-standard.”

Ongoing with three of six volumes available in English (Kodansha.)

#SpacewalkingWithYou

#MangaMonday 124 “Spacewalking with You” by Inuhiko Doronoda

Kobayashi is a high school delinquent. He’s disengaged from school, but unable to hold down a job. When Keisuke transfers into his class Kobayashi is bemused by his loud voice and odd mannerisms. He ends up looking out for him, and then befriending him, to the annoyance of his current friend group.

It’s not stated outright, but Keisuke is probably #autistic. Kobayashi, who has thought of himself as a screw-up, realizes he may have some kind of learning disability and adapts one of Keisuke’s coping strategies to break down the complex tasks that have always befuddled him. It doesn’t go completely smoothly—among other things, Kobayashi has face-of-a-thug syndrome—but he gets there in the end. Eventually his coworkers realize what he’s doing is also useful for them. An unstated theme of this #manga might be “there is no neuro-standard.”

Ongoing with three of six volumes available in English (Kodansha.)

#SpacewalkingWithYou

#MangaMonday 124 “Spacewalking with You” by Inuhiko Doronoda

Kobayashi is a high school delinquent. He’s disengaged from school, but unable to hold down a job. When Keisuke transfers into his class Kobayashi is bemused by his loud voice and odd mannerisms. He ends up looking out for him, and then befriending him, to the annoyance of his current friend group.

It’s not stated outright, but Keisuke is probably #autistic. Kobayashi, who has thought of himself as a screw-up, realizes he may have some kind of learning disability and adapts one of Keisuke’s coping strategies to break down the complex tasks that have always befuddled him. It doesn’t go completely smoothly—among other things, Kobayashi has face-of-a-thug syndrome—but he gets there in the end. Eventually his coworkers realize what he’s doing is also useful for them. An unstated theme of this #manga might be “there is no neuro-standard.”

Ongoing with three of six volumes available in English (Kodansha.)

#SpacewalkingWithYou

#MangaMonday 123 “The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers” by Daisuke Itabashi

This is a world where magic is common. Most people can manage small feats, but a few very talented individuals are renown as sorcerers. Amira was a sorceress of such talent that she was known as the “Omnipotent Caster.” And then, one day, she had no power at all.

She’s a dark elf (as in complexion, not alignment,) so she’s had a couple hundred years to adjust. She’s embracing a magic-free existence when she’s tracked down by an erstwhile rival who is unaware of her situation.

It’s an engaging premise with great characters. Admittedly, Amira being an extremely long-lived non-human means that she is quite formidable even without magic. Which is fortunate, because this can go from slice-of-life to action manga quite quickly.

This is a new #manga with all eight chapters available on Kodansha’s K Manga web/app. A collected English volume is due next March.

#TheJourneyOfADarkElfWithFadingPowers

#MangaMonday 123 “The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers” by Daisuke Itabashi

This is a world where magic is common. Most people can manage small feats, but a few very talented individuals are renown as sorcerers. Amira was a sorceress of such talent that she was known as the “Omnipotent Caster.” And then, one day, she had no power at all.

She’s a dark elf (as in complexion, not alignment,) so she’s had a couple hundred years to adjust. She’s embracing a magic-free existence when she’s tracked down by an erstwhile rival who is unaware of her situation.

It’s an engaging premise with great characters. Admittedly, Amira being an extremely long-lived non-human means that she is quite formidable even without magic. Which is fortunate, because this can go from slice-of-life to action manga quite quickly.

This is a new #manga with all eight chapters available on Kodansha’s K Manga web/app. A collected English volume is due next March.

#TheJourneyOfADarkElfWithFadingPowers

#MangaMonday 123 “The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers” by Daisuke Itabashi

This is a world where magic is common. Most people can manage small feats, but a few very talented individuals are renown as sorcerers. Amira was a sorceress of such talent that she was known as the “Omnipotent Caster.” And then, one day, she had no power at all.

She’s a dark elf (as in complexion, not alignment,) so she’s had a couple hundred years to adjust. She’s embracing a magic-free existence when she’s tracked down by an erstwhile rival who is unaware of her situation.

It’s an engaging premise with great characters. Admittedly, Amira being an extremely long-lived non-human means that she is quite formidable even without magic. Which is fortunate, because this can go from slice-of-life to action manga quite quickly.

This is a new #manga with all eight chapters available on Kodansha’s K Manga web/app. A collected English volume is due next March.

#TheJourneyOfADarkElfWithFadingPowers

#MangaMonday 122 “Draw This, Then Die!” by Minoru Toyoda

“Write what you know” is common advice, so unsurprisingly we get a fair amount of manga about #manga (see MM 60, 61 & 112.) This one is about a group of high school girls on a rural Japanese island.

As is usual in these things, there’s the Writer and the Artist. Unusually, a third member of the friend group is the Reader. Also unusual, there’s a failed mangaka to provide guidance and caution. (Yet another novelty is that most of the manga, mangaka, etc. are referred to by their actual names, thanks to a diligent editor securing permissions.)

Another oddity is that its one-shot wasn’t a test run of an underdeveloped story, but the backstory of one of the characters. It’s included as a bonus chapter, which is good because it explains the title.

Ongoing with one of ten volumes in English (Seven Seas.) An #anime is currently airing that makes a few alterations to the story, most notably weaving in the one-shot.

#DrawThisThenDie

#MangaMonday 122 “Draw This, Then Die!” by Minoru Toyoda

“Write what you know” is common advice, so unsurprisingly we get a fair amount of manga about #manga (see MM 60, 61 & 112.) This one is about a group of high school girls on a rural Japanese island.

As is usual in these things, there’s the Writer and the Artist. Unusually, a third member of the friend group is the Reader. Also unusual, there’s a failed mangaka to provide guidance and caution. (Yet another novelty is that most of the manga, mangaka, etc. are referred to by their actual names, thanks to a diligent editor securing permissions.)

Another oddity is that its one-shot wasn’t a test run of an underdeveloped story, but the backstory of one of the characters. It’s included as a bonus chapter, which is good because it explains the title.

Ongoing with one of ten volumes in English (Seven Seas.) An #anime is currently airing that makes a few alterations to the story, most notably weaving in the one-shot.

#DrawThisThenDie

#MangaMonday 122 “Draw This, Then Die!” by Minoru Toyoda

“Write what you know” is common advice, so unsurprisingly we get a fair amount of manga about #manga (see MM 60, 61 & 112.) This one is about a group of high school girls on a rural Japanese island.

As is usual in these things, there’s the Writer and the Artist. Unusually, a third member of the friend group is the Reader. Also unusual, there’s a failed mangaka to provide guidance and caution. (Yet another novelty is that most of the manga, mangaka, etc. are referred to by their actual names, thanks to a diligent editor securing permissions.)

Another oddity is that its one-shot wasn’t a test run of an underdeveloped story, but the backstory of one of the characters. It’s included as a bonus chapter, which is good because it explains the title.

Ongoing with one of ten volumes in English (Seven Seas.) An #anime is currently airing that makes a few alterations to the story, most notably weaving in the one-shot.

#DrawThisThenDie

#MangaMonday 121 “Dragon Circus” by Eiichi Shimizu (story) & Tomohiro Shimoguchi (art)

Near future militaries fighting mysterious “dragons” alongside urban fantasy versions of witches, vampires, and sentient robots.

This is an interesting #manga, with the tone slightly shifting between the first two volumes and again at the very end of the second. It’s ongoing in Japan on the Comiplex website. Kodansha publishes the English volumes.

Volume 0 serves as an introduction to the world and the various characters, particularly Shikigami—the latest model of dragon slayer robot—and his non-humanoid partner Princess.

Volume 1, which resumed after a three year hiatus, is a soft reboot that introduces Momo. The pink-haired girl was bullied at school for her love of mecha shows and models. Fortunately her Dad heads a robotics development lab and she was all too happy to “get in the robot” (well, advanced fighter plane. Mecha style robots aren’t realistic, are they?)

#DragonCircus

#MangaMonday 121 “Dragon Circus” by Eiichi Shimizu (story) & Tomohiro Shimoguchi (art)

Near future militaries fighting mysterious “dragons” alongside urban fantasy versions of witches, vampires, and sentient robots.

This is an interesting #manga, with the tone slightly shifting between the first two volumes and again at the very end of the second. It’s ongoing in Japan on the Comiplex website. Kodansha publishes the English volumes.

Volume 0 serves as an introduction to the world and the various characters, particularly Shikigami—the latest model of dragon slayer robot—and his non-humanoid partner Princess.

Volume 1, which resumed after a three year hiatus, is a soft reboot that introduces Momo. The pink-haired girl was bullied at school for her love of mecha shows and models. Fortunately her Dad heads a robotics development lab and she was all too happy to “get in the robot” (well, advanced fighter plane. Mecha style robots aren’t realistic, are they?)

#DragonCircus

#MangaMonday 121 “Dragon Circus” by Eiichi Shimizu (story) & Tomohiro Shimoguchi (art)

Near future militaries fighting mysterious “dragons” alongside urban fantasy versions of witches, vampires, and sentient robots.

This is an interesting #manga, with the tone slightly shifting between the first two volumes and again at the very end of the second. It’s ongoing in Japan on the Comiplex website. Kodansha publishes the English volumes.

Volume 0 serves as an introduction to the world and the various characters, particularly Shikigami—the latest model of dragon slayer robot—and his non-humanoid partner Princess.

Volume 1, which resumed after a three year hiatus, is a soft reboot that introduces Momo. The pink-haired girl was bullied at school for her love of mecha shows and models. Fortunately her Dad heads a robotics development lab and she was all too happy to “get in the robot” (well, advanced fighter plane. Mecha style robots aren’t realistic, are they?)

#DragonCircus

#MangaMonday 120 “A Witch’s Life in Mongol” by Tomato Soup

Sitara is a young slave girl in eastern Persia. She is brought into a scholarly family and learns the value of knowledge… only to be captured by raiding Mongols.

Sitara is based on a historic person who rose to some fame in the Mongol empire under a different name (no spoilers here!) This #manga necessarily takes some liberties filling in the gaps, including her original name. Soup has obviously done the research, not just on the Mongols but also the various peoples they interacted with (and there were a lot!)

This one slipped under my radar until the #anime “Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia” started airing last month. It’s an excellent adaptation which uses a watercolor palette, while the manga has a crisp black and white style with flat grays but lots of patterns. It’s ongoing with three of six volumes in English (Yen Press.)

#Jaadugar

#MangaMonday 120 “A Witch’s Life in Mongol” by Tomato Soup

Sitara is a young slave girl in eastern Persia. She is brought into a scholarly family and learns the value of knowledge… only to be captured by raiding Mongols.

Sitara is based on a historic person who rose to some fame in the Mongol empire under a different name (no spoilers here!) This #manga necessarily takes some liberties filling in the gaps, including her original name. Soup has obviously done the research, not just on the Mongols but also the various peoples they interacted with (and there were a lot!)

This one slipped under my radar until the #anime “Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia” started airing last month. It’s an excellent adaptation which uses a watercolor palette, while the manga has a crisp black and white style with flat grays but lots of patterns. It’s ongoing with three of six volumes in English (Yen Press.)

#Jaadugar

#MangaMonday 120 “A Witch’s Life in Mongol” by Tomato Soup

Sitara is a young slave girl in eastern Persia. She is brought into a scholarly family and learns the value of knowledge… only to be captured by raiding Mongols.

Sitara is based on a historic person who rose to some fame in the Mongol empire under a different name (no spoilers here!) This #manga necessarily takes some liberties filling in the gaps, including her original name. Soup has obviously done the research, not just on the Mongols but also the various peoples they interacted with (and there were a lot!)

This one slipped under my radar until the #anime “Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia” started airing last month. It’s an excellent adaptation which uses a watercolor palette, while the manga has a crisp black and white style with flat grays but lots of patterns. It’s ongoing with three of six volumes in English (Yen Press.)

#Jaadugar

#MangaMonday 119 “Are You Lost?” by Kentaro Okamoto (story) & Riri Sagara (art)

Four schoolgirls are stranded on a Pacific island after an airplane incident. They’re your typical #manga characters: a rich girl, a busty girl, a glasses girl, and Homare.

That last one makes this interesting. Homare is the daughter of a survivalist, and has spent a lot of time in extreme situations growing up. Some of her skills are not applicable (like which part of a moose you can eat raw) but many are, and she teaches the others what they need to do to survive, often to their chagrin.

There’s a fair amount of humor, and the girls strip down to their underwear somewhat frequently, if diegetically (e.g., diving for shellfish.) The story is taken seriously, otherwise, and the girls get character arcs, especially Homare and glasses.

Complete with all volumes available in English (Kodansha.) An anime of 12 half-length episodes aired in 2019.

#AreYouLost

#MangaMonday 119 “Are You Lost?” by Kentaro Okamoto (story) & Riri Sagara (art)

Four schoolgirls are stranded on a Pacific island after an airplane incident. They’re your typical #manga characters: a rich girl, a busty girl, a glasses girl, and Homare.

That last one makes this interesting. Homare is the daughter of a survivalist, and has spent a lot of time in extreme situations growing up. Some of her skills are not applicable (like which part of a moose you can eat raw) but many are, and she teaches the others what they need to do to survive, often to their chagrin.

There’s a fair amount of humor, and the girls strip down to their underwear somewhat frequently, if diegetically (e.g., diving for shellfish.) The story is taken seriously, otherwise, and the girls get character arcs, especially Homare and glasses.

Complete with all volumes available in English (Kodansha.) An anime of 12 half-length episodes aired in 2019.

#AreYouLost

#MangaMonday 119 “Are You Lost?” by Kentaro Okamoto (story) & Riri Sagara (art)

Four schoolgirls are stranded on a Pacific island after an airplane incident. They’re your typical #manga characters: a rich girl, a busty girl, a glasses girl, and Homare.

That last one makes this interesting. Homare is the daughter of a survivalist, and has spent a lot of time in extreme situations growing up. Some of her skills are not applicable (like which part of a moose you can eat raw) but many are, and she teaches the others what they need to do to survive, often to their chagrin.

There’s a fair amount of humor, and the girls strip down to their underwear somewhat frequently, if diegetically (e.g., diving for shellfish.) The story is taken seriously, otherwise, and the girls get character arcs, especially Homare and glasses.

Complete with all volumes available in English (Kodansha.) An anime of 12 half-length episodes aired in 2019.

#AreYouLost

Beach Manga Read - Donald Duck Visits Japan

I bring this on vacation every year for like the past 5 years and read it on the beach. It's one of my regular beach reads.

The story - Donald and his friends work for Duck Furniture. They want to branch out to Japan, so they send the trio to work at a hot springs resort with very traditional and strict management. And silliness ensues.

It's silly, it's self-contained, it's funny, and it's very easy for me to pick up and put down while chilling on the beach with my kids.

Easy annual read.

#Manga #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #MangaMonday #DonaldDuck #DisneyManga #DonaldDuckVisitsJapan #Beach

Beach Manga Read - Donald Duck Visits Japan

I bring this on vacation every year for like the past 5 years and read it on the beach. It's one of my regular beach reads.

The story - Donald and his friends work for Duck Furniture. They want to branch out to Japan, so they send the trio to work at a hot springs resort with very traditional and strict management. And silliness ensues.

It's silly, it's self-contained, it's funny, and it's very easy for me to pick up and put down while chilling on the beach with my kids.

Easy annual read.

#Manga #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #MangaMonday #DonaldDuck #DisneyManga #DonaldDuckVisitsJapan #Beach

Beach Manga Read - Donald Duck Visits Japan

I bring this on vacation every year for like the past 5 years and read it on the beach. It's one of my regular beach reads.

The story - Donald and his friends work for Duck Furniture. They want to branch out to Japan, so they send the trio to work at a hot springs resort with very traditional and strict management. And silliness ensues.

It's silly, it's self-contained, it's funny, and it's very easy for me to pick up and put down while chilling on the beach with my kids.

Easy annual read.

#Manga #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #MangaMonday #DonaldDuck #DisneyManga #DonaldDuckVisitsJapan #Beach

Beach Manga Read - Donald Duck Visits Japan

I bring this on vacation every year for like the past 5 years and read it on the beach. It's one of my regular beach reads.

The story - Donald and his friends work for Duck Furniture. They want to branch out to Japan, so they send the trio to work at a hot springs resort with very traditional and strict management. And silliness ensues.

It's silly, it's self-contained, it's funny, and it's very easy for me to pick up and put down while chilling on the beach with my kids.

Easy annual read.

#Manga #MangaReview #Mangagram #MangaCommunity #MangaPost #MangaRecommendation #InstaManga #MangaLover #MangaReader #AmReading #MangaMonday #DonaldDuck #DisneyManga #DonaldDuckVisitsJapan #Beach

#MangaMonday 118 “Bat Kid” by Inoue Kazuo

“Bat Kid” was the leadoff serial in the influential magazine “Manga Shōnen,” starting in 1947 (cover date Jan. 1948.) It was immediately popular, with this book collection published in June 1948. Sadly, Kazuo died young—less than a year later.

The #manga itself is a slice-of-life, which was novel at the time, about a #baseball obsessed kid named Bat. There’s a puzzle section at the end that includes a description of a baseball inning that reads like something by Ryan North.

This volume (Bubbles Zine, 2nd Ed. 2024, print only) is a gorgeous reproduction, with alternating color and monochrome spreads. The original is 107 pages, but this edition adds 62 pages of material, mostly translator Ryan Holmberg’s excellent essay on Kazuo, manga, and Japanese baseball with accompanying illustrations. I assumed that baseball in Japan was a result of American Occupation, but it dates back to the 1890s—before Honus Wagner took the field!

#BatKid

#MangaMonday 118 “Bat Kid” by Inoue Kazuo

“Bat Kid” was the leadoff serial in the influential magazine “Manga Shōnen,” starting in 1947 (cover date Jan. 1948.) It was immediately popular, with this book collection published in June 1948. Sadly, Kazuo died young—less than a year later.

The #manga itself is a slice-of-life, which was novel at the time, about a #baseball obsessed kid named Bat. There’s a puzzle section at the end that includes a description of a baseball inning that reads like something by Ryan North.

This volume (Bubbles Zine, 2nd Ed. 2024, print only) is a gorgeous reproduction, with alternating color and monochrome spreads. The original is 107 pages, but this edition adds 62 pages of material, mostly translator Ryan Holmberg’s excellent essay on Kazuo, manga, and Japanese baseball with accompanying illustrations. I assumed that baseball in Japan was a result of American Occupation, but it dates back to the 1890s—before Honus Wagner took the field!

#BatKid

#MangaMonday 118 “Bat Kid” by Inoue Kazuo

“Bat Kid” was the leadoff serial in the influential magazine “Manga Shōnen,” starting in 1947 (cover date Jan. 1948.) It was immediately popular, with this book collection published in June 1948. Sadly, Kazuo died young—less than a year later.

The #manga itself is a slice-of-life, which was novel at the time, about a #baseball obsessed kid named Bat. There’s a puzzle section at the end that includes a description of a baseball inning that reads like something by Ryan North.

This volume (Bubbles Zine, 2nd Ed. 2024, print only) is a gorgeous reproduction, with alternating color and monochrome spreads. The original is 107 pages, but this edition adds 62 pages of material, mostly translator Ryan Holmberg’s excellent essay on Kazuo, manga, and Japanese baseball with accompanying illustrations. I assumed that baseball in Japan was a result of American Occupation, but it dates back to the 1890s—before Honus Wagner took the field!

#BatKid

#MangaMonday 117 “Short Game” by Mitsuru Adachi

While Major League Baseball enters the All-Star Break, check out this collection of Adachi’s #baseball short stories.

Adachi has been putting out #manga since about 1970, and he’s best known for sports and romantic comedy, often together. This collection of stories all involve baseball, but rarely are about baseball. Instead, it’s the means of assembling the characters, most notably in “Over the Fence,” which makes it generational.

Between the, er, longer shorts are short shorts of about five pages. These can be quite meta, e.g. “Detective Fivepages.” They also have the most tenuous connection to baseball, if any.

This volume (Denpa) is a translation of a 2014 collection. The copyrights put most of these in the teens, with one short short dating from the eighties. Amusingly, the second oldest is from an Adachi thirty year retrospective.

#ShortGame

#MangaMonday 117 “Short Game” by Mitsuru Adachi

While Major League Baseball enters the All-Star Break, check out this collection of Adachi’s #baseball short stories.

Adachi has been putting out #manga since about 1970, and he’s best known for sports and romantic comedy, often together. This collection of stories all involve baseball, but rarely are about baseball. Instead, it’s the means of assembling the characters, most notably in “Over the Fence,” which makes it generational.

Between the, er, longer shorts are short shorts of about five pages. These can be quite meta, e.g. “Detective Fivepages.” They also have the most tenuous connection to baseball, if any.

This volume (Denpa) is a translation of a 2014 collection. The copyrights put most of these in the teens, with one short short dating from the eighties. Amusingly, the second oldest is from an Adachi thirty year retrospective.

#ShortGame

#MangaMonday 117 “Short Game” by Mitsuru Adachi

While Major League Baseball enters the All-Star Break, check out this collection of Adachi’s #baseball short stories.

Adachi has been putting out #manga since about 1970, and he’s best known for sports and romantic comedy, often together. This collection of stories all involve baseball, but rarely are about baseball. Instead, it’s the means of assembling the characters, most notably in “Over the Fence,” which makes it generational.

Between the, er, longer shorts are short shorts of about five pages. These can be quite meta, e.g. “Detective Fivepages.” They also have the most tenuous connection to baseball, if any.

This volume (Denpa) is a translation of a 2014 collection. The copyrights put most of these in the teens, with one short short dating from the eighties. Amusingly, the second oldest is from an Adachi thirty year retrospective.

#ShortGame

#MangaMonday 117 “Short Game” by Mitsuru Adachi

While Major League Baseball enters the All-Star Break, check out this collection of Adachi’s #baseball short stories.

Adachi has been putting out #manga since about 1970, and he’s best known for sports and romantic comedy, often together. This collection of stories all involve baseball, but rarely are about baseball. Instead, it’s the means of assembling the characters, most notably in “Over the Fence,” which makes it generational.

Between the, er, longer shorts are short shorts of about five pages. These can be quite meta, e.g. “Detective Fivepages.” They also have the most tenuous connection to baseball, if any.

This volume (Denpa) is a translation of a 2014 collection. The copyrights put most of these in the teens, with one short short dating from the eighties. Amusingly, the second oldest is from an Adachi thirty year retrospective.

#ShortGame

#MangaMonday 116 “Hitoner” by Tomohiro Yagi

The world is shocked when an alien craft splashes down in a lake. Even more shocking, the creature that emerges looks like the mythical beings known as “Hito.” The creature, dubbed “Hito 01,” is taken into custody to be studied.

The natives of this world are “Kemo,” humanoid animals of various types. “Hito” is Japanese for “person” or, in this case, “human.” It’s “Planet of the Apes,” but with #furries at an early 20th century tech level. Interestingly, our main POV character isn’t Hito, but Tonelico, a cat Kemo serving as press secretary to the committee studying him. Most of our information about “Hito” comes from her and others in contact with him. There’s some humor (mostly from Tonelico,) compelling characters, and the beginnings of some social commentary.

This is a new #manga with just eight chapters, simul-published biweekly in English on the “Manga Plus” app/site.

#Hitoner

#MangaMonday 116 “Hitoner” by Tomohiro Yagi

The world is shocked when an alien craft splashes down in a lake. Even more shocking, the creature that emerges looks like the mythical beings known as “Hito.” The creature, dubbed “Hito 01,” is taken into custody to be studied.

The natives of this world are “Kemo,” humanoid animals of various types. “Hito” is Japanese for “person” or, in this case, “human.” It’s “Planet of the Apes,” but with #furries at an early 20th century tech level. Interestingly, our main POV character isn’t Hito, but Tonelico, a cat Kemo serving as press secretary to the committee studying him. Most of our information about “Hito” comes from her and others in contact with him. There’s some humor (mostly from Tonelico,) compelling characters, and the beginnings of some social commentary.

This is a new #manga with just eight chapters, simul-published biweekly in English on the “Manga Plus” app/site.

#Hitoner

#MangaMonday 116 “Hitoner” by Tomohiro Yagi

The world is shocked when an alien craft splashes down in a lake. Even more shocking, the creature that emerges looks like the mythical beings known as “Hito.” The creature, dubbed “Hito 01,” is taken into custody to be studied.

The natives of this world are “Kemo,” humanoid animals of various types. “Hito” is Japanese for “person” or, in this case, “human.” It’s “Planet of the Apes,” but with #furries at an early 20th century tech level. Interestingly, our main POV character isn’t Hito, but Tonelico, a cat Kemo serving as press secretary to the committee studying him. Most of our information about “Hito” comes from her and others in contact with him. There’s some humor (mostly from Tonelico,) compelling characters, and the beginnings of some social commentary.

This is a new #manga with just eight chapters, simul-published biweekly in English on the “Manga Plus” app/site.

#Hitoner