Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Katherine Dacey

The Manga Review: Coming Attractions

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According to the collective wisdom of the internet, Best of 2022 lists are out, and What to Read in 2023 lists are in! So in that spirit, here are a few articles to help you get off to a good start this year. The Beat’s list of 60 Anticipated Graphic Novels offers a pleasing mixture of manga, manhwa, and comics, while Brigid Alverson’s Manga Pick Hits highlights March’s big debuts. Over at Honey’s Anime, Brett Michael Orr organizes his recommendations by genre, naming his five most anticipated shoujo, shounen, josei, and romance manga. Readers looking for a complete overview of 2023’s most anticipated titles should click over to Anime Collective, which has compiled an exhaustive, month-by-month list of every new manga series debuting this year.

NEWS…

Over at ICv2, Brigid Alverson parses the December 2022 Bookscan data on the 20 Bestselling Adult Graphic Novels. “Six of the titles on the December charts are the first volumes of manga series that have been around for a while,” she observes. “It’s not unusual to see the first volume of a hot series, such as Chainsaw Man, in the Top 20, but first volume appearances on the chart seem to spike in December: there were eight or more first volumes on the chart in December 2020… and 2021.” [ICv2]

Topping the list of December 2022’s most popular manga are Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Spy x Family. [ICv2]

Coming soon to a screen near you: Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, which is getting two separate treatments. The first is an animated television series, which will be available on Hulu in July, while the second will be a live-action movie, which will premiere on Netflix in December. [ANN]

Seven Seas is hiring: they need an editor for their extensive line of novels. [Seven Seas]

Australian fans’ demand for unlicensed manga has led to a surge in piracy Down Under. According to the Attorney General’s office, “There has been a general downward trend in the demand for unlicensed television shows, films and music since 2017, but a general increase in the demand for unlicensed publishing materials.” [The Guardian]

… AND VIEWS

Alenka Figa, Kayleigh Hearn, Carrie McClain, Paulina Przystupa, and Masha Zhdanova list their favorite manga of 2022, from Correspondence from the End of the Universe to The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions. [WWAC]

Also compiling a list of his favorite manga of 2022 is Tony Yao, who names Sensei’s Pious Lie and Akane-banashi as two of last year’s best debuts. [Drop-In to Manga]

Erica Friedman kicks off the fourth season of Yuri Studio with a preview of coming attractions and a reaction video. [Okazu]

Jocelyne Allen invites readers to “start your year off with some feminist manga” with a look at Takinami Yukari’s Watashi-tachi wa Mutsu Renai ga Shitai. [Brain vs. Book]

The latest Manga Machinations podcast focuses on three series: Tales of the Kingdom, Children of the Sea, and Welcome Back Alice. [Manga Machinations]

The folks at Taiiku Podcast have been busy, posting not one but two new episodes in the first days of 2023, the first exploring the work of panpaya (Invitation from a Crab, Guyabano Holiday), and the second critiquing Akane-banashi and Embrace Your Size. [Taiiku Podcast]

On the most recent episode of Shojo & Tell, Ashley and Colleen dish the dirt on Natsuki Tayaka’s Twinkle Stars. [Shojo & Tell]

REVIEWS

Sarah gives Phantom of the Idol solid marks, arguing that the series offers an “entertaining look at the world of idol culture that will appeal to readers who enjoy stories (like IDOLiSH7) set in the hothouse world of popular music.” Over at Beneath the Tangles, the gang posts a fresh crop of capsule reviews of Maison Ikkoku, Romantic Killer, Yakuza Finacé and Your Forma.

New and Noteworthy

Complete and Ongoing Series

 

Pick of the Week: Exciting Icelandic Sagas

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SEAN: No question, my pick this week is I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner. We’ve seen “the same events from another perspective” in other light novels, but usually as briefly changing narrators, not an entire new series. Plus… More Claire! More Rae!

MICHELLE: Given is no doubt a nicer series than The Shadows of Who We Once Were, but since I haven’t read it in ages, I don’t feel as though I can really pick it these week. Whereas I’ve been binging Shadows and, though I am still not entirely sure how I feel about it, the end being in sight definitely inclines me in its favor. So… half-hearted endorsement, I guess?

ASH: Debut-wise, I think the series that I’m the most curious about this week is The Knight Blooms Behind Castle Walls, but if I look towards currently ongoing series (and favorites) Vinland Saga is always a top choice for me.

ANNA: I may be far behind, but I won’t pass up a chance to hype Vinland Saga either.

KATE: All the enthusiastic praise for Vinland Saga makes me think I should give it a second try, so I’m joining Anna and Ash and making it my pick of the week.

The Manga Review: Looking Backward

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Buckle up, dear reader; this week’s Manga Review is bursting at the seams!

The first order of business? The best (and worst) of 2022. The Comics Journal recently posted its annual list, polling thirty-three critics, artists, editors, and scholars about their favorite titles. While some of the nominations were predictable—there were a lot of folks praising Kate Beaton’s Ducks—there were also a refreshing number of contributors who discussed their manga-reading habits, among them Ritesh Babu, Helen Chazan, Austin English, Charles Hatfield, Chris Mautner, Joe McCulloch, and Katie Skelly. The Beat’s 30 Best Comics of 2022 had fewer manga entries but offered a more balanced list of mainstream and indie comics, as did The Mary Sue, which gave nods to Junji Ito and Yamada Murasaki in its list of the 30 Best Comics and Graphic Novels of 2022, and From Cover to Cover, which named Gengoroh Tagame’s Our Colors among the year’s best titles. Perhaps the most interesting list was Polygon’s 10 Best Comics of 2022, which gave shout-outs to Look Back and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou as well as Jamilla Rowser and Robyn Smith’s Wash Day Diaries.

Readers in search of manga-only lists will find plenty to choose from, including Okazu’s Best Yuri of 2022, But Why Tho’s Top BL Manga of 2022, and Anime UK News’s favorite Manga, Manhwha, and Light Novels of 2022. Also worth a look: Asian Movie Pulse’s 10 Best Manga Releases of 2022, Beneath the Tangles’ Best Manga of 2022, Bounding Into Comics’ Top 10 New Manga Series of 2022, CBR’s Best New & Ongoing Manga of 2022, Game Rant’s 10 Best Manga of 2022, The Outerhaven’s Top 5 Manga of 2022, and Screen Rant’s 10 Best Manga of 2022. Last but not least, I posted my first Best and Worst Manga list in… (checks notes) seven years, focusing on the titles that most delighted and annoyed me in 2022.

NEWS…

Did you know the New York Times has revived its Graphic Books and Manga Bestseller List? (Me, neither.) By whatever metrics they’re using, Chainsaw Man and Shuna’s Journey are selling briskly but not as well as Dav Pilkey’s perennially popular Cat Kid and Dog Man series. [The New York Times]

To mark the twentieth anniversary of Yuricon, Erica Friedman is moving the event online and reimagining the format “as a series of presentations and panels to be held online throughout the year on Yuri Studio.” Anyone interested in organizing a panel or giving a presentation at Yuricon 2023 is encouraged to fill out an application at Okazu. [Okazu]

Publishers Weekly compiles its “top-15 most-read articles on comics” and, to no one’s surprise, “Manga Is Booming” topped the list. [PW]

Shonen Jump readers take note: the cost for US subscribers is going up a $1.00/month. Krystallina offers more context for the rate increase, and reflects on the state of the digital manga market. [The OASG]

Wondering what new series you can expect to see at your local bookstore this month? Bill Curtis has you covered with a comprehensive list of January’s manga and light novel releases. [Yatta-Tachi]

…AND VIEWS

Fatimah explains why Tenmaku no Jendoogar (A Witch’s Life in Mongol) deserves an English-language release. The title, which won a 2023 Kono Manga ga Sugoi Award, focuses on an Iranian girl “who’s a captive of the Mongol Empire and uses her education to her advantage.” Fatimah provides insight into the time period in which the story takes place, discusses one of the real-life characters who appears in the story, and praises the artwork for its graceful fusion of Japanese and Persian sensibilities. [Saffron Apple Pie Manga Recs]

In a generously illustrated essay, Leo Flemisch argues that “few cartoonists have explored what it means to exit childhood as profoundly as Japanese manga artist Taiyō Matsumoto.” [SOLRAD]

Marcel Green compares Shonen Jump‘s most recent crop of titles with older series and notices that the magazine has shifted away from stories that “center on an individual’s quest for glory or redemption” to stories that “focus on the individual’s connection with their family.” [Screen Rant]

Ana Diaz explains why fans of the Chainsaw Man anime should read the manga, too. [Polygon]

Over at Drop-In to Manga, Tony Yao uses the teacher-student dynamic in Akane-banashi as a jumping-off point for exploring mental myopia. [Drop-In to Manga]

Cy Catwell offers a thoughtful reflection on why I Am a Wall mattered to them in 2022. “Trauma is a vicious thing, and yet I Want to Be a Wall is a reminder that trauma has an opposite: healing,” they write. “This is the crux of I Want to Be a Wall’s narrative, a reminder that there are ways to be happy, ways to survive and even thrive in the world when healing is centered, when you no longer are forced to always feel strange.” [Anime Feminist]

LISTENING IN

Over at Manga Machinations, Seamus, Morgana, Darfox8, and dakazu unveil the winners of their Best Manga of 2022 Awards in categories ranging from Most Enjoyable to There’s Still Hope. [Manga Machinations]

Not to be outdone, David and Jordan hand out “the most prestigious awards in canceled manga – The Shonen Flop Awards aka The Floppies,” naming their favorite—and least favorite—titles of the year. [Shonen Flop]

Also weighing in on the year’s best manga are Ray and Gee, hosts of Read Right to Left. [Read Right to Left]

Justin and Helen close out 2022 with a look at the year’s weirdest anime and manga news. [The OASG Podcast]

For their final podcast of 2022, Elliot and Andy look at two fantasy series: Reincarnated as a Sword and Colorless. [Screentone Club]

Manga Mavericks Colton and Lum weigh in on four new series available on the Shonen Jump website: The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins, Cipher Academy, Ichigoki’s Under Control!!, and Fabricant 100. [The Manga Mavericks]

The dynamic duo of Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg take a deep dive into GENGA: Otomo Katsuhiro Original Pictures. First published in 2012, GENGA offers readers insight into Otomo’s approach to character design and layout, as well as rare glimpses of his work as a commercial illustrator. [Cartoonist Kayfabe]

REVIEWS

Johanna Draper Carlson explains why she doesn’t make the recipes in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, while Jaime explains why she found A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow disappointing. On the capsule review front, the staff at Beneath the Tangles offer pithy assessments of Dandadan, My Gently Raised Beast, and SHY, my Manga Bookshelf colleagues weigh in on Captain Corinth, Skip and Loafer, and Usotoki Rhetoric, and WWAC’s Carrie McClain tackles the latest crop of manga and light novels from Seven Seas.

New and Noteworthy

Complete and Ongoing Series

Bookshelf Briefs 1/5/23

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Asumi-chan Is Interested in Lesbian Brothels!, Vol. 1 | By Kuro Itsuki | Seven Seas – I wasn’t originally planning to read this at all, but several people I respect said it was actually quite well done. So I read it, and they were right. Asumi is a young gay woman who pines after her older friend who took care of her when she was younger. She wants to find her, but the only reliable rumor is that she works as a sex worker in a place for other like-minded women. This is very consensual and sex-positive, despite the cover art. Each chapter is a different hostess, and the sex is explicit without getting too tawdry. The actual payoff is hinted at the end of the first chapter, but this is essentially a foodie manga, but with lesbian sex. The journey is the reason to read it. – Sean Gaffney

Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurer, Vol. 1 | By Atsuhiko Itoh and Tomomasa Takuma | One Peace Books – Isekai seems nearly impossible to escape these days, but even so it’s not a subgenre that I tend to frequent. The manga adaptation of Captain Corinth caught my attention, however, by promising to meld science fiction and fantasy elements without relying on reincarnation to propel its lead character into a different world. Corinth’s near-death experience is still pivotal, though—as the only surviving crewmember of a starship, his escape pod crash lands him on a planet of magic-users, a rarity in the universe. Granted, his survival largely depends on highly advanced technology that may as well be a form of magic. His successes come far too easily as a result at this point, but that may soon change. This early on in the series the balance between science fiction and fantasy hasn’t quite been realized, but the potential is definitely there for them to be combined in interesting ways. – Ash Brown

The Food Diary of Miss Maid, Vol. 1 | By Susumu Maeya| Kodansha Manga (digital only) – There is a bit of a plot here, but only a bit. Suzume, a maid who works in an English mansion, is on vacation in Japan for a week or so… then her master tells her the mansion has been destroyed. While they rebuild it, she has to stay there. What this means is that you get a cute girl in a maid outfit who is Japanese but (having lived in England) has little idea what Japanese food and food etiquette is like, trying out various Japanese delicacies and telling us about them. As such, it’s a foodie manga (with no lesbian sex). It’s well done, as it made me hungry for the items in question, especially the dango. That said, there’s no character development here beyond her meeting her neighbor, who is essentially a straight (wo)man. – Sean Gaffney

The Full-Time Wife Escapist, Vol. 10 | By Tsunami Umino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This volume opens with a thoroughly charming sequence that I shan’t spoil, reminding us of the whimsy this series is capable of before it gets down to SO. MUCH. ADULTING. Mikuri and Hiramasa are expecting! Her morning sickness is extremely bad, so Hiramasa takes over a lot of household tasks (all while not letting on how worried he is) while they both try to navigate the many rules their employers and others have about leave time and applying for this or that. Meanwhile, Yuri is having a health scare and one of Hiramasa’s coworkers starts to fall for him (while dealing with rampant sexism in the workplace). A lot of emphasis is on Mikuri and Hiramasa functioning as a team, and that Hiramasa’s request for a month of paternity leave is frowned upon because what could a man possibly contribute? As good as ever, thankfully! – Michelle Smith

Night of the Living Cat, Vol. 1 | By Hawkman and Mecha-Roots | Seven Seas – Night of the Living Cat is to manga what Shaun of the Dead is to movies: both are loving spoofs of the zombie genre that faithfully reproduce its signature tropes. The central joke in Living Cat is that infected humans don’t turn into flesh-eating monsters but adorable kitties; the main mode of transmission is snuggling. While that premise sounds hilarious, the authors’ commitment to telling the story with a straight face ends up weighing down what should be a goofy, buoyant send-up of I Am a Hero and The Walking Dead. The result is like watching a Naked Gun movie in which every actor delivers their lines in a natural, conversational tone; the jokes are there, but the delivery is off. – Katherine Dacey

Skip and Loafer, Vol. 6 | By Misaki Takamatsu |Seven Seas – The main story of this manga continues to be terrific. Mitsumi is still bright and shiny, but has lost a lot of the country hick that she started off with (though she still needs other’s help buying “city-specific” presents). It’s also Valentine’s Day, so it’s time for Mika to shoot her shot and confess to Shima, even though she, the school, and the reader know how that’s going to go. And we also get a great chapter from Nao’s point of view, where she confesses to her friend that seeing Mitsumi’s supportive family and circle of loving friends makes her envious for all the support she never had. This is not a trans manga per se, as Nao is a supporting character, but trans readers should find it very welcoming. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 16 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – For the most part, unlike the anime (which expanded the cast out of necessity), this manga is very much about two kids and not much else. But, as the series has gone on, we have gotten side couples (such as Nakai and Mano, who remain adorable) and Those Three Girls. But now we’re moving up to second year (making the cast fourteen years old), and the series’ resident grumpy tsundere, Hojo, who is clearly in love with her neighbor and friend but is not really admitting it. All of this helps to balance and contrast Takagi and Nishikata, who pretty much have their one gimmick. It is a VERY good gimmick, though, and Takagi is blushing more and more each volume. This should please fans. – Sean Gaffney

Usotoki Rhetoric, Vol. 1 | By Ritsu Miyako | One Peace Books – Urabe Kanoko was driven out of her home village due to her ability to hear lies. She arrives in Tsukumoya Town in search of a job, and soon becomes the assistant of a perpetually penniless detective named Iwai Soma. He’s the first person who has wanted her by his side even after learning of her power, declaring, “I think you can become a real force for good!” Together, they test the limits of her ability and come up with a system by which she can inconspicuously signal when someone involved in a case is lying. In this volume, they solve such mysteries as “where did that kid go?,” “why did Iwai lie about knowing that lady?,” and “where did that other kid go?” Though the mysteries are light so far, I still really enjoyed this volume, especially the 1926 setting, and very much look forward to more! – Michelle Smith

Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster, Vol. 1 | By Saki and Tsukasa Satsuki| J-Novel Club (digital only) – As you can likely guess, this is another villainess story. Mary Albert realizes one day that she’s the villainess in an otome game, and will end up destitute and her family in ruins. The gimmick here is that she decides to embrace her fate wholeheartedly, and seeks out the various scenes with the heroine, Alicia, so that she can be as nasty as possible. There’s just one issue: Mary Albert is sweet as pie, both with and without reincarnated memories, and her attempts to be mean backfire horribly as she helps Alicia at every turn. There’s no reason she chooses to be evil other than “comedy,” but the comedy is fun, and I also like her long-suffering servant who’s in love with her. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Ravens, Killers, and Isekai

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MICHELLE: I was originally going to pick I’m Kinda Chubby and I’m Your Hero, but a commenter on the Manga the Week of post described the Raven of the Inner Palace anime as “sad and lovely,” so now I am super curious about that. Thus, I’m actually picking a light novel this time!

SEAN: Raven of the Inner Palace is definitely on my list, because I am happy to add another “behind the scenes of the emperor’s harem” title. That said, the one that is most intriguing to me this week is No Longer Allowed In Another World, which has the potential to be amazingly funny or a giant trainwreck, and I want to see which.

ASH: I’ll throw another title out there for consideration since I’ve been waiting for it for so long—Rakuda Laughs—but honestly I’m interested in everything that’s been mentioned so far and will join Sean in picking No Longer Allowed In Another World for the reasons already outlined.

KATE: I’ve heard a lot of good things about Romantic Killer–especially its blunt, no-nonsense heroine–so that’s my pick of the week.

ANNA: Put me down for Romantic Killer too, I’m intrigued.

The Best and Worst Manga of 2022

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When I sat down to compose my Best of 2022 list, I was certain I’d compiled a similar one as recently as 2017, only to discover that I hadn’t done so in almost seven years. In looking over some of my earlier efforts, I hardly recognize myself: who was this person with the energy to review 40 or 50 books in a year? Or who thought that Yowamushi Pedal was the best new series of 2015? It felt a little daunting to revisit those lists, honestly, as I’ve often let my blog lie fallow for months at a stretch as I adjusted to a more demanding teaching schedule or a longer commute; I’ve been vowing to “bring back” The Manga Critic for years. Reading other bloggers’ year-end lists, however, inspired me to get back in the saddle and take stock of the manga I loved—and didn’t—in 2022.

Best New Manga: Shuna’s Journey
By Hayao Miyazaki • Translated by Alex Dudok de Wit • First Second
In this deceptively simple work, Hayao Miyazaki creates a richly detailed world filled with beautiful, strange imagery that invites the reader to contemplate where and when the story takes place without definitively answering those questions. Miyazaki’s hero is just as mysterious as the landscapes he crosses; Shuna’s odyssey is not a journey of self-discovery but a practical quest that, despite its myriad hardships, leaves him fundamentally unchanged. Is a he a folkloric hero or a witness to environmental catastrophe? Miyazaki leaves that question unanswered as well, creating a work that’s more ambiguous and less didactic than Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind or Princess Mononoke, but similar in its emphasis on the complex relationship between humans and the natural world.

Best Archival Project: Talk to My Back
By Yamada Murasaki • Translated by Ryan Holmberg • Drawn & Quarterly
“For six years now, I’ve never walked at a pace that was mine,” notes Chiharu, the protagonist of Yamada Murasaki’s sharply observed Talk to My Back. First published in the 1980s, Murasaki’s thirty-six vignettes chronicle the small pleasures and intense disappointments of a middle-class Japanese housewife. Through spare linework and judicious use of blank space, Murasaki conveys Chiharu’s quest to define herself outside the role of mother and wife, documenting Chiharu’s anger, frustration, and alienation in a restrained fashion that suggests how stifled and powerless Chiharu often feels. In a thorough, thoughtful companion essay, translator Ryan Holmberg explores Murasaki’s trailblazing role as an alt-manga creator; Murasaki was one of the first women artists to be featured in the pages of COM and Garo magazines, opening the door for creators such as Akino Kondo and Junko Mizuno. Here’s hoping that Drawn & Quarterly decides to publish more of Murasaki’s work in English.

Best New Sci-Fi Manga: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
By Hitoshi Ashinano • Translated by Daniel Komen • Adapted by Dawn Davis • Seven Seas
I’m not sure if I would have been as receptive to Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou five or ten years ago, as its low-key depiction of life in the aftermath of an environmental catastrophe might have struck me as hopelessly twee. With the worst of the pandemic behind us, however, I found the series’ emphasis on small, everyday moments more resonant; Hitoshi Ashinano convincingly evokes the rhythm of everyday life in a world of scarcity, minus the Hobbesian emphasis on violent competition. Alpha, the main character, is an android who divides her time between running a small cafe and roaming the coastline on her scooter, photographing the empty roads and submerged towns as well as the small, vibrant communities where people still find time to hold rowdy association meetings and stage elaborate firework displays. Her efforts to document humanity’s final chapter offer a wistful—and hopeful—meditation on what it means to persevere in the face of uncertainty and change.

Best New Romance: Kowloon Generic Romance
By Jun Mayuzuki • Translated by Amanda Haley • Yen Press
The aesthetic of Kowloon Generic Romance is pure 80s manga—think City Hunter or RG Veda—but the story and characters suggest the work of filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai, as Kowloon focuses on an intense but unconsummated flirtation between Reiko, a real estate agent, and Kudou, her brash, horny colleague. Like Kar-Wai, manga-ka Jun Mayuzuki is as enamored of settings as she is of characters, leading the reader on a languid tour of Kowloon’s shopping districts, cafes, back alleys, and apartment blocks, conveying how densely settled this city-within-a-city truly is. Though there are some minor elements of science fiction in play, the main attraction is the artwork and pacing; Mayuzuki devotes an entire chapter to depicting, in rapturous detail, Reiko’s evening ritual of enjoying a cigarette on her flat’s meager balcony, allowing the reader to experience the moment as Reiko does: a brief, wordless respite from the hustle and bustle of Kowloon.

Best New Comedy: Phantom of the Idol
By Hijiki Isoflavone • Translated by Max Greenway • Kodansha
In this delightfully bonkers series, a grumpy male pop star swaps bodies with the ghost of a former teen idol whose discipline and talent help transform Yuya into a charismatic, telegenic performer. The twist? Yuya’s been possessed by Asahi Mogami, a perky girl whose budding career was cut short by a car accident. The physical slapstick takes the humor in some unexpected directions as Asahi navigates the complexities of inhabiting the lazy Yuya’s body, while the dialogue offers plenty of sly pokes at the music industry, as well as some not-so-subtle reminders that pop stardom can be as grueling as it is exhilarating.

Best Manga I Thought I’d Hate: The Men Who Created Gundam
By Hideki Ohwada, Hajime Yatate, and Yoshiyuki Tomino • Translated by Jason Moses • Denpa
Of all the ways you could tell the story of Japan’s most famous robot franchise, it seems only right that Gundam creators Hideki Ohwada and Yoshiyuki Tomino opted for an over-the-top manga that dramatically recreates key moments in the series’ early history. The prevailing tone is reminiscent of a VH-1 Behind the Music special, complete with sudden reversals and last-minute triumphs; every line of dialogue is delivered with the kind of urgency usually reserved for a nuclear crisis, even when the conversation is focused on the more mundane aspects of creating a hit television show. Interspersed among the chapters are brief but useful essays connecting the storylines to real events, offering readers a more nuanced explanation of how Gundam helped the create the template for modern pop-cultural fandoms around the globe.

Worst Manga I Thought I’d Love: Crazy Food Truck
By Rokurou Ogaki • Translated by Amanda Haley • VIZ Media
On paper, Crazy Food Truck sounded like a blast, a cross between Mad Max: Fury Road and The Great Food Truck Race. In practice, however, Crazy Food Truck was surprisingly dull, serving up fight sequences as unimaginative as the food its hero serves his few paying customers. The central joke might be funnier if Gordon’s menu was so good that people would risk life and limb for his gourmet sandwiches, but when a BLT with mustard is his signature dish, it seems more like a failure of imagination than a real attempt at humor, especially when creator Rokurou Ogaki frequently reminds us that Gordon has mounted a cannon on top of his truck to ward off bad guys. Gordon’s sidekick Anisa is a one-note character, inserted into the narrative primarily for fan service that’s so indifferently executed it’s hard to muster any outrage over her penchant for nudity. I have no doubt this series rocked some reader’s world, but I found it flavorless. (Reviewed at The Manga Critic on 6/7/22)

Worst Manga I Read in 2022: Rooster Fighter
By Sou Sakuratani • Translated by Jonah Mayahara-Miller • VIZ Media
Rooster Fighter is a disappointment: the premise is too slight to sustain a long series, the script is strenuously unfunny, and the storylines are numbingly predictable. In every chapter, the nameless hero wanders into a new town, antagonizes and befriends the locals in equal measure, then kills a grotesque demon that’s been terrorizing the community. About the only good joke in whole series is how the rooster kills demons; anyone who’s lived on or near a farm will enjoy a rueful laugh or two at the hero’s superpower. Otherwise, this series is a total Cock-a-Doodle-Don’t. (Reviewed at Manga Bookshelf on 8/16/22)

Pick of the Year: Small Publishers and Big Genres

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SEAN: It’s the end of the year, and as always I’ve forgotten 90% of what I read back in March and April. I will thus make my pick a collective pick, as this year had so many new Villainess Novels. Be it reincarnated in an otome game, a duke’s daughter who is publicly shamed, or just a depressed young woman who’s trying to quietly live through her teenage years so she can enter a convent, the Villainess genre has proven surprisingly wide, and I’ll be delighted to read even more of it in 2023.

MICHELLE: I didn’t read as much as I wanted to this year—blast that infernal “life crap” that always seems to intrude—but of what I did read, my favorite was Lost Lad London. Getting a real mystery in manga form is rare enough, and one that acknowledges racism and sexism is unheard-of. I am both looking forward to and lamenting the third and final volume, due out in a few weeks.

ASH: I likewise haven’t had as much time to devote to manga this past year as I would have liked. However, despite some sub-genres seeming to have flooded the market, I’ve been impressed (and pleased!) to see the wide variety manga being released these days. In particular, or in general, I’d like to make small, niche, manga publishers my pick of the year. Specifically, Glacier Bay Books continues to produce highly engaging releases and Star Fruit Books has brought Hideshi Hino back in English as part of a steadily developing catalogue of interesting print manga.

KATE: I want to echo what Ash is saying about small presses such as Glacier Bay Books and Star Fruit: they’re bringing all kind of cool, off-beat titles to the American market that otherwise wouldn’t be translated. In a market that’s so thoroughly saturated in isekai titles and formulaic high school romances, it’s great to have some meaningful alternatives, so I’m making these two presses my “manga of the year.”

The Manga Review: Year-End Spectacular

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As 2022 draws to a close, there’s still time to support your favorite manga charity with a book or cash donation. Two organizations I highly recommend are Reader to Reader, which is based in Amherst, MA, and the Carolina Manga Library, which is based in Fayetteville, NC. Reader to Reader has dedicated itself to providing books “free of charge, to under-resourced school libraries and public libraries across the United States,” while the Carolina Manga Library brings its collection directly to readers: “The Library travels to conventions, book festivals, schools, and other libraries to set up free reading rooms of graphic novels” with the goal of “using graphic novels, comics, and Japanese manga as genuine tools for improving literacy.” Another way to make a difference in a young person’s life is Donors Choose, a site that enables public school teachers to crowd-source funding for supplies, books, and projects. Right now, over 150 educators around the country need your help purchasing manga for their students. No donation is too small; even a few dollars can make a difference!

One programming note: The Manga Review will be on hiatus until Friday, January 6th. If you have a best-of-2022 post that you’d like included in the January 6th column, leave a comment below or DM me on Twitter (@manga_critic). Wishing everyone a safe and happy new year!

NEWS AND VIEWS

Don’t forget to take the 2022 Yuri Fandom Survey; Erica Friedman is keenly interested in hearing about your experiences with yuri. Why now? Friedman explains: “Over the years there has been a lot of research into Boys Love and BL fandom and it seemed time to set up something to get a feel for what Yuri fandom is like in the 2020s, now that it has an established presence in most Japanese pop-culture media.” [Okazu]

Good news from Japan: Akira Toriyama’s criminally under-appreciated SAND LAND is getting the big-screen treatment. No word yet on when the film will be released, but there’s already a teaser trailer. [Otaku USA]

Also coming to the silver screen is an adaptation of Shinichi Ishikzuka’s Blue Giant, which will arrive in theaters on February 17, 2023. [Otaku USA]

Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg dedicate a recent episode of Cartoonist Kayfabe to one of my all-time favorite manga: Jiro Taniguchi’s Hotel Harbour View, a collection of intertwined stories that owe a big debt to Dashiell Hammett. [Cartoonist Kayfabe]

Also worth a listen is Katie Skelly, Sally Madden and Bhanu Pratap’s in-depth conversation about Seiichi Hayashi’s Red-Colored Elegy. [Thick Lines]

The newest issue of the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies is now available online, with articles about Grave of the Fireflies, Sailor Moon, Stop!! Hibari-Kun!, and Mobile Suit Gundam, as well as essays about the impact of COVID-19 on anime conventions. [JAMS]

Jocelyne Allen is cautiously optimistic about Natsume Ono’s newest series Bokura ga Koi o Shina no wa. “This is the story I have wanted to read from Ono for so long,” Allen notes. “Her thoughtful style with an eye for capturing little moments works so well on this kind of leisurely character study. She knows just what to put on the page to evoke a certain mood or give us a little insight into a particular character’s thinking, often letting her images speak entirely for themselves. So I will dare to pick up volume three and hope that Ono keeps going in this very welcome direction.” [Brain vs. Book]

THE BEST AND WORST OF 2022

Whether you’ve been a long-time listener or just discovered the Mangasplaining podcast, you’ll want to check out their year-in-review episode for some great recommendations. [Mangasplaining]

Kory, Helen, and Apryll name their favorite–and least favorite–manga of 2022. [Taiiku Podcast]

Krystallina posts a two-part round-up of 2022’s biggest anime and manga news stories, from the Seven Seas unionization effort to the debut of Square Enix’s MangaUP! platform. [The OASG]

The Multiversity Comics crew name Shuna’s Journey the best manga of 2022. [Multiversity Comics]

The New York Public Library offers a list of the year’s best new manga for adults, from Talk to My Back to Rooster Hunter. [NYPL]

Kotaku’s Best Manga of 2022 list is a nice mixture of crowd-pleasers and serious titles. [Kotaku]

Also offering a list of this year’s best manga and manhwa is Barnes & Noble. [B&N]

REVIEWS

This week’s must-read review is Masha Zhdanova’s thoughtful reflection on Good-Bye, Eri. She starts with a deceptively simple question–“Why is Goodbye, Eri a comic?”–then proceeds to do a rigorous analysis of the panel structure and narrative flow. “Fixed grids allow the cartoonist to control the pacing of the narrative in a different way than more experimental layout choices can, by repeating images and intercutting sequences together, much like a movie,” she observes. “In a movie, this sequence would require a linear juxtaposition, probably with a soundtrack behind it. In a comic, all of the individual moments of this wordless sequence can be viewed by the reader simultaneously, and the reader can choose whether to perceive them all at once or down each page, right to left.”

Pick of the Week: Last Picks Before Xmas

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SEAN: There are two wolves fighting inside me. One wants to appreciate tougher, more realistic manga and is interested in the debut of Run Away with Me, Girl, which has been politely described as “heavy”. The other wolf is going “the first new Railgun manga in 18 months? Score!”.

KATE: I’ve recently been re-watching Seinfeld, and saw the episode where George can’t stop singing “Master of the house, doling out the charm/Ready with a handshake and an open palm.” Therefore, my pick of the week *has* to be Les Misérables. Sorry, I don’t make the rules…

MICHELLE: Heavy or not, Run Away with Me, Girl really does have the majority of my attention this week, so I’ll go with that this time.

ASH: I’ll admit, Run Away with Me, Girl is definitely the debut that has caught my eye this week, too. But, I also want to give Sweat and Soap a shout out—I was late to reading the series myself, but it really is a great one.

The Manga Review: Super-Sized Edition

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Before I get to this week’s links, a quick programming note: next week’s Manga Review will be my last of 2022. On the following Friday–December 30th, to be exact–I’m going to do something I haven’t done since 2017: compose my own list of the year’s best manga. Regular link-posts will resume on the first Friday in January.

NEWS AND VIEWS

This week’s must-read essay comes to us courtesy of Kayleigh Hearn, who uses Rumiko Takahashi’s short story “The Laughing Target” as a jumping-off point for reflecting on Takahashi’s artistry. In particular, Hearn emphasizes the idea that Takahashi’s versatility and creativity are best appreciated in her shorter works. “As sprawling as her work is — Inuyasha, her longest series, ran 40 volumes – I find myself drawn to her shorter titles, like the macabre Mermaid Saga or the one-shot (ha) The Laughing Target,” she observes. “Their sheer brevity gives them extra power, a sunburst of raw creativity that never overstays its welcome or crumples under oversized expectations.” [The Gutter Review]

Erica Friedman recently shared clips from her November book signing at Kinokuniya in Manhattan, where she was interviewed about By Your Side: The First Hundred Years of Yuri Anime & Manga. [Okazu]

If you’re looking for a complete list of all the new manga and light novels coming out in December, Bill Curtis has you covered. [Yatta-Tachi]

Brett Michael Orr compiles a list of the five “most surprising” manga of 2022. [Honey’s Anime]

Laura Grace adds a new letter to her Shojo Alphabet series: F! [Beneath the Tangles]

The Reverse Thieves name Wandance their manga of the month. “Manga-ka Coffee uses a fresh, frenetic line style that gives movement, energy, and a fast pace to the dance sequences,” Kate explains. “Plus, Wandance integrates plenty of dance theory, ways of approaching dance, and instructional sections into the story in a way that feels natural and helps you see each character more clearly.” [Reverse Thieves]

On the latest Chatty AF podcast, Dee, Vrai, and Alex discuss how Sex Ed 120% addresses “subjects like consent, gender identity, and abortion.” [Anime Feminist]

The crack team at No Flying No Tights compiles a list of teen-friendly graphic novels in which “art plays a significant role in the story.” [No Flying No Tights]

Jocelyne Allen highlights the feminist storytelling of Peko Watanabe, praising her latest work Koi Jaa Nee Kara for its frank exploration of two forty-something women’s lives. “Watanabe’s a great storyteller who treats her characters with real empathy,” Allen notes. “While she often deals with difficult subject matter, she handles it in a seriously sensitive manner, so that you feel she is trying to dig in and understand and make us understand deeper truths, rather than merely show readers some tragedy porn. Her art is expressive, and she’s skilled at leading us through the mazes she creates with minimal backgrounds, so that our focus remains on the people who are at the heart of the story.” [Brain vs. Book]

Danica Davidson interviews Alex Dudok de Wit about translating Shuna’s Journey for English-speaking readers. When asked what he liked best about Hayao Miyazaki’s story, he answered, “The mystery. Miyazaki often introduces surprising elements into his plots, not necessarily explaining them, but integrating them into the story in a way that makes some kind of intuitive sense. He does this a lot with Shuna’s Journey: the sea whose level rises and falls dramatically, for instance. This is the language of symbolism, of visual metaphor.” [Otaku USA]

REVIEWS

File this under Better Late Than Never: Helen Chazan’s most recent Comics Gridlock column focuses on three horror titles: Cat-Eyed Boy, Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki, and The Town of Pigs. If you’ve been disappointed in the latest crop of Junji Ito manga, let Helen steer you towards a great book by Kazuo Umezz or Hideshi Hino instead. Also worth a look is Megan D.’s excellent review of Yamada Murasaki’s Talk to My Back. “Murasaki was apparently one of the first women to find success in gekiga, and her career took off around the same point that josei manga first came into being,” she notes. “Talk To My Back is kind of the perfect intersection of the two in how it combines gekiga’s more literary structures and frank confrontation of societal norms with josei’s willingness to explore the hearts and minds of adult women.”

New and Noteworthy

Complete and Ongoing Series

Pick of the Week: Kowloon Generic Picks

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ASH: There certainly are a fair number of releases this week! Debut-wise, I find that overall the novels have caught my attention the most, with Sword of the Demon Hunter being of particular interest. That being said, I’m likely to actually have time to read some of the new manga, first…

SEAN: I’m actually going to pick Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! Memorial Fan Book. We get so few of these guidebooks translated over here, so I want to support it.

MICHELLE: I can’t possibly resist BL described as ” Two men struggling with life find each other.” Midnight Rain for me this week!

KATE: I can’t say enough good things about Kowloon Generic Romance: the Mangasplainers compared it with Wong Kar-Wai’s films, and I think that’s an apt comparison. If I’m making it sound like a Very Serious Manga™, though, rest assured it isn’t; Kowloon Generic Romance is moody and romantic, but it’s also raunchy, funny, and frank with a boisterous cast of characters. This is hands down one of my favorite books of the year!

MJ: Okay, at first I was sure I was going to side with Michelle, but then Kate’s description of Kowloon Generic Romance hooked me completely. I think that’s going to have to be my pick this week, no matter what else is on the table!

MICHELLE: Okay, I have just realized this takes place within Kowloon Walled City so I am definitely going to read this, previous pick notwithstanding!

Pick of the Week: Rainbows and Boats

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MICHELLE: I usually like manga from Margaret and its spinoffs, so I’ll go with Rainbow Days this week despite knowing absolutely nothing about it.

KATE: I second Michelle’s recommendation, and raise it one artbook: I’ll be adding Studio Ghibli: The Complete Works to my cart this week as well. I’m still under the spell of Shuna’s Journey…

SEAN: This is the final volume of Hello Melancholic, so I’ll make that my pick. Best to read it while listening to J. J. Johnson.

ASH: Sean’s called it with Boat Life—as a fan of alternative manga and manga history, it’s easily my pick this week. In addition to the manga itself, I’m also really looking forward to reading Ryan Holmberg’s accompanying essay.

The Manga Review, 12/3/2022

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If you’re interested in writing about comics for a website that already has a sizable readership, there are a number of great outlets looking for contributors. Nola Pfau, Editor-in-Chief of Women Write About Comics (WWAC), took to Twitter earlier this week to encourage writers submit pitches. WWAC has won three Eisner Awards for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism, and welcomes “pitches from anyone along the marginalized gender spectrum—women, NB, agender, trans men.” You don’t need experience to submit an idea; WWAC prides itself on publishing new voices, and has “a proven track record of training new voices in comics journalism and helping them achieve success at other outlets.” Interested? Take the first step by visiting WWAC’s Pitch Us! page.

Also looking for writers is The Fandom Post, which is in need of an Anime/Manga Reviewer, and Anime Feminist, which is always receptive to pitches.

NEWS AND VIEWS

If you’re curious about Glacier Bay Books’ latest project, click over to The Comics Journal, which has just posted an excerpt from PANDORA, a collection of short stories by Hagiwara Rei. The stories, which are rendered in delicate watercolors, “simultaneously reflect on current events as well as the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.” [The Comics Journal]

Tony Yao reflects on the Cool Japan Fund‘s flawed efforts to promote Japanese pop culture here in the US. [Drop-In to Manga]

Journalist Madeline Blondeau posts a thoughtful reflection on transfeminine desire in Eguchi Hisashi’s Stop!! Hibari-kun. [Anime Feminist]

Get your holiday off to a good start by entering The Manga Test Drive’s Annual Holiday Review Giveaway! The winner will receive a $25 Right Stuf gift certificate. [The Manga Test Drive]

ICYMI: Justin shares his thoughts about “the good, the mixed, and the bad” at Anime NYC 2022. [The OASG]

The latest episode of Shojo & Tell focuses on Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku. [Shojo & Tell]

The Reverse Thieves name Rumiko Takahashi’s Urusei Yatsura their Manga of the Month. “For better or for worse Rumiko Takahashi’s later series always have a much tighter theme and flow,” Alain notes. “You have a fairly good idea what your going to get in any chapter of Inuyasha or Maison Ikkoku. But Urusei Yatsura feels much more like jazz in its freeform nature. One chapter could be a sexy comedy about aliens, the next is nothing more than a giant set up for a pun with folk creatures, and the next chapter a touching romantic interlude. The only main theme is that the Urusei Yatsura cast are horrible people who are very amusing when they are horrible to each other.” [Reverse Thieves]

REVIEWS

This week’s must-read review is Sarah’s take on The Gay Who Turned Kaiju, a collection of short stories about a teenager struggling to come to terms with his sexual orientation. “Some manga are so compulsive a read that you just have to keep feverishly turning the pages until you get to the end. The Gay Who Turned Kaiju is one of those special titles: well-written and aptly drawn,” she observes. “Even though several of the protagonists are far from sympathetic, especially in the way they treat Takashi, nevertheless they resonate as believable, complex individuals.”

 

Pick of the Week: Clear Moonlit Picks

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SEAN: My pick this week is The Food Diary of Miss Maid, because I have the first of many office Christmas parties this week and I will probably be overeating.

MICHELLE: This week is full of new volumes of series that I really should be reading. Witch Hat Atelier and Skip & Loafer are high on the list, but I think I’ll make Classmates my official pick, as I’ve been hearing good things about that series for years.

ASH: Most of what I’m planning on reading this week are new volumes of continuing series, but at least one print debut has caught my interest, too—my pick goes to In the Clear Moonlit Dusk!

MJ: I will admit to being kind of interested in Reincarnated as an Apple: This Forbidden Fruit Is Forever Unblemished!, because… I mean. Apple. But my pick is almost certainly In the Clear Moonlit Dusk, so I guess I’m going along with Ash this week.

KATE: It’s always a good day when there’s a new volume of Skip & Loafer!

The Manga Review: Black Friday Edition

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Yet another Anime NYC has come and gone, bringing with it a raft of licensing announcements from Azuki, Kodansha, Seven Seas, and Yen Press. While most reports from the show floor were positive, The Beat’s Ricardo Serrano Denis noted that the convention suffered from some of the same issues that plagued it before the pandemic. “One thing I thought was seriously underrepresented in the 2019 show was manga and anime booths, places to acquire them,” he noted. “For an anime convention, I felt the number of booths dedicated to the medium were on the slimmer side of things. Fast forward to 2022, a whole pandemic later, and those same shortcomings are still accounted for, perhaps even worse so.” Other attendees gave mixed marks to the panels, noting that the Spy x Family session lasted a mere 30 minutes, while the online ticketing for the Attack on Titan event was marred by computer glitches and limited seating. Still, many folks left satisfied. Summarizing her experience at Anime NYC, for example, Erica Friedman observed there’s more great yuri anime and manga than ever before, noting how many vendors were prominently displaying series such as Lilies and The Executioner and Her Way of Life.

NEWS AND VIEWS

Looking for a great deal on manga or anime? Krystallina has you covered with an extensive list of Black Friday deals. [The OASG]

Mary Lee Sauder jumps in the WABAC machine for a look at the ani-manga craze of the early 2000s. [Honey’s Anime]

Over at Women Write About Comics, Carrie McClain sifts through a batch of new releases from Seven Seas, including I’m a Terminal Cancer Patient, But I’m Fine, The Savior’s Book Café in Another World, and The Titan’s Bride. [WWAC]

The latest essay at Sports Baka focuses on Gunjo no fanfare (Fanfare of Adolescence), a series about “a rich ensemble of teenage characters who, except for their common goal to become jockeys, couldn’t be more different.” [Sports Baka]

The Mangasplainers are all business this week with an in-depth look at Division Chief Kosaku Shima, a salaryman manga from the 1980s. [Mangasplaining]

Psyche Kale exposes the not-so-hidden sexism of Claymore. “Consistently, when given the chance to treat its characters with grace, to give them control of the story, to have their struggles understood, to have their humanity appreciated, Claymore chooses to undermine itself with a juvenile emphasis on unnecessary carnage, a lack of interest in the inner worlds of the characters depicted, and a callousness to their emotional suffering. And it sucks,” they observe. “For many it was the first time they saw a female protagonist in an anime or manga that was allowed the spotlight, who could fight and kill as well as anyone else, who was allowed to get beat up instead of wilting like a dainty flower. There’s still merit in those experiences, and moments of the story where it knows what it’s doing and how to give its female characters that grace and to focus on their emotions.” [Anime Feminist]

REVIEWS

Rebecca Silverman reviews Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki, arguing that this short-story anthology feels more “like a sampler rather than a full collection in its own right,” but asserts that “Inuki is a creator worth knowing, and if you’re a fan of Kazuo Umezz and Junji Ito, this is well worth checking out.” Over at The Manga Test Drive, Megan D. takes Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto for a spin. “Pluto works as both a tribute to a classic and as a stand-alone mystery,” she opines. “You don’t need to be familiar with Astro Boy to understand the story, but if you do you’ll be able to appreciate just how Urasawa adapts it for modern tastes.”