The Manga Taishō is one of the most prestigious awards a series can win, with plenty of future big-hitters gracing the shortlists every year. We decided to read all the winners of the decade so far (2020-2025) and give our takes on each and why we think they did win each year.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction - Discussion Manga Taishō in the context of other manga awards

2:10 Rules of the Manga Taishō Awards

5:00 Blue Period by Tsubasa Yamaguchi

13:50 Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe

21:39 The Darwin Incident by Shun Umezawa

30:38 Draw This, Then Die! (Kore Kaite Shine) by Minoru Toyoda

38:48 Spacewalking With You by Inuhiko Doronoda

47:47 Alice, All the Way to the Stars (Alice, Doko Made mo) by Kiko Urino

59:55 Who do we think should have won each year?

It’s the second LostinAnime Patron-pick this time: Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You by Jinushi. With an anime upcoming and the buzz it’s had over the years, we’ve caught up and have plenty to talk about this little series of smoke breaks, misunderstandings, and slow-burn romance.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction - the second patron-picked manga for the podcast

2:16 The subject of smoking and its depiction

6:47 The misunderstanding trope with Sasaki and Yamada/Tayama

10:41 It’s origin as a web manga, the switch in tone when it starting publishing

12:51 Supporting characters: Goto and Kami-san

16:40 Anime adaption incoming and our expectations

20:09 Spoiler discussion begins

20:15 Sasaki’s age, age-gap romance, the power dynamic, and Sasaki’s shift from Tayama to Yamada

30:20 The timing of the realisations that have and will still come

35:00 The other potential ships that could happen

38:49 Sasaki’s unhealthy relationship work and his boss

43:11 Samu’s Recommendation: Kowloon Generic Romance by Jun Mayuzuki + Cat’s Eye by Tsukasa Hojo

45:45 Enzo’s Recommendation: After the Rain by Jun Mayuzuki

48:52 Overview and final scores

We have two new serialisations in Weekly Shonen Jump we’re discussing this week - a distant sequel to one of its most popular titles of the past decade, and a little romcom by a newcomer - we’re charmed by one and left indifferent by another. Tune in to find which one’s which.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction - check-in on the previous serialisation round

6:13 Series that ended: Kill Blue and Nice Prison

9:48 Check-in with current WSJ titles: Otr of the Flame, Hima-Ten!, Ichi the Witch, Shinobi Undercover

19:50 Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo by Gege Akutami (Story), Yuji Iwasaki (Art)

29:03 Someone Hertz by Ei Yamano

38:55 First chapter ratings + predictions for its survivability

39:31 Looking ahead, predicting the next series to leave the magazine?

This is the second part of our conversation on the Succession Contest arc, this time discussing everything to do with Kurapika, the Kakin Empire’s political machinations, and the mafia family conflicts. And after covering the entire series we rank all the arcs in the series by our preference as well as giving our final scores for Yoshihiro Togashi’s Hunter x Hunter.

Timestamps

0:00 Introduction - part II of the discussion

0:51 The ever-ambitious rules and layers of the Succession Contest

6:14 Standout characters from the Kakin Empire - and which prince do we think will win?

14:06 Kurapika vs Tserriednich - is Kurapika going to die in this arc?

15:44 The various other storylines ongoing right now

18:04 Which of the princes is Beyond Netero’s child?

21:36 Melody being set up to have a pivotal part in the succession contest

25:01 The mafia families - Heil-ly, Char, Xi Yu - and Morena as a standout

29:03 Prediction of an anime adaptation and the length of the Succession Contest arc

32:49 Samu’s Recommendation: Ooku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga 

34:19 Enzo’s Recommendation: Hyouge Mono by Yamada Yoshihiro 

38:21 Overview and scores for the arc

43:15 Our ranking of all Hunter x Hunter arcs

46:36 Final scores for Hunter x Hunter

We’re catching up with Hunter x Hunter’s current arc, and despite it being unfinished there’s a plethora of storylines and characters involved that we’re splitting this discussion into the two parts it needs, like we did with Chimera Ant.

This episode we talk about the Dark Continent Expedition, Hisoka vs Chrollo, and our feelings of the Phantom Troupe’s role in the current arc. Check it out and stay tuned for the rest of the discussion next week!

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction - catching up to the series with the Succession Contest arc

4:20 Does the Succession Contest arc feel like a Hunter x Hunter spin-off?

14:29 A unique story arc with its sheer amount of every-expanding storylines

18:11 The Zodiacs and the expedition, Ging and Pariston rivalry early in the arc

22:48 Gon Freecss’s absence, will we cut back to him anytime soon?

25:54 Hisoka vs Chrollo at Heaven’s Arena - the fanservable fight of the series

31:52 Hisoka vs the Phantom Troupe on the boat - who is going to win?

35:46 Fake!Hisoka theory coming to fruition

37:46 Phantom Troupe backstory and parallel between Chrollo and Kurapika

46:26 Tune in for Part II of the discussion!

We continue our Bleach/Rurouni Kenshin read-throughs with the famed Kyoto arc, one of Enzo’s all-time favourite of the medium which he has plenty to gush over. But will Samu feel the same way?

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction - the companion piece to the Soul Society episode

5:04 Spoiler discussion warning

5:22 Himura Kenshin as a main character, comparisons to Ichigo Kurosaki?

9:48 Why is Kyoto arc considered one of the best of the series and battle shonen?

14:54 Juppongatana - standouts and our favourites

20:18 Honjo Kamatari depiction of the time, respectful or exploitative?

22:57 Samu’s many problems with Cho “The Sword Hunter”

26:22 Seijuro Hiko, Kenshin’s past, and their training

36:02 Shishio success as a villain and the influence on Horikoshi’s Stain

44:58 Our favourite fights

52:51 Kenshin vs Shishio and the implications afterlife, and the epilogue

58:51 Samu’s Recommendation: Gintama by Hideaki Sorachi

1:02:28 Enzo’s Recommendation: Dororo by Osamu Tezuka

1:06:09 Overview and final scores

Enzo continues his exploration into the Big 3, this time Bleach’s Soul Society arc, largely considered as one of the best of the series, and one of Samu’s defining experience as an animanga fan. We further discuss Kubo’s style as a writer, his influences, and the standout characters from the arc that properly put Bleach on the map.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction - continuing our Bleach/Rurouni Kenshin read-throughs

1:50 Spoiler discussion warning

2:39 Soul Society arc as one of battle shonen’s best?

4:04 Samu’s personal experience and fondness with the Soul Society arc

5:18 The lack of backgrounds and concise writing style - is Kubo an architect or a gardener?

12:50 Ichigo’s role in the Soul Society arc

14:52 The interconnected thread between all the characters in Soul Society

20:50 Renj’s character arc in Soul Society, guilt about Rukia and vendetta against Byakuya

23:17 Byakuya’s focus and character shift near the end - setting up for the future

26:15 Enzo’s standouts: Shunsui, Hanataro and Ganju

31:40 Samu’s favourite character in anime and manga

35:22 Rukia and the ‘damsel in distress’ trope, how it’s handled here

39:19 Zanpakuto as a power system - a visual representation of character development

43:24 Was Kubo influenced by Watsuki and the Kyoto arc?

51:27 Villain reveal: Aizen, Gin, and Tosen’s betrayal

58:05 Enzo’s Recommendation: One Punch Man by ONE and Yusuke Murata

1:02:28 Samu’s Recommendation: Kekkaishi by Yellow Tanabe

1:03:44 Overview and final scores

This time around we finally tackle the age old fandom question: is the anime or the manga better? This episode we go through series where we prefer the source material as well as the adaptation, including some controversial hot takes you’re not likely to hear anywhere else. As is often the case, not all of them do we agree on.

Timecodes:

0:00 Introduction - setting the scene with our experience and views on anime vs manga

2:36 Manga > Anime - we preferred the source material

3:07 Recent WSJ adaptations: Sakamoto Days and Chainsaw Man, The Promised Neverland

7:36 Erased, Ooku: the Inner Chambers, Wandering Son

14:52 Anime > Manga - the adaptation exceeding the source material

15:12 WITCH WATCH, Dandadan, Heavenly Delusion, Chihayafuru, Mob Psycho 100, Blood Blockade Battlefront, Teasing Master Takagi-san

19:44 The Elusive Samurai, Nichijou: My Ordinary Life, Attack on Titan

24:48 A Silent Voice - our biggest disagreement

32:14 Bleach - does Samu prefer the anime or manga?

33:31 Our controversial takes

33:50 Samu: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, The Flowers of Evil

40:09 Enzo: Fruits Basket, Usagi Drop

46:52 Conclusion - hot takes are the interesting ones!

We have a sports-heavy four serialisation round for Weekly Shonen Jump that’s just happened so take a listen to hear our takes on what gives us most optimism between baseball, long distance running, ping pong, and… demon hunting? A unique batch in many ways, with some potential chances of success among them.

Timecodes:

0:00 Introduction - a four serialisation round, with three sports titles

1:59 Check-in on the previous serialisation round: Nice Prison + Otr of the Flame

13:19 Series that ended: Super Psychic Policeman Chojo, Syd Craft: Love is a Mystery, Embers, Star of Beethoven

19:13 Harukaze Mound by Togo Goto and Kento Matsuura

35:57 Kaedegami by Jun Harukawa

52:25 Ekiden Bros by Daisuke Nono

1:04:46 Ping-Pong Peril by Yoshiharu Kataoka

1:12:35 First chapter ratings + predictions for its survivability

With the anime coming next week, we decided to discuss the manga of Gachiakuta by Kei Urana - one that we’ve both been reading since it was first released. In this episode we get into inspirations for its cool factor, our highlights so far, predictions for the series’ future, and whether we think the anime will manage to reach the wider audience we expected it to by this point already.

Timecodes:

0:00 Introduction - Gachiakuta, a manga we’ve both followed since the first chapter released

5:40 The shonen “cool factor” and Bleach’s influence

11:30 Would Gachiakuta work as a Weekly Shonen Jump title?

15:04 Falling manga volume sales - will the anime give it a boost?

24:36 Rudo - a fitting main character with strong contrasts

29:54 Standouts from the supporting characters: Information Broker, Follo, Gris

32:13 Spoiler discussion begins

32:22 Follo - the late blooming supporting character who wants to be a main character

40:18 The power system: Vital Instruments + Thoughts - similarities to Zanpakuto in Bleach

43:21 What’s the deal with Tamsy - is he the final antagonist?

46:36 Do we think the series will explore Rudo’s love life?

50:31 The Watchman, The Watchman Series, are we in the future?

53:46 How long do we think the series will last?

55:11 Enzo’s Recommendation: Bleach by Tite Kubo

56:25 Samu’s Recommendation: Soul Eater by Atsushi Ookubo

57:56 Overview and final scores

1:01:10 Is Gachiakuta among our currently-running battle shonen manga?