Looks can be deceiving. Kaoru Suzuki is a towering boy who strikes fear into the hearts of his classmates with his intimidating looks... If they just got to know him, they're realise he's a kind, gentle boy but unfortunately nobody takes the time! 

That is until one day on the train to his new high school, he’s saved by a delicate but tough boy called Arata Haruna. The two boys hit it off immediately and slowly Suzuki begins to come out his shell to his new classmates, by revealing his unexpected passions for baking and gardening!

This week, I'm joined by once again by Marg (aka MargReadsManga) to discuss Suzuki-Kun's Mindfull Life by Yuhki Fujimoto. Can this Shojo slice of life win us over? What does this book about challenging gender rolls have to say? And more importantly, how do we feel about the prospect of an age gap romance...

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Show Notes

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Manga

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The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity by Saka Mikami

Wash It All Away by Mitsuru Hattori

After The Rain by Jun Mayuzuki

Bunny Drop by Yum Unita

My Love Story!! by Kazune Kawahara & Aruko

Honey So Sweet by Amu Meguro

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TV Shows (and Podcasts)

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Pluribus (and the podcast!)

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Yuhki Fujimoto Interview (Japanese)

Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

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Duranki is book with two tales to tell... On one hand, it's the story of an androgynous child named Usumgal, born of the gods, but who is neither god nor human, neither male nor female. On the other, it's an experiment by Kentaro Miura to see if his manga studio, Studio Gaga, would be able to produce a work that could reach the high bar set by his masterpiece, Berserk. 

Unfortunately, with Miura's untimely passing in  2021, neither of these stories will see an ending. Like the ancient myths on which Duranki is based, we're only left with a fragment of those stories...And just like scholars do with those tales of old, Mat and Tom will speculate widely on what IS there!

Join us as we dig into Duranki: exploring the stories' 6 chapters, contrast it development concept also included in the volume on which it was based, before finally asking the question: should a creator's work continue after they're gone? And perhaps more fitting for a podcast that mainly recommends manga, is Duranki a good starting point for the Berserk-curious reader?

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Show Notes

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Berserk by Kentaro Miura

Giganto Maxia by Kentaro Mirua

Dragon Ball Super by Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou

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Production Interview on Duranki with Mirua (in Japanese)

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Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

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If you've spent years thinking that the work of Mitsuru Adachi isn't for you because you have no interest in baseball, pull up a chair! 

This week on Manga Tak, I talk to designer and illustrator Bastian Najdek, to discuss Short Game! A collection of 5 short stories from one of Japan's masters of romance, that proves that while the book is about baseball, it also REALLY isn't!

Join us as we take the field to discuss Adachi's beautiful compositions and writing, spend a little time in the outfield discussing badly dubbed Polish anime, before swinging for the fences and picking our favourite stories in the collection!

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Show Notes

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Mangaka

Akira Toriyama

Rumiko Takahashi

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Manga

Touch by Mitsuru Adachi

H2 by Mitsuru Adachi

Cross Game by Mitsuru Adachi

Short Program by Mitsuru Adachi

Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko Takahashi

Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama

H̶e̶l̶l̶o̶ What's Michael? by Makoto Kobayashi

Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

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Vikings have seen a resurgence recently thanks to shows like (ahem) Vikings, and games like Assassins Creed Valhalla and Valheim, but what if I told you the best piece of Viking fiction of the past 20 years was actually a manga? And more importantly, that it's story is based on real vikings!

This week, Mat's not only joined by another passionate lover of comics, but a descendant of Thorfinn Karlsefni himself: author and translator, Árni Beck Gunnarsson! 

Join us as we really dive into Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura! We not only explore the book's story and themes, but actually talk at the length about viking history and the Icelandic sagas! It's an episode not to missed! 

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Show Notes:

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Podcasts:

The excellent Mangasplaining episode on Vinland Saga

Árni's podcast, Tegneseriesnak 

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Manga:

Planetes by Makoto Yukimura

Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama

Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo

My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi

Farewell My Odin by Chihiro Yoshioka

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Danish Viking Comics:

Valhalla 

Tall Tales of Midgard by Bjørk Matias Friis

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TV Shows / Movies

Vikings

Norsemen

Akira Kurosawa

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Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

Find us on:
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Takumi Fujiwara is a kid who doesn't really care about cars... Every morning he has to get up at the crack of dawn to make deliveries for his father's tofu shop. To him it's a hassle because of the strict requirements his father places on him... but those same requirements have also moulded him into the fastest racer on the Akina slope!

This week, Mat is joined once again by Georgie (aka Mainly.Manga) to discuss Shuichi Shigeno's 1995 racing manga Initial D! With the volume being rolled out once more in sleek new omnibus editions (on which Mat and Georgie have wildly different opinions), is it time to take this classic out for a spin?

Join as as we talk in length not only about it's presentation, including what's changed from the original English translations put out by Tokyo Pop, but it's contents! From art to story, we get behind the wheel and discuss what makes our motor's hum, as well as the potential potholes you might might experience in reading the book for the first time!

Listeners, start your engines! 

Show Notes -

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Interview with Shuichi Shigeno

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Manga Mentioned

MF Ghost

MARS

Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

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After starting High School, Ruri Aoki thought that she was ready to deal with changes in her life... That was until she woke one day with a pair of horns growing out of her head, and her Mum told her it's because her Dad's actually a dragon!

But this isn't a fantasy shonen title! In fact, it's actually a slice of life! Rather than battling mythical creatures with her newfound powers, Ruri is just trying to navigate the usual challenges of high school like meeting new people and fitting it... which isn't the easiest thing when your dragon powers decide to manifest in the middle of class!

This week, I'm joined by SonMangaKing to discuss RuriDragon by Masaoki Shindo, a shonen title with a history of hiatuses and a ton of heart. We get into the book's interesting journey from One Shot, to Shonen Jump, to Jump Plus, how the fantasy elements mesh with the otherwise grounded tone of the book, and more importantly: is there enough good stuff here to make us keep reading?

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Show Notes

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Manga

Kingdom by Yasuhisa Hara

MAD by Yusuke Otori

CITY by Keiichi Arawi

RuriDragon Vol 2. Cover

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Movies

Weapons

Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

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Hiroto Ikuta is a carefree, and optimistic guy who's totally fine taking each day as it comes. While those around him worry he's approaching 30 with no real ambitions or love life, he's not worried at all! However, after the older woman he befriended passes away and he inherits her house in Tokyo, his life begins to change in unexpected ways! 

The most notable of which is his cousin, Natsumi, moving in! She's struggling to figure out who she wants to be and trying to adapt to her newfound independence, but won't open up about it to Hiro! Can these two once close cousins reconnect now they share a roof? Will Hiro go back to acting? And just who is the mysterious girl he met at work?

This week on Manga Tak, I sit down with Nick Westwood of RetroBreak to discuss Hirayasumi by Keigo Shinzō! We talk about it's unique approach to slice of life storytelling, gush a little about the book's art and scratch a little deeper into how the book generates stakes and drama with a content MC!

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Show Notes

Mangaka:

Taiyō Matsumoto

Naoki Urasawa

Iou Karuda

Inio Asano

Tatsuki Fujimoto

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Manga

Go Go Monster by Taiyō Matsumoto

Tokyo Alien Bros. by Keigo Shinzō

Holiday Junction by Keigo Shinzō

Solanin by Inio Asano

Sketchy by Makihirochi

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Interviews 

Matsumoto x Asano x Keigō

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Other Illustrators

SanLemo

Lucie Byron

Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

Find us on:
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All you need to do to hire the service of the City Hunter is to write XYZ on the bulletin board of Shinjuku station and they’ll do the rest.... These Sweepers are guns for hire, with no case to big or small: anything goes...

This week I'm joined once again by Tom to discuss the '80s cult classic City Hunter by Tsukasa Hojo! While the series debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1985, it's living proof that manga and the magazine have changed a lot in that time, and this one's definitely more of a seinen title!

After really rolling up our sleeves and getting into the aspects that really haven't aged well with the book (see Ryo's pervy side), we get into discussing the nostalgic action movie feel the book offers and gush about how incredible Hojo's art is.

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Show Notes:

Other Manga:

Akira (and the podcast episode)

Trigun Maximum (and the podcast episode)

Fist of the North Star (and the podcast epiosde)

Gun Smith Cats

Cat's Eye

Movies / TV:

City Hunter 1993 (with Jackie Chan)

City Hunter 2024 (modern Nexflix Reboot)

Lethal Weapon

Dirty Harry

Miami Vice

Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

Find us on:
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Being an over 30's Toykoite is difficult: it's hard to find a man, you lose your passion for your work and your only way to let off steam is to goto the local Isakaya with your friends to let of some steam. But what if that's part of the problem?

After being caught off guard by the announcement of the Tokyo Olympics, Rinko vows to get married before 2020! But being single is the least of her worries as things around her begin to fall apart thanks to a handsome but brash model named Key... Can Rinko get it together to thrive in her 30's? Or will she succumb to the temptation of spending the rest of her life as a 'what-if woman?'

This week, Mat is joined once again by Tsutsudae from Undisputed Anime to talk about another Akiko Higashimura book: Tokyo Tarareba Girls. Join us as we unpack what we like and dislike about the book, figure out that it might well be the 'Peep Show' of manga and as per usual, gush over Higashimura's excellent dialogue and expressive art style!

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Show Notes

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Previous Episodes we discuss:

Honey Lemon Soda

Blank Canvas

You Can't Live All on Your Own

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Other Manga

Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura

Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa

Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

Find us on:
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Eita Ichiyoshi is a young man being driven slowly mad by the mundanity of his job at a confectionary factory. That is until while walking home alone on Christmas Eve, he catches a mysterious bouncy ball that he decides to take home. After throwing it to relieve his frustrations, he can’t believe his luck when it turns into a beautiful, naked woman with perfect lips!

But all it took was a kiss for Ichi to regret his actions! The girl suddenly begins to shoot more balls into the room that transform into more women! These monstrously strong women initially scare Ichi, before he vows to try and look after them… But as this book clearly sets out to be as horrific as it is a harem, Will he live to tell the tale?

This week, Mat is joined once again by Georgie (aka mainly.manga) to talk Super Ball Girls by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Akira Hiramoto! What will these two distinguished gentlemen think of this shrink wrapped, ecchi, harem horror manga? Did it leave them jumping for joy? Or trying to bounce their copies into the nearest recycling bin? Listen in to find out!

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Show Notes

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Manga:

Jagaaaaaan

Blue Lock

Prison School

Raw Hero

Great Teacher Onizuka

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Films:

The Substance

Jeepers Creepers

Society

Troma Entertainment

Full Moon Features

Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

Find us on:
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Instagram: Manga Tak Pod