I’ve been endeavoring to fill some of the broad gaps in my manga back catalog – I’ve watched far more anime than I have manga – and one of the particularly significant gaps is in the career of one Go Nagai. While I’m familiar with him as being frequently referred to as “Anime’s Horny Uncle”, or “Perpetually Horny On Main” – not all of his works necessarily seemed to fit with that tonally, Devilman more than any other. So, considering the reputation of that work (and its, shall we say, end of The Elric Saga-esque ending), once the Devilman manga became available in print, I decided that eventually, I would take the time to seek it out and give it a read. Having finally finished reading it, I do indeed have some thoughts. There will be spoilers.
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My Hero Academia Manga – Caught Up!
I’ve finally gotten caught up on the My Hero Academia Manga in the Shonen Jump app, and want to give my thoughts on where the manga is now. As a warning – this post will contain spoilers for content after the conclusion of season 5, up to where the manga is now and will include speculation on what will be covered in Season 6. Spoilers will begin below the cut.
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Silent Mobius Vol. 9-12: Manga Review
The last 4 volumes of the Silent Mobius Manga are, in a lot of respects, representative of everything about the manga that works, and everything that really doesn’t. We have some truly spectacular action in these volumes, but also a reiteration of some of the more considerably cringy elements of the series. There will be spoilers for the ending below the cut.
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Knights of Sidonia Volumes 14 & 15: Manga Review
It’s interesting looking at Knights of Sidonia’s ending on context of the endings of Blame and Biomega, and the tones of those series overall. Blame and Biomega were stories with a generally small cast. Blame with one person, later 3 people. Biomega with 3 people. Those stories were also generally travelogues, with the protagonists traveling the Megastructure or the World (respectively) to find a solution. Knights of Sidonia on the other hand, has the story more (generally) locked down to a location, and has a much larger cast. So, the question becomes how does the ending pan out. There will be spoilers in this post.
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UQ Holder Vol. 1-17 Manga Review
Negima, Ken Akamatsu’s previous manga, was one that Akamatsu wanted to make as a battle manga, his publisher wanted to make as a fanservice-heavy rom-com, and ended up being both. UQ Holder, Akamatsu’s current manga, starts as a battle manga and has, to date, stayed that way, with plenty of fanservice and some rom-com hi-jinks scattered through the series.
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Hayate the Combat Butler Vol. 37 Review
If you were expecting the Manga Contest to come to some sort of a head this volume, expect disappointment.
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Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 36: Manga Review
So, remember that creepy coffin in the attic? Neither does this volume. It does, however, remember Ruka and Nagi’s challenge.
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Shinji Ikari Raising Project: Manga Review
The manga Shinji Ikari Raising Project does a lot with a pretty simple concept – what if we take the small slice-of-life rom-com anime vignette from the last episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and expand on that to its own series? Generally, it succeeds at that concept, with some solid humor, though with some missteps later in the series that gets things kind of awkward.
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Oreimo: Kuroneko: Manga Review
Oreimo is a manga which starts well – high school boy Kyousuke discovers his fashionable (as in fashion model) and popular younger sister Kirino is secretly an otaku who is really into games with moe little sisters and decides to bond with her through her fandom while also covering for her with their parents – and then hits an ending where the brother ends up in an incestuous relationship where he ends up marrying that sister. One of the supporting characters in that work is Kuroneko – one of Kirino’s friends in otakudom, who also has a romantic interest in Kyousuke. Now, Oreimo Kuroneko dares to ask the question – what if instead of boning his sister, Kyousuke decides to court his sister’s classmate who is also into him instead.
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Hayate The Combat Butler Vol. 35: Manga Review
When we last got caught up with Hayate, Father Radiostar and Isumi discovered a coffin in a space in the attic. Is related to that happening this volume? No!
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Genshiken Second Season Vol. 12: Manga Review
Well, it all comes down to this – the final decision of who Madarame is going to date. I will be spoiling who that person is below the cut, so head’s up.
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Genshiken Second Season Vol. 11: Manga Review
When we last left off on Genshiken, we had eliminated about two possible candidates from Madarame’s Harem, as well as establishing a possible romantic interest between Hato and Mirei Yajima. Two candidates in the Harem remain, Sue and Hato.
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Genshiken Second Season Vol. 10: Manga Review
As we further approach the conclusion of Genshiken and continue Kuchiki’s farewell trip, things around Madarame’s harem start to come further and further to a head, and we start approaching the answer to the question of who will Madarame choose.
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Genshiken Second Season Vol. 9: Manga Review
Volume 9 of Genshiken Second Season puts us in something of a double focus situation. On the one hand, Kuchiki has completed his senior project and is going to be graduating, so the Genshiken is going on a retreat. On the other hand, all of the members of Madarame’s Harem are coming along, and at their insistence – so is Madarame.
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Blade of the Immortal Vol. 1-8 (US): Manga Review
I’ve been getting back into reading Blade of the Immortal with the new Amazon anime series adapting the manga – which will still be airing as this goes up. Thus far I’ve read the first 8 volumes of the manga (using the US order), and have some thoughts on the work.
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Battle Angel Alita – Last Order (1st Half): Manga Review
Battle Angel Alita ended – sort of – on an interesting note. Due to health issues, the mangaka, Yukito Kishiro, somewhat rushed the manga’s conclusion, quickly moving the story into the floating city of Zalem, before blitzing through the city coping with the revelation that everyone in the city has computer brains – and Alita ultimately ending up in control of the city. The sequel, Last Order, starts there, before going into an oddly different direction.
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Hayate the Combat Butler Vol. 30-34: Manga Review
So, at last I’ve now gotten caught up on Hayate the Combat Butler – at least the official English release of the manga, so I might as well get through these last 5 volumes at one big whack!
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Hayate The Combat Butler – Vol. 29: Manga Review
When last we left the worlds most unlucky butler, he had unintentionally deceived idol singer Ruka into thinking that he was a girl, due to having been roped into crossplay. Meanwhile, Nagi has decided to get back into manga – but she needs her muse…
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Hayate the Combat Butler Vol. 26-27: Manga Review
After Hayate the Combat Butler Vol. 25, 26 and 27 serve as something of a bridge arc. They don’t tell a complete story in their own right, but instead sort of continue in the shift in the status quo started by Volume 25.
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Ultraman (Manga): Thoughts on Vol. 1-4
If you think about it, superheroes have been a part of Japanese pop-culture ever since the post-war period, and in particular the 60s and 70s. Astro Boy is Pinocchio with Super-Powers. Characters like Shotaro Ishinomori’s Android Kikaider and Kamen Rider featured protagonists fighting a supervillain organizations and their superpowered minions, and so on. And, of course, there is the tokusatsu classic – Ultraman from Tsuburaya Productions.
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