Manga by Matt S. I love ballroom dancing. Of the list of things that I love (Japan, Japanese games, fan service, Hatsune Miku, all that good stuff), I think this is one that I haven’t talked about too much in the past, but I’m a very keen ballroom dancer and…
Read MoreReview by Clark A. Rumiko Takahashi is one of Japan’s more prolific manga authors, cranking out long-running hits for the entirety of her adult life. The likes of Inuyasha left an impact on western audiences back in the early 2000s. Her earliest hit, though, the science fiction-romantic comedy Urusei Yatsura,…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. The first volume of 20th Century Boys was a well-crafted opening chapter to a manga that was clearly going to need more time to develop. Back when I reviewed that volume I suggested that we’d have a better idea of whether it would be compelling over…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. The first volume of Pluto, which Madman Entertainment is currently in the process of re-releasing at the rate of one volume each month, affected me deeply. Racism is something that upsets me quite unlike anything else, so far a manga author to explore the theme to…
Read MoreReview by Clark A. When Konami first unveiled the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s anime back in 2008, it was promptly met by detractors with giggling, condescension, and thorough mockery. The franchise had gone from depicting the story of an ancient pharaoh regaining his memories in modern times to high school students studying…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Naoki Urasawa‘s Monster is rarely out of print, and for good reason; if anyone needs proof that the manga form has artistic legitimacy, it is this landmark example of crime fiction. But in the off chance that you haven’t had the chance to check Monster out…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. One of the Shonen Jump manga for the older audience, Seraph of the End has a very weak start in Volume 1, but offers just enough of an incentive to look forward to future volumes. Following some kind of cataclysm, humanity finds itself beset by powerful…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Forget The Hunger Games. Battle Royale has always been the most powerful story about a corrupt government forcing school kids forced to fight one another to the death. Both in terms of theme and vision, Battle Royale, which in the tradition of fine irony in the…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. I don’t know how Naoki Urasawa manages to keep having me literally race through the pages of his mangas in order to find out what happened next. I don’t know how he manages to keep leaving me feeling deflated when I reach the end of a…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Naoki Urasawa is surely one of the most respected manga authors out there. Otherwise known as “the guy that did Monster,” Urasawa’s work inevitably features tight pacing and simple plot arcs that are told efficiently and effectively. There’s no weighty dialogue or unnecessary character exploration in…
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