Manga Review: Master Keaton, Volume 1

Manga Review: Master Keaton, Volume 1 art by Naoki Urasawa, story by Hokusei Katsushika & Takashi Nagasaki Taichi Hiraga Keaton is a mild-looking fellow with a bumbling exterior personality.  You’d never guess that he’s a brilliant archaeologist, ex-SAS soldier and freelance insurance investigator.  He often takes leave of his day job as a poorly paid… Continue reading Manga Review: Master Keaton, Volume 1

Manga Review: Yukarism

Manga Review: Yukarism by Chika Shiomi Teen author Yukari Kobayakawa was born with a birthmark that resembles a sword wound.  His books set in the Edo period of Japan are best-sellers; but curiously he never does any research for them.  It’s as though that knowledge is his birthright.   Yukari’s life goes from odd but… Continue reading Manga Review: Yukarism

Manga Review: Bokurano (Ours)

Manga Review: Bokurano (Ours) by Mohiro Kitoh Fifteen middle-schoolers are at summer camp when they discover a seaside cave and decide to investigate.  Inside, they find a man called Kokopelli, who is surrounded by electronic gear.  He claims to be developing a new game where you pilot a giant robot to defend the Earth against… Continue reading Manga Review: Bokurano (Ours)

Book Review: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Book Review: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner Economics can be a deadly dull subject, at least when dominated by stuffed shirts talking about trade deficits, returns on annuities or fiat currency.  But the basics of economic theory can be used to learn… Continue reading Book Review: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Anime Review: I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying

Anime Review: I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying Kaoru is a typical office worker in her mid-twenties who by chance meets, falls in love with, and marries Hajime, who is slightly younger than her and a dedicated otaku (A person who is a big fan of a particular esoteric subject and has poor social… Continue reading Anime Review: I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Weird War Tales Volume 1

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Weird War Tales Volume 1 edited by Joe Kubert & Joe Orlando As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, the relaxation of the Comics Code in the early 1970s created a horror anthology boom at DC Comics.  At the same time, the once best-selling war comics were going into a slump,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Weird War Tales Volume 1

Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly (USA) 2014

Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly (USA) 2014 It’s the second anniversary of this blog, so it’s time for the annual look at the online edition of Shounen Jump Weekly, the best-selling manga anthology in Japan. The big news this year was the end of the long-running and popular Naruto series (see my previous post on the… Continue reading Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly (USA) 2014

Anime Review: Invaders of the Rokujyoma!?

Anime Review: Invaders of the Rokujyoma!? Satomi Kotaro’s father has gone abroad on business, but he’s staying in Japan to attend high school.  Their family is not well off, and to stretch his living allowance as far as possible, Satomi jumps on Room 106 at Corona House because it costs the equivalent of $50 a… Continue reading Anime Review: Invaders of the Rokujyoma!?

Comic Strip Review: Spacetrawler Book 1 The Human Seat

Comic Strip Review: Spacetrawler Book 1 The Human Seat by Christopher Baldwin The Eebs, small green aliens with strange telekinetic powers,  have been declared “less than sentient” and enslaved by the Galactic Organizational Body.    A civil rights group named Interplanet Amity, wants to free the Eebs.  Their best hope is to seek help from… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Spacetrawler Book 1 The Human Seat

Manga Review: Case Closed (Detective Conan)

Manga Review: Case Closed (Detective Conan) by Gosho Aoyama Shin’ichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo) is a teen genius detective, well known for solving cases that baffle the police.  One day while visiting an amusement park with his female friend Ran Mouri (Rachel Moore), he witnesses a murder by two men in black.   They catch him,… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed (Detective Conan)