Back in February, Twitter users introduced me to dozens of podcasts and websites that hadn’t been on my radar, among them The Wonder of Anime. The site was created by Lisa De La Cruz, who’s been interviewing voice actors and content creators, filing convention reports, and reviewing manga since 2019. Right now, she’s midway through her own March Madness, posting short reflections on her favorite series, from My Love Mix-Up! to Clover, Love*Com, Wave, Listen to Me!, and Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku. De La Cruz also hosts a popular podcast that’s available on Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher; recent episodes have focused on manga translation and lettering.
NEWS
If you’ve been curious about Azuki, check out Rob Salkowitz’s profile of this new digital manga platform. “We want to provide people with a wide range of manga to read, and a wide range of how they can read it,” said Marketing and Licensing Director Evan Minto. “We do our own scouting of titles that subscribers will like. That curatorial approach gives us the mindset of a publisher, not just an app.” [Forbes]
VIZ Media announced that it will be publishing Betwixt: A Horror Manga Anthology in November. The book will include work from American and Japanese artists including Becky Cloonan, Junji Ito, and Aki Shimizu. [ICv2]
Coming soon to a shelf near you: Gou Tanabe’s adaptation of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, an H.P. Lovecraft novella set in a coastal New England town where the locals harbor a nasty secret. [Dark Horse]
Dark Horse will also be releasing Shin’ichi Sakamoto’s Innocent, a manga inspired by the life of Charles-Henri Sanson, who was the Royal Executioner of France in the late 1700s. [Dark Horse]
Good news: American fans may get another chance to discover Hiromu Arakawa’s Hyakusho Kizoku (Noble Farmer), as an anime adaptation is in the works. [Last Looks]
ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, AND OPINION
Danica Davidson interviews Fabien Grolleau and Ewen Blain about Guardian of Fukushima, a graphic novel about a farmer who became a folk hero for his unwavering dedication to the animals abandoned during the Fukushima nuclear crisis. [Otaku USA]
Anime UK News compiles a list of staff members’ favorite anime and manga based on video games, from Pokémon to Persona 4. [Anime UK News]
Planning a trip to Japan this year? Trevor Van As has compiled helpful tips for buying manga while you’re abroad. [How to Love Comics]
On the latest episode of Dad Needs to Talk, Robert reviews the new manga adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. [Dad Needs to Talk]
Ray and Gee discuss the merits of Sweat and Soap, a romantic comedy that “features one of the most healthy and communicative relationships in a contemporary romance series” in spite of its “potentially skeevy premise.” [Read Right to Left]
The Mangasplaining crew revisit an earlier work by Inio Asano: Goodnight, PunPun, a coming-of-age story that’s… well, bleak. The pictures are nice, though. [Mangasplaining]
Looking for a good read? The editors at Women Write About Comics plug the comics and manga they read—and loved—in February. [WWAC]
If you’ve ever wondered how to become a manga journalist, check out this in-depth interview with Deb Aoki. [Off Panel]
As part of her year-long celebration of Okazu’s twentieth anniversary, Erica Friedman hosts a roundtable on diversity in anime and manga journalism with panelists Samantha Ferreira (Anime Herald), Vrai Kaiser (Anime Feminist), and Lynzee Loveridge (ANN). [Okazu]
REVIEWS
The Manga Bookshelf gang weighs in on Confessions of a Shy Baker, Kitaro, and Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand… Megan D. reviews the now-forgotten La Cordo d’Oro, a reverse-harem manga set at a music school… the latest Reader’s Corner focuses on Insomniacs After School, SHY, and Solo Leveling… Azario Lopez explains why you should be reading espionage thriller Love of Kill…. and Jocelyne Allen offers her two cents on Lemon Haruna’s surreal comedy Daru-chan, about “an alien from Darudaru, her true form a flesh-coloured blob with a cute bob and a red ribbon in it.”
New and Noteworthy
- Choujin X, Vol. 1 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Choujin X, Vol. 1 (Arpad Okay, The Beat)
- Choujin X, Vol. 1 (Sara Smith, The Graphic Library)
- The Coppersmith’s Bride, Vol. 1 (Krystallina, The OASG)
- Doomsday with My Dog, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Guardian of Fukushima (Adi Tantimedh, Bleeding Cool)
- Guardian of Fukushima (Comical Opinions)
- Guardian of Fukushima (Alan Spinney, The Fanboy Factor)
- Guardian of Fukushima (Harry, Honey’s Anime)
- Guardian of Fukushima (Tripwire)
- I Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love (Eve Healy)
- I Fell for a Fujoshi, Vol. 1 (Kaley Connell, Yatta-Tachi)
- I’m Quitting Heroing, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- I’m Quitting Heroing, Vol. 1 (Antonio Miereles, The Fandom Post)
- Life, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Love Stage!!, Vol. 1 (Eve Healy)
- My Clueless First Friend, Vol. 1 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- Oshi no Ko, Vol. 1 (Antonio Miereles, The Fandom Post)
- Shonen Note: Boy Soprano, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Show-ha Shoten!, Vol. 1 (Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading)
- Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21 (Hagai Palevsky, The Comics Journal)
- Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21 (Reid Bratten, AniTAY)
- Touring After the Apocalypse, Vols. 1-2 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Trap? Trap! (Eve Healy)
- ULTIMATE MAMA, Vol. 1 (Erica Friedman, Okazu)
- Wandance, Vol. 1 (Harry, Honey’s Anime)
- Welcome Back, Aureole (Sarah, Anime UK News)
Complete and Ongoing Series
- Beauty and the Feast, Vols. 4-6 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Fly Me to the Moon, Vol. 16 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 4 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend, Vol. 2 (Kevin T. Rodriguez, The Fandom Post)
- Helck, Vol. 2 (MrAJCosplay, ANN))
- Hinogawa ga CRUSH!, Vol. 7 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, Vol. 6 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Lost Lad London, Vol. 3 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again, Today, Vol. 5 (Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading)
- Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 5 (Joeh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- The Remarried Empress, Vol. 2 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 2 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)