Manga Retrospective: My Hero Academia Last week, the long-running shounen manga series My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) by Kouhei Horikoshi finished its publication in Weekly Shounen Jump. So it’s time to look back fondly at this homage to Western comic book-style superheroes. In the world of the story, several decades ago, a glowing… Continue reading Manga Retrospective: My Hero Academia
Tag: Japan
Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4
Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4 by Kazuo Umezz Quick recap: Orochi appears to be an ordinary, generically pretty young woman, but is actually a seemingly ageless being with vaguely defined supernatural powers. She has a gift for spotting people who are going to have interesting things happen to them and following their… Continue reading Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4
Anime Review: Time Patrol Bon
Anime Review: Time Patrol Bon (aka T.P. Bon) Bon Namihira is a fairly normal (his name would translate to something like “Joe Average” in English) middle schooler. His grades are in the middle of the pack, he’s not particularly athletic but no wimp, he’s not particularly popular but does have friends. But when time starts… Continue reading Anime Review: Time Patrol Bon
Manga Review: Oshi no Ko #2
Manga Review: Oshi no Ko #2 by Aka Akasaka & Mengo Yokoyari Note: This review will contain major SPOILERS for the first volume. If you haven’t read that, you may want to check out my review of that one first. A decade after the death of idol singer Ai Hoshino, her secret twins Aquamarine (usually… Continue reading Manga Review: Oshi no Ko #2
Manga Review: To Love Ru Vol. 1-2
Manga Review: To Love Ru Vol. 1-2 story by Saki Hasemi, art by Kentaro Yabuki Rito Yuuki is a typical Japanese high school boy who has a crush on his childhood friend and classmate Haruna Sairenji. And typically, he is so bashful about actually telling her about it that he just freezes up or boils… Continue reading Manga Review: To Love Ru Vol. 1-2
Book Review: Fafner: Dead Aggressor
Book Review: Fafner: Dead Aggressor by Tow Ubukata Kazuki Makabe lives on Tatsumiyajima, an isolated island far off the coast of Japan. He’s looking forward to leaving the island one year from now, one way or another, whether to go to a mainland school or join a fishing boat crew. He’s the best athlete on… Continue reading Book Review: Fafner: Dead Aggressor
Book Review: Wicked West
Book Review: Wicked West edited by Abigail Linhardt and J.H. Fleming The combination of Western and horror genres is a popular one; those wide open spaces in which people and entire towns can just disappear make for a setting that allows a lot of spookiness. This bespoke anthology has eleven stories in this subcategory. “The… Continue reading Book Review: Wicked West
Manga Review: Case Closed, Vols. 89 & 90
Manga Review: Case Closed, Vols. 89 & 90 by Gosho Aoyama Quick recap: Shinichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the dub) is a genius teen detective who is shrunk into a preteen by an experimental poison administered by agents of the Black Organization. (So called because they all wear black.) Taking the psuedonym Conan Edogawa, Shinichi… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed, Vols. 89 & 90
Movie Review: Sansho the Bailiff
Movie Review: Sansho the Bailiff (1954) directed by Kenji Mizoguchi (Japanese title: Sanshou Dayuu) The setting is the late Heian Period (around the Eleventh Century) in Japan. The popular governor of a northern province, Taira Masauji (Masao Shimizu), has incurred the wrath of a powerful military general because he would not raise taxes on the already… Continue reading Movie Review: Sansho the Bailiff
Manga Review: Snowball Earth Volume 01
Manga Review: Snowball Earth Volume 01 by Yuhiro Tsujitsugu In 2025, the first intergalactic kaiju attacked Earth. It was stopped at the cost of a lot of human lives. And it wasn’t alone. Entire swarms of them were approaching, with a few (scouts? impatient ones) way out in front. Humanity established the E-RDE, an anti-kaiju… Continue reading Manga Review: Snowball Earth Volume 01