Mangaroos

FIRST: We had to pay tribute to the late Akira Toriyama. The world lost a true legend earlier this month.

SECOND: Yasuhisa Hara's epic historical action series has been appearing in Weekly Young Jump since 2006, and it's a global sensation. Everyone you know either reads ONE PIECE, or Kingdom, or both.  Even Japan's Princess, Akiko of Mikasa, is a self-confessed die-hard Kingdom fan. But the question is, is the first volume any good? Opinions vary! 

Discussed in this episode: Do you have to be good at drawing to make a successful manga? Do manga authors do interviews on TV? And, are these ladies blowing raspberries in an ancient jacuzzi? 

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For fans of manga, Hiromu Arakawa needs no introduction. She's responsible for the mega-ultra-successful and popular Full Metal Alchemist, as well as the acclaimed Silver Spoon, among other works. Now, here comes Arakawa Sensei's latest series, Daemons of the Shadow Realm, to delight and bewilder us in equal measure. The first volume is a bit of a jumble. We've got gunfights, fish-out-of-water hijinks, and possibly a Japanese folklore-based take on Pokemon? It doesn't quite all hang together, but it's clearly the work of a master chef combining tastefully luxurious elements together in a creative way, so we'll just have to trust her that it'll come together someday. Remember, even FMA fans will tell you that it took a few volumes to really find its footing...

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The Promised Neverland, by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu, begins with a simple question: What if an orphanage was also a factory farm that produced food for demonic otherworldly entities? As high concepts for shonen manga series go, that's about as compelling as they come. No wonder this series became a multimedia phenomenon in the waning days of the pre-Covid era. It also features some truly badass metal album cover-style artwork, which couldn't have hurt. 

(Stay tuned to the end of this episode for a musical surprise!)

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 Atsushi Kaneko is an underground manga hero for a reason, revered around the world, and especially in Europe.  EVOL is his wild, punk rock take on anti-super heroes and the decaying of our social fabric. In it, we find teens in mental institutions who are fed up with the hopeless world around them, heroes who uphold corrupt political agendas instead of justice, and a weird, melting moon. It's explosive and cynical. Black and white with no shades of gray. It also may or may not be Sonic Youth fan fiction. You decide!

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It's no secret that Takehiko Inoue is one of the undisputed masters of the manga art form, so it's about time we gave one of his works the Mangaroos treatment. 

Vagabond is an epic historical action manga, with some of the most gorgeous art to ever grace a page. It is violent and passionate and breathtaking. 

We discuss whether sexy cougar Okou is, in fact, TOO sexy. We ponder how it might feel if your kid’s good for nothing friend took him to Sekigahara and whether you might sic a posse on him in response, and plot his demise. Also, is basketball the modern day equivalency of samurai battles? Listen in and find out!

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Everywhere else: @mangaroos

The English title of this book is To Your Eternity, but in Japanese it's called 不滅のあなたへ (Fumetsu no Anata e). Whatever you like to call it, Yoshitoki Oima's second hit series isn't quite like anything else, in any medium. 

The elevator pitch is impossible. Child meets immortal thing in the forest. Alien thing becomes all different stuff, including a wolf, and meets a boy. Is this a story about people trying to go ice fishing, who then get lost? In some ways, it is that. In many ways, it isn't.

Even just the first chapter of volume one is a heart-breaking, self-contained story. From there, typical shonen storytelling tropes are subverted because the extraterrestrial shapeshifting protagonist is constantly in the process of learning, in real time, how to become a convincing facsimile of a person. Meanwhile, a human sacrifice must be made to a gigantic bear god, in the forest. Look, there's a lot going on here. It's a heck of a way to start a series, is what we're saying.

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Jaguar is an eccentric man with a shock of red hair, a heart full of passion, and a recorder (flute). He took Japan by storm in the early 2000s, and we are all richer for it, even if we don't realize why or how. In this life, you are either a guitar person or a recorder (flute) person. 

A hip hop ninja, the inherent hilarity to be found in earnestly reciting poetry, trying to find comfort when using a punching bag you found in the trash as a pillow. This manga is truly something special.

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Do you wear a hat with a brim or not? We explore this question and whether art is magic in this episode about Witch Hat Atelier! Discover which witch Mark and Jayson feel affinity for as we discuss plot elements maybe beyond volume one (but no spoilers). Give this a listen and find out what makes this manga so worthy of its many awards.

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The time has finally come for Jayson to rave about his favorite current ongoing manga series! We all know how he feels about it, but what about everyone else? Is Witch Watch a subtle and hilarious love letter to manga as an art form? Or is it just I Dream of Genie in manga form? Ha! That question is impossible to answer unless you are a senior citizen, because no one under the age of 30 knows what I Dream of Genie even is! But regardless of your age, snuggle up and listen in, as we discuss this sweet, magical rom-com. 

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Everywhere else: @mangaroos

The fourth Mangaroo is back! We're always happy to have Minami Sakai drop by Mangaroos Mansion, because she provides us with hard-earned manga industry insider knowledge. And what better manga to apply that wisdom to than Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun? This is a comedy series known for its inside-baseball takes on Shojo manga tropes and the manga production process.

In this episode, we learn about the art of Kishōtenketsu storytelling, sloppily dissect Japanese comedy styles, and witness a Shojo manga bromance blossoming before our very eyes.

IMPORTANT NOTES: Minami mentions that the PV and MangaPark serialization of her series, 爆死して乙女ゲーに転生したので推しルートを攻略します！or "I Bombed a Pull So Bad it Yeeted Me into an Otome Game, so I'm Gonna Clear My Best Boy's Route!"would be up on November 15th, but they got pushed back! They will likely be available in December or later (exact date TBD).

Buy chapters of Minami's manga here.

Also! Minami totally likes and approves of a lot of Shogakukan Shojo manga. She is not hating on Shogakukan Shojo in any way.

Enjoy the episode!

Get in touch with us!
Email: [email protected]
Everywhere else: @mangaroos