Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!! Volume 3

Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!! Volume 3 by Go Ikeyamada Quick recap:  Megumu and Mitsuru Kobayashi are fraternal twins who have been dressing as each other at their schools as part of a wacky scheme to bring up Mitsuru’s history grades.  Each of them has fallen in love while in disguise as the opposite… Continue reading Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!! Volume 3

Manga Review: Akuma no Riddle Volume 1

Manga Review: Akuma no Riddle Volume 1 story by Yun Kouga, art by Sunao Minakata Azuma Tokaku is the star student at  Private Academy 17, secretly a school for assassins.  As such, she’s being temporarily transferred to Myojo Private School, to participate in Class Black.  Supposedly, Class Black is a game disguised as an ordinary homeroom… Continue reading Manga Review: Akuma no Riddle Volume 1

Manga Review: Let’s Dance a Waltz

Manga Review: Let’s Dance a Waltz by Natsumi Ando Tango Minami’s mother runs a ballroom dance school, where he helps out as a dance instructor (he’s tall for a junior high student.)  But due to a disastrous mistake in his childhood, Tango has decided never to take another full-time partner, and thus not qualify for… Continue reading Manga Review: Let’s Dance a Waltz

Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (2015)

Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (2015) by various creators. It’s the third anniversary of this blog, and as is my custom, I’ll be looking at the current lineup of Weekly Shonen Jump, the online version of Shounen Jump.  For those just joining us, Shounen Jump is the top-selling shounen manga (boys’ comic book) in Japan.  Many of its series… Continue reading Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (2015)

Manga Review: Case Closed Volume 56

Manga Review: Case Closed Volume 56 by Gosho Aoyama Quick recap for newer readers:  Shinichi Kudou (“Jimmy” in the US version) is a teen genius detective.  He runs afoul of a mysterious criminal organization, but their assassination attempt instead causes him to shrink to a childlike appearance.  To conceal his survival from the organization, Shinichi… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Volume 56

Open Thread: RIP Shigeru Mizuki

Open Thread: RIP Shigeru Mizuki Shigeru Mizuki (1922-2015) was a manga artist famous for his horror works, most famously Gegege no Kitarou, and did much work to familiarize younger generations of Japanese children with the traditional stories of yokai. As I’ve written here before, Mr. Mizuki was stationed in New Britain, Papua New Guinea during World War… Continue reading Open Thread: RIP Shigeru Mizuki

Manga Review: Black Blizzard

Manga Review: Black Blizzard by Yoshihiro Tatsumi The year is 1956.  Shinpei Konta, a card shark with five convictions (two for murder) and Susumu Yamaji, a pianist just convicted for murder, are handcuffed together on a train headed for prison.  The weather has turned to a blizzard, and a landslide across the tracks derails the… Continue reading Manga Review: Black Blizzard

Manga Review: My Hero Academia, Vol. 2

Manga Review: My Hero Academia, Vol. 2 by Kohei Horikoshi I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, or at least a nice Thursday!  In keeping with the holiday spirit, let’s have a second helping. Brief recap:  Izuku Midoriya always wanted to be a superhero, but was born without a “quirk”, unlike 80% of the… Continue reading Manga Review: My Hero Academia, Vol. 2

Manga Review: Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Volume 2

Manga Review: Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Volume 2 by Jiro Kuwata To briefly recap:  When the Batman television series was brought to Japan in the 1960s, it was decided to do a manga tie-in using the talents of Jiro Kuwata (creator of 8-Man).  Rather than being based on the TV show directly, Mr. Kuwata was given… Continue reading Manga Review: Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Volume 2

Manga Review: One-Punch Man 01

Manga Review: One-Punch Man 01 story by ONE, art by Yusuke Murata Saitama wanted to be a hero when he grew up, the sort of good guy who could beat any monster or villain with a single punch.   Like many people, he forgot that dream as he prepared for a more realistic career as… Continue reading Manga Review: One-Punch Man 01